We're So Rich!

I saw a Family Circus cartoon many years ago where little Billy was holding handfuls of Christmas cards and he was shouting with joy, "We're RICH!" I have tried and tried to find that cartoon online to post on here because I just loved it. This is what I think every time I see all of our Christmas cards, too. We're rich! Look at all those precious jewels on our doors and walls! God has blessed our family with so many family members and friends that we can't be anything BUT rich!
These are the Christmas cards that we received as of December 27, 2008. We got about ten more after this, but these are the ones we had at that time. Do you recognize yours? You have helped make our family rich and we are so thankful! If you don't see your card, maybe it came after December 27 (or is hanging conveniently on our refrigerator with the magnet you glued on the back!). I hope that your family is blessed with similar riches!

Cream of Wheat

The boys are just LOVING Cream of Wheat these days! Must be all the snow, wind and sub-zero weather we've been having lately. One day before Christmas when I was trying to get a Cookie Kitchen order done during crunch time before breakfast, Stephen saw my sprinkles and asked if he could decorate his Cream of Wheat. Why not?! This is the beautiful Christmas tree that he came up with. Isn't it cute?! Since then we've done space shuttles, roller coasters, sunshines, mini golf courses, you name it!

How do you eat your Cream of Wheat? If it's getting a bit boring to you, try decorating it. It's so much more fun that way!

PS It works with oatmeal, too!

Home

One of the highlights of our trip to Ohio over Christmas was the very short visit Liz and I had with our dear friend, Ruth. What made it so special was that we grew up with Ruth in East Akron and our families were so close that our parents had every right to treat each other's kids as their own ... and they did ... both with love and discipline and everything else in between! Liz, Ruth and our cousin, Jill, were even baptized together, so our bond is quite close. The problem (situation) now is that Ruth and her family live in Alaska! Needless to say, we don't cross paths too often these days! This is why our visit together in December was so precious. We can be apart for years on end, but when we're all together again, it seems like we just pick up right where we left off and nothing has changed!

Ruth sent an e-mail this morning letting us know that they arrived back in Anchorage today and she shared some thoughts about their trip back East (or do you say 'down south'?) I asked her permission to share it here because I felt that she verbalized her thoughts so well about the subject of HOME. It has given me a lot to think about today and I'm thankful that she agreed to let me post it here. Thanks for being a guest here today, Ruth, and thanks so much for the precious visit we had together!

Some thoughts about "home"....
When we left Anchorage in December we said we were going "home".
When we left Ohio in January we said we were going "home."
When we were in your houses we felt at "home."
When we were in some places that we had never been, but were with you, we felt at "home."
When we talk about a believer dying, we say he or she has gone "home."
When we think of heaven, we call it our heavenly "home."
Is it a place, a feeling, things, that make a home?
The dictionary says home is "a place where one lives."
I say it is the people and the relationships we have with them, that make whatever we call home, "home."
My mother-in-law has redecorated her home. It looks different without all the wallpaper. But that didn't make it "not home". It was "home" because she was there.
The house where I grew up is not a place I visit or even drive by anymore. My dad is not there. It is not "home."
In contrast, heaven is a place I have never been and yet it is my eternal home. Why? Because God is there and as I get to know Him and spend time with Him, wherever He is is "home."

SNOW!

This morning we woke up to a beautiful, white blanket of snow! Of course the boys wanted to shovel, so we all bundled up and headed out to rescue our driveway from the countinuous powdering of precipitation. Fred had already left for a meeting, so it was just the boys and me out there plowing away at the heavy stuff that was already on the ground. Even though the neighborhood had that beautiful quiet that occurs after a new snowfall, that quiet was interrupted by the non-natural sounds of many snowblowers. At one point, I stopped to lean on my trusty old shovel and I just laughed out loud as I looked around. All the female neighbors that were out clearing their driveways were using SHOVELS! All the men were using SNOWBLOWERS! You'd think that it would be the other way around, you know, the women being the weaker vessel and the men needing to show their strength. But no. When it comes to snow removal, snow blowers are more powerful and manly than a simple shovel, I guess. Now, I don't know if snowblowers get the job done any faster than a shovel or not because it seemed to me that all these men were going up and down and up and down and back and forth and back and forth just enjoying the sound of the engine and the smell of gasoline or something. They had to find every little scrap of snow to whoosh away while it would have taken mere seconds to just plow that shovel through and be done with it already! That's ok. I found it quite humorous and enjoyed watching these guys so diligently clean their driveways and sidewalks and the road in front of their driveways and their neighbors' sidewalks and their own driveways again and ...... (Now if those same men would clean the insides of their homes with the same detail, I'm sure there'd be many a happy housewife on our street!)

After we exhausted our efforts in clearing the driveway, the boys decided to pull out the sleds. I stood at the top of the hill watching them for a few runs and then decided that I'd help them pack down a slide by taking a turn myself. Wow! I was hooked after that first run! Even without snowpants and with my short ankle boots, Christopher and I stood in line together at the top and took our turns going down that hill, too! I was sopping wet with sweat, snow and Christopher's snot, but did we ever have fun! I wish I could have videotaped us going down because he was squealing with delight and roaring with laughter if we tipped over. At the bottom of the hill he'd shout, "Up the mountain, Mommy! Come!" and we'd start all over again. My hip bones are a bit sore tonight. I think I hit one too many moguls on each trip down.

The boys are at school tomorrow, but since it's been snowing off and on all day and there's more predicted for tomorrow, I just *might* take Christopher outside so that I have an excuse to slide down that hill a few more times myself! Anyone want to come over and sled with us?

Statue of Liberty

Timothy asked:

Mommy, do you know why the Statue of Liberty has her hand like this? (Stretches out his arm Statue-of-Liberty-like)

Why Timothy?

Because she's holding a tomato.

Credit to Karen

Well, I never realized the stir this picture of Dad would cause! I honestly didn't even remember where it came from, I just knew that I had it sitting in my files and was waiting for the day to use it. Karen reminded me that this was her picture from an old digital camera that she had and she sent it to all of us. So...credit goes to Karen for this memorable picture. If you want a more socially acceptable picture of my dad, click on Karen's link on the side and see her post for January 2. Her picture is more like the dad we know and love!

Dad, thanks for being such a good sport about this. You know we love you!

January 2

Happy Birthday, Dad! You always love to give us a bit of humor, but today is my chance to give you some back! Even this clever disguise doesn't hide who you really are! We love you and pray for you. Happy Birthday!