Merry Christmas from the Rohdes!

Hello Family and Friends,

Yes, we're are taking the cheap way out again this year to get our Christmas greetings out to everyone.  I hope you find yourself right where you are supposed to be...right where God wants you. 

This has been a full year for the Rohdes.  We ended 2010 with the hope and plan of moving to a house we found out in the country.  After 3 1/2 months of limbo we moved to our house on the prairie on Valentine's Day.  Kirk really is going to have a hard time beating that Valentine's gift this year.:)  Besides more wind and getting used to the long commute (about 6 extra minutes) we LOVE being country folk.  Kirk and I were just saying last night how amazing the stars are out here.  We have a barn (currently empty, but full of possibility!).  One more thing we certainly couldn't do in the middle of Cheyenne is shoot guns - Kirk got his antelope this year on our neighbor's property (with permission).  Good ol' country fun!

One of the other big changes for this family in the last year is school - after three years of home schooling, we decided to put the school-aged kids in public school.  What an agonizing decision that was, but so far, so good.  One of the ironic things about this decision is how committed I have been to prayer and Bible study with the kids each morning, versus before when they were with me all day.  I definitely feel more urgency to make this a part of our day, now.

Zion (10) is in 5th grade and growing into such a sweet young man.  He loves to get a hug from his mom everyday (I hope that never ends!)  Zion is an eager, quick learner and doing great in school.  He loves to read, and probably like many boys, loves video games.  Reading we encourage, video games have pretty severe limits.:)  He is participating in 4-H and plans to show our dog and do some leather work for fair.  He's still playing piano and just started playing cello (my absolute favorite!) this year.  He does well at these, but his main passion is definitely football.  He played again this last fall, and is still a gigantic Chargers fan (although he's pretty down on Philip Rivers right now).  His grandpa took him to his first pro game this year between the Chargers and the Broncos.  Best. time. EVER! for this kid.

Tekoa (9) is in 3rd grade, and is also doing wonderful in school.  This is the one who pushes my buttons, but I am learning more and more how to "handle" her, and trying to become a "Tekoa whisperer."  She is very strong-willed, which makes for some confrontation, but at the same time, I can see such amazing leadership skills in her.  She is organized (who knows where she gets that?) and has a lot of dedication to things that are important to her.  She is also in 4-H and was elected the club Reporter for this year.  For our church's Christmas play this year, she had one of the main parts with the most lines and did great!  She is playing piano and doing ballet this year.  Tekoa has turned into a crazy reader, too, and is doing so good in school.  She makes me smile when she says she wants to be a mom when she grows up.

Toren (7) is in 1st grade and is such a little teddy bear!  He is doing great in school and his teacher said she wished everyone followed directions like Toren.  This is definitely a child that has a tender heart.  It's very sweet to watch him with his younger siblings - he's an awesome big brother.  Toren also started piano this year.  He is our little athlete.  Just like his daddy, he can pick up most sports pretty easily and did really well in football and is gearing up for basketball.

Micaiah (6) is in kindergarten this year.  She is loving the big kid duty of school each day.  This girl is a sweetie.  She is eager to learn and has come really far in her first few months of school.  Micaiah still loves to do art, and, in this mom's opinion, she does really well.  She also started playing piano this year and is the most likely to be practicing in the music room without being asked to.  She and Shiloh (being the only to same gendered kids next to each other) are great friends and really enjoy being around each other.  It's pretty cute to watch.

Shiloh (4) is officially the oldest here at home during the day.  She LOVES having this role.  Like Tekoa, she is a natural leader and has 2 little siblings following her around all the time.  Lucky for her, I finally feel like I have time to play with her hair and do girly things during the day.  She loves this!  Shiloh is our youngest piano student, and really enjoys her lesson (even though, at this point it's about 5 minutes) because she is "one of the big kids."

Ezra (2 - 3 in a few weeks) is BUSY!  Wow, this kid is SO cute, but he keeps me on my toes!  I'm curious to see how many of my Christmas decorations make it through to the end of the season after they've been Ezrasized.  He's probably the first child I have (that I can remember) who has a major fascination with toilet paper, even at Grandma's house.  Nevertheless, he is stinking adorable, and loves to mimic his older brothers.  He got to attend a CSU football game with Daddy and the boys this year and hasn't stopped doing the crowd chants since then. 

Na'arah (16 months) is delightful.  She is simply a happy little girl!  As long as we get our naps, there is very little crying from this girl.  She is starting to talk and for some reason, the only name she says is "Shiloh."  She and Ezra have a sweet relationship, and somehow he makes her bust up laughing regularly.  I love it!







In March, we will have Baby #8.  In case you don't know our tradition...we take turns on whether we find out the sex or not.  I like to know, Kirk likes to be surprised.  Well, it's his turn, so we won't know until the arrival what exactly is in there, but we can't wait to meet him or her. 

Kirk is still working at WYDOT and manages to stay very busy after work running kids around to all the activities I mentioned.  He is such a great Daddy/husband/provider/friend.  I'm so thankful for him.  Little by little, he is becoming a handyman by necessity.  We have some rentals and between those and this house, he keeps very busy taking care of everything.  His energy and work ethic amazes me.

I'm sitting around eating bon-bons now that I only have three kids here at home - just kidding.  I am still pretty busy.  I continue to lead worship at our church (until I go on my bi-annual maternity leave:).  This pregnancy has been really great, but I definitely don't have the same energy as my husband.  Nap time is crucial for everyone in this house!  I also started blogging quite a bit, which I usually manage to get done during "Sesame Street."  This has been a great outlet for me, and makes me feel very "published" even though no one has to edit or approve what I write.  I'm also still leading worship at our church which I really love.  Thankfully, my pastor fills in the gaps when I'm on maternity leave (about every 18 months) and doesn't mind letting me get back in there afterwards.

I have been so caught up in God's love lately.  He is such a good God and has blessed our family in so many ways.  I am so thankful for His incredible plan of salvation that began in a barn, probably not nearly as nice as the one we have, without a hospital or nurses at their beck and call.  His entry into this world is probably not what we would come up with, but He is REAL and He came in a real way to touch us in a real way.  If you have emptiness in your soul, my Savior, who came in a very un-fancy way, is softly and tenderly calling to you to come home to Him.  That is absolutely the most amazing Christmas gift you could ever receive, but it's worthless unless you accept it and receive it.

I pray your Christmas is full of joy, wonder, excitement, and blessing.  Merry Christmas!

What should we do with Santa?

I recently had a friend who has been overseas for several years ask me what we do about Santa Claus.  She said where they were it was much easier to focus on Jesus and the commercialism just wasn't there.  I really think parents have to make a decision for their own family.  I know there can be a lot of pressure either way.  Some parents are made to feel like a real kill-joy if they don't promote the man in red and are all about "killing the magic."  At the same time, I've seen parents looking down their nose at those parents who would choose promote lies to their children because they are certainly crumbling any trust their kids could have in them.  Well, similar to my views on Halloween, which you can read here, I definitely tend to be in the middle of the road on this topic.  And, similar to my views on Halloween, there's been an evolution of my thoughts.
Growing up, we had relatives within pretty close driving distance, so we spent part of the holidays driving from Wyoming to Nebraska, and then up to South Dakota.  Plus, my mom's birthday was added in there on Christmas Eve.  It made for some busy days.  We usually would (if I remember right) go out to eat for my mom's birthday on the 23rd, come home and have our immediate family Christmas time, which always included reading the Christmas story from Luke 2, and then - score for me - youngest to oldest got to open presents, one at a time.  The next morning we would trek our way to Nebraska, only about 3 hours away, to Grandma and Grandpa's house, where a loud, fairly large group of my aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather for another round of "Christmas."  My grandma had made each of us stockings that had long since outgrown the mantle and stretched across the wall of the living room.  The funny thing is, Santa would always come to my Grandma June's house, but would seem to come in a more dramatic way for some of my cousins and less for others.  Hmmm...  Christmas morning, after a brief opening of "Santa Claus" presents,  we would head up to my aunt and uncle's in South Dakota, and have our 3rd round of Christmas there with more cousins, aunts and uncles and my grandma.
I honestly don't remember sitting on Santa's knee too many times. I'm sure I did, but I know it wasn't an annual tradition, something we had to do in order to make Christmas "Christmas."  Santa just wasn't a big focus in our family.
When I was in college (wow, this sounds just like my Halloween progression), I definitely went through a phase of not wanting anything to do with Santa.  I could see the point people had of the unbridled consumerism and this big fat man in the red suit upstaging the King of Kings.  Jesus absolutely should be the focus of Christmas.  Of course, I wasn't a parent yet, I didn't decorate my own tree or house, and I was only marginally interested in playing Christmas music.  It may sound silly, but that is probably what brought me to where I am now - music.
I have SO many great memories of fun, classic Christmas music from when I was young.  We had a gigantic record player (which is still in my parents basement and could be confused with a coffin).  Every year, when we were decorating and celebrating Christmas, we would play a fairly set list of songs.  It was a VERY eclectic playlist, and included songs focused on Jesus' birth, but also songs that were about Santa, reindeer, missing front teeth, and a puppy under the Christmas tree.  Bing Crosby, Evie, Perry Como, Dave Boyer, even Ray Stevens would be heard resounding throughout the house.  As an adult, these musical memories came back to me and tempered my views about hating Santa.  Songs like this one made me want Christmas to be about nostalgic fun, too.

OK...here's another classic from my childhood

OK...one more from when I was little that is about Jesus

I could go on and on with Bing, Perry, etc. but I think you get the idea.

Now, as a parent of seven, soon to be eight children, I've kind of come full-circle.  I really can't imagine using Santa to make my children behave a certain way.  In our immediate family, we can't and don't make gifts a huge part of everything.  So, the small amount they get at Christmas from us would not do much to motivate their behavior the other 11 months of the year.  I'm definitely okay with that.  Still, I don't want to throw the fat man out with the reindeer.  Personally, I love the old vintage looking Santa Claus for decorating.  I love stories like those from Little House on the Prairie when Mr. Edwards "ran into" Santa and helped him bring the gifts to Laura and Mary.  And...the music.  Like I said before, I would have a hard time NOT sharing all the wonderful music with my kids.

Still, our society is SO focused on gifts and buying things. It is a struggle to turn my children's attention to the stable in Bethlehem. It has to be a very deliberate decision.  Each family has to find a balance for themselves that they can be comfortable with and not worry about what other people are doing.  Our family doesn't make a huge deal out of it.  The littler kids probably have some belief in Santa, but since he's not a regular topic in our house,  it's not something that comes up.  I wouldn't be devastated if someone made a blanket declaration that Santa isn't real and I think the movies we watch that talk about belief in Santa (Miracle on 34th Street, Elf) actually show that enough people doubt, so maybe they should, too.  Bottomline, I am totally cool with the fact that people celebrate differently than us, and I think each family has to find a balance for themselves that they can be comfortable with and not worry about what other how other families celebrate.  Make traditions that your kids will cherish and "own."

It's beginning to look like....some holidays?

I hope this doesn't sound like a whiny post, especially at this time of year, but I have to admit...I'm a little annoyed.  This is our first year with kids in public school.  I've heard how things have become extremely "PC", but this year, I actually had to experience it. Bleh! 
The whole thing really baffles me.  I would guess that, at least where we live in Wyoming , probably at least 95% of the people here celebrate Christmas.  (I have no statistical evidence of this, but I think it's a fair, probably low, guess.)  I'm not pretending that even half of those people actually know and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, but it just seems like if that many people are claiming to take part in Christmas, more attention should be given to this holiday in it's truest sense.  I honestly don't have a problem with my kids learning about other holidays, especially since we're working hard at home to teach them the real meaning of why we celebrate.  I want my kids to be multi-cultural, and have little dreams of them becoming missionaries spreading the Gospel to unreached people, but for now, we live in America, where instead of a "melting pot," we're forced to be a "big stew."  Going along with that food analogy, there are tons of artificial ingredients being put into this stew that are not healthy at all.  For instance, when Christmas is mentioned (briefly) it's of course completely secular and all about reindeer, snow, mittens, and Santa (although I even noticed that guy was pretty absent at the programs we went to).  The other holidays which are highlighted seem to be portrayed with cautious care, making sure the facts are portrayed correctly, even if there is "religion" involved.  My biggest question after our last program was, "What are they afraid of?"  We can learn the miracle of Hanukkah, so why can't we accurately hear the story of Jesus?  If they are taking such great pains to be all-inclusive, why can't we have the real story?  I'm curious to know what the rules are?  I do have some music teacher friends, and I'll have to do some asking around to find what actually can be done.  Are educators just scared of what could happen if they are not painstakingly PC, or are there laws that truly dictate what can be proclaimed in a "Winter" Concert.
Our culture is so "enlightened" that we can't even enjoy these types of things because a lot of it honestly feels forced.  For example, at my son's concert, there was a "Kwanzaa" part of the program.  This cracked me up, because all of the children singing about this made-up holiday (I know....very un-PC) were as white as Saltine Crackers!  I was told there are some black kids at his school, just not in the first grade.  (I wonder how many of those kids celebrate Kwanzaa?)
I tend to be a fairly "middle of the road" person on a lot of these kinds of topics.  I wish there could be some balance.  When our kids attended a private Christian school, the pendulum was clear on the other side.  The kids (ranging from preschool to 6th grade) sang sacred Latin songs and only things that were accompanied by an organ.  Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful, even though I had to nudge Kirk to keep him awake.  I don't think the fun has to be sucked out of Christmas, but I do want to celebrate Christmas, really and truly CHRISTMAS!  I would really love to hear from you all about the topic of today.  What are some solutions?  Should Christians just sit back and continue to see everything watered down or removed completely?  What really are the "rules" and what are the consequences of not following those rules?  I really want to hear your thoughts.

Monday's Musings: Guard Your Marriage

I'm not quite sure why marriages have been so strong on my heart lately, but....they are.  What I want to talk about today is probably a little controversial, or at least may come with some opposing opinions.  That's okay.  I just blog it like I see it.
When I was in high school, I formed the opinion that it is pretty hard for guys and girls to be "just friends."  This was a hard lesson for me to learn, since, looking back, some of my best friends throughout jr. high and high school were male.  What I discovered was, at some point, one of the friends would want more than just a friendship.  In my case, for some reason, it seemed like I would have these amazing guy friends that I loved to be around, and then the guy would figure out I wasn't really interested in more than a friendship and magically our great friendship would fizzle.  This happened several times to me, so I definitely formulated this opinion based on experience. 
Some time later, maybe after I was married, I heard that Billy Graham NEVER spent time alone with any woman besides his wife.  WOW!  That's a pretty radical stance, but when it's dissected, it really makes sense to me especially when it's coupled with my opinion on guy/girl friendships.  One of the main reasons Billy Graham was never alone with any other woman was because of appearances.  Given his position of notoriety and seemingly amazing integrity, he had a lot to lose, even just from rumors.  Most of us are not in that same position, but people are watching us, especially if we proclaim to be Christians.
Personally, I don't feel comfortable being alone in the same room with any guys besides Kirk unless it's family.  The funny thing is, I love hanging out with other COUPLES, and I'm fine spending time with other men if Kirk is around.  Nevertheless, I have made a decision to not be alone with other men (besides family).  It's not really because I'm worried what others will think (although that is a part of it).  I just don't want to give Satan any opportunity to get a foothold in my marriage,especially given my opinion on guy/girl friendships.  If one of my best guy friends from growing up called me and asked to get together (which has never happened), I would talk to Kirk and most likely invite the guy to have dinner with our family.  I would never meet one of these friends by myself.
What really made me think about this recently was Herman Cain.  If you don't follow politics, (pleeeeeease don't feel bad about that) he was a Republican presidential candidate who became embroiled in scandal involving many accusations of sexual harassment.  I obviously don't know this guy personally, and when the accusations started flowing in, I thought..."Oh, it's just the media attacking him."  When the biggest accusation came in of him having a 13 year affair with a woman I thought that would be a little bit harder to either prove or disprove.  The thing that I want to bring up regarding this topic is when Herman Cain decided to withdraw from the Presidential race, he didn't admit to the affair, but he DID say he had a 13 year friendship with this woman, he had had given her money, AND his wife never knew about it.  I'm sorry, but if I found out something like this from Kirk, a lot of trust would be eroded instantly.  I know most of you are not politicians (thankfully, most make me throw up in my mouth).  You don't have to worry about skeletons coming out of your closet that will affect a campaign down the road, or like Billy Graham, you don't have to worry about naysayers who are waiting for a chance to trip you up and ruin your reputation, but you do have one VERY important person to keep your integrity for, your spouse.
I realized when I was thinking about this topic that some people would think I'm way over the top.  It may be impossible for some of you to avoid private interactions with the opposite sex (I can't think of too many, but....)  This relationship of marriage should absolutely be the most important human relationship in your life.  If it's not guarded viciously (think of a snarling dog here), the enemy of our souls will jump on the chance to tear you apart.
I'm not directing this blog at YOUR spouse, although I would love it to be shared.  I'm talking about taking some personal responsibility for your own integrity.  If you're imposing these kind of standards on your spouse, and bring what I've made as my own standards as an attack on him or her, you may come across as a jealous, over-reacting person, but when he or she sees YOU taking a stand to only be with them in every sense, I think he or she will be more drawn to you. 

God, I pray for marriages today.  I pray that husbands and wives would love each other the way You love us.  I pray for grace in couples to see each other as they did when they married.  I pray for the integrity of Joseph who was willing to RUN when he was confronted with temptation.  I pray we would all give 100% to make our marriages stronger.  Amen.

Secret of a Happy Marriage - Part 2

This post is kind of a sequel to my post on marriage the other day.  I had said at the end of that post how important it is to remember that you are on the same team as your spouse.  The enemy of our souls wants ALL Christians to be pitted against each other, which is why he attacks unity so viciously.  How much more is he going to go after the most important example of unity and Christ's love - MARRIAGE.
It's so easy to be negative - and then, that negativity breeds more negativity.  When I'm already irritated, something simple like not being able to find my keys or dropping a handful of "stuff" (which in my pregnant state - I'm constanty doing!) it's so much easier for me to fly off the handle and make a big deal over something so dumb.  Thankfully, this is usually when the Holy Spirit stops me and reminds me what I'm getting irritated about and helps me put things in perspective.  Losing a child's shoe is no big deal, when some people have gone through the pain of losing a child.  Not being able to find my phone is nothing compared to service men and women who can't just call or text home whenever they want, let alone BE home.
Anyway, the point I want to make today has been made so many times: I think of the old church chorus that says,

"Count your blessings,
name them one by one, Count your blessings,
see what God hath done! Count your blessings,
name them one by one,  And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."

Also, we just had our annual viewing of "White Christmas" a few weeks ago.  The sweet lullaby by Bing is one of my favorites.
Writer: PORTER, COLE

When I'm worried and I can't sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

Of course, some people are marked as "Pollyanna" types, usually painted in a way that makes this out to be a bad thing - is it?

One more "blessing" thought is "The Power of Postive Thinking," by Norman Vincent Peale.  I have to be honest here and admit that I have never read this book, but I remember it being one of my dad's favorite books when I was growing up, and I think the name kinda says it all.

My whole point today is this - make a decision to get off the negative train.  It is powerful to think positively.  What does this have to do with marriage?  I'll tell you.  I've been there where a negative thought creeps in about Kirk.  If I let it stay in my mind, another negative thought will join that one.  Negativity breeds negativity.  If I think the worst about someone, how I treat them will be affected more and more.  My challenge to you today is to make a list of all the things you love about your spouse, the things you are thankful for, the ways that person blesses you.  Count the blessings of your spouse.

Here is a partial list for me:

I' m so thankful for Kirk's work ethic.  I can't think of anyone I know who works as hard as him.  He leaves before any of the rest of us are awake, and works ALL day!  Even so, he still makes sure I have time to sit in a comfy chair and relax.

I'm thankful for his financial restraint.  Honestly, this is probably our biggest area of dischord in our marriage, but if I truly had my way and could just spend willy-nilly, we'd be broke, and have serious debt.  He is a simple person (as far as possessions go) and is resourceful and wise with the money God has blessed us with.

I'm thankful for Kirk's involvement with our kids.  No one could ever accuse him of being a "stand-offish" dad.  He is more willing than I am to take ALL seven kids grocery shopping, to CSU sporting events, basically anywhere.  He changes diapers, gets kids ready for bed, and lets me sleep in on Saturdays.



I know you may be thinking...."Cara must have a perfect husband."  (well, you're just about right) "How can I come up with a list of blessings!??!?!  You don't know my situation or what my husband or wife has done to me!!"  Yeah, some of you may have to dig a little deeper, but may I propose that by thinking and then treating your spouse more positively, they may in turn respond the same way.  I understand for many of you this means eating a ginormous slice of humble pie and being the initiator in being "nice," but who knows....you might find yourself to be already married to the man or woman of your dreams.

Tuesday's Craft: Christmas Trimmins' at My House

Last year at this time, we were in the loooong process of moving.  We knew we were going to be leaving the house we were currently in, we just weren't sure when.  Unfortunately for me, Christmas decorating (one of my most favoritest things) did not happen.  This year, I was VERY excited to decorate!  I restrained myself until the day after Thanksgiving, but I couldn't wait to get started.  Since this is our first Christmas out in the country, I kind of wanted to go with a country looking theme (not that I change all my decorations every year) and I wanted to share some of the things I did with you.

So...Come on in!

At our front door, I had dreamed of having some pretty evergreen bushes in my planters with the good old white lights, but Kirk informed me that the outlet out there doesn't work, so....I guess maybe next year I'll get on that.  For this year, I copied something I saw on Pinterest - I cut some of my Spruce boughs and placed in some red (non-breakable) ball ornaments.  The wreath is nothing too fancy, but I had it and it was ready to go up right away.  (Did I mention I was eager to decorate?)

This was the help I had on hand the day we decorated, everyone else was at the CSU football game (they lost).  Shoulda stayed and helped Mommy:)

picture from dickblick.com

Probably the handiest thing I had for decorating this year was jute twine.  I think it definitely has a country feel to it.  I used it in just about every aspect of my decorating, from our Advent calendar, hanging a Christmas curtain over the kitchen sink, and tying little bows on our banister.  What a great, inexpensive helper!

I printed this cute, old-fashioned looking banner from At Second Street.  You can check that out here.  (This is the same place I found the Thanksgiving banner, too.)  It's hanging near our entryway.

I printed this one from the same site, and hung it over our wood burning stove fireplace.  The link for this banner is here.  Hopefully next year I'll have a nice mantle here, too:)

This is one of our other fireplaces  - Alas, no mantle here either - Kirk's got some work to do:)

This is our Advent Calendar.  I posted this craft last month here.  I was pretty excited with how it turned out.

This is a partial view of my fun pot rack in the the kitchen.  We found an old rustic looking ladder by our garage when we moved in.  I thought it looked pretty cool and figured I could probably come up with a use for it, at least with the help of the Internet.  I honestly can't remember who to give credit too for this, since it's been awhile, but I love how it makes my kitchen feel.  Country & cozy.  What I didn't realize it how great it would be for decorating in different holidays.  For Fall, I had some wheat and Indian corn hanging, and here are some of the things I've put on it for Christmas:

I may regret the Spruce boughs up there once the needles start falling, but for now it's SO festive!

Here is our table.  This centerpiece kind of evolved.  I saw a few things on Pinterest, thought about what I had on hand, and went with it.  The tree in the background is our kids' tree.  This may change to a bigger tree as they make more and more ornaments, but for now it looks so cute here with our toys and snowmen gathered around it.

This is probably my favorite part of the centerpiece.  Many years ago I had found an old colander at my grandma's house.  It's been a decoration in my kitchen, but it's perfect for Christmas because it has a star design all over it.  I had fun scouring our yard for pine cones with the kids.  The red ornaments are from the same package as the ones on my front porch.  Again, I may regret all these pine needles soon, but for now it's a great kid deflector! (Ouch:)

I probably should put a bow or something on this, but it's kind of nice being simple.  This is a mason jar with water and cranberries, with a pine scented, green candle that amazingly happens to fit perfectly in the top.

I had seen something on Pinterest similar to this.  I used a hammer and nail, but I think a drill may have worked better.  I'd like to add some more holes so you can actually tell this is a star:)  I printed off the size of star I wanted from my clip art and taped it on the can to use as a template.  But, again, I think a drill would be much easier!

 

This is still a work in progress, but this is my seasonal bulletin board I had posted a while back.  You can check that out here.

Here is the "main" tree.  Does anyone else have a bare bottom half of their tree?  Believe me, it didn't start out that way, but as little hands explore, things keep moving up:)  I realized night pictures are probably better for a Christmas tree, but you can get the idea.  Don't you love my cute little stool I found at Goodwill a few weeks ago?  Oh, and the mirror - I found that there for $6!  This thing is solid wood framed (I made sure I put it into 2 studs).  Most places sell good mirrors for over $100.  I was stoked!  Wait...is that one more tree in the background, there?

How many trees does a family of 9 need?  Well, I guess one for every three people!  This tree has a pretty funny story.  I was garage sale hopping this summer, when I found 3 mirrored closet doors.  The funny thing about this house is NONE of the kids' rooms upstairs have closet doors!  I was serious about getting these doors, and he said I could have them for $10.  After my day of shopping, I didn't quite have enough, so he took $8.  He was so eager to get rid of those monstrously large (and heavy) doors, he said he'd throw in a Christmas tree.  (Which I'm sure he was equally excited to get rid of.)  At first, I thought, "Yeah, like I need another tree."  But, he was persistent, telling me all of it's features, which I forgot until we pulled it out for Christmas.  It came pre-lit - the lights actually worked! - AND it spins around!  I've never seen anything like it.  It kind of throws people off who are walking up to our front door. "Is that tree moving?!?"  I haven't done anything to it at all, other than the beautiful handmade nativity tree skirt, made by one of our Chi Alphan's grandma. 

Well, those are the highlights around here.  I absolutely love this time of year.  I love the music, the excessive use of our wood-burning stove, the Salvation Army bell-ringers, and the uncontainable excitement my kids express.  What's even more amazing, as a woman who is "great with child," is the thought of Mary getting ready to give birth to Jesus.  She didn't have the luxury of nesting, or getting everything "just right" for her first-born, but she took the time to ponder in her heart everything that was happening.  I hope we all take the time to do the same.

Monday's Musings: The Secret of a Happy Marriage

It really probably isn't a big secret, but judging by the divorce rate in our country, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on the subject.  Kirk and I have been married for 14 1/2 years.  Of course there have been some rough patches.  We're humans and we live in a fallen world.  I love to spend money and Kirk is, um, let's just say "frugal."  I like things at least tidy, Kirk is the king of "putting something here just for now."  (He's actually gotten better in this area - better than I have gotten better at managing money.)  Anyway, in spite of these things, we have an amazing marriage.  We are best friends and we totally get each other.  The thing that baffles me is - I'm pretty sure most other couples feel the same way when they're dating.  They love to be around each other and feel like they have found someone who they can understand and who understands them (well, guys at least try to understand women - women don't understand women).  So, what happens?
When I was in college, I had the opportunity to attend Focus on the Families Institute for Family Studies.  (It's called something different now.)  It was a semester program where we took different classes on Public Policy, Bible, and of course family related courses.  In one of the classes, we had a unit on sex in marriage.  Looking back, that's pretty funny/crazy we spent a week on the topic in a group of unmarried men and women, who were trying to live lives of purity, anyway....  We had to pick one of three books, and write a paper at the end of the unit.  I honestly can't remember the book I picked, but my roommate picked a book called The Sexual Man by Archibald Hart.  This book was based on a study the author had compiled and given to a fairly large number of pastors and strong Christian men.  All I remember is my roommate being completely shocked and pretty much in disgust about men in general after reading this.  Seeing her reaction, I thought, "Hmm...I'll have to buy that book with my amazing student discount in the bookstore, and see what all the fuss is about."  I did, and it took me probably about 6 years to actually read the book.  I had been married for most of that time, and can't say that I was as shocked as my roommate from the book, but I was intrigued by the "real-ness" the author had attempted to bring into the church in this area.  Guess what....men like sex....a lot!  Shocker, huh?  The thing this book really made clear is that this is how God created men!  For so long, I guess since the feminist movement maybe, we've been trying to make men more feminine.  They need to get in touch with their feelings and share their emotions more, be more sensitive, etc.  Well, here is another shocking statement - men and women are different.  Most women don't have sexual needs in the way our husbands do.  In the same way, we do have relational needs that most men don't require as much.  Our culture has tried, in the name of "gender equality" to make men  like women, and vice versa, but that really doesn't end well.  The point of this blog post is not to discuss "the glass ceiling" or equal salaries in the workplace...I'm talking about happy marriages here, so let's take it to the home - women and men are still different.
Right now, Kirk and I are participating in a Bible study called "Love & Respect."  The basic gist of the entire study is - God calls men to love their wives, and women to respect their husbands.  It's not that women don't need respect and men don't need love, but it's not their primary need.  If you don't believe me, check out Ephesians 5:33 where Paul says "...each one of you also must love is wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."  It's been a great learning experience to find out what it really means to respect Kirk, but in most ways, we've been very affirmed that we are doing a pretty good job of both loving and respecting each other.  This last session was presented by a woman (the rest have all been by her husband), and she said some things that I really appreciated.  A woman had told her mother that she was fed up and ready to get out of her marriage.  Her mother asked her how their love life was.  OK, that would be a little weird coming from your mom, but when the woman responded that it wasn't so great and she wasn't really interested, the mom said "Why aren't you doing something that takes so little time and makes him so happy?"  The speaker also posed the question to women in the audience, "What would happen if your husband went 3 days without talking to you? 3 weeks? 3 months?"  Most women would NOT stand for that!  For some reason, I figured this out really early in our marriage.  I realized if I made Kirk food and kept him physically satisfied, things were pretty good, and he, in turn did more to love me.  It's so beautiful how that works.
Something that someone in our Bible study said really was impacting.  She has been married and divorced twice.  Her first marriage ended with her husband cheating on her.  As an older woman, she admits she would have done many things different, but she said she has realized that she viewed her main role in their family as the "homemaker."  She made sure their house was spotless, meals were cooked, calendars were organized, etc.  She also said she and her husband were GREAT friends, she just knows now that they should have been great LOVERS, too.
Maybe this is overly simplistic -  and of course, I'm assuming people are good-hearted here - they want great marriages and there's no abuse or craziness going on - but, speaking from experience, it works.  Kirk and I are definitely not the older part of  our Bible study, but we have been married for longer than most, and have had happy years the entire time.
I guess this post is probably directed mostly at women.  I understand the demands you have placed on you.  You have a house to run, babies to care for, meals to cook, and for some of you, the responsibility of bringing home the bacon - the last thing you want to do is be sexy -  but like I mentioned before, it really doesn't take that long, and it makes him SO happy.  One other thing the speaker in our Bible Study mentioned is so true - before we get married the enemy (Satan) tries so hard to get us to have sex, after we're married, he tried so hard to get us NOT to.  In relation to this, I leave you with my other main advice I give young brides...remember that you're on the same team.  Satan is trying so hard to tear families apart and pit couples against each other, but your spouse in NOT your enemy, God gave him or her to you for you to be a team.  I would love to hear others' marriage thoughts.  Have a great Monday!

So thankful

Huge, traditional feast - check
Turkey-induced coma nap - check
Time to put out the blog....

There is so much for me to be thankful for today!  Here is a small list, in not really any order:

• I'm thankful I don't have a husband that says, "Did you do anything today?"
• I'm thankful I didn't listen when the doctors said, "It's not that you can't have children, but you probably shouldn't." 
• I'm thankful for baby hugs...when she melts into my shoulder and squeezes me with her little arms...<sigh> 
• I'm thankful my puppy is starting to get the idea that OUTSIDE is where dogs pee. 
• I'm thankful for my "Big House on the Prairie."  I still can't believe that God picked this place out for us.
• On that note, I'm thankful for windows - huh?  When it's windy at night (often) I'm always glad we have glass in the windows that keeps the wind vortex from coming through my room.
• I'm SO thankful I was born in this country.  My few visits to other countries have always confirmed this.
• I'm thankful my kids don't have ANY serious health problems.  I think we went to the doctor maybe once last year?
• I'm thankful Kirk lets me have pets.  I know if he had the choice, he would live animal free, but I love having all of them around (and I know Kirk loves me).
• I'm thankful for my heritage on both sides.  My parents' families are pretty different from each other, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
• I'm thankful for my parents.  I am so blessed to have them here, close to me, and they are such a great support system for us.
• I'm thankful for my in-laws.  They are such a blessing to us!  I always wish they weren't so far away, but I'm grateful for their generosity and servants' hearts.
• I'm thankful Kirk let us use "real" plates and serving dishes today.
• I'm thankful (and so is our dishwasher) we don't use them everyday.
• I'm thankful for holidays that are full of tradition.  They make me stop and think of all the things to be thankful for!
• I'm thankful for my church.  It's been such a cool blessing to be in the same place I grew up in, with some old friends and some new.
• I'm thankful for my pastor and his wife.  We don't have a "slick" perfect package type church, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Our pastor is real, our sanctuary is pink, and I love it all.  (Some day things will get updated, but in the meantime, I'm glad our pastor puts first things first).
• I'm thankful for Kirk's job(s).  Even though it's not exciting work, it's good work, that he doesn't have to wear on his shoulders when he comes home.
• I'm so thankful that Jesus, the lover of my soul, drew me close to Him, into the sweetest, best relationship on the planet!

When I say I'm thankful - I want to make it clear to whom I am thanking.  It always drives me crazy when people say they're thankful, but don't give credit where it's due.  I know that God is the source of everything I'm thankful for.  I really hope our entire nation (not just those at the top) get back to the true meaning of that first Thanksgiving celebration.  Those pilgrims had been through so much to get here - more than most of us can even imagine - yet they knew the calling God had given them, and they were still completely thankful for His Providence.



Here are some pictures of the things I'm most thankful for:

See I said I'm thankful my kids are all healthy (look how fast my son can run!<giggle>)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday Worship

This is one of my favorite hymns.  Every word is true!  During this Thanksgiving week, I thought I'd post a song that describes the majesty of our God.  I'm so thankful I can trust in Him. 

Speaking in Tongues & a Brand New Book!

Book Cover from Amazon.com

OK.  I usually do book reviews on Thursday, but I already have a Thanksgiving  post planned, so....

I just finished a book called "The Judas Gospel" by Bill Myers.  It was in the "7 day check out" section of the Library, which made me a little nervous, because even though I LOVE to read, I usually can only find the time when I'm drifting off to sleep, so sometimes it takes me forever to get through something.  Especially if it's just "meh."   This book was great!  I finished it without accruing any (more) late charges on my library card!

The premise of this story is Judas going before God and asking for a second chance to show Him what his real potential really was in growing the Church.  This happens at the beginning, then the story cuts to modern day LA where a young lady with supernatural gifts is being discovered.  Judas shows up, named Jude, as a kind of marketer to sell the Gospel through this girl's gifts.  He succeeds in making her a celebrity, while at the same time cheapening God's free gift of salvation into a business.  The author states one of his goals in writing "The Judas Gospel" (besides it being a great story) was to get Christians to think about the ways the Church has turned things into a business model.  I love that Bill Myers didn't throw out all things supernatural, though, which, in my opinion is a real tendency of Christians.  If they don't understand a Spiritual Gift, they write it off as being unnecessary or fraudulent. 

This leads me to my other topic in today's blogpost: Speaking in Tongues.  When Kirk and I were campus pastors back in the day, we were a part of the only Pentecostal group on campus.  Holding this position, I can't even remember how many conversations we had on this topic.  Instead of debating though, I feel more like taking the stance of the blind man in John 9 - basically, I don't know how YOU feel about the whole thing, but I only know what happened to me - "I was blind, but now I see."  I realize this man was talking about his supernatural experience with Jesus, NOT speaking in tongues, but the point is, no one could tell him that he shouldn't believe Jesus healed him, and honestly, no one can tell me my experience isn't real either.

Here is my story:  Even though I grew up in a Pentecostal church, I never really remember hearing much teaching on any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but I still saw them in action.  It wasn't until my family moved temporarily to Montana where the teaching and the action were both there.  I went on a Youth Retreat, and was taught about receiving a prayer language.  My experience was similar to each instance in Acts where people were prayed for and began speaking in tongues.  I really can't embellish it and say I saw bright lights or fell down or anything like that, but I was speaking in a language that I had never learned.  What followed this experience is really what is most important. 

Prior to this weekend, I was the "new girl" at my school.  I had tried really hard to fit in, even making myself interject some cuss words into my speech amongst the "cool" kids to be more like them.  All I can say is, I returned from that weekend with a new set of eyes.  I no longer saw these popular people as people I wanted to be amongst and fit in with.  At the same time, I didn't have disgust for them, either.  I came back seeing them with Jesus' eyes - eyes that saw their need for Him.  I became so bold in my faith and so passionate about Jesus at that time.  I was only 12, but I know I challenged many of the adults at church to stoke their fire.  I have realized this experience wasn't meant to be one time experience (if it is just an "experience" and not a practice, that fire will subside like any fire), and as the Bible clearly lays out, there are specific guidelines for its use when in a corporate setting, but no where does its imply that we don't need this today!

The reason I wanted to blog about all this is I see a need for a balance.  Honestly, some of the televangelist style preaching and teaching have given the whole topic of any Spiritual gifts a bad rap.  People associate "name it and claim it" prosperity teaching with anything Pentecostal, and this is unfair.  This is one reason I really liked "The Judas Gospel."  In all branches of the Church, we have gotten this idea that Jesus needs a slick marketing campaign in order for people to come to Him.  That, I believe, actually does the opposite.  People get that enough on TV, billboards, the Internet, EVERYWHERE.   I can always go back to Kirk's testimony.  He had grown up in a Bible believing church, where I'm sure there were a lot of people who genuinely loved Jesus, but Kirk had never stepped into that love for himself.  It wasn't until he was in college and saw this small group of believers expressively singing to their God in a completely non-religious, or "slick" way, that he actually started to believe God might be real, and MAY want to know him.  Then, he had a similar experience to me at a college retreat.  He heard teaching on the Holy Spirit, accepted it (without maybe completely understanding it with his brain), and received a prayer language.  He KNEW God was real and had such incredible love for him to give him this gift!

We just need to BE the Church, living out what we believe, unashamed, and people will be drawn to Him.  If we don't have a desire for people to come to know Jesus, we need to examine that, too.  The Church needs to grow, not just "hunker down" for the hard times ahead, but we need to have genuine growth - lives changed and hearts turned toward Jesus.

Sorry for such a long, heavy post.  Like I said before, I'm not big on debating, but I would love to have a dialogue with anyone who has honest questions.
As far as the book goes, I will say I would only recommend this for adults.  Some of the characters are not Christians, and, while it's mild compared to any secular book, there are some crude and ungodly references.

My First Craft Tutorial!

I'm sure there are others out there who have done something similar to this, and I know it's not that mind-blowing, but this is one of the times I was thankful that I have a blog now - it helps me finish what I have started.  Here is my proud creation:

I started out with this old framed print (look familiar, Dad?)

I wasn't crazy about the color of the frame - it looked pretty dated and "I've been sitting above a 'davenport' for fifty years," so I cover it with my new best friend -  Rustoleum Hammered Spray Paint.

 I used one of my 40% off coupons at Hobby Lobby and picked up this Cork Roll.

I measured the inside of the frame and cut the cork to fit.  Be careful because the cork can split pretty easily.  

picture from U-line

 I decided to use burlap to cover the cork.  I have this crazy obsession with burlap these days.  It may be a pregnancy thing, but I REALLY love the way it smells!

I had these fancy push-pins I found at Wally World a while back, and thought they would be perfect for holding up my beloved burlap.

My almost-end result is this:
I had originally been going for a "Thanksgiving" decoration that I could whip out each year and have everyone write something they are thankful for (like we did on the leaves this time).  Then my wheels got to spinning and I decided I like it too much, and it fits on the side of my fireplace to well to only come out for a month out of the year.  This piece is going to be like a teacher's bulletin board.  I can change it for each season or holiday, post memory verses we are trying to memorize, or even display love notes for my precious family.  Yippee!  My first tutorial is done!

Random Ramblings

I'm taking a day off from my normal blog routine (hey...I'm allowed to do that, right?)  Anyway, I had so many random things rolling around in my brain, I thought I'd just get them down on here today.  Did I mention it's going to be random;)?

I saw this picture yesterday and laughed out loud.  My dogs started barking at me - I guess they thought something must be wrong?  This picture definitely confirms that I'm a nerd.  My husband, although he is an accountant, probably isn't a nerd - I had to explain it to him.  If you fit into the "not nerd" category, let me know and I'll explain it to you.

Here's another picture for the nerds:  (Woot, Woot!)

Alright...this is a really cool tip I found the other day online.  I kinda hate buying refills for my swiffer wetjet, but it seemed like any methods I had heard before (using a syringe) would take waaay too much time and energy.  Well, click here and see a really easy method for reusing those bottles. You're welcome.

Taken from "Lifehacker"

I found such a cute treat that would be adorable to take to a Thanksgiving feast.  Click here for a link to this easy yummyness.  I found this on the blog called "The Next Bird."  It looks like there is a lot of neat ideas on this blog. I'm followin'.

from "The Next Bird"

Speaking of which, click here for another cool trick/craft/way to save something you messed up this blogger has posted.  Now my wheels are turning thinking of things to make "original."

from "The Next Bird"

OK, I'll leave you with one last thing I found on Pinterest (my new favorite website).  This kind of actually fits with my normal "Friday Fun Day" theme - especially if you are in the nerd camp!

Here is the link to the website for directions on a simple, little kids yahtzee game.  They even have a pdf so you can print off the game and play right away (if you can find your dice).

from Kidscount1234.com

Stay tuned tomorrow.  I'm going to post my very first "tutorial" of a craft I created from start to finish.  I know...Tuesday is craft day, but this is partly for Thanksgiving, so I thought I should post a little sooner.  I'm feeling slightly proud of myself:)