The True Christmas Spirit

I was reading my devotional book this morning in my quiet time and came across this story. I hope it encourages your heart like it did mine.

"One night Conrad, a cobler of shoes, dreamed that Christ would come to his shop on the following day. Early the next morning Conrad went to the woods to gather greens and flowers to decorate his simple shop for the Lord's coming.

All morning he waited, but the only visitor was an old man who asked if he could sit down to rest. Conrad saw that his shoes were worn. Before sending the stranger on his way, conrad put the best pair of shoes in his shop on the old man's feet.

Throughout the afternoon Conrad waited for the Lord's coming, but the only person he saw was an old woman struggling under a heavy load. Out of compassion he brought her in and gave her some food he had prepared for Christ. She went on her way refreshed.

Just as evening was falling, a lost child entered Conrad's shop. Conrad carried the child home, and then hurried back, lest he miss the coming of Christ.

Though Conrad waited long and patiently, Christ did not come. Finally, in disappointment, the old cobbler cried;

Why is it Lord, that your feet delay?

Did you forget that this was the day?

Then soft in the silence a voice he heard:

"Lift up your heart, for I kept my word.

Three times I came to your friendly door;

Three times my shadow was on your floor.

I was the beggar with the bruised feet;

I was the woman you gave to eat;

I was the child on the homless street!"

I pray that I will always remember the true meaning of Christmas and teach my girls that truth! May you also know Jesus as your Savior, and may you and yours find the joy of sharing with others in need. Then Christmas for you will not be merely a holiday but a holy day, a celebration of the love of God and love for others. And that is what Christmas is really all about.

Finally some pictures

This is Gavin (the girls cousin and Chase our dog that we can't have where we live so he went to live with grandma and papa. Gavin loves Chase and begged grandma to bring him in the house because it was so cold. She agreed so Gavin took a nap with him! Cute!
This is Kailey and her cousin and buddy Rachelle. Kailey wanted to go outside and play in the snow like all of her other cousins but once we got her all bundled up and ready she was afraid to get off of Rachelle's lap. Here is Chris with 2 of his neices Mindy and Rachelle and Kailey in the middle...still on Rachelle's lap.

Kailey discovered play dough and loves it. I love it too! I have been able to sit her at the table and actually get dinner made and things done in the kitchen!
Now that I have this picture up, I can see that is is pretty dark, oh well. This was the day of our "snow storm". Both girls spent most of the afternoon looking out the window. Kailey wanted to go out so bad, but Lauryn was sick so I didn't want to get her out.

Here is Lauryn geting her first haircut. My friend and neighbor, Marietta cut her hair and it looks so cute! Lauryn was very hesistant at first but ended up doing a great job of holding still!

Fun times! I will try to be better at posting pictures more often. Have a super day!!!!

A Long Week and Weekend

My apologies for not posting for several days, maybe a week actually. I have been practicing my nursing skills the past several days. The girls have been really sick. Over the course of 4 days we had both of them admitted to the hospital. That was completely stressful! Trying to figure out people to watch one kiddo so we could be with the other in the hospital and trying to figure out how Chris can go to work with both of them sick, one at home and one in the hospital still. Pretty sure most people aren't jumping up and down with excitement to hang out with a contagious little baby. But...we made it. Chris just stayed home and won't get paid for that time off but God is faithful so we are trusting He will make up for that! The girls are on the mend and feeling so much better. PTL!!! We are heading to Wichita this weekend to celebrate Christmas with my in-laws. I am really looking forward to getting away for a bit and letting grama and papa spoil the girls.
I was tagged by a fellow blogger friend to tell 7 random things about me, so here it goes...

1. I used to be totally into rock climbing (i am way to out of shape for that now)

2. I am pretty sure that I could eat chips and salsa every day and never get tired of it

3. I was born at home

4. I have never had a cavity

5. Chris was the first guy that I ever kissed on a first date!!

6. I have had a life long dream of being on wheel of fortune

7. I have 2 girls and I don't know how to french braid

Ok, there ya go! Random enough? That was kinda fun!

have a great weekend!

Clump-Clump Cart

Last night was a hectic night. I ran to the store without makeup or other vital beauty enhancements. Feeling a bit self-conscious, I consoled myself with the idea that it should be easy to shop inconspicuously for such a short errand. And then I heard it. "Oh, no, not again! I thought out loud. Yep, I grabbed another clump-clump cart! I hate those things, especially when I am trying to just blend in with the other non make-up'd mommies. I think most seasoned shoppers have had one of these carts at some point, ya know the cart that limps along like a peg-legged pirate thanks to the clump of blackish gunk stuck to the wheel. Nasty! So much for shopping unnoticed. As I clanged along, I decided that this was a conspiracy. I am convinced that stores actually order the carts this way to save money on janitorial costs by having unsuspecting shoppers clean the floors with these "lint brushes" on wheels. Any way, you can probably guess what happened next. Yeah, I ran into a neighbor of mine. Lovely. I tried to make small talk and told her how agitated I was with this lopsided cart that I felt like scraping the clump off with my bare hands an hurling it into the bakery. Apparently she was unmoved by my emotional confession as she just walked away.
On a spiritual level(trust me clump-clump carts are full of theological significance) I realized that those irritating clumps were metaphors for the troubles that attach themselves to the shopping cart of my life. When I try to remove the clumps myself, I end up with a big hairy mess on my hands. In the grocery store of life, I need to learn to call on the Manager when I face sticky situations. I should cry out to God, "Woman needs clump removal-aisle ten!"

Silly story, I know. But thanks for stopping by!

I Love MOPS

I just got back from our last MOPS group for this season...sniff, sniff, sniff. It was a blast. The ladies who do an outstanding job heading it up all gave away one of their favorite things (like Oprah, except no cars!) It was so much fun. We got candles, fuzzy slipper socks, chocolate, lip gloss, cheesecake, scrapbook pages, and so much more. Lots of fun! It was sad though because my friend Emily, who is the co-coordinator and takes care of the creative stuff, it was her last group before she moves to Florida. She has such a heart for this ministry and it is clear that she is loved by many people in our group. She will be missed! But not to worry...she is so likeable that she will find another group so easily! Well, I need to clean. I am so ashamed of how dirty I let my house get this week. I need a maid! Any takers? Thanks for stopping by! More later...

Sloth Mom

I' m a pretty laid-back mom by nature. Although that may sound desirable to some super charged mommies, it's not politically correct in todays fast paced society. For example my day started out routinely enough like any high energy moms would by taking a shower. Lauryn was already down for her morning nap and Kailey was perfectly content watching the friendly bilingual dinosaurs jump around, so I thought I would give my hair the 3 minute miracle conditioner and just relax. By the time I had dried my hair, put on my face, and got dressed, an hour had gone by and Kailey had moved on to drawing all over the newspaper and bills I had set out on the table to go through. So, with my to-do list in hand, I yelled, "Time to go bye-bye!" Something about escaping the confines of the house with a 2 year old and a baby makes me instantly feel productive. By the time we waited for our oil change it was 11am and time to think about lunch... I did like any other mom would do and went home to fix a well balanced meal before we finished out the days to-do list...ok, not really, who does that? We headed for the golden arches and I prayed that they would have the last "bee" we needed to complete our collection. The next thing I knew, noon was gone and I still had my list staring at me...the laundry...undone, the bills...undone, and dinner... still frozen rock solid in the freezer. I keep asking myself, why can't I switch from park mode to drive with out it taking a huge effort? I get caught in the trap of comparing myself to other moms mothering styles...not good, I know. I have a friend who reminds me that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the cul-de-sac. She challenged me to ask God to show me the positive aspects of my personality and how it uniquely meets the needs of the children and husband God entrusted to me. Good advice! Meanwhile, I don't think there is any harm in admiring the style and pace of other moms and even learning a few good tips but I just have to be careful not to get stuck and find myself comparing. Does anyone else ever struggle with this or am I completely off my rocker? Ok, thanks for letting me vent! Also, thanks to all of you who keep checking my blog. I will try and do better about posting more often. My camera is on the frits too, so as soon as that is fixed I will have lots more pics. My friend Emily refers to leaving comments as "blog lovin". I am needing some blog lovin! Come on!!!