Merry Christmas!

Just popping in for a moment to wish all of you a very blessed Christmas. We celebrated with Bob's mom Friday night as Bob has on call duties for the weekend. It is soon time for our Christmas Eve candlelight service and it looks as if he will miss it due to a family in need at the hospital. We are just glad we get him for Christmas Day and the 26th, giving us just enough time to pop down to my parents' house for Christmas dinner and an overnight. We will see one of my brothers and his wife and kids there.

Presents have been wrapped and tucked under the tree, the Christmas program at church is done, and the kids are packing their own bags for the trip to Grandma and Grandpa's. This is almost too easy...

Today my own little Christmas miracle occured. This probably doesn't seem like all that big a deal unless you have worked recruiting volunteers. I was working on my schedules for the next trimester of kids' ministry at church. We've really been praying for a few more teachers because our numbers are going up and I needed to be freed up to help where needed instead of having teaching duties in all three classes! So this morning I talked to a lady one of my faithful teachers had recommended as a possibility for our primary class and her response was that in her devotions this week she had sensed God telling her if someone asked her she was not to say no! Just like that God filled out the schedule for that class:). As small as that may seem, it was a huge Christmas miracle to me.

May miracles large and small mark your holiday season and this coming year.

What Mommies and Daddies Do

This conversation occured out of the blue this afternoon:

Josh: Mommy, you and Daddy aren't married.

Mommy: We aren't?

Josh: No, you're not.

Mommy: Yes we are.

Josh: Why?

Mommy: Because that's what mommies and daddies do.

Josh: Mommies and daddies don't get married.

Mommy: Oh, what do they do?

{{Josh ponders for a bit...What do Mommies and Daddies do anyway? Then a lightbulb goes on...}}

Josh: They jump!

The Evolution of Christmas Tree Decorating

This weekend we put up the Christmas tree. To be more accurate, the kids did most of it. It used to be Bob and I did it. Then we did it with "help" from the kids. Then we did it with actual help from the kids. This time, I did the high part and the lights, and the kids put the rest together and did the other decorations. That means I actually have pictures of the process this year, instead of just pics of the finished product. So here we have it:

The End of a Decade

When we first thought of becoming parents, there were many things we imagined...cute little baby toes, sweet baby smiles, little people running around the house laughing, and getting to play with lots of cool toys, to name a few.

There were other things which just never crossed our minds, to be honest. Among those was ten straight years of having at least one kid in diapers or potty training at all times! Yes, it was the Diaper Decade for the Turner family. It is officially finally over after Josh proved to be our most reluctant trainer yet.

There are so many sweet and fun things about the infant and toddler ages, and I will look back on those years fondly, but I do think ten straight years of diapers and potty training is enough!

Cold Weather Public Service Announcement

As you may or may not know, our sweet Abby continues to fight the after-effects of carbon monoxide poisoning received at our Texas parsonage when she was an infant. In light of that, we like to remind people each winter to make sure their furnaces are serviced by a qualified individual who carries a CO monitor as part of his/her standard equipment, and to purchase a digital CO monitor for each floor of their house.

Have a safe, warm winter!

He Can't Help It, He's Just Cute!

Josh is three and charming...very charming. He says and does so many cute things. This morning he crawled into bed with me for a snuggle. As we lay there chatting, he said, "You know, Ben is my best friend." Ben is Josh's 5yo brother. Those are the moments which melt mommy hearts. When I mentioned Josh's statement to Ben, Ben said, "But he fights me all the time!" Brotherly love is apparently expressed in wrestles.

This evening the girls were watching a movie with a character in it who was mean to his horse. Josh came over to me and said, "That man is so angry. Why he being mean?" I felt like going over his head with the explanation, so I said something to the effect that the man was choosing to be angry instead of choosing to ask God to make his heart loving. Josh looked at me quizzically. He does quizzical better than anyone I know. His little jaw was dropped at an angle, his brow was furled, his eyes were raised to the side...it was choice. Then he said, sagely, "Oh yeah, loving. I remember loving. I love Mommy and Daddy."

He is just too yummy for words!

Happy Snow Day!

We went to bed last night with forecasts of a big winter storm but not a flake in sight. When my 10yo came in this morning to tell me there were 3-4 inches of snow and added, "Maybe we won't have school!" I thought she was dreaming. However, with the forecast calling for another 12-14 inches by nightfall, most--if not all--area schools did call a snow day! And what a perfect day for a snow day...fresh snow, 30 degrees, and heading into a weekend to boot.

The kids have, of course, been out a bunch. Every couple hours they come in for something warm or just to dry off, then after they are all toasty they head back out again.

This is the kind of snow I remember from childhood. Deep snow which actually packs is so much fun! Ever since we moved here the bulk of our snow has come on days when it is so cold the snow won't pack. That is not nearly so much fun.

I have more energy and determination than sense some times, so I shoveled the sidewalks and driveway this morning. It took well over an hour, especially since the snow plow dumped a couple feet of snow across the bottom of the driveway, but it was fun somehow. I even turned down the neighbors offer to get his snow blower out. I think part of the fun was having Ben's help and then just watching him play. At five, he is the perfect age to have unfettered fun in the snow. He was climbing snow mountains and throwing himself down into the snow banks. I think he was covered in snow from head to toe...and had a smile which stretched from ear to ear.

By the time I finished shoveling, another inch had fallen. We have a few more on top of that now. Jessa stuck a stick in the snow and measured it at about 14 inches, but I think she may have been in an extra deep spot. I'm guessing a more accurate total is 10-12 inches. However, since I have the first several inches off already and Ben helped me put down salt, it will be much easier to get the last bit.

The first real snow fall of a season should always be a snow day!

Laurie

Do I Really Want to do This?

The whole concept of blogging has always seemed a bit...well, too revealing to me. Do I really want people to be able to access the thoughts which float across my mind long enough to make it to the key board, or are those thoughts better jotted elsewhere? Well, I guess we're about to find out!

By request, pics of my kids...

...with their Grandma (Bob's mom), at our home for Easter





...a recent Christmas shot by a friend of ours

The kids are Jessa (10), Abby (8), Ben (5), and Josh (3)