Prayers Please

Please pray for some sweet friends of ours from Excelsior who lost their 21 month old son, Mobley, tragically yesterday afternoon in an accidental drowning.  Their names are Matt and Meagan.  Matt was out of the country on business and is presently making his way back.  He will get in late this evening.  The whole situation is so difficult and tragic that I really don't have words.  I just ask that any of you who happen upon this post will lift up my sweet friends.  Meagan is the sweetest and kindest and most loving of mothers.  She has a huge heart and was one of the first things I loved about being a part of Excelsior.  Also, please pray for their other three children ~ Miles who is 9, Kayla who is 6, and Maggie who is 4.  Thank you so much.

Bits of Pink...

Sweet Emery,

 There is a corner of my bedroom that has a small, but growing, stack of pink things.  And, when I sit in my peace chair and feed baby Jack, I glance at my little pink mountain and smile.  I guess because they are the only times all day that I actually sit still, it seems I always feel you move and kick when I'm feeding Jack, and I can't help dreaming about you.  Sometimes I dream about you and Jack.  I know the two of you will be close ~ it is my prayer.  "Jack & Emery" I think we'll hear that a lot.  I wonder if you will be born before his first birthday or after?

Your big brothers ask lots of questions about you.  I think they are getting excited about having a sister.  At a basketball game a few weeks ago, there was a little pigtailed 2 year old dancing and drawing attention to herself.  Joshua caught me completely off guard by turning his head, looking right at me, motioning toward the cute little girl, and simply saying, "Emery..."  It was like he was saying, "We are going to have one of those!"  You have sweet big brothers that will love you to pieces!!!

James Christofer writes about you in his journal every now and then.  He has wanted a sister for a while now.  Here is a journal entry of his from this past December shortly after we found out you were a girl...

I love you, sweet one.  I don't voice it out loud, but with nearly every strong kick I feel, I tell you I love you, and I thank God for giving you to us! The other day I was looking through your Daddy's computer bag when I found the note I gave him to tell him we were pregnant with you.  I had taken the pregnancy test the evening before but kept quiet.  The next morning as he was sipping coffee and doing charts, I slipped him this little note...

When he opened it up, he read this...

At the time your brother Jack was only 4 months old, so this was quite a surprise!  But, your Daddy did smile, and he immediately looked at me and said, "This was meant to be."

You were meant to be sweet one!  And, we are so excited to meet you!  It won't be long now.  I am 33 weeks, and it seems each passing week moves faster than the one before!  I love being pregnant, but I want to hold you more!  Godspeed, sweetness!!!!

James R' Us

Joshua and James were busy doing their morning work when James spotted me.  I was making price tags and placing them on toys.  "Oh, Mom!  Is that for my math lesson?"  I had to tell him that it was not.  It was for Lije.  But, I used this same curriculum with James, and he remembered...

"Oh, Mom!  I used to love that!  I used to love it when we played store!  Can I do it with him?  Can I be the cashier??  Please!"

So, what was supposed to be just a short little math lesson became a good hour long play/math time for brothers!  James named his store James R' Us, and it started out simply like this...

But, after a while I swear JCT had price tags on half the toys in the house!  He loved using his cash register and checking his brother out over and over.  Elijah kept buying things for Eriky!  So, he would buy a toy, and then run into the next room and say, "Eriky, look what I bought for you!"  And, Eriky would eagerly receive the toy!

Fun, fun!

Love Day 2012

Oh, happy day!

Valentines Day is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate with the boys!!  We had a fun day full of love and little heart-shaped surprises!!  They woke up to a table set like this....

For breakfast they had strawberry milk...

Strawberry yogurt...

And, cinnamon rolls with pink icing! :-)  And, there was a special valentine happy from Mommy beside each little man's plate!

I love Valentines Day!!!!!

Instead of writing in their journals this morning, I had the boys write valentines to each other.  I thought this one from JCT to our sweet Emery girl was precious!!!!  I am going to stick it in her baby book!

For lunch I cut heart shapes out of some leftover pizza, and the boys loved it!

We made these fun pretzel sticks for our neighbors and friends and the men working on our gym!

And, this little man...

His heart still belongs to his mama!!!!! :-)  I could eat him up!!

Erik surprised me with this yummy treat...

The boys had so much fun at our local homeschool group's Valentine party.  All the kids brought boxes that they made at home and valentines to share.  They played lots of basketball, ate pizza, and made valentine crafts. Fun, fun, fun!!!

And a sweet Valentine happy came in the mail from Nana and Poppy...

Happy, happy day!

Belize

Erik playing basketball with boys from the boys' home while on a medical mission trip in Belize...

Romans, Recitations, and the Dawn of a New Day!

When Mrs. Penny assigned the boys history recitation for January, I was tempted to email her and say, "No, thank you."  She assigned Romans 1: 18-23, 25 in the New King James Version.  Talk about a difficult passage!  And, my first thought was that Joshua would not even understand the passage, so why make him memorize it.  Our co-op believes that even though the kids have teachers on Fridays, you as the parent are the ultimate teacher, so we have the say so of what assignments we desire to do or not do.  So far, we have done everything assigned, but I love that we have the freedom to say no if we would like.

The first few days of January as we began memorizing Romans I was shocked at how much longer it was taking Joshua to memorize!  In Bible at the same time he was memorizing Mary's song, and it flowed easily from his lips, but not Romans.  I explained over and over again the meaning of each verse, but it didn't seem to help.  It was a slow go.  I almost gave up, but we kept chipping away at it a little each day. And, at the same time we spent several hours each day reading Greek myths (insert gag!) and Greek history.  And, by the third week in January one afternoon something clicked and everything changed...

It was one of those moments where you are overwhelmed by His presence and His wisdom and His giving of a perfect teachable moment...

Joshua and I were alone in the kitchen working on Romans.  We had recently finished up our reading of the Greek Myths and had just begun Homer (which really is just more of the same ~ insert second gag!).  And, it hit me like a ton of bricks ~ the light in my little mind came on!  Suddenly I understood why Penny chose this passage in Romans for the children to memorize!  It all came together and made sense, and I couldn't wait to share it with Joshua!  So, I said...

"Joshua, do you get it?  Don't you see?  Who did Paul write Romans to?  The Romans!  And, who did the Romans worship???  Many of them worshipped the same god's as the Greeks ~ just changing their names a bit.  We've studied that!  Now think about it!  Paul is talking to people who live in the city of that day and time ~ somewhat like Athens ~ with all the philosophers and "smart" people who thought they had everything all figured out, right?  'Professing to be wise, they became fools...'  This is what Paul is talking about here.  Think about all the Greek myths we have read, all the crazy gods and goddesses.  Did they act like our God?  Did they behave like Christ?  No!  They were angry, vengeful, jealous, covetous, unfaithful, deceitful, you name it!  So, what did the Greeks do?  They 'changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man!'  Think about it Joshua!  Think about the statue of Athena in the Parthenon in Athens.  Think of Zeus!  Their gods are just glorified incorruptible men just like Paul talks about in your recitation!  They 'exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator!'"

Then we took a moment and read through the entire passage in light of all we had studied over the past month in Greek history, and for once the entire passage took on a new significance!  We took on the cultural baggage of that time in history because we were knee deep in historical facts from around the same period of time, and it made all the difference.  We were both excited, and the passage with new meaning, seemed to come so much easier now!  It was one of those moments where I love what I do even if it is sooo hard some days!

As I shared all this with Erik that evening, I was reminded of something one of the mothers told me earlier that year.  At the beginning of the school year, we had a parent get together where our history guru at Excelsior took us through all that our kids would be learning in history this year, step by step.  We sat and listened for several hours as Shelley walked us from creation through the fall of Rome.  During one of our breaks, I stood in the kitchen talking to Misty, another mom who has high school age kids and has taught her children through the four year cycle of history two full times already.  She said something beautiful that I will never forget, something that has come back to me over and over and over during the past few months.  She said....

"Erin, the first time I studied Antiquity with the kids I hated it!  I remember wanting to take the books and throw them on the floor and stomp on them.  I wanted to quit reading them, to put them away!  They are so dark.  I kept thinking, 'Why am I reading this to them?' But, Erin, in the middle of the dark night when you think you can't take it anymore, the Roman empire comes...

and Christ is the dawn of a new day...

I saw it like never before the first time I studied ancient times with the kids!  How dark the world was, and then here comes Christ!  And, you see how He changes history!  It is truly beautiful to experience Christ this way!  It almost makes it worth all the dark things you have to study to get there!!"

I ran to my seat that day, and before the next set of lectures began I wrote Misty's words in my notes!  I thought she put it so eloquently, and I couldn't wait to understand what she meant!  And, now here I am  studying the darkness of foolish men, and my heart is longing for Christ's light to shine into history!

Christ is the center ~ the dawn of a new day!!

James Christofer Truett's Baptism....

Sweet boy...

With Pop just before...

After the service we invited over those who have influenced James spiritually.  I'll never forget the day. It was cool, overcast, and foggy.  JCT's special day...

We ate soup and cake and took time to encourage our little man.  Joshua read some scripture to his little brother, and Erik gave him a charge that left many of us a bit teary.

It was a sweet, peaceful afternoon.

JCT's Decision

He has always been his own little man.  He does his own thing, in his own time, and in his own way.  His hair has always been long.  He likes it that way, and he doesn't care if he is the only one with hair like his.  It takes him 30 minutes to eat a meal.  Everyone else finishes and begins their chores, their play, or their schoolwork, but it doesn't phase him a bit.  He will eat every bite as slowly as he desires and let all the world get ahead of him.  He does not care.  And, he is independent.  He can do it himself.  He is full of confidence.  He thinks he should be teaching me math, and somedays, he is so convincing that I almost believe him myself!

I began praying for his salvation before he was born.  But, about a year and a half ago, I really started praying for his unique, individual relationship with God to be cultivated, to begin to grow.  I began to pray specifically that God would "speak sweetly to his heart."

James Christofer Truett has never been a follower.  When Joshua was four, he heard about giving his heart to Jesus, and he immediately looked up to heaven, sitting criss cross applesauce on his bed, and yelled to heaven, "Jesus, come into my heart!!"  But, JCT is different.  He is analytical, thinking, a processor of information.  After Joshua grew and really began to understand having a relationship with Christ, he began to witness to JCT.  It really bothered him that his little brother had not accepted Christ yet.  I have vivid memories of the two of them sitting in the 3rd row seats of our van.  Joshua exasperated crying out to JCT, "Don't you realize James, if you don't ask Jesus into your heart, you will go to hell when you die!!!!  Do you want to go to hell????"  And, JCT would just stare out the window like he couldn't even hear his big brother talking.

At a parenting conference years ago, Erik and I heard Tim Kimmel suggest that parents should not ask their children, point blank, if they want to accept Christ.  He said kids are by nature pleasers and will say yes.  He suggested presenting the gospel but letting them come to the decision on their own.  Erik is really good about sharing Christ and His love with the boys, but leaving the ball in their court making them come to Him on their own, making it their decision and not anything we have placed upon them or coerced them into doing.  They walk the aisle alone, when they are ready, when Christ stirs their hearts in His own unique way.

The way Jesus spoke sweetly to my JCT's heart tickles me every time I think of it because it is so Him and so him!!!!  JCT began asking probing questions out of the blue this summer.  "Why do you have to be bap-it-tized?"  "If it doesn't save you why do we do it?"  "Why did Jesus have to die?"  Our little processor of information was beginning to put the pieces together for himself.  Several times late at night I would think he was about to ask me if I would pray the prayer of salvation with him.  But, he didn't ask, and I kept quiet, just answering questions when he asked.

But, finally, one night several months ago the most interesting thing happened!  I was tucking him in just as I always do.  Expecting him to say what he always says, "Peace, good night, I love you, and tell Daddy and Jack that I said it, too."  But, that isn't what he said.  As I leaned down to kiss him, a sweet smile erupted on his little lips, and he said, "I have something to tell you."

My heart began to beat quickly, "What is it?"

"Today when you were doing First Language Lessons (our grammar curriculum) with Josh, I asked Jesus to come into my heart and live in me."

"You did?"

"Yes"(big smile).

I asked him to go downstairs and tell his Daddy what he had done and talk to Daddy about it.  He did.  Erik listened as JCT told both of us how he asked Jesus, on his own, while sitting under our schoolroom table, to forgive his sins and live in him.  We talked for a while with him, and then we sent him up to bed asking him to share his news with Joshua.

As soon as his little feet hit the steps, Erik and I smiled at each other.  "It is just like him," Erik said, "to do it all on his own ~ just between himself and Jesus."  We giggled that our little independent son, at six years old had gone to the throne room of heaven all by himself.  He knew what to do.  He didn't need us to hold his hand.  He walked boldly forward making the most important decision of his life all by himself.

And, it was with that same boldness that he walked the aisle two Sunday nights ago.

I love, love, love how my sweet Jesus draws each of us uniquely.  He knows our very innermost make up, He knows our bent.  He created us, formed us, and He draws us accordingly.  He speaks sweetly to each of us if only we will open our hearts and listen.  How beautiful and sweet He is!

A sweet side note: After the service sweet Lije looked up at Dr. Jones, our pastor, and said, "When I get older, can I ask Jesus into my heart, too???"

Dr. Jones assured him he could. :-)

Strength for the Weak Days

He needed to leave early this morning to do charts, so he kissed me goodbye through a small opening in the shower door.  I turned off the water and instantly heard it, the crying... My baby was awake, crying loudly, and I was simply not mentally ready to begin the day. I dressed, pulled my hair back, placed baby now smiling on my hip, and made my way to the kitchen.  Boys were playing wildly, no morning chores had been done, pjs still on, teeth unbrushed, breakfast half eaten, and school to begin in 15 minutes.  But, still there is a baby to be fed, and books to be sorted and work from yesterday not yet corrected, and my head spins.  Some days are like this.  Thankfully, everyday is not like this.  And, I feel the tightening, the elephant that some days comes and takes residence on my chest alloting me only small bits of air to breath and never a good deep breath.

I press on.  Get boys on task, feed baby, check work, do circle time, pray, and start laundry.  I touch something on laundry room counter and set an avalanche in motion, and I pause, frustrated. Why today?  Why?  Texts come in, but I ignore them, attempting to get caught up.  I go through the motions.  I teach, but today I am absent, not really present with them.  I am merely going through the motions, doing the day, trying just to catch my breath.  If I could just breathe....

Joshua and I work on his scripture recitiation due Friday ~ Mary's song.  And, though it speaks not directly to my day or my situation, it is the only time all day that my chest breathes easy if only for a moment.  And, I notice how His living word works wonders just in hearing my sweet son speak it to me.

But, on goes the day, the responsibilities.  The noise.  The laughter.  The loud talking.  The stress.  The crying.  The dog barking.  The tornado threatening.  The rain pouring.  And, at one point I step backwards awkwardly and hit my foot on the boy's castle.  My foot throbs only slightly, but still a single tear falls and the dam threatens to break, but thankfully holds strong.  Just do the next thing.  Just do the next thing.  Just do the next thing.  Change the dirty diaper, fill the milk cup, read over the paragraph, wipe the bottom, clean the spilled juice, check the math, rock the baby to sleep, read the history lesson, take the dog out, change the laundry over, boil some water, stir in the noodles, just do the next thing, then the next, and on and on...

Finally, a moment of semi-quiet, the boys engrossed in a movie, I sit down at the table.  I put my face in my hands, "Why am I so weak?  I never used to be so weak?"  I ask myself as the tears begin to fall.  I look down and see them, little drops on the wood table.  And, then I hear Him cutting through my selfishness, my weariness, my pride...

"Strong.  When did you get so strong!"

The tears fall harder, faster now.  "Me, strong?" I ask Him.  "Just look at me, Lord, I'm a mess.  I've been a mess all day."

Then, His whispers penetrate deep, "When you are weak, then you are strong....  Do not forget, child, from whence your strength comes.  You are not strong on your own strength, but only when you rest in me, then you are strong.  When have you been so strong, My little one?  When before have you shouldered so much?  So much responsibility?  Little lives I have placed in your care, and they have many needs, I know. Little souls I have trusted you to nurture. I ask you again, when, my child, have you been more strong?  But, not strong of your strength, strong from learning, year after year, child after child to rely more and more on my strength.  But, when you forget, when you try to control, try to do it all, try to be perfect, try in all your pride to be and do what I have not called you to, then you smother yourself in self, and you find it hard even to breathe.  But, when you rest in Me, in what I have called you to, not looking to the left or the right, when you trust in Me, when you rest here against My chest, not pushing and pulling and working and running and trying and straining, but simply resting in Me... Here you find your strength, here in this quiet place of trust. Breathe deep of Me, child, I am your strength, your very life's breath.  Just slow and breathe and trust and rest in This your strength."

I do love Him so...

Just a Few Reasons Why I LOVE being a Boy Mama!!!!!

All these things happened within the last 2 weeks, and all of them made me love life all the more!!  Boys are soooo fun!  So, here are a few reasons that I love my job!

#1  Boys are affectionate....  I was teaching JCT something new in math.  And, as per my usual teaching method, I was explaining my heart out!!!  And, all the while I am explaining how to add and carry, he is kissing my arms.... constantly.  Think Adams family.  I kept saying, "James stop! Listen to me! You aren't paying attention!!!"  And, he would just smile, giggle, and keep kissing up and down my arms!!  Silly, silly!! :-)  I thought of his future wife.  One day she will be sitting there, pouring her heart out to him about something that is truly bothering her, and he will just be smiling silly and kissing her! Ha!

#2  They say things that are completely unexpected!!!!  On Tuesday I was teaching Joshua something, when I leaned down to pick something up, my hair spilling over my shoulders.  Joshua jumped up, eyes all alight, and said, "Mom, stay right there like that!"  He came over, played with a few of my curls, placed them just so over my shoulders, stood back, looked at me approvingly, and with great excitement said, "Now, there, that is perfect!!  You look just like...."

Like what, I'm wondering, a supermodel, maybe, Wonder woman.... A girl can hope!

But, no, he said...

"You look just like Troy Polamalu!!!!"

Like, seriously, I didn't even know what to say to that.  I mean what do you say?? "Thanks" just didn't seem right.  I mean my 8 year old son just told me that I look like a 200+ pound professional football player.  :-0

#3 Their creativity never ceases to amaze me...  I took Eriky up for our naptime routine of books and singing, and when I came down I found this....

Two wisemen on a camel, and in the back there, that is the little drummer boy!!!  And, they even created their very own manger using Jack's superyard and a Christmas ornament...

So, when Erik came home, we had to act out the manger scene.  I was Mary. Erik was Joseph, and Jack was baby Jesus!!  Erik Daniel was a shepherd.  Joshua and James were wisemen, and Elijah was the little drummer boy!  James Christofer had to memorize a portion of Luke 2 for his Bible class, so he quoted that as we all acted out what he said.  When he got to the part about the shepherds being so afraid, he looked over at Erik Daniel and cued him.  Erik Daniel took his cue and let out a huge and unexpected (to us) scream!!!  Erik and I laughed so hard!  It was sooo cute!! Love it!!!

#4  Sometimes they get things a cutely confused....  Lije and I were discussing the sweet baby inside me when all of the sudden he blurted out, "Well, maybe Uncle Sean's idea was wrong!!"  So, I asked, "What idea?"  To which he answered, "Sean's idea about the baby being a girl.  You know his pink cakes he brought us.  Maybe his idea was wrong.  Maybe it is a boy after all!!  Only God knows for sure."  Deana B made the cakes, and Sean led the boys in doing the cutting, so I guess Elijah just assumed that this was all just Sean's idea! :-)

#4 Sports somehow makes its way into everything we do...  We do school every single day from 8 until we finish.  If I am deep into teaching, I ignore my phone, leaving it in another room.  But, if the boys are doing work on their own, and I am just monitoring them and being present in order to answer questions and assist, then I will leave my cell phone on and answer texts as they come.  This particular day a friend and I were making plans for a Mom's Night Out coming up later in the week, so my phone was going off displaying texts with her name on them over and over.  The boys took notice of this.  Some of her texts would come in four at a time.  So, the boys would hear "ding, ding, ding, ding," and they would look and see her name.  Finally, Joshua announced, "Mom, she really likes to text! I'm going to call her Texter McCluster!!!!!"  This is after Dexter McCluster a very fast football player from Ole Miss who now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.  I laughed so hard I nearly wept!  And, from then on when the cell phone went "ding," JCT would yell, "Textdown, Mom!!  It's Texter McCluster again!!"  Oh, these are fun days!

#5  From the biggest to the 2nd littlest, they love to help out!!!

Eriky loves to help me feed Jack stars...

He is so focused and has so much fun doing it...

Part of growing up in a big family is learning how you can chip in and help!  I love watching my boys grow up and learn to take pride in the fact that they are helpful and very much needed!!  I can use all the helping hands that I can find ~ no matter how small!!! :-)

#6  Boys love their mamas!!!  Someone once told me this, and it is so true!!!  Joshua had to read the first third of D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths for his literature this week.  He had two pages of questions due this past Friday.  He finished his work, and I wanted to check over it.  There were several that I had to look up, and there was a 70 page span with which I had to search to make sure he had chosen the correct answers.  All the while I was checking his answers, he was hanging on me.  HANGING on my shoulders, hugging me, his face, cheek to cheek, against mine.  I was so smothered that I was having trouble turning pages.  So, I would ask him nicely, "Please, give me just a little space, so I can turn pages."  And, he would say, "But, mommmm, I love you!!"  And, then he would continue to hang on my shoulders. So sweet!!  Does he have to grow up???

#7  They just might be more impatient than I am...  Look at the progress on Erik's gym...

We are getting there little by little.  I took Rain out the other day while holding Eriky on my hip.  Eriky looked over at the men working on preparing the dirt for the concrete foundation.  He said with his eyes wide, "Mommy, why are they just standing there talking?  They need to be working!!  They are just standing around talking, Mommy!! You need to go tell them to stop talking and work!!" :-)

#8  Watching friendships grow....The other night Erik had Joshua and James Christofer at their Upwards Basketball practice.  So, I was home alone with the little 3, and I fixed us a little dinner.  As we sat at the table and ate, these two put their arms around each other and began chanting, "We're the best buddies!  We're the bestest buddies!" So sweet...

#9  They have pure hearts that see black and white...  Joshua and I were discussing Tim Tebow last night.  He was asking me about when Tim's mom was pregnant with him, so I explained it to him, my son who has never heard the "ab" word.  I told him that when Mrs. Tebow was pregnant with Tim she had Malaria and was very ill.  I pointed to my belly for emphasis.  The doctors told her that the baby in her tummy would not be a normal healthy baby due to her being sick during the pregnancy.  They told her that since the baby would not be healthy and normal that she should just let them go ahead and take the baby out of her belly before it was time...."  I put my hands on my belly, and looked up to see Joshua's sweet face turn as white as a sheet.  He didn't say anything he just looked at me like he was trying to fathom what I had just said. It was a brand new thought to him. Then, quickly, I asked, "But, what did they do?  Did they do what the doctors said?"  He answered, "No!"  I agreed, "No, they didn't.  They said that they would take whatever baby God chose to give them.  And, he gave them a perfectly healthy, normal baby boy."  Joshua added, "And, if they had done what the doctors said, then I wouldn't have a good football player to look up to."  Pure hearts, pure understanding.

#10  I just do!!  I just love the fact that I am able to get up each morning and spend my days with our little men!  The other day at school day's end, I sat at the kitchen table and watched my four older boys walk out the backdoor to go play.  And, I watched them run to the trampoline.  Oh, joy!  To see them playing all together, enjoying each other, laughing, talking, and chasing.  It makes a mama's heart so happy!! :-)

A New Year Approaching...

And so, the journey continues, a year come and gone, a new year approaching...  And, the boys are busy playing superheroes, saving the world, and I sit alone at the computer with coffee cup at my side thinking, pondering.  The years, they go by so fast anymore.  I told Erik the other day that I could not believe winter was in full swing.  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was begging God for a cool breeze to take the edge off the heat of summer in the deep south??  And, now here we are, smack dab in the middle of winter facing a new year.

Year after year, we change, we grow.  The kids, they really change and grow ~ so fast it makes my head spin silliness.  Slow down, time!  Where does it go?   My Eriky a three year old little boy!  Wow!  And, my Joshua is nearly 9!  I've been at this mothering business for nearly a decade.  I can't believe it!

But, I was reminded this morning of the true journey of life ~ not motherhood, family, career ladder climbing, wrinkles, or slowed metabolism.  No, the true journey we are all on is our spiritual journey.  The closer we grow to Jesus the closer we come to being the person He designed us to be.  The more we catch sight of His vision and not our own self-focused vision ~ like blinders being taken off, the ability to truly see the larger picture.  The closer we journey toward His heart, the more able we are to love freely those who journey near us, those whose paths we cross and those who cross our paths.

We are on journey to His heart.  And, how exciting... a new year to know Him in new ways, through new trials and new joys!  And, so our New Year's Resolution as Christians should be the same every day of every year of our life!  That we would journey on, journey closer to Him, to His Heart. I love the way Sarah Young said it, "Enjoy the adventure of finding yourself through losing yourself in Me."  Please Lord, may it be more and more, year after year!!!!!

Christmas 2011 Recap

Christmas with little ones is soooo fun!  And, we were home for Christmas this year which I really enjoyed.  The boys got to run down the steps at 5:30 Christmas morning ready to open presents and celebrate! :-)

But, first things first, Nana came on Friday to bring gifts to us because Poppy was not feeling well and wouldn't be able to celebrate Christmas with us as originally planned.  Here is Eriky giving Nana some love...

I took the boys shopping at Wal-Mart and let them pick out whatever they wanted to get Erik for Christmas. :-)  They chose well...

Daddy loved his presents... especially the Bod Man body spray!!  

Here are a few pics from our Christmas morning...

After we opened presents, we ate breakfast and got ready for church.  Our church was packed!!  I really thought it would be a slim crowd on Christmas Sunday, but I was soooo wrong!  And, our pastor said something that I just loved!!  He said, "A truly great gift reflects the heart of the giver and meets the greatest need of the receiver."  Reflects the heart of the giver, the heart of God, that He would give His son!  And, Christ meets our greatest need!  I thought about that statement off and on all day.  Beautiful!

We came home and played hard all afternoon!  Isnt' it funny how boxes are so much fun!  This is the packaging that my ergorapido came in.  It became a pirate ship and a castle (when turned upside down)...

Cute...

 Sooo cute....

 As per Christmas tradition, we headed over to the Reynolds for Christmas dinner and gift exchanging! We had a wonderful time as we always do.  Deana and her mama cooked the most amazing dinner!!!  And, Sean grilled steaks on their new Food Networkesque outdoor grill/kitchen area ~ so pretty!!!

The kids' table...

After dinner the kids sang happy birthday to Jesus and ate birthday cake...

 And, then we opened presents....

 But, once again Brother gave the most thoughtful gift.  He hand painted this sign in North Carolina and Duke colors for Erik and the boys.  It is a Tim Tebow quote, and it will always be so special to us....

Sweet Days....