Christmas Ponderings

You never know when it's going to hit you. It might come from a certain expression ... a little giggle ... a funny quirk .... or a memorable day. Ah yes, it's often on my mind. I suppose even more around special holidays. But today ...... it was the new pink robe that brought that pierce so tenderly and sharply to my heart.

I noticed she was gone for a few minutes. Sure enough, here she comes boppin' in to where we were .... having ditched the clothes behind with her little chocolate-toned body all adorned in her new robe. "Mommy! ... it's so comfy and cozy!", she said, as she twirled about showing us all. And as I reached for the camera to capture this fun memory, it hit me once again.

My mind drifted off thinking about another momma .... wonder what she'd think of this precious little sight, I thought. Would it make her giggle to see this spunky little girl all happy and dressed in pink?

Often these moments are a little bittersweet for me. I wonder at times if the other momma would approve, for lack of better words, on how we're raising this most amazing little girl that she gave birth to. As I was baking Christmas cookies this year, the thought came to me that she would want us to rejoice in these times and enjoy all these wonderful moments in Naomi's life. She would want her to be happy.

I wonder today if something made her stop and ponder and dream of this wee-one. Oh how I pray she is well and that the God of all Hope is her Peace today.

Soon we'll be celebrating Naomi's 4th birthday. Can it really be four years since I took those flights to get to Texas? How I would have given anything just to have one picture of that dear other momma. And so tonight as I stop and think this all through ...... yes, there are some tears. But oh the JOY of getting to witness this child have LIFE, because of one brave Momma's choice to walk a very difficult journey all alone and give her the best gift she ever could .... the gift to live.

What a privilege it was tonight to sit together and hear the Christmas story being read. For these girls to hear of a most special baby born many, many years ago. He came so that we might have life.

Oh Lord, help us to live our lives well ... for your glory.

Merry Christmas!

Winter in ND!

Well, in "our plan" we'd be spending this winter in IL. However, here we are. :) It has truly been a time of reflection. As we wait on our house selling and for some details to come together for our move to IL, we look back and recount all the times in our lives that God has proved himself faithful. What a comfort that is!!!

Recently, the kids all bundled up and ran outside for a quick photo session so I could complete a project for all the grandparents. This week we're to get a heat wave for above zero temps .... so I'm sure they'll be out enjoying the snow and sledding!

While we continue to trust the Lord about all the unknowns in our lives ...... we also REJOICE in WHO He IS and what HE came to offer. How blessed we are to have such a loving, heavenly father. What JOY is in our hearts to celebrate His birth.

Warm blessings to you from frigid North Dakota!

Birthday Boy, Doing Hair and Setting the Stage

Sorry ... any of you that actually read this blog ... I've been very negligent on any updates. What can I say? ... the delays and unknowns in our lives leave us in "coping mode" much of the time and not much extra left. November left us really aching for extended family and sad we'll not be with them for the holidays. But it also brought a visit from grandparents which was HUGELY appreciated, a Birthday Boy celebration, lots of hair and "setting the stage" for an open house.

Our youngest son turned 11! .... can that really be? He is for sure our bundle of dynamite. Always has been, probably always will be. I LOVE how our children are so different, even though every now and then certain aspects can put this momma over the edge. :) Josiah wanted a football cake so that was a fun project. We enjoyed a great evening with friends, lots of pizza and plenty of chocolate! He had a great day! :)

Hair! ... what more can I say? We do lots of hair in this house. Naomi was in great need of a trim, as her hair had never been evened up throughout the baby-days-stage. So I finally conquered the task. As you can see, she hammed it up for her brothers taking the photos. :) Then came some braids, which only stayed in 24 hours. YEAH, you read that right! We'll not be doing that again soon. Back to twists that she can handle sleeping on. Maybe someday her desire for braids will overcome her sensory issues and she'll be able to handle it. Until then, we'll try something else!

We've been swamped preparing for our local craft fair (pics to come later on our projects) and decorating the house for the Tour of Homes! Our town invited us to participate to hopefully get the locals through here and let them see the renovations. BUT!, with all our Christmas things being shipped to IL, this has been quite an undertaking! Time to get out the paper crafting supplies and go to work. Thus another reason for our lack of updates.

While we long to have this move over and transition more complete in our lives .... we often stop and talk about God's incredible faithfulness to us while we wait. HE is so GOOD, even when circumstances are not. HE is in CONTROL, when we are so not! HE is our STRENGTH, when we have nothing left.

The Lord has been so faithful to teach us through this time. In the days ahead I'll share more with you about that. In the meantime we have to finish a mass of loose ends for the upcoming Tour of Homes. Would so appreciate your prayers concerning the sale of our home.