Provisions: A Highchair!

Since early last year, when I saw one on a blog, I'd be keeping my eyes open for an old-fashioned highchair. Easy to use, doesn't take up so much space, and quick to clean! I know they market the newer ones as "Put the cover in the wash! Wash the tray in the dishwasher!" but really, do you want to throw it in the washer three times a day? Because some days, it gets that messy at every meal. But we never found one.

So, we came to the decision that with Isaac, instead of getting out the great big highchair, we would use one of the little booster seats and just sit him in one of the dining room chairs with the rest of us. (Thanks to my inlaws, we now have more than 4 chairs! 7 to be exact. At least room for two more kids...!) I was planning on reorganizing the dining room to fit every one this week.

Sunday at Gramps' house, this came up, and Gramps offers the highchair that has literally held every member of my mom's family since my mom was born! I am shocked. The exact item I'd been looking for nearly a year for was just waiting, out there in Gramps garage! Is that not just an awesome blessing? I'd bet if I would have prayed about this, it would have come to light sooner :-) But this way, God let me totally come to the end of my own means, and then provided, all to His glory!

One down, one to go...

Woo Hoo- One of the people who called 2-3 weeks ago called back about the kittens, and we are 80% sure we have a buyer for Rose! The plan is to take her over when we go on our little trip over to Great Wolf Lodge. (In a few weeks- no reservations yet, but we've been looking at the calendar...) He was pretty excited we're gonna be headed his direction, so I think that helped to seal the deal... Now, if we can just get Cocoa moved...

Their nighttime antics are good motivation :-)

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!