Christmas Memories

Our waiting is finished!

Thomas and Sarah creating our traditional
Gingerbread Houses on Christmas Eve

Finishing touches...

We celebrated our Christmas Eve by candle-light.

Sarah dressed in her new Christmas Dress
given by her Grandma and Grandpa Coose

Five candles lit...

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and the most important Christ!

We read the story of Christ and of His saving grace...

Grandma and Grandpa Coose
Sarah and Thomas listening to our Christmas Devotional

We silently remembered that night long ago...
when there was no room in the Inn.

We we sang and praised the birth of Christ!

Uncle Jonathan and Sarah playing Silent Night

The children awoke the next morning with glee and anticipation...

Thomas and Sarah opening their stockings!

This day is a day of celebration!

The children received an abundance of gifts
from loved ones and friends...
we feel very blessed to have such
love and generosity shown to us in our lives...


A particularly special gift of love from Mommy and Daddy,
a new horse bridal for Sarah...

and for Thomas... a Train!

A Very Merry Christmas...

Advent, A Time of Waiting

Advent is waiting; a contemplative heart preparation; a looking forward to; a longing for the coming day of the Messiah.

As we celebrate Advent this week, we light the candles of Hope, Peace and Joy...

Throughout the month we have been studying the history and heritage of Christ and the people of Israel. In the time before Christ was born, the Jewish people were suffering under the harsh burden of Caesar. Yet, they dwelt in Hope... knowing that there was a promise of a Messiah who would deliver them. Many believed and waited and shared their Hope with their children Joyfully... it was their tradition to tell the stories of the history of their people (many can be found in the Old Testament) to keep their Faith alive...


In the same way, this is the reason we celebrate Christmas... it is a time to share our Hope and the reason for our Joy, with our children... One day, Peace will reign on this earth. Our Messiah will return...this baby that was born to be a King... not only for the rich and mighty... but a king for the poor and humble, will come again!

This is truly a Gift to be treasured and waited for.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And He will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his governments and peace
there will be no end..."

Isaiah 9:6-7a

Let It Snow...

What do little boys do at the first sight of snow?

They become giddy with joy and
must go out and experience it first hand!

Thomas enjoying our first day of snow...

What do Mothers do to help warm little hands???

Have lots of Hot Chocolate on hand!

Seeing Through A Child's Eyes

This weekend I was unpacking our Christmas boxes with my son. Actually, Thomas excitedly unpacked the boxes and I contained the clutter as paper was flying everywhere!

We found the Nativity and put the boxes aside for opening later in the evening together as a family. I actually have two Nativity sets. One is an incomplete version that I have had since before Sarah was born. The other is new... and, complete. I enthusiastically chose to put up the new and beautiful gift of last year (that was given to me by my Mother and Grandmother), as we celebrated the first night of Advent together.


As I unwrapped the individual pieces, my son grabbed the one with Mary and Baby Jesus and looked in horror and then welled up with tears... "Baby Jesus has no eyes, Mommy. Where is my baby Jesus with eyes?" We were in the midst of reading our Advent Devotional... and, I finished setting up the Nativity we had started, with the promise of, "tomorrow we will unpack the other Nativity". He was not happy, but accepted my consolation for the moment.

The older nativity is porcelain and has a very life like looking baby Jesus that comes out of the manger for little hands to love and hold. (It is a miracle that the figure is not broken to pieces after years of both little Sarah and now Thomas loving him so dearly).


As soon as we awoke the next morning, my son was at my side leading me to the box to free the true "baby Jesus with the eyes"!


I sat with him and we opened the box... and Thomas breathed a sigh of relief as he held his treasure in his little hands... I pray that baby Jesus becomes his heart's treasure all his life.

She will give birth to a son,

and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
Matthew 1:21

Traditions

Christmas is the time of year I just can't help reflecting on the importance of tradition...

This week we light the Candle of Hope

My Grandmother Thomas loved the Christmas Holiday and I recall, as a small child, delighting in her white flocked trees in many rooms of the home (living in Southern California... her Kentucky heart yearned for snow). She lovingly filled the beautiful trees with red cardinals and white doves... She was joyous and excited to share the birth of Christ with everyone she had the opportunity to have a conversation with (especially with her grandchildren!). I remember sitting along side her many a Christmas Season... as she wrapped her arms around me and shared the meaning of her Christmas Tree...She was a great story teller, her eyes full of sparkle and her words would always keep us wrapped in attention. She explained... that Christ came to be my savior. She would tell me the tree represented the cross... the white doves represented the purity of Christ and the red represented the blood of Christ shed for my sin. I always felt loved and special in her arms. And, I understood the reason why we celebrate with such joy, the birth of Christ!

As a mother of my own children... the tradition of the tree lives on.

Thomas hanging his new ornament
that his Grandma lovingly gives him each year!

I have a special joy in my heart at this special time of year, when I pull out my Christmas decorations and slowly unwrap each ornament I've collected over almost 20 years of marriage. I have slowly built traditions in my own home which reflect the same message of Christ... Instead of red cardinals, I choose deep burgundy balls... they represent the blood of Christ on our green tree... with white lights. Jesus is both pure and the light of our world... "in Him there is no darkness"... I tell my children.

White lights are the representation of Christ,
both Holy and "the light of the world";
Red is the blood of Christ shed for us (the reason he came);
the Tree is the representation of the Trinity,
(as it is in the shape of a triangle with three points),
The Father, Son and Spirit; and
Evergreen represents eternal life ...He came to bring us.

And so the traditions are shared and the message of Christ is told to the young, and rekindled alive in the old, as we look forward to this season and remember Christ came to fulfill the promise of a Savior...

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son
and they will call him Immanuel" -
which means, "God with us".
Mathew 1:22-23

Thanksgiving

This year we have found ourselves enjoying a quiet Thanksgiving together with my parent's in their home in Palm Springs. Unfortunately, my father has been very ill with pneumonia...

Yet, in honor of the Thanksgiving Holiday, all the traditional fixings have been enjoyed and we are resting in the fullness of many blessings. I am reminded that without faith stretching experiences in life, the blessings we experience are often empty and taken for granted.

Being truly grateful is something I have been working to fix my eyes on...to simply "count my blessings". God promised that He will take care of us and that "all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

We must live as if this were true. Giving thanks is a way I can recognize this powerful message in my own heart.

Sarah and Thomas hugging a Joshua Tree in the middle of a
Southern California Desert

As I grow more in faith, I have learned to lean more on God's sovereignty (it is amazing that I have the audacity to forget that "sovereignty" means complete control). Our world is not perfect... it is actually filled with deep pain and suffering... sickness and death...things don't always turn out like we want them to... many times life is not fair...many live in despair and poverty. Yet, we are not alone... God is always with us and through it all.

Every bit of it.

Good and bad.

And, through these experiences, He is working to teach us to depend upon Him...

God wants us to satisfy the deep longings in our heart with simply, Him.

I am thankful that I am loved deeply by my Creator and I am His.

I have found through the simple exercise of gratitude, my perspective is elevated and my eyes are set on the many blessings my Creator surrounds me with daily.

The Pumpkin Express!

This weekend we enjoyed a special treat!

Grandma and Grandpa Coose, Sarah and Thomas
Getting ready to board the Pumkinliner!

Grandma and Grandpa Coose invited us to go on an Idaho adventure with them...we made our way up to Horseshoe Bend for an afternoon on the Thunder Mountain Pumkinliner... originally to serve the Thunder Mountain Mining District over a century ago.

Thomas Loves Trains... He had to see the big loud engine...

All Aboard!

Although is was a bit on the chilly side, it was great fun and an absolutely beautiful ride up the Payette River to Banks, Idaho.

Grandma and Sarah at the Pumpkin Patch

Our train made a stop at the old Banks Depot/Pumpkin Patch! We all got off the train to pick out a few pumpkins and to tour the old house that served as the Train Station. The kids had a great time picking out pumpkins...

He told me he wanted one BIGGER than his head!

Daddy and the kids... what could be better than trains and pumpkins?

They are giddy with pumpkin fever!

My little engineer...

Thought for the Day

I read something today that made me smile...

“We need to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives.”

Don't we all get too caught up in the rushing around from thing to thing... all good...(some not)... at different times in our lives?

No time for resting... being silent... or contemplating the reason for it all... Remembering that we, in ourselves, are nothing. Here today... gone tomorrow...

As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness
with their children's children...
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

Psalms 103:15-18

It is easy to forget that.

Life rushes on and we just simply live it... without thinking... just... living life...thinking we are entitled...living with the knowledge of God...without Him as Lord of it.

I truly believe God has more for us in life than all the "good things" we feel we need to fill it with as we rush to achieve the best for our lives and the lives of our children.

How do we eliminate hurry from our lives?

A good question to ponder for a while... Any suggestions?



This afternoon, we enjoyed a slow walk and just rejoiced in God's beauty and found joy in the simple things just outside our door...

Our walking path is lovely...

Amazing colors don't last long in Idaho.
They blow away all too soon...

Or are robbed of their last moments of beauty by small children "helping"...

Taking time to savor the moment...

We did not hurry one bit!

Swine Flu

Well, it has been an interesting two weeks! Swine Flu came to our house and turned us into coughing, feverish messes for too long...




The upside is that we have slowed down for a while. We all need to do this now and then. Being still and resting our mind and body is essential for a healthy soul.

We have spent our time trying to keep up with school, reading Lamplighter books, watching old classic movies and just snuggling young sick ones in front of the fireplace or in our comfortable fluffy bed...



Yesterday Thomas and I felt well enough to walk slowly down our walking path lined with trees of gold and auburn. The air was clear and warm... we collected a few treasures along the way...

Taking A Rest

It's time to put the garden to rest for a while. Every living thing, in it's time and way, must rest and rejuvenate in order to produce good fruit.

Tonight the air will dip into the 20's and I am afraid what is left out there tonight will be dead in the morning. So, I went out and harvested what I could and bid my farewell... until next Spring!


Some lessons learned:

* I realized that six tomato plants are a bit much for one family...

(I fed the neighbors; canned sauce; froze a ton of them and still have more!)

* Next year I will be extra careful...
not to plant "wild" sunflower seeds in my boxes again.

(I did not intend to... perhaps the birds helped me out a bit)

* I must definitely start earlier with my greens in the Spring...
we loved them so...

* I will make room for strawberries...

* ...and maybe some bush beans...

* One, and only one, Zucchini plant is all anybody really needs!

This growing season has been a time of hard work and lots of enjoyment of the fruits of our labor! There is nothing more satisfying than feeding my family with the fresh home grown produce from our own little garden... I am thankful I had the opportunity to plant some seeds and watch them grow...

Happy Birthday Dad!

Pop Pop Jake getting a bit of Birthday Love!

We love you and enjoyed our short, but sweet, visit with you this week....

A Wild Weekend!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity...

Sarah has been studying Bears over the past month. The small Science Club we belong to decided to take a field trip to "Yellow Stone Bear World" (near Rexburg, Idaho) and the Wolf and Bear Discovery Center (in West Yellowstone, MT). It was a great day of learning about bears and their habitat. What a great way to have fun together and enjoy some "hands on" learning in the process!

Yellowstone Bear World is a zoo of sorts. It's main goal is to share wildlife that are common to Northern Idaho and Montana. They have a small drive-thru "safari" of sorts. As well as a large petting zoo filled with some usual and not so usual animals.

Sarah and the Noisy Pig!

Thomas feeding the deer...

Our families had a lot of fun watching the bears up close
(from the safety of Kronz Family RV).

Thomas at the helm... on the lookout for bears!

DON'T FEED THE BEAR!

The next day we were thrilled to have the opportunity to spend some time at Yellowstone National Park.

Later in the Day at the South Entrance of the Park

The air was a brisk 22 degrees. It was beautiful...the steam rising from the lakes and streams as well as the thermal activity was amazing... We saw a Bison that walked right by our car on the road. I dared not get out to find the camera! Elk were plentiful as well. The bears were elusive.




The highlight of the day was Old Faithful! We had fun checking out the Historic Old Faithful Inn and shared a meal with our friends from back home.

A fun time shared with the best of friends...

Sarah enjoying her first glimpse of Old Faithful

The Historic Old Faithful Inn

Sarah making friends with the Elk

Later, as the temperatures came up, we enjoyed a few excursions by West Lake on our way out of the South End of the Park toward the Grand Teton National Park.

The Continental Divide!

A walk along West Thumb

Thermal Activity near West Thumb

I love watching my family walk through the forest...

The Grand Teton's...

Another State!
Sarah and Thomas at the border of Wyoming and Idaho

It was a very full day... but worth every mile!