Thursday, December 23, 2010

Our Annapolis tradition

So I had to hop online one last time before signing off for the Christmas holiday.
Not only am I taking a blogging break; I'm taking a *computer* break...
and oh, how the mere thought sends shivers of excitement down my spine!

Before I do however, I want to share a few more photos from our weekend in Annapolis,
a few from a very favorite spot~


This is Chick & Ruth's.


Our favorite hang-out in downtown Annapolis.




And the home of our annual challenge...
the 6-pound chocolate milkshake.
We guzzled one last year-- my crew, my folks and Chris's as well,
and this year, we vowed to do the same.
Of course, a few in our bunch wanted to tackle TWO 6-pounders,
but alas, we settled for only one. Maybe next year~
















Good to the very last drop... I promise!

So should you ever find your way over to this cozy little bayside town,
be sure to hop on in...
and give me a buzz if you do.
One more chocolate milkshake *surely* has my name written all over it :)

**********

See you next year~

and have a merry, merry Christmas!

We certainly have much to celebrate... this time of year and always~


"Arise, shine, for your light has come..."

Isaiah 60:1



Monday, December 20, 2010

1000 Gifts: Coming


And the angel said unto them,
Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

In anticipation, we wait. And we rejoice. And we delight.
Because the King is coming...

0894
an afternoon for building gingerbread houses (and the many challenges that come with it :)


0895
walls that stand and roofs that don't sag-- even crosses made of pretzel sticks



0896
windows and doorways, shingles and sidewalks... even a marshmallow snowman with an M & M hat


0897
my budding architects

0898
math lessons with candy

0899
and leisurely hours spent with friends; the school books set aside


0900
Handel's Messiah at the Kennedy Center. Glorious... absolutely glorious.

"Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ;
and He shall reign for ever and ever.
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Hallelujah!"

0901
the Gospel message... clear and bold... woven throughout that symphonic masterpiece

0902
and the curiosity of my two oldest sons (not to mention the constant pleasure they provide)-- WHY would I want to drive all the way in to the Kennedy Center to see Messiah when... surely... there are plenty of You Tube videos available for free?? (I still don't think they get it :)

0903
the first snow of the season

0904
boots that still fit, an extra pair of snow pants, plenty of mittens, and sleds enough to share


0905
pink noses and rosy cheeks

0906
snowball fights and a peacetime truce

0907
winter

0908
the boldness of my eldest son... who, compelled to make a difference, visited our neighbors and asked for donations to help families in the Dominican Republic... because love(is)action.


0909

0910
dinner with friends & laughter around the table... our men en route to the wilderness

0911
3 days of camping (better them than me :) and mounds of gear...
all designed to keep. them. warm.

0912
3 days with Lollipop... girl time galore.

0913
and Christmas... the birth of our Christ and the call to celebrate every. single. day.

0914
the waiting


0915
this time to rejoice!

0916
and the glory of the Lord, revealed...

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming..."

Zechariah 9:9a



and the list continues...

Merry Christmas!!


Friday, December 17, 2010

The Christmas Meet


The North Baltimore Aquatic Club's Annual Christmas Invitational
The United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, Maryland
December 10-12, 2010

... a highlight every year!






My littles in the window with Gramoggie~



Hot Fries... the snack food of champions :)
Didn't you know??!


A favorite funny face~




And a favorite Olympian.
And this year, he swam again.



Surreal. Utterly surreal.


As for Bub and Noh-man... they were our true champions.

Amazing. Fantastic. And overwhelmingly great.

They swam to beat the band,
they dropped almost a gazillion seconds,
and they finished as the 2nd and 4th place point-earners for their entire team.
Needless to say, their coach was just bursting with pride.
I'll leave you to guess how Chris and I felt (not to mention all 4 grandparents :)

It was an absolute blast and the perfect segueway into our Christmas vacation!


Friday, December 10, 2010

Cereal boxes and hope



Cereal boxes.

Hope.

Yep, I know what you're thinking~ oh, no... now she's really gone off the deep end!

But I promise you, I haven't. This is really, really cool. And potentially life-changing. I promise.

And it all starts with cereal. And our precious little ones. And their full bellies. And our desire to make a difference.

You see, in Haiti, children are orphaned every single day because their mothers cannot feed them. Because their fathers cannot provide for them. Because life in an orphanage is their ONLY chance for survival. Their only chance...

Can you imagine? Can you imagine releasing your son, your daughter to be raised by
another, simply because you didn't have the means to do so yourself... can you imagine?

I, for one, cannot. And that's why I'm so, so thankful for folks at Compassion International and World Vision who allow us-- we Americans so overwhelmingly rich as compared to the rest of the world-- to step in and bless out of our abundance. Well, here's another wonderful option... and EASY option... if you really want to make a difference. Consider it a Christmas gift to a hurting family, hundreds of miles away.

Here's the deal: when your family reaches the end of its next box of Lucky Charms, don't shred that cardboard. Don't squash it and cram it in to your recycling bin. Just flatten it and set it aside until you save another. And another. And another. And then, when you have a big box packed full of flattened, empty cereal boxes, drop it in the mail. And then pray. Give thanks. Count *your* blessings. And trust the Lord to do the rest.

Because when those cereal boxes reach Haiti, they'll be put to good use. Men and women, as part of the Apparent Project, will use those boxes-- believe it or not-- to make jewelry. Beautiful jewelry. Jewelry that provides enough money for them to raise their own children... in their own homes... with dignity and love and hope.


Simple.
Painless.
And a significant opportunity to change a life.
One cereal box at a time.
Will you join me??

"Then the King will say to those on His right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father;
take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you looked after me,
I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Then the righteous will answer Him,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in,
or needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

The King will reply,
'Truly I tell you,
whatever you did for the least of these
brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for Me.' "

Matthew 25: 34-40


** If anyone who lives in my neck of the woods would like to participate,
I'd be happy to mail your boxes with mine...
just let me know :)

*** For whatever it's worth... I'm also saving other boxes--
ones from our Ritz Crackers, our Triscuits, our Graham Crackers--
that sort of thing.
I figure~ they're colorful, and they're no smaller than a Grape Nuts (cereal) box,
so hopefully they'll be acceptable, as well.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The Hallelujah Chorus... over lunch

Oh, how I wish I could have been there... what a glorious lunch-time treat, don't you think?!!

Monday, December 6, 2010

1000 Gifts: December joy


When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

~Johnson Oatman, Jr.

It's funny~ how easy it is to focus on the minutia of the day...
on the momentary "insanity"of the household...
on the seemingly important but oh-so-very-far-from-eternal...
on self.

This past week was a doozy... a doozy, in many ways, of my own making.
How thankful I am now to be on the other side.
Rejoicing in His Light, His Hope, and His Grace.


0865
friends and family who love and encourage and remind me of Truth... who set me straight and wrap me in warmth... who care enough to drag me out of my pit-- to pray me out of my pit!-- and rejoice with me in His goodness on higher ground

0866
Isaiah 55

0867
His everlasting covenant with all who believe

0868
her pink tu tu


0869
his strong legs


0870
their tired little bodies~ they keep chugging for more

0871
until finally... rest

0872
letters written in a foreign hand... with messages of life and hope and love

0873
and return letters en route from our kitchen table to theirs... our simple offering... our chance to make a difference

0874
Compassion International and their willingness, their desire, their success in sharing the love of Jesus

0875
the Advent season


0876
the attic now empty~ its treasures, its goodies... the memories unpacked

0877
little hands and homemade decorations from years gone by

0878
grand smiles of recognition

0879
AND unbelief: "2002! I made this in 2002??!!!"


0880
joy!

0881
potty training success... and those precious 45 seconds she spends-- every single morning-- deciding which pair of panties she'll wear that day

0882
"Pray, Mommy... pray!" ~Lollipop

0883
the eyes of a child

0884
Ann's Jesse Tree devotions... and our time in His Word, first thing each morning~ our countdown to Christ's birth


0885
Christmas tree lights and candle-glow-warmth


0886
cinnamon scented pine cones

0887
homemade cookies

0888
hot apple cider

0889
chicken noodle soup

0890
enough


0891
a Santa hat with Goofy ears-- a souvenir from our Disneyworld vacation, seemingly so very long ago


0892
3 of my favorite little elves


0893
and God's generosity... His abundance... His grace

"I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever."

Psalm 86:12


and the list continues...