The holidays are here!

Ah, the holidays are here! I KNOW Thanksgiving and Christmas fall during the same time every year and yet like everyone else, I always have this unexplainable feeling of shock and surprise when they're actually here. This holiday season has started out a strange mix of the old and the new.

One new thing I've done this year is visit the Paramount Arts Festival of Trains and Trees. Back in October, the mom of one of my students began coming into the classroom and making ornaments with the kids. Our class decorated a tree for this fundraising event and our theme was "God keeps His Promises". All the ornaments related to the story of Noah's Ark because that was our Bible unit at the time.

As we walked through the displays of trees with the kids there were trees of various themes: recycling, breast cancer awareness, Traditional themes like Charles Dickens and even business themes like the Chick-Fil-A cows! We loved seeing our tree lit up- it was the only one we saw that had a Biblical theme.

An old thing we do at Covenant School is hold a Thanksgiving Feast where Secondary students (7-12th grade) serve their teachers and express their thanks... in song, in reading Scripture and in written notes. Garrett played guitar and he and Hannah sang "It is well with my Soul" as their contribution. Hannah is also on student council, so she decorated for the event.

...I had a feast of a different kind. A new thing I did was participate in the other Thanksgiving Feast Covenant School holds every year- the Kindergarten Feast. (I WISH I could post pictures of my students from this special day, but obviously to protect their privacy I won't post their pictures.) Half the class dressed as Pilgrims and the other half as Indians. So... Mrs. Eplin, the other teacher dressed as a Pilgrim and I was by default, the Indian. They recited facts they learned about the first Thanksgiving, sang and taught their parents about the four food groups (our Nutrition unit). My friend Kelli caught me just as I was taking my tee pee and heading back to class... oh, the things I will do for those sweet little five year olds!

After two days of "Feasting" at school, we were ready for our real Thanksgiving break. We spent the day with Louie's family doing the usual turkey day stuff... eating turkey and the trimmings and hanging out. It's a really casual day. We helped Louie's parents decorate their tree, Louie and his sister played... I mean, cleaned up in the kitchen, and Garrett went outside with his cousin to shoot his bow. We all took a turn shooting!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is on the top ten most traditional days our family has. When Garrett was 4 years old and Hannah was 3, we did something I always wanted to do... went to a tree farm and cut down our own tree. We had a ball and have been going every year since. My kids have no memory of an artificial tree-only hunting and cutting down a real tree.

It usually goes the same way... We take the 45 minute curvy road out to the tree farm and listen to our Christmas CDs. Most years, I torture them with a few minutes of Alvin and the Chipmunks. This was a good year because no one got car sick. When we arrive, we always take the "look how much they've grown" photo when we get there before we start the hunt.

They have five fields of trees, two of which are on a hillside. We (of course!) must examine every tree because how awful would it be to choose a tree and miss the 'perfect one' in the next field. This tree hunt was a bit of an exception because it was C.O.L.D. The wind was whipping through the holler and Becca's nose was numb.

Garrett thought he found a good one... let's just change your name to 'Griswold'... it's a BIT too large for our living room, I think.

Hannah also thought she found one... I guess she was going for more the cute, Charlie Brown variety. It was sweet, but I would like to actually hang some ornaments on the tree.

Then, we found one that seemed just about right. Could have been about 6 inches taller, but bright green and a nice full shape. That'll do. Time for the next traditional photo next to the tree before we saw it down.

Now that the kids are bigger, we let them take turns helping saw the tree. This year's honor went to our 1st born... since we aren't sure where he'll be attending college next year, we aren't 100% sure if he'll be here next year for this special day. (sigh) This realization actually brought tears... not by me this time.

After a good shaking on the cool tree shaking machine and a quick shove through the bagger, we were ready to head home with our treasure. (Of course, we have a whole method and tradition for getting the tree set up and decorated as well- but I'll spare you all that!)

Last but not least, the final traditional photo- the entire family on our special 13th anniversary of tree hunting!

Pumpkin Personalities

You can tell a lot about a person by the way they carve a pumpkin.

It took a few days, but we finally had gotten all three kids together the week of Halloween to carve a jack-o-lantern. Now that they're all old enough to carve their own, I get to sit back and laugh at them and take pictures. (and clean up, of course) They each have their own unique way

of tackling the job.

Becca really, really doesn't like the smell of raw pumpkin, so she curled up her nose the whole time.

She also tries to scrape the pumpkin without actually 'touching' any of the pumpkin guts. That was taking forever so Hannah insisted on helping her out to speed along the process. I must say, though, Becca was creative and didn't use a template but instead had an idea of making her pumpkin look like a disco ball. I found a melon baller which worked great for making all those little holes.

Hannah took a totally different approach. She was far more analytical and aggressive. She reviewed lots of templates before choosing one that looked like Tinker Bell. She taped it to her pumpkin and scored it. Then, she carved it carefully but like she meant it! There were certain tools she liked better than others and she was up to her elbows in goo, but didn't care.

Garrett was Mr. Laid Back as he carved. He found a happy clip art face and glanced at it as he free handed his carving. It was a simple design and didn't take him anytime. The smell and guts didn't bug him at all.




Those pumpkins were tough to carve- they were having to put some 'muscle' into it- and at one point my competitive children were trying to decide who was stronger. Silly, silly, children. Everyone knows I'm the strongest!






So the finished product looked best lit up in the dark but I forgot to get a picture. It's really a snapshot of three personalities!






Then, Becca went Trick-or-Treating with a group of friends. In a big family neighborhood like ours, there are kids everywhere! I'm so glad she has so many good buddies.






Like Becca's costume? I made it with my own little hands 20 years ago when Louie and I were dating. I wore it when I was 19 and in college. (I was teeny-tiny back in the day) Doesn't she look lovely? Too grown up for me!






Then, after what seemed like a thousand practices, Garrett's two weekends of performances wrapped up for Little Shop of Horrors. I must admit, it was my least favorite play he's participated in- this was not children's theater! But his role as the voice of the plant was awesome. He got SO many compliments from community members who saw the show. His big booming voice sounded like a big black man... not a teenage boy!






Last week, I was so fortunate to be able to spend three days with my friends Kelli attending a Christian Women's Leadership Forum in North Carolina. We heard messages from women who have written Bible study materials and books as well as attend break out sessions about how to break down scriptures and teach them to others. We were thrilled to participate in worship services and were encouraged to continue to reach out to women in our communities. I was so happy, too, to spend time with Kelli. We've been friends for 17 years and yet we rarely take time to get away from our lives and just reconnect. Those relationships are valuable and need to be protected. It was worth all the effort!





I was talking to my Sunday school class today and said... "it's just 2 weeks until Advent begins". Oh. My. Goodness. I absolutely love Christmas. Love it, I tell you. I have a stack of books I only read at Christmastime. I have a stack of CDs I pop in the CD player the day after Thanksgiving. And Christmas Movies? Yep. Ask Louie my favorites and he'll tell you that I like them all but there are certain ones that make me sob-or laugh-every time. But that will have to wait for another blog!

Louie's 7th Birthday

Today is Louie's 7th birthday.


Of course, a few weeks ago we celebrated Louie's 'real' birthday when he turned 41 years old. But exactly seven years ago tonight Louie was in critical condition after a heart attack and underwent quadruple by-pass surgery. He got a new start on life November 12, 2003, and so we've always celebrated it as his 'other' birthday.


Last week in Sunday school, we talked about what it means to be thankful as a believer. We decided that it begins with looking upward at who God is and being thankful before looking outward and being thankful for all we have. We talked about being thankful that our God is present with us, has a plan for our life and is powerful. Then, I read Habakkuk 3:2, "O Lord, we have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds O Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known". I asked everyone to share a display of the Lord's power they'd seen or experienced in their lifetime... and they struggled to answer.


Well, I've seen the Lord's power in great abundance in the last seven years. I've never seen the Lord heal a blind man, but I've seen Him heal a broken heart. I've never seen the Lord help the lame to walk but I've seen Him help the bitter person to forgive. I've never seen the Lord provide daily manna in the desert, but I've seen Him provide daily encouragement through just the right verse. I've never seen the Lord part the sea so His people could walk through on dry ground to the Promised Land, but I've seen Him make a way for a family as they head to where God has called them. I've never seen the Lord raise a dead man, but I've seen a marriage resurrected and breathe new life.


And why the display of His power? Because we deserved it somehow? Just the opposite actually. God simply did what he always does... pours into the weak, the broken, the undeserving... and in this act, His power is most beautifully displayed.

Like Habakkuk, you may have heard of His great deeds...let me make it clear. He is still working in powerful ways.

He has made it known in MY generation- in MY family- Praise God.