And too much fun to take pictures.
Grown-ups, kids, babies… I love it.  I love the laughter and fellowship.  I love it when friendship fills our house.  I wish our life lent itself to doing it more often.  But maybe because it is rare it is so precious.  The kids played OUTSIDE until 10PM.  Yes.  That is correct.  I love it.  Tonight I am thanking the LORD for church friends, freedom to fellowship, and food to share.
♥

At 2PM John’s mom and dad came over to watch the kids while I headed to Henrietta to meet John at a lawyer’s office to sign for the refinance that has been in the works for the last few months.   I was almost to my destination when I heard my cell phone ring.  My cell phone?  I had it with me? It was on? Wow.  It even had enough battery power to let me have a short conversation!  It was John saying his *new* van wouldn’t start.  He had had the security people at work try to jump it, but it wouldn’t start.  So, it took me 11 minutes to get TURNED around and heading in the direction of John’s work. 
I got him.
We signed our papers.
I drove him back to work while he called AAA.
And we waited for the tow truck.
Go figure.  Not only did I have my cell phone with me, I had our camera.
So… I’m blogging about it.  And trying to stay real.   This is not a big thing in the grand scheme of things.  But it is “one more thing” in a long stream of minor trials. 

We have so many loved ones battling life-threatening illnesses.  I know of too many young people battling mental illness.  We have friends dealing with stress-filled life changes.  I feel a lot of weariness these last few weeks.  I am praying all day and all night it seems for one person or another.  And for my children.  And for myself.

God is bigger than all of this. He is my Hero.

For the last week this song has been on my mind.  It is Matthew West. 

You must, You must think I’m strong
To give me what I’m going through
Well, forgive me, forgive me if I’m wrong
But this looks like more than I can do on my own

I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up, I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy, won’t You cover me?
Lord, right now I’m asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough
For the both of us, yeah

‘Cause I’m broken, down to nothing
But I’m still holding on to the one thing
You are God and You are strong
When I am weak

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength

Matthew 6:
²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

We’ve never been a family that encourages Christmas lists.  We don’t do Santa and we’ve always emphasized that if someone wants to give you a gift it is up to them what to bless you with.  Still… these disciples are human… and Marie could not resist filling up this page of her Mickey Mouse colering coloring book.

She rocks my world, don’t you know?

FYI – closes = clothes
music set = pretend CD player like Tabitha has
tickets for a show = seeing a play or musical

But the last one is the best… For Marie to ask for a loving heart is like the sky asking for blue or the grass asking for green.  She was born with the lovingest heart I know.

I have been working a lot this month.  There are two reasons for this.  First, the hospital went live with the government-mandated electronic medical record and we were all asked to work more.  And this is the time of year I naturally pick up more work because John has some time off and I can make some extra money for Christmas expenses, namely holiday groceries.  I have been working more than double my normal hours.  Today that lent itself to Daddy doing homeschool.  Tabitha asked him if they could have a picnic.  He wasn’t prepared for a picnic LUNCH, but he let them have an after-lunch picnic.  Or junk-food-carnival.  You can decide what to call it. 

At least he knows what is important… he took pictures for my blog to show Mommy what she missed.

Tabitha was so excited it was a buffet!  LOL.   That little green container at the end has orange peppers in it.  That must have been their token veggie!  I bet they had JOLT Cola in the cups! LOL.  HAHA – Actually – I just asked John.  He concedes it was a quarter can of Pepsi each!  ROFLOL. 

At least Marie was praying for the junk food!

These are some cute pics from yesterday.  Do you love how Tabitha sweeps the driveway?  I suppose that is how Donna Reed would have done it, if Donna Reed knew where to find a wheelbarrow.

Johanna seems to be trying out as a role as a Nazarene, or a Galilean, or something.

It IS a wonderful life, you know.
Look at these people I get to live with.  I have so much to be thankful for.

Look at this silly baby.  She would not keep sunglasses on all summer, nor safety glass on at the tour of Daddy’s factory.  But one Friday night she wore sunglasses in the house for 2 hours.
I am thankful for big sisters who keep babies safe when Mom is cooking in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She also thinks smiling requires scrunching up her eyes.  I ♥ her.

 

 

 

This is how I found the kids ready for devotion one morning. 
They held their positions until I could get the camera.

I am also grateful for piano teachers who play football with the kids.  And for princesses who pick out their own clothes.

And for a certain 7 year old, female, wide receiver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For big brothers who love
on their baby sister.

 

 

 

And princesses who make funny faces no matter how many shots you take.

 

 

And for husbands who agree that $30 a ticket is not too much to pay for a night out with the kids every rare once in a while.  They are still on clouds 9, 10, and 11!

 

A few months ago John and I ordered tickets for a traveling dinner theater.  The Christian Radio Station that broadcasts throughout our area, the Family Life Network, was hosting the musical, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” in a number of venues throughout the region.  We quickly decided that this would be a great early Christmas present for our musical-loving children and ordered tickets for the show being produced 90 minutes west of us.  It wasn’t cheap, but it was an investment in family time.  It came at a good time for us.   There were only two other kids in the audience of about 270 people.   Dinner was served at 6:40PM.  We were so hungry!!!  Tabitha ate every last morsel of her salad despite the fact she hates to eat green food!  Maybe I should serve dinner that late every night.  The food was okay, the show was exceptional.  The cast was so vibrant and the story included a gospel message.  I can’t imagine that anyone in the audience could have left unimpressed with the show.  The kids were delighted.  Tabitha was waggling her arms during the big numbers.  Nigel declared the villain a “big stinker.”  Stewart and Marie kept beaming and laughing.  I am willing to bet that everyone leaving the play last night was EXHAUSTED!  The musical ended at 11:05PM.  That is not a typo.  We rolled into our driveway at 12:38AM.  Hanny slept at Nan’s house.  It was a wonderful night.  ♥ 

I need to add a few more things to this post.

I have never seen the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  I saw a bit of it one night last winter as I was nursing the baby.  The scene I saw on TV last year was repeated word for word in the play last night.   I found myself in tears at the weight of burden that George Bailey felt when he was in despair.  After a lifetime of giving and giving and putting others first he was suddenly in the horrible situation of losing the few precious things he had in his life.  I was so moved by the story.   I hope to find the time to watch the movie.  I can’t imagine it living up to the life MUSICAL story we enjoyed last night, but I do want to see it if I can work it in. 

When teaching me not to be judgmental about something when I was a child, my father explained that phrase to me.  But for God’s grace our circumstances could be so much different.  

For the last few months John and the boys have been serving dinner once a week at the Open Door Mission.

Last night, after the team had set up, served and cleaned up, a family arrived at the door.  A woman with six children.  Stewart thought the oldest was about 9 and the youngest was 1.  They had JUST thrown out the last of the food!  They had four plates that had been prepared earlier as “hold-backs” in case someone comes in late.  So John and the boys quickly set a new table and brought the four plates of food to these seven people.  The mother asked John if they had any milk for her baby.  They don’t serve milk at the Open Door, just water with the meals. 

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the cook and other volunteers began to assemble a care package for her.  John and the boys jumped in after delivering the meal to them.  John said they were just grabbing anything they could use.  They DID have boxes of powdered milk for her as well as many canned goods.  Nigel said the woman had a stroller.  I don’t know how she was getting around.  Really.

I asked John, “Where is she going to go?  Were they able to do anything for them?  They can’t sleep there.”  He recalled that he heard her speaking to a worker and it had been set up for her to stay in the Hotel Cadillac.  It is NOT a nice place.  NOT at ALL. 

Oh, please join me as I pray for this woman and her children.  May God have mercy on her. 

My boys learned a LOT last night.  More than I could ever teach them on my own.  Oh LORD Jesus, please come SOON.