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Monday, November 28, 2011

Let Advent begin!

One of the great seives of sanctification that children bring is intentionality. And as Sophia grows older and becomes more and more aware, my desire to be intentional rises to new heights. So for the past few weeks my mind has been racing with ideas for the special season we find ourselves in. Yesterday marks the first day of Advent, one of my favorite celebrations each year.

I want to create meaningful traditions for our family. Things that look like, smell like, feel like, taste like Christmas. Tangible memories that point to something much greater than presents under a tree. In the next few weeks, I hope to post some things that we'll be doing as a family, like a homemade Advent calendar, ornaments, and recipes. (hope is the key word there- we'll see if it actually gets typed out!)

These are things I don't usually do. Most Christmases of the past are filled with gift planning and buying, parties with coworkers, friends, and then family, and by the end of the month I find myself exhausted, ungrateful, broke, and wondering why I get so excited for this every year, because it all feels a bit like a letdown. I've spent all this time (and money) just scratching the surface.

Christmas is about Jesus. Advent means "coming," so in this holiday we celebrate the fact that God came. He came as a baby. Fully God. Fully man. Teaching, blessing, healing, suffering, delivering, redeeming, forgiving, dying, rising! We find ourselves in the middle of two promises of God. One already fulfilled in Jesus' first coming. We now await the fulfilment of the promise of His return.

I want to groan with the anticipation of it. But I don't. I want to say with John, "Come, Lord Jesus!" But I don't. What keeps me from it? My hope is in the now. I cling to the things I have here and now, forgetting the greater things that await me. Instead, I say, "Come, Lord Jesus! In 15 years! After Sophia gets the chance to know and love you, after I've had time to slow down and be more like you, after I finish the joys of my 20s and 30s. Come then!" But then I read verses like these:

"When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4)

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." (John 14:1-3)

"So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:28)

"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." (1 Thess. 4:16-17)

And all the loves of my life seem to dim in the face of Jesus, my first love. And my hands open from their death-grip and I give over to God what was already His. And I have to confess that I don't know how it is all supposed to work, but that I trust Him, for He knows best. He is good, He loves me, He will take care of all my needs.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (Romans 8:18 - 25)

Friday, November 18, 2011

Snack time fun faces

Sophie and I love to eat ;) We also like playing games like squealing as loud as we can and practicing sign language during our meals together. On this particular day, Sophie allowed a bow to be left in her hair!!! I jumped up to snap some pictures of this too rare occurance. Enjoy!






Friday, November 4, 2011

babies and baths

Andy and I have stored up a bunch of toys for Sophia in her closet. Some I bought at the JBF sale, and some are birthday presents we're saving. We introduce a few new toys each month to make them last a bit longer, and so she can enjoy each toy fully. Some great gems slip between the cracks if she gets several at one time.

This past week, however, she discovered our hiding spot! Needless to say, two toys made their grand debut a bit earlier than we had planned. One of them is her baby doll stroller- she is LOVING it!


She will walk a few steps then stop, come around to the front, and check on Bebe. I've also found her taking Bebe out to give her a hug and pat her on the bottom, put her back in, and continue walking. My heart melted seeing her imitate the things I do to show her love. Here she is checking to make sure Bebe is ok:


She's not picky, she'll give anyone a ride! Ellie Bellie was her friend of choice this morning. Ellie Bellie has a big place in Sophie's heart. She takes all her naps with him, and he is a staple in her crib throughout the night. He also makes a good pillow when she needs a time out from playing. But I've also seen her toting around books and tomatoes, so it's a very multi-purpose toy!


Rather than push her stroller, she usually lives dangerously by walking backwards and pulling it towards her. Move over Sheila Rae!


Just for the fun of it, here are a few clips from last night's bath time:



Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Happy Halloween!

Andy and I feel like we actually celebrated Halloween this year. Both of us dress up in costumes at work. Andy's bank went with a "villain" theme, and at our school, we do a "storybook parade." You pick a character from a book and dress up as that person. You bring the book with you as you parade around the school. I went to school as Fancy Nancy! If you don't know Fancy Nancy, here she is:

My co-teachers and I wanted to be some of the biggest "girl figures" in children's literature, so we picked Junie B., Olivia, and Fancy Nancy. I volunteered immediately to be Fancy Nancy, because I L-O-V-E her. It was also decided that since I'm the only one with curly hair, that it was my only option. Nancy loves butterflies, so this is what I did with my hair:


I wish I could have shown you the full outfit, because what made it was the hot pink boa I borrowed from one of my co-teachers, but at school, we didn't get a chance to snap pictures of us. We were too busy corralling the excited children and taking pictures of them! But you can get an idea of it from this picture Andy and I snapped before leaving from work. The lace leggings were a hit. :)


So in the evening we found ourselves still wearing our costumes. Sophie's Grammy got her a fairy costume, so we put her in it and I set out making some Minestrone Soup with Pesto. (If you ask me, pesto can go in anything.) We anxiously awaited our trick-or-treaters. Andy was so excited he was running and singing all throughout the house in anticipation. Poor guy only got to answer the door twice, because we had a total of 3 trick-or-treaters. What can I say, we live in an elderly hood. Here are some snapshots of a very normal evening in splendid attire:



I also was able to snap a play-by-play minor temper tantrum. Here's why she's upset: I said, "no," when she wanted to open the trash can and feel around inside of it. ;)

first play: show you how upset I am


second play: throw myself on the floor when you don't seem to cave


third play: allow you to distract me with tupperware


I just love how she will follow me around in the kitchen and loves playing with normal things. Sometimes I wonder why we even buy her toys!








 
 these are some new slippers we got her at Target. She is such a doll in them!


Happy Halloween!