Christmas Card 2010

Vintage Provence Holiday 2011 Christmas 5x7 folded card

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Shutterfly: Christmas Card Envy

Let our Shutters Fly.

Ever since I had Caleigh, I have liked sending out photo Christmas cards. There is some good motivation in doing this. I want my family and friends to see how my children have grown. I also believe it is something more memorable than a boxed card, BUT I must admit there are a lot of other less than good motivations going on.

When I try to put together a card for my family, I am automatically comparing it to the cards on the website's illustrations or cards received from friends and family. All the kids on the website's cards are examples of perfection, clean, matching, and smiling, and the kids on the cards from friends and family are a close second. I'm not a professional photographer and my children are definitely not baby models. So, what do I try to do every year when it comes time to capture those sweet moments?

I dress them in the closest to matching outfits, try to situate them in a location that is the least of an eyesore, and then, attempt to get them to all smile at the same time in the same direction. Does this work? No! And, if it did, it would be far from reality. My kids typically have snot oozing from their noses, drool pouring from their mouths, and ketchup dripping from their clothes, and that is only their appearances. Their smiles look more like a clown's smile or a crocodile's grill. They don't want to touch each other and would rather stand on their heads than look at a camera and say "Purple Pizza."

(Side Note: I know the action photos are in, but who wants to see Caleigh whacking Elisha and him trying to tattle or Josiah bombing himself off the fireplace?)

Anyway, this year I hope to fight the envy that arises when I see everyone else's Christmas cards and accept the beauty of the disarray of my children...I will just tell myself everyone else's kids are just as wild and messy as mine...

But, the main reason I'm writing this post is because Shutterfly is offering 50 free Christmas cards for bloggers. I have used Shutterfly before for Christmas cards and was very pleased, more so than when I used other places. And, I can say praise the Lord for this offer because I really didn't have the extra cash built into my Christmas budget. I had planned to design my own, and who knows what would have come of that? Even if they had been presentable, I would have gotten stressed out, feeling I had wasted to much time. But, now I'm going to get to choose from one of the many splendid designs, such as ones below.

This is one of the options I would consider because it has room for multiple photos and place to add captions. So, I could have a picture of each of the three kids and one of them together and be able to write something like, "Caleigh's favorite Christmas movie this year is A Christmas Carol. She thinks Mommy looks like the Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come."

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/sharing-the-love-christmas-5x7-photo-card-5x7-photo?sortType=1&storeNode=93480

This is a classic option with the black and snowflakes. It also has the perfect template for pictures of three children and a family photo.

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards/snowflake-wishes-noir-holiday-5x7-photo-card-5x7-photo?fg=2304&sortType=1&storeNode=93480

Another option for three children but with a little more spunk. I may even consider putting in snapshots in the rounded photo slot.

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/our-shining-stars-christmas-4x8-photo-card-4x8-photo?fg=2304&sortType=1&storeNode=93480

I had already had an idea for our Christmas card before I saw this design. I had thought about doing a then and now theme, from last Christmas to this Christmas, and with this design I could have a picture of each child from last year and from this year.

Apparently, I want a card that will capture all of my children as individuals, but I also want to present them (us) as a family. With this card, I would be able to do both.

When I decide, I will post and let you know. I guess it will all depend on the photos I find and the mood I want to convey. But, whatever the end result, please don't turn green with Christmas card envy....it is all in the presentation.

VotTWM 5: From His Hand and Back...in Hannah

In the fifth chapter of Voices of the True Woman Movement, Janet Parshall identifies Hannah as "a woman after God's own heart." I have always loved this story, but as a mother, I now better understand her pain and struggles. She was a woman loved by her husband, but unable to produce a child, which was probably one of the main motivations for marrying Peninnah, who was set on irritating Hannah because "the Lord had closed her womb" (1 Samuel 1:6).

Nowadays there seem to be so many women who greatly desire to become pregnant, but continue to deal with infertility. I personally have struggled in the opposite direction (getting pregnant to easily), so I can't imagine the pain of not receiving the blessing of children. Since childbearing is one of the main ways He has designed us to bear His image, it is a legitimate good desire to want children. Unfortunately, so many women don't want the burden of children. They would rather make themselves great through careers and education and beauty and vacations and so on. Although Hannah was dealing with the temptation to make motherhood an idol, she wanted God sees as a blessing - children.

She was desperate...She prayed to the Lord, pleading for Him to give her a child, looking as if she were drunk. Oh, how she wanted a child, but in that prayer, she made a vow. "I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life" (1 Samuel 1:11). This doesn't make sense to us. Why would she ask for a child and turn around and promise to give the child up? Maybe she realized that the child would not be hers anyway. Everything we have is from the hand of the Lord, and everything He gives is for His glory. He is the one who gives and the one who takes away.

Eli, the priest, saw Hannah's desperation and promised that the Lord would grant her petition; he had seen her faith. But, the Bible says "in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son." The idea of "in due time" seems to imply that she had to continue to wait on the Lord in faith. Like Sarah who was promised a child and who decided to work out God's plan by her own means, she may have had moments of doubt and debilitating pain, but praise the Lord, though our faith may waver, His faithfulness does not. The Lord gave her a son. Hannah did as she had vowed, and when her son Samuel was weaned, she took him to serve at the house of the Lord.

This story personally convicts me because I too often seem my children as mine - not the Lord's. It not even so much that I worry they may be taken from me, but I see them as made for my glory instead of the Lord's. I want them to do what pleases me. I want them to make me look good. I don't want to be bothered with their foolishness. I worry more about how they have sinned against me than how they may have sinned against their heavenly Father. I forget to see them as made in the image of God. I forget his continual patience and steadfast love toward us. I forget my role as a steward of what I have been given, of shepherding my children for the kingdom of God.

This summer I heard a lady speak about daily praying to be able to give her children back to the Lord. I want this to be my prayer each day as I deal with the bickering of brothers and sisters, fits over uncomfortable clothing, and reading lessons gone awry. I don't want my life with my children to be about what I can get out of them, but about how I can point them to Christ at the cross. I must be willing to give them up as He gave us his life on the cross...give them up so His name may be great and not my own. I want to be able to give my children back to Lord as Hannah did.

The story of Hannah has so many great truths, so please don't let my simplified explanation and specific personal application mislead you from what can be gleaned from this particular passage of Scripture. Instead, delve into it, and discover our great God and His ongoing provision and providence.

VotTWM 4: Esther On Time

Nancy Leigh DeMoss tackles Esther in "For Such a Time as This," taking that commonly used verse and showing how God has a kingdom purpose in all He is doing in our time. You may have seen One Night with the King, but if you read Esther, it is not quite as glamorous as the movie portrays, which DeMoss well illustrates.

Esther, whose name had been changed, was part of a people, Israel, who had been forced into captivity. Then, her parents die, and she is left with her cousin Mordecai. Next, she is sent to the king's harem, luckily being chosen as queen, but queen to a man who had put away his other wife after she displeased him by not acquiescing to his drunken request. Not a daydream story of being swept off your feet by Prince Charming. While she is given the position of queen, King Ahasuerus' advisor, Haman, has a grudge against Mordecai and hatches a plot to have all the Jews destroyed. Mordecai goes to Esther and says:

Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (4:13-14)

Esther decides to hold fast and requests the other Israelites to do the same. She then approaches the king, who had the power to have her killed for approaching him without being asked. Thankfully, he welcomes her, and she twice requests for he and Haman to attend a banquet with her. In the end, the tables turn. She asks that Haman be killed. Instead of the Jews being killed, they are allowed to defend themselves against those who attack them, killing over 75,000 people, and Mordecai took over Haman's position.

DeMoss focuses on the dual kingdoms present in every situation. What happened to Esther and what is happening to us are happening in the kingdom of man, but outside the story of Esther and the story of us is the kingdom of God. Thus, God is working His sovereign will for His good in our circumstances. While God may not be orchestrating our lives to save an entire people, He is orchestrating our lives as part of His redemptive history, His plan to make a people for Himself, if like Esther we go with His plan and not our own.

Concluding the chapter, DeMoss leaves the reader with six insights from the book of Esther.

1) We are in a battle...Our struggles are not simply with people and our circumstances. We are battling principalities and powers, not flesh and blood. When we are having to fight to get our kids to do our homework, we are experiencing the battle between good and evil. The same is true when there is strife in the church or workplace or when our minds don't think on what is lovely and noble and pure.

2) The weapons and tactics of the earthly, human kingdom are different than the weapons and tactics of the heavenly Kingdom...As people we want to take vengeance, get even. We use harsh words to hurt, emotional overspills to manipulate, and physical force to overcome, but God's heavenly tactics are different. Having total power He can do as He pleases, and He calls us to do it with love and peace.

3) God has a sovereign and redemptive plan, and it will not fail....How hard it is to wrap our minds around this truth. He controls everything, and He knows the beginning and the end. We don't see it, but He does.

4) Through faith and obedience, you can be part of God's plan....We don't know God's plan, but we do know that we either contribute to His plan by obeying His Word. If we disobey, it is not like God's plan won't succeed like. Like Mordecai said, the Lord will raised someone else somewhere else.

5) No situation is so desperate that God cannot redeem it....All the Jews were about to be destroyed by edict of the king, but God stopped it. If He can turn around a situation like that, why do we doubt he can bring good from insensitive bosses, lost jobs, unbelieving spouses, and challenging children? In the middle of bad situations, we often "woller" in how bad it is. We can't see beyond right then, and we forget to remember God has the power to change things. Try to remember this when you look at an unbeliever. God change the heart of the worst person and use that person greatly for his glory.

6) Don't judge the outcome of the battle by the way things look right now....When we look at our lives, sometimes everything we see is awful for a few moments. Others times when we look everything is awful for days, months, and years, but God calls us to see the end of the story. He calls us to be joyful, rejoicing at all times, and He calls us to do this because He has given us a promise He will keep. Jesus will return, make us like Himself, and establish His perfect, forever kingdom. I'm not one to say we should dwell on heaven as if God has not given us a life here to live on earth, but if we see what victory, the assured victory, in this battle brings, we will fight harder in the battle. We will not sink into the miry pit because our best friends said they hated us, there is no money in our bank accounts, or the authorities over us are persecuting us because we say we believe in the one true God. We will look at the end. To live is Christ. To die is gain.

Lake Winnie: Oh, Pooh!

Every year we get to go to Lake Winnie with Geez-Paw and Grandma. This year we went on Labor Day: 75 dollars a carload for up to 5 people. As always, the kids loved it. Elisha is bigger, meaning he was a little more concerned about what he wanted to ride. He wanted to do everything, but wasn't quite big enough. Caleigh is so brave, ready to do anything, especially stuff that spins, but Daddy can't quite handle the spin-ny stuff, so I get to ride with her, which I love since I love to ride. Josiah was a GREAT baby. He stayed in his stroller, never whining to get out, just happy to see what was going on. Poor Grandma, though....Rustywouldn't ride the ship with me, so Mary Jane bravely boarded with me, only to go into a near panic. The people in front of us were somewhat worried over her expression. Although she exited with her stomach upside down, she did survive. Geez-Paw didn't ride a thing, not even the train, but he kept us supplied with Cherry Slushies and was happy to mark Lake Winnie off Caleigh's list.

Going with Geez-Paw to get more Slushies. Wish you could checkout Geez-Paw's shirt--it was shredded. He said he wore it for me.

Already ready to be carried right after entering the park

Going down the big slide...after waiting in the hot line

Silly faces on the new frog ride

Our family at the end of the day

Grandkids and Grandparents leaving the pa

On the way home...before they both passed out. We even had to bathe them while they were half asleep before putting them in the bed.

August Rush...without Daddy

August was an interesting month. I learned I'm a bigger woman than I ever thought I was. Rusty left us for two weeks to attend some classes in Philadelphia. I didn't think I could make it that long without him. But, I did do it all by me-self (as Elisha would say)...almost....Honestly, I accepted all the help I could get.

• went to MawMaw's for supper
• had supper with a very generous family in our church
• were visited by Granna and Poppy
• kids spent night with Grandma and Geez-Paw
• went to Granna's for Meme's birthday since the boys were too sick to attend church
• let my friend Suzanne babysit while I went to the funeral home. She helped with bath and bedtime, which was the most chaotic part of the two weeks. Everyone screamed and cried and wanted Daddy. After a week, they were over him being gone.
• had a lady from church come visit one morning
• The same sweet family from church came and helped me with the housework and hedge trimming. Praise the Lord for people like that.

So, I can't say I did it by myself, but now I fill more confident about doing it if I have to do it. (I still don't want Rusty to go anywhere for a year though.) My prayers go out to single moms. Thankfully, I am blessed to have a good husband who helps so much. I know he always hears me nagging (which I know isn't biblical), but I really do think he is the BEST-EST.

Josiah learned to crawl and pull up during the 2 weeks Rusty was gone

Granna having to push the kiddies in the wheelbarrow

Co-Co ordered to babysit Josiah (aka thug baby)

Sailor hats from VBS at Salem. Caleigh needed two.

Chuck E. Cheese...no, please

A picture of me with the kids....Take it in. I'm usually left out of the pictures. It's the missing mom effect, always behind the camera.

9 months and 4.25 Checkup

We went to the doctor today for Josiah's 9 month checkup and Caleigh's 4.25 checkup. We ended up leaving there with 6 total shots and a finger prick. Caleigh got 3 scheduled shots and a flu shot. Josiah got 1 scheduled shot and a flu shot, and Elisha got a flu shot. He didn't realize he was going to have to get a shot, too, but I went ahead with the flu shots, so we didn't have to go back. Josiah screamed with both shots, but quickly recovered. Only later did he seem upset with a fever of 101.6. Caleigh said she was going to be brave and not cry, but she cried, forcing me to hold her down. One spot bled badly, but she didn't cry after the poking stopped. Elisha cried and kept crying, but the offer of a sucker made it somewhat better.

Josiah weighed 22 pounds and was 29 1/4 inches long, putting him in the 75 percentile for weight and the 70 percentile for height. He has slimmed up some. Caleigh weighed 37 pounds and was 41 5/8 inches long, putting her in the 60 percentile for weight and 80 percentile for height. Caleigh also had her hearing and vision check, which were both on target. The nurse said she obeyed perfectly for the tests, and I bet that was due to the fact I didn't go with her.

Taking three children to the doctor is always an adventure. They really behaved very well, even allowing me to fill out paperwork without an onset of crying, but it is a wonder what havoc they can inflict on an empty doctor's office: books everywhere, ripped paper...Are my children the only ones who can do this?

Josiah upset that I set him down.

Caleigh and Elisha holding there big baby brother.

What a silly face and a mean face.

(As of Sept. 21, 2010)

Caleigh:

• helps fold and put up laundry
• can read with some patient coaching from mom. We have completed the first 30 something lessons of Teach Your Child to Read in a 100 Easy Lessons
• can write her alphabet with a mix of upper and lower case letters
• likes to listen to takes, especially Pengu
• wears the tackiest things imaginable if she dresses herself
• has learned to hide messes under her bed
• is great at memorizing her CC work
• doesn't nap
• is going to Sunday School with Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Rolydia
• needs prayer concerning learning to sit in church

Elisha:

• is learning to potty
• loves to ride the motorcycle
• still fixes everything with his tools
• often repeats what you say when you ask him a question
• any book is a Bible and he wants to preach from his papers (or notes)
• talks on the phone more than Caleigh
• likes to wear light-up shoes
• can't wait to see Mr. Doc at church for candy
• screams "Jesus" during family worship
• is starting to love to draw
• loves his tractor book
• enjoys sleeping, but occasionally coaxes Daddy to let him sleep on the couch
• likes medicine

Josiah:

• crawling, chasing after me if I leave the room
• pulling up
• says da-da, bye-bye, and hey (probably not intentional)
• sleeps on his belly
• waves
• does Indian noise on his arm
• makes driving noise when playing cars with Elisha
• crawls to the stairs, but wisely hasn't attempted to do down them
• eats everything he can pick up and put in his mouth: leaves, dirt, dropped food, etc...
• likes to eat in general
• declared as the happiest baby people have ever seen
• likes to bit my chin
• has 8 teeth
• can sleep in his stroller unlike the other 2

Caleigh's First Day of School (at CC)

We have OFFICIALLY decided to homeschool, and the Lord blessed our decision and prayers by allowing us to discover the Classical Conversation program here in Cleveland. It provides two things that were very important in our choice to homeschool: the classical model and group interaction and accountability.

Caleigh's first day was yesterday. She was in Ms. Brittany's class along with six other children. They learned a song about Charlemagne, practiced skip counting by 1 and 2, learned hand motions to the first 8 cards of the history timeline, tested thermometers in a sunny and shady location, and traced a bug and tree using curvy and straight lines. She also did a great job giving her presentation on "All About Me." She told about her favorite doll, Snow White (I don't know where that came from), her favorite color, pink, and her brothers and parents.

Everything went great until lunch and playground. Three kids going in three directions is hard to deal with, especially after Elisha had been cooped up in the nursery for three hours.

Even though she only had to take a snack, she had to carry a backpack.

She looks pretty excited about her first day of school.

CC is a whole family experience. Here we are already to go. Rusty took the picture. He had stayed home to see us off on our first day.

Caleigh getting ready to watch presentations.

Caleigh giving her presentation at the end of class.

Play Days

Walking the balance beam barefooted. We leave shoes all over the world. We actually lost a pair in Trees and Trends and had to go back and pick them up later.

Elisha is not so sure he can make it to the top of the wall with Daddy, but he is getting braver and braver about trying

.

Flying a jet plane

The kids shucking corn at Bible School

Loving each other. Every day they are learning to play more together, which also means they fight together. Everything goes swell as long as Elisha complies with her plans, even if they are super mischievous.

Do Moms Really Vacation?

We went on vacation to Gatlinburg in the middle of July with my parents, but I hesitate to call it a vacation. It took us four hours to make the two and a half hour trip after several bathroom stops, including ones for Elisha saying he needed to potty, which meant he pooped his pants.

Being a mom of three, you basically have the same work to do at home as you do when you are vacationing: meals, naps, snacks, baths...and the list goes on. The only difference is you have to add preparing for excursions and dealing with skipped naps. The first few days Rusty stayed back so that he could preach, but my parents were there to help me. The only bad part was that their condo was about a half mile away and several flights of stairs.

We went to Dollywood twice. The first time we set out in the rain. We went on in at Rusty's urging (against my better judgment). The kids rode one ride, and the solid downpour set in. We attempted to watch a show, but after waiting thirty minutes, they cancelled it. Rusty, being the good and brave dad he is, then headed off to take Caleigh down the log flume. He hiked the mountain only for them to close it when he got to the top. I was forced to leave that area of the part due to lightning, which meant pushing Elisha and Josiah through torrential rain. We were soaked to the bone, and finally, wisely, we decided to leave the park, only to go in for nap and turn around and go back.

We spent another day at Cades Cove. My stepdad thought it was only a few minutes from downtown Gatlinburg. Not so. We were in the car for several hours with me sitting in the floorboard. We saw about four deer and a snake and some horses and turkeys. We assume there were some bears because of the line of traffic we got stuck behind, but we didn't see any. Thankfully, the kids were pretty good, and we got to enjoy a nice picnic in the woods.

The last day we returned to Dollywood, and even though I started the day in a pretty bad mood, we really had a nice time. My parents and grandparents kept baby Josiah, and he was really sweet for them. Uncle Cole hung out with us a bunch. He was such a good uncle. He rode the kiddie rides with the kids, and I teased him that I was going to post pictures of him in a the duck for his friends to see. All went well except when Elisha cried himself to sleep because his daddy went to do a ride and then woke up screaming so hard he threw up since Rusty hadn't returned.

All I can say is I'm still wondering when I'm going to get a vacation....If your answer is in 18 years, please don't respond.

At a cabin in Cades Cove

Caleigh posing....after a whining episode

Rusty and Elisha in the creek. Caleigh refused to get in the water after seeing some fish, even though she had played in it an hour a few days before.

Using the 3 dollars Geez-Paw sent for the dryer.

Leaving Dollywood after the flood. Not a thing on us was dry. (Taking kids to an amusement park while it was raining...against my better judgment)

Josiah in the pool with Granna...I think we may need to buy stock in sunscreen with this one.

Josiah playing with Co-Co after many hours crammed in the van at Cades Cove.

Downtown Gatlinburg

DottieWood Again!

Back Shot!

4 and 27 instead of 24/7

Happy Fourth of July with the Collums! We waited a long time for the fireworks to start. Every year I wonder if it is worth the wait, but we enjoyed the fellowship with our new friends as we tried to keep our children from being plowed over by moving traffic.

Josiah: Red, White, and Blue

The girls

A kiss from a sick brother to a sick brother

Happy 27th Birthday to me! My sweet parents made lasanga and brought it to my house. The lady at their church couldn't make an Italian Creme Cake, so we settled for the Bi-Lo one. It wasn't nearly as good.

June's End

Josiah learned to sit up by himself

He likes to play with his toes, too!

Happy Father's Day, Poppa!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Josiah's first trip swimming