Gifts

Years ago I read a book by Ken Gire called "Windows of the Soul". I was reminded of it again today as I read this scripture (below).

Sage had been sitting on my lap (facing me) and we were talking and tickling and as I looked at his long dark lashes I was aware of how beautiful he is. All my children are beautiful, especially to me but I was struck by how God has created this little one. His smile and dark eyes always melt my heart and at that moment I felt blessed to experience this person God had created and put in my charge. How much God must love me to trust him to my care and bonus, he has a great personality and disposition. I couldn't love him more.

 

When I read this book I learned to discipline myself to take notice of the 'little' things, listen to what God was saying to me thru the present 'window'. These are ways that God can speak to us and help to develop the relationship he so longingly desires with us. To deny these moments is to in a sense turn away, turn away from something personal and beautiful.

This brief moment with Sage was a window for me. How much God loves me and trusts me. I also saw what an amazing person God has created Sage to be, not just how cute he is.

I have had many moments with each of my children and I never cease to be in awe of the Lord. His display of affection for us is never ending. Everywhere I look it is there. From my children to the nature that surrounds me, it's everywhere. I just need to take the time to notice it and receive it as a gift from the one who loves me most. How do I ever doubt what he feels about me? He is speaking everywhere, I only have to notice and listen.

My prayer for this new year is that we can learn and train ourselves to quiet the negative voices and take the time to cherish the many 'gifts' he continuously offers us. We are so blessed.


Take a moment and read what David had to say about the Lord and 'his gift'.

Psalm 19:1-6

God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.

Madame Day holds classes every morning,

Professor Night lectures each evening.

Their words aren't heard, their voices aren't recorded. But their silence fills the earth;

unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

That's how God's Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset,

melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith. (the message)

Yeah

I am happy to say that Christmas is over now and it is time to move on. Of course I still want to continue to celebrate what Christ did for us but I am relieved that all the festivities are over now.
I hope that everyone got to enjoy everything the season has to offer with family and friends. That is the good part. I had a great "sparkley" Christmas. My hubby loves me lots. Yeah for me.
My inital 'yeah' is because my dear friend Caren has finally gotten on the blog boat and I couldn't be more excited. She is one of the wisest people I know and she has the potential to touch many people thru her godly wisdom, no pressure. Check it out. Love you Care.
MacMurchys

Merry Christmas

Hello there blogging friends,
I decided in the spirit of Christmas to get you all a cyber-gift. So here is the scarf that I knitted for you. When ever you wrap it around your neck you can remember how much I appreciate your friendship.

 

This is the card that I made and sent you with the scarf. The photo is from this summer when we went to Colorado. This was during a long hike into the mountains up to a waterfall that was just beautiful. It had been raining/snowing so I was a bit reluctant to go but it was definately worth it.

 

Inside the card is this quote by CS Lewis from his book "Till We Have Faces",
"It was when I was happiest that I longed most...
The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...
to find the place where all the beauty came from."

I hope you have a great Christmas and get a chance to take some time and experience the joy of this season. That's what makes it all worth it.

 

 

I can't resist

These are a few pics I took when the kitties were only a few weeks old. (read following story first) Their eyes were still closed. It was so much fun for the kids and I and all the kids we knew. For awhile there we were pretty popular. I went out a few times in the morning and found a few kids in the dog-loo with all the kitties and the mommies. Bella and Sadie were very patient mothers letting everyone hold the kitties and get in there with them. When they were old enough we found good homes for all of them. It was hard for the kids but they got over it. Hopefully they will have another batch this spring (don't tell Rock I said that).

 

 

 

lovely little eggs

Today I went out to check on the chickens and this is what I found. To give you a little background on the chickens this is the story.
This past spring we decided to get some chicks from our local farm supply store and try and raise them. I have never had chickens seeing as I grew up on the backside of a golf course. So I had always thought it would be fun to raise them. The kids picked and named them and so we were on our way to raising chickens. Friends of ours also decided to get chicks with the intention of bring them to the farm after they were too big to keep inside. By the time everyone had brought their chickens out we had roughly 26. At the same time our 2 sister cats had their kittens (Sage is holding one in the picture below) which made 10 new kitties combined. The even mothered them together. It was a great experience for all of us.

 

 

Meanwhile the chickens had all been moved into their 'new' chicken coop (a remade dog kennel). The fence surrounding the coop is about 8'tall so we were sure they were safe. Shortly after the kittens were born we lost a handful of chickens to a raccoon. Sad but OK, that's life on the farm. Rock checked out all of the chicken wire and made sure they were safe. No more raccoons. A few days later we discovered 'parts' that obviously belonged to a bird of some kind. After counting the chickens we discovered they were chicken 'parts'. Yikes!!
Bella was climbing that 8' fence, catching a chicken, hauling it over the fence and them preparing it for her kitties to eat. Disgusting but admirable for a new mom. We finally got that stopped but by this time we were down to 6 chickens. Later in the summer we lost one to a

That little girl

From Blog pics

This is my kindergarten picture. I remember my mom fixing my hair and in my mind I was sure that the barrette was not straight. When I look at this picture I am reminded of that little girl who was so excited about everything. Life was uncomplicated and worry free. My world consisted of me and my brother and my mom and dad, grandparents that thought I 'hung the moon' and a handful of relatives that loved me. Christmas time was the best! Chip and I were the only grandkids and Santa was really good to us. There was so much wonder and excitement in the whole holiday and those were the days when you got out of school 2 weeks before Christmas. There would be cookie baking and open houses and lots of people stopping by. It was a great time to be a kid. These were the times when I would get up before everyone else and sit and stare at the tree. I know that not everyone has good memories and not all of mine are either but I am so thankful for those sweet days that God gave me to enjoy with my family. Hopefully we can all try to forget the 'not so good' ones and focus on the 'good' ones.

Eve repeated

Sometimes I am a bit behind in trends, well, most of the time. Maybe it's because of were I live. Who knows. I actually don't really care but there is one trend that I really missed the boat on.
Greys Anatomy

My sister is usually responsible for introducing me to new stuff like this and Grey's was no different. When I went to visit her in November we watched an episode and she explained the characters. I then went home and got the first season on itunes and I was hooked.

As Eve does so does her daughter I was determined to give this new 'apple' to Rock. I was a little nervous he might not fall for it but how wrong I was. He is so hooked it is all he talks about. You would think these are people that just moved to town and he is analyzing all areas of their lives. I am continually saying "it's just a show" or "it's suppose to be dramatic". He is continually re-writing the story. And since I got the rest of the shows on itunes we watch them one after another, interruption free. Itunes is a beautiful thing by the way. Ugh! I have created a monster.
check it out...like there is anyone who hasn't seen it, well, just in case... here it is

one of my favorites...

One of my favorite Christmas memories was when my mom was still living and I would sneak downstairs very early in the morning and sit right next to the tree and stare at the lights and smell the pine and look at all the ornaments. Sometimes I would mess with the gifts (yes, I opened a few-I was an expert at peeling the tape back to remove the gift and then re-wrap it). Most of the time I would sit and just soak it in. Christmas time was a very special time in my mom's heart. She loved the family time and baking and Christmas traditions. It made it magical somehow and I remember that I couldn't get enough of it. I still love to sit in the dark by a lite tree. It is so beautiful, peaceful. What is one of your favorite memories?

Sorry, I haven't posted lately. Rock has been around alot so the computer is more occupied than I am use to (he's gone this morning).
I am contemplating the whole "5 things you don't know about me" and I will post them.
Hope everyone is doing well and having fun getting ready for Christmas.

That time again

I am having a hard time getting into the whole Christmas season thing so I thought I'd look at some pictures from past Christmas' and see if it would inspire me. I found lots of great ones but this is one I love.


It was taken in 2002 so Isabel was 6, Caden was 2 and Sage was almost 1. Rock has always been determined to put a spiritual aspect into our Christmas morning tradition and that is great by me. The only problem was that this year the kids were so excited to open their gifts that they did not want to sit and listen to him read the Christmas story. So here is Rock trying to read while the kids are facing the tree and all it's treasures.
I just kept snapping pics (the reason for the annoyed face) and chuckling to myself the whole time. By the time we were done he was really irrated and I was totally laughing. Believe it or not Sage sat there the whole time with that smile on his face.