Christmas Blessing

Christmas Eve morning I was really struggling.  Not totally sure why,  but I was.  Part of it was Steve was at work and I was feeling a bit sorry for myself.  I was "behind the game" with all my prep for the next 2 days.  The holidays are fun and wonderful in many ways, but in other ways they are a challenge.  Sometimes amidst the craziness I question my motives, why am I doing all this work, does it even matter, etc.  That morning I was trying to get ready for our party that evening.  It's nothing too elaborate, but we started the tradition that after the Christmas Eve service at church we have meal of appetizers.  My parents and Uncle Jer join us as well.  My house was a mess, I was tired from the week of Christmas prep and I really didn't have much pulled together for that night.

It was about 10:00 in the morning and I was still in my pj's and hadn't done a thing to my hair.  I hopped in the car and ran down the road to the Amish to get some eggs so I could start my cooking.  As I drove and enjoyed the few minutes of quiet in the van, I prayed that God would help me.  I knew I was struggling, I wanted to walk my day out with joy but it just wasn't there.  I didn't feel like participating in the work of the day and dealing with the kids and their attitudes and the needs of the house.  I got to the Amish and they were out.  No eggs.  I drove to another Amish across the hill from us who also sells eggs but I had never purchased from them before.  I knocked on her door and was greeted by a friendly Amish girl about my age.  We chatted briefly and I remembered that we had met a few years back.  We began discussing that Christmas was tomorrow and talked about how we both felt behind and we hadn't accomplished everything we wish we could have.

She got me my 2 dozen eggs and we chatted some more.  As we were talking about a few mutual people that we knew she suddenly remembered that it was Christmas and she wanted to give me my eggs, for free!  That was their Christmas gift to their customers.  I thanked her kindly.

As I remember back to the conversation I'm not exactly sure how we got here but she just started giving me all this food.  She said that she had some cookies in the fridge that she had wanted to deliver to the neighbors and never got around to it.  She gave me those.  She told me she had a bunch of chocolate candy that she made and wasn't going to eat it all.  She gave me a huge bag of homemade chocolates.  She asked if the kids would like snack mix.  Gave me a huge bag of it.  She gave me another bag of snacks.

As she was handing me more and more food I stood there stunned and began crying in her kitchen.  I still am not sure why she was being so generous to me.  Did she feel sorry for me as I stood there unkempt in my jams and puffy coat and messy hair?  I still don't understand her kindness to me that day but it was a huge gift from God to me.  All of her treats filled in a huge gap in my evening menu and took a weight off of the work load I needed to do that day.

I do not always understand the ways that God works in our lives.  Sometimes His answers and provisions don't seem to come in the way we would wish.  And then there are times like this.  I prayed a simple prayer that God would help me.  In no way did I expect His help to come in the way that it did.  But God provided for me in such a tangible way.  Help was given to me by a sweet Amish girl who had little idea of the struggles on my heart or the demands of my day.

Suddenly my day turned very sweet and my attitude shifted.  God is with me in so many ways and I am grateful that He continues to show me His faithfulness.

Snow

I can't even remember how long ago our first snow was.  But it was beautiful and the kids were so thrilled.  I could not believe how much little Josiah loved it.  I don't think we've had a child who was that young that stayed in the snow!!  We are hoping for lots more white the year.

Merry Christmas

Party

Aaron and I were very excited to be invited to a mother/son Christmas party.  My friend Chrissy is...amazing.  This girl has some serious skills.  Once a month she teaches an art class for homeschoolers in her home.  She has my 3 older kids all day.  They love, love, love going there.

Anyway, so she had this party for her son b/c she does stuff like this every year, and it was his turn.  She pulls things off like this like it's a walk in the park.  I keep telling myself that I don't have to compare myself to her!!

I asked Aaron if he wanted to get dressed up for the party.  The shirt with the flame on was as fancy as he got.

A few of the boys couldn't come so it was just these 3.  They had a blast together.  We played Milles Bornes (sp???), had supper and made some ornaments together.  

Stylin'

Greta loves her new hat.  Thanks, Mrs. Plain!!

Out of the Mouths...

We love getting Christmas cards and hanging them in the kitchen.  Greta has been especially into it this year.  She loves to hang them and stare at all the faces.  The other day I taught her to make tape donuts to help hang them better.

This morning a card fell down and I got the tape to fix it.  She came up to me, reached for the tape and said, "It's ok mom.  I'll make the bagels."

Happy 7th, Aaron!!

Today our sweet boy turns 7.  Aaron is such a kind and pleasant guy,  I am often so grateful for him and his place in our family.  One thing I love about him is his awareness of others.  Just last night I was fixing some lights on the Christmas tree and I dropped and busted one of Claudia's glass angels (sorry, Mom.)  Everyone in the room knew I felt bad and Aaron rushed right over and picked up all the glass pieces without saying a word.  As much as he is rough and tumble, he is tender and kind and a very grateful kid.

These days Aaron is pretty obsessed with his Legos.  It's what he talks about all day long.  He builds, creates characters, tells stories, and just has fun.  I have a feeling we will be in this stage for awhile!!  He also loves to play with Morgan, they spend a lot of time playing ninjas, creating obstacle courses, etc.  He adores his baby brother, I love watching their relationship grow.  He's also learning how to protect his sisters, something his dad does well at teaching him.  Recently a much older neighbor boy was throwing snow at Greta and Aaron told him that was not ok to do to Greta.  I was very proud of him for standing up to the older boy!

Aaron hasn't played on any sports teams yet, but I have a feeling he's gonna follow in his dad's footsteps in being a precision athlete (that's what I like to call Steve).  He's focused, precise, and good at things like kicking and throwing; he nails it every time.  Aaron has a pretty solid arm on him.

I was grateful for a warmer day a few weeks back that I was able to take these pictures of my sweet boy.  Happy Birthday, Bud!!  We love you!!

 

He strikes again

Birthday Boy

Birthday pancakes

Jojo's fan club

Birthday cakes in our house: homemade and ugly.  At least I'm consistent.

 My favorite part of Josiah's birthday was seeing his siblings give him gifts.  The younger 2 dug things our of their closets to give him.  The cute part was that he actually really like them.

Claudia made him a book with all of his favorite vehicles.  He loves it!

Beauty

Yes, it's true.

I used to wear my hair like this.  Just passing it on to the next generation.

It sure stinks to be the baby brother

Photo credit: Claudia