Home, Sweet Tundra!

We made it back home last night around 8pm. We left Goliad at 9am, and our original ETA (according to the Garmin) was 7:04...so we didn't lose much time. We should have arrived back in the driveway at 7:30. However, NW Arkansas received about 5 inches of snow Saturday night, so that's what we had to come home to. From the Bobby Hopper tunnel north, we had some sleet and slick spots, and then from Fayetteville home, traffic had slowed to a crawl. This is a good thing, because I hate it when people think they can drive normally in hazardous conditions, but it's also a very frustrating thing when you've been on the road for 10 hours, and the last half hour takes twice as long.

The kids were FANTASTIC on the trip back. They took good naps, and they we're pretty well entertained by the dvd's we brought and the music we played...oh, and the food that we fed them. Poor Emma was done by Fayetteville, though. She kept saying "come on!" like "let's get out of here already" and grabbing my finger and trying to get me to push the button that releases her car seat harness. We had to stop in town for milk, though, because we were out at home, and according to the weather forecast (in the teens and single digits all week, wind chills below zero and snow again on Wed and Thurs) I didn't know if we'd be making a trip to the store any time soon. But alas, FINALLY, we made it home. We all did a little happy dance, and the kids got reacquainted with all of their toys and things. Daddy made macaroni and cheese, and I got us unpacked as soon as humanly possible, because I hate having bags and boxes of stuff just cluttering everything up. I didn't get to everything, but I did enough.

Today, I have done a whole lot of nothing...other than hang out with my kids, and make them breakfast and lunch. I still have my pajamas on, and I don't care. :-) I have bags of laundry to do, gifts to sort through, Christmas decorations to take down, and a whole lot of china to put away...but again, I just decided to take an "enjoy being back in my house" day!

The reason I have a whole lot of china is that Aaron's G'ma Davis told us a few years ago that she wanted to bequeath to us some of her china. It is white and gold Haviland, and it originally belonged to her grandmother, Lucinda Elizabeth Tinnin. (She told me the name...I hope I've spelled it correctly.) Because Lucinda was concerned about the china being broken, she didn't want to use it everyday. Well, her husband believed that if you're going to have something nice, you might as well use it, and that he and his wife were the most important people who would ever eat off of it anyway...so, to allay her fears about pieces being broken, he purchased her a whole other "extra" set. I've shared the story because I think it's AS important as the china itself. Having a "story" is what makes us all unique! So, over the last two trips, we have attempted to move as much of the beautiful heirloom china as possible. We still have several pieces to bring back...but we're getting there! God willing, Alec and Emma (and Alec's wife) will be responsible and appreciative enough to warrant having these precious items passed down to them! Aaron and I feel incredibly blessed and honored to be the new stewards of such a special gift.

I know this post is getting really long, so if you need to take a bathroom break or a seventh inning stretch or something...feel free. :-) We were gone 10 days, and it feels like we've been away for a month! Probably because so much happened! So, now I will dazzle you with a recounting of our marvelous Christmas adventures:

Christmas Eve, we left for Enid, but as you probably read, we were unable to make it any further than Tulsa because of the blizzard conditions in pretty much all of Oklahoma. We spent Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning at a Days Inn in Tulsa. Luckily, our children are too young to care! We had a scrumptious dinner of Arby's (one of the only places close by and open), and a hearty hotel breakfast of mini muffins and raisin bran. Actually, I was so glad that there was just food for us to eat in the near "white out!" Oh, I had a cooler full of all of the kids' food that we always travel with. Aaron and I could have eaten a Gerber graduate or some Chef Boyardee if it came down to it! The kids had fun running all over the hotel room, and playing on the spinning chair, and we watched Christmas movies on the hotel cable.

We decided to try to head out around 10am on C'mas day. We were the first to try to leave, and everyone thought we were nuts. All of the other people that were stuck there came and stood outside their rooms, arms crossed and eyebrows raised, to see if we would make it. Well, tires spun and we couldn't go anywhere...in 3rd gear. But, when we downshifted and punched the magical VTM-4 Lock button, enabling the 4 wheel drive, VOILA! Suddenly, it was like we were scaling mountains in a jeep. Well, getting out of the parking lot was the hardest part. We made it to a gas station, where a lady almost side-swiped us because she was impatient and decided she needed to turn into the station where not much of the snow was cleared and she slid toward us, narrowly missing the driver's side. Then we made it onto 412, where the 1.5-2 hr drive took us 3.5 to get to Enid.

A whole day later, it was nice to finally be at our destination. We enjoyed being with my parents and sister, niece and Nanny. We all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner and some very lovely gifts. It was a nice, laid back time. The kids really had fun with their cousin, Kylie, this time. They wanted to play with her nonstop!

On Sunday after lunch, we headed to Norman, to stay with our pseudo-family, the Lees. Kyle and Dave prepared a yummy shepherd's pie for us, and of course, Kathy made her famous cookies. We exchanged gifts, and played games, and had a really fun time.

Monday, we took off for Goliad. The 9 hour drive was not bad at all, and we made it to G'mas house by 5:30, I think. The 6 days that we spent there were wonderful. Both of his parents were off for the week. Andrew only had to work a little bit. Alex was out of school, of course. Aric, Bobi Jo and Cira were there until Friday. We had lots of opportunitites to visit with the Aunts and other Grandma, cousin Eli and several other relatives. It was just so nice to have a nice long visit, and not to have to try to cram everything into just a few days. We had Christmas with his family and G'ma Davis on Tuesday morning. Then Tuesday night, we had Christmas with his mother's side at Aunt Linda's house. All of us were blessed with so many nice gifts. The kids have a whole new wardrobe and library! The best present was just getting to be together!

The rest of the week, we made a few trips to Victoria to run errands and see G'ma at Homewood. We ate at Dragon Palace, of course. Friday afternoon, I left for Houston to prepare for the bridal shower I gave on Saturday. It was the first time I've ever spent the night away from my babies. It was hard...on me and Daddy, I think. But we made it through! I had a ton of work to do to keep my mind off of it, and Aaron and a lot of good help with g'ma, g'pa and the uncles. The shower for Veronica went smashingly, and we all had a super time.

I have a lot of pictures to post, but that will have to wait for another time. I need a break because this post has taken me a while! I hope that everyone reading this enjoyed their holidays. We just had such a fantastic time, but we are glad to be back home too!

We're Safe

Thanks to all of you who were concerned about our wellbeing, due to the Oklahoma Blizzard! Just a quick update (since on this trip we will rarely have internet access)- we ended up stuck in a hotel in Tulsa on Christmas Eve. We couldn't make it to Enid until C'mas afternoon. We are safe and sound, but it sure was a doozy of a winter storm! Thankfully, we decided to be safe and not chance it...and we're very glad we did. Odds are we would have been stranded, and with two babies, that would have been awful. It was a very unconventional Christmas, but we're grateful to be safe, and we're with our family now. Will give a full update when I can. Thanks for your prayers and concern! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Gift of A Child

Last night, I was watching The Nativity Story. I was struck with thoughts about how difficult and challenging it must have been for Mary. We often think of how amazing it must have been to be the chosen virgin who would carry the Christ child. I never really contemplated the idea of how scorned she must have been. For all intents and purposes, she really could have worn a scarlet letter. To everyone around her, it must have seemed as if she were carrying a child illegitimately. In the movie, her family and friends, and Joseph, at first, were all terribly disappointed with her and ashamed of her obvious indiscretions. It's so odd thinking that one could be so very much in the center of God's will, and yet so very shunned by their loved ones. Thankfully, God was gracious to enlighten Joseph through the visitation of an angel, who explained the situation. It's an awfully far-fetched idea: conception by the Holy Spirit...but the ONLY way for the Messiah to begin his life on earth.

The other thought that I've often had in the last few weeks is the gravity of Mary and Joseph's situation as the parents of Jesus. I can't even describe the immense love that I have for my children. If someone told me that I had to willingly give up my child, for the sake of a world of lives at stake, it would be heart-wrenching. Of course, this must have been the case with Mary, who watched her son grow, and love, and heal and teach...and then also to be mistreated, beaten, and nailed to a cross. The despair is inconceivable to me. Blessed was Mary among women...but what a heavy cup.

Of course we must remember that God, the father...felt all of those things. Only, He felt them in proportion to the enormity of His love for Jesus, which was obviously greater than anything that we could ever imagine or feel. God gave us his ONLY SON. Now that I have children, the fact of that statement means so much more to me. And I am overcome with gratitude that I, and that you, and that this world full of people meant enough to the God of the universe, that He gave us His son...the way, the truth, and the life.

Today, we leave to spend Christmas with our families. We will enjoy precious moments and make memories. But at the heart of everything that we do, and what we hope to instill in our children more than any other aspect of this season...is gratitude- for the gift of a child born to a virgin in Bethlehem so long ago...our precious saviour. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas Crazy!

Hey guys! Just thought I'd post because they've been so sporadic lately. Of course, it's such a busy time of year. Right now I'm trying to do about twenty things at once because we leave (hopefully) tomorrow after Aaron gets off (early) to start our annual cross-country Christmas adventure. I say hopefully, because a front is coming through today, which is supposed to bring storms, hail, snow, etc. We're under a severe weather advisory for tonight. It's supposed to snow Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and perhaps the day after. This would all be lovely...if we weren't supposed to be traveling tomorrow night. Now, if it's just a nice snow...no worries. The Pilot is big and heavy and has 4-wheel drive. If it's a blizzard or icing or hailing...well that's another story. Since, as my husband is quick to point out, weathermen are mostly just guessing anyway, we'll wait and see how it actually turns out. Obviously, we'll do whatever we have to do to stay safe. But, hopefully, we'll get to go.

We're supposed to drive to Enid on C'mas Eve. We'll be with my folks for Christmas Day and Saturday, and then we'll drive to Norman on Sunday to spend the night with our pseudo-family...

brief pause while I de-glitter my son. He managed to rip a ribbon off of the tree. The ribbon with the most glitter, mind you. He was pretty much covered head to toe, and mouth with silver glitter. Lord! I only decorated the top-half of the tree (which looks...um, interesting) but he managed to get to a ribbon.

...okay our pseudo family, the Lees. Then Monday we'll drive the rest of the way to Goliad. We'll be down in Tx for the week, because I'm giving a bridal shower for my friend, Veronica, on Saturday, the 2nd, in Houston.

So, today, my list includes, cleaning, ironing, finishing a little laundry, two bags of moose munch, wrapping, and packing and packing and packing. Good times. Well, I don't think we'll have much internet access while we're gone. Aaron's g'ma disconnected her home internet, since she's at the apt. now.

Here's the driving lowdown:
Thursday 4 hrs to Enid
Sunday 2 hrs to Norman
Monday 8-9 hr to Goliad
Friday 2 hrs (just me) to Houston for the shower
Saturday 2 hrs (just me) back to Goliad
Sunday 12 hrs back home

Obviously, we love our families very much! Pray for traveling mercies and happy babies. :-)

Family Christmas Photo Shoot

We took these pictures while we were down in Goliad for Thanksgiving. Many of you have seen a few on our Christmas card already...or on facebook. I've added a few that my friend, Sarah, edited really nicely at the bottom and the one that is our header. Aaron's dad, Jeff, took the pictures. Enjoy!

Yes...we're still here!

Sorry I've been MIA for a week. I just realized how long it's been since I've posted. Two words: Angel Tree! I am our church's coordinator for the Angel Tree ministry this year (along with my good friend, Jessica...who we also help head up the young adult group with...and who's husband has been our "leak consultant.") Anyways, this project has taken up countless hours of planning, projecting and organization.

If you are unfamiliar with Angel Tree, here's a summary. Churches, the Salvation Army, malls, etc...sponsor Angels every year at Christmastime. It is a ministry of Prison Fellowship, which allows incarcerated parents to give a gift to their child/ren through the help of outside sponsor/donors which have taken an Angel tag off of a tree at a church, mall, etc. It's a way for relationships to be kept, rekindled, and reconciled between these prisoners and their children. And it's a way for these children, who often don't live in the best conditions (due to the fact that a parent is in prison) to have their needs met more readily.

Step 1 was contacting the 20ish families that our church was assigned...to confirm their participation and to find out what toy and practical gift items the children would like to receive.
Step 2 was actually setting up the tree with the tags, and collecting the gifts brought in by our church donors.
Step 3 is hosting the party where we love on the families and distribute the gifts to the children.

The party is this Wednesday, the 16th. If you're reading this, please say a prayer that every family that we are serving is blessed by the love of Christ through us. Our hope is not only that they are happy with their gifts and a fun evening...but that they meet the Savior of the world and the reason for this season, if they haven't.

So...we are finishing up preparations for what is turing out to be a pretty large event. I just tallied a final headcount this morning, and it looks like we'll have around 115 adults and children. Aside from making sure everyone is fed, we'll also have a program consisting of some of our church kids singing, a Nativity craft for all the children while the Christmas story is read and an interactive legend of the Christmas Stocking. The Angels will receive their gifts and a Bible, and their caretakers will receive a gift bag as well. We will be serving 15 families and 28 children.

Once this project is complete, I'll have a lot more time to blog! :-)

Elf Spotting