Christmas High Lights

We have had a sweet Christmas.  Busy hustle and bustle has shifted to a slower pace of quiet snuggling mornings, no schedules (except for Mark working,) lots of pajama wearing and some organizing as we look toward the new year just around the corner.  There were so many precious moments I wanted to capture in this highlight post (and there will be LOTS of pics) but there are many more that can only be captured in our hearts... the girls anxious to give their sisters the long awaited secrets beneath the wrapping, the sweet prayers thanking God for His son who came as a baby after the announcement by the angels to the frightened shepherds, the laughter as we play as a family new games from under the tree.  It has been sweet for sure! 

 Piano Recitals

 crafts for gifts and fun

 small group annual kids Christmas and giving party

 Christmas at Grandma and Poppy's

 a white Christmas in deed!! a blast with cousins in the snow

 back home for a cozy family opening on Christmas Eve

 Christmas Eve we met up with Gran and Meeps at our church's Christmas Eve service and then headed out to dinner.

Christmas morning we finished up opening gifts and settled into just being.

Praying the sweet blessing of our Rescuer breaking into our world at Christmas will be reflected in how we live all through the New Year ahead!!

"best chef helper"

 The cake was made...

 the streamers were hung...

and oh did we have fun!

It was a wild day.  Mark had the day off so he joined us at coop for our sweet Christmas party. (I hope to post that some time soon, perhaps the week between Christmas and New Years.)  As soon as the afternoon portion of class was over it was time for another party.  Two families dear to us joined in on the marathon day as we met back up at Pump It Up to jump, climb and laugh!

 Even though this was so much fun, a sweet time for sure, it was not my absolute favorite" birthday time" with Mackenzie.   You see there has been a shift in birthday prep at our house...

Many nights preceding a birthday you could find me "burning the midnight oil" trying to get the a cake made, designed, pieced together and decorated before a birthday princess would wake to her special day.  Not this birthday.  Not for Mackenzie.  She has deemed herself "best chef helper" in  our house.  If I am baking she is centered on the kitchen island ready to help (and sample.)  

Several weeks ago she placed her order for her upcoming birthday cake.  "Mom, I want a cake that is wheat-free, soy-free, peanut-free and fruit peel free. I want Haleigh to be able to have it too!"

So Sunday evening it was time for my "best chef helper" to take her rightful place as we baked her birthday cake. 

 Together. 

Every step.

 This time was precious for me.  Watching amazed that my baby was turning five. 

That she has grown so much.  This last month I have caught myself just looking at her amazed at the quick shift that has taken me by surprise. 

Seeing this little girl, so full of character that she really can't contain it all.

Amazed at all she is. 

 Bright. Loving. Strong willed. Precious. Funny. Smart. Beautiful.

 

She has brought so much growth, love, laughter, and perspective into our home over the past five years.

Happy Birthday my best chef helper!

 

oh, but she is!

Eight years old?  No way!! My carefree, life lovin', Jesus praisin' girl can not be eight years old... oh, but she is.

I just spent a while looking back through hundreds thousands of pictures from her last birthday to today, what a year it has been!  To say it has not been her easiest year would be an understatement.  But to say it has been a tough year could skip a lot of joyful moments, grand adventures, fresh  beginnings and sweet victories. 

Some highlights of this past year have been watching her flourish as she learns and plugs away to get her school work done (always reaching for the reward of time to play when she has completed her work list.)

Starting piano lessons made me a little nervous.  Adding something else to the schedule, knowing she had to actually be still for even more time daily, I just wasn't sure that was going to work out.  What a beautiful surprise!  
When she takes her seat on that bench a posture comes over her, a stillness, a sureness, and beautiful music and confidence are being made.

 Of all the highlights of the year though, the sweetest has to be the day she publicly proclaimed Jesus to be her Rescuer. 

Yes, there have been bumps in the road this year.  She is a trooper for sure.  Her food world has been turned upside down, so now she reads a lot of labels.  She has to have weekly shots, but now she weekly makes the nurses laugh.  She struggles with it like any kids would, but she also breaks into singing and dancing as she praises the one who created her, allergies and all.

About a month ago a sad thought struck her after being at a friend's birthday party, "What about my birthday cake?  Mom, you always make me a cake.  Do you think you can still do that?"  Remember those sweet victories...well, we have shared a lot of those.

After some tears and fears on my parts, I ordered some new cookbooks, tried some different (gluten-free,  soy-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free) cake and icing (dairy free with some refined sugar) recipes, used Mark's birthday cake as a guinea pig. And tonight when I got the thumbs up from her, her friends, her sisters, and her daddy I felt like hunting down the writer of this cook book and giving her a giant hug!!

Sweet victory indeed for a girl who deserves each one that comes her way!!

I love you my sweet Haleigh!  You continue to stretch me, teach me, and love me daily~thanks!

Refreshed, Renewed, Returning!

(Mark's suitcase topped with cards from the girls.)

One week ago, early, before the sun was shining he headed out the door.  Hard to believe it was this time of year already.  For us it is routine now, the packing is down to a science, the necessities of the trip come out of the places they have been since this same trip last year.  Our girls know Daddy is leaving, but Grandma is covering the miles to fill in the gap.  That tug inside screams, "Please don't leave for the week!" only to be quickly followed by the peace of knowing when he walks back in the door he will be physically tired from the travel and hot days of high humidity but he will be spiritually refreshed and renewed.

 This trip has become his "reset button" over the years.  When it seems his perspective is a little skewed, the daily grind of  his routine is rubbing too hard, the "unchangeable" things are seeming less changeable and he begins to wonder if it is even worth the effort to keep trying to change them, when he is having to fight hard to find the joy... within a flip of the calendar this week is in view.  The choice is not always easy to make.  The excitement of the trip begins to turn also to look like another "thing" on the to do list, but the gentle whisper is consistently there, "He needs this like he needs water."  Nothing could be truer.  To see people desperately rely on God daily, to get to be part of His story, to wake up to daily intense prayer time, soaking in teaching of the Word, walking step by step with those longing to serve in obedience. 

Each day back home we long to hear that sweet sound call out from the computer that alerts us to his Face Time call.  Feet race to that small screen anxious to get a glimpse and chat through the choppy connection. The girls talk all at once, I bob and weave to try to stay where I can see him on the screen. (If I can I keep the early morning calls  to myself before the girls are awake.) I am once again amazed that even the look of his face seems softer, relaxed, joyful without the chase. 

So today he will travel home to cooler temperatures, step back into a schedule still packed and routine still pressing but it won't consume him.  We will talk about the experiences of his week, the teaching he sat under, the encouragement and conversations of the mentors who asked him to join this adventure seven years ago.  We are so thankful for the relationships, the week, the renewing, the week already marked on the calendar one year from now.

(By the way, there is always room for you on this trip too.)

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared that we should walk in them."  Ephesians 2:10

Anxious to get him back refreshed and renewed!!

a fall MUST!

A few weeks ago my girls and I were able to join a fun group of friends on a field trip to Hardy Berry Farms.  We learned lots and had a blast.  Only some of the activities were "open" during the field trip and I wanted so badly to squeak in another visit before the end of the season, the reality of that was grim.  However, after church and a bite to eat Mark was already one step ahead of me with the plant to continue our fun family weekend.  

We made it back to Hardy Berry Farms!!

 And now we have a new plan, to make it back every year during the fall,

let's just say, it was good for us ALL!

The bucking bronco was a hoot!!

The corn maze was huge.  I wasn't sure if we were going to make it out as each of the girls had a few turns leading and taking their pick of directions along the way.

 I took my turn being a kid with the girls on the "giant pillow."  Sometimes it is just good to jump high and laugh hard!!

A definite favorite was the zip line.  I think they each zipped about 7 times cheering all the way.

The girls took a few shots at roping the cattle.

Once you've "roped cattle" the duck races are a breeze.

The pedal cars were a riot! No matter if you were riding single

or double!! (yes those are her legs flapping.)

The 150 foot slide was great fun! 

You know we loved the animals, alpacas, sheep, cows, rabbits...

Don't forget the hay ride to the pumpkin patch, always a mark of fall.

Best of all was just being together and having fun.  (Sometimes all it takes is sitting on- or in- a hay bail to make life feel simple again!)

(There were many more activities, the corn box, shooting corn cobs out of a air gun, tennis ball sling shot... It was all great fun for one very reasonable entry fee.)