Santa Claus came to town.

We have had such a busy holiday season that it's nice to finally sit down and take it all in. I have too much to post for just one blog, so I thought I'd start with our Christmas morning.

Poor Abby woke up (or should I say, we woke her up) at 9:00 am with a 103 degree fever. Although she was visibly under the weather, she was a such a sport and was able to keep up with Jacob and all the excitement that comes Christmas morning. We started with pancakes and a Happy Birthday song to Jesus. As Christians we know the most important part of Christmas is our Savior's birth. We want to be sure that our children know that although the presents, lights, and carols are fun, what Christmas is really about is the day that Jesus came to earth as a baby to redeem us from our sins. Our goal is to keep Jesus as the focus and for our children to know this as well. So I really enjoyed our pancake tradition and birthday singing. It's something that our kids can understand and grasp at their age and it was great to see them get really excited about Jesus instead of just the presents under the tree.

Jacob was very different this year than last. He unwrapped his presents much slower and took time to assemble them all before moving on to the next. I am amazed at what a big boy he is becoming and it's so great to see him grow and learn. Abby, on the other hand, tore into each and every present and couldn't wait to get to the next. Santa brought her an Ariel costume as well as her first ballerina tutu and she immediately insisted on putting them on. She is definitely all girl and loves to play dress up more than anything.

Santa also dropped off something in the garage for the kiddos--their very own John Deere riding tractor. Both Jacob and Abby had so much fun riding that thing around in our court on Christmas morning. I can't believe what a good driver Jacob is! He's got the whole turning, steering, and even reversing thing down to a science!

We had a wonderful Christmas morning and I hope all of you did as well.

All decked out.

Merry Christmas

I never used to be a crier. It would always take a lot to bring me to tears. Most of the time I only recall crying when I would get really angry. I would get so frustrated that crying was the only thing I could do.

Motherhood completely changed that. Three years ago, after giving birth to a baby boy, I became an official crier. Everything makes me cry. The first time I heard the words, "Mama" or when Jacob was old enough to say, "I love you" completely reduced me to a puddle of tears.

But I vividly remember one crying session three years ago today. It was my first Christmas Eve as a mother. I remember sitting at church, holding my precious baby boy in my arms and hearing about my own Savior as a baby. It was the first time I could actually relate to Mary, Jesus' mother, on a personal level. How much joy she must have felt as she held the baby that she carried for nine months for the first time outside her body. How she must have stayed awake like so many mothers do all night just watching his little chest rise and fall with every breath. How much love she must have instantly felt when looking into his eyes.

All of these things I have felt as a mother. But for Mary, when she looked into her precious newborn's eyes she was looking into the face of God. How incredible, how holy, how completely perfect. This realization, that Mary gave birth to not just a son, but to God's own son, made me weep with gratitude. The thought of God, coming down from his throne in heaven in the form of a baby so that we can spend eternity with Him makes me cry out to him in awe, in thankfulness, and in love.

I've cried for many reasons already this holiday season. Mostly because my heart is breaking that I can't be with my father here on earth any more to celebrate this wonderful time of year. But I've also cried when rejoicing in the fact that my dad is with my eternal Father forever. And so tonight at our Christmas Eve service I cried once again at the thought of a baby, born of a virgin, coming to earth to save the world from sin.

I am so thankful for that baby boy. A boy who would grow into a perfect man who would hang on the cross for me. Who would face ridicule, scorn, and death so that I can spend eternity with Him. What a wonderfully amazing gift from my perfect Savior. What a truly holy night. And what a great reason to cry. To cry out to Jesus in humility, in gratitude, and in true awe of the one who came to earth to redeem a fallen world. Thank you Jesus for this truly awesome Christmas gift.

The best teacher.

I love when God chooses to humble me through my children. Just the other day Jacob was telling me that God doesn't like it when I did this or that. Many times I have been quoted saying that Abby "doesn't talk as much as Jacob did at that age" or that she didn't "walk as early as Jacob did." I never realized how much I compared the two, or how unfair it is to even do that. They are two different people. And I have also raised them differently. Poor Abby doesn't get as much reading time as Jacob did. But that's because I have two children now. When it was just Jacob he was my only focus. Therefore, we had lots of one on one time because it was just that--just the two of us. Now there are three of us on a daily basis (and four when Daddy gets off work). That means less one on one time for Abby.

So I'm always so impressed when she seems to pick up on things that I don't deliberately sit down and teach her. With Jacob I worked on his colors, numbers, and shapes on a daily basis. I realize that I just don't do this as much with Abby. So this morning when I went in to pick her up out of her crib (my favorite daily interaction with her) and she shouted, "Mommy...purple!" while pointing at my purple sweater I couldn't help but be so proud of my little girl. It's amazing how much she aborbs and takes in.

And then I also realized that she has two teachers now...both myself and Jacob. So instead of getting down on myself when I don't always have the time to sit with her individually and teach her the things that I taught Jacob, my heart is warmed by the thought that her "big" brother is now a teacher, taking the things that I have taught him and passing them on to his sister.

God gave us Heaven.

Yesterday I took the kiddos over to Barnes and Noble in search for a couple of new children's books. Jacob is way past the board books and actually has a pretty long attention span when it comes to reading so I wanted to buy him an older book. One with actual paper pages.

After looking around for a bit I found this book, "God Gave Us Heaven" by Lisa Bergren. It was on a display at the end of the aisle and the adorable polar bear illustration immediately drew me to it. I skimmed it and thought that the theology of it seemed pretty good, but it wasn't until I sat down with Jacob last night to read it that I realized how spot on this book is.

It follows a conversation that Little Cub and his father, Papa, have regarding Little Cub's curiosity about heaven. I was amazed that it didn't shy away from the difficult things. Like that you actually have to die in order to get there. When my dad past away from kidney cancer last May I remember the nurse from hospice telling me that it was okay to talk to a three year old about death. That I should actually tell Jacob that Papa had died and is now with Jesus. I don't know why but it has been so hard for me to say those words. Seeing them in print within this children's book made it so much easier for me and opened the door for Jacob and I to actually talk about death and to face the reality that our Papa had died.

I was also so impressed that this book clearly illustrates the gospel message. That you have to accept Jesus in order to get to heaven. It depicts Jesus as the bridge between humanity and a God who longs to be with us forever.

This book is really amazing and I'm so grateful that I stumbled upon it. I have been having a really difficult time this holiday season without my dad and have been crying much more than usual. Jacob has picked up on this and so we've been talking about Papa more. About how much we miss him but that he is "in heaven probably playing puzzles with Jesus" as Jacob likes to say.

I highly recommend this book for all children. It's a great way to talk about the reality of death without it being scary or something that we should be afraid of. It gives hope that we will one day see our loved ones again and that we will get to spend eternity worshipping our Savior. I've enjoyed the time that Jacob and I have spent reading it together and the conversations that have taken place between us. I'm looking forward to the day when I can read it with Abby and tell her about her amazing Papa that is now in Heaven with our Lord. How awesome to have this book as a tool in that process.

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday (night)

Don't know what "Not me!" Monday is? Go on over to My Charming Kids and join in on the fun!

So this last weekend I most certainly did not nearly pee my own pants in excitement when my daughter Abby told me she had to go potty and then actually went potty on the toilet. And then a moment later I definitely did not have to hold back the tears when I realized that my little baby girl wasn't such a little baby anymore. And then I absolutely did not decide to dress her in a onesie that was way too small after naptime just to try to convince myself that she was, in fact, still a baby.

I also did not freak out on Thursday when my husband called and said that he felt like he might be getting the stomach flu that is going around. I definitely did not think about all of the ways that this would inconvenience our family and how we just all couldn't be out of commission for a week. And I did not give a little shout of praise when it turned out to be nothing and we all remained healthy for our weekend activities. And a tiny part of me does not think that this is going to jinx it all and we'll all wake up tomorrow feeling sick. Who worries like that? And I definitely am not a worrier:)

And lastly I did not just buy my husband the best Christmas present ever! He will not totally and completely love it and won't tell me what a wonderful wife I am. And I definitely did not (somewhat selfishly) get him something that we both can enjoy.

All you westcoasters come on and join all the fun! We've still got a few more hours of Not Me! Monday left so hop onboard and let us in on your confessions!

Is Jesus in your tummy?

I've been talking with Jacob a lot these days about Jesus and what it means to have him in your heart. I didn't begin my relationship with the Lord until I was in high school. I never grew up knowing that you could have a real, personal relationship with Him until a friend brought me to youth group. All of the bible stories and Sunday school songs that everyone brought up in the church seems to know are still new to me. So I'm learning these along with Jacob and it's actually very fun (that Zacchaeus song cracks me up!).

Today we were in the car and Abby was being very crabby. If she keeps this up, she's going to get stuck with a new nickname. Anyways, Jacob was telling her not to scream that, 'it makes God angry when you scream, Abby. You need to obey God."

Then he paused for a moment obviously contemplating all of the recent talks about Jesus we have had.

Then out came, "Abby, do you have Jesus in your tummy?"

Wrong anatomy, but still the same message. I hope that he continues to have this desire to witness and to ask others if they know Jesus. I have to work on the "Jesus in your heart" thing, but it's definitely a good start.