thinking ahead

This time between Christmas and the new year always draws me to evaluate the current year and look forward to the next. This year I want to try something new. I want to set goals, not make resolutions. And I want to set them individually and with my family. My thought is that if we hold each other accountable for our goals, we might actually manage to reach them. Goals seem more concrete than resolutions. Be assured that Christ will play a large part in our goals. Being able to give back and participate fully in life with Him is so important to each of us. Other goals will include specifics for each child, plans for our home, plans for our company and plans for us as a family (health, finances, etc...). I am working on how we will keep track of our goals and not let them slip by us. Calendars and regular check ups will have to be the rule! I will try to take of picture of these as we get going forward.

Feel free to join me on the journey into 2010. I would love to know how you plan to celebrate the new year and what plans / goals you are making for 2010.

Silent Night

Christmas Eve is upon me again! That means staying up into the wee hours to wrap the gifts for the children and stuffing stockings for the 5 of us. It also means going to a candle light service (we went to the 5pm service!), a special dinner (homemade pizza) and spending time together with the people I love most in the world! Cookies were baked and delivered today as well. I hope and pray that your Christmas is blessed with joy and peace that is only found in Christ!

waiting with God

I spend much of my time waiting with God or so it seems. His timing is perfect and I am beginning to understand that I can fully rely Him. Being self-employed as we are, we must rely on God to meet our needs. I keep thinking that maybe I have learned this lesson already but God seems to have other plans. He keeps bringing me to the breaking point and then brings His provisions for us. What a lesson! His gifts are so good and I am truly beginning to trust in them.

I hope that you might have a truly blessed Christmas season. May God's peace and joy be ever present in your celebrations.

How much?

DH and I were invited to a party tonight by a business associate of my DH. He was not the host but somehow had the liberty to invite others to the party. It was an Open House event with political tie in. We decided we should attend as we try to continue to grow our business.

So after having dinner with our sweet children, we fancied ourselves up and headed out. We went armed with the email invite and a GPS as we were heading into a mostly unfamiliar neighborhood. We drove over the mountain in heavy fog and came back to the valley. We wound our way through the area and came upon large home after large home. I do mean they were large but nothing like the home that was hosting the party! The amount of energy required just to light up the house and landscaping could probably pay our whole monthly budget for our family. Ostentatious just barely begins to describe this place. We quickly decided we had no business that was worth entering the home. We marveled together that one family would ever need such a home. Surely they had invited one thousand of their closest friends to this event.

We know many other people who have plentiful funds but none live in such a manner. I do not know the religous affiliation of the family and so I don't want to even hazard a guess. But surely there are better ways to spend your money? Could you not help fund a medical mission in a suffering country? How about the homeless here in our hometown? Just today, a homeless woman was begging at my children's school. There are many charities in our community that work tirelessly to make life better for children. I am sure they would appreciate a donation. I am proud to married to a man who stood up and said no tonight. These are not the kind of people I want to know. When you have a comfortable life, you need to think about others before you spend more on yourself. How much home do you really need to be comfortable? Do you need this to be better than everyone else? Could you possibly entertain this much? There are plenty of public places to host large gatherings.

Everything about this hit us wrong tonight. Maybe because we live so far on the other side of the extreme but I don't believe our reaction was jealousy at all. Rather a calling to live more humbly in Christ.

oink, oink, oink

Despite our best efforts, our second child contracted swine flu this week. He came to us at 3AM on Tuesday morning to tell us he did not feel well. Sure enough, he was running a fever. Number 1 child's case turned out to be much more mild than than his. He had a temp that was over 104 on Wednesday morning. We quickly got it under control and he was finally free of fever Friday afternoon. He has been left with a horrible cough which will get better I'm sure. Now I have something but it may only be a cold. I'm so ready for the pigs to move out of my house and take the other bugs with them!!!

Here's hoping your week was much healthier than ours!

Stumble!!!

I love to Stumble! No! I do not mean falling down, I mean the great internet tool that lets you stumble onto a great web site. Here is a link I found today for a pocket advent calendar. Totally cute and totally affordable! That's a double win in my book!

http://mylittlemochi.typepad.com/my_little_mochi/2008/11/pocket-advent-calendar.html

Welcome October!

Is oh so grateful to have survived another month and begun a new one! Unfortunately, my home has been invaded by swine flu. My oldest came home from school Friday and we quickly figured out that she was running a fever. By Saturday, her cough was worse and she was complaining of body aches. Not good. The doctor's office confirmed that these are classic symptoms of swine flu but would not treat her or anyone else in the family. I am not thrilled by that! Everywhere I look, families are given Tamiflu to prevent swime flu from spreading but not here. I will probably have to call my hubby's doctor to get it for him. At least my DD seems to be handling things okay. She has a fever and aches but her cough is very manageable and the fever responds well to ibuprofen. So those are blessings! Hopefully your month is off to a better start than ours. Did I mention that this week is fall break? So yes, the other kiddos are home with her and hopefully will not contract this nasty bug.

rollercoaster day

Today is a day of highs and a big low. On the high side, a congregational meeting has been called at my church to call a new senior pastor! How wonderful! Also, I went shopping with my oldest to finish out her birthday gifts. Some of the things I picked out did not fit so we had returns and then picking out new things. She was over the moon and quite pleased with her new things. Then we got home and found out a dear friend had passed away. He had been ill for a while and we knew hospice had been called a couple of weeks ago. Still it was hard to share the news with my sweet child. Her heart is so tender it must feel like it has been crushed by this. It is her first experience with death and loss of someone close to her. I am praying I have the right words to guide her through this experience. Her emotions have been so fragile lately that I really worry. Have you been in a similar place as a parent? How did you handle it?

Friday - take a deep breath because the weekend is just getting started!

I love Fridays! It seems that lately my weekends are jammed packed with activities and Monday is the recovery day. Somehow that sounds wrong! Tonight is pizza night at our house. We make it from scratch and it is so good! This weekend starts with two soccer games at 10 and 10:30 Saturday morning in different towns. Then volunteering at the kids' school. There is also Green U going on at the Botanical Gardens tomorrow. Should be fun and very informative. I think my DH may go with 2 of the kids. It is also my oldest baby's birthday tomorrow! So we will go out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate. Sunday brings church and bell choir. If I am lucky, I will have time for a nap on Sunday afternoon. The weather is supposed to change on Sunday too. We should finally see an end to this rainy, muggy air mass we have had for 3 weeks. I still sense a need to slow down and find God's presence in my life. I know he is there and working but I am so busy, I think I miss Him! How do you find him?

listening

Today I want to listen for the God breeze! There are many projects for me to finish but listening for the breeze may be the most important thing I do today! Already the kids are at school, I've put an invoice together for the DH, and laundry and dishes are going. Still ahead for today, my oldest goes to the orthodontist at noon, oldest two have auditions after school for a Christmas production, DH has a Kiwanis meeting and I will need to make a trip to the bank at some point too! Just another Monday to start another week! Finding time to listen in the busyness is difficult...

Are your Mondays crazy too? Do you have a routine that helps to keep them focused? I would love to know more!

Confirmation Class

I am excited! My oldest is starting confirmation class this year! Today was a meeting for the parents to find out more about it . It will run throughout the school year and culminate in an examination by the session in late April. It is time for a more formal education and she is studying world religions and history this year in school and already has been confused by a well meaning teacher! She asked me this past Wednesday if we were fundamentalists or mystics in our religion! Are those the only choices? Not by a long shot! Just another snap shot of a crazy world.

A New Beginning

Follow along as I navigate a crazy world. I am always seeking to follow God's plan but not always on the right path. So I invite you to come along on the journey through a crazy world with a fellow seeker and the Great Guide.