25 Days of Christmas!!

Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

We are entering one of my favorite times of year... Christmas! Last year we started a new family tradition. We decided to pick something fun to do as a family each day leading up to Christmas. Before I get to the first three days in December, I realized that I never posted the last two days of thanks for November. Here are two more things I am thankful for in life:

1. My sisters. I'm so thankful that God decided to give me two sisters. Each one has a special place in my heart. My sisters have always been there for me. When Wayne had brain surgery in March, both of my sisters came to support me and be with me. It was a bitter-sweet time. I was thrilled that they were there with me, but I wish it was under different circumstances. My sisters are the best. About five years ago we took a sister trip to Hawaii where my dream of running a half marathon in every state was born. My sister Rachel has helped that dream become true. We have run many races together and traveled to some fun locations (Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California). My sister Sarah is always there for me as well. We see her family the most since they are the closest family we have living in the Midwest. I'm also thankful that my sister Sarah introduced me to essential oils. God was so gracious in giving me two amazing sisters.

Taking a break from hours at the hospital!

Trip to Hawaii

Running in SF (one of my favorite races-we got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge)!

Seeing some sights while in Vegas for a run in Vegas (probably one of my least favorite races - the race was at night through the Vegas strip, but lighting was poor, no water, and it was cold).

2. I'm just overall thankful for everything God has done for me and how He has blessed our lives (house, clothes, food, etc). God is so good to us!!

25 Days of Christmas:

Day 1: We went and packed meals at Feed My Starving Children in Aurora. Micaela was thrilled because she finally got to go since she just turned 5. It was a fun afternoon and something the girls always enjoy doing. 

One of my favorite parts is praying over the food and for the kids it is going to feed overseas!!

Day 2: We decided to have a dance party last night. We played Wii Just Dance for Kids. The girls all had a blast and so did I (Wayne was at a dinner for work).

Day 3: We bought donuts for breakfast from Doughguys. The girls love special treats like this, so I surprised them with donuts for breakfast. We are going to sit down today and write down all the fun things we want to do each day leading up to Christmas.

Another family tradition is to have a Hershey kiss from our advent calendar each day counting down. What kind of family traditions do you do in your family? Christmas is a great time of year for all of us to slow down and enjoy the family around us. Don't allow Pinterest and what others are doing distract you from the true meaning of Christmas.

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Update on Wayne: he is getting over his second cold in two weeks. His immune system is not back yet and he has caught two bugs (one from the girls, which I avoided, and one from work, which I did not avoid). Please pray that his body returns to it's normal strength as we head deep into the cold/flu season.

A Month of Thanks: Day 25,26, 27, 28

Psalm 118:28 "You are my God, and I will give thanks to You; You are my God; I will extol You."

1. I'm thankful for being able to bake with each of the girls on Wednesday. The day before Thanksgiving I always try to get my baking done (less to do on the actual day). This year Sophia helped me make homemade dinner rolls, Naomi helped me bake pumpkin pie, Grace made the apple pie, and Micaela & Joella helped me make cinnamon rolls. It was a busy afternoon, but what a fun way to spend our afternoon off!

2. I'm thankful for the wonderful time we had yesterday as a family. 

3. I'm thankful for leftovers. I made a ton of food yesterday. The girls asked me why I made so much food. I told them, "Well, my thought is this. If I'm going to spend so many hours cooking, why not make enough so I don't have to cook for a few days?" They liked that idea. I'm sure by the end of the week we'll be tired of turkey and side dishes.

4. I'm thankful for fun crafts with the kids. 

Micaela making turtles for the letter "T"

5. I'm thankful for a great bootcamp yesterday morning to work off some of the food. Thank you Wayne for that birthday gift. I have a love/hate relationship with my bootcamp classes.

6. I'm thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving Eve service we had at church. I love hearing people share stories of how God has been moving in their life.

7. I'm thankful for a brisk run (5K) this morning with friends. The best part of the Beverly Turkey Trot is that part of the proceeds go to support the John McNicholas Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. It was sobering to see the names of children who have been lost to brain cancer along the fence. After the race, we all enjoyed brunch at church. The hot chocolate did a good job warming me up after a cold run.

8. I am thankful for naps. I love taking naps on the weekend and the rest they provide.

Yesterday I spent some time reflecting on the last nine months. When I hear nine months, my mind immediately thinks back to being pregnant. I guess being pregnant six times will make you remember that number. A lot can happen in nine months. In terms of being pregnant, it is a miracle to see how a baby develops in their mother's womb during that time. In terms of cancer, a lot can happen in nine months too. God has taught us so much and has grown us in many ways during this time. Yesterday was a great opportunity for me to sit down and think about all that God has done for us and give Him thanks.

God has been so faithful and good to us. When you are given a terminal diagnosis, you have two responses. The first response you can have is to dwell on the negative. I'm not saying you have to ignore the reality of the diagnosis, but you can get so focused on the diagnosis that you forget to live. I know people that have chosen to read numerous books on dying and these people have had the joy sucked out of them. Cancer is a horrible diagnosis, but when you dwell on the negative, you can't function. I was saddened yesterday to see so many people on the GBM Facebook page say they had nothing to be thankful for in their lives since cancer was stealing everything from them. I know everyone deals with life and death differently, but as Christians, we have so much to be thankful for in our lives, despite the suffering we are facing. Romans 8:18 says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." 

1 Peter 4:13 "But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed." We can find joy in our suffering because we have hope in Christ. This is just our temporary home. Therefore, we can be content in every situation, regardless how difficult it is. 

This leads me to the second response we can have when facing death. Instead of dwelling on the negative, we can chose to live each day to it's fullest for the glory of Jesus. If we think about it, all of us are terminal. We are all going to die. Many people don't want to talk about death, but it's a reality that we all must face. In Ecclesiastes 7:2 it says, "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart." I think the Bible says this so that we remember that this life is short and fleeting. In seeing death, we remember what is important and focus on that. I know from personal experience that when I have attended a wake or been around someone who is dying, it makes me focus on eternal things in life. It helps me keep my eyes fixed on God instead of the temporal things of this life. 

Wayne may have been given a "date" for his termination, but we all are walking time bombs. God has ordained the number of our days before we were even born.  Job 14:5 "You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer." Each one of us should live as though it is our last day and judgement is imminent. The other night, Wayne and I read about a woman who lives in Washington who has stage four cancer. She was given only 18 months to live, but that was 18 years ago. She decided to live every day to it's fullest. Slowly the days turned to weeks, the weeks to months, and the months to years. This is how Wayne and I are choosing to approach his terminal diagnosis...day by day and with hope! God has Wayne in the palm of His hands and He has ordained the number of days Wayne has to live. We will live every day we have here on this earth to the fullest to bring God glory.

A Month of Thanks: Day 23 & 24

Psalm 100:3-5 "Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations."

1. I'm thankful for the encouragement of others. My friend Jessica sent me a wonderful post from Setapartmotherhood.com the other day. I loved these quotes from the article "He used the struggles, the waiting and all the ups and downs to deepen our trust in Him!...During struggles, we often that we think we are at the “end” of the story, when we are simply in the middle. (Remember Joseph when he was falsely accused and put into prison? God wasn’t done writing his story…) Every challenge, struggle, and uncertainty can be used to point us back to Jesus. Faith is not faith unless it is tested. Today, I encourage you to meditate upon God’s unchanging faithfulness and be remember that those who hope in Him will NOT be ashamed! (Psalm 25:3)" Wow! That was exactly what I needed to hear when she sent me the post. God isn't done writing our story. When things seem extra hard, that is when I have to press in closer to God. He is using all of this to draw my heart closer to Him. 

2. I'm thankful for a short week of school!! We are all excited for a four day break!

3. I'm thankful that warmer weather is coming the next few days. It will melt all of this snow!!

4. I'm thankful for a warm house, cozy socks, and hot chocolate on really cold days!

A Month of Thanks: Day 21 & 22

Isaiah 12:4-5 "And you will say in that day: 'Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.'"

1. I'm thankful that Wayne's flight from NC made it in before the snow storm hit. I'm also thankful for him to be back home. We all miss him when he is gone and life just isn't the same. Thanking God for every day He gives us with Wayne!

2. I'm thankful for my friend Kathy who was willing to take a run on Friday afternoon. We were able to get a six mile run in before the weather turned nasty. I'm hoping the warmer weather later this week melts all the snow so that I can take one more long run outside since running long distances on the dreadmill is nearly impossible for me. December 6th will be here before I know it and I'm not quite ready for my race!

3. I'm thankful for a fun afternoon with friends making Christmas gifts. Hot apple cider, chocolate chip cookies, essential oil gifts, and a warm house while it snowed outside made for a great afternoon. Thanks to everyone who showed up an spent a snowy afternoon with me!

4. I am thankful that although we had sick kids, we were able to enjoy a relaxing day at home as a family. We had church at home this morning, took naps, laid around in our pjs, watched football, and played board games. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving! It will be another day like today...relaxing, board games, and lots of food.

What are you thankful for today? 

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Please pray that Wayne's body stays strong so that he doesn't get this cold. His immune system is still recovering from chemo. So far he is doing great! Each day he is getting stronger!

A Month of Thanks: Day 20

Psalm 7:17 "I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High."

1. I am thankful for the spontaneous, romantic birthday present that Wayne gave me last year...a weekend trip to Niagra Falls. God's timing was perfect!! We were able to spend some special time alone without the kids. Just 3 months later, Wayne had his seizure and our crazy journey started. So thankful for these fun memories with my man. I'm also thankful for Courtney, who babysat our kids so that we could escape.

View from our room

I asked Wayne to take a video of the falls for the girls since we had just learned about them for school (the teacher never rests). At the end, he got all romantic on me...but it makes me smile. 

2. I'm thankful for verses like Ecclesiastes 7:2 "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart." I love this verse because it is a great reminder to us about what is important. Yesterday, the girls and I attended a wake for a friend's dad. Anytime I go to a funeral or a wake, it is a gentle reminder to me about how fragile and short life is here on earth. As the verse says, we should take this to heart. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow! So thankful for reminders like this from God's Word. 

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Wayne is feeling well enough to travel for work. He has been in North Carolina the past two days on a business trip. So thankful that he is feeling good enough to travel. I'll be thankful when he is home!

A Month of Thanks: Day 17, 18, 19

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Give thanks in ALL circumstances. I needed to hear this verse tonight. The past few days have been challenging. Our circumstances are not always what we want them to be, and that can be difficult. God is using experiences around me to further refine me and mold me. In the past week I have learned about a friend entering hospice and another friend's daughter finding out that her cancer is back. I feel like cancer surrounds me and the darkness of it has filled my mind too much the past few days. As I sit here reflecting on things to be thankful for, I can't help but be thankful for all of the things that God has been teaching me on this journey. He continues to teach me more every day! As I said months ago in another post, I have to keep my eyes fixed on God. If I pay too much attention to everything around me (all the negative cancer stories, all the worries of life, etc), I start to drown. I have to keep my eyes on God as Peter did when he first stepped out of that boat. Full trust and surrender, with my eyes fixed on Him!!

Okay so here are the things that I am thankful for the past few days:

1. I'm thankful for a washer and dryer that allow my family to wear clean clothes. When I see how other people around the world have to wash their clothes, it makes me thankful for the few buttons I have to push! This leads me to #2.

2. I'm thankful for all the clothes that we have. We could probably go at least a week or two without doing laundry and have plenty of clothes left to wear. God has abundantly blessed us.

3. I'm thankful for the homeschool music class that my kids attend. I love their teacher Mrs. Vroom! She teaches them about composers, how to read music, how to play chimes, and my favorite part is that they learn to appreciate and love traditional hymns. I love hearing my kids walk around the house and sing songs like "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Rock of Ages". I also love how once a year they go sing to the elderly at Autumn Leaves. 

4. I'm thankful for children's imaginations. One of the many things I love about teaching my kids is seeing them have freedom to learn in different ways. This year we have been using skits/plays as part of our history/Bible time. Here is a skit the girls "performed" for me tonight. Grace is not in this one even though she wrote the skit because she had a meltdown while they were practicing it. Abigail stepped in as the narrator. (Update: I can't get the video to load, so a picture will have to do). If you want to watch it, you can come over. The skit ends rather funny because Naomi accidentally breaks her "staff", which is really my webster for cleaning up spider webs. The look on her face is hilarious when she realizes what she did.

Creative outfits from their clothes. Naomi figured out her outfit by looking on google. She was looking at a picture from "The Ten Commandments".

5. I'm thankful for books and board games that other people have recommended to us. I love to read to the girls, but sometimes finding the right book that all of us will enjoy is difficult. We are currently reading the Wingfeather Saga book #1 "On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness". The girls love this book and want me to keep reading when I reach the end of a chapter. I just bought book #2 on cd so that we can listen to it on our next road trip. We have all really enjoyed this book, including me. (Don't tell the kids, but the suspense was driving me crazy, so I read the book all the way to the end). Another thing we recently added to our collection is a game called Labyrinth. We just played it for the first time tonight and it was a big hit. 

6. I'm thankful for the telephone. I love that I can pick up the phone and call my mom, call a friend, call Wayne, or call my sisters. I love that the girls can pick up the phone and call their grandparents, cousins, friends, etc. Although I still love getting snail mail, I'm glad we don't have to wait for the mail to hear how others are doing. 

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Wayne is doing well. He is getting stronger every day. We are looking forward to a low-key Thanksgiving just as a family. Some good food, board games, and making memories as a family!!

A Month of Thanks: Day 16

Psalm 30:1-12 "I will extol you, O Lord, for You have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You have healed me. O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O Lord, You made my mountain stand strong;

You hid Your face; I was dismayed. To You, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it tell of Your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing Your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever!"

1. I'm thankful for a husband who immensely loves his daughters. He makes each one of them feel special and loved. Today was Micaela's birthday date. I think she looked beautiful in her dress that God provided. She was so excited that Wayne got to drive her on her date. She told her sisters, "I'm the first one that Papa gets to drive." She was thrilled to have time alone with her dad.

2. I'm thankful for every day that God gives us with Wayne. The last few days have been hard. People on my GBM facebook page have reported loved ones entering hospice or passing away. Today I found out that a local friend who has been fighting brain cancer for over three years is now done. The treatments aren't working and they are making her super sick. I have been sick to my stomach all day thinking of her and her family. Even though God has given her peace about this and she knows where she is going, it is still heart breaking. It also once again stirs up fear in my heart about our future. I know that I shouldn't dwell on the negative stories or worry about the future, but hearing things like this just makes it so hard. It's not great to hear things like "A long-term survivor lives about three years." Once again, I'm laying my fears and future in God's lap. I know He is good, faithful, and that He has a sovereign plan. He has numbered each of our days, including Wayne's days. Surrender and trust...that is where I'm at again. I will continue to bring each person, including Jenn, before the throne of God until He decides to take them home. If you want me to add you or a loved one to my prayer list, let me know.

I also am thankful for all the people who wished me a happy birthday yesterday. Thank you for making me feel loved!! I thank God for another year of life. I'm praying that this year is another year of spiritual growth, dependence on God, and a year for God to use my life for His glory!