Christmas 2011

It zoomed in and out before we knew it! Christmas can be a tough season...dealing with family is often difficult; instilling in your children that Jesus is the only reason for the season is trying; December 26th when it's all said and done until next year can be depressing; knowing many do nothing, get nothing, have nothing, while we celebrate in abundance is devastating. So, what can I do differently (365 days of the year - not just 1) to make sure I experience and spread God's true joy? 1. Pray! Through prayers to know His desires as my own, my heart can/will be changed. 2. Read and meditate on His Word. The WORD became FLESH and DWELT among US - He is IMMANUEL which means God WITH us. 3. Simplify. Buy less and buy responsibly. 4. Do more for others. Volunteer and serve those in need to take focus off ourselves. 5. Sing! Be led to the manger scene through worship...O, Holy Night - Hallelujah, What a Savior! And for me...6. Bite my tongue! I need to be waaaay more "slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to become angry". You know...that whole family all around all the time at holidays:)

So, if you had the best Christmas ever or the family fell apart...guess what? We can start fresh! Remember, God is WITH us! Hallelujah, What a Savior! He will not leave us or forsake us. The good work He started, He will finish. Christmas will always be here. It will ALWAYS be about JESUS. How we decide to celebrate is up to us.

And with that all said, here are pictures of my kids getting way too many toys. Kidding. Sort of.

Miracles on Wheels...

I've talked before about starting to serve with Mobile Loaves and Fishes. Well, I went out last night for the second time, but the rest of the fam came along on this trip and it was a beautiful sight! We got to the prep kitchen at Lake Hills Church at 4pm to make sandwiches and load the truck with goods. We put Payson in a high chair that attached to the table we made sandwiches on and he just watched and ate and was so happy. Porter and Piper worked hard doing anything we asked without complaint...loading chips on the truck, putting jelly on sandwiches, etc. So proud! Our only mishap was Payson pooping thru his clothes and the only clean outfit I had in my bag was from the summer...too small and did not over his legs. So, we just put on his jacket and hiked his socks up as high as they would go. He seemed to care less. Anyway...when the truck was all ready just before 6pm, we loaded up and headed to Central, East Austin to a low income apartment complex that we were told has lots of kids so it would be appropriate to take our kids. We wondered where was the best place to park and would people all come out and know we were there? Well, that thought lasted for only a second because as we pulled in, flocks of people started coming out of their doors...they must have been looking out their windows waiting for us! We jumped out, and got moving. The truck has 3 sections...a food side, a clothing side, and hot chocolate and coffee in the back. The clothes literally all went within 5 minutes. Next time we will definitely pack more! Everyone, including all the tiny kids, were mostly sockless and shoeless and dressed for summer when it was probably in the 40's outside. Everyone was very sweet and no one seemed to take more food than they needed. Little kids were standing in line to get food for their families. Everyone loved oranges which we ran out of at the end, PBJ's were a bigger hit than ham and cheese, and of course cookies and candy went fast! We will pack the truck with more knowledge next time. We were cleaned out completely with nothing left within 30 minutes. It was crazy and amazing and also very sad. I'm so glad my kids got the be there and see and participate. I hope the truth of poverty, our need to serve, and thankfulness and joy sets into their hearts. I really am speechless when I try to explain the feelings I have about it all. I think you have to do it to fully understand. It blesses us and changes us probably more than the people we served. We fed them with literal food, they fed us with so much more. God is good and will never fail to meet our needs and never fail to be glorified in serving and feeding the poor.

I took some pics of the preparation stage, but not of the serving stage. I wish I could have gotten pictures of all the beautiful faces that came out, though.

Big Boy Hair Cut

So, I gave in and got his hair cut...for Tyler and for all the people who thought he was a precious little girl:) Kidding, but he really is super cute with his big boy hair cut! My good friend, Carrie is a hair dresser that works out of her home and so I let her do it and took many pics along the way! He was good the whole time, but got a little annoyed towards the end, so she just let him walk and crawl around while she followed him with scissors to get the last few strands trimmed off. I'm loving my new camera, by the way. Shot these with a 50mm portrait lens, no flash.

Payson's Pancakes and Pajamas Birthday Party!

We wanted Wildhouse Photography to take Payson's 1 year portraits since she did my belly pics and his newborn pics, too. The only date she had open was the 3rd which was his PARTY = perfect! She took pics of him and our family first, then stayed to photograph his entire party. I didn't have to worry about snapping a single shot! I just let her do her amazing work while I made pancakes in my pajamas and enjoyed my baby's special day with all who love him. Posting every picture would be a little overwhelming, but narrowing it down to a few is too! I won't post the ones we put on our Christmas card, but you'll see those soon enough:) In no particular order, here are a few of my favs (and if you are on Pinterest, you may recognize some ideas I swiped - sshh!)...

Already ONE!

Can't be true! It really feels like yesterday that our sweet surprise and miracle was born. And now he...

*Takes many steps in a row, but still prefers the quickness of crawling

*Smiles and giggles all the time

*Barely naps on most days

*Sleeps thru the night, but wakes at the crack of dawn for the day

*EATS and EATS

*Loves being outside

*Gets into everything

*Snuggles and buries his face in his blankie

*Started saying "uh oh" when he "drops" his food onto the floor

*Adores his siblings and his dog

*Gets shy when strangers talk to him

*Makes crazy noises and faces

*Has wild hair, crystal blue eyes, and the cutest one-dimpled smile

*Has often been mistaken for a girl despite how we dress him

*Could care less about watching anything on tv

*Puts everything in his mouth

To celebrate the big day, me and the kids went in to get him up and sing Happy Birthday this morning. Piper had in her head that since he was ONE today he would be walking and talking. I guess it's a hard concept to learn that in actuality, he's just one DAY older and nothing magical happens:) Anyway, the day went on as normal until this afternoon when we took him to the Children's Museum which he really seemed to like; dinner which he ALWAYS likes; and CUPCAKES! He mainly just sucked the icing off and when it looked like he was about to start throwing the rest, we grabbed him up for a good washing:) He went to sleep a very worn out, happy ONE year old and I'm one proud, thankful, blessed (and also very worn out) mama. He is a true gift to all of us. The Lord is so good.

Tyler is on his way back from LA now. Shew!