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Christmas in Carney is always a fun time! I just love warm family traditions! A few highlights from going to see Jason's family include:-ice skating up and down the creek! (Caed is getting some skating legs!)-watching the boys follow the bigger girl cousins around-cherry pie and ALL the huge platters of cookies!-Elsie in her dress-prayer time for the whole family-the joy of children opening presents-small meaningful conversations with individuals I love-preaching on the prophecies of Christ from Isaiah-watching the adult men spend hours playing legos-being packed together in a small cabin sharing joy-communion as an extended family at Christmas day service-but of course, the highlight was Jonas' answer at the Moravian candlelight service during the children's sermon. The leader asked if anyone knew what frankincense was. Jonas piped up VERY loudly, "That's what they put on DEAD BODIES so they don't get STINKY!" That's my son!
I'm back! I think I can handle blogging once every 6 months. :-) In this season of Thanksgiving, I was reflecting on one of the tangible health blessings God has given us. It has been 2 years since Jonas was hospitalized twice for severe croup. We continue to deal with this problem almost monthly, but he has not had to be readmitted to the hospital since!
This last bout has been about 2 1/2 weeks of sleepless nights so far. Yet I praise God that my Jonas is still with us. You get such clarity of God's provision at 2 AM calming your child. You feel such heartfelt thanks for the health you usually enjoy. You are blessed by God's amazing strength to face the next day after a long night. You have powerful empathy for those who deal with chronic pain or illness. And you realize how fiercely you love your children. It is all grace.
We are thankful! Jonas has been an absolute delight in our lives and we couldn't ask for a more fun child!
My Jonas turned 3! I can't believe it. Jonas is the perfect middle child! He is extremely laid back, especially for being in the terrible 2-3's. Still has the most contagious giggle, and knows how to use it. Jonas is not a fan of vegetables or most meat, but if you fill him with carbs and sugar he is happy! He enjoyed being the spotlight all day! For breakfast, birthday waffles and the cereal he picked: fruit loops! 
Jonas asked for a police car cake, so Jason and I did our best.
After a year of scouring craigslist daily, we finally we found a couch for our family room! $125 looked mighty good so we called immediately. The phone number didn't work, so Jason drove across town only to find it was a veterans' warehouse that had just closed. I was not to give up so easily. Monday morning they were to open at 9:00. Caedmon had the flu and had fallen asleep downstairs on a flop-out in his pj's. I had decided I was going to get there when they opened, or not at all, so I hurridly woke up my sick son, dressed him, gave him a puke bowl to carry, and packed up. 3 kids in tow we arrived at this place at 9:05 where I sat in the comfortable couch, dashed to the front desk, and plopped down my money! Bless Caedmon's heart, he didn't throw up, but he didn't make it to the bathroom on the way back... They delivered it by noon and we were tickled!THEN we smelled it. Like a sleazy motel, the couch was saturated with smoke and dog odor. Hmm. Not quite as good of a deal as we thought. However it fit well in the space and looked good. Then I took off the sheet covering the chaise lounge. The sheet was hiding a huge basketball-sized black gunky tar stain. Hmm. We took to cleaning it. We vacuumed it.We washed all the cushion covers.We shampoo-vacuumed it. We dusted it with baking soda.We revacuumed it.We rewashed the cushion covers.We saturated it in vinegar and vacuumed it. Twice.We shampooed it once more.And VOILA! The smell is all but vanished! I am not so sure we came out ahead after all that electricity though, but we are very pleased, and the huge nasty stain came completely out!It is a great couch for the boys' cars. :-)
Grandma approves!
Ta-DA! If you come to our house you don't have to sit on the floor anymore!!!
What is God teaching me lately?In several areas of my life I have become aware of a pretty big problem with pride. In some ways, realizing you're doing "well" in spiritual disciplines is an encouraging thing. I AM experiencing the blessings of many areas of my life going "well." However, what to do with the pride that I feel like I have it mastered, when clearly as Christians, we always have a long way to go? I confess my pride, and subconsciously hope God doesn't have in mind to humble/humiliate me. Yet I know if He does, I deserve it! The other thing to check is my motives, am I always doing things out of a pure heart? Probably not. Even if I am doing well, I think sometimes this piety manifests itself into judging others for their shortcomings rather than loving them, which is clearly sinful.Other tibits-our family enjoyed a relaxing weekend retreat with our mini church up north this past weekend. We had great conversations, great games, great hikes. That was special. We were challenged as a group to corporately SERVE more. Our Sunday School is going through the trendy book "Radical" by David Platt. The main thesis is to give up the American Dream, all of it, for radical holiness and giving oneself away. We are just kind of starting it, but I look forward to lives being changed! So far we don't feel called to the mission field or to sell our house, but it is a possibility, certainly.We finished the Jesus Bible Storybook with the boys again today. I just love the last entry of John's vision of heaven. Truly, if we all were eternity minded, life would be SO EASY! I find myself drawn to songs about heaven lately. I am working on memorizing I Corinthians 15, but it is slow going. I am also enjoying the gospels right now and reading through Acts. Being convicted to share my faith more boldly, and am trying to reach out to other moms. I guess that's my spiritual temperature these days.
