family

i went out to lunch with my mom and sister today. such fun! i love them both so dearly, as i get older i realize how important they are to me. i realize how much i take for granted.

mom. mom is supportive and loving. always willing to listen and slow to pry and question. she's goofy and fun, a beautiful musician, great teacher and has a heart for the Lord. i'm just fine knowing that i will be like her when i'm older (chuckle), knowing that i already am.

jana. my sister is hard working and passionate. much cooler than me, gorgeous and spunky. i wish i knew her better, not living with someone when they are older - when they change - you miss alot. i'm looking forward to all sorts of things we will do together soon.

dad (don't want to leave you out). dad is gentle and quiet. he is steady, confident, always encouraging and has a great sense of humor. i would not pass up a hug or sharing one of our many favorite treats together. i've seen him change over the years and am so grateful to have him as my father and as a friend.

there are so many more family members i could sit and write about. grandparents, aunts and uncles, in-laws, cousins, brother and sister-in-laws, neices and nephews. the smiles, laughs and cherished moments we've shared this holiday season. how we can all sit in a room, chat and enjoy ourselves, not missing a beat even though it's been so long.

i love you all! i'm proud to call you family and i am so grateful the Lord has blessed me with you!

gifts

i can't believe it's here, here already. [the older i get, the faster time passes by. oh, how i need to cherish every minute.] some people prepare all year for this week, some decorate and start celebrating months before, some wait until the last minute and get caught in the ugly, wordly side of the holiday {bad driving, long lines, impatient folks and family drama. sad.} we usually fall somewhere in the middle.

this year has been different for me. john and i got our shopping done pretty early, in hopes to not feel stress or pressure this week. {it's working!} i also love giving gifts - seeing someone wide-eyed and smiling, laughing and grateful with appreciation. i will admit - i love getting gifts too, who doesn't?! i'm not sure the history of gift giving, i'm sure i learned it once or twice, but i like to think that as one of God's children - i give because i was given to. to show love and kindness to others as was and is shown to me. an additional way to celebrate. simple, thoughtful gifts...nothing in excess, not trying to out do the years before. that way it's easier to focus on the reason for all the commotion.

Christ was given to us! he was born as a baby, lived on this earth, died for all, rose again and now lives. God's gift to his children, so that we can live in his presence, his light, his glory. and the best part - all we have to do is accept the gift, believe in Him and have faith that His grace is sufficient to save. {what a gift! what a love.} that's why this time of year is my favorite. this gift gave and continues to give life!

so this year i will celebrate, similar to years past. food, laughs, gifts, hugs, warmth of the fire, games, conversation, prayer, praise and thanksgiving. i pray that all who read this can do the same with your family and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

a picture slideshow

chuck, connie and the kids arrived last week! we have had a great time catching up and playing with the kids. the twins are SO little and the girls have grown SO much.


(me and diya)


(john and elijah)




almost every time john holds elijah, he's asleep instantly!


(pappy and the twins)


(me and anjali playing guess who)


(asha taking down the bull - chuck)


(asha playing with nanny's two dozen hats)


(and me too)


(and even skip!)


(we had a late birthday celebration for asha)


(asha)


(anju)


(becky reading to the girls before bed)

many more kids and many more pictures to come!!

cat nap

we have talked about buying the emery board cat scratching cardboard for quite some time (supposed to file down her nails while scratching). we finally did. if it actually works, we have yet to find out because she really only likes the toy that's attached!





and i mean, she REALLY likes it. she played for hours with it (by herself) :)



so much so that she wore herself out and took a nap in our laundry basket!

??

Inadequate. Do you ever feel that way?

It’s funny, I feel that way about so many things lately {laundry, dishes, cooking, weight loss, wife, daughter, friend} yet I have so little motivation to change. I want to change, have a strong desire to change, but when it comes down to it, very little happens. Bogged down. Overwhelmed. Stuck.

My loving husband reminded me today that we are all inadequate. ALL of us. We fall short of being perfect and have endless flaws. And it’s OK. If we didn’t have gaps and inabilities we wouldn’t need a solution, a Savior.

Christ was adequate, more than adequate – perfect. I need to keep reminding myself that through HIS strength I can accomplish things. I need to keep admitting my inadequacies, be transparent and open, accept my weakness and then, THEN I can be strong.

More of Him, less of me and my world is a whole lot less bogged down and overwhelming. Stuff gets done, praise is given and true JOY and satisfaction start to take over.

Inadequate?

Yup! {but I’m not worried about it anymore}

embarrasing moment

as described in my last post i have a phobia (i believe it's a REAL phobia) of people vomiting. next on my list is the doctor's office. i had to go today. i didn't want to, but i did want to make sure i wasn't in over my head trying to work through this, whatever it is, without major medication. that it won't turn into something terribly serious and irreversible. so i went.

before i got there i was already nervous...i know exactly what they were going to do...a throat swab. i have a very sensitive gag reflex, i can't even brush the back of my tongue and can hardly swallow a pill. up until a couple of years ago i had to swallow an ibuprophen size pill with yogurt or applesauce! yes, i'm serious. and i still have to if it's bigger than that now! i am aware that this is laughable, john takes full advantage. you are welcome to laugh yourself.

so, anyway, i get there. blood pressure [which is always higher because i'm nervous], weight [which was lower than i thought], fever [thankfully gone], and then the swab. the poor nurse tried twice, i pulled her hand out of my mouth forcefully, twice. i cried, embarrased. the doctor wanted to try and all i could do is cry, i couldn't even open my mouth for him. so he looked instead. thankfully with the list of my other symptoms he doesn't think it is strep, but rather a virus that has been going around. Phew! keep doing what i'm already doing and my throat should heal soon. no need to worry unless the fever returns.

all that for $30. what a waste!! (well, not completely, i guess.)

embarassing. a little traumatizing. and the LAST time i go to the doctor for a sore throat! :D we'll keep poppin' the garlic, buy some throat lozenges and vitamin c and wait it out. i just pray that no one else gets it and that we get over it soon with no repeat visits!

i am feeling better today, went to work. john is feeling better also, he also went to work. we are both just getting over the sore throat. :D

yuck!

oh man. we have been sick in this house. we assume it's the flu [sore throat, fever, aches - terrible aches, head ache, congestion and thankfully - NO stomach issues.] if you know me at all, you know that i am the worst around sick people, especially if there is vomiting involved. i'm constantly asking, "how are you doing" "are you okay" "can i get you anything" "what are you feeling now?" this may seem good, like a concerned person...but i'm sure that john would attest it gets a little obnoxious and is usually selfish questioning.

john started feeling bad on friday and came home from work early, felt worse on saturday (his birthday) and sunday. he still didn't feel great on monday so he stayed home from work. it was monday that i started to get the symptoms too. i stayed at work as long as i could but ended up coming home early and did not go in today either. most likely, i will still have the fever tomorrow and will need to stay home. john is still battling the sore throat and neck aches, but is planning on heading back to work tomorrow. wow! it has been miserable and quite pathetic around here. [laying on the couch, in bed, moaning, coughing and drinking lots of water.] this is the worst we have felt in a LONG time!!

all that to say, i know the Lord is testing our faith. he is breaking us down so all we are able to do is lean on him. he has been reminding us these past couple of days that we run on his schedule and not our own, in his strength and not our own, through his grace and his alone. some things i've been reminding myself to be thankful for admist the sickness - that we were mostly sick before chuck and connie get here, that it hasn't been the stomach flu, that i have a wonderful husband to take care of me, and that God is here to listen to my prayers.

well, my fever is returning and i better go lie down :)

sick birthday boy and mattress woes

well, it's john's birthday today! he's sick. has the cold/flu and he threw out his back again a couple of days ago. so today and probably tomorrow, we are taking much needed days of rest and relaxation.

thankfully his stomach is not bothering him, so i made him a big birthday breakfast. then we wrapped some christmas presents and he went back to sleep. {i hope he feels better soon!}



so i'm working on this...



and the cat is chillin'...



over thanksgiving weekend we went and bought a new mattress at sears. today it was delivered...and they delivered the wrong one! so now we will sleep in the spare room on our current mattress until they re-deliver the correct one next weekend.

the cat enjoyed us moving the bed around last night!

but i want one too...

IT IS HARD TO CHRISTMAS SHOP FOR OTHER PEOPLE WITHOUT WANTING THOSE SAME THINGS FOR YOURSELF.

at least i think so! and maybe it's just the things i'm buying this year or maybe it's because everything is on sale, but i want some of these things for myself too. {greedy, i know. for the record...i haven't duplicated any of my purchases to fill my own stocking...yet!}

*just thought i would put it out there...does anybody else find this hard?*