December 11

We didn’t get the snowstorm we were promised.  It slipped south of us.  So we also didn’t get to sleep in this morning.  It was basketball bright and early.  I just love going to cheer on the team even if I am loud and obnoxious.  My daughter still thinks it’s fun to hear us whoop it up when they score, for now.

After we got through the games and a practice we headed out on a very important mission.

We headed out into the woods to cut down a Christmas tree.  A few years back we started getting our trees from a wonderful couple from our church’s land.  They fed us cookies and hot chocolate.  A year and a half ago Betty passed away.  This year Mike had the idea of going out to get a tree and bringing dinner so we could eat with Clarence. 

They have a great sledding hill.  Well, it is great to kids who live on the flattest piece of land in the county.

In case you noticed, this is day three that Annie has had the “I took my pet to the vet” tattoo on her cheek.

Then our tour guide Joe arrived and we set out into the woods.  He never lets us take the first one.  There’s always a better one on the horizon. 

It wasn’t even (that) cold in the woods.

We saw a porcupine nestled up in a tree.  That made me pretty nervous.  Clarence told us a funny porcupine story at supper.  He can tell a story!

Then we found it.  There were no lights or angel choirs but we were getting tired.

Clark even remembered a saw.

 

We ate soup and bread and pie and had a lovely visit in a very warm house.  We thawed out, not we are just waiting for the tree to do the same. 

December 10

We babysat for a friend from church today.  She was going to a doctor’s appointment with her mom who just found out she is battling cancer.  I thought it would be fun to do a project.  My kids only had a half day of school that day.  I had read the idea to use your unwanted Halloween candy for gingerbread houses. We’ve got plenty of that.

I borrow this gingerbread house mold every year.  Maybe one day I should buy one.  I didn’t get the gingerbread made early enough so we used almond bark.  That’s right, a gingerbread house made out of pure candy.  We dyed it blue.

Pour it in the chilled mold and refrigerate.  Then pop the pieces out.

Get plenty of frosting ready.  Using the spritz gun worked really well.  But so did the baggie.

An architect or engineer I am not but we got it together.

Then it’s time for the kids to go to work.  I wish I could say they were responsible for the dilapidated roof but they aren’t.

The more frosting and candy the better.

It’s really fun to have the kinds of conversations kids have when they are busy working at a project. 

There are no rules against eating the candy.

Or looking like a construction worker with a jackhammer and cigarette.

If you have a masterpiece like this

and the kitchen looks like this

and the kids are covered in frosting, then it was a success.

December 7

Last night, we did some elf work from home in front of the Charlie Brown special.  We gathered up some supplies: coloring books, crayons, stickers, and stocking stuffers. 

The little girls worked very hard. 

Cutting.

Wrapping.

Taping.

It’s kind of hard for me to let go and allow them to dive in themselves.  Actually, halfway through I was wishing I would have just done it myself after they went to bed.  They didn’t exactly look like packages from Macy’s when they were done.  But they were really excited to help.

We put the packages into big envelopes and are going to drop them in the mail today to two of our church’s missionary families.  These families each have one parent that grew up in our church and they are now out doing ministry full-time with their families.  That’s one of the blessings of God allowing us to be here for so long. 

We’ve got more people that could use Christmas cheer on our list.  How about you?

December 4/5

What an exciting weekend!  Sleepovers, American Girl parties, church, small group, basketball,

and we got up close and personal with new friends at CPR class.

On Saturday we made an elf delivery to a great friend.  Unfortunately she wasn’t home.  I’m starting to rethink the “surprise” element of our visits.  Jayne had come and drawn Caricatures of Jenna and all her friends the night of her birthday party. 

She is a bundle of fun and has been a big inspiration to me as a mother.  We’ll have to drop by again when we can chat with her.  And maybe have a big cup of coffee with whipped cream, sprinkles and a flag on top.  That’s the only way she makes it!  Which is one of the reasons she always leaves you in a jolly mood!

On Sunday at church, the star board was up again.

Each star has a gift wish on it for a family our church adopts.  Karen breaks it down so that everyone can contribute a part.  She even makes $1 stars so that the kids can take part.  We got  our star.

 

I’m scared.  I can buy a princess tea set like nobody’s business, but I hope I do ok shopping for a 15 year old boy.  Then we bring the wrapped gifts back the next week.

 

We’ve got some shopping to do!

December 3

Yesterday was chaos.  I took the littlest elf to the doctor, had six kids get off the bus at my house, made supper and went to basketball.  Then the girls and I went to a party.  A lady from our church invited them over to watch Christmas movies and play with her daughter’s doll collection.  Everyone had a good time.  Especially Abby and Maren who didn’t stop playing with the dolls even to eat!  And especially Grant and his friend who had the house to themselves girl free for the whole evening! 

I want to share this story with you.  It gave me chills just to read it!  My friend Stephanie and her husband Matt are Village Missionaries out on the East coast.  She’s sharing the condensed version here, but you can read what God is doing with their December on her blog too.

What A Difference A December Can Make

Christmas has always been a time of immense internal conflict for me. On one hand, it’s my favorite holiday. The tree! The decorations! The lights! The snow! The music! But on the other hand… In Michelle’s initial Do December Different post, she vividly described my heart toward December:

“So many people…despise December. They hate shopping and fighting the crowds. They spend too much money. They charge up their credit cards. They are obligated to spend $25 on Aunt Betsy because that’s what she spent on them…”

This is exactly what I hate about December, except we don’t usually charge up the credit cards, because I stay home as much as possible once Thanksgiving hits. For all the talk about Christmas bringing out the best in human nature (that’s a laugh on its own), apparently it doesn’t apply in-store. So several years ago, my husband and I decided that instead of giving to each other, we’d combine what we’d spend separately and get one thing we could both use and enjoy. We don’t have children, so we didn’t need to spend money for that. This year, we finally got my brother and sister-in-law to agree to no gifts for us adults. Woo-hoo! Less shopping! And I could do it all online if I wanted to!

We were sitting pretty, as Decembers go, until the Monday after Thanksgiving, when the phone rang.

After nine years of treating and grieving infertility, we’d chosen to adopt out of the foster system, knowing that as children age in the system, their chances of adoption drop exponentially. We’d seen God look down on us, His enemies, and sent Christ to die for our sins, that He might adopt us. We knew this was His road for us. But we also knew that meant school age children – no babies. It was a battle for me, but the Lord worked in my heart and we were excited to plan and prepare for older children.

We completed the paperwork/homestudy phase of the process at the end of October, and had settled in for a long wait of reading profiles and waiting for a county official somewhere to like us well enough to want to meet us. But apparently, God has different plans: the phone call on the Monday after Thanksgiving was THE phone call. The phone call let us know that two siblings were available in our home county (no traveling!) and their caseworker wanted to meet us as soon as possible.

ASAP meant the very next day, and the “interview” was no interview at all, but rather a face-to-face to hammer out details. Nine years of waiting and grieving, and God was finally doing what I just assumed was impossible, and had not even had faith to pray for: He was giving us children for Christmas.
And not only that.

The children God was giving us for Christmas? Babies. A 2-1/2 year old girl, and a 7 month old boy. I flew into the most confused emotional state I can remember: exhilaration tempered by panic tempered by faith challenged by the temptation to walk by sight. We had not planned for babies. We were not prepared for babies. We. had. nothing. for. babies.

Well, after we dealt with the panic, I flew into a flurry of making notes and lists. The snow flurries outside had nothing on me! We went out that very night to buy the supplies we’d need to child-proof our home. We decided on what furniture needed to be moved or replaced. I began a baby registry. (Even now, as I type that, I still stop and wonder: a baby registry! Us! Never would’ve thought.)

And now I realize that God has done a second impossible thing. He’s gotten me to Walmart between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and He’s gotten me there willingly.

So talk about doing December different! As I write, it’s December 4. Autumn still decorates our mantle. We’re still greeted by a “Happy Thanksgiving!” sign by the back door. Instead of our normal, 7 -foot Christmas tree, we purchased a small 3-foot, pre-lit tree. No other decorations or lights will go up. Who has time? God is giving us a gift. My children are coming home.