Christmas

My top love language is Gifts.  I like to give gifts and I like to receive gifts.  I use to be ashamed of this.  Surely any of the other love languages are more respectable.  If I feel loved when I get gifts I must be shallow or materialistic.

As I have explored this deeper, I realized that what I love about gifts so much is that someone thought of me.  Someone took the time to think about what I like, go to a store, and spend their hard earned money just for me!  It's not just about having that new item.  (Although that is nice!)

Because I am a "Gifts" person, I loooove Christmas.  The three wise men gave Jesus gifts.  But this is not the point of Christmas!  The reason we celebrate Christmas is because God sent his only son to be a Savior for us all.  We are celebrating Jesus' birth.

I was in Target 2 days ago and was dumbfounded by the chaos around me.  Women pushing one and two carts completely stuffed with toys were demanding to know where various items were from the workers.  Target employees rushed around in a panic trying to appease these crazy people by finding Christmas Barbie and Harry Potter toys.

When did this become Christmas?  When did we completely lose sight of what we are celebrating?  I should state that I do not know everyone's situation in Target.  Maybe they were buying toys for all of the orphans in Africa.  But lets be honest, I doubt it.

I enjoy the excitement that Christmas brings.  There's just something in the air this time of the year.  I just wish that the excitement was about the celebration of the birth of our Savior rather than how many toys we can buy that will end up in the trash a year later.

This Christmas, in an effort to celebrate the joy of giving but keep the focus on Jesus, we are going to buy Jael 3 gifts and explain the three gifts that Jesus received.  I told Luke that he's welcome to buy me 3 gifts as well ;-)

The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”  When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Luke 2: 11-15

Bringing Up Girls by James Dobson

Just finished this book and let me tell you, it was helpful!  Here are some of my favorites things that I read.

Michelle Malkin's advice for parents,  "Be "prudes."  Be "rude."  Be "shrill."  And never, ever feel ashamed for asking out loud, "Have you no shame?"

Chapter Title: Teaching Girls to be Ladies

"From all that I had read of History of Government, of human life, and manners, I [have] drawn this conclusion, that the manners of women [are] the most infallible Barometer, to ascertain the degree of Morality and Virtue in a Nation.  All that I have since read and all the observation I have made in different Nations, have confirmed me in this opinion.  The Manners of Women, are the surest Criterion by which to determine whether a Republican government is practicable, in a Nation or not.  The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Swiss, the Dutch, all lost their public Spirit, their Republican principles and habits, and their Republican Forms of Government when they lost the Modesty and Domestic Virtues of their women...  The foundations of national Morality must be laid in private Families.  In vain are Schools, Academics and universities instituted if loose Principles and licentious habits are impressed upon Children in their earliest years.  The Mothers are the earliest and most important instructors of youth."
-John Adams (The second president of the US)

Chapter Title:  The Obsession with Beauty

"I think wanting to be a  princess is more than just feeling beautiful.  Girls and women long to be treated like they are something special and worthwhile.  Our culture often treats women like brainless sex objects who are put on this planet to satisfy men's desires, sometimes at the expense of their own sense of self-worth.  Young girls grow up bombarded by these messages from the media, such as those seen and heard on the E! channel, MTV, BET, and pop radio stations, and in the Cosmopolitan and teenybopper magazines.  Young kids and especially teen girls are keenly aware of these negative images.

Their mother's, I believe, want their daughters to be treated like intelligent, respected, and equally valuable contributors to society.  That is one of the reasons moms buy and dress their daughters in princess attire in hopes of changing their daughter's attitudes towards themselves and other women.

When a girl sees herself as a princess, she feels valued for who she is.  Being beautiful is just the icing on the cake, so to speak.  She is equal, worthwhile, and special.  Most important, she has the confidence to wait for Prince Charming to come and not settle for second best or a loser, no matter how long it takes."
-Riann Zuetel

Chapter Title:  Questions and Answers about Puberty and Adolescence

"Researchers found that a father's presence in the home, more time spent by fathers in child care, greater supportiveness in the parental dyad, more father-daughter affection, and more mother-daughter affection, as assessed prior to kindergarten, each predicted later pubertal timing by daughters in 7th grade.  In summary, the quality of fathers' investment in the family was the more important feature of the family environment relative to daughters' pubertal timing."
-Vanderbilt University Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Chapter Title:  The Last Word

"We have all heard it said that a woman is most beautiful when she is in love.  You've seen it yourself.  When a woman knows that she is loved and loved deeply, she glows from the inside.  This radiance stems from a heart that has had its deepest question answered.  "Am I lovely?  Am I worth fighting for?  Have I been and will I continue to be romanced?"  When these questions are answered, Yes, a restful, quiet spirit settles in a woman's heart.

And every woman can have these questions answered, Yes.  You have been and you will continue to be romanced all your life.  Yes.  Our God finds you lovely.  Jesus has moved heaven and earth to win you for himself.  He will not rest until you are completely his.  The King is enthralled by your beauty.  He finds you captivating."    -John and Stasi Eldredge

July 4th and Other Stuff

We had a nice 4th of July this year.  We did a lot of NOTHING!  Being only two days after Luke's return from Africa, he was exhausted and wanted to relax.  Well, his three girls did not mind relaxin with our man!

The most excitement the day held was when Jael and daddy went outside and rhrough the sprinkler.  Jada enjoyed watching them out the window now that she has figured out how to pull herself up on anything she can grab hold of.

It's been fun to see Jael and Jada's relationship develop.  Jael takes pride in helping Jada "feel better" and entertain her.  She also loves to help get items Jada needs from around the house.  I guess I should enjoy that now because I'm sure it won't last!

Jada thinks Jael is hilarious!  She loves to pull her hair, grab her mouth and try to take whatever Jael's playing with.  The sibling rivalry has already begun as Jael is typically not willing to give Jada what she has.

The picture to the right is one we staged for a sermon Luke was doing.  He briefly mentions Jael from the Bible and decided to show a picture of Jael symbolizing Judges 4.  People got a kick out of it and we got a kick out of taking it.  She hammed it up!

While Luke's In Africa...

Well we are less than 48 hours from Luke's return from Kenya.    Believe it or not, I'm surprised it's almost over.  Not to say I haven't missed my husband but this time has gone significantly faster than when he went to the Middle East on the METS trip for 27 days.  I guess there have been two big differences 1) Jael and    2) Jada.  It turns out that kids take up a lot of time!  I have had little down time to sit and sulk over Luke's absence.  But that's not really the reason I have done OK.  The reason I have done well is because of God's response to all of your prayers!  Never have I felt so at peace while Luke has been away.  So I thank you all for your prayers.

We have also been nice and busy while Luke has been gone.  The first 6 days were spent doing a different activity each day.  Tuesday my sister-in-law came and we traveled to New Jersey to stay with my sister Briana and spend some time at the beach.  We came back and Luke's parents came and are here until Monday.  So we have certainly not been without distraction.

Please pray for a safe trip home for everyone in Kenya.  I'm ready to see my husband!

Beautiful Babies

I can't believe how beautiful my two little girls are!  Are we blessed or what??

Anyway,  we've had a fun summer so far.  Jada and I got to fly to Illinois for my Aunt Trudy's 60th Birthday Party.  It was so nice to see family that I hadn't seen in so long!

Making Grandma's Homemade noodles.  Yes I held the knife like that on purpose.

Aunt Trudy and Dad

Grandma B and my nephew Sawyer

Proud Grandparents with two of their four grandkids!

Jada and I on the plane!

We also spent a couple days at our friend's pool where Jada was introduced to the water!  She LOVED IT!  I bought her a little floaty that she can sit in and she loves to kick her feet and splash in the water.  Jael loves the water as always.  She swims around with her floaty and it's hard to get her out of the water!  She still won't put her face in the water but I guess that will come eventually.

Airplanes+Our Children = Illness

On the plane on our way to Iowa.





This past weekend we took a trip to Iowa and stayed with Luke's parents.  It's safe to say that every time we have flown one of our children has gotten sick with the exception of one flight.  On that particular flight Jada was in my stomach and I took extreme precautions for Jael.  I had Jael start taking Airborne two days before flight,  brought massive germ-x wipes and wiped down literally EVERYTHING where we sat, and brought saline solution and sprayed her nose every few minutes to keep it moist.  Luke made fun of me for being so psycho but guess what?  Jael did not get sick!
This last trip was Jada's turn.  After arriving to Iowa she developed a fever that I initially attributed to teething.  Later I found out that it was Hand Foot and Mouth Disease which the doctor said she probably got from from the flight.  Surprise Surprise!  Lesson learned, being a psycho pays off!  Our next flight will consist of airborne, germ-x wipes and saline spray!

Time to pick up small objects!

Well our determined little Jada is making her way around to whatever she can get her hands on.  If she starts to really crawl she'll be a month ahead of her sister!