This Christmas Season...

I have been reminding myself that...

•  Simple is best, online shopping is good, and gift cards make nice gifts
• Two batches of Christmas cookies are plenty
• A clean house is better than a perfectly decorated one (of course, if you can have both, good for you)
• Making treats with the children is a lot of fun

• Mud will not steal my joy, mud will not steal my joy, mud will not..... (we are building a chicken barn and have mud and dirt everywhere due to a very warm December, but it could be worse, it could be snow!)
• My children are beautiful (even if their clothes are not new or perfectly coordinated) 

• My beautiful Advent devotional can be read in January
• Kind words to my children are better than perfect schedules
• Listening to Brooklyn read to me, s-l-o-w-l-y sounding out words, is a privilege
• Always-dead batteries in my camera mean I have creative children taking many hilarious video clips 
• Soup and bread make a fine meal for guests
• A tea party with the nieces is a special privilege even when you think you're almost too busy to plan it
• Busy Daddy's who read to their little girls are pretty special

• God is Peace, and Hope, and Everything I need

And just because I like us.......

The Week Before Christmas

It's the week before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature is stirring, except maybe a mouse.
The children are tucked in their beds for the night,
The week's been exhausting, with lots of late nights.
Filled with excitement of the days ahead,
Good times with cousins dance in their head.
Christmas is coming, and so is the fun,
Hurry, hurry, there's still lots to be done,
Cleaning and laundry and baking galore,
Organize the mudroom and so much more,
One more day of schoolbooks, oh yes, 
Then a two week break will be the best.
We'll stay up late and sleep in each morn,
Laugh and play until we're worn,
Eat lots of food, make lots of noise,
There's fun to be had with all those boys,
The girls will giggle and talk about their horse,
And play Polly Pockets and Dutch Blitz of course.
The moms will talk as fast as they can 
And cook more food for the hungry band,
The dads will catch up as only men can,
And go to B Dubs as a football fan.
We spend weeks looking forward to all the fun, 
And before you can blink, it's over and done.
We'll keep all these memories safe in our heart,
And someday we'll tell stories straight from our heart,
About the good old days when the kids were young,
Life was so easy, and so much fun.
We'll forget about the three naughty boys,
And the trapper's shenanigans will all sound like joys.
The emotional girls, we hardly can bear,
Will grow up and cook for us as we sit in our chair.
They'll talk of their young'uns, and we'll just smile,
Remembering them, yeah, it's been awhile.
So here's to the rocking chair and the good days to come, 
Getting old just might be fun.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
(Sometimes a little poetry is therapeutic :))

The Warrior

you seem so strong,
fighting along,
through battle after battle.
you encourage the weak,
give words to the speechless.
you lift the hands that hang down,
help the brother to go on,
fight on your knees for them all.
and everyone says you're so very brave, 
but I know.
I know where your strength comes from.
I see you wrestle through the long, lonely nights,
begging for God to stop the pain.
I hear you say, whisper it low,
I'm not superman.
and the questions and fears
you say through your tears,
nobody hears but God.
but He gives you courage 
to fight like a man, 
and hold your shoulders high.
and He never fails to come when you call,
and fills you with His strength alone.
And that is enough,
when everything falls,
to know that God's on your side.
He's writing your story,
and He's not finished yet,
and you already know Who wins.
so continue the battle, 
though it's fierce and it's hard,
God's not leaving you now,
and His strength is enough,
for the days that you face,
and someday He'll call you home.
as you rest in His arms,
and hear Him say, welcome,
you'll know,
the fight was totally worth it.