Hugging Jesus

"Mama, I want to hug Jesus."

Sweetheart, we'll have to wait until we get to heaven. Do you want to hug me and pretend you're hugging Jesus?

Eyes fill, lips pout. "I want to hug Him now."

The exchange with my daughter yesterday and the thoughts by Spurgeon that I read this morning echo in my heart today:

"The great test of your soul's condition is, What do you think of Christ? Is He to you "fairer than the children of men" (Psalm 45:2); "the chief among ten thousand" (Song of Solomon 5:10); the "altogether lovely" (Song of Solomon 5:16)? Measure your faith by this barometer: how highly esteemed is Christ in your heart? If you have thought little of Christ, if you have been content to live without His presence, if you have cared little for His honor, if you have neglected His laws, then your soul is sick - may God grant that it is not near death! But if the first thought of your spirit is, "how can I honor Jesus?"; if the daily desire of your soul has been, "Oh that I knew where I might find Him;" you may have a thousand difficulties and even be a babe in Christ, and yet you are perfectly safe, because you honor Jesus. Your rags disappear when you focus on His royal apparel. Your wounds, though they bleed in torrents, are small when you think of His wounds. Are they like glittering rubies in your esteem? What do you think of the King in His beauty? Does He have a glorious high throne in your heart?"

Road tripping in style

We just got back from our Christmas trip to Minnesota, which was also the maiden voyage of our new (to us) 2002 Toyota Sienna minivan. As we experienced heated leather seats, a smooth ride and a spacious interior, I couldn't help but be full of thankfulness for this latest gift of faithfulness from our heavenly Father.

Shortly after Abby was born, I did some research into minivans, concluding that perhaps we'd buy one soon. Based on my reading, I determined that I'd like for us to get a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna since those two models rule the reliability rankings. I started praying that God would provide us with an Odyssey or a Sienna, even going so far as to check the classified ads nearly every week. Keith wasn't in much of a hurry, though, and our Taurus served us well with two carseats in the back. However, since baby #3 is coming in February, our focus intensified as we truly needed more space.

I've always assumed that we'd need to spend somewhere around 8k to get the van we wanted - early 2000's, miles around 100k. Normally the dealerships advertise those vans around 10k and they're hard to find in the private party listings. Two weeks ago I was looking through the Saturday paper and found a Sienna listed for 5k at a dealership. We decided that was worth checking out. It turned out that the front bumper would need to be replaced, but everything else looked good. Keith talked them down to $3800 and we got an estimate for the bumper around $600-800.

Long story short, it seems that it was a great deal. Also, we plan to sell our Mazda, which has held its value very well. We bought it four years ago on eBay for $4500 (about half of it's book value at the time), have had almost no trouble with it and it still should bring somewhere in the neighborhood of $3800.

Which means that God has given us a wonderful new minivan for the cost of a replacement bumper!

Christmas baking

We had a quiet morning ahead of us today, so I decided to tackle our biggest Christmas baking project. Normally that would be cutting out and decorating sugar cookies, but the kids got to do that in TX with one grandma then again with my mom a few days ago. Instead we tried a new recipe, Peppermint Chocolate Yummies - and boy are they yummy! It took pretty much all morning, but that was perfect for today. I liked that there were lots of little jobs the kids could help with besides just adding ingredients: melting chocolate in the microwave, unwrapping and crushing candy canes, pressing cookie dough with a sugar-coated glass, frosting cookies with peppermint frosting, and sprinkling crushed candy canes on top. We had a great time together and the end result is truly great (especially for a chocoholic like myself!)

Peppermint-Frosted Chocolate Yummies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2- 1oz squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 cup all-purpose flour

granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

2-3 T milk

red food coloring

crushed peppermint candies

1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

2 tsp shortening

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat 1/2 cup butter for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup granulated sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in egg and melted unsweetened chocolate. Beat in flour until combined.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Grease the bottom of a glass and coat with granulated sugar; flatten cookies with sugar-coated glass. Bake in a 375 oven for 8 minutes or until set. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

In a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat 1/4 cup butter for 30 seconds. Beat in powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and enough milk to make spreading consistency. If desired, tint pink with food coloring. Spread frosting over each cookie leaving a 1/4 inch border around the edge. Sprinkle with peppermint candies.

In a small saucepan heat and stir semisweet pieces and shortening over low heat until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over tops of cookies.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (We doubled this recipe and got 5 dozen.)

Boys in the house

You know there are four boys in the house when the following behaviors are observed:

"Amy, can I climb on the ceiling and hang from the light?"

Cutout cookie snowman and angel engage in ferocious warfare.

"Mom, don't say anything," as he grabs a flashlight and prepares to explore the crawlspace under the house.

Baby boy crawls towards the stairs and claps when I say "no". He then proceeds on his original mission.

Block nativity figures are mercilessly knocked down. (Isn't that what they're for?)

New books about lizards and snakes are pronounced "really neat".

All while the lone girl cousin helps to make lunch and puts her baby doll to bed.

Don't you just marvel at and rejoice in the gender differences?

Differing days

Yesterday: Three-year-old inexplicably awake at 5am, too sleepy to function, bitter cold trip to grocery store with kids in tow, crabby child, sink malfunction, had to take a nap and got nothing done all day.

Today: Adequate sleep, breakfast with a friend, temperatures warming, delightful children helping me to clean the house, Mom babysits so I can do errands, smiles and cheerful hearts all around.

Different. Sharply contrasted. Yet each day a gift to be received, cherished, learned from.

Father, may I receive with open arms whatever you send.

A weekend of gifts

Aside from my husband getting the stomach flu, it was a lovely weekend.

I put a pot of water, orange peels and cloves on the stove to make the house smell nice.

The kids and I made a centerpiece for the table using marshmallow snowmen, sugar snow, and Isaac's wooden train.

We decorated a gigantic tree with the help of my sister and our friends from India and Japan.

I told my children the Christmas story with a little help from our friends of the creche.

We listened to Christmas cds while sorting clothes for the coming baby.

I went to the bookstore with a friend from Russia who wanted help choosing gifts for my children.

My son practiced his lines for the Christmas program at church - "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light!"

We had tacos and gifts and a houseful of family for my daughter's 2nd birthday.

Temperatures reached thirty below zero with the wind chill.

The water lines to our kitchen sink froze, making it impossible to wash two days worth of dirty dishes.

The water lines to the shower did not freeze, making it possible for me to maintain sanity with the help of that daily luxury.

My daughter donned her Christmas apron to help me make "Magic Bars" (see recipe below).

My husband hugged me this morning and thanked me for working so hard to make our house a home.

I really don't need any gifts for Christmas.

MAGIC BARS
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Layer ingredients in 9x13 pan in order listed. Bake 350 for 30 minutes.

Magical Christmas to-do list

Presents bought and wrapped? Check.

But so much that I need to do before we leave to celebrate Christmas in another state.

Saturday - Decorate house and tree in the company of Japanese students we've befriended. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

Sunday - Celebrate daughter's birthday all the in-town family. Tacos and purple cupcakes.

Monday - Date to a Christmas concert (tickets were a gift!) with hubby. Restaurant food! and pizza for the kids and babysitter.

Tuesday - Doctor's appointment. Bible study. Christmas cookies had better be baked so I can start serving them!

Wednesday - One million errands across town. Mail packages. Pick up family portrait package. Send Christmas letter. Buy gift for the step-brother who already has the item that I had bought to give him.

Projects with the kids, baking cookies, postage, travel, events. More that I want to do: take each kid Christmas shopping individually to buy gifts for their dad and each other. Visit the local park with a lights display. Take cookie tins to the neighbors.

So much to do. Yet doing it all without getting stressed simply by delighting in each "task" is what makes the season magical. At least that's what I think.

One year ago . . .

One year ago today the spotting started. A week later, I was burying my baby in the ground instead of being happily twelve weeks pregnant.


Today I am twenty-nine weeks pregnant. Baby bounces merrily and often inside of me. I am happy to think of the little life that will soon emerge.


Yet I find that I make far fewer assumptions that "of course everything will go alright". This new life is a gift bought with a price: the baby I now carry would never have been conceived had its sibling not died.

These things are to difficult for me to comprehend. One life given for another - when is it worth it? What makes it worth it? I find that I must simply bow: these things are not given for me to know. His ways are higher than mine. Even "these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him. But the thunder of His power who can understand?" (Job 26:14)

I see glimpses of His power as He gives life . . . and takes it away. And I know that I will hear whispers of His love each time I snuggle my precious new baby so steeply bought.

Adios

We're off to Texas tomorrow; since our frequent flyer miles didn't allow us to book seats over a holiday, we're going between the holidays! The kids are super excited to fly on an airplane and see their uncles, and Abby will get to celebrate her second birthday while we're there.

Should be fun. And since I'm looking out my windows at snow right now, I sure won't be complaining about the balmy weather in Texas.

See ya in a few days.

Gifting woes

My little girl will turn two in three days. She wants cupcakes and a purple present. (Whatever that means). She will in fact be getting a puzzle and a doll baby carrier from her Daddy and Mommy. Plus probably a billion other presents from her grandparents.

My little boy had no idea what he wanted for Christmas when he was asked the other day. I'm glad. I'm wondering how to keep him that way when he will undoubtedly receive a gazillion Christmas gifts.

I can never think of anything I want for Christmas or birthdays. Sure, I could use a new pair of slippers. And my electric can opener broke. But that's the extent of it! Sometimes people think of ingenious gifts to give me and I'm thrilled with them even though I never knew I wanted them. But often I end up with lots of stuff that I just don't know what to do with.

The flip side of that is that I'm terrible of thinking of gifts FOR people. Tell me exactly what you want and I'll gladly buy it for you. But the ingenious thing - not my style. I end up feeling that I spent a lot of time thinking about and planning for a bunch of gifts that may or may not even be liked!

What to do? I don't know. I certainly don't want to stop giving (or getting) gifts. But our family gives well over 100 gifts a year between birthdays, Christmas, Mother's and Father's Days, weddings, and new babies, and I struggle to find balance between meaning and excess, between expressing love and feeding greed. As we all tighten our belts for possible lean years ahead, I wonder what strategies you employ for thoughtful gift-giving? And what kind of gifts do you truly love to receive?

Full house

It sure doesn't take long for this:

to turn into this:

But I am ever so grateful for more people in our lives than we know what to do with!