Moses' Birthday

I remember having big plans for Jack's birthday: lots of decorations + good food + guests.  But then I was faced with the cost of feeding a large group of people and suddenly it seemed a bit unrealistic. The paper products alone cost about $50, and when all was said and done the total expenses for the party were over $100. And Jack doesn't even remember the event so... lesson learned.

So as much I was would have LOVED to have everyone that is special to us attend our celebration of Moses' first year of life, I knew it wasn't practical considering we are so tight on money these days. Instead we chose to keep it very simple with only family and our church small group in attendance. We kept it inexpensive by keeping decorations limited to one, lone "Happy Birthday" sign and using leftover plates and napkins from Jack's birthday. My mom wanted to provide something small for the little guests, so she filled these paper bags with some goodies and I decorated them.

My mom also let us host the party at her house and offered to buy the birthday cake and some refreshments. Tim's mom provided almost all the food - which was amazing - aside from some egg salad we made and some delish coleslaw I asked my sister bring. Basically, all we spent on the party was the cost of a carton of eggs.

Frivolities aside, between delicious food, the cake and the gift opening I think Moses enjoyed himself. So much so that promptly after opening his gifts he went down for a nap.

Sounds like a perfect birthday to me!

Sledding Season

I love that some cultural traditions live on despite time and change. We celebrated New Year's Day with some good old fashioned sledding and though I begrudged the thought of getting Jack and myself all suited up to go outside in the snow, I knew it was the right thing to do in the spirit of living life with eyes wide open + playing with my kids more (as per this year's goals). And I'm so glad I chose to deny my lazy side and go because it was great. The fresh air, being out in the community with fellow sledders, the rush as you go whizzing down the hill. I watched a little girl go down the hill by herself and as she laid back on her bright red plastic sled, face to the sky, her expression was one of pure, unfettered joy.

If you haven't gone sledding in a while, you should. 

It's good for the soul.

 

Photo Shoot

A week or so ago, our friend Danielle from Ever After Imagery treated us to a photo shoot! We've never had professional pictures taken of us ever, so this was such a blessing.  It was such a fun afternoon and Tim and I felt so at ease. Here are a handful of my favorites:

Celebrating Advent

As promised, the advent post. 

Up until this year I don't think I even really understood what advent was except in the general sense that it was the Christian term for the weeks leading up to Christmas Day (the birth of Christ). I definitely felt clueless as to how to fully recognize it. Easter always felt easier to invest myself in emotionally.  The power of the Cross is always so tangible for me - it is by His blood that I am healed. The power of the manger seemed less so. I loved thinking about holding a tiny baby Jesus in my arms and what that might be like, but beyond that it just didn't hit me in the same way as imagining Jesus on the cross, dying for my sins.  So I always left it at "The birth is nothing without the cross" or something like that. Maybe it was because, as I mentioned, I just didn't really know what to do with the advent season. After all, nowhere in Scripture are we called to recognize this holiday (or Easter) in a certain way - it's based on human tradition but is truly a matter of personal conviction.

Nevertheless, I didn't like that Christmas felt void of the fullness experienced at Easter. I felt like I was missing out on a wonderful opportunity to marvel at the humble beginnings of the Word made flesh (John 1:14). So this year, I decided to stop letting my lack of "powerful feelings" keep me from experiencing the true joy that can be found in intentionally taking part in the advent season. One of those ways is by following along in the Desiring God: Good News of Great Joy daily devotional. The reflections are brief but packed with good stuff. I really appreciated the preface which gave a short synopsis on what Advent is and why it's celebrated (helpful!):

Advent is an annual season of patient waiting, hopeful expectation, soul-searching, and calendar-watching marked by many churches, Christian families, and individual followers of Jesus. There’s no biblical mandate to observe Advent. It’s an optional thing—a tradition that developed over the course of the church’s history as a time of preparation for Christmas Day. Many of us find observing Advent to be personally enjoyable and spiritually profitable. The English word “Advent” is from the Latin adventus, which means “coming.” The advent primarily in view each December is the first coming of Jesus two millennia ago. But Jesus’s second coming gets drawn in as well, as the popular Christmas carol “Joy to the World” makes plain: 

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

I never knew that advent meant "coming." Knowing that helps direct my heart towards fostering a sense of anticipation. This may be obvious to others but for me, as I mentioned, this year is the first time I am approaching Christmas with new eyes and my whole heart. That said, I highlighted the part about there being no biblical mandate to observe Advent because I think it's common within Christians circles to promote the opposite - that you have to keep it strictly about Jesus and nothing more. Which is why I also appreciate this part:

Christians throughout the world have their different ways of celebrating Advent. Some light candles. Some sing songs. Some eat candies. Some give gifts. Some hang wreaths. Many of us do all of the above. Christians have developed many good ways of extending the celebration of Jesus’s coming beyond merely the short 24 hours of December 25. The incarnation of the Son of God, “for us and for our salvation,” as the old creed says it, is too big a thing to appreciate in just one day. Indeed, it’s something the Christian will celebrate for all eternity. Our prayer is that this little devotional ebook might help you keep Jesus as the center and greatest treasure of your Advent season. The candles and candies have their place, but we want to make sure that in all the December rush and hubbub we adore Jesus above all.

Yes. Good. Amen. Indeed all the trimmings of Christmas can be a serious distraction but are not all bad so long as they're kept in the background while Jesus stands at the forefront. We love putting up Christmas decorations, watching Christmas movies, and taking part in the usual Christmas festivities.

But the commercialism does bother us and now that we have kids, we are more conscious of how the other side of Christmas (Santa et al.) effects their (and our) focus of the season. For those of you wondering, we aren't doing Santa. But he won't be banned from our home - he'll simply stand in the same line up as any other fictional character - not real but fun to think about. Speaking of our kids, another way we are celebrating Advent is to do a 12 Days till Christmas countdown with the focus being again on anticipating the birth of Jesus. Jack is already solid on this knowledge, and I'm thankful that he really does show excitement that "Jesus was born on Christmas day!" But we'll also do something like this as a tangible way of experiencing the anticipation of his coming (thanks to Jami Nato for the inspiration):

In the future, I'd love to do a Jesse tree and make ornaments like this (thanks again, Jami Nato) - but it was a little ambitious for this year and a little advanced for Jack.

I've always loved the lighting of the advent wreath growing up.  My mom always bought the colored candles: three purple for the wise men, one pink for Mary and one white for Jesus. I guess you're supposed to use evergreens as well as a symbol of life but I adopted this design from the author over at Simple Notebook a few years ago. I didn't find a bundt cake pan until a few months ago (there not as easy to come by as you'd think) so this is the first year we're actually lighting candles. I found the filler + place mat at Target for $8 - total steal!

We also invested in a Nativity scene this year.  I love Fontanini sets the best, because they're more realistic and they remind me of the one my mom has. But they're seriously expensive, and this one was on sale (Tim went out at midnight on Black Friday to get it - a first). I felt it important to have the visual reminder a nativity set offers, especially for Jack. Right now it's kept on top of the book case in our dining room but as the boys get older and more responsible, I hope to keep it in a more accessible location where it can be interacted with.

Of course, these are all just visual cues and material ways of recognizing Advent. I could read a piece of Scripture a day, or light a candle every Sunday or glance up at my manger scene throughout the day but if my heart isn't right, none of it matters. The key for me, as I mentioned earlier, is to put my heart into this. Which is why I want to commit the next 14 days (and in future years, the whole advent season) to taking time each day to be in prayer and in the Word in hopeful expectation that I will wake up Christmas morning filled with a new revelation of God's presence in my life. My desire for this came when I began to think about what it would have been like two thousand years ago to live without the knowledge of the Gospel because it hadn't yet been fulfilled. Imagine being a Jew knowing that the Messiah, your Messiah, was going to be born in a few short weeks. Or, to bring it closer to home, imagine if you knew for certain that Jesus was coming back in the flesh this December 25, 2012. Imagine if on that day you knew you'd see him, touch him, hold him. I know I'd be giddy with anticipation. I'd be preparing. I'd be telling everyone. I'd be freaking.out. So I want to anticipate Jesus coming into my life in a new way on December 25. I don't know exactly what that will look like, but I do know that if I'm earnestly seeking more of him this Advent than something is going to be changed within me by Christmas morning. 

So that's me.

What are some ways you and your family recognize Advent 

or simply celebrate the Christmas season? 

Yeah, about that...

Day 6 of 31 Days of William Morris:

I fail miserably.

Guys, it was just a bad week to commit to an attention-to-detail kind of project. As I mentioned earlier this week, my dad had quadruple bypass surgery and that, among a few other pressing things, just took up all my time and mental energy. So I'm going to bow out now because I know with how busy our schedule is this month, it's just not practical for me to try and complete projects + blog about them in such a short time span. I'll continue to work on them as I find the time and then post if I feel they're worthy of highlighting; i.e. probably not the before/after of my sock drawer.

As a consolation post, I'll tell you about the time we took Jack to the historical village:

First, we stopped by the craft tables so Jack could make a buckeye necklace (as seen in pictures below) and I could make a turkey door hanger thingy AND a pine cone door hanger with a bell. I mean, free holiday decor. I'll take it. Even if it's for the kids. Then Jack spotted the animals and wanted to pet them.

 Then he wanted to make some good old fashioned rope. Tim helped. The sun hurt his eyes, I guess.

They tested its strength to make sure these people pretending to be from olden days knew what they were doing. Apparently they did.

We stopped for photo ops along the way with Aunt Katie and Grandma. Whenever possible, Jack took the opportunity to poke Moses. Or, in the picture with Tim, look like he was having the worst time ever (false: he was not). 

In the case of this family photo (our one and only...seriously. For a number of reasons, including - mostly - I don't photograph well) Jack chose to cut the shenanigans and without any prompting, carefully place his hand on Moses' shoulder. It's as if he somehow knew it's "what you do" for a family portrait. Moses, with this same uncanny sense of etiquette, turned and smiled at exactly the right moment.  I think they conferred privately beforehand knowing it was now or never - if not for this one picture, there may never be photographic evidence we belonged together.

After this, we stopped by the schoolhouse and sat the boys in the little desks which, much like the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts, seemed to determine their futures as students: Jack - fun, intelligent, a little mischievous. Moses - happy, good listener, teacher's pet.

We closed the afternoon with some apple cider and popcorn while listening to a brass quartet play. Jack ate almost an entire bag of popcorn himself and then led my mother-in-law very purposely by the hand back towards the popcorn machine where I was sure he was going to ask for more. Instead, he walked straight to the garbage can, dropped in his empty bag and headed back to our table without another word. As a staunch anti-litterbug, it was a proud moment.

For the price of 50 cent refreshments + that $1 raffle ticket for a hand-made quilt (we did not win), we had one of those priceless afternoons they tell you about in Mastercard ads. Except better.

Indianapolis

Last weekend we traveled to Indianapolis to stay with Tim's sister and brother-in-law. We've never been to their house and a visit was long overdue. It was a five and a half hour drive, as long as it takes us to get to my sister's house in Canada. Thankfully the drive there was not nearly as painful as the drive back, but more on that later.

Katie and Dustin live just outside of the city, near a town called Zionsville which is clean, picturesque and home to about 20 mega-churches - literally. Here is the one Tim decided to check out while were there. It's called "Eagle Church" which is just strange to me. Anyways, this is a picture of their building. Yes, that is the church. They own the whole thing. And trust me, it's huge.

source

Considering the humble beginnings of the early church and their desire to live and worship in simple intimacy, I feel like Church in the Biblical sense is no longer mirrored in what North Americans experience as "church" today. But that's a whole 'nother post for a whole 'nother time.

Anyways, Friday night, Katie and Dustin treated us to an amazing dinner at a fancy restaurant. Moses wasn't wearing pants (just a onesie) but no one seemed to care. In fact, a number of women stopped to tell him how handsome he was. You go Moses, you go.

I feel like Indy is one of the most under rated cities in America. It has everything and is surrounded by lots of beautiful neighborhoods. There are carriage rides, TONS of restaurants, an incredible Children's Museum (rated best in the country, I think), a massive football stadium, a canal with gondolas, cool hotels, is home to the Indy 500...the list goes on. And yet, you never really hear about it. Or at least, I hadn't. Anyways, it's a great city. We did a quick tour of it but spent most of our time at The Children's Museum.

source

Considering Jack woke up at 5:30 a.m. (!) that morning (Saturday), we had braced ourselves for meltdown city in the face of so much over-stimulation.  But God looked upon us with mercy and Jack was actually a total dream the whole time and even lasted through lunch without causing a scene. PTL. By the way, for as amazing as it was I didn't take many pictures while we were there. We bought a new pocket camera about a month ago because our other one died and it's just not awesome at taking pictures in low lighting. And I hate using flash. Anyways....here's some of the better ones:

All together, the weekend was a total hit and we loved every minute of it. Except for the part where both the boys scream cried (scream cried) for the last half hour of the drive. It was mental torture. I kid you not, I was brought to tears but also laughed a little too because I felt so hysterical and out of my mind all at the same time. Needless to say, we were thankful to arrive home and collect our sanity.

Goderich 2012

We just got back from a great week in Canada on Lake Huron.

The calming hues of Lake Huron

We go almost every year. And every year, I cry a little when we have to leave. As if its the last time we'll ever be there again in history. But we always return, eventually. Thankfully.

The Pier and Boardwalk

This year was a little extra special because of some extra special company.

The traditional pose of most hipster self portraits. Ironic.

Richard and Sarah flew all the way from England just to be with us.
And maybe to see Toronto.

And maybe because she's been hearing about Goderich for 20 years
and wanted to see what all my raving was about.
You know the kind of friends that you love so much it hurts?
These are those kind of friends.

One of the "must sees" was the Goderich museum. For some reason, the museum has always lived in my mind as wonderfully kitch and a place we must always visit while we're there. Sarah was anxious to see the two-headed calf that I used to reference. However, I think the overall experience underwhelmed. Displays of old farming equipment and vintage bicycles are just not that special when you've paid a large sum of money to fly to see them. I think the whole experience was marred by the fact that I twisted my ankle, collapsed in a pile of gravel just before arriving and ended up limping around rather pitifully.

Old medicinal cabinet at Huron County Museum. Riveting stuff.

Because of my injury, I spent the last sunny day hobbling around a museum and then laid up in the cottage. After that, it rained for the next 48 hours. Determined to make the most of all our last days together we had a dance party in the cottage and played Yahtzee.
We also swam in the rain. And it was glorious.

Rich and Jack at the town square.

The last day, we spent time in a little town called Bayfield (which, naturally, I took no pictures of) ate lunch at a great "British" pub, implored Sarah and Rich to try their first corn dog (which was gross) and ate sorbet. Then we had to say goodbye which meant I cried off and on for the next 24 hours.

We were thankful for the rays of sun on our last evening. 

It gave me a chance to take some pictures of the boys. So classic. So adorable!

I also took two now traditional pictures: 

One of all the grandkids and 

One of Jack kneeling on the picnic table. 

How we managed to get him to make a similar pose and expression is beyond me.

I already can't wait until our return to the sandy, soothing shores of Lake Huron.
Come quickly!

The Boys and their Nan.

 This photograph is so honest, and I love it.

For Tim

I laughed at Tim a lot today because, for whatever reason, his internal thermostat is way off and he has been sweating profusely even though the rest of us are fine. His skin is just straight up damp to the touch and his face is lit-er-ally dripping with perspiration. Night and day. Not sure what's going on there but it makes me laugh a little. But in all seriousness, I want to take just a moment to recognize Tim for the incredible dad that he is to our little guys. So amazing. So patient. So loving. So dad-of-the-year.

For Tim - 

Your steadfast servant-heart keeps us warm and fed and full of love.

Your calming presence is what carries us through the end of a hard day.

Our strength is found in the security of your always open arms.

We have everything we need.

Because we have God.

Because we have eachother.

Because we have you. 

I love our little family. 

And we love you.

The Story of Mother's Day (with videos)

Dear Jack,

For Mother's Day this year I received no gift from you. I was also not at the receiving end of any acts of service (breakfast in bed would have been nice). It's ok, I forgive you in light of these circumstances:

1. Your brother also failed in these departments.
2. You are only two and have yet to learn the functions of a stovetop.
3. Someday in the near future, you and your brother will consider Mother's Day to be the best day of the year (as all children do) and will respond accordingly.

However, May 13 wasn't a total bust thanks to your kind and loving father who made sure I need not lift my little finger too often. After he made us all a delicious dinner, we decided to go to the park because the weather was nice and a family outting seemed appropriate for the occasion (it was Mother's Day, in case you've already forgotten). When we got there, you spent the first five minutes getting across the wobbly bridge - as it turns out you are a very cautious child when it comes to playground equipment. 

After this video was shot, you stood around for a long time not doing anything. It got very boring. I mean, here we are at the park, it's Mother's Day (!) and you aren't even trying to pretend to have fun. What's up with that? Well apparently, it was because you were trying to have a bowel movement (yes, I caught it on video and you were not impressed). 

So after standing there for a good few minutes, wind blowing through your hair, silently gripping the bars for some leverage with a blank but flushed look on your face (concentration), you finally finished your business and decided you'd like to try out the rest of the place. In case you were wondering what your brother was doing the whole time we were at the playground...

He was making his serious face. Then he blinked. Then he made his serious face some more. 

I feel like this last video here really says it all about how much you and Daddy love me:

1. Because Daddy really didn't want to go down this slide but did just to humor me.
2. You went down while sitting in your own poo. 

Here's to many more special Mother's Days together!
(this post, if you couldn't tell, is all very tongue in cheek)