My Camera

So I just need to vent a minute...I am not that materialistic, and feel I am starting to live very simply; HOWEVER, there is one material item in my life that I may cherish a little too much! All that aside, I sent my camera in about 5WEEKS! ago to be cleaned and serviced and am yet to get it back! I am going crazy...Rob looks at it as "Oh no, you are going to miss out on recording 6 weeks of their lives" but that is a long time when it is the holiday season and milestone events are happening at this point in their lives.

End result/request: please pray for my camera to be returned to me SOON!

The WORD that you wait to hear...

Rob and I are really trying to keep the main thing the main thing this Christmas and just really incorporate the Christmas story in as many ways we can. This morning Gracie was so excited to check out some Christmas books from the library and to my great delight they all had Baby Jesus in them! The greatest part though was getting them home and listening to Gracie 'read' them and tell Karys about it. Then it happened, Karys threw both hands up and said 'Jesus', you might not have been able to make it out but I knew that is what she said, then she just clapped and smiled and went on to her next thing. What an amazing moment! I pray so often for my girls to know, to truly know the heart of the KING....it's moments like I had today that bring the hope.

"Mommy, Baby Jesus lives in my heart?"

"Yes baby, HE does."

"Where HE at?"

"He lives in heaven with God, but HE is all around you and in you...HE never leaves you."

"Good mommy, you never leave either..."

Some Thanksgiving Pics

All the girls laughing at Gracie saying, "Cheese Everybody!"
Our wonderful baked goods, my cookie was the best...Dad said!
My little 'wiggle worm' who now does 'cheese' on command
My little baby Leah who will one day accidentally come home with me
Gracie LOVED decorating Grandma's tree and looking at each ornament
All of the ornaments she hung ended up in one general region, can you tell?

Both girls were SOOO excited to see Megan!
She is such a little mommy and love to hold Baby Leah
Gracie giving Karys gentle instruction on how Leah likes to be touched and held
The boys attempting to be Clark Griswold and get all the lights hung just right
We may look cute, but it was definitely a competition to see who could decorate the best cookie

So here are some pics from the end of our holiday week...my camera has been out of commision, I had to send it in to the Best Buy place to be serviced and have been without it for almost 5 weeks! Yeah I know...I Am dying!!! Anyway, the pics from rob's family time are on his sister's and mom's cameras so those will come later!

Thankful

As I reflect on the past 10 days I just am so glad to be sitting in my own house...sleeping in my own bed tonight...and having no where to be necessarily. Our Thanksgiving was great! Don't get me wrong...we did the whirlwind tour that involved an Iowa Hawkeye football game, Rob going back to Orange City and then to Ankeny again, the girls and I spending the week in Ankeny, a trip up to Lennox Thanksgiving night, making turkey cookies in IA and SD, Rob flying in the air to hang X-mas lights with my dad, and spending some great time with family. It is almost overwhelming to sit and think of everything that you are thankful for...I just really feel like I deserve nothing that I have, but that God has RICHLY blessed me and our family with so much. However, there were a few things that just really were on my heart this season...
-I am so thankful for healthy children...I really had good pregnancies and labors (in light of what could have been ;) and neither of the girls have handicaps or terminal/chronic illness...what a blessing!
-I am also thankful for the things that allow us to sustain that the simple necessities of life...food, shelter, clothing, heat. One of the stories from the past week actually happened this morning while Gracie was getting dressed. I had picked her up some new pants this weekend off the sale rack at Target...I think they were less than three dollars and she said to me when we put them on, "Mommy, where these come from?" "I bought them at the store this weekend." and with that she just looked at me so sincerely and said "Thank you, mommy." That moment, and all the others like it I have had recently have just reminded me so much of how I take things for granted...of all the times I could touch the heart of God by just looking at him so sincerely and saying "Thank you, daddy" Even for something as simple as the pants I am wearing that day.
We live in a country where we are all so blessed...and we really don't stand in need of much in the grand scheme of things. So I walk away from this thanksgiving realizing the thankful part of the word, and valuing the giving part as well...because of the fact we aren't in need of much, there is no reason I can't give someone something to be thankful for as well. GIVING ISN'T GIVING UNTIL IT INTERRUPTS YOUR LIFESTYLE...just a quote Rob read in a book this week preparing for a sermon....how is my life interrupted?

Wow! What a difference a day makes...despite the fact that Karys is still feeling a little under the weather and Rob and I both left the comfort and warmth of our bed last night 2x each, the mood in our house today is so much lighter and joyful. I think God granted me patience for the day and Gracie is adjusting to Karys needing a little more attention than normal.

My thoughts this afternoon settle in on the fact that I am so richly blessed...yes I know we all say this, but imagine it with me. Waking to the sounds of a little one crying, wondering what is wrong since Rob, being the lighter sleeper, is usually in there by now and is no longer next to me...realizing that he has already contorted his body to lay next to our beautiful two year old in her daybed I get to work on the joy of rocking a feverish baby to sleep, who is ever so cuddly! As I do this, I can hear him trod down the hallway and crawl back in bed. How many hours do we actually spend in bed together? I know you are thinking right now, I better read back a couple lines to make sure she used the word blessed ;) And yes I did! What a wonderful husband...he gets up in the night with our ladies, he wakes in the morning with our early bird (Gracie) he allows me to sleep then gently encourages Gracie to come in and kiss me when he needs to head out the door (how can you respond negatively to a princess kiss in the morning!) and today he went the extra mile to let me shower before he left! Sometimes I feel guilty when both girls are now sleeping and I am contemplating taking a nap...but we were both up last night right? I will wait for the guilt to settle in later and drift off to sleep in my blessed bliss!

Entry into Cyberspace

Ok...so I am joining the club. I have well determined that there is no way that I can keep in touch with all of those close to us...our days are too busy. Between trying to get stuff done and the sprint Rob and I feel like we run from mid afternoon until the girls go to bed it is hard to find the time to connect with people not in orange city, and even then we struggle.

So! Because the girls are doing so many CUTE things right now and GOD is SO GOOD in our lives...he always is, I guess we just really see and feel HIS presence in this season of joy...we have decided to start a blog to keep all informed!

So I guess we will start with today...a long day! Karys is under the weather so both rob and I were up with her last night. I don't know if anyone else sees this but I feel like our kids get sick a lot! Despite that though I feel like there are such blessings amidst the chaos...So cute to watch Gracie console Karys when she isn't feeling well, she rubs her back and tells her in the sweetest voices, "It's ok Karys..."

Time to get the kids to bed though...the long day's end is in sight!