A Must Read

Matt bought me Adopted for Life (by Russell Moore, foreword by CJ Mahaney) for my birthday. We've been praying the Lord's will regarding adoption and our family. What does that mean? What does that look like? Are we called to adopt? Are we called solely to prayerfully and/or financially support others who are adopting? We have many questions and not many clear answers at this point in our lives. One thing is undeniably clear: Jesus is all about adoption. The gospel is adoption, and the Church is to care deeply and advocate for orphans. A few things stand out to me from this book, and I'll share them with you soon!

Family Service

This is a great resource for families who want to serve together. Young children can a blessing in this process and feel like part of a greater purpose. Too often our culture, even within the Church, pushes young children aside. I do not want to be that family. I truly desire for the Lord to grow Matt and me in this area. We need it! I want my kids to know the Lord and make Him known and to give them opportunities while they are little to bless another's heart. The Lord has been stirring this in me for a while regarding how to actively involve our youngins' in our house church setting. He's given me a specific idea, which I hope will evolve soon into something glorious for His kingdom. I hope you find simple encouragement in this practical list of ideas for family service. Be blessed today!

~Merry Christmas from our family to yours~

We hope your Christmas day is filled with the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

Malayna is already stealing Isaac's food. Let the fun begin!

Isaac helping his lil' sis with her presents.

Happy Christmas morning baby.

A duck!

"I'm getting sleeeeeepy!"

Malayna's second baby doll this Christmas. We need to work on being gentle with the baby!

What could this be?

Isaac and Daddy made me cinnamon rolls and brought them to me for breakfast in bed on Christmas Eve morning.

Poor Malayna was so sleepy at Grandma and Grandpa's. She was trooper, though, and even stayed awake for our Christmas Eve service.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

These are a few of my favorite (Christmas!) things!

Of course these two handsome guys are my on my favorite things list!

* Watching Isaac trace letters and looking up at me saying, "How is that 'E', Mom?"
* Malayna crawling all over the place with her favorite Dollar Tree ball. She carries things around with her when she crawls, and who knew that a three pack of dollar store balls would be such a hit?
* Getting braces!! I had them in high school, but the orthodontist dropped the ball on me. He took them off too early, and my teeth shifted quickly. For so long we debated whether or not for me to get braces. The Lord has graciously blessed us through a friend who works for an orthodontist. She is giving me her "professional courtesy" discount, which means the price is greatly reduced!! I'll have lingual braces that go on the back of my teeth. I might talk funny for a few weeks, so no poking fun!!
* Christmas music playing, beautiful Christmas tree sparkling, and yummy coffee in hand.
* A wonderful visit with my dad, Uncle J.P., Aunt Donna, and Pappy Jack. This was the first time my dad has seen Malayna. He was so good with her... just wanted to sit and hold her. My pappy will be 91 this month and loves the Lord. He is gentle, humble and truly a blessing in my life. I love him dearly and am so thankful we got to visit this past weekend. (We also inherited a plethora of grapefruit, fresh from my dad's Florida grapefruit tree!)
* My accountability gals. The Lord has grown us so deeply in the past few years. I'm a pretty open person, but some things are hard to share regardless of one's personality. These women allow me to share my good times and bad and continue to love me through it all and hold me accountable for my attitude and actions.
* Shane and Shane and Phil Wickham concert date with Matt... Malayna tagged along, too! The three of those guys sound so great together. Malayna and I got to meet them before the show... so friendly and down to earth. We hope they come back for another Christmas tour next year. You really should get tickets if they do!
* Phil Wickham's Christmas c.d. It has a vintage 70s feel to it. It's wonderful.
* Sucanat - I tried this for the first time a few weeks ago. It's unrefined cane sugar. It has a bit of a caramel flavor due to the molasses content. Sugar in its natural state - I'm hooked!
* Isaac doing an incredible job at his preschool Christmas program. Oh my, pure cuteness. I got some great video that I'll upload soon.
* Seeing Isaac and Malayna love on each other.
* Good Christmas deals. I even stocked up on some things to give our nephews for next year. Can't resist a good sale!
* These yummy gingerbread cookies. A friend brought them to Isaac's co-op Christmas party. They are gluten-free, but you would never know. I made them at home and used honey instead of molasses. I didn't have any on hand, but I like them a lot better with molasses. I also used an egg because we're not vegan. I think you need to use two eggs to help hold the batter together better. She topped them with this delicious spiced buttercream icing. Mmm... such a great holiday treat.
* Two new open cardigans. Can't resist buying them either.
* Stumbling into a new blog.
* A cozy, snowflake Christmas mug.

Do you have any faves this Christmas season?

Hi Malayna!

We've got a mover!

Wowzas! It's been a while since I've been on here. I have so much to update on, but for now, it needs to be quick b/c this mama is one tired lady.

My little darling (7 mo. 4 days!) is now crawling! She started scooting ever so slightly and rocking on her knees a few weeks ago. Well, yesterday she mustered her strength and started to really go. She crawled all over the place at house church tonight. I tell ya, her first year of life is flying by so quickly. People always seem to say that, but for real, time just needs to stop for a bit. I am in no rush for Malayna to be a big girl. Err... well, except for sleeping. If she slept like a big girl, I would have no problem with that whatsoever!

Will you celebrate this mama's joy with me for a moment? Just take a second to say, "Go, Malayna, go!" I love her to the moon and back a million times over and over!

Video to come!

Home school: Day One!

Our first day of homeschool has come and gone. Daddy was even here to join in on our excitement. We started later than I wanted to, but Isaac's teacher was kept awake the night before by a needy baby. I guess she needed more sleep or something of the sort! Our day began with calendar time, followed by introducing our character virtue (attentiveness) and our Bible verse: Pay attention, my child, to what I say. Listen carefully. Proverbs 4:20. We then spent some time reading from Isaac's story Bible. I piggy-backed off of his Sunday school lesson on creation. It makes me smile that he enjoys his Bible time in his class. I love that we can continue reinforcing the same truths at home. After our morning devos, we worked together on letter sounds and had a snack. We finished our day with letter and number tracing, a read aloud, and reading CVC words (hat, hop, set, big, etc). I'm happy that we're off and running with homeschool. I count it a privilege to teach and lead my precious, growing boy. I see many fun times in our future homeschooling endeavors.

Daddy tried getting a picture of us. Isaac was a bit shy about it.

Morning calendar time. We need to add a few elements, but he's quickly getting the hang of it and asks to put the number up each morning.

There's the real Isaac smile I know and love!

Working diligently on letter tracing. My little lefty; it's so cute watching him write.

My sweet, blue-eyed, almost four-year-old boy!

How is your school year going so far?