Christmas Bliss.

... and the winning pic.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy Boxing Day! I am thankful for my family, heated homes to stay in during this chill, and FINNISH COFFEE BRAID, my favorite bread EVER!

Teaching Nativity to a Three-Year-Old

Reading through a Nativity Sticker book...

Me: "Once there was a woman named Mary." Then pointing to Mary, "So Ian, who is that?"

Ian: "Joseph."

Later in the day...

Me: "Hey Ian, what did the angel tell Mary to name the baby?"

Ian: "Baby Jesus."

Me: "Ah yes, his name was Baby Jesus Christ."

Me: "Who was Mary's Husband?"

Ian: "Daddy."

Well, we're close enough.

Love.

Waves crash down as
sorrow ebbs and flows
what little do we know
Then and tomorrow
Shade sorrow and so
this journey goes
Peace to those who
follow the tide
Whose lucid dreams
Never subside
Marching into hills and
mountains, holding on
through wind and rain,
tides flood our hearts
and pain
but only love fills
valleys, no more sorrow,
yes, there will be
tomorrow.

I have to clarify, I didn't know Luke personally. But I knew him through close friends, through seeing him at Lakeside Bible Camp, and I feel I know him more as his own friends and his own family surround and lift up one another through their grief. This poem is dedicated to those who knew Luke, because you are all an encouragement to me as I have watched you support one another. Even if no one reads this, I had to write it. The poem came to me, and when thoughts come, I have to write it down. :)

I Should Be SLEEPING.

You could say I was in bed in a timely manner tonight. It was 10pm, I thought I was tired after reading a few Psalms and praying. Then I lay in bed while minutes seemed like hours.

I've had a few kids. Since then, my stomach muscles have given way to my apparently superhumanly strong intestines (ok not really, that just sounded cool), and I can feel them move when I lie down. It keeps me up sometimes as I fall asleep, wondering if something is seriously wrong with me. Fortunately, enough post-partum moms online have posted the same thing about their blobs formerly known as ironing board abs.

Then, my thoughts took a rather different turn. Some may call it ADHD, but I call it multi-tasking.

Ian and I were beginning to pray before bed tonight, and I asked him who we wanted to pray for. He responded "Doey Daddy." I was stumped for a few seconds before I realized who he was talking about. "Oh, Joey's Daddy?" After basically getting a "Well, DUH" from my three year old, we continued. He also wanted to pray for his Daddy, and his Mommy (aka, Aaron and I), and Talia, his favorite person EVER who happens to be his cousin, and no he CANNOT marry her; this isn't the Godfather.

So anyway, we prayed for all those people, then prayed for the usual safety, health, sleep, and good dreams.

At 10pm, as I lay in bed trying to sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about his prayer requests. I believe God speaks through people, and I believe in miracles, I believe in many things most people don't think is possible.

I got out of bed, turned the computer on, and checked email and Facebook to be sure everything was okay and mostly right with the world. One thing couldn't be rewinded though, and that was the death of Luke Gullberg, my good friend Melissa's brother in law.

I was so excited to see she was online, and even more, willing to talk to me. Tough things in life are so difficult to talk about, and deal with. That family is filled with, and surrounded by LOVE.

So after a night of thoughts on prayer, sleeplessness, and my need to check every possible internet sale website for a great deal, my night ended with a great talk with a great friend.

I do end my night, however, with this thought... did I pray hard enough and faithfully enough for the two climbers still missing on Mt. Hood? What if I had known Luke was missing before he died, could I have prayed so fervently, God would have saved him? What if we prayed with real, genuine FAITH?! What would God do in this world if we actually believed what we prayed, and didn't JUST ask?

One thing I do know, is pray without ceasing. We may have little faith sometimes, but God's always listening.

Luke.

Please keep Luke Gullberg's family in your prayers tonight, as well as the two hikers still missing on Mount Hood. So sad, and Luke will be missed by so many people.

Three High's and a Low

I am guessing people who read this actually care about me as a person, and know me decently well. If you are one of those people, please continue. If you are just passing by my blog, this doesn't apply to you!

High's!

1. I finally feel like I have energy again. I can credit my faith life, and/or credit my Post-Partum lack of energy going away... whatever the case my be, I feel good! (After an unfortunate three years of just feeling TIRED.)

2. Relationship with toddler has improved SOooo much. Thank you to Grandmas who persistently help me realize what I need to be doing as a Mommy.

3. I bought Fat-Free French Vanilla Creamer yesterday, and I am currently drinking coffee with creamer out of my "Caffeine isn't a drug it's a VITAMIN" mug! Life doesn't get much better than this!

LOW

If anyone wants to buy our cafe, or buy our cafe AND building, please contact us. We are not officially for sale, but seriously considering it. We need to be able to support our family, and have a consistent income at this phase of life. The cafe is doing quite well, and actually pays for itself. I think a young, energetic individual or couple with NO kids would do very well, or someone who already has kids in school or older, so they have time and energy to work the cafe.

In the meantime, you can pray for us. We either need a buyer who can run this thing, Orrr.. we need a financial miracle. :)

Early Morning

I woke up this morning to a not-happy Ian at 5am, and managed to get him to fall back asleep on our bed. I have been up since then, surrounded in my thoughts. I read a little Psalms, a little bit of Luke, thought about Young Life, thought about my kids, drank some water, checked Facebook, and I even read an Old Navy ad and realized they are probably using mannequins instead of real people just to save money like the rest of us.

My pending New Year resolutions (which are only pending because its still December) are:

1. To prioritize my kids in my life.
2. To prioritize time with Aaron, and time spent affirming him.
3. To simplify life, and focus on what matters.
4. To start a workout routine. I don't know how, I don't know when, but by golly I WILL.