All I Want for Christmas . . .

. . . is my (1) front tooth!

 Emma Lee has had two loose teeth for quite a while now, but I wasn't really expecting one to fall out so soon (neither was she!). She was eating a pretzel last night and stopped and said "Momma." I looked up and saw a big gap. "Don't swallow, don't swallow!" was all I could say. We rushed to the bathroom, stopped up the sink, and tried to sort through (bloody, eww!) pretzel bits to find her tooth. She was SOOO excited and couldn't stop laughing and looking at her smile in the mirror (after we got the bleeding stopped).

 

She REALLY, REALLY wanted to keep her tooth, so she drew a picture and wrote a note to the tooth fairy: "Please let me keep my tooth and a prize." The tooth fairy did make a visit last night and left her a dollar, a book about Joseph (one of her favorite Bible characters), AND her tooth (along with a note saying she could keep her tooth as long as she gives it to her mommy to put in her scrapbook).

All I want for Christmas is my (1) front tooth, my (1) front tooth...

Walking on Water

When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately, Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"  -Matthew 14:26-31

God brought this passage to my mind today . . . wonder why? . . . it is exactly what I needed! I know that He called us to adopt (Just like He called Peter out of the boat.) We definitely had to step out on faith (No, we didn't have $30,000 in our savings account. We did have some money saved up to begin our adoption, but as the due dates for fees have quickly rolled in, that money is now depleted - maybe a little faster than I thought or am comfortable with.) In my moments of weakness, I allow my focus to drift off of Jesus and onto the wind and waves (you know, the bills & fees). My prayer is that I will keep my eyes on Jesus and have the faith to walk on water (not worry!). I KNOW that He is there, and I KNOW that He will provide!

Happy Birthday, Jesus

Here's a really cool family activity you can do to get you in the Christmas spirit. Andy and I did this with the girls tonight, and it was really cute! Here's how they explain what it is:

The Happy Birthday, Jesus Project is an amazing FREE interactive experience that allows families to interact with a LIVE children's ministry teacher, animated characters, fun games and activities and so much more—all from home, all while having kids at the center of the adventure. Join us for the biggest birthday party in the world!

• Visit reallywoolly.com
• Register and Log in
• Find a Happy Birthday, Jesus! Invitation session that works for your family

There's a live person that interacts with the animated story and with you (through a chat box). There are also games that you can play. Everything's personalized, which was really neat for the girls.  

Deck the Halls

The girls are really enjoying Christmas carols this year. (Ok, I'll admit it . . . it all started with Barbie and the Christmas Carol movie about TWO months ago.) It is so cute to hear them singing although they don't always get the words quite right. My favorite is their version of Deck the Halls, which goes a little something like this:

Deck the halls with fowls and jolly

Fa la la la la la la la la

Tease the season to be holly

Fa la la la la la la la la la

All we now on to gay 'parel

Fa la la la la la la la la

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

(They are going a little crazy in this take - it was about our

fourth try after some technical difficulties and maybe a

cooperation issue or two!)

Here are some pictures of our "decking."

(Our homemade advent calendar - each box holds a special

activity/project for that day.)

Adoption Steps

We are trying to involve the girls in our adoption process as much as possible. The hardest thing for them to understand is why we can't bring our little boy home tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, especially since he is already waiting for us. I tried to create a tangible way for them to keep track of how far we've advanced in the process and how much longer we have to wait. It's not perfect, but I think it will help. Emma Lee drew a picture of her little brother and put him at the top of the steps. Our family will move up each step as we complete a major part in the adoption process.

First Time Ice Skating

If at first 

you don't succeed

try

try

again!