Merry Christmas!

Thankful:

For Monday night, when Rich and I stayed up laughing and talking way past our bedtime.  I’m thankful for my husband.

For my friend Kathy.  I call her when I’m happy, sad, bored, mad…and she always accepts me for who I am.  I love her.

Seth, who says, “Hi ma” and “Hey-o Baby” (Hello Baby) and “Hey-o Po” (Hello, Spot)…his little sweet self is a gift.

Grace, who is changing into a little lady.  My friend. 

David, who just now snuggled up to Seth and kissed him.  He loves his brothers and sisters.  Also, he says THANK YOU to me all the time.  He notices what I do, and thanks me for it.  (Like the muffins I made this morning for breakfast).

Jacob, my firstborn and friend.  We went to the grocery store together this morning.  He took one list and one cart and I took the other list and the other cart.  He is quiet, calm, and dependable.  Very much like his Dad.

Ethan, who made me laugh last night when I was playing Christmas hymns on the piano.  He got his guitar and confidently played the one and only carol HE knew how to play, making a wild mixture of songs going at once “just because” he couldn’t play anything else and he wanted to join me.  He takes care of his dog without being told 95% of the time.  He’s growing.

Caleb, my talker.  He reminded me last night, when I was being too motherly, that he “KNOWS WHAT TO DO!”

Sarah, my warm and gentle baby.  I took a nap with her today.

My crock pot.  Dinner is in it.

My freezer.  I pre-made 5 dinners today and they are in the freezer now.

All my wonderful friends, far and near.

Early mornings, when I’m up before the children.

I also like to sleep in every chance I get. 

Good Books.  I’ve learned so much by reading.  I’m currently reading This Sacred Moment, Becoming Holy Where you are,  by Albert Haase.

Here is a quote from it:

“Jill is the mother of a newborn and a two year old toddler.  She knows only too well what it means to empty herself into the lives of her two children.  On her ‘bad days,’ the self emptying is an extraordinary challenge that tests her patience.  On her ‘good days,’ she gets a feeling of liberation and ultimate satisfaction, knowing her sacrifices are literally giving life to two children.  This is the kind of self-emptying that occurs in households around the world, and is another portrait of selfless opennes and contemporary holiness.”

My Father God, who is all powerful, knows all, sees all, and is everywhere past present and future.  Of course, such a big God has a big love, and abounding grace.  I pray to Him and think about it him often, during the day.  My soul can rest in him and I feel safe, just like I do when I’m resting in my husband’s arms at the end of the day.

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”  Romans 15:13

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred,

and we are better throughout the year for having,

in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.”  ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

I made a potato stamp.  Have you made them before?  It’s very easy, just be sure to use your knife carefully.  I wanted to do something meaningful on the backs of our Christmas cards and this is what I thought of; the cross.  Jesus came as a baby to live his life here on earth until He gave Himself up for us on the cross….and the cross remains as a beloved symbol of our Savior, and our Christianity.

Caleb did the stamping on some of the cards and told me to write, “Caleb did this” on them.  (I only wrote it on one of them. )

My kitchen sink was dirty, I was too tired to go upstairs and too tired to drape myself over my deep bathtub, so baby had a bath in my bathroom sink.

Absolutely adorable.  I love giving her a bath.  I’ve used Bert’s Bees for Seth and Sarah, so just the scent alone makes me happy now.  

This is a really happy moment.  Little ones in my lap, reading our current favorite Little Golden book.

A common sort of merry moment, at my house;

A new Christmas thing:

I took Davy and Caleb with me to the grocery store and we couldn’t resist this PLASTIC and WATERLESS snow globe.  I asked Rich to guess how much I paid for it and he said five dollars.  “NOPE!” I said triumphantly, “It was only 3.99!”  From the other room, Ethan commented pleasantly, “Well, it does look kind of cheap.”  I had to laugh at that.  No, I say this is a wonderful snow globe for the little children.  They love it.  It plays several different Christmas songs as a little fan whirls around small styrofoam balls.

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: 

the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.  ~Burton Hillis

My mom and dad bought this Minnie Mouse Christmas dress, for Gracie, years ago.  

I love Sarah Joy’s little legs and feet and those baggy socks and the way she’s biting her lower lip and her hair bow.  

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.  ~Washington Irving

Sing hey!  Sing hey!
For Christmas Day;
Twine mistletoe and holly.
For a friendship glows
In winter snows,
And so let’s all be jolly!
~Author Unknown

Favorite Christmas cookies:

Russian Teacakes

This is me at 7 months pregnant.

*December 2008*

This is me at 3 months pregnant, with 10 month old Seth in my arms.

*December 2009*

For the third year in a row I dug out my white jean jacket, green shirt, and fancy green necklace.

The little green jingle bell is lost.

Dear little Seth is one year and 10 months old.  His sweet baby sister Sarah Joy is 6 1/2 months old.

We are blessed beyond measure and my arms are full and content.  

Truthfully, in this picture my arms are tired.  These two are heavy!

*December 2010*

In case you are wondering, no, this year I’m not pregnant.  

“I know not a word which can express the surprise and wonder our souls ought to feel
at God’s goodness to us. Our hearts playing the harlot; our lives far from perfect;
our faith almost blown out; our unbelief often prevailing; our pride lifting up its
accursed head; our patience a poor sickly plant, almost nipped by one night’s frost;
our courage little better than cowardice; our love lukewarmness; our ardour but as
ice—oh, my dear brethren, if we will but think any one of us what a mass of sin we
are, if we will but reflect that we are after all, as one of the fathers writes, “walking
dunghills,” we should indeed be surprised that the sun of divine grace should
continue so perpetually to shine upon us, and that the abundance of heaven’s mercy
should be revealed in us.”  (this quote totally sums up what I have been feeling…so ugly, and surprised to grateful tears that God is so good to me.  He is!)

“Give me the doctrines of grace, and I am in clover.”  (oh yum…..I can almost feel the warm air, and the sweet smell and taste of clover)

“An enlightened man is grateful to God for temporal blessings; but he is much more grateful to God for spiritual blessings, for temporal blessings do not last long; they are soon gone.  Temporal blessings are not definite marks of divine favor, since God gives them to the unworthy, and to the wicked, as well as to the righteous.”  (this quote reminds me to switch my thinking to the spiritual, it’s so easy for me to be caught up on the temporal…)

“Do not consider that adverse circumstances are a proof that you have missed your road; for they may even be an evidence that you are in the good old way, since the path of believers is seldom without trial.”

 (I love that good old way!)

“Omniscience shall bow itself to instruct your ignorance.  Infinite power shall stoop that you may lean upon its shoulder.  Boundless love shall deign without any degradation to take you by the hand and pick your pathway for you, and infinite patience shall continue to direct every step of your course, till you are brought to your home at last.”  (A quote to make me cry in thankfulness)

 All quotes are by Charles Spurgeon

I make myself skirm…I am so uncomfortable with the evil thoughts I think, the bad choices I make, the hasty reactions.  I want to crawl under the covers and hide.  I want to shut my mouth and not open it for fear that I will say the wrong thing…again.  Then I cry because I’m so self focused, stuck on myself…instead of focused on ah, yes, the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Things are so topsy turvey sometimes.  I look in the mirror and see my ugly self, I turn away from the mirror in shock not knowing how to fix myself….. but when I turn to the GOSPEL I find RELIEF because I see that I AM NOT PERFECT AND IT’S OKAY BECAUSE MY SAVIOR, who LOVES ME, HE IS PERFECT.  He has grace for the sinner, mercy for the sinner, forgiveness.  Satan’s whisperings in my ear are so loud but I’m holding on to Christ and He is everything I need –my Rock, my Salvation, the lover of my soul.  I can’t fix myself but I know that Jesus can, and will, eventually.  And someday, in Heaven, I’ll be free from the struggle between my flesh and my spirit.

Romans 7:14-24

(New American Standard Bible)

These are pictures that we took a few weeks ago of dear little Seth.

He looks mighty cute in his hat and scarf.  How we’ve managed to keep this set together after so many years is beyond me.  They were originally Ethan’s and he is almost 13 now.

Hope you are all having a marvelous day!  Bear with me as I continue to post blogs even though I feel totally uninspired to do so.  Can anyone say “extremely overtired mama”?  Yes, I’m sure you can.  Thanks for understanding.  

Love, Shanda

You are my sunshine

my only sunshine.

You make me happy

when skies are gray.

You’ll never know, dear

how much I love you.

Please don’t take my sunshine away.

I took these pictures of Sarah last week after she woke up from a nap one day.  Jacob and I were playing with her, and laughing as we watched her play with her sunshine toy (from Barnes and Noble).  The toy has a tiny bell on the back that makes soft jingling sounds that you can barely hear.  I like it because most children’s toys are too noisy.  This one is just right, plus it’s a happy, bright little thing.  Just like Sarah is, herself.

Today (so far):

I ordered Christmas cards.

I took the children to the dentist.

I went to Crackerbarrel, ran in to pick up a few things from their giftshop.

I went to my friend Kathy’s house to visit.

I baked cookies there while we talked and the children played.

Jacob got sick so we had to come home way earlier than we planned.

My plans for the rest of the day:

I am going to make a pot of chili for dinner.

Read to the children.

Clean up the house.

Drink a cup of coffee.

Hope and pray that no one else gets sick.

Happy Tuesday!  ((hugs))

How lovely are your decorations!

Rich surpised us by coming home early from work yesterday.  We were happy, but when he surpised us further by saying he was going to go get the tree, we became even MORE happy.  He took Grace and Davy with him while the rest of us stayed at home to dig out the ornaments, vacuum the rug, and perform all the other necessary preparations.  They arrived back home with a lovely, fragrant tree and very soon, the livingroom went wild with joyful chaos as we rapidly strung lights, broke ornaments, ran into each other, laughed, talked really loud, held Seth hostage on the couch out of the way, voted on whether or not to use red lights, and so on.  *whew* It was crazy gleeful fun and somehow we all worked together and ended up with a most beautiful result.