Quote of the Day

Christianity, if false, is of no importance & if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it can't be is moderately important.
- C.S. Lewis

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Sisters Are Great


A few years ago we lamented the fact that Raelea didn't have any siblings close in age to her. With this most recent adoption we "fixed" that problem, but at first it didn't seem to really "fix" anything because Zoe & Raelea didn't really "do" anything together except push each other off of Mom's lap.

Well, the corner has been turned and now, daily, I get the pleasure of watching the two of them enjoy sisterhood.


Okay, I'm not sure about this last picture. They're either hugging or Raelea is trying to take down Zoe. Since Zoe is smiling, I will assume this is a hug.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Happy, Happy Birthday, Chris!


Happy 43rd birthday to my dear husband! You're the best and now I am only one year older than you (teehee). FinallyFinally, our birthday season has come to a close. It has been grueling, but fun as always!

Tradition, Tradition












Saturday, December 12, 2009

Is It Just Me?

So, we were having our family devotional time the other day and we were reading about Moses and the burning bush. Of course, I've heard the story many times, but sometimes you just take special notice of small things that mean a lot. Here's how it reads in my Bible:
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord apeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bus is not burned." (Exodus 3:1-3)

Now the story goes on, of course, but this is the part that caught my attention. Why? Well, I was thinking about old Moses, out tending his flock of sheep, going about his work for the day, no doubt, his mind a hundred different things. La-di-da-di-da - humming a little tune, maybe? When what catches his eye? A burning bush that didn't really burn up. Hmm, never seen that happen before. Now. Right now. Moses has a choice to make. He could give it a quick glance, chalk it up to some quirky thing and keep on going about his work. No doubt he had "better" things to do with his time than check out the bush! OR he could (and did) STOP, LOOK, INVESTIGATE. When he did that, what did he find, or shall I say whom did he find?

Now what this got me thinking about is how many times in my day I DON'T stop, look and listen to things (or people) that catch my eye or are all around me. How many times I am TOO BUSY to take the time to investigate something or someone. And it struck me, what, or more importantly whom, am I missing?

It is a busy, crazy season. I don't want it to be one where I lose sight of the One whom we celebrate. So, with that thought, here is the quote for the day (I'll include it in the post, since when I change it up above it will be gone, but here is will live on with this post).

"Sometimes it seems like God is difficult to find and impossibly far away. We get so caught up in our small daily duties and irritations that they become the only things that we can focus on. What we forget is that God's love and beauty are all around us, every day, if only we would take the time to look up and see them. "
- Matthias, Correction Weblog, 11-01-03

Sprouting Up All Over


Now that it is cold outside, we have trees sprouting up inside our house...
The first one is our mitten tree that appears every year about this time. It is a wonderful little sprout that grows in the foyer and the kids dry their mittens on it.

The second tree is making it's first appearance this year. It is a Jesse Tree which we are using as part of our Advent celebrations this year. It has been a wonderful way to keep all of us focused on Jesus during this chaotic season. Each evening, after dinner, we read a story from the Old Testament and talk about how that story points us to Jesus. After the discussion, we put a picture on the Jesse Tree that reminds of the story we read. If we didn't miss any nights (which isn't going to happen) there would be 24 little pictures on the "tree" on Christmas Eve.

I hope you all are enjoying your Advent season, as well :-)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Best Cookies - EVER

I made these cookies tonight and I just HAVE to share the recipe with you. They are our favorites. I personally like them with cherry kisses, but Chris prefers them with mint kisses and the kids like them best with caramel kisses. Just make them all!

Fudgy Bonbons


1 12 oz. pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
60 chocolate kisses (we like the cherry filled ones or the mint ones, or the caramel ones)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
2 oz white chocolate chips
1 tsp. shortening

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium, saucepan, combine chocolate chips and butter; cook and stir over very low heat until the chips are melted and smooth; add sweetened condensed milk; mix well.

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In medium bowl, combine flour, chocolate mixture and vanilla. Mix well. Shape 1 Tbsp. of dough around each candy kiss, covering completely. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 6-7 minutes. Cookies will be soft and appear shiny, but become firm as they cool. DO NOT OVER BAKE. Remove from sheets and let cool.

In small saucepan, combine white chips and shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Store in tightly covered container. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Happy Birthday, Marcus!

A day late, but still with a lot of love - Happy 6th Birthday, Marcus!
We love you a ton and are so proud of how much you've learned in the last 1 1/2 years. You bring so many smiles to our family and we can't imagine life without you.