Christmas

I asked the kids:


Favorite Christmas Song:

S - "Happy Birthday Jesus" (3-5 yr olds were supposed to sing in church on 12/21)

R - "Christmas Bells" (also going to be sung on 12/21) and "Joy to the World"

N - "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Joy to the World"


My Favorite Things:

N - "You" (Mom) Awww

R - Tea Parties

N - Playing with my friends

Mom - snow on the pine trees

S - Making a snowman

N - "Dad"

R- I like sledding on the sled

S - Drawing pictures

M - 2 hour delays and snow days!

N - lasagna

R - I like pizza!

M - Decorating sugar cookies with the kids

S - Hanging ornaments on the tree!

M - Aaron's big grins!


We're having a good time doing fun, Christmasy things - decorating cookies, moving the wisemen closer to the manger each day, wrapping presents (M & D), touching/shaking/poking the wrapped presents (N, R, S), attempting to unwrap the presents (Aaron), playing in the large quantity of snow (Dad + 3), writing & sending our Christmas letter, enduring the Alpine traffic just to buy a gift for Mom (Dad), singing along with all the Christmas songs (love the variety on 105.7!), etc.

There is much snow, and it does make driving concerning, but personally I enjoy 'hunkering in' and making soup, playing games, and having home be warm, cozy, fun, and safe. Isn't it crazy we need the snow as a reason to stay home? I am also glad the kids are old enough to send outside (after at least 17 minutes of preparing to go outside) to play and "burn off some steam," as my Mom used to say. :) This year I've told them I'm setting the timer for 20 minutes and they need to play until the timer goes off. Last year the record was set at 3.3 minutes for heading out and wanting to come back in.

We look forward to special family times - Christmas Eve with the Vanderwests (including the Belmont's from PA!), Christmas Day gift opening at the crack of dawn with our crew, then off to Grandpa Richards' for brunch, gifts, and fun, then to Kalkaska (i.e. "The Wintry North") Fri-Mon to celebrate my wonderful in-laws and their 50th anniversary!!! The entire immediate family (30+) is getting together at a ranch for a weekend together playing, honoring, eating, and just being together. It's a tricky thing getting families from Peru, PA, MI, college students, and all with busy lives/jobs/ministries away for a few days - and to be all together but not overwhelming one home will be awesome! We pray the weather will get us safely there and back again.

Oh, and here is a little humor for your Christmas weekend:
What if, instead of God sending three wise men at our Savior's birth, He had sent three wise women?
1. They would have stopped to ask for directions.
2. They would have been on time.
3. They would have prepared the stable.
4. They would have helped deliver the baby.
5. They would have made a casserole.
6. And they would have brought diapers as a gift rather than perfume.

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord'" (Luke 2:10,11). Amen!!! Rejoice in HIS birth today!

Parenting

This past Sunday was Baby Dedication in our church, and this poem was read during the service. It was read by one of the fathers. It was hung in his parents' home, and now his family has a copy in his home. I appreciate the heartfelt words, genuineness, and practicality of it and would like to display a copy in my home. The last line is especially convicting...that word imitate...

Parent’s Prayer

O Heavenly Father, make me a better parent. Teach me to understand my children, to listen patiently to what they have to say, and to answer all their questions kindly. Keep me from interrupting them or contradicting them. Make me as courteous to them as I would have them be to me. Forbid that I should ever laugh at their mistakes, or resort to shame or ridicule when they displease me. May I never punish them for my own selfish satisfaction or to show my power. Let me not tempt my child to lie or steal. And guide me hour by hour that I may demonstrate by all I say and do that honesty produces happiness. Reduce, I pray, the meanness in me. And when I am out of sorts, help me, O Lord, to hold my tongue. May I ever be mindful that my children are children and I should not expect of them the judgment of adults. Let me not rob them of the opportunity to wait on themselves and to make decisions. Bless me with the bigness to grant them all their reasonable requests and the courage to deny them privileges I know will do them harm. Make me fair and just and kind. And fit me, O Lord, to be loved and respected and imitated by my children. Amen.

- Anonymous poem passed down from Joe Clements’ parents

A Survey!

Something just for fun -

Stolen from Sadie . . . with my own commentary.

Bold the ones you have done.

1. Started your own blog - this is the one!
2. Slept under the stars - at camp - I remember waking up and it was SO wet everywhere from the dew!
3. Played in a band - more than I can count - of many varieties & instruments
4. Visited Hawaii - hope to someday
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity - but it's better to give than receive
7. Been to Disneyland - Disney World was a favorite childhood vacation
8. Climbed a mountain - do dunes count?
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - we would park by the breakwater at Pere Marquette and the waves would splash over our car
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables - we are prolific pumpkin producers
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked - the THOUGHT scares me!
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill - a mental health day or I might become ill
24. Built a snow fort - many with my brothers!!
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping - privately, of course!
27. Run a Marathon - does a 5K count?
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - Lake MI has the best sunsets, Grand Canyon had an incredible sunrise
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community - interesting and enjoyable
36. Taught yourself a new language - attempted a few words...
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - God is faithful and has always taken care of us
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - at the pier
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance - a harrowing experience as a 20 year old
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud - loved making mud pies as a youngster!
54. Gone to a drive-in theater - No, but can't get this to not be bold. I'd fall asleep if I went.
55. Been in a movie - (of the homemade variety)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - teaching private lessons for gas & grocery $ in college 58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Received flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - would have liked this, but I think my Mom sold them all at garage sales
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - quit a few, but not fired
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - in my hand
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - not sure it was speeding, but felt fast to me!
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person - Amazing!!! Hope to take the kids there someday.
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - did not kill, but prepared a venison roast today.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby - x4!
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day - many, many