Winter Wonders

We have had so much fun already this winter. These are a few photos of some of the fun we have had. The snow followed me from Colorado and the kids are loving it. They had to build a snowman at 10:00 pm the first night there was accumulation. We had a chance to go sledding up in the beautiful mountains- even I enjoyed it and normally I hate snow! We also have had some fun culinary delights. I treated the boys to snowman pancakes one night for dinner. We made yummy brownie bites and sundaes for a game night, too. We have also attended the Nutcracker ballet (and had the Cheescake Factory!), Dinner Theater (Katy and Lisa Dawn acted in a really cute play) and had several carol sings and game nights. We discovered the joy of puzzles. I know it sounds so "senior moment" but it is so fun we bought three more to do! It has really been a good old-fashioned Christmas. I am loving all the fun family times and there is more to come!

Emmanuel

Okay, so I have failed yet again. I have let my blogging fall far,far behind. However, as my sister likes to say, "Start where you are." So here I am. I can't think of anything wonderful to say. However, I did want to share what my thought for the season has been. Every Christmas it seems that something about the blessed Story strikes me anew. This year I have been completely humbled by the fact that Christ arrived as a ...baby. I know, you are thinking, "She's lost it! We hear that every year-the whole swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. What's there to think about?" Well, perhaps you have thought about it. I have too, but never as deeply as I have recently.

I have been moved to the point of tears, crying over the fact that my perfect, awesome Savior came to earth as a tiny,fragile, helpless newborn. He had peach-fuzz hair and silken cheeks. He smelled like a baby smelled. The only form of communication He had was the tiny, weak cry of someone who had only just learned how to draw a breath. He couldn't do anything for Himself, but He would do everything for us. How did Mary feel? I am sure in part these thoughts come to me because of my own sweet boy. My heart breaks with my love for him, Mary must have loved Jesus even more. I have such hopes and dreams for Carson (and Josie!) and neither of them is the only Son of the Living God. Whoa! It is truly incomprehensible. But I will praise God for His perfect plan, and continue to be completely overwhelmed by the thought of a precious, precious Baby coming to die for me.

So, there is my cheesy post. I know often the things that seem so significant to me are often elicit responses of "she is so weird" but yet I feel compelled to post this anyway. No one should feel forced to comment but I hope that this Christmas season that you get a new thought about the same wonderful Story, too.

What Begins with the Letter C?

I did the Scattergories questions from my aunt's and sisters' blogs. However, if someone comes up with some more entertaining ones I would be happy to answer them, too. These are kind of boring! You are supposed to answer all the questions using the first letter of your first name. You can't use your own name for any answer other than the first question.

What's your name: Clare
A four letter word: Cute
A boy's name: Carson :)
A girl's name: Chloe
An occupation: Camera man
A color: Cerulean-love it!
Something you wear: Clothes-duh!
A beverage: Coffee-loving being in Seattle-"hoffee" everyday as the kids would say.
Something found in a bathroom: Counters, contact lenses
A place:Connecticut
A reason to be late: Cat got away!

BTW-What do you think of my new wallpaper? I am uncertain as to how I feel about it.

Christmas Cacophony

Ever since I was very young I have loved Christmas. As a child if you had asked me what my favorite holiday was, I would have quickly replied that it was the 25th of December. However, as an adult I have become disillusioned with the whole season. It is crazy in my mind that all holidays are defined by how close they are to Christmas. Soon, we will even know how many days are between the 4th of July and Christmas! I tire of all the lights and the decor after about the second month they are up, which now is usually around November. Thanksgiving, what is Thanksgiving? It is just Eve of the Biggest Shopping Day of the Year! In some ways it has made me want to become anti-Christmas.
I realized though, that feeling that way was no more appropriate than buying into the over-commercialization of Christmas. So it has lead me to try and decipher what really makes this holiday tick. I know the easy (and cliche!) answer is to, "Put Christ back in Christmas", but truly that is a little too trite. I have begun to evaluate the traditions and schedules to determine what will really make Christmas special and meaningful to my family. This year I am trying some new things. Joel and I have decided to really scale back in the gift department. My mom convinced me that buying no gifts wasn't really fair, but I do not have plans to spend more than about $25 on the kids. Instead, I plan on wrapping things I would have bought them no matter the season. I think that will help to remind me of the blessings we receive all year, like new clothes. Also, I have decided to make sure I am really thinking about things I "always" do, like filling an Operation Christmas Child shoebox and throwing coins in the Salvation Army bucket.
I would really like to have a chat with myself when I was about 12. I did some really clever things to celebrate and I really seemed to be able to catch the true spirit of the holiday. I think in a lot of ways it was because it was all fresh and new, and I wasn't so worldly-"wise" and over-scheduled. I want this year to be different, new things and new ways. Christmas should be anticipated, not dreaded. I will let you know how it goes!

Birthday Crab

Today was the much anticipated birthday. I was officially the birthday crab. Pretty much every birthday someone in our family is one and this time it happened to be me. I don't know if it is that birthdays are overwhelming with all the fun and expectations and anticipation but whatever the cause it seems that someone is usually all in a huff. I have to apologize because I was a big, evil beast. 

     I was grumpy because I tried to Skype with Joel (if you don't know what that is ask me later because it takes a while to explain) and it didn't work so well. I felt really guilty because I left Josie with my mom so I could have lunch with my dad and my sister. Then, I didn't really plan anything special or buy her any gifts. That was no one's fault but my own. Joel and I decided that we weren't buying the kids any gifts for their birthdays or Christmas that amount to anything because they have so much. I bought Josie a Barbie doll from her brother and that was it. Trust me though, thanks to my very generous parents and sisters she wasn't lacking for anything. I think her day turned out well for her in the end. 

     I am just sorry for my bad attitude. I am thankful that she won't remember it when she is older. The Lord is always trying to teach me that I am never glad that I have had a bad attitude. I just regret it sooner or later. I should learn that no one expects perfection of me but me. It is really ridiculous to take out my frustrations with myself on everyone else. I will just keep praying and maybe someday I'll get it right the first time!