Twas the Week Before Christmas

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house
all our creatures were stirring much louder than a mouse.





We ate Chinese hot pot with my uncle and aunt
with cabbage and noodles and an Obama rant.







We grabbed some friends and hopped in the car
to the Blue Bell factory that wasn't too far.

We saw the machines and the workers galore
then we ate lots of ice cream, left us all wanting more.

People thought it was field trip, but I must declare
we are one little family, no reason to stare.






All the kids got along, not a complaint did they mutter
Like Helen Hunt in Twister, she grabbed onto an udder.




The kids all waited impatiently for
the guy to scoop their servings and then asked for more.







Then we grabbed some friends and headed down
to eat Ethiopian food on the north side of town.

Makaria ate the injera until
her face was all stuffed and she wouldn't sit still.

All the kids loved the food and the place
where the waiters all had Ethiopian faces.

We are thankful for friends who understand
our family, our lives and the values we command.









Next, it was time for the craft that Charis did make
A pig pinanta for all the giggling kids to break.





Cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve morn
with red and green frosting and waistlines all torn.






We got dressed in our fancy clothes to prepare
to head to a nursing home and share.

the Christmas story and a few songs
cookies and laughter to remind them they belong.




I love the old Vern who sang out in the middle
of our O Holy Night, it made us all giggle.

What a blessing it was to love on those people
it was worship without a pew or a steeple.



That night our family came over and ate
a big honkin' dinner and stayed up late.

We put props in a bag for skits to perform
pimp hats and stool pigeons our plays did adorn.





Christmas day came and we all shared
our gifts to the nations, nothing could compare.
This year we forsook gifts and instead did give
money to places where others did live.
Providing goats for farmers and formula for babies,
change in the Middle East and resources for ladies.

Later that day in a Texan like way
we hopped in the spa and finished off the day.






I'm grateful for a Christmas this year
that brought others joy and wiped away tears.
Jesus is good and He is our Lord,
the joy He has given, no one could afford.

Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas!

I will post more on our week when I finally stop eating pumpkin cheesecake and get my pudgy fingers to tap on this here keyboard. It's been a great week.

A little baking time

Since being in this country of convenient foods, I have taken full advantage of how stinkin' easy it is to cook. Each of these things below would have taken DAYS in China. And while I'm prone to exagerration, you can ask anyone living overseas. I would have had to make the frosting, the marshmallows, graham crackers, and cake all from scratch. When I see how much labor can go into a simple snowman cupcake, it takes the creative wind out of my sails sometimes. But not here! Open a box, dump in an egg or two. Peel back the lid on the frosting and we're golden. It's been fun. Thought I'd share a few we've done here lately.



We had all the cousins make turkey cupcakes. It was messy and fun. I've had to get good at not trying to fix my kid's creations. I have this idea of what it should look like and I want them to conform. Ya, that doesn't usually happen. So, I've learned to rejoice in their creations.




I stole this idea from a friend of making melting snowmen. They are perfect for living in Texas. And the cookies are just about as tall as the snowmen that you can make here.











Then we made some not-so-melted-snowmen.




Then I ran out of white frosting, so I used chocolate because if you've ever lived in a place where it snows all winter, you know that this is actually what snow looks like after the first snow.




We had so much fun making them. Have fun baking!

Santa or no Santa?

Too many debates and questions are forced into one of two categories... "good" or "bad". Most of the time, we see this as ludicrous. For example, are knives, the Internet, or movies good or bad? Obviously, it depends on the situation, the needs of people, consequences, etc.... A better framework is between "good" and "better". (Often, knowing what is "best" is beyond us.)

That's how we should approach the Santa question. Every Christmas, many Christians ponder (or at least should ponder) whether to tell there kids that Santa does not exist. The typical response of many is, "Santa is not bad. Why not? It's fun." That logic of course does not work for adults and sex... "it's not bad. Having an affair would be fun." I hear people objecting now...."that's a different issue entirely! Teaching Santa doesn't hurt anyone." That is precisely the problem....parents don't realize how much harm it does to many people.

First, Jesus gets less honor when kids' (and our) attention is given more to a make believe fat guy who gives gifts according to our good deeds, not grace.

The fact that people don't see the harm in Santa illustrates how little they treasure the name of Christ being loved and enjoyed supremely in human hearts. Therefore, it's a heart issue: what are we most excited about, most talk about, and most think about?Our kids? What are they most excited about, most talk about, and most think about?

Second, it hurts our kids. How? First, it deprives them of the annual chance to single-mindedly think on the gospel, the good news of Christ's coming. Do we think so little of it that we would allow for distractions? The greatest way to love anyone, kids included, is to help them savor the glory of Christ. It would be absurd for us to celebrate Dora the Explorer or Mickey Mouse more than my kid on his or her birthday.

Third, besides our kids, other people who watch our lives miss out on seeing that Jesus matters as much as he does! This is one of the easiest, clear ways Christians can stick out.....as they should.

Fourth, for many kids, it sends confusing signals about trust, when they find out that their parents and teachers have lied to them. Someone very close to me has this testimony of hurt b/c they felt deceived and foolish.

In short, people perpetuate the Santa story because they want their kids to have an "experience" or a "feeling" this time of year. The problem is not that; the problem is that people don't think Jesus is satisfying enough, in fact the source of better "experiences" and "feelings".

Functionally, what are we celebrating as "the gospel" (the good news) at Christmas? Kids remember what we get excited about. Do we boast in the cross or Santa?

It's ironic that today if a teacher were to tell the students that Christmas celebrates Jesus' birth, which all agree on, it would create controversy. However, if they tell kids that Santa exists, which ALL ADULTS know is false, they are commended.

Something is wrong here when we suppress the truth and rejoice in a lie.

Here is our blog from last year on the topic, The Issue of 'Santa Claus'

How to Destroy a Child's Imagination

We found this on Justin Taylor's blog and thought it was interesting.


We have not read this book, so we can't endorse it, but we thought the points that were made were intriguing and made me want to check it out.

The publisher’s description:


Play dates, “helicopter parenting,” No Child Left Behind, video games, political correctness: these and other insidious trends in child rearing and education are now the hallmarks of childhood. As author Anthony Esolen demonstrates in this elegantly written, often wickedly funny new book, almost everything we are doing to children now constricts their imaginations, usually to serve the ulterior motives of the constrictors.




Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child takes square aim at these accelerating trends, while offering parents—and children—hopeful alternatives. Esolen shows how imagination is snuffed out at practically every turn:



*in the rearing of children almost exclusively indoors;

*in the flattening of love to sex education, and sex education to prurience and hygiene;

*in the loss of traditional childhood games;

*in the refusal to allow children to organize themselves into teams;

*in the effacing of the glorious differences between the sexes;

*in the dismissal of the power of memory, which creates the worst of all possible worlds in school—drudgery without even the merit of imparting facts;

*in the strict separation of the child’s world from the adult’s;

*and in the denial of the transcendent, which places a low ceiling on the child’s developing spirit and mind.





Gives me lots to think about. Having a creative child who sees the world differently is a huge value of ours. Articles like this keep me on my feet.

Malachi and Mom Date

My buddy and I were long overdue for a little Malachi and Mom date time. The new movie "Mega Mind" was out and we decided to give it a try. But first stop was dinner.






We decided to eat at the food court at the mall. Only high class for us. He had Sonic, but was more excited about the strawberry milk shake and the Guinness Book of World Records that came with the kid's meal.






Then, it was off to the movies. When your date is 6, this is what you do at the back of the movie theater. I'm going to let him know that 10 years from now, that's still what boys do at the back of movie theaters. No need for him to think otherwise.




I love this kid. We had a blast together. We laughed and talked about how hard a dolphin's tail is and how clown fish can live near sea anemones without getting hurt. He's full of wonderful facts. He's also quite the gentleman.



Can't wait for our next time out.

Out and About

Here's a few from around town in Santa Fe. This first one is the cafe we ate at every morning. We sat there until they had cleared our entire table. And then we sat there for about 15 more minutes until there was a shift change. And yes, there were no crayons or kid's meal.







We went out hiking one day and this view was about 50 feet outside of our house.




















This above picture is taken from our balcony the morning we left. Until next time my mountain home friend...

Santa Fe modes of Transportation

I've got lots of pictures from our trip to Santa Fe. Two families offered to fly Brad and I up to New Mexico and stay in their mountain home for a few days. We thought about it for about .3 seconds and we accepted their generous offer. Our 12 year anniversary is this month, so we decided to make this our celebration. It was awesome. We ate, walked, read, sat, watched two movies a night, played games and ate lots of dessert. It was fantastic! I'll post more pictures as the week goes by, but for now, we'll call this post "Transportation."



















This is me leaning against the Lexus Land Rover like I own the place. A girl can dream. I'm even wearing my Hollywood sunglasses. It only felt right to be wearing them as I leaned against the luxury SUV.

























The weather was incredible the whole time. It was fantastic to spend some down time with Brad. We got to really share and hear each other out on lots of things. Thanks to those families for blessing our marriage in such a tangible way.