Avatar: Yes. Go see it. In the theater. In 3-D if you are able...

Out of 5 stars, I would give this one 4 1/2. It was fun. It was sad. It was eventful. The picture was amazing. Worth the money to see it, which is MUCH more than I'd say about most of the movies nowadays!

I refrain from 5 stars simply from personal preference. A little language, a "mating" scene (not sex... but.... obviously meant to be such), some chanting that actually made me feel uncomfortable. But all on the barely noticable side, other than the chanting. And no "F" words. Phew!

A few things that I brought away from the movie were these:

1. The beauty of the night scenes were seriously intense. Absolutely gorgeous. Stunning. Loved it. My thoughts took this turn: Our eternity with Christ will be more than we can imagine. This movie was imagined by a human mind... We serve an amazing, mind-blowing, God!

2. A paraphrased quote from the main character went something like this: "Reality seemed to be a dream, where my dreams had turned to reality." It reminded me that this world is merely a shadow of what is to come. God's work in our every day is so much more epic than we realize, eternity is at stake.

3. Part of the plot was that the bad guys were going to kill the native's deity, and the good guy was pleading for help from that deity, claiming that the bad guys had killed the "mother" on their planet. Consider how "dead" God is to so many today, and what a difference He makes in our lives who know Him.

Great movie, and I left feeling oh so blessed, although I highly doubt that was the intent of the writer! ;-) But He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world....!!

Christmas Bliss III

I know. Last one. I promise.

BTW, these kittens have got to go. If you know anyone who wants a Bengal trouble-maker, let me know. I'll make them a great deal. Half Price!

Anyway, back to Christmas fun and revelations...

Isaac started crawling on Christmas. And here 5 days later, he is awfully speedy. Yea! Yeah.... ;-) Just kidding. Each day is a new step with babies! And now we've entered this step. Next week, he'll be standing up. Oh... I hope not....

Another thing I forgot to mention was something I heard long ago, and the Duggar book reinforced it. I don't remember exactly how the statement went, but it was something like this: "Credit removes God's opportunities for blessing and provision."
It struck me at the time, and has ever since. Reading 20 & Counting, I was blessed by the miracles of provision they'd seen God work in their lives. Early on, they chose to live debt free, honoring God with their financial responsiblity. From cheap sod to amazingly cheap property, plus selling things for more than the purchase price after they'd used it... and the examples of what happened when they moved forward on something without praying about it, and seeing it fail... (This is all stuff I already knew, but it still served to build my faith.) In our lives, I am encouraged to pray for His Will about the things I'd like for our family... like cheap piano lessons for Melia. A backyard. A replacement van, when and if this one bites the dust. The parable in Matthew 25 also corresponds with these lessons- "you have been faithful with a few things, now I will make you ruler over much..." I am encouraged to honor God with the many blessings we do have, and pray about which directions to take in the future. The direction right now? Get that truck paid off! (But I must say, I also feel led to pray that someone would seek to purchase it from us if it is not something we are supposed to have...)

Anyway- that was just another rabbit trail lesson my mind had been taking lately that I wanted to share. :-)

Christmas Bliss II

Again. I will have to create my own sublime dessert....

Christmas Eve was lovely, as was Christmas Day. The great part about spreading out all the different celebrations is that we get to spend more time with each group of people. With kids, this makes ALL the difference!!!

After being married 9+ years, I think I've finally learned that it's ok to express myself to Gabe about what I really want. So this year, I asked him to get me the 20 & Counting book (the Duggar family), because if no one bought it for me, I wanted it badly enough that I would probably spend any Christmas money received on it! So, he did :-)

I finished it in two days- what a blessing! I loved it. God verified to me through their experiences that I need not doubt His ability to reach down and provide for us. The book is full of their real-life lessons about praying for His guidance and the amazing provisions He has made for their family.

Then on Sunday, we had a visiting pastor who delivered a very powerful message. Of the many notes I took, one that spoke so strongly to me was this: "If you want to accomplish His will for your life, Seek HIM." It's not about me doing what I am supposed to do, or how well I do it, but how closely I walk with Christ. If I'm pressing in hard to Him and His Word, He will be accomplishing His will, and I get to be part of it.

Why was all this so important to me? Because He is so Faithful to meet us where we are. He met me where I was, with the doubts and questions I have. Both Gabe and I are pretty sure we are supposed to have more children. How many- we don't know. But in my heart, I wondered how in the world I could actually successfully raise more kids. With homeschooling, training, our house space, lack of organization, etc... Read "I" "I" "I." My perspective needed adjusting, once again :-) It's not about me; it IS about Him. And if what we are called to do is raise up God-honoring and fearing children who will serve Him, it is He who will provide the wisdom, the finances, the guidance, and the perserverance to accomplish His will. We just need to walk with Him. In my own abilities, I could hardly raise one child, much less one who loves the Lord. But, as we have already seen in our lives!, He has provided huge amounts more of everything we needed since we found out that we were unexpectedly expecting Melia. I need only trust Him with everything, and follow closely with Him along the path He has for us. To quote Miss Michelle Duggar, "Where He guides, He provides!" AMEN!

Christmas Bliss

That should be the name of a divinely delicious candy to make at Christmas time....

So many thoughts are bouncing around in my head. I am unsure of how to efficiently share them...

Christmas Eve, I find myself working, enjoying the hustle and bustle, and yet feeling as if I'd missed the whole Christmas season simply because there was so much to do in a certain amount of time. One of my favorite things about my job is that I am in a little room, all by myself (most of the time) and can totally spend that period of time in a worshipful mindset. If I want to. Sometimes I forget to focus on Him, and then that time passes by... and it's gone, just another day at work, forgotten, caught up in the days of life....
Anyway, back to Christmas Eve. I'm prayerfully pondering why and how the business of Christmas takes over the season when what I really want to enjoy is the vast profound depth of God's gift to us which, to us, defines this whole season. All of the sudden, I am completely full with said "profoundness." Clear to the top, full of peace and grace and love and joy... exactly what I'm praying that I don't miss about Christmas. Not because life slowed down enough; Christmas Eve at Costco doesn't get "slow!" But because I chose to focus on Him, which is only because of Him in the first place, (since we don't do anything "Godly" of our own accord!) He blessed me with a full sense of what only He can give. And I didn't miss Christmas... It's interesting, when you're full of what He has given, no one can take it away. No rude customers, bah-humbug co-workers, impatient drivers. It's mine, for me, from Him.
Merry Christmas, from my King, Lord, Father God, Bridegroom, Prince of Peace, Faithful and True Witness...

To be continued....

And, not so ahhh.. Wait. I'm done. Ahhhh.....

I'd forgotten how long it takes to make 12 pans of cinnamon rolls. That's probably why I only make them once a year.

Remind me of this next year. They all might just get Pillsbury....
;-)

Nah. I love blessing them with these. I just need to plan a little better. Like don't go shopping with three kids on Dec 22, otherwise when I wait for 15 MINUTES just to get out of the Fred Meyer parking lot, I may truly go crazy from the "Why can't we just go?" "why aren't we moving?" "where's the red light?" "Why is everyone else shopping too?" "why can't I eat an orange in the car?" Why why whyw hwy whwywhwywhwywhywhwywhywhy........

Oh. Right. Sometimes Christmas music is the cure for everything.
:-)

Ahhh...

Today was nice :-) Other than an eye appointment I had, we stayed home and played new games and relaxed all day! This weekend we had two different Christmas gatherings... and I am exhausted! Which then makes me so very thankful that we didn't have to do anything important...

Tomorrow, on the other hand... we have cinnamon rolls to make! It's our Christmas tradition to make cinnamon rolls for all the people on Gabe's team at work. So my aim is to get really good sleep tonight, and work hard tomorrow.

Some fun stuff from the kiddos...

Kiera: "Thank you Jesus for this conversation!"
Melia: "Mommy, you need to send a note to every one in our whole family to tell them I don't like white cheese!" (she later rescinded this...after she spit it out and I made her eat the whole piece...then apparently it was good.)
Kiera: "I might poop on me!" (why she couldn't wipe herself)

Isaac also had several exciting new moves this weekend. First, he is recognizing what "No" means. Second, he is now able to maneuver to the sitting up position from his stomach. Third, he gives me high fives. :-) Totally fun! Oh, and he's saying mamamamama, which is AWESOME because both girls said daddaadad first. And he just feels sooo good. I am really trying to treasure this time with him...

Chuckles

Gabe and I chuckle from time to time. Our energetic girls handle life's surprises with grace and enthusiasm. From "catching deer" to throwing away dead mice in the traps, it's all normal to them. :-) They are, however, still afraid of spiders.

Dead mice, you say? Yep, 6 in the past three days. Thankfully, we found evidence quickly that they were attempting to enter again this winter. Peanut butter is great stuff.

Chickens: Day Two

The Easter egg was broken open. All the nice fresh straw I laid out in the boxes was scattered everywhere. It's like I have messy chickens. Hopefully, tomorrow we can separate the two questionable ones, and see if any eggs show up...

Random drama in the midst of the holiday season...

Oh, and I finally got our Christmas letter done on Wednesday; I went to print the trial copy, and ran out of ink. Figures :-) But I had it refilled today while I was at work, and the printer was humming away after I came home tonight! So, some of you may have cards this weekend!

Chickens: Day one

After a fun night with the girls last night (Thanks Girls!) I came home with a suggestion about what to do about our chickens. We've still got two roosters plus 6 hens... equaling no eggs. ever.

But one of my friends mentioned putting easter eggs in the nest to see if it would encourage them to use the different boxes, and I thought maybe I would try putting one in to see if it would encourage them to start laying again.

Buttt...... I had shoveled out to them, fed/watered them, and then brought the girls back inside to warm up. I then (15 minutes later) took the easter egg out. We throw the feed along two boards that line the wall of the coop to minimalize fighting. HOWEVER, I saw one of the barred rocks pecking at something along the back wall- NOT where we throw the food. After further inspection, I found evidence that they might have been eating someone's egg. (All along I've said we don't see evidence of eggs being eaten. That would be because they do such a good job apparently.) I also inspected beaks, and found that both of Cheever's birds (the chickens from Gabe's friend) had goopy beaks...

I think we'll be having chicken soon... And we'll see if the easter egg survives...

Whew...

I am exhausted. Two nights in a row I've been up until 1am, plus Isaac's been waking up at night... I think he must be growing. It's like he's never full anymore! ;-) Plus busy busy busy! Yesterday the kids and I went to the Ladies Cookie Exchange at church, then to a friend's house for a presentation by some long-time friends who are preparing to head to Malaysia as missionaries, then home to get ready and venture off to the jail's employee Christmas party. That party is always half awkward and half hilarious. Awkward because I barely know most of the people, and hilarious because once the booze starts flowing, people get really really bizarre :-) And this year was an open bar, so it was "freely" flowin'... This morning during the service Pastor Doug said something that coincided with a funny moment last night, and I had to hold in a chuckle so that I didn't laugh at an inappropriate moment. "I'm just sayin'...."

I love the holiday season- except it's such a blur of festivities that fuzz from one to the next. We aren't ready for all of them, but step by step we are making progress. And I am hoping to get an "alone-time" shopping trip here in the next few days... After I get some sleep tonight. Again, hopefully. And if not, we'll make it through another day.

Only 2 1/2 weeks until Gabe moves to day shift! It will be different, but it will result in more time for him during the waking hours for the rest of us. Not so many all night solitary work parties in the shop or his "hobby" room.... More days that we can spend on family time!! (And maybe even grocery shopping! EXCITING!!)

I am feeling a little bit giddy. I think it's time for bed.

Interesting and Suprising Emotions

Today at work, I heard on the news that Michelle Duggar (18 Kids & counting) gave birth to number 19 baby (Josie) via emergency c-section. I was almost overwhelmed with... sadness? grief? empathy? I don't even know what to call it. But a distinct reminder that I'm not sure I will ever get over this deep sense of loss I have about not being able to have a baby naturally. It almost seems silly to me that I feel sad over Michelle, when she has given birth to 18 babies... but I still do. It's probably more about me than anyone else, but I was surprised at the depth of emotion I felt, especially over something I'd thought I'd left behind.

I need a little joy...

I got a TON done today. But I don't feel good about it because it wasn't fun. And I am unsure how to fix it. I finished our calendars, ordered them, then things went downhill... I sold our old carseat on craigslist, and was meeting the gal today to exchange it. So, in my hurry to leave the house, I realized after we left that I had forgotten lunch. That was my first mistake, because hungry me = grumpy me. And the three stores we went to were not "kid-friendly," "cart-friendly," nor "cart with carseat and two tagalongs- friendly." Grrr. But we knocked several things off our list.

If you have any suggestions about the "PLEASE STOP TOUCHING!! PLEASE STAY NEXT TO ME!!! PLEASE STOP ASKING FOR STUFF!!!" problem, I'd love to hear them. I get so distracted by taking care of those three issues, over and over, that I loose my concentration and forget what I'm looking for and we end up going round and round the store. Yes, I have a list. It doesn't always help. And when we're done, the only kid I want to take shopping is Isaac. He's fairly quiet, doesn't ask for anything, and I never have to worry about him walking away to look at something. Yet. I know.

Maybe a new brain would help. That's all I want for Christmas. A new brain.

And every store should be like Costco. Wide aisles with big carts that will hold all my kids. And samples to eat for lunch. :-)

Playing Catch Up...

I finally caught up, just in time to be done :-) I finished my last two posts in our Galatians class, quickly took the final, and now our Revelation 2 class starts Monday! My goal is simply not to be laxadaisy in getting these posts done on time- while I still get the good grade I desire, I miss out on a lot of exchange and fellowship.

Last night at work I listened through the first hour of our next class, and had some treasures to share. I may have posted these before, but I just adore them. I love the details the Spirit has included in Scripture... the parallels, the types. It is simply amazing, each one laying another brick on my foundation of faith...

Types in the Book of Ruth
Boaz: Goel, the Kinsman Redeemer; must be a kinsman, must be able to perform, must be willing, and must assume all obligations
Naomi: Israel
Ruth: Gentile Bride

Observations from the Book of Ruth
* In order to bring Ruth to Naomi, Naomi had to be displaced from her land.
* What the Law could not do, Grace did. (Boaz marrying a gentile woman)
* Ruth does not replace Naomi.
* Ruth learns of Boaz's ways through Naomi.
* Naomi meets Boaz through Ruth.
* No matter how much Boaz loved Ruth, he had to wait for her move.
* Boaz, not Ruth, confronts the nearer kinsman.

Aren't those rich?
From the Koinonia Institute's Notes on Revelation compiled by Chuck Missler

...And is laxadaisy a real word?

Games

The girls are so funny. I'll ask them what they are playing, and the answer is always something more than just "cats," or "horses."

This morning, it was "princess with a normal girl and her cats." Others include "momma and baby kittens take a nap;" "dog and her person go for a walk;" and "horses eating lunch."

Narnia

I love Narnia. I started reading the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the girls last year, but they didn't really understand... But yesterday we watched the movie together (although, yea, I forgot that it was kinda scary... but they always wanted to keep going) and now we are reading Prince Caspian. I'd like to read it and then watch it together. I find it quite difficult to explain some things... like why Fauns aren't real, but I'm open to the thought that in heaven, animals can talk. (living creatures worshipping the Lamb...) Better keep it simple. But how simple is too simple, where they might miss the glory of Lewis' masterpiece? Yes, I know. Narnia is glorious in itself. It cannot be missed, especially by the mind of a child. It just gets more profound as we grow.

Anyway. Somewhat random.

Oh, and the other day, I ate brocolli. :-)