Thanksgiving and the Latest From Here

Sunday, November 27, 2011

    I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We certainly did ~ we had over thirty people at our house and a lot of good food....a walk to the park, fun games, and delicious desserts.  We don't have a lot of family, and both sets of grandparents live several states away, so instead we got together with other families from our church.  It was a really blessed time!


 God gave us beautiful weather for Thanksgiving!  We even got rain in the evening (rare for where we live!) so that was a real treat. 
 

Our tables were full and crowded!  Paper plates, silverware, cups, and napkins came in SUPER handy.  We had bowls of candy corn at each table, so after the meal, each person took one and told one thing they were thankful for. 


Isaac was so excited for everyone to come.  While we were waiting on the porch, he was playing jump-rope with my dog leash, (or trying to, anyway) and I was surprised to hear him say, "Rachel, put down coffee - come play with me!"  It was so cute!

Unfortunately, although I  had great intentions of taking tons of pictures on my camera...somehow I got seriously distracted with all the festivities and my camera sat on the desk the WHOLE time!  Courtney ended up taking all the pictures from our day, so you can visit her blog to see more of our Thanksgiving.

Yesterday David was busy working on his bike - apparently his brakes weren't working.  His job took a while, but Isaac and Joshua were captivated and were happily occupied "helping" him for over an hour! 


Apparently it was really stuck!  He got it though!


Joshua can be extremely photo-genic, but he sure was having trouble yesterday.  When he gets silly he likes to put his hands over his eyes or do this goofy grin.  Here, he just wasn't looking at the camera!  But he's cute anyway.

I am so thankful for these boys!  A year ago we were still waiting to meet Josh.  And two years ago we had just gotten an update on Isaac.  And now, we finally have both little guys home.  I am so incredibly thankful that God blessed us with them!

I took Joshua for a walk the other day, and we were looking at a nativity scene.  Thinking he knew all the figures from his Christmas book we've read over and over, I asked him who the baby was in the manger.  Without missing a beat, he replied "Baby Moses!"  Huh!  Sounds like we have some work to do!

 
So that's about the latest from here.  Today we're putting up the Christmas tree - I'll definitely be doing a post about that soon! 

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Cute Turkey Cookies

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Today, being "Thanksgiving Eve".....well, it was (still is, actually) a very very busy day.  We're having a pretty large group of friends coming over tomorrow to celebrate with us!  So today we're making pies, salads, TURKEY, etc. 

So anyway, I was wondering how we could have Thanksgiving this year without making these adorable little turkey cookies?  With Isaac and Joshua?  They make any project fun.  We got all the ingredients at the store the other day and had fun making one this afternoon together.


No, Jonathan wasn't helping to construct his very own turkey cookie.   He happened to be passing by and since he seems to make a rare appearance on my blog ~ he jumped in for a pic!  At this point, I don't think either Isaac or Josh knew what we were doing; they were just happy to be holding such delicious packages. 

 Have I ever mentioned that Isaac is the total clown of the family?  He has so totally lived up to what his name means, "Laughter".  He is such a funny guy!  But back to the cookies.

 Double-stuff oreos with chocolate frosting stuffed in the cracks and candy corn make the back of this
yum-licious creature.  The chocolate frosting acts as the "glue" that holds the whole cookie together.  I used five candy corns.

More glue, plus a Reese's PB cup, leveled off, to make the body.  I think I would use more frosting next time, as I ended up with a pretty weak and fragile cookie.  It would not have made it off the kitchen counter without falling apart.  (Thankfully, it didn't need to - if you get what I mean!) 


Use one whopper to make the head for this turkey. 

Who ever guessed that glue could taste so good?  For once, a glue that has no "DANGER, keep away from small children, toxic if swallowed" type labelsJust good old yumminess.  Except, if you look at the ingredient list on the back, maybe it should have a warning label on it.  Hmmm. 


This is the cookie, 3/4 done.  Funny how the home-made version of these cookies never quite look like the magazine picture???!!


And here it is, the finished creation!  I was slightly disapointed that my little turkey friend turned out so messy.  Good for eating, but I was hoping for some more impressive blog pics!!  Fortunately that was ONLY my first try.  We have plenty more ingredients left, as you can see from the pictures.  Perhaps when I finally get the hang of it I'll post my professional picture.   Meanwhile, I'll just make heavenly delicious mistakes!!

Aha!  They finally got it!  When I added the eyes and nose, they realized what it was actually supposed to be!  Isaac was a little nervous about holding the tray....but I told him to just hold it steady and smile.   He was trying to figure out how to hold the tray steady, smile, and look at the turkey and tell it to smile, too all without dropping it! 

He did fine.  And they both enjoyed an early turkey feast. 

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If I Only Had a Year

Saturday, November 19, 2011

I was struck with a thought last night:
What if I only had a year to live.

What if I knew that I had one year left.  How would that affect the way I lived today? 

 I know for a fact it would change me.  Think about it: you're told you have a terminal condition.  The doctor says he's not sure how long you have - could be two years, maybe less.  How would that change your outlook on life?  How would it change the way your treat your family, the activities you participate in, the priorities you set, and most importantly, the time you spend with your Heavenly Father each day?


As soon as that thought hit me last night.....my first comeback was "oh, I'd definitely spend more time with Jesus each day!" 

I am saved - washed by the blood of the Lamb - I know my destination is Heaven.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will see Jesus face to face the moment I die......and yet, if I were to die today, I'd feel grossly unprepared.   I'd wish I had spent more time at my Saviour's feet than in constant pursuit of the "urgent".   I know I would wish I had done more for my King ~ not that it could earn me any favor beyond what Jesus has done for me ~ but simply to have done more to please HimEspecially the little things, the seemingly "insignificant" things that no one else sees.  I'd wish I had done more for the "least of these" just to have put a smile on God's face. 

"And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."
Matthew 25:40

I would wish I had listened more carefully to that Still Small Voice......paid more rapt attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  And yes, I admit it - I don't always listen and follow God's promptings.  I know I would wish I had obeyed every time I felt God telling me to do something!  Even the little things. Especially the little things.

I know for a fact I would lament over the time I didn't spend with Jesus.  You know, the more I get to know my Saviour I realize how well don't know Him - if that makes sense.  It's like, the more time I spend with Him, the more I know of Him.... the bigger and more incredible He becomes to me.  I realize that what I do know about God is simply a drop in the bucket in comparison to Who He is.  One of my favorite songs goes, "...the whole universe is witness to only a part of what You've done...."

There is so. Much. More. To learn about the One Who created me. 

When I think about the enormous sacrifice Jesus made for me - what He's given me and what it all means - I realize that any time I spend on that which does not glorify HIM is absolutely and utterly worthless.

I know I would very much regret the time wasted on selfish pursuits, even if it *seemed* at the time like I deserved it.  I think about all the time and money I've spent on clothes and makeup....oh goodness I know I would wish I had spent more time focusing on higher priorities.  Clothes and makeup are fine and can be used for a good purpose - but there is a careful balance that must be struck between it and time with GodI would wish I had spent more time proclaiming Christ's reputation instead of mine.
In light of all that ~ how can I focus on myself, day after day?  Self shows up all the time, in the little things.  "That doesn't fit in with my plans".   "That's not fair to me."  "I don't like that."   "I need to buy this."
What about those who don't even know where their next meal will come from - and even more importantly, who don't know Christ?  What about pleasing God and living every minute for His glory? 

"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"
Matthew 16:26a

So as I thought about all this.....I fell back on the age old "I have plenty of time - I'll probably live 'till I'm eighty."  I found myself thinking that "only if I knew my life was really fragile and didn't have long to live would I really get serious about all this."  "If a doctor told me he didn't know how much time I had left....that would be a call for serious change in my life."  

The scary thing is that I don't know how much time I have left.  It really could be a year.  My life is fragile.  I could die any time.

This is what calls for serious life change.  The fact that I don't know the hour, the day, the year.  My life is hanging by a thread.....and yet it's totally natural for me to live as if I'll go on forever.  I think that's the perspective Satan wants us to have.....it's called apathy.  Complacency.   If we don't remind ourselves on a consistent basis of what life is all about, we will fall into the trap of thinking "who cares, I'll do it later".  It's so incredibly easy to forget that we were made for a purpose.  There is a reason we are here. 

And it's not so we can have fun!  We are called to live a life that pleases the One Who created us.

"And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him Who died for them and rose again."
2 Corinthians 5:15

Wow.  I am called to be a daughter of the King of Kings ~ to serve Him with every breath that I take.  And I do it gladly, because it's nothing in comparison to what He's done for me.  But I have to constantly remind myself that I am not my own...I have been bought with a price.  Everything I have - talents, money, time, etc. - is all Christ's.  He's the One Who gave it to me.  If I have one year left to live, it is a gift from Him.  And therefore, it is HIS time.  So I want to use every bit of that time for HIM.

And who knows - maybe I really do only have one year left!  Maybe I have fourty. Or sixty.  However long it is...I will eventually come to the end of it.  Right now sixty years seems like an eternity - but it ticks by, and pretty soon I'll be looking back at sixty years passed by.  I want to use the time I have in the best way possible - to serve and glorify Jesus Christ.

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Back From An Incredible Few Weeks!

Friday, November 18, 2011

My blog has been....woefully silent....the last few weeks (as I promised it would be).  Our family vacation to Alabama was wonderful ~ and just a week later, Courtney and I flew to California to visit some wonderful friends.  We spent a whole week with them and had such a good time! 


We were even able to go to Disneyland during our stay - that was incredible!  

We were blessed to spend time with our friends......it was a wonderful time of fellowship and fun. 

I do have a regular post forthcoming ~ so do bear with me!  Just wanted to let you all know that we are back and I will hopefully be back to regular posting.

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About This Blog

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not
on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will
make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

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