Thanksgiving: a Mary sort of day

I was so busy yesterday that I hardly took any pictures. But I like to believe that I was more busy in a "Mary" sort of way than a "Martha" sort of way. Last Friday I gave a talk to my MOPS group about hospitality. The basis of my talk was Luke 10:38-42, the story of Martha & Mary:

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

So in preparation for Thanksgiving, I really tried to practice the truths that I taught at MOPS:

1) Prepare to spend time with your guests

2) Relationships are more important than tasks

3) Focus on Jesus, and make it first priority to do the "one thing that is needed" (spend time with Him)

I started my Thanksgiving Day by having some quiet time in God's word and prayer. My time with Jesus gave me a peaceful heart, even with all of the preparations that needed to be done.

We were blessed to have 27 friends and family members join us throughout the day! I was so glad that my mom, dad, and two of my sisters (Lori & Kristy) and their families could join us, as well as Eric's mom, the Rochester Connor brothers and some good friends. It was a fun and joy-filled day. We have so much to be thankful for!

Of the few pictures that I did take, I have two favorites:

Above is a picture of Avery eating fruit loops for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. Of all of the good (and I mean really delicious!) food that we had for our Thanksgiving feast, she told me that the fruit loops were her favorite :) I never buy sugar cereal, but since cousins were sleeping over we got it for a special treat. She was so excited!

This is Ella (age 7) sitting on the shoulders of her biggest cousin, Jake (age 17). Ella told me that she LOVED playing with her big boy cousins. The girls are fun too, but the boy cousins are really special to Ella :)

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever." Psalm 136:1

Mix 'n' Match Day

One crazy kid...

... in a tye dye tee and striped sweater...

... with two different socks. And she wore it to school!

Isn't she cute?!

I Love Grandma (and I like her stuff)

This weekend we headed to my hometown (or "homestead", a word that Avery learned in school just this week!). We spent two nights with Mom & Dad Tillis and got to visit with my sister, Coleen, and her family, as well as my cousin, Mary, and her baby. One of the purposes of our trip was to spend some time with my Grandma. Grandma has been in assisted living for two years now, and, in spite of some major health concerns, she continues to enjoy life (or complain, depending on the day!). I told her that God must have some purposes for her life that haven't yet been carried out. Not sure if she believes that, but I'm certain it's the truth.

Mom and Dad have been really busy, cleaning out Grandma's house -- clothes, dishes, jewelry, valuables and keepsakes. I spent some time with Mom, looking through boxes and choosing some items that I can use, as well as things that bring back memories. One of the favorite things that I brought home is Grandma's recipe box. I can't wait to go through it! I love to experiment with new recipes, and I'm sure that many of the cards in this box will be familiar dishes that I've enjoyed since childhood.

I also got to keep several shawls and knitted/crocheted items that Grandma made. It will be fun to wear them and remember where they came from.

I love Grandma and pray that she will know the true, everlasting love of Jesus. Psalm 139 says that God "created her inmost being" and "knit her together in her mother's womb", 97 years ago. He knows the number of hairs on her head (Matthew 10:30) -- a number that is decreasing daily :) Grandma is "fearfully and wonderfully made" and all of her days have been ordained by God -- "they were written in His book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:14, 16). Thoughts about Grandma are precious to God -- He thinks about her all the time! (Ps. 139:16)

Thank You, O LORD, that even in the final years of her life, You continue to search Grandma's heart and You know her. You know when she sits and when she rises; you perceive her thoughts from afar. You discern her going out and her lying down; you are familiar with all her ways. Thank you, Jesus that she can't hide from your Spirit, and she can't flee from your presence. I pray today, that she would know you personally, and that You would lead her in the way everlasting. Amen

The Naughty Kids' Club

On Sunday, our pastor, David, gave a message about serving. To illustrate the importance of servants (volunteers) at church, all three services were carried out without volunteers. There were no greeters to tell new people where to go, the bulletins were done messily and with errors, no ushers to seat people, no multimedia or audio volunteers, no worship team, etc.

There were people serving in children's ministry (otherwise it just might have been too chaotic), but David wanted to demonstrate what might happen if there were no children's workers. Ella and three of her friends were chosen to help illustrate this message -- we called it "The Naughty Kids' Club". At a certain time during the message, Ella and her friends ran out of the hall, screaming at the top of their lungs, and ran down the aisle in the worship center, totally disrupting the pastor and the service. They practiced on Saturday and were so excited to do it on Sunday! Here is a picture of them practicing -- way too much fun!!

Unfortunately, Tyler was sick and couldn't participate. To Avery's delight, she was asked to fill in for Tyler, and she became an "honorary member" of The Naughty Kids' Club. It was so fun for them, and a great picture of just one of the ways that God asks us to use our gifts in serving His church

Here is The [original] Naughty Kids club, plus Ruby (Caleb's little sister). From left to right: Caleb, Ella, Taylor & Tyler

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Trees

All of this beauty can be seen from our front door!

"Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:33-34

"Snow" by Go Fish

I just found a GREAT Christmas CD! I purchased "Snow" by Go Fish for the girls, but I love it for me and have already listened to some of the songs repeatedly. There are a variety of familiar Christmas songs (done in the Go Fish guys acapella style), but my two favorites are "It's About the Cross" and "My Jesus I Love Thee" (not even really a Christmas song). "It's About the Cross" is amazing -- the gospel is very clearly laid out in a way that kids can understand. You can watch/listen to it here

The bridge and final chorus goes like this:

The beginning of the story is wonderful and great
But it's the ending that can save you and that's why we celebrate

It's about the cross
It's about my sin
It's about how Jesus came to be born once
So that we could be born again

It's about God's love
Nailed to a tree
It's about every drop of blood that flowed from Him when it should have been me

It's about the stone
That was rolled away
So that you and I could have real life someday
So that you and I could have real life someday

It's about the cross

It's about the cross

I HIGHLY recommend this CD. And I got it for Just $5 at Alpha & Omega. Merry Christmas my friends, a couple of months early :)

Punkin' Patch

What a beautiful fall day to head to the "punkin' patch"! We went to a pumpkin farm that we haven't visited before and had a great time with our good friends, Sheri & Maria.

The kids enjoyed many fun activities, including a "sandbox" filled with corn kernals. It was so cool!

They also had races in giant "hamster wheels".

We saw a lot of animals. Our favorites were the pigs -- a 400 lb. mama and her 1 month old babies. They were a riot trying to get some milk!

There were several big slides, as well as a zip line, corn maze and much more.

The three girls were so cute and really had fun together!

It was sunny and cool, the perfect fall day! Thank you, God, for the special family times you bring us!

For more photos from our fun day at the punkin' farm, visit our Kodak Gallery album here.

Such a Big Girl Now...

Avery was thrilled to get her very first iPod shuffle yesterday! It is new-to-her (just $25 on Craigslist!) and purchased with her saved allowance money. She was so excited (understatement) and it was really fun to go with her to get it and watch her enjoy it these last couple of days.

We have been on the reluctant end of the spectrum (another understatement) when it comes to purchasing electronics for Avery & Ella. They have such great imaginations -- we would much rather see them playing school, house, or with their dolls than sitting with a hand-held game or with earphones on. So after a lot of thinking and talking, it was a fun surprise to give Avery the "okay" to make this first big purchase.

Last night I helped her download all of her favorite songs from HighPoint, as well as Pure NrG and her other favorite CD's. She has been singing all day, and is being so sweet about letting Ella listen in and share.

I can't even tell you how many times I've heard this phrase in the past 24 hours: "Mom, I feel like such a big girl now!" Note to self: She will always be my precious little girl!

Endings and Beginnings

When Avery was about 18 months old (or thereabouts) we got our first annual membership to the children's museum in our town. In those preschool years we went there 2-3 times a week, especially in the winter. As the girls got older and started school, it was still a favorite place to head after morning Kindergarten or on the weekends with Daddy. At just the right time (for us), the museum added some huge new areas and "grew" along with my girls. This museum has been a memory-maker and marker in our family's life -- the beginning years of motherhood, parenting, and family outings.

Here are some pictures from earlier years at the children's museum:

Annual Halloween party with Mother Goose (Avery is 5 and Ella is 3):

Ella has always been into the craft areas!

One History Place...

Sadly (to me!), September 2009 marks the ending of that phase of life. Last Friday, we visited the museum as a family -- most likely the last time we will use our membership before it expires this month. I cried off and on throughout our afternoon. The rest of my family just acted like it was no big deal (imagine that!).

Pictures from our "final" visit to the museum:

Eric said, "It's not like you're never going to come here again". To which I responded, "Yeah, but we won't be members. It's not the same!"

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1

September at the Beach

Trying to get in those last days of summer, we headed to the beach a few times earlier this month.

Church at the Beach was an amazing event! In addition to the awesome experience of worshiping God outside in His creation, I had the privilege and great joy to help baptize my friend, Meg. Meg placed her trust in Jesus a couple of years ago, and chose this day at the beach to publicly proclaim that He is her Savior and Lord.

As we lowered Meg into the water, her baptism symbolized Jesus' death and going into the grave.

When Meg came up out of the water, her baptism was a symbol of Christ's resurrection -- the ultimate defeat to sin and death for all those who believe!

I am thrilled that Meg and I will be friends forever -- literally! Because Christ lives in both of us, we will not only be friends on this earth, we will also meet again in Heaven to live for eternity!

I praise God for the work that He is doing in the lives of all the people who were baptized at the beach on September 6, 2009!

We also enjoyed some family time at the beach on Labor Day.

It wasn't a super-warm day, so the main event was playing in the sand.

All four of us enjoyed some quiet reading in our beach chairs.

To top it off (well, actually to start it off!) we also enjoyed a great bike ride along the trails.

It's always a little sad to see summer end, but we are looking forward to the many adventures and joys that God will bring us this Fall!

First Day of School

This was NOT like every other first day of school! This was the first day of public school for Ella (2nd grade) and the first day of middle school (4th grade) for Avery. They were both very excited and a little nervous.

It was fun to wait for the bus with their good pals and neighbors, Meghan and Carter.

Here is the whole neighborhood gang (including preschoolers) waiting for the bus.

Ella's good pal, Anaja, even ventured to try the bus this year. Unfortunately, the bus broke down before it made it to our stop! After 30+ minutes of waiting, we carpooled the whole gang to their respective schools. I heard the bus finally pass by around 9:40 am.

Avery, Ella, Eric & I spent last evening (the last night of summer vacation) talking about God's faithfulness, every day, wherever we go. We had a great time pulling apart these verses (Joshua 1:9 & Psalm 23:6), exclaiming loudly that God is with us wherever we go (including school) and that His goodness and love follows us (chases after us!) all the days of our life. I am so thankful for the confidence that we have in Jesus. He will never leave us or forsake us, even when He calls us out of our comfort zones.

Final Summer Fling

On Monday, the girls and I met my sister, Lori, and her kids, Greg & Amanda, at the NYS Fair. I haven't been in at least 15 years, and this was Avery & Ella's first visit. It was a perfect (not-too-hot, not-too-cold) sunny day and we had a blast!

One type of exhibit that we really enjoyed was the sculptures. Often the artist was in process and we got to watch him work. Below, the cousins are standing in front of a huge sand sculpture.

One of my personal favorites was the butter sculpture. We also saw a sculptor using just a chainsaw to make amazing figures out of logs.

We also got to see (and feed) many animals.

Avery waited all day to feed a baby calf from a bottle :)

One of our favorite buildings was the 4-H building. There we saw the projects of kids from all over the state. There was a big variety, including sewing, photography, art, animals and even a DDR exhibit, just for fun. Greg enjoyed beating the 4-H kids who were there!

After a lot of walking, the kids relaxed with a "Footsie Tootsie" massage for just $.25!

Nothing could be more fun than a day with the "cousies"!