Getting in the Christmas spirit

We are definitely getting in the Christmas spirit around here and the girls are loving it. Last Friday we went with my parents in Nebraska to pick out their Christmas tree at the tree farm, and then decorated it. The girls loved that and especially watching my dad's old train that goes around it. Then yesterday we picked out our own tree at Rum River Tree Farm. I love that we have our own little traditions now. We always get a fresh tree at Rum River (we used to cut our own but lately have gotten one pre-cut), then that night we decorate it with "Evie Christmas" playing in the background and with hot apple cider to drink. Each year we pick out a new ornament for each of the girls, which is something my mom always does as well. When we moved out she then gave us our ornaments. Today we got out the rest of the Christmas decorations -- snowmen, stockings, nativity scene, etc.

But first, here are some pictures of our time in Nebraska for Thanksgiving last week.
Here we are in our cornfield:

Getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner:

Mmm, everything was delicious!

One day we took the girls to an indoor play area. They had everything from a foam pit. . .

to a ball pit. . .

to climbing structures with very fast slides. . .

to giant blocks. . .

to giant inflatables. . .
and even a basketball court!

We had a great Thanksgiving and now we are excited for the Christmas season!

When the cat's away, . . .

Dear Emily,

I hear you are having a great time in Nebraska! Grandma said that you haven't even talked about home much -- either you don't miss us at all or you're having way too much fun with grandpa and grandma. However, what you don't realize is that Bri is taking over around here. Here she is moving in on your best friend.

As you can see, Molly didn't fall for it. Molly misses you a lot. Her mom said that she barely wanted to go to gymnastics the other night since you weren't going to be there. And when Molly was over the other day, she said "I really miss Emily" and I thought she was going to cry. She is wondering when you will be back.

Here are some more pictures of Bri so you can see what she's been up to. One day we visited Dr. Cox. Remember him? The guy who first took your tonsils out and then Bri's. He of course checked for bunnies in her ears. He said everything looked good.

Jackson came over and played for a bit yesterday. I know you're not worried about this because he's too young for you. Plus, I think he's more in love with Bri anyway (which you can tell by the picture.)

You will be in for a surprise when you get home because I painted the upstairs bathroom. It's blue! I hope you like it. I also planted some tulip and daffodil bulbs in the backyard, but it will probably be a miracle if they come up. We'll have to wait until spring and see! They are pink, your favorite color.

Bri says to tell you hi, that she misses you and will see you soon.

Love,

Mommy

P.S. Here's a video of you from last week because I know how much you like to sing and like watching videos.

I Don't Want to Raise Successful Children

Some of you might get the Proverbs 31 daily devotionals. They are really great and only take a few minutes to read. Lysa TerKeurst wrote today's devotional and I thought it was really good. It might look a little long here but if you have kids at home, it's worth your time. Here it is:
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"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

I don't want to raise successful children. That's a shocking thing to read, and a shocking thing for a mother to type. So, let me clarify. I used to define success according to my child's report card. Good grades and academic achievement would surely equal a good child with great potential in this world. But then several of my children wound up being average students with average grades. Though we carted them off to tutors and spent many a late night at the kitchen table helping them, they remained average. And I remained concerned and frustrated.

One report card day I found myself facedown in the fibers of my carpet crying and wondering, "Where have I gone wrong as a mom?" I dug into Scriptures. I begged God for wisdom and discernment. I prayed for God's perspective with each of my kids. Finally, one day it dawned on me - what if I simply chose to embrace the natural bent of each of my kids as God's way to protect them and keep them on the path toward His best plans for their lives? What if my A student needs academic success to prepare her for God's plans while my average to below-average student needs to be steered away from a more academic future? What if my sports star kid needs that athletic excellence for his future assignments by God, but my benchwarmer kid is being protected from getting off course by her lack in this area?

And that's when it finally dawned on me. My job isn't to push success for my kids. My job as a parent is to recognize the unique way God created each child and point them to Jesus at every turn along their journey toward adulthood. Yes, I want my kids to learn and thrive and grow up educated, but it's not a flaw in me or them if they don't have straight A report cards and trophy cases full of sports medals.

Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" (NIV). I am challenged to ponder these words, "… in the way he should go." Are we training our kids that the "way he should go" is to chase worldly achievement or to chase God? Whatever they learn to chase as a child, they will chase as adults. Therefore, we must be challenged to honestly assess the way we are pointing them to go.

My daughter, Hope, is one of my average students. She has also warmed many a bench in the sports she's tried, and can always be found hiding on the back row of the stage during school concerts. Using the world's benchmarks for achievement, Hope wouldn't be seen as a child positioned for success. But God…

This past January, my 15 year old Hope, shocked me when she announced she wanted to go to Ethiopia with some missionary friends of ours and live in the remote African bush for the summer. Yes, she may not have trophies and straight A report cards but she does have a heart of gold. And because she's not entrenched in sports and academic pursuits that could have created obligations for her summer, she was free to go to Africa. Free to chase God in a really big way.

One of the first e-mails she sent me from Ethiopia read, "Mom, I've fallen in love with the AIDS orphanage children. They rushed at me when I held my arms out and I tried with all my might to hold all 30 of them at once. I love it here."

Now, don't get me wrong. I do expect Hope to return to her studies this fall, give 100% effort, and finish her high school career having done her very best. She will most likely then go to college. But she probably won't be delivering the valedictorian address or wearing the honors cords and medals. She'll be the one with a vision of a dying AIDS orphan pressing against her heart ready to chase God's plans to the ends of the earth.

So back to my original statement, I don't want to raise successful children. It's true, I don't. Though Hope's sister coming behind her is an A student and can always be found on the front row of school performances - we don't chase after success for her either. I trust God that she needs those things in her life for the plans He's unfolding in her life. We train with that bent in mind. But, we don't chase it. Just like Hope, we point her in the direction of God at every turn and pray like crazy.

I stand by what I said and I'll say it again, I don't want to raise successful children. Because--- raising God-honoring adults who will set the world on fire for Christ is just so much more rewarding.

Dear Lord, being a mom is a really tough job. Please help me, teach me and show me how to define success for my kids. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application Steps: Spend some time specifically praying for your kids today and ask the Lord how you can train them according to the way He created them.

Reflections: What worries about my kids do I need to ask the Lord for His perspective? How should I define success for my kids?

2 John 1:4, "It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us." (NIV)

Matthew 19:14, "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" (NIV)

Emily

I just talked to Emily; she survived the 8 hour car trip to Nebraska with grandma Susanne and grandpa Mark. Or should I say, grandma and grandpa survived! Not only did they have Emily in the backseat, but their 3 dogs as well! My mom (grandma Margaret) invited Emily to stay with her and grandpa until the rest of us arrive for Thanksgiving next week. I will miss her but I know she'll have a great time. She was so excited (and Bri too, to have mom all to herself for several days!)

Below is a picture of when Emily wrote her name for the first time a couple weeks ago. I was so proud! I knew she could write an E, L, and I, but had never seen her write an M or Y before, plus put it all together. I almost cried I was such a proud mom. If writing her name makes me proud, just think of what the future will hold.

I'll miss you Emily, but I'll see you soon!

Fun times

Here's what we've been up to the past week since Bri's been out of the hospital. Last Wednesday was Emily's first "Tumbleweeds" class -- a community ed gymnastics class. Here they are at the end twirling their ribbons, and that's grandpa John in the background twirling his, too. Jon K can thank me for not putting the picture on of him twirling his leopard print ribbon. :)

Grandma Margaret and Emily making "runzas." If you don't know what a runza is, it's a German food I grew up with, and it's also a restaurant in Nebraska and a few surrounding states, I believe. It's basically a dough filled with a meat/cabbage mixture. They're delicious!

Heading into the Maplewood Mall to ride the . . .

. . . Carousel!

My parents left on Sunday morning. Thanks, mom and dad, for a great time! They were in town for Jessie's musical "The Fantasticks" which WAS fantastic! Great job, Jessie. And if Katie or Jill are reading this, thanks for coming over!

This morning Susanne and I took the girls to "Build-a-Bear" at Mall of America to use a giftcard Bri got for her birthday from Aunt Erin. We had never been there before, and it was a lot of fun! Here are the girls picking out their stuffed animals. Emily chose "Snazzy Kitty" and Bri chose "Cinnamon Swirl Bunny."

Now they are putting the stuffing into their animals. They pressed a pedal on the floor to put the stuffing in.

Here they are "washing" and brushing their animals.
The last couple steps were to pick out outfits and to print a birth certificate for their animals. Here is grandma Susanne with the girls and their boxed-up bears.

It was a fun morning at the Mall of America. We also walked through the "Nickelodeon Universe" and saw the rides and the Dora statues. When we first walked in, Emily looked up and said, "It's Beautiful!!!!!!"

Tonsil Free

For those of you wondering, Bri is doing great after getting her tonsils out on Tuesday. We were at Children's Hospital all day Tuesday for the surgery and recovery, and came home Wednedsay morning. She's been drinking, eating, taking her medicine, jumping on the couch, picking on Emily, all the usual stuff! Other than a little discomfort and drooling, you wouldn't hardly even know she had surgery two days ago.

My parents are now here as well as Jeremy's mom, so that's been fun. We took Emily to her first "gymnastics" class last night, which was pretty funny to watch.

This weekend my sister Jessie is in the musical "The Fantastiks" at North Central, which is the main reason mom and dad are up this weekend.

Thanks for all the phone calls and well wishes for Bri's speedy recovery! She's doing great.

Halloween Fun

It was a fun-filled Halloween last night. Susanne, Jessie, and two of Jessie's college friends came over and Jeremy made some delicious chicken fajitas. Then it was into the Peeps costumes and time for trick-or-treating. Susanne and I stayed back and passed out candy. After going to about 20 houses, they came back for a quick break and have their first candy. They both picked a Reese's peanut butter cup.

Then Bri was ready to go out and get some more candy, but Emily wanted to stay home and help pass out candy, which she loved doing.
We also had a couple visitors. Kim stopped by with Elmo (Micah) . . .

and the Ringels stopped by with their little fireman (Jackson.)

Both Micah and Jackson looked absolutely adorable. The girls have some cute "boy" friends!

The girls' babysitter Tori also stopped by to see the girls in their costumes and to bring them some cookies.

We played some Pictionary and Oodles with Jessie and her friends Trisha and Nick, then sent them home with candy. It was a great night.