Baby Chee-sus

Olivia has a little toy nativity set. She loves putting "Baby Chee-sus" next to His mommy and daddy. We talk about the angels, the shepherds, and the star. I tell her that because Jesus came we don't have to be afraid or uncertain. God keeps his promises. (It's such a good reminder for me! Maybe I should just leave the nativity set out all year long...)

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. The good news is that the blood work they've done so far indicates nothing wrong. The bad news is that it means I'll have to have more testing done. So we keep praying and thanking God for His sovereignty.

Let the joyful news ring out

The Prince of Peace proclaim

Lift your heart and voice to shout

Immanuel’s name

God has kept His promises

What a work of grace this is

Son of Mary, chosen One

The Lamb of God has come

From "Glory Be To God"

Words and music by Bob Kauflin
As recorded on Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man (2006)

Funny Story and a Prayer Request

Last night I was putting Olivia to bed. She wanted a different book than the one we were reading, so I told her to ask Daddy to bring us another one. Bless her, she just stood up on her little bed and as loud as you please called out, "BOB!" It was a hoot!
(For the record, I did explain to her that she needs to call him "Daddy.")

On a more serious note, we would appreciate your prayers. I had another miscarriage last week. Because it's my third one, my doctor is doing a number of tests to try to determine the cause. We may never know why I miscarried, but hopefully we can rule out some of the more serious causes.
I've been having a tough time with just feeling overwhelmed, but God is good. My mom came and stayed with us for a week and took great care of us. Thank you, Mom!

We take much comfort in the hope of Jesus - we are seeing Christmas with fresh eyes this year.

O little town of Bethlehem,

How still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark street shineth

The everlasting Light;

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in Thee tonight.

Advent

This Christmas season our family is making a Jesse Tree. It is a kind of advent calendar where each day highlights a different Old Testament story leading up to the New Testament birth of Christ (Isaiah 11:1-3, hence the term “Jesse Tree”). Instead of strictly following Catholic and Lutheran models, we are using The Jesus Storybook Bible.
Even though Olivia won’t grasp the entire concept of redemptive history this year, hopefully she’ll understand that Christmas is about Jesus. Kids are capable of understanding a lot more than we think.
Olivia helped me paint a tree (which looks more like a bush) on poster board. Then I attached the words “Happy Birthday Jesus” to the top. Each day we will read a Bible story and hang/ tape a paper ornament symbolizing that story on our tree.



Also, it’s probably very obvious at this point that art is not my strength. At least Olivia got a kick out of it!

Camera Etiquette

No, she’s not in pain. She learned how to say “CHEESE!” for the camera…

One of the Best Books on Miscarriage

I recently borrowed a book from my local library called Miscarriage, Medicine, and Miracles by Young and Zavatto. It's the best book on miscarriage that I've read. (Not that I've read tons and tons of books on the matter, but I have read a few!)
It is "comprehensive and compassionate." Young and Zavatto make medical information easy to read without dumbing it down. They also include stories and examples.
It's not a perfect book, but if you are just looking for a good resource for medical issues, I'd suggest trying to find this one. Even though it is not a christian resource, I still learned a lot from reading it. As always, discernment is a must.
I'll try to post some more good resources as I come across them or remember them.

Election Thoughts

Heeheeheehee. I couldn't have said it better myself...

Happy Election Day

Today I voted and got my free Starbucks tall coffee. It was pretty cool. Someone told me that other places like Chick-Fil-A, Krispy Kreme, and Ben and Jerry's were also giving away freebies to voters. What freebies did you get today?

Saturdays at Our House

First, my apologies for my lengthy hiatus from the blogosphere. I had to pinch myself this morning before I could admit that it was already November! Time flies when your toddler is having fun!

Speaking of, Olivia is watching Elmo's World at the moment. She likes Saturdays because she gets to watch a little more TV, run around in her comfy pajamas all day, and stay at home instead of behaving quietly at the store, other people's homes, etc.

On Saturdays I try to keep things low key. Sunday is anything but a day of rest for us, so it is important not to wear ourselves out the day before!

It took me awhile to figure out why we were always exhausted by the time Sunday rolled around. I had been spending Saturdays catching up on all the things I didn't get done during the week, running errands, and cleaning the house. Bob would have to deal with a tired toddler, a stressed out wife, as well as his final sermon preparation for the next day. It just wasn't right.

While things still may not always be ideal on Saturdays, my focus is different now. Sunday should be the highlight of our week - our opportunity to fellowship and encourage each other spiritually.

So our Saturdays are now spent resting, reading, playing, and preparing our hearts for Sunday. Bob is able to finish preparing for his sermons in peace and quiet. I also lay out our clothes for the next day and make sure the diaper bag is packed.

We don't plan big get-togethers; we don't tackle big projects. I don't cook big meals, run tons of errands, or try to do 4 loads of laundry. After all, I wouldn't want to be bored on Monday, would I?

Thank You!

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I am feeling much better.
This week I have had the opportunity to rest, read, and think. Thank you, Bob, for allowing me some much needed down time! I love you!
Thank you, also, to the dear sweet lady in our church who brought us a delicious meal yesterday. Even though just last week you got a rather serious diagnosis from the doctor regarding your own health, you did not hesitate to encourage us with your words and actions in our time of sorrow. What a testimony to the grace of God in your life!

And on a totally unrelated note, it’s been a while since I’ve posted any pictures, so….

My God is Sovereign

Psalm 116:15

Precious in the sight of the LORD

is the death of his saints.

Lamentations 3:21-23

Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

These past few days have brought great sorrow for us. On Sunday I suffered my second miscarriage. I praise God that I was able to see a very kind and understanding doctor who was a great encouragement to me.


Then yesterday my grandfather, my mom’s dad, passed away. He had a wonderful testimony and will be greatly missed. I thank the Lord for the godly heritage He has given our family.

The battle for joy is real; it is desperate. We find our comfort and strength in Who God is and His Word to us. I think it was Rutherford who once said, “Believe God's word and power more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your Rock is Christ, and it is not the Rock which ebbs and flows, but your sea.”


The evil one would love to see us discouraged, bitter, and most of all hopeless. But God has not left us without hope. Our prayer is that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:17-19)


1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

July in 24 Words

- 4th of July picnic in the living room.

- Swimming pool.

- Baby shower for our new friend Leanne.

- Mountain biking at the park.

- Homemade guacamole.

New Links

I've added a few new links!
Bible Gateway - This is an easy-to-use study tool. My favorite is the Audio Bible tool.
Joshua Project - This missions website highlights one unreached people group a day.
How to help your grieving friend - This is actually a series of posts on Molly Piper's blog. She recently had a stillborn daughter. Her insight and Christ-centeredness are a true testimony to the grace of God.
Real Age - This is Dr. Oz (you know, from the Oprah show). My "real age" is 23.7. What's yours?

Pao De Queijo

My mom is visiting us, and tonight she made a special Brazilian cheese bread - pao de queijo.

The box mix we found at a specialty store.

The dough was very sticky.

Golden brown and delicious.

We also had Guarana, a popular Brazilian soda.

The Gospel for Little Ones

One of the challenges of parenting a baby and toddler is how to communicate the gospel on his or her level. The other day I came across this short (6 minute) Q and A with CJ and Carolyn Mahaney and found it insightful and encouraging.

I Hit A Deer With My Car...

*Sigh* Thankfully no one was hurt, the car was still drivable, and we had just paid our insurance premium not 12 hours earlier. We always pray for God's protection when we travel. Praise the Lord that He hears our prayers and keeps us safe!
The deer was standing on the yellow line in the middle of the road and didn't flinch. (The proverbial "deer in headlights.") I on the other hand flinched, screamed, and swerved. If I had not swerved, Bob thinks we might have totalled the car. Eek! Anyways, at this very moment our poor car is at the repair shop, and Bob is getting a rental.
But enough of the bad news. I'll end my post with some very cute pictures of our quick trip to see Dan and Sara and Sara's parents.

We got to meet our newest nephew, Andrew.

Peter and Olivia enjoyed the hammock.

Taste of Home

If you've never been to the Taste of Home website, you should really check it out. Their recipes are pretty simple and use easy-to-find ingredients. And speaking of ingredients, if you click on "Recipes" and then "Advanced Search," you can search for recipes that use specific ingredients you have on hand and need to use up. This has saved me time and money!

You can also search by number of ingredients, cook time, special occasions, and nutritional needs (diabetic, low carb, low sodium, etc.).

A few of my favorite recipes are:

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Dipped Sandwich Cookies

Cranberry Sweet and Sour Pork

*Photo from freedigitalphotos.net

Happy Father's Day!

Olivia with her Dadadadada.

May

May was a quick month for us! Bob stayed (and is staying) very busy with work and church. We are having fun house hunting. Sometime I will have to blog about some of the houses we've seen. (Run far, far away from anything labeled a "handyman's special.")

Olivia and I made a quick trip to Denver to see my Grandpa, her Great Grandpa. We enjoyed spending time with him as well as our extended family. Please pray for my Grandpa as he has cancer.

Here is a picture of Olivia with her best friend in the whole wide world.

Olivia's 1st Birthday Party

We had Olivia's party yesterday. She didn't really know what to think of it all, but she had a good time. We were so glad that Becky, Jeff, Luke, and Daniel were able to come for a few days and stay with us. Then my parents arrived yesterday and are spending some quality grandparent time with Olivia. Also, my cousin, JD, and his family came for the party.

Becky taught me how to make and use marshmallow fondant for Olivia's cake.

We like frosting!

Presents!

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

I have a new nephew! Check out the pictures on Dan and Sara's blog!