What I'm Listening to Today

Lots of posts to catch up on, but in the mean time, this is the background music in our house today...

Love Song

Had, had, had to share this...

All's Grace from Shaun Groves on Vimeo.

You can find the lyrics here.

A Light to light up the whole world...

‎"I've come to bring you happy news for everyone everywhere. Today, in David's town,in Bethlehem, God's Son has been born!. They had heard about this Promised Child and now he was here. Heaven's Son. This baby would be like that bright star shining in the sky that night. A Light to light up the whole world. Chasing away darkness. Helping people to see. And the darker the night got, the brighter the star would shine." - The Jesus Storybook Bible

We pray you experience a very joyful Christmas as we celebrate the birth of God's Own Son!

Love,

Thang, Katie, Nora and Silas

The Greatest Love Story...

Let these words sink in deeply today...



...and everyday.

Holiday Traditions, Old and New

It is hard to believe Christmas is only 3 days away! It seems like I just packed away my swimsuit and flip-flops and now we're sitting in a foot of snow...the days do go by so fast!

In years past, the holiday season seems to have flown by us as well. With both of us working, Thang in school, plus church and family events, we left little time for us to start any family traditions. Since Nora joined the family, we are making traditions a priority around here. When I think back on my childhood, there are a few big events I remember, but the memories that come most easily to mind are the traditions and routines that our family repeated year after year.

Jesse Tree
I got this idea from a blog I follow. Using The Advent Jesse Tree, each day we read a passage of scripture, a devotion, recommended hymns/songs to sing (although we've only sung a couple of these) and a prayer. The readings recount God's story from Creation to the birth of Christ and how each event pointed to the coming of our King. Each day, we also hang an ornament which represents the reading for that day. For example, today's reading includes Matthew 2:10, "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy", so the ornament we hang up today is a star. It is a great way to remember how God's had a plan from the very beginning to bring salvation to the world.

Santa Lucia Day

I am proudly 1/8th Swedish, and this was a holiday tradition we followed when I was growing up. You can find a brief history of the holiday here. For the ladies who are reading, you may recognize this holiday from the "American Girl" doll, Kirsten, who wore a wreath of candles and a white gown with a red, satin sash. Yes, my mom did make me one of these costumes, however, I believe it was only worn once for show-and-tell. As the eldest daughter, it was my responsibility to bake the traditional Santa Lucia rolls which were a special, once-a-year treat. Allegedly, I was also supposed to wake my family by singing Christmas carols down the hallway while serving them their breakfasts in bed - for their benefit, we skipped this one.

Santa Lucia Rolls
1 cup milk (scalded)
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. dry yeast (dissolve in 1/4 cup warm water)
3 eggs (beaten)
4 - 4 1/2 cups flour


Combine the milk, cardamom, butter and sugar and cool to lukewarm. Add eggs and yeast to milk mixture, stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth. Place in a buttered bowl and let rise until double. Roll and form buns (this is done by making two long, logs of dough, then placing them in a cross and rolling up the ends). Let buns double, brush tops w/mixture of one egg yolk and 1 tbsp. water. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.


Happy Birthday, Jesus
Because it is, after all, the reason for all this celebration! This one is still "under construction" as far as how we will be celebrating it from year-to-year. This year, our church small group had a birthday party for Jesus - complete with a birthday cake, singing and gifts for Jesus (Nora's gift was a few of her dance moves). Last year, I put birthday candles on our Christmas breakfast (stuffed French toast) and called it good. I will probably do this again this year and we'll sing "Happy Birthday to You!" to baby Jesus.

We've started a few other, small traditions and I'm sure as the years go on, we will add more. I am trying to cut down on my online time, so it's time to finish this post off.

We wish everyone a very, merry Christmas as we remember the day our Savior entered the world as a tiny baby boy!

Saturday Mornings.

On Saturdays, we used to sleep in.

That luxury basically went out the window once our munchkin came along.

These days, we have a new ritual. Nora wakes up pretty consistently at 7:30 each morning. So, instead of getting up and starting our day right away, we bring her into bed with us for awhile. This is one of my favorite family times together. Of course, Nora is not about to fall back asleep. Instead, Thang and I scooch to the far sides of the bed and Nora makes it her very own play-gym, rolling and crawling, giving us zerberts and kisses. It is so fun to watch her joyful and carefree play as she explores and tests her abilities and environment.

Naturally, it did not take her long to start to peek over Mommy and Daddy, to try to crawl around us or dive over us, in search of the fun we might be keeping from her on the other side. Now that she is cruising and standing on her own (although still not officially a "walker" yet), she is not so content with just rolling around, but has gotten more and more insistent on getting past us, not realizing the fall and pain awaiting her.

But, isn't this just the way I am? My Heavenly Father sets boundaries for me, saying "Don't go past here, there is pain and death beyond", and all I want to do is take a peek past them, sneak around them or barrel over them. And, once upon a time, my great-grandparents, Adam and Eve, did just that. They forsook the joy and freedom their Father had given them in a beautiful garden with Him. They took a great fall. And, I follow in their footsteps.

Thankfully, there is One who has already taken the ultimate fall for me, who died on a cross so I would never feel the full depth of that pain. To Him I am so grateful and I pray someday, Nora will know Him too.