a humble glimpse of the life God has graciously widdled out in our little neck of the world
We were not able to make the trek out to Arizona to cheer our favorite frogs on in the Fiesta Bowl…
However, we did wear purple on game day, per the Mayor’s request…
…and enjoyed watching the game with some friends
B fell asleep during the 3rd quarter…it was probably better that way because he didn’t have to witness the the disappointing outcome of the game.
We are still proud of our Frogs and can’t wait to cheer them on again next season!
B and I didn’t get back from Minnesota until early on New Years Eve morning…C picked us up from the airport and we enjoyed a nice quiet day being back at home.
Some friends were gracious to invite all three of us to their New Year’s party…We enjoyed some good company & great food…
B even got to party with his new friend H!
We were home by about 9:00pm, B was in bed by 9:15pm and C & I were sound asleep by about 10:30pm…we tried to watch Times Square on television but didn’t quite make it…maybe next year!
On New Years Day we branched out and enjoyed breakfast at a bagel shop near TCU (the bakery down the street was closed). Sitting in the booth made me nostalgic for coffee dates and study time while at TCU.
B’s bib is from a dear friend in Minnesota…she wants him to grow up knowing that he has some “Minnesotan” in him!
After breakfast B helped me get some laundry done, I guess that helping with all of our laundry is one of his New Years resolutions!
Later, B got to experience the animals at the zoo for the first time! We couldn’t have hand-picked a nicer day to explore at the zoo…
We “moved” in as we used the stroller as our pack mule!
The cheetahs…
The gorillas…
The elephants…
The giraffes…
The birds…
The flamingos…
Visiting the zoo was a fantastic way to ring in the New Year…it was such a gift to be able to experience the zoo and all the animals through B’s eyes…not to mention awesome to see God’s creativity first hand. We can’t begin to imagine how much more learning will take place in B’s little mind as this year progresses…
World Vision posted this on their website this morning…
“World Vision has been working in Haiti for more than 30 years and had 370 staff members in Port-au-Prince when the quake hit. Although World Vision’s office in the capital sustained significant damage, all staff were confirmed safe and are initiating a response to the devastation. Financial donations are urgently needed to continue and escalate this response.
*For sponsors with a sponsored child living in Haiti or the Dominican Republic: We value your commitment to sponsoring a child in Haiti or its neighbor, the Dominican Republic. Our staff on the ground report that all sponsored children in World Vision sponsorship communities and surrounding areas are safe at this time. However, we will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as we learn more. Please know that if your sponsored child is directly affected, it is our policy to notify you as soon as possible.”
Thank You Lord for protecting Balde!
I learned about the Haiti earthquake just before I went to bed last night…I humbly admit that I thought, “that is really sad” but then was able to get a good normal night’s sleep…
When I woke up this morning…I remembered the quake and immediately thought about our sponsored child, Balde, who lives in Haiti. I went through our paper work to try to figure out where he and his family of 5 live and believe that they live just outside of where the epicenter of the quake was…
Then I turned the news on and was flooded with images of frightened children…some of whom may have lost family members, their homes, their schools and may be the most frightened that they will ever will be in their entire lives…most of which probably happened while I was comfortably sleeping…
I am saddened that my heart wasn’t called to prayer last night…but want to lift up the precious little ones’ whose lives have been turned upside down this morning. It is awesome to know that God knows each of their names, He knows how many hairs are on top of each of their heads and He loves them.
Please pray that Balde and his family would be safe and pray for all the other little children in Haiti who are hurting this morning…please pray that they would feel the hands of Jesus wrapped around them!
My heart was convicted this afternoon by James 5 verse 13 it reads…
“Is anyone in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing a song of praise.”
I love the first part of the verse that reminds us that when times of trouble come…as they often do…we are called to pray because the Lord has everything under control…even if we feel like the world around us is spinning violently out of control.
The last part of the verse about being happy also really resonated in my heart…we have so much to be happy about and so much to be thankful for…especially as we are beginning this new year and reflecting on the past year.
Just last night, I realized just how thankful I am for C’s job and the insurance that it allows our family to have. I had been feeling a little under the weather, and the insurance afforded me to go to the doctor and get antibiotics so that I could get better. Thank you Lord!
Today could have been a really mundane day around the house being cooped up because of the cold weather outside…but instead this verse reminded me of the small blessings and my need to be “happy” and thankful…So here is my song…I think that title will be “Thankful”…
Lord,
I am thankful for the opportunities that I do have to be at home with B.
I am thankful for the errand B and I got to run today so that we could listen to the new cd that I got as a gift in the car.
I am thankful for the car that we have that brought us home safely.
I am thankful for the coats that we had to put on in the cold.
I am thankful for the warm house we were able to come back to.
I am thankful for our friend Ms. Julie who came over to visit B.
I am thankful for the cookies that I was able to bake in our oven that heats up.
I am thankful for the washer and dryer we have that allow us to have clean and dry clothes.
I am thankful for having clothes that need to be washed.
I am thank for the sewing machine that I was able to use to mend some clothes.
I am thankful for the iron that helped to press the wrinkles out of the clothes.
I am thankful for an unexpected phone call from my cousin who is expecting her first baby!
I am thankful for naptime and the chance to get some of the above accomplished.
I am thankful for leftovers, and the chance to have a night off from making dinner.
I am thankful for the upcoming weekend and chance to sleep in on Saturday morning.
I am thankful for the family time we will be able to have this weekend.
I am thankful for the opportunity to go to church on Sunday…
I find myself being blown away by the large and small blessings in my life. I am so thankful for my sweet husband, our healthy baby, our family, our friends, our jobs, our health, our precious Ella…our warm home (especially this week)…it is so easy to bogged down and stuck in the rut of everyday life and forget the blessings…and our songs of happy praise…
Thank You Lord!
We were blessed with the opportunity to head north for Christmas this year…it was extra special to be there this year because everyone was home (and our family expanded by two this year)! The opportunities to all be together are few and far between now that we live in Texas and my brother and his wife life out east…we treasured the time that we were able to spend together and crammed a lot of memory making, a lot of dogs and a lot of people into a few short days…
We left our driveway at 5:03am to head north…B enjoyed the inaugural ride in his new “big kid car seat (he seemed to enjoy sitting up and watching the world go by through the window- thanks Aunt Meg). Ella is a great traveler, for the most part she sleeps in the trunk…her little head will pop up (like in the photo) about once every hour or so, just to make sure that everyone is still where they were when she fell asleep. We enjoyed watching the car thermometer drop as we passed through Kansas, Missouri and Iowa…we finally arrived in Minnesota about 16 hours after pulling out of our driveway…
My brother, M, C and I enjoyed a winter run our first morning, it was great to get our legs moving after sitting in the car for so long. Ella’s new nick name is “Polar Bear” she loved running in the snow! M’s dog, Gatsby, enjoyed having a running partner too! The puppy, Madeline, is B’s uncle J & aunt A’s new dog.
Recently, my dad received a GPS as a gift. C and M were quick to put it to use as they introduced all of us to the sport of “Geocaching”. We bundled B up and my mom, dad, M, C, all the dogs and I went off in search of our first cache. B slept while we searched…he looked so cozy in his down snow suit…
Contrary to winter in Texas, it gets pretty cold in Minnesota…cold enough that the lakes freeze to provide fantastic ice skating rinks. We enjoyed taking B skating…we pulled him in this little sled that my parents found earlier this fall. B loved being outside despite the cold, his little eyes were wide opened as we took turns pulling him across the rink.
There are no “mountains” in Minnesota, but there are some decent hills that are fun to ski on. It was fun to be back on skis, C did a remarkable job representing as a Texan and made each run look like a cake walk!
My mom planned a special night for our family on the night before Christmas eve. We enjoyed a fantastic meal in downtown Minneapolis (per K’s suggestion (M’s girlfriend)) and headed to the Melting pot for dessert. It was really fun, we enjoyed some tasty chocolate and had fun sharing some of our favorite Christmas traditions.
After dessert, we took a carriage ride through downtown. It was snowing outside, it truly looked like we were inside of a snow globe.
After our carriage ride, we headed back to my parent’s house to enjoy our second biannual gingerbread house decorating experience. We made “couples” houses this year…C had the brilliant idea of creating a moat outside of our house with coffee, the licorice in the photo is the drawbridge to the house…our house looked great for a few minutes until the coffee started to seep into the “foundation” of the house…it later collapsed…C made the most out of our “situation” and ate it!
On Christmas eve, we enjoyed breakfast with my dad’s family. We had abelskiver (one of my Christmas favorites). B wore his “team” vest. Let me explain, my dad always used to say “You’re on the Team”…the line has kind of stuck around our family and this little sweater vest has a golden retriever on it that has a pennant that reads “team”…we found it rather apropo!
After breakfast, C had the idea to go to the Mall of America to people watch…he thought that the day before Christmas would provide a prime people watching eperience. My brother J, his wife A, M, C and I enjoyed some delicious Caribou Coffee while we people watched.
While at the mall, we found a store that was selling some fantastic Christmas sweaters. We all attempted to find our favorite/the tackiest and wore them on Christmas Eve for dinner with my mom’s family…this family “portrait” captures the pure class of our sweater choices.
My family has always gone to the “midnight” service on Christmas Eve. I can remember my youngest brother falling asleep in the church pew each year. B was able to make it to church with us, he went in his pajamas….he was pretty tired as shown in this photo…
On Christmas morning, we were able to celebrate Christmas as our little family before everyone else woke up. It was so special to be together and really savor that time, even though B doesn’t understand Christmas yet, C and I really enjoyed experiencing it through his little eyes. Later, A made her family’s “Christmas Morning Special” for breakfast …it was neat to be able to experience a tradition that means so much to her. Then we enjoyed opening packages with everyone. B fell asleep while we opened gifts and slept through the majority of our gift opening time…he did make sure to wake up with some time to play with wrapping paper. It was really surreal to be together as we opened gifts…our family grew by two people this year and it was so special to have them included in our Christmas time together. Thank You Lord for A and B.
Later in the afternoon, we headed to my aunt’s house for Christmas dinner. We were able to enjoy the snow in her backyard with my cousins and their dogs (there were nine dogs total). A’s cousin, her husband and new baby joined us for dinner, it was quite a treat to get to know them better. As of this year, the number of “kids” who sat at the “kids table” outnumbered the number of “adults” in the group…we all enjoyed the promotion to the dinning room table and the chance to catch up, share stories and laugh together (I think the adults enjoyed the quiet atmosphere at their smaller table in the kitchen).
B was able to enjoy some good play time with his cousin A. A is about a month older than B. It is fun to watch A and wonder what B may be doing in a month!
All in all, it was a great trip. It was such a gift to be together and experience our family’s recent expansions and get caught up on everyone’s lives…it can be a challenge to have family spread out all over the country…but it does force one to enjoy and savor precious time we do have together.
