Christmas Wishes

Wishing you moments of

PEACE

JOY

LAUGHTER

and LOVE

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

We did it!

Well, we made it through another semester of law school. Woohoo! Three semesters down, three semesters to go. Last week was especially hectic with back-to-back finals for Steve on Thursday and Friday, but he (and I) made it through...and now he's off for three weeks (and by "off" I mean that for three weeks he only has to work as a software developer and be a father to three little boys).

Since Steve finished finals yesterday, we made arrangements to go out last night to celebrate his accomplishment and to re-introduce ourselves to one another. Honestly, it was one of the best date nights we've ever had! We had a phenomenal dinner at Mulvaneys and then headed over to Marilyn's to hear The Nibblers, a band that's fronted by a friend of ours from church, Hans. I was floored - the band was incredible and Hans is very, very talented. Steve and I had a great time being together, talking without interruption for as long as we wanted, and letting our hearts be lifted by great music. And yes, we even got out on the dance floor!

With Christmas just around the corner, the completion of Steve's finals came not a moment too soon. I'm really looking forward to slowing down a bit this next week and preparing my heart and mind to receive the precious gift of my Savior once again. This last month has been filled with some hard lessons for me, most of which I fiercely resisted before finally giving in and acknowledging my "I suck" status. But in a way, I'm thankful for these hard lessons because they remind me of my lowly position before a Holy God who is able to handle all of my pride, reputation idols, and whatever other yucky stuff I can throw at Him. And I know that as I acknowledge these, He is able to resume His right place in my life and I can once again fully worship Him.

Some of the hard lessons I've been learning during this season of Advent:
1. Sometimes my kids just need ME - not a playdate, not a fun outing, not chores or errands, not a distracted mom at her computer or on her phone - just me, all day, on the floor, playing with them, setting consistent and firm limits and following through each and every time. That's one gift I can give more of.

2. I'm not perfect. I hate making mistakes, but the truth is...I'm hopelessly flawed and I really can't juggle all of the balls that I think I can without dropping one once in a while. And while it's been painful to be reminded in a myriad of ways that I’m not perfect, the reminder is a good and necessary one, nonetheless.

3. No matter how tightly I try to hold on to a situation or try to change it, I'm not in control and I never will be. It's okay to let go and relax my shoulders. Give it to God. He's bigger than that.

4. Parenting is much harder than I ever thought it would be. It's okay to admit that I don't have all the answers (and thank goodness for the new book I'm reading, "Setting Limits with Your Strong-Willed Child.")

5. What's my motivation?

6. Perhaps we've got it all wrong when it comes to Christmas. Perhaps we shouldn't be focusing on being a better "giver" of gifts. Instead, maybe we should be focused on preparing our hearts to receive the greatest gift that God has to offer us.

And in the midst of these hard lessons, there have been plenty of points of joy, too, this Advent season, like these:
1. Getting cards in the mail from family and friends. I LOVE to receive Christmas cards - they make me happy! I love going to the mailbox and immediately ripping open all the envelopes to see everyone's pictures and read everyone's letters. Near or far, new friends or old...I love 'em all. Keep them coming! This year I've got them all taped onto my laundry room door where I can see them as often as I want.

2. Lighting the Advent Wreath with my family. Tuesday nights this month have been "Advent Tuesdays" in our home (Sundays didn't work with Steve's study schedule).  After dinner we read a short passage of Scripture together, light the candle in the wreath, and then...because my boys think that when you light a candle you automatically sing Happy Birthday to someone...we sing a rousing Happy Birthday to Jesus, followed by Happy Birthday to anyone else whose birthday might be coming up. It's been really fun and a great way to introduce the true meaning of Christmas to our boys. And the very best part of Advent Tuesdays is that after dinner and candles we have Family Game Night. SO FUN - and something that we'll likely continue even after this month: Duck, Duck, Goose, Simon Says, Red Light/Green Light, Hot Potato - you name it, we're playing it. Good times and lots of belly laughing.

3. Reading The Monkey and the Fish. I love this book! It honestly makes my heart do a little dance because it so clearly articulates my dreams for "the church." Have you watched the video yet (the one I linked in my last post)?  If not, watch it and let me know what you think! Does it make your heart sing like it does mine?!

4. Celebrating Christmas with The GreenHouse kids and teens. This last Wednesday night we had an elementary Christmas Party and a teen Christmas Party simultaneously going on in different locations! I won't go into a lot of detail since this post is getting very long. I'll just say, "Yay God!" and "Our teen leaders rock!"  Both celebrations were a big success.

Hope you and yours are doing well and enjoying this special time of year.

the monkey and the fish

I just started reading a new book, The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church, by Dave Gibbons, the founding pastor of Newsong.  I first heard about this book earlier in the year when a visiting pastor preached at our church and recommended it as one of the two most significant voices coming out of our denomination right now.  His recommendation piqued my interest, so I tucked the two titles away in my memory for future reference.  A month or so later, I got a second recommendation for The Monkey and the Fish on this friend's blog and that sealed the deal for me. 

I'm finally getting around to starting it...and I'm loving it so far.  Does anyone want to read this book with me?  I think it could spark some terrific discussion.  Even if you aren't interested in the book, I highly recommend checking out this video.  It gives a great overview of the concept "third-culture" and is definitely worth the time if you have 10 minutes to watch it.  Some of you may even recognize a few faces in the video (Cue, Adam Edgerly).  

A Thankful Heart

Today my heart is full of thanks for a long list of people and circumstances.  I humbly recognize that there is a whole tribe of family and friends that surround and support Steve and I, without whom we would be utterly hopeless (especially when it comes to raising our boys while pursuing our dreams).  If you are in that tribe (and you most likely are if you are reading this) - thank you for being part of our journey.  We love you. 

Today my heart is also filled with deep love and gratitude for these youth and their presence in my life.  Just look at them - each one so beautiful, so loving, and so filled with gifts to offer the world!

Yesterday, this group of teens came to The GreenHouse to help assemble and deliver Thanksgiving Food Boxes to 48 families in their own community.  It was a joy to watch them hard at work, filling the boxes with food and getting them out to where they needed to go.  They could have spent their day off from school doing any number of other things.  They chose to come and serve (along with a whole army of other awesome volunteers).

This year, more than ever, the food baskets were a blessing to the community.  There are many, many people who are unemployed, struggling to pay rent, and in danger of being evicted.  A box of food delivered to their door was indeed a welcome gift. 

The teens who came yesterday saw and heard firsthand the impact of their service.  They walked away with smiles on their faces - that kind of afterglow that comes from knowing that you've been used to bless someone else.  For that, and for them, I am truly thankful.    

Apples + Pumpkins + Football = Fall Family Fun!

I realize Fall is not over for another month (so technically, there's plenty of fall-fun still to be had), but here's a look back on some of the adventures our family had during this delightful time of year.

Fall Family Highlight #1: Picking apples at Apple Hill.  Hard to believe that with all of the trips we've made to Apple Hill over the years, this was the first time we've actually picked apples before!  How have we never done that before?  It was so fun!  The boys loved picking the apples right off the tree and digging in - fresh, organic apples at our fingertips...YUM. 

Jonah loved using the apple picker.  He got one down right away...

and then sat in a tree and enjoyed his prize!

Even Riley tried (unsuccessfully) to get some apples down with the loooong picker.

Nicolas preferred to just collect them in his basket.

The fabulous u-pick farm that we went to was not crowded, not commercialized, and even had a pond with a row boat that they let us go on for free. 

We'll definitely be going back there next year.  It made for a beautiful fall day.

Fall Family Highlight #2:  Visiting as many pumpkin patches during the month of October as we possibly could.  There were too many to count, all chock full of kid-fun: hayrides, bounce houses, corn mazes, petting zoos, and of course picking the perfect pumpkins.   Below are some pictures that my mother-in-law took when she and my father-in-law took the boys to a patch that's just a hop, skip, and jump from our house.

(this picture epitomizes our twins - complete opposites in every facet of personality and temperment)

Riley chose a lopsided, pimply, bright orange pumpkin.

Jonah chose the biggest, most perfectly round pumpkin he could find. 

And, Nicolas helped push them all to the car!

Fall Family Highlight #3: The UC Davis Homecoming Football Game.   I can honestly say that I do NOT love football.  And, we're not exactly the most supportive UCD Alums either.  But, since Steve is once again an Aggie (free admission for him)...and we have three little boys who love sporting events...and we've been curious to see the fancy new stadium with the lawn area for families, we decided to give the Homecoming Game a try.  We're so glad we did!  It was a really fun night and a tradition that I hope we will continue every year.  (Come on former Ags...mark your calendars for next year!)

 

Steve and I were silly enough to think that we could take a picture of just the two of us (notice Jonah's hands calling "UP!")

He won. 

CCDA Conference

I'm looking forward to going to the Christian Community Development Association Institute this weekend in Oakland.  Anyone want to join me at the Saturday class?  Click here for more details.  Oakland peeps...anyone free?

Family Fun on Halloween

 James, Thomas, and Luke Skywalker

Ready to go fill up these bags with some friends

Trick-or-Treat!

So Fun!

Pumpkin Carving Party

This year I was ready to bring back the Halloween Party that I hope to do annually for the kids on our street. (We did the first one back in 2006, but then couldn’t muster up the energy to do it...or any social gathering of any kind for that matter in 2007 or 2008.  Anyone want to guess why? I’ll give you TWO guesses.) 

We held a Costume Parade/Pumpkin Carving Party the night before Halloween and we invited seven or so families that surround us on either side of our street. 

the costume parade:

After "parading" up and down the street, everyone headed over to our house for pumpkin carving and dessert.  It was really fun to see everyone's creativity come out with the pumpkins. For two of the families, no one in their family had ever carved a pumpkin before (Halloween is not celebrated in Mexico or India).  I think they enjoyed it the most – especially the moms!

some first-time carvers:

 

and a few seasoned carvers:

It was great to be together to share some traditions, enjoy each other’s company, and continue building community right here on our street.

And, of course, Jonah loved spending time with his buddy.  These two are ready to destroy all of the evil forces in the world!

It's fun to look back at the group photo from our first Halloween Party in 2006. Jonah, who was just a few months shy of his second birthday at the time, is screaming his head off in the picture because he is frightened of the boy on the left in the scary mask. The funny thing is that the same boy, now 3 years older, once again wore a scary mask to this year's party. But this time, Nicolas and Riley were the ones who were scared!

2006 (note: scary mask on the left)

2009 (note: scary mask on the right - same kid!)