Caleb's 'Lose a Tooth' Party

Caleb has lost his fourth tooth this week and he came up with the incredible idea of having a party to celebrate it.  Now I am one of those moms who says 'No!' a lot but I have really tried to make an effort to hear my kids and say 'Yes' when I can.  This seemed like a reasonable request after we talked through what an actually party would look like - cake, a dance, grandma and papa, easy enough.

We did discuss that if I allowed a party this time, would he expect one every time?  Of course the answer was 'Yes' from my beloved first born.  And so my answer initially, as all moms would answer, was 'No way!'  But as children do negotiate, we made it a deal that every child when they lose a tooth would get to choose to have a tooth party ONE time only.  Everyone agreed and was happy to make preparations for the party.

So first on our list this morning was making a Ginger-tooth House.  I had a leftover Gingerbread house from Christmas and put it to good use.  Of course I had to make it toothy so we made the spearmint leaves into little teeth with eyes.  Kids loved that!  While they ate their lunch, I made the cake.  To Caleb's specifications, he ordered a chocolate blueberry cake with blueberries on top.  I found a healthy one that I could eat and went to work.  And because he is the boy of honour today, when it came time for decorating, he was the one to do it...very happily I might add.  'Mom, when the girls lose a tooth they are going to be so happy to do this.'  'Why, son?' I ask.  'Because you get to lick all the spoons!  It can be so easy to please a child.  I should have just given him a bunch of yummy spoons to lick! 

Decorating the SECOND layer with blueberry glaze

 

 

After licking the spoon and pouring over my leftover The finished product.  

Caleb insisted on eyes though I was happy with just a mouthy toothless grin!ganache from Christmas Truffles. 

So the cake is done, chicken strips in our oven thanks to what the tenant left behind in his freezer and we are waiting for grandma and papa to arrive so they can start the dance and party!  And Mike and I are going on a date tonight.  The kids don't seem to mind as long as they have their cake...and eat it too!

Life is Hard, but God is Good

As I have gotten older, the realities of life have mixed with my perfect ideals and I've finally come to grips with the fact that life is hard.  This past year I've seen marriages break-up, sickness and death, lives torn apart because of sin or addiction.... and they aren't just newspaper headlines or stories that I've read; they are people that I know.  And it has hit home for me in a whole new way. 

Part of me shakes my head and says, 'I just don't get it.'  Why do we have to suffer like this?  But the other part knows that God didn't promise us a life that is easy and pleasurable and perfect.  He has promised us hardship, sufferings, pain... and that sucks.  But he also promised that he would never leave us or forsake us. When we are in those places of darkness and despair we would rather be anywhere else, and yet, it is in those places that we can experience the kindness and faithfulness of Jesus the most. 

In fact, the pain that I felt when Mike lost his job a year and a half ago paled in comparison to the love that God poured out on me.  Despite feeling torn from the life that I thought we were meant to be living, the community that we loved and the security of a job and our future, I felt love like I had never felt before.  We had walked through some tough times in the past and I had felt like I had just gotten through it; this time I wanted to do well.  I wanted to push into God and trust him even when I didn't know what the future was going to be. 

Looking back I wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world.  I can see through my journal entries that he was there in the midst of my pain.  He even gave me joy at times.  He wasn't afraid of my questions, my doubts, my frustrations.  He didn't mind that I had to be silent for at least a week to try and process things before I could bring myself to talking with him again.  He didn't mind; he just waited patiently until I was ready for him to speak. 

I remember opening up my bible and going right to Psalm 103.  Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sings and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

It's quite amazing isn't it?  How he can turn things around in our lives...hard things, ugly things, sad things and redeem them for our good and his glory.  We serve a Good God, a very Good God.  Whether we put ourselves in the pit or someone else throws us in, he redeems us from it.  He crowns us with love and compassion...and how else could we have compassion for those in the pit unless we have been there ourselves?

So if you are in that terrible dark night of the soul, this is for you.  Life is hard, but God is good.

It's a new day, a new year, a new blog...

Well, January 1st has come and nearly gone and I've hardly started preparations for the New Year.  A dying Christmas tree still stands adorned with ornaments, decorations and lights strewn about the house and presents are laying around yet to find their homes.  And yet it is a new year; 2012 has come, and with it new hope, dreams and aspirations and, of course, those pesky resolutions.

I do enjoy writing down my resolutions each year... better to call them goals.  Each year, I try to find where I wrote those goals and see how I did.  Some years I am surprised to have grown in all the areas I had wanted to and other times, that same goal is till waiting to be tackled and has sat there on the shelf for one more year.

So my resolutions for this Year? 

- one from last year was to lose 15 pounds - I lost 12 and then gained it back, so I guess I'm back to that same goal again!  

- I'd like to have a specific day or night for family time and be organized with something fun for us to do!  It can be so easy to do things sporadically and then other things crowd in on that time.

- I'd like to read through the old testament (haven't done the whole thing in awhile).  I read through the New Testament fully this year and so it seems natural to go back to the very beginning.

- Read and pray more with Michael.  So important to spend time together not in front of the TV!  So it may mean cutting the cable for awhile!? so we can figure out a routine of building our relationship up and keeping things strong.

....and there's a few more.... but let's see what last year looked like.

As I look back on this year, I can see the areas where I have grown and excelled and the areas of weakness as well.  The best part of this year and biggest growing area - Prayer!

This is the first season in my life where I have been able to stay consistent in prayer - spending time specifcally set apart for the Lord, praying more for others, praying the bible, memorizing scripture and filling my spirit up.

I preached my very first sermon to the church this year and the topic was on Praying the Bible.  And the major things that helped me continue to grow and stretch myself in this area was the accountability I received.  We are not called to live this life without it.  We need relationship and I am so thankful for the numerous relationships I have that encourage and challenge me to keep going for Jesus.

My friend Meg and I continue to call in the morning to remind one another to spend time with the Lord and lovingly and sometimes strongly kick each other's butts when we are putting other things first.

I have a wonderful group of ladies that I meet with as well that all want more of Jesus and having a place where we can support and love each other has helped me immensely.

My husband and I sharpen one another and challenge each other as well and we continue to grow together and apart in our walk with the Lord.

My church family is a place where we all get filled up and encouraged and I am continually thankful for the times that I get share with others God's heart as well as hear his heart for me as people from our congregation are obedient in sharing with me.

So if any of you want to have a new year's resolutions this year, one that you could really stick to and work on - I really pray that you consider this one: Plant yourself in community.  May that be your goal for the year.  You will be surprised by the benefits.