A simple 'baked potato' and salad dinner on Black Friday with our family.
I'm thankful for the Proverb about how simple food in the house of friends (and family) is better than the nicest fare in a home filled with strife!
Evie has given us some sleepless nights lately, the likes of which we haven't seen since her first few weeks of life! It was harder when we couldn't figure out why, and I was left to suspect pretty major sicknesses (thanks to late night google searches)
But now she seems very hoarse and congested, which is almost a relief - a reason for the irritability, inability to fall asleep unless in my arms, etc. She started antibiotics today.
This picture was taken Saturday morning - I think I held her in her room from 3-6, off and on, and then I brought her in our room at 6. She woke up at 8, stirred, found a cordless phone on a nightstand, cuddled back with the phone, and went back to sleep!
The other night I pulled out our Baby Wise II (5-15 months) to freshen up on parenting basics! Evie, we are armed with knowledge, so beware.
But Mommy's heart errs on grace, so you're okay.
Evie sporting her brother's hoodie from when he was this young!
A yummy snack I had yesterday.
I love pears and walnuts which is a frequent snack of mine, but we had a few fresh raspberries and it 'made' the snack!
Are you looking for some fun, free holiday fun for your kiddos?
Here is something I'm considering, but not necessarily endorsing since I haven't been yet - if you have, let me know, I'd love to hear a 'review.'
Well, the Bass Pro Shop, which is always fun for Simon, had an advertisement in Sunday's paper with their catalog. It looks really inviting -- "Come in and share a classic Christmas." "Remember when ... Christmas was magical ... let's get back there -- and you can at Santa's Wonderland during the Bass Pro Shops Classic Christmas. There's over 3,500 square feet of holiday magic, all for free. With elves, moving trains, arcades, and even a free photo with Santa. Time passes, hold on to Christmas."
Free Games and Activities: red Ryder Laser Range - Test your skills at the arcade. Hit 3 out of 5 targets and wind a prize! Remote-Control Cars! Take a tst drive witht he coolest remote control cars of the season! Activity Tables! Write and mail a letter to Santa, color a Cchristmas picture, and every weekend, make fun crafts! Trains! See old-time model trains running through the village! Soft Gun Arcade! Check out the newest toys at the soft gun arcade. Stick 3 out of 5 targets and win a prize!
Visit Santa on Main Street inside every Bass Pro Shops store!
The crafts for Dec . 13 and 14th are Candy Cane Reindeer.
On the 20 and 21, Cookie Decorating - Decorate a cookie for Santa!
Doesn't this sound like fun? The bonuses are it being free, of course, and that Matt will have as much fun going to Bass Pro as Simon! We might go the week that Matt is on vacation (we saved a week of vacation for Christmas) to beat the weekend crowds ....!
Uncle Scott stealing some of my love.
I think Scott and Tania had some fun with our camera last night while we were gone on a treasure hunt! (An amazing CList early gift to us from the Giver)
Tania!
Matt was telling Simon the story of Lazarus the other night.
Simon: Can we buy this movie?
Okay, here is the amazing gift God gave us - a new condition loveseat for only $125!
I have been praying for a new couch that was smaller and that didn't absorb as much natural light as our other couch! And at this price, we don't have to sell anything to justify it financially, so we were able to give our other couch away!
Apparently the lady we bought it from on Craigslist is an interior decorator and decorates model homes. This couch was in a model home for 2 months and is from Haverty's so it is in great condition. I think it's on Haverty's website right now for $699. I type all this to testify to God's grace only, not to our savviness. He let us redecorate our livingroom slowly at virtually no cost (we were able to sell things to buy things)!
When we covered our patio, as I suspected, we lost a lot of natural light, so I have been slowly selling other things and replacing it with secondhand things. I'm really sensitive to light. Now, the last thing left to switch is the rug which I love but definitely soaks up a lot of light!
I'm reading a book by Karen Mains right now (wife of David Mains) called "Open Heart Open Home" It's amazing! It's a reprint, so she edited it with experiences she has had in the last decades. It's grace-filled, others-centered, and most importantly, Cross-glorifying, and it's about one of my favorite subjects, hospitality!
I had a cup of coffee on our coffee table today, and Simon told me that, "God pulled me away from the coffee!" Random.
Simon is showing spiritual curiousity. Yesterday I was teaching him, "God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good."
Then he said, "God isn't good. He sends people to hell. Jesus is good. He lets people go to heaven."
Okay, so he has the trinity confused, but ....
And I said, "Simon, God is good. He is so good and holy. None of us are good. We all have done bad things and deserve to go to hell. But, guess what? God is so good that He made a way for us to go to heaven! And we didn't deserve it! " (And then the greatest news of course.)
Simon: But people in Asia go to hell because they don't know about Jesus yet.
I'm bad, I'm going to go to hell.
I want to be good.
Then he changed the conversation. (But I did let him know that we can't be good by ourselves, Jesus in us can help us.) He also wants to know such deep theological quandaries: Why is God in my stomach? -- I think that question stems from how God helped him in potty training. Another question? Why are there so many Jesus'es' (Stemming from that he lives in Mommy, Daddy, etc)
How young is too young to go further with this? Also, Matt wasn't at work, so I didn't want to steal the joy of all these spiritual milestones.
Last year we didn't decorate for Christmas.
This year it was easier than I remembered - I think b/c we don't have such a little baby anymore. My one point of rebellion: only the basic ball ornaments, no unpacking ornaments carefully wrapped in paper from little boxes only to be carefully repacked in a few weeks)
Plus, we inherited a pre-lit tree that is in great shape (thanks mom and dad) so how easy is that! I know, I know, we don't get the smell (or the falling needles), so I need to go to Pier One or Bath and Body or something and buy some holiday-appropriate room spray.
Someone mentioned once that places that sell 'real' Christmas trees will sometimes give you extra greens (like from when they trimmed it) Maybe I should look into that.
I guess our couch might be too country/cottagey for some. It almost matches perfectly a picture from a living room in my 'idea file.' I have a notebook of pages from magazines, etc, that inspire me. Then, I don't have to keep the whole magazine!
Simon's first words this morning, "Can I play with Evie?"
This piano picture shows a shopping regret of mine.
(disclaimer: I shop more in Dec, of course, than other months)
We keep giving simple, I think, and the focus on Christ, but I love giving gifts! It's probably my love-language (sad, I know)
I remember when we were first called to Gospel for Asia and to live on less, one of the things I struggled the most with was not being able to give as much. God has been good, though, and has blessed me with bargains that help me give still and has given me more creativity to find other ways to give!
Well....on Black Friday I got lost somewhere on Addison/Inwood road. And I happened upon a Tuesday Morning "Last Call." Don't ask me where it is, I was lost, but I think I could maybe describe where it is - and I did note that they have odd hours and I think are only open Thurs-Saturday...?. But, I thought, okay if Tuesday morning has great finds, the clearance store must be amazing. Of course nothing there can be returned, so shop carefully.
I bought a toy sword for Simon there which was on my list of things to get him. His other sword has been taped once too much with duct-tape. I bought Evie a "pound of buttons" that was just $1 and the original price was $29. I don't know who was the original intended audience, but I got a steal for my sweet little girl. One day she can enjoy them, she's too little now, but they make a great decoration in her room, nestled into an old carafe.
I regress.
My regret: the lamp on the piano.
I regret I only bought one.
They were $5 - and were samples from a supplier. A quality supplier. And we always need lamps - our house is too dark for me otherwise.
