Merry Christmas

May your Christmas be peaceful, and surrounded by those you love!

Merry Christmas!

Random Craziness At Our House

I'm considering having an IV port inserted in my arm so that I can take my coffee intravenously.  I feel like the last six months of "tired" are all catching up with me this week.

Someone is "making eggs"--by pounding on a plastic ball with a toy hammer. ( They say children imitate what they see--I don't think I've EVER made eggs with a hammer.)

No gifts are wrapped at my house yet.  I HATE wrapping presents.  Somebody want to come do it for me?

My son just asked me what 5 minus 8 is?  Really?????

Another child of mine informed me that yogurt does not count as breakfast.  Apparently we need to have something else for breakfast.

There is a twenty pound turkey brining in a bucket on the front porch.  Poor thing!

Where is the snow?  Have I mentioned that I would like to see some snow?

How do I keep an exuberant two year old from dropping his pants to show EVERYONE his "big boy undies?"

I'm ready for Christmas--really I am.

When I Couldn't Pray

I told you last week that we had a court date coming up for our foster children.

I also mentioned that this was a pretty pivotal hearing.

To be a little more specific it was a hearing to terminate birth mom's rights.

My way of handling stressful situations like that is outward calm with lots of inner turmoil. (and stomach ulcers )

Our social worker had warned us that termination hearing's are usually quite long 4-5 hours or more--so we were heavily fortified with prayer, and some "clench-jawed" determination.

What we weren't prepared for was the animosity from the birth family toward us.

I guess it makes sense--we have their children--hence we are the villains.

It doesn't make it easy to deal with though.

The hallway that we were waiting in prior to the hearing was filled with a lot of profanity, and angry comments--all directed at us.

I was stressed out enough that I couldn't even get my thoughts together to form a prayer in my mind.

I tried repeatedly, and finally gave up--hoping that

someone

somewhere

was praying for us.

As we were preparing to enter the court room I felt almost opressed--I wondered how I was going to survive 4-5 hours of this.

We found our seats, and an odd feeling of calm surrounded me.

I felt almost peaceful.

I felt protected.

Like SOMEONE had put their arms around me.

The feeling lasted through the entire trial.

Which, by the way, only lasted  45 MINUTES!!

Later when I told my friend about this she asked when the hearing had started.

I told her it was almost an hour later than scheduled.

She chuckled and said,

"I looked at the clock--thought you were an hour into it, and prayed you would feel God's presence."

Music of the Season

My favorite part of this time of year is the music.

Christmas carols always bring back frosty memories of caroling until I couldn't feel my feet, and waking up the next morning with a sore throat.

There is something very poignant about the message in Christmas music--especially during such a dark time of year.

The older I get though the more I realize that it's not just the music--it's the memories attached to them.

I can never hear Bing Crosby belting out "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" without thinking of my grandma's house on Christmas day.  She must have liked Bing a lot--she had quite a few of his records.

The Christmas songs I love best though are the ones that speak of Jesus' birth.

~~~~~~

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

"Silent Night"

"O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem"

~~~~~~

Even if all the lyrics to these carols may not be entirely theologically correct they point us toward the real meaning of Christmas--Christ's birth.

Do you enjoy Christmas music?  What are some of your favorites?

What Today Holds

There is a court hearing this afternoon. 

This hearing is a "biggie"--don't know how else to say it. 

I'm a person who HATES conflict.

Stuff like this stresses me out!

The words to this song keep running through my head.

"Strong Enough"

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 stong 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

Well, maybe
Maybe that's the point
To reach the point of giving up

Cause when I'm finally
Finally at rock bottom
Well, that's when I start looking up
And reaching out

I know I'm not strong enough to be
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up
I'm not stong enough
Hands of mercy won't you cover me
Lord right now I'm asking you to be
Strong enough
Strong enough

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
And I don't have to be
Strong enough
Strong enough

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
And I don't have to be
Strong enough
Strong enough

Oh, yeah

I know I'm not strong enough to be
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up
I'm not stong enough
Hands of mercy won't you cover me
Lord right now I'm asking you to be
Strong enough
Strong enough
Strong enough

 

-Matthew West

Written In Blue

I'm really enjoying these Memorial Box Monday's. 

My Mother-In-Law gave me permission to share this story with you.

Several years ago she read in a daily devotional book that if you are doubting God's love you should ask Him to specifically show His love for you in a certain color. 

This idea stuck with her, and so she asked God to show her his love in the color BLUE.

The day proceeded without any special circumstances, and she did her housework.  Frequently she would wonder  "Had God heard her prayer?"

As the day was drawing to a close her heart felt heavy--she hadn't seen anything unusual in the color blue, and she felt sad.

About this time my father-in-law came to the door and urgently called her to come outside. 

They have a beautiful pond in their back yard, and he hurried her toward it.

.....And there beside the pond



was a whole mass of Japanese Irises.....



in the most vibrant shade of blue she had ever seen.

The First Snack of the Season

Party Mix is pretty much a "given" around our house at Christmas time.
1 (12.8oz.) box Rice Chex
1 (12.8 oz.) box Corn Chex
1 (15 oz.) bag mini twist pretzels
2 small cans mixed nuts.
Toss together in large stainless steel bowl.
Melt 2 sticks of butter in saucepan, and add.
2 T. dry celery
3 T. dry parsley
2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. red pepper
4 T. worcestershire sauce
Toss over the cereal mixture, and bake at 250 degrees for one hour stirring every 15 minutes.
Cool, and add about 1 quart Multi-grain Cheerios.

Help

As the holidays are approaching I'm digging through my recipe box.

I'm looking for one specific thing.

Recipes for holiday goodies and snacks................

that can be made simply.

As in--in between

diapers,

and potty training,

and homeschooling,

and laundry,

and dishes,

and dusting,

and sweeping,

and mopping,

and nose wiping,

and egg washing........................

you get the idea.

Then I had this brilliant thought.

I'll ask all my friends in bloggy world.

So---how about it?

I need simple snacky recipes--got any?

Hearing HIS Voice

There have been moments in my life when God has spoken to me in a still small voice.

 There have been moments when he has shouted my name.

 But the moments I love best are when He speaks through circumstances that can not be explained away.

As I've mentioned before my husband is adopted. One of the things that is unique to adoption is that sometimes a child has their name changed when they move to their new home.  In my husbands case this was true--he actually got to choose his new name, but that's a whole other story.  Anyway, not many people know his birth name, but he told me what it was when we were dating.  I didn't think too much about it at the time--just stored it away in my memory.

When we pursued adoption for the first time we prayed that God would somehow let us know when "our" baby came along.  We would get calls about a particular baby, and we always prayed that same prayer.

Then one day we received a call about a little 9 month old boy.  My heart pounded as the social worker gave me details over the phone.  She told me about his background--the foster family he was with--what he looked like, and the name the foster family had given him.  Then she spoke some words that froze me in my tracks.  She said, "his birth name is............."  I must have gasped audibly for she asked what was wrong. 

"That was my husbands birth name" I said, and that's when I heard it.

"This one is YOURS!"

20 Days Till Christmas

I've been feeling a bit of a panic as Christmas is coming closer.

I have almost all my shopping done.

I have some Christmas decorations up around the house.

..................but there is no snow.

~~~~~~~~

I can't get in the mood for Christmas without snow.

Christmas caroling on green grass is just not right.

Going out in the dark night to the Christmas program at church with no white drifts covering the fields will feel strange.

Wrapping presents after the munchkins are tucked in bed won't be right if there isn't a soft white glow coming through the window from the yard light shining on a few snowbanks.

I don't even feel like baking Christmas cookies.

(I'm never moving to Florida!)

How about you--do you need snow for it to feel like Christmas?

Sunday Music