Could Be Worse!

Guess who the nose picker kid belongs to? Thankfully, Aubrey wasn't the little girl next to her who lifted her dress up to the sky showing off her undergarments and belly!

Tonight was Aubrey's Christmas Concert for her preschool. I am telling you that stand-up comedy is not as funny as this concert! We were laughing the entire program and so were all the other people in the audience. There was a crazy kid who kept dancing the robot and armpit farting; a REALLY tall spazzy girl who kept jumping up to try to touch the microphone; some kids who didn't sing but sobbed; some who had total blank looks on their faces the entire time; and some who kept doing Blue Steel looks for their families that were waving at them in the audience. It was a hilarious night! I even met someone who doesn't have kids in the school but they go to the show because it's always funny! LOVED IT!

BUT, on a sad note. Aubrey was very excited about getting to wear her fancy dress. I even asked her if she'd like for me to curl her hair. She said, "Oh yes, and I think I should wear my fancy shoes." So, this afternoon after nap time I curl her hair. I did a GOOD job too. I sectioned it all out, used hairspray before and after I did each curl. She look beautiful, more beautiful that she has even looked in her young life! As I'm looking at her with such awe, I tell her, "Since this is a special occasion, you can wear some perfume." Pssshht, I spray some RIGHT IN HER EYE!!! What a loser of a mom! She immediately starts screaming and crying that she can't see and her eye is hurting. She's rubbing it like crazy. It's turning red and puffy. Then she realizes that she also got some in her mouth and starts gagging like she's about to puke. AND WHAT DO I SAY? "Don't puke on your dress or in your pretty hair!!!" It was one of those out of body moments where I could look down on myself and this scene and shake my head at myself. Of all the things I could or should have said, I picked the most vain one!

Of course, I change my tune and start apologizing like crazy and trying to relieve her pain. After about 15-20 minutes, she calms down, but it still unable to keep her eyes open for very long. BUT, I want a picture of this gorgeous hair so I make her stand in front of the Christmas tree and smile. The light hurts her wounded little eyes, so I tell her to "smile pretty and keep your eyes closed."

Fa La La La

Tomorrow night is my first Christmas "program" as a mom. Aubrey's school is having a Christmas concert and she has been singing the songs for weeks now. One of my greatest joys is listening to my daughter sing, especially praises to our Father! I'm sure the concert will be a little lame and not professional in any way, but I am beyond excited to sit and listen to the kids raise their little voices.

My excitement got me thinking about how much God must swoon when we sing praises to Him! I worry all too much about how I sound when I sing. If the song is too high, then I won't sing, but kids will sing anything. Even when Aubrey sings song off key or wrong words or the wrong tune, I love it. How much more does my Father in Heaven love it when I sing praises to Him! I am convicted. Convicted to sing with abandon without fussing over how it sounds and with a heart full of love!

I love being a parent. It teaches me so much about being a child of God!

Baby Jesus Rolls

I know, I know. Sounds cheesy, but it's just another way that I'm trying to help Aubrey remember the story of Jesus' birth. Our Baby Jesus Rolls were basically Crescent Roll Pigs in a Blanket made with Turkey Lit'l Smokies. (I can't wait to make Resurrection Rolls at Easter)!

We called the dough "swaddling cloths" and the Smokies were our little baby Jesus. Aubrey kept saying, "Hurry, He's freezing. We need to wrap Him up." I think she gets the idea! Mary had a new little baby and he needed to be warm and swaddled.

Having had a baby boy not so long ago, it blows my mind to think about how Mary must have felt. A new, first-time mom to the King of Kings, her Savior, the long anticipated Messiah! She swaddled a miraculous bundle of expectation. I wonder if she ever lost it while trying to navigate her new role as a mom or was it easier to remain patient and gentle because He was the God of the Universe? I wonder if she obsessed about doing everything the right way or the best way because she was raising the Prince of Peace. I think about how thrilling it is to see my son look into my eyes and smile that reckless abandon smile of his and I think it must have felt even more indescribable for Mary to see that same smile from her Savior!

How would my relationship with the Lord be different if I thought about His love for me like the way Hudson "loves" me? Minus the normal baby needs stuff, Hudson always smiles at me like I'm the greatest experience of his life. I realize that I need to think about the Lord's love for me this way. Instead of thinking of His love like one of those old scales where the 2 sides go up and down depending on which side has more, I need to picture His love for me every time I see Hudson smile!

Missional Santas

Here are my Missional Santas on parade. "What's that?" you say, "Isn't Santa really just Satan spelled funny?" Guess again, Friend. You see a bunch of ladies from the North Region of Mars Hill Bellevue are getting together for a Cookie Share on Monday night. We will all bring several dozen cookies and then swap them so we have a variety. Then we'll place our cookies in decorated boxes so we can deliver them to our neighbors or friends.

So, why Santa? Because it's a darn cute cookie that I had fun making and because it's memorable. I don't have much contact with my neighbors and I'm really excited to give them boxes of cookies this year. My hope is to be memorable and begin building relationships in an effort to shine the Truth of the Gospel.

I don't maintain the lie that Santa is alive or real and I really hate that he takes the thunder from our celebration of Jesus' arrival! However, he's a part of the culture of the world around us and I intend to use that culture for building bridges with people and not walls around myself and my family.

So, little Santas, go forth and open the door of friendship with my neighbors.

To Blog or Not to Blog

That is the question!

This is now my second attempt at maintaining a blog. My original blog was only used for the purpose of documenting my kids adorableness for our family who live near and far, particularly the far ones. I kept it up for a few months, but then lost my camera cord for the computer making uploading photos a real pain in the butt. At the time I thought a blog was strictly for showing photos of my kids.

Fast forward now to the 12 or so blogs that I read on a weekly basis and I've come to realize blogging is so much more. It's a window into the soul, well, it can be. I have learned, been challenged and laughed while reading these blogs, in addition to gushing over my friends and their adorable kids!

So, here goes nothing. Blog take 2.