Awestruck

In church today, instead of a sermon, we watched a video of Louie Giglio speaking. First, let me say that he is an amazing speaker. I'm looking for a way to get my hands on a copy of the video we watched today.

My favorite part of the video was where he talks about laminin. I bet you're wondering what that is. It's a part of the body, a protein, actually, that holds all the trillions and trillions of cells in our bodies together. Well, that in itself is not very interesting. It's when you look at a picture that it really gets ya. I found a part of the video on youtube, and he says it so much better than I can, so here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejj51hNIL3E

Absolutely amazing! How great is our God?

Too cold!!!

Someone from Troy's family had the idea to go downtown and look at the lights at Temple Square. And although it was colder than a titches wit out there, off we went. Here we all are, out in the cold. I think the baby in the carrier with a blanket over her has it best, but who am I to complain?

Here's a pretty nativity scene, and me looking awesome as ever. Oh well, the nativity scene was what I wanted the picture of anyway.

And since it was so cold outside, we spent a lot of time inside, not looking at lights, which was the purpose for the excursion. Ethan was wearing this full snowsuit thing that was just a bit too small for him, which made for a cute little wedgie. Oh, you don't think wedgies are cute? They are on a baby who can barely walk!

Christmas

Okay, I'm finally updating my blog. No more complaining from certain people. Here's Kevin with one of his stocking stuffers. He collects these knights. We first found them in Brussels, when Troy and I were there, and I thought they were so cool. And then we actually found them at Target here, so we can continue his collection.

Here's Troy with his new earmuff thingies. They're for when he goes shooting, to cancel outside sound, but so that you can still hear someone talk to you. He's wearing his grumpy face to go along with them.

Ethan was not having a great time opening gifts. He was throwing stuff on the floor, all ornery pants about everything. Here's one of the rare moments where he wasn't ornery.

Here's Kaitlyn and one of her gifts. She also got some underwear in her stocking, and Troy really liked to make fun of her, so he made sure he got it in every picture. Because, you know, underwear is so silly!

Here's Grandma Price's house, where we went for breakfast and lunch on Christmas. Steven was playing with the boys, and then he thought he could stop playing and sit down. Ha ha, not so, my friend. You don't understand little boys.

We went to Grandma Howell's house afterward for dinner. Here's Ethan and Allston on Grandma's lap. We had a really nice day, and it's nice living closer so we can see everyone on Christmas, but still get to go home to our own beds at the end of the day.

Ethan's newest cute thing

Ethan loves to touch the tree, so one time when he was touching it, and he looked at me, I shook my finger at him and said "don't touch". Well, the little stinker did it right back to me. Pointed at me and said, "duh duh". So he might not have said it as clearly as me, but I knew exactly what he was trying to say. I need to get a video of it, cause it's pretty darn adorable.

Larsen Family Christmas Party

Okay, to start off with, I can never remember if it's spelled Larsen or Larson. Why is that so hard for me? Anyway, we went to the Christmas party for the Larse(or o)n family today. That would be Troy's moms family. It was at Brian and Annabelle's house, and we had a fun time. There was good food, a good show put on by Kaitlyn, Kierra, and Talia (they sang to us), and the kids even got to do a pinata (how do you write that without the accent?).

Finished

I finished A Voice in the Wind earlier today. I'm having a hard time wanting to write a review, because I feel kind of depressed that I'm done reading it. It was just that good. It's the first book in a series, and there are two more, so if I could just get my hands on them, that would really help.

The book actually started off a bit slow, and I was thinking why did Jini (my pastor's wife, who recommended it to me) think this was so good? And honestly, I think it was probably almost 200 pages in before I really got into it and started loving it. It takes place in the early years just after Christ's death, and is the story of a young Jewish (by nationality) Christian girl, who is taken captive and becomes a slave to a Roman family.

I've never been good at reviewing books, and making them sound really good, or even making my review sound all that interesting in the first place. I will say that this book was so good that there were times when I had to stop reading because my heart just felt so full. It was kind of an indescribable feeling, but definitely a good feeling. I cried many times throughout the book, and even though I admit to being an easy crier, that still doesn't mean it wasn't good or cry worthy!

I just really need to get my hands on the next two books right now!

A Voice in the Wind

I've been reading A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers, and it's really good!!! I'll post a longer review when I'm done, but I just have to say that I've been reading some awesome christian fiction lately. It's the kind of stuff that just touches me to my very core. I'll stop there, cause I'm almost done, and then I can post a full review later.

Reality show finales

I watched the finale for The Biggest Loser last night, and commercials every 5 minutes aside, I really enjoyed it. All of the contestants looked great, and I was happy to see the black team continue to dominate. Jillian is a great trainer, and I sure would love a trainer like that to kick my butt and get me into shape.

The Survivor finale was last Sunday, and although I really didn't care a lot about any of the contestants this season, it was definitely interesting. I always love to watch the final tribal council, and see the strategies that people use to try to win. I always like it best when they own up to their game and say, "yes, I did lie to you and vote you out, but look where it got me", instead of "I'm so sorry, I had no choice". If you're going to apologize, and act like you had no control over your actions, people probably aren't going to vote for you to win, because they will think you didn't really play a good game. Hence, Amanda only getting one vote.

The other thing I've always found funny is people going on and on about someone's integrity in a game. In real life, I would never condone lying and scheming, but this isn't real life, it's a game. If someone bluffed in poker, and eventually won all the money, you wouldn't go on and on about how they lied, and how horrible that was. I see Survivor very much like a poker game. Is it possible to win in both being honorable and honest the whole game through? Probably, but not very likely. Both games reward bluffing your way through, because let's face it, you're never going to have a hand of aces in either game all the time.

Also very interesting is the very person who went on and on about integrity (to Todd, at the final tribal council) is the one who flat out lied after the game (at the reunion show), when nothing was on the line. Read the story here.

Me in my house

I meant to add to this before, but then I had to go for my torture session at the orthodontist. So, what I was going to add was a few lines from a David Crowder Band song called Everything Glorious.

You make everything glorious
And I am Yours
What does that make me?

Click below to hear the song.

David Crowder Band...

Kutless - Sea of faces

I heard this song on the radio earlier today, and loved it. I think I might have to look for their CD.

Today

I don't have a whole lot of time to write, because I want to get to bed at a semi-decent time. I just wanted to say that today was a wonderful day, and I love Jesus with all my heart. Here are a few scriptures that I like for today:

Psalm 25:5:
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 33:18:
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love

Psalm 62, vs 1-2, 5-8:
1 My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Selah

1 Peter 3: 15-18:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.

Christianity

I've had some thoughts rolling around in my head, so I'm going to post them here, so they don't rattle in there anymore. I think many people out there completely misunderstand what Christianity is. For example, I've heard some of the following phrases, that I think are kind of bizarre:

• "I tried out Christianity already. My parents dragged me to church when I was young, and I hated it. As soon as I could stop going, I did."
• "You did _______. How can you call yourself Christian?"
• "__Insert denomination here__ is (or is not) Christian."

Okay, to start off with, being a Christian is a very personal thing, and is a change of heart that a person, as an individual has gone through. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian. Because your parents made you go to church when you were young, doesn't necessarily mean you were a Christian. If you hated it, chances are, you never tried out Christianity. You tried out church-going. This takes me to my third point, when someone judges another's Christianity because of their denomination. I don't believe it has anything to do with which church you decide to go to, and everything to do with what's in your heart. And guess what? Nobody can see what's in anybody elses heart. Only God can, so I think we could leave the deciding of who's Christian and who isn't to Him.

Now onto my second point, I'm sick to death of hearing people who aren't Christian make those kinds of statements about those who are. Those people have no idea what Christianity is about. When you become a Christian, you don't become perfect. In fact, it's just the opposite. You recognize that you're a sinner, and that you never will be perfect, and that's exactly why you need a Savior, hence becoming a Christian. Sure I'm striving to become Christlike. I'd like nothing better than that. But I also recognize that's not going to happen in my lifetime. That's exactly why I've placed all my trust in Christ, knowing that it's Him who saved me. And that's why I love what it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Yup, we are covered by the blood of Christ, so when God looks at us, He doesn't see all our many sins, he sees the light of Christ that covers us. It's we humans, we sinners, who look at each other and judge.

So, I know nobody who I'm really directing this to is going to read my blog. This is just something that over time has annoyed me, and now I've said my bit about it, and got it off my chest. Thank you, and good night.

Gumdrop Trees

I was in the mood to be crafty today, and since I'm not quite crafty enough to get my sewing machine threaded, we had to settle for something else. So I decided to let the kids do gumdrop trees. They had a lot of fun, and they turned out cute.

Here's my sweet Kevin, making his tree. He did a really good job getting all the gumdrops close together.



Here's Kaitlyn making hers. She started off trying to do patterns, but then just decided to do it random.
Here's the finished product. Kaitlyn's is on the right, Kevin's on the left. I'm not sure where I'll put them yet. Maybe on the table once I get it cleaned off.

One of those days

Have you ever had one of those days where you wake up ornery? And then nothing seems to go right from there. It's been one of those for me. I'm not sure why, because yesterday was a great day, I had an okay night's sleep, but I just woke up feeling bad. I think sometimes, when you feel like everything is great, and God is so good, that's when Satan will come at you. Satan would love for us to be as miserable as he is. So I've spent a lot of time in prayer, because you know what? I'd really like to laugh in the face of Satan. Tell him, "you're not getting to me today, mister!" So far the ornery bug hasn't left me yet, but I'm still working on it.

It does come out

Last night I had to test my resolve to treat others as I would treat Jesus. So I had to ask myself, how would I treat Jesus if he wrote all over my couch with a pen? That's what Kevin did last night. I might have yelled a little bit, but I had to so I could be heard over all the scrubbing. I'd like to think I handled it okay, though, and stuck with my goal. The pen did all come out in the end, and I hope he knows never to do it again, so it all ended well.

Steadfast

In church last Sunday, the regular worship band was having a much needed rest after doing a bunch of Christmas concerts, so we had a guest band for worship. The name of the band is Steadfast, and you can check them out here. After the service we bought their CD, because they were quite good, and also we like supporting Christian bands, especially local ones.

Tuesdays ~ In Other Words

What a great quote! When I first read this, the scripture that came to my mind was Matthew 25:40:

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

When I think about this verse, what it means to me is that any time I do something, or don't do something for someone, or treat someone a certain way, it's as if I've done those things to Christ. When I speak to someone in anger or frustration, I've spoken to Christ in anger or frustration. I don't take this verse to mean just the good things that I could do for people, but the bad ways that I treat people as well. I would never dream of speaking to Christ in anything other than the most loving tone possible. If He needed my help, I would give it in a heartbeat. If there was something, anything, I could do for Him, I would go to whatever lengths necessary.

And then I remember, Jesus told us to think of all people as we think of Him. If I could actually do that, actually treat everyone how I would treat Jesus, what kind of person would I be? If we all treated each other how we would treat Jesus, what kind of world would we live in? There definitely would be some type of paradise on earth. I sure can't control how anyone else acts, but I can control how I act, and it's a goal I want to strive for.

To read what other's have written on the above quote, visit All You Have to Give.

How neat!

I did a short review of Camy Tang's book (it's a couple posts down), and she actually stopped by my blog to comment and tell me about her next book. I love it when authors do things like that! It just shows that they care about their readers beyond just writing for the money. I had already planned to read any of her future books, because I enjoyed Sushi for One so much, but her kindness just gives me more incentive.

Making Memories

I was thinking today about how I want my kids to have a lot of wonderful memories when they look back on their childhood, and how I'm not really providing that. A lot of times I get in the mindset that to make fun memories, all of us have to be there, including Troy. But usually by the time Troy gets home from work, we're all tired, and all we want to do is relax.

I've been asked a couple times recently what Christmas traditions we do in our family, and to be honest, I can't really think of much. We do read the Christmas story in the Bible on Christmas Eve, but that's about it. For so many years of our marriage, Christmas has always been kind of up in the air. Sometimes we're at Troy's parents, sometimes at mine, and one year we were actually at home (although we traveled to Utah on Christmas after we opened gifts). That made it hard to make any Christmas traditions, because nothing was really stable. So this year, I'm going to try to think of some really special, meaningful ones. We'll be attending a Christmas Eve service this year, which I'm really looking forward to. Other than that I'm a bit stuck. We'll probably drive around one night and look at Christmas lights, so there's something.

I would also love to incorporate some kind of service into our Christmas celebrations. To me, that's what Christmas is all about. It's the giving, not the getting, and I'd love for my kids to be able to see that, and not just have me tell them.

So, if you're reading this, what's your very favorite Christmas tradition? It can be either one you do with your family now, or one you had as a child.

It Came From Within

The sermon series that's going on right now at church is called It Came From Within. Each week, it's been about different things to do with our spiritual heart, like greed, jealousy, guilt, and anger. After church yesterday, I got to thinking about a few things. The first thing was just overwhelming thankfulness that God has given me such a good life. I don't feel like I have things in my past that I need to get over being angry about, or people that I've had big arguments with that I need to settle. At least, I don't think I do--maybe I have a really selective memory, but then that'd be good too . . . maybe.

The other thing I was thinking about is how great this whole sermon series has been for me, because these little things are what is going to keep me from experiencing complete happiness, and living the life that God wants me to live. The sermon yesterday on anger was very timely, considering that I had got a bit upset at Troy on the way to church. And it was really over nothing, for the most part (something he said, but I can't even remember what). A lot of times Troy says something, and he probably doesn't mean it in a bad way, but I take offense over it, and then I don't want to talk to him. Then when the pastor started giving the sermon on anger it was like a lightbulb moment for me. Sure, I don't have any huge issues in my past I need to get over. For me it's just the simple every day things where I could either take offense when none was meant, or just forget it right then and move on.

Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9) That's definitely something I need to keep close to my heart.

Sushi for One by Cami Tang

I just finished this book, and it was really good. It's Christian chick lit, so if you don't like light, romancey books, this one isn't for you. I had a hard time putting it down. Not because it was so intense that I just had to find out what was going to happen next, but because it was really well written. I liked the main character a lot, and the other characters were interesting. The plot was great too, and I loved the message behind it. It was only when Lex (the main character) turned her life over to God, and stopped trying to do everything for herself that things started working out for her. How true that is!

Christmas Concert

Troy and I went to a Christmas concert at our church tonight. It was really good. My favorite song they sang was a John Denver song called Christmas for Cowboys. Except the guy who sang it sings better than John Denver, if you ask me. They also did a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song, which was really cool. We have some awesome musicians at our church. It's great that they share their talents with us! It was a fun night, and it's always nice to get out just me and Troy.

Trans-Siberian Orc...

Scripture for the day

Today, in preparation for Christmas, I was reading in John chapter 1. Verses 1-14 are among some of my favorites. Actually, the whole book of John is my favorite book of scripture.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The reason I love these verses so much is they give us an awesome picture of Jesus Christ. He became flesh, and dwelt among us. I can't even put into words the magnitude of that, and how thankful I am! This scripture also says that if we receive him, and believe in his name we become children of God. Now, if that's not the coolest thing ever, I don't know what is. :) I just love all of this! These are the things that bring me joy!

My kids are elves

Mindy got me started on this, and the kids wanted me to make one of them, so here it is. Aren't they cute?
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1220154965

Ethan's first steps

Okay, so these aren't his very first steps, but close.

Tis the Season . . .

. . . to be busy. It seems like the closer it gets to the holidays, the busier things get. And not just things centering around Christmas, but just every day things. At least for me, this year, different things keep coming up. I have to take our van in to get the oil changed, and the automatic door fixed. I had to take Kaitlyn to get an immunization for school. And then there's various other things, and I know it's just going to get busier from here.

This is the time of year when I want just the opposite to happen. I would love for life to just slow down, so I can focus on the Savior and the true reason I'm celebrating Christmas. I wanted to have all this extra time to do meaningful things with the kids each day for Advent. None of that's happening, because everything is too busy. But then I think maybe it's because I'm not making those things a priority. Maybe if I focused on the Savior first, and worried about everything else after, my time would be better spent. So that's my new plan. Jesus first, other stuff second.

Mercy Me - Homesick (Live)

I wanted to dedicate this video to my cousin Leslie. I love you, and I will be praying for you that you'll feel the love of God surrounding you every day.

Safely Home

I've been reading Safely Home by Randy C. Alcorn, and it is excellent! I've only got about 50 pages left of the book, and I'd love to read more books like this when I'm done. It's about the persecuted Christian church in China, and to be honest, I didn't have any clue that kind of thing was going on. It's fictional, but the persecution is real--it's been happening for a long time, and is still going on today.

Reading this book has made me realize how thankful I am to live here in America. Although I've often thought there are those in this country who would love for the country to have freedom from religion, instead of freedom of religion, I still get to go to church every Sunday with no problems whatsoever. Nobody tries to stop me, and I certainly don't have to worry about going to jail for it. I can read my bible whenever I want to. I will probably never have to be a martyr for Christ in the way the people in many of the persecuted churches (in various countries) are. I'm so thankful for that, and I pray for those who are persecuted.

I would recommend this book to anyone. I promise you will get something out of it!

Mixed Emotions

I've been having a lot of mixed emotions the past few days. On the one hand, I feel so blessed. I have absolutely everything I need. I have a wonderful husband and beautiful, healthy children. I have a loving, kind extended family. I never go to bed hungry. I have a very nice home, and a roof over my head. I have a faith in God that sustains me, and brings me unbelievable peace and joy. There is nothing I could ask for that I feel like I don't have.

When I think like this, I think life is pretty fair. Sure there are people who have more money than me, or a bigger house, and such, but that doesn't bother me one bit. I'm not missing out on anything. But then I start to think of the flipside. I think of the millions and millions of people living in extreme poverty. The children who don't have any parents or family at all. The ones who go to bed with an aching belly because they had one meal that day, if they were lucky. There are so many out there who don't even have clean water to drink. Something I never worry, or even think about.
That's when I start to think life isn't fair at all. Why do I have so much, when they have so little? We are sponsoring a child in Kenya through World Vision, and I know that helps a little. Even helping one child does make a difference, but it doesn't feel like enough. And I just feel so helpless.

By His Wounds

Good song for the day:

Life

I realize that I start out with grand thoughts, and things that I will do, blog posts I will make . . . but the reality is that life intrudes. But you know what? I'm grateful for that. I love that I have a husband and kids that take up so much of my time. The tight little hugs, the long talks, the trips to the library, sitting under blankets watching movies. I love that going to church and worshipping God takes up time on my Sunday. And that when I come home, I don't want to get on the computer (which I'll admit, has been an addiction for me), but spend time contemplating what I learned, and having quiet moments to think. It's the doing of these things that's important to me, not blogging about them.

And then I thought about how I had it all set out that on Sunday I'd list 7 blog posts that inspired me that week. And that throughout the holiday season I was going to post 1,000 things I'm thankful for. And my next thought was why? Do I really need to focus so much on the numbers? Why not post about blogs that inspire me when they inspire me? Why not post about things I'm thankful for just to post them, instead of counting them up to get to a pre-determined number. It's not that focusing on inspirational things, and everything I'm thankful for isn't important. It's when I make things too planned out that I can't stop and actually enjoy.

This is something I think I struggle with in life, and not just with a blog. I start making up specific things that I need to do, and when to do them. Grand schemes that almost always fail. And then, inevitably, I feel bad. So why do I keep doing this? Why not just realize that I'm just going to do the best I can in life, and enjoy who God made me to be? Enjoy the simple things in life, clean the house when I can, take every moment to enjoy my children; because I believe it's the unplanned moments in life that bring the most joy. Not when I'm checking off a to do list, or focusing on how many or how long.

I will still set goals, I will still strive to become more than I am now. But it will be as I feel led to do so. Not Monday is this, Tuesday is this . . . I want to pray each morning, and have my day be focused on Christ, and not on me. That is my ultimate goal, and the goal that will bring the most peace and joy into my life and my home.

Simple things--1000 thankful things

I'm thankful for a lot of little things in life. The smell when I'm taking a walk, and someone is using their dryer (9). My new soft bed that I don't want to get out of in the mornings (10). Ethan's first steps (11). Wildflowers that bloom where nobody plants them (12). K-Love, my favorite radio station, that uplifts me every time I'm in my car (13). Fuzzy socks (14). A cup of hot cocoa (15). Chocolate and peanut butter (16). The moon on a clear night (17). The sound of a thunderstorm (18). The smell of rain (19). Smiles from strangers (20).

P.S. If I'm being realistic, there's no way I'm going to make it to 1,000 things by the end of November. I might make it to 100, if I'm good. But I'll keep trying, because it's always good to be thankful.

Commitment to Loveliness

From Charming the Birds From the Trees, commitment to loveliness is where you post 5 things you will try to do this coming week to bring more loveliness into your life. So here are my 5:

1. Speak softly. I'd like to speak to my kids with a soft, gentle, and loving voice, even when I'm angry. This would be a nice change from crazy monster voice that makes it's appearance every once in awhile.
2. Make the area around my mantle and TV uncluttered and pretty.
3. Clean the master bedroom. I want it to be a retreat for Troy and I. Right now it's a catch-all for everything. Laundry, books, just way too much.
4. Take walks with my kids (and husband if he's home) every day. Enjoy the loveliness that God made outside.
5. Do something about my sandpapery hands. They are so dry this time of year, and I want them to be soft.

Deeper

Last night I went to a special communion service that was at my church. I went alone, so it was just a wonderful opportunity to just sit there, and listen to the beautiful music the band was playing, and think about Christ. My heart was just so full, and I couldn't help the tears falling down my face, as I thought about how thankful I am for Jesus Christ, and His gift to me. We also had the opportunity to take a falling leaf from the tree they had set up, and write something on it. It could be something we were thankful for, or something we wanted to change, and then we placed the leaf at the foot of the cross. It was just such a beautiful evening, and I came home feeling peaceful and refreshed. It was a good reminder that if I focus on Christ all the time, I have the opportunity to have those feelings every day.

Ephesians 1: 7-8 says:
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding."

As Thanksgiving approaches, I hope to show the love and gratitude I have for Christ and His gift, through the love I show to others.

Funniest Catwalk Fall Ever

This is pretty darn funny. I mean, I know I shouldn't laugh at the misfortune of other's, but I can't help myself.

Goings on around our house

Kevin's hair was growing so long that it was getting in his eyes, so I decided to take him to Great Clips for a hair cut. She spiked it up in the front with gel, and when we got home he kept feeling it and saying, "it's sticking up". He looks extra cute with his new haircut!
Troy and I got a new bed, after having the same (crappy) one for 8 years of marriage. We were starting to be able to feel bumps in the bed (I'm assuming the springs), so we decided it was time for a new one. We got a really soft, comfortable one, and we love it. It's so nice.
Here's Kevin standing next to our bed. You can see it's very plush, because it's quite high up. I have to give a little jump to get into bed. I actually prefer lower beds, but I won't complain, cause it's very nice to have a soft bed for a change!

While we were at it, we bought Kaitlyn a new mattress. She really needed one, as hers was probably more uncomfortable than ours. I decided I didn't really like the looks of the bunk beds either, so I separated them (with Troy's help). I think it looks much nicer in there, and somehow less cluttered. We went to Penny's (Troy's mom) house and borrowed the Transformer quilt that she had made (out of sheets!). The kids like having their "new" beds.

Ethan eating an orange

I gave Ethan an orange to eat the other day. From the looks he's making, you'd think he didn't like it at all, but he just kept right on eating it, and then wanted more. Pardon the noisy TV in the background.

More gratitude

I haven't been doing well on listing things I'm thankful for. At this rate I won't make it to 100 by the end of November, let alone 1,000. So today I thought I'd do people I'm thankful for.

• Troy, my husband. For being my very best friend, always willing to talk with me, even when I can't express what I'm thinking very well. And for being the love of my life. (4)
• Kaitlyn--she's always so loving, and gives great hugs. She also tries hard to be empathetic. (5)
• Kevin--he's the sweetest, cuddliest little boy in the whole world. (6)
• Kevin's brown eyes (7)
• Ethan--for bringing joy into my life daily, by being my little bundle of sunshine (8)

Simplifying Christmas

I've been putting a lot of thought into simplifying Christmas for my kids this year. I want to make it more about Jesus, and less about getting stuff. I've thought about doing more homemade things, doing something for advent, and giving less presents in general.

So I'm looking for some good ideas on making Christmas simpler this year. If you have any good ones, please leave me a comment! Or even a link to a good site about it would work. :)

Blogs that Inspire

I meant to do this yesterday. On Sunday, I'd like to post seven links to posts in other blogs that have inspired, or touched me throughout the week. Hopefully I can make it on time next week, but here it is anyway, for yesterday:

1. Of Angels and Miracle Allowances
2. Song in Her Heart
3. To Know This Love That Surpasses Knowledge
4. Not By Might
5. If I Had My Life to Live Over
6. Special Moments
7. The Manner in Which We Walk

Gifts -- Jesus

I was trying to think about gifts today, and the one that is so obvious, that I almost thought doesn't even need to be on the list, because it's such a given, is Jesus Christ. But then I thought, why wouldn't I put it on my list? It should go on the very top of my list! So instead of writing a short little snippet about why I'm so thankful for Jesus, I'm devoting a whole post to it. (And this is thankful thing #3)

It's almost impossible for me to put into words what Christ means to me. It's something so personal, and so meaningful to me, that there's no words I could say to encompass my feelings on the subject. No matter how much I say, it could never be enough to express how thankful I am for Christ. But, since I started out to do it, I'll give it my best shot.

It's unthinkable to me, to imagine a life without Christ . . . a life without the knowledge and acceptance of what Christ did for me. I am so thankful that He loved me enough to suffer on the cross, and to pay for my sins. He did it for all of us, but I know He would have done it still, if it was only just for me. Me, a lowly sinner, who without Him, would not be saved at all. He was the sacrifice for my sins; without Him I would be separated from God forever. How do I say thank you for something like that? Anything I could do seems so small compared to what He did for me. He is my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer. Thank you, Jesus!

What I learned yesterday

Yesterday, the sermon in church was about looking inward, at the state of your heart. Proverbs 4:23 says:
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
We have two kinds of hearts: our physical, and our spiritual hearts. Our spiritual heart is where everything comes from. The things we say, the things we do, the things we think, etc.

One of the ways we can monitor our hearts is to check for symptoms of heart disease (this is all spiritual hearts, of course). Reading through Matthew 15: 1-20 gives a pretty good idea of what spiritual heart disease is. Jesus is talking to the pharisees and saying that "these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me". Then later he says: "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander..."

So the Pharisees basically were all about outward acts of righteousness; doing things to look good in the eyes of men. I tried to think to myself if there were times when I did this, and I think the answer to that could be yes. If I'm ever doing anything with thoughts of "how good will this make me look", instead of doing it because I love God, then my heart isn't right.

Two of the symptoms of heart disease are: 1. We fake devotion to God, and 2. Ocassionally, we say and do things that dishonor God. I think it's pretty easy for almost anyone to fake spirituality, or a devotion to God. When life is going good, and everyone is being nice to you, and you're healthy and happy, isn't it a lot easier to love your neighbor, and to serve others, and even to be pleased with and love God? It's those times when things aren't great, maybe when someone has said something to upset you or that makes you angry, or when you're not feeling well that your true heart shows through. The times when you get sick, or a loved one gets sick, that you get upset with God. I can't count how many times, in a moment of anger, that I've said things that I regretted, or certainly shouldn't have said. When my heart is unguarded, am I still showing Christlike love to others? That's when it counts--that's when you just can't fake it. I know that's something I need to work on, and I also am so thankful for Jesus that He paid for my sins, and the sins of my heart.

Gifts

I was reading on another blog, Holy Experience, about trying to think of 1,000 gifts that God has given, during the month of November. So I think I'm going to try to do that. It's something of a gratitude journal. But before I get to that, I've been sitting here thinking of something. I read some blogs out there, and I'm just absolutely touched by how beautifully these women write. They have such a way with words, that it makes people who don't know them want to read what they have to say. I don't have that. I wish I did, and I'm hoping that by blogging, I'll get better at it. So I was thinking, not everyone has the gift of writing. God has given each of us our own unique gifts. If he had given us all the same ones, the world wouldn't be as beautiful and varied as it is. I just need to figure out what my gifts are.

So, that being said, I'm going to start my list of 1,000 gifts.

• Being able to read things that touch my heart and soul. (1)
• Those quiet moments, where nothing outwardly special is happening, but inward, God is speaking to me in simple ways, and I get such a feeling of joy, that life is so good, and so beautiful, and so right. (2)

Ethan on the phone

Ethan loves talking on the phone. He'll turn it on, and then put it up to his ear with an expectant look on his face. Maybe one of these days I'll have to let him actually talk to someone, so he can hear something besides the dial tone.

November Goals

I know I'm a little late, since we're already 9 days in, but I figured it's better late than never. I'm trying to set goals in 4 areas, and I'm thinking I'll do this monthly, and then next month I can check up on how I did, and make new goals. This month I would like to:

• Have daily scripture study--read through the Gospels (spiritual)
• Figure out a cleaning plan that works and stick with it (home)
• Make a lunch date with a friend or family member once a week (social)
• Find a time to read to the kids every day for at least 15 minutes (family)

New Blog Title

I apologize to anyone who has my blog linked with the title, cause I'm changing it. I liked it, cause it was a cute thing that Kevin had said, but I realized if you hadn't read through my whole blog, the title wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.

So I chose the new title for two reasons. One, because my blog is about me and the goings on around my house. But the second, and more important reason, is because it reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures. Joshua 24:15, which says:

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Kevin singing

This song is one that Kevin will be singing with the children's choir for Christmas at church. He can sing along with more when we're listening to the CD, but this is the only part he knows from memory. They have sign language that they're doing with it, so he's learning that too. I just love how he says Jesus. It's more like cheesus. I love my little Kevin!

Halloween

Here's Ethan in his alligator costume. He was okay for most of the night, but didn't really like posing for a picture, I guess. You can't really see the costume, but it had a cute little alligator head, and it was nice and warm, so that was good enough for me. He even went out trick or treating, in his stroller of course, but not as long as the other kids. It was really cold, and even though he loves the stroller, I felt his little hands and they were freezing.
Kevin wore this M&M costume, and he loved it. Almost every house we stopped at, someone said how cute he looked. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of Kaitlyn in her Halloween costume. If you must know, I took this one of Kevin last Monday, not on Halloween at all.

Cowboy Ethan

Ethan got ahold of Kevin's cowboy hat today, and although he usually won't keep anything at all on his head, for some reason, he was loving wearing this. He put it on himself, and then would crawl around and play, take it off, put it back on, and play some more. It was pretty adorable.


Here he is with one of his sweet smiles. Please ignore the messy room. It's where the kids play, and they had just been playing. So of course I don't clean it up as they play. The whole house doesn't look like this. :)

And here he is, about to do one of his favorite things, which is get into his diaper drawer, and pull out all his cloth diapers. I can't tell you how many times a day I put those back in.


I thought for a second he might actually walk here. He was standing alone, looking like he was going to step towards me, but nope. He did his usual falling forward. This boy just refuses to walk!

Ethan in a cowboy hat

This was hilarious. Ethan put on the cowboy hat, so he couldn't see, and then would try to crawl around. He kept running into walls (as you can see), and then just kept on going.

Kevin singing Blue's Clues

My kids

Kaitlyn and her friend, McKaila.

Gardner Village

Here are the kids looking all cute! We went to Gardner Village for a field trip for Kevin's preschool. The kids had fun walking around looking at the witches, and going in the shops. We even stopped at the bakery and got some cookies and doughnuts. I'm usually not that nice.

More Thanksgiving Point

Kevin riding a pony. He had a hard time deciding which one he wanted to ride. At first he said he wanted to ride the bigger one, that you can see in the background, but when we got over there, he changed his mind pretty quick.

Kaitlyn on an even bigger pony. I think this one might be called a horse. :)
Even Ethan gave it a try, although he didn't really like it at all. I guess he doesn't really see the point. He just wanted Troy to take him off.
Ooh, scary! Kevin loves these teeth. He wears them all the time, but the sad part is that he can't swallow while they're in, so there's a lot of wetness.
Kevin really, really wanted me to take a picture of them next to this sign. If it was that important to him, it must be important enough for me to put here.

Thanksgiving Point

Kaitlyn and Kevin petting a horse

This horse really liked Ethan. It kept sticking it's nose through to try to get him.

Two of my cuties, by this real looking pumpkin.

Ethan wasn't too crazy about the wagon ride.