Christmas Checklist

Tree up and decorated. 
Nativities set up
Lights on the house
Field trip to tree farm with Andrews class, since we use a fake one.
Chtristmas cards sent out
The Nutcracker seen and enjoyed with girls
A Christmas Carol  seen and enjoyed with Aaron's class
Winter parties at school done and gifts for all the teachers and bus drivers
Christmas dinners with friends
Baked goodies passed out for all of our neighbors(17)
More baking than I care to count up!
Gingerbread house made
Advent calendar opened every day
Ornaments made and given
Gifts bought and wrapped
More basketball games gone to than I care to count
Sledding in our front yard
Work Christmas parties gone to
Reaker Family Christmas done
Bennett family Christmas done

All that is left is Christmas with my family on Christmas eve, here.  Christmas eve eve service on the 23rd due to the aforementioned.

And most of all Rejoicing in the Promises kept so many years ago to John the Baptist, Joseph, Mary and for all people.

We are so very grateful to be doing life with so many wonderful people.  Thanking God every day for our abundance of blessings.
tia
May God richly bless you this Christms season

Health Care Reform

Is anyone interested in this health care reform vote which happened this morning at 1am?

here is an article which, in my estimation, does a good job of explaining the current status.

not exactly the most exciting stuff yet very relevant.

jb

Benefit #2

Here we go again:

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;


all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits-

Benefit #2:
4 who redeems your life from the pit



and crowns you with love and compassion,
 
I am not certain that the "pit" alluded to here specifically means "hell". 
 
However...
 
I am absolutely certain that we all have fallen into "pits" in our lifetimes and have needed  a Redeemer.
 
So....
 
Not only are we dragged up from a pit....which is amazing enough... we are then crowned (like a King) with love and compassion.  I am not sure what this means exactly. To be crowned with love and compassion?  As I think about its impact on me in 2009 I feel comforted and buoyed to be more than I have been.
 
jb

You're Beautiful

If you haven't had the opportunity to enjoy the song by Phil Wickham, "You're Beautiful" then you should.

Please press here to enjoy the song and see an excellent video.

jb

Mercy Again

PSALM 103
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;



all my inmost being, praise his holy name.


2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,


and forget not all his benefits-

Guess what the first benefit listed is?

3 who forgives all your sins



and heals all your diseases,
 
I, as well like David the Psalmist, would like to remind us all of His benefits:
 
Chiefly.... mercy.  Its free. Its freeing. And Its Amazingly Wonderful. (is that redundant?)
 
David continues to describe more benefits.... but I will talk about those in another post....
 
jb

Oh Christmas Tree...

Funny thing is the star is too heavy so it is sitting on the mantel and there is a paper angel on the top now!Aaron is showing us his "Zumba" moves from PE class.  I laughed until I cried.

Pre lit trees are nice, this one is 2 years old and all the lights still work.  The tree has all the kids ornaments on it and all of my meaningful ones.  They get tired of my stories behind each one.  One day they will appreciate it!

    The reason we have a fake tree is many fold.  Joe and I both grew up in homes with artificial trees, we have a dog, allergies etc.
     They first few years we were married we did have a real tree.  Our first one looked like Charlie Browns Tree, after Joe had a fit at the cost of a tree.  "Its dead, why do I have to pay $15 for a dead tree."  Granted that was cheap, but it started our first Christmas together on a sour note.
     The next year we went to a big box store and bought a real tree from the parking lot the week before Christmas. Meaning, I got a bigger tree at a cheaper price.  We got the tree home and the trunk was crooked.  We didn't know you had to cut the trunk down to size sometimes.  He calls his friend Curt and gets a saw of some sort and after 4 trips in and out of the house with the tree, its up.  Joe vows to never get a real tree again- Merry Christmas.  We also had a big dog and a small house.  The dogs tail knocked it over a few times, broke ornaments etc.

      Needless to say we had no tree for the next 2 years until my parents bought a new one.  Now the one they passed down to us was bought in 1982.  So it was quality!  I think they felt bad, since Amy had no tree for her first Christmas.  I am pretty sure she won't need counseling for it.
     After the ornaments had been in storage for a few years, we pull them out and they are all moldy!  I am devastated, some were irreplaceable.  I cry and cry and then realize they are things and we will make new memories.
     Christmas's trees have been pretty uneventful since then.  Oh yeah, except for the year Aaron(2) pulled the tree down and cut himself on a broken ornament.  We still have a bloody precious moment ornament on the tree as a reminder(I cleaned it off as best I could).
     The last few years of our last tree it was tied with dental floss to a nail in the wall, so no one could knock it down.

This year will be different. Only time will tell.

Tooth Fairy Visits

Andrew noticed a few days ago that it felt funny behind is bottom teeth.  His new teeth were coming in before he lost his baby teeth.  We visited the dentist yesterday and they decided to remove 2 of his bottom teeth.  He did great and was very brave.  They gave him laughing gas and numbed it up and pulled the 2 out.  He didn't like his chin being numb.  "It feels like my chin is a big bubbble."

 He got to put 2 teeth under his pillow last night.  $2.  was waiting for him this morning. 

He also gets to announce to his class that he lost the teeth, and he is calendar helper this week.
 "No one has ever lost a tooth while being calendar helper."