Merry Christmas to all....

......and to all a good night. Ho, ho, ho!!

   Unless you were the Weavers the week of the 25th, year of our Lord 2013. What we got was a nasty puke bug, combined with fever and severe aches. I spent the 24th in bed and Marlin threw up literally 2 minutes before heading off to the children's christmas program that evening. He made it through, with sweat pouring off his noble brow (anyone who can handle the public with a rolling stomach has a very noble brow) and then headed home to bed.

   

So instead of church today we stayed at home, except for a trip to Nakumatt for the toilet paper and butter that he wasn't able to get yesterday. He even treated us to lunch to make Christmas at least a little special for this crew (his brow just gets nobler) while propping his head on his hands and falling asleep waiting for his chicken, ham and egg sandwich. I did manage to give each child their special Christmas plate with fruit and candy on it but that was the extent of my Christmas giving. My noble browed man and the boys had sneaked out to the animal market yesterday before the flu hit him and bought me 2 beautiful dark red plates with African wildlife on them. He had them personally inscribe the verse, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" on the first one, and "and He shall direct your path." on the second one. How ironic that he chose that verse while i was busy railing against God for allowing us to get sick over Christmas.

   It truly is the small foxes that spoil the vine. When we found out about Hadassah and then through her birth and death, i never struggled with any anger or bitterness toward God whatsoever. Not even once. Grief? YES! Pain? Absolutely! But complete surrender and peace rested in my heart. Yesterday? i was plain down mad at God. I felt we deserved a beautiful Christmas after losing our little girl and not celebrating with family, in a country that's far too hot to feel like "jingle bells, jingle bells." ( do you know how ridiculous that sounds in a country like this?)  But no, we get sick. Puking, cramping, run for the toilet kind of sick. The children had worked so hard for their program and then two of them almost didn't make it. So i sat down and had a good cry about it, and while ironing Emily's dress for the program it crossed my mind that perhaps now would be a good time to "thank Him in all things." Suffice it to say that while i didn't feel like a hundred bucks at the program, God was gracious and allowed Marlin to be there and the children did FANTASTIC with their program. I was so proud i nearly burst out crying. HOW did we ever manage to get such beautiful, amazing children? I think it may have more to do with their noble browed father than the other parent. She's still trying to smash the little foxes.

Merry Christmas?

   It's warm. We're barefoot. Short sleeves. No evergreens. No wreaths. No big family christmas dinner.....no grandma or grandpa to hug and say Merry Christmas. And we have to go to church on Christmas morning.

  Worst of all, no Hadassah.

  I don't feel like celebrating. I'd rather sit home and pity myself. I don't feel like Merry Christmas at all. So i thought we would do as little as possible and maybe Christmas could kind of slip by unnoticed.

  Until i found out that our family has to give a 5-10 minute program at church Christmas morning. What?!?!? Church was bad enough but we have to figure out something to SHARE?????

  I went along to Tenwek hospital yesterday with Marlin and some Kenyans. One was a mother of 9 who has a badly broken hip and the other a pastor who has throat ulcers. It was an exhausting day. I was unprepared for the emotional wave that took over, and by the end of the day my heart hurt so bad i felt physically sick from seeing all the places that i saw while having Hadassah. All i wanted to do was curl up in a corner and cry. Forget Christmas, it wasn't even on my radar. I visited with Stephanie Kelly for a bit and saw the christmas projects that they are doing with their children and my heart smote me. But not bad enough to think of doing anything about it.

  So now i'm forced to think on Christmas since i have to figure out what we're going to sing or share on Christmas day at church. Marlin is busy going to orphan programs and i know the responsibility of planning it falls on me. Oh yes, God knows exactly what He's doing.

  First of all, i need to repent of my selfish, self pitying heart. Add complaining to that. Instead of complaining about going to church on Christmas day, i will choose to thank God for the opportunity to share Christmas with the Kenyans. Deep breath....."God, thank you that i can go to church on Christmas. And while i'm at it i choose to thank you for those hard, backless benches."

  And next? Well, my time is limited so i'm not sure what's next. Christmas cookie baking will happen during the school holiday since the children want to be a part of it. I don't have any Christmas decorations, but that's ok. It's all about the heart after all. The children will be delighted to make snowflakes to hang and we can still have our peppermint hot chocolate on Christmas day morning. A Christmas plate for each child with an apple, an orange and a handful of candy. A birthday cake for Jesus to eat with our hot chocolate......perhaps a pink layer to symbolize that Hadassah gets to celebrate Christmas with Jesus, although we so badly wish she could celebrate it with us. But yet an opportunity for another choice. "Thank you Jesus that Hadassah is now celebrating with you."

   So we will celebrate christmas in our hearts. It's not about the snow, the candles, the nativity scenes, the hot chocolate, the carols, altho that is all a beautiful part of it. It's about Jesus and choosing life and joy.

  Life is about choices, is it not?

He looks like he deserves Christmas, don't you think?

Merry Christmas to me, myself, and you of course!

People, have i got something for YOU!!! Just because i love you. And latte's. Latte's are proof that God made coffee and hot milk to bless His children. Add some ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla, and your world will become very cozy and warm. A place you will want to visit many times, with me along of course, on a gingerbready wave. Who loves me? Huh? Let me hear it now........give a wave offering. Ooops, got a little mixed up with Gospel Express tent meetings.

Here you go.

GINGERBREAD LATTE

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
A 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced, or a healthy dash of powdered ginger
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup hot espresso
1 cup hot milk

In small saucepan, combine water, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and vanilla. Bring to a boil, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 15-20 minutes. Inhale and try not to fall in.

Combine espresso in a mug and add 1/4 cup of the gingerbread syrup. Top off with heated milk. If you desire, (are you kidding??!!! WE SO DESIRE!) garnish with whipped cream and sprinkle with grated nutmeg. And let me tell, your eyes will roll towards heaven and you will utter a most profound thanks. For me of course, for helping you to realize what you've been missing this Christmas season. :)

I love you too. And my children REALLY love me as they sip away on large mugs. Who's their mama???!!!!

Christmas in the air.......

Christmas is in the air and while we don't make a big deal of gifts, we will be exchanging a few this year. It's always fun to watch the children's faces when they open them. The excitement is contagious and if you add a cup of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and crushed candy canes, it makes some special memories. So the kids and i were discussing gifts over breakfast this morning and Eric said he wants to get dad his favorite chocolate. Zac thought he'd buy dad a new gun. Eric squashed that idea flat in no time. Thankfully Zac took it in good humor....you never know. I eventually took Jacob into my room to get him ready for the day and after a few minutes Emily comes into the room. Casually she asks me what my favorite kind of chocolate is and i tell her that i love chocolate covered cherries. She goes flying out and i hear her telling the boys, "I GOT IT, I KNOW WHAT KIND TO Get!!" So, so cute and so, so transparent. I love it! And i intend to enjoy every chocolate covered cherry i get. :)

Another idea i would really like to try this year is a christmas countdown, or an advent calender type thing. Each day we'll pick a piece of paper out of a christmas box and we'll do that special thing. Something as simple as a moonlit walk, a story under a cozy blanket........if you want great ideas check out the blog on my sidebar, "Daily Pleasures." Most people do it the whole month of December, but i think we'll only do it the last week or 2. Those small things mean the world to the children, it only takes a bit of planning on mama's part, something i'm not always good at, but it's worth it. It's all about relationships and tying those heart strings between parents and children. Face it, no matter how badly you want to be a good parent, we mess up and i think it's important to be proactive in the good things. The kind of things that the kids will talk about when grown. When my mother spent a day with us last week we were baking christmas cookies. The house was warm and bright, it smelled good and there was flour everywhere. The kids were lining up for turns to cut out gingerbread cookies and the excitement was running high. (on their part, i was just trying to stay sane and calm) My mom stood to the side and watched and she kept saying over and over how this reminds her of her mom and how she used to bake christmas cookies and make homemade candy. Now, we never celebrated christmas at home except for a family gathering on christmas day, and while i appreciate my parents hearts in wanting to stay away from commercialism, i also have seen the beauty in making it a special time. It really struck me as interesting and touching though, how much that special time of year stuck with my mom. She has forgotten so much but she clearly remembers that warm and exciting time of year, and how her mother made it so special. I want that for my children. I want them to remember me at christmas (they better come visit to or i'll throw cookies at them...just kidding ;)and how mom made it a wonderful time of year. It's hard to always take the time to organize something when i'm already so busy, but it's worth it. To see the joy on their little faces, and watch their eyes so full of excitement and most of all, security. Dad and mom love them, Jesus loves them and all is right with their world.