Christmas Break! Praise Jesus!

 

Christmas is almost here! I know that if I don’t write about the adventures and memories of the past few days, I’ll forget! We are so thankful that it is now Christmas break. Chandler has a “Freshman Focus” trip planned for next week (several of the freshman are going on a trip to encourage fellowship and hopefully deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ). Other than that trip for Chandler, we plan to stay around home. Last Christmas the kids and I drove from Maine to Michigan over Christmas break, so this Christmas I am thankful to be sticking around home! 

In the past week, we’ve done A LOT of Christmas baking! I think we made 39 little boxes of treats for our neighbors, teachers and friends. The most popular treats were peanut butter balls and Christmas crack, but we also dipped Oreos, made oreo truffles, caramels, chocolate chip cookies, and a bunch of other sugary treats! I am about sick of making peanut butter balls, but hopefully others will be blessed and encouraged by a box of Christmas treats! 

A few Sundays ago, our Sunday School teacher was talking about Random Acts of Kindness. I know it’s been on our hearts and minds (Roger and I) on how we could help teach this to our children. I printed several Random Acts of Christmas Kindness cards for our kids to hand out to strangers, and I was pleasantly surprised as to how much they seemed to enjoy the idea. Then I had the idea to print a bunch more of those same cards and challenge our 4th and 5th grade classes at school to pass out the cards! So I spent much of last Monday printing out the cards, attaching an invitation to our church’s Christmas service and a candy cane. Then Jennifer and I gave them out to our library classes on Tuesday. We didn’t make the students take a card, but we just encouraged them to take one if they would use it. The majority of the students did take a card, and I’ve been praying that God will specifically use those cards to encourage some spiritually weary people in our world and point them to Jesus. This world needs Jesus, and since we have our hope in Jesus, we need to share that with the world! 

The boys survived mid-term exams! I wasn’t sure that we would make it through the week, but by the Grace the God, we made it through! It was a long week, and it was more stressful that I would’ve liked, but it is behind us for now. Last Friday evening, the kids and I went over to a friends house to do some Christmas baking- including more peanut butter balls! This family has two teenage daughters and a fourth grader boy. It was refreshing to see the teens have conversations with each other and laugh together. I think that teens are often intimidated to talk to the opposite sex because then some one will tease them about “liking” that person! It’s annoying to them and it’s discouraging as a parent who’s trying to raise kids to have healthy relationships at their ages! 

We had over some friends last Saturday, and we did more Christmas baking! Maria and I made oreo truffles and more peanut butter balls! It’s fun to have them over as they have a bunch of boys too, and we enjoy fellowship with them. On Sunday, our Spanish church was having a potluck Christmas dinner and Maria invited our family to join the Spanish church dinner. It was a little odd to go to a potluck dinner knowing that I hadn’t made anything to contribute, but per usual for church dinners, there was plenty of food! It was a good opportunity to interact with families outside of our normal church circle and to be introduced to some ethnic Mexican food. It was delicious!

Monday began the last 1.5 days before Christmas break from school! The older kids (6th-12th grade) had a special day of games for them. The boys all agreed that it was far better than school, but they would’ve preferred more active games- sounds pretty typical for them! The more running, moving, and being active, the better in their opinion! Meanwhile, the younger grades had one last rehearsal for the Christmas program! I had the opportunity to be involved a little in the rehearsals, and it’s always fun to see it finally start to pull together. After weeks of instructing in music, drama, songs and telling students to be quiet on the stage, it’s nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel…either that or it’s an oncoming train! I had the opportunity to be involved in several years of music in Maine, and I’m glad that God continued to allow me to have a small part in this new Christian school. I worked with two great ladies, Lauren and Tamela, and we were all thankful to know that by Tuesday at 11:30am, this program would be behind us! The students did a fantastic job on Tuesday morning, and I think we are all relieved that we don’t have to hear those Christmas songs for a while! 

Roger’s parents came for a few days, so we were able to enjoy some time with them. They arrived on Monday afternoon and left on Wednesday morning. They are traveling a lot this Christmas season as they visit several of Roger’s siblings and families. We enjoyed conversations, laughter, lots of food, and opening gifts together with them. Mom and Dad were able to come to see the Christmas program on Tuesday morning, and we were thankful that they were able to spend some time with us. 

I’ll be honest- this Christmas season has been a rough one. I don’t know that I could adequately express how I feel, but tears have been close to the surface many times in the past few days. My heart hurts for those that have lost a loved one recently. One of my friends lost a son this past year, and we’ve shared many moments of watery eyes. My heart hurts for those that are hurting this season. It’s a season of joy as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but for some it’s a season of deep sadness and grief. 

Transitions are hard- even if they are good transitions. We are figuring out new friendships and relationships here in North Carolina, and it’s not without some rough moments on both Roger and I and our kids... especially Emma and Travis. We left behind six years of friendships in Maine, and some of those will remain life-long friends. I miss shopping trips and church events with Allison, laughing with Jess, and school and church Christmas programs. I miss deep conversations about things that really matter with some of those very close friends. I know that God is at work here too, and that He will bring about those friendships and conversations in His perfect timing. It’s hard not to feel sad about what was behind, but I also know that God will continue to work out His perfect will here too.  

But, we’ve made friends with a military family that’s also new to the area. Getting to know Justin and Laura and their family has been a blessing to our entire family. Laura and I have shared conversations about raising teenagers, and I’m thankful for another “like-minded” mama. Also, I’m thankful for friendships such as Jennifer and her family. Jennifer and I have been working together in the library, and she and her husband have been an encouragement to our whole family. They’ve shared fellowship with us, welcomed our family, and have encouraged both Roger and I.  Wyatt and Travis have made friends with Gabe and Enzo, and I have been encouraged by conversations with their mom, Laura, and we always have lots of laughs together! It’s been six months since we’ve moved, but God has been faithful. Even when I am weary or discouraged, He is still good. He never changes! 

Just this week, God provided several blessings for our family. 

*Garett got his driving permit! I can’t believe our son is old enough to drive! His brothers do not like him to drive because they say that he drives too slowly, but he is being responsible! We are thankful that he takes this responsibility seriously. 

*Christmas cards! We are still one of those weird families that send out Christmas cards, and we also enjoy receiving them! This week we received several cards from friends in the mail, and our kids pour over the pictures and letters also. “Look how big so and so is!” “Mom, did you know…?” Even if they don’t know or remember the family, they enjoy looking at the pictures on the cards also. Also this past week we received a special card and note from some dear friends in Maine. Roger has stayed in touch with them, and we were blessed by their thoughtfulness and generosity to our family. 

*Christmas break- oh, I am so thankful for Christmas break! We are looking forward to soaking up some time together as a family as well as just relaxing at home. 

Photo credit: seedsoffaithdesigns.com

Christmas Season and Blessings!!

Library decorations! 

 November is over, and now it’s starting to feel like the mad dash to Christmas break! My dad has been gone on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic, and my mom spent the week visiting her sister and family as well as time with us. My mom folded lots of laundry for me, matched socks, and played many games with the kids. It was a good week, but it went by quickly. 

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, a friend reached out to me to tell me that she was getting rid of some Christmas decorations. She asked if I would be interested in any of the decorations either for our home or the school library. We gave away a lot of our Christmas items when we moved to North Carolina, and the school library could definitely use some new decorations! Roger and I went over to pick up the Christmas decorations. We stayed for a visit and spent some time just talking with this friend. Christmas can be such a hard holiday on some people, and it’s good to be reminded to spend some extra time in prayer for friends that are hurting or grieving. When we came home and unpacked the decorations, we were thrilled to find that there was a very nice Christmas tree in the mix! We’ve ALWAYS have had a real tree in our 17 years of marriage, but Christmas trees are expensive here, and we weren’t sure about buying one. However, this tree is perfect for our house, and it was fun to decorate for Christmas while my parents were here. There was also a smaller Christmas tree, so the kids had a fun time putting on all the random decorations we’ve collected over the years on that tree. 

My dad was leaving for the DR on Monday morning, and on Sunday afternoon, I got a text from the missionary that my dad was going to be going with. They asked if I could help my dad get some information printed so that he could easily enter into the DR. After finally managing to get the paperwork filled out and completed, we needed to print it. However, last Sunday was a very windy day and the power went out at our house! Now what!? Well, thankfully, we could run the internet off the phone and Roger dragged out the generator to plug the printer into the generator cord! We looked like totally red-neck folks but we managed to print the paper! Whew! My parents headed to Raleigh to check into the hotel, and Emma was excited that she was able to go with Nana and Papa. Since my dad’s flight was so early on Monday, they went to Raleigh on Sunday afternoon. I was happy that Emma was able to have some one-on-one time with my parents. The boys enjoy all kids of outside activities with my dad, but Emma isn’t interested in deer stands, hunting, or shooting at targets. Thankfully, we were able to mend all relationships with our neighbors after Chandler shot the deer on the other neighbor’s land. My dad ended up helping the boys move the deer stands, and I think they might have ended up with a better spot than they were originally. They also met a new neighbor who was extreme helpful in  them figure out where to set up the stands. It was a blessing to have a neighbor help out the boys and give them a few hunting pointers. 

On Monday morning,  Chandler woke up with a rash on his skin. Apparently he had gotten into something while out in the woods. I didn’t think too much about it as the boys are always getting into something. However, by the time basketball practice was done on Monday evening, Chandler’s forearms were swollen and the skin was very irritated. Clearly, whatever he had gotten into wasn’t going away, and we needed to have a doctor look at his arms. So Tuesday morning found Roger and Chandler waiting outside a walk-in clinic in a near by town at about 7:15am. The clinic opened at 7:30am, and when they went to sign in for an appointment, the secretary told Roger that they weren’t taking any new patients. Say what? The walk-in clinic isn’t taking new patients?! I thought that was the purpose of a walk-in clinic. Roger was told that Chandler could come back in January to see if they were taking new patients then. Um- Chandler would have his skin scratched off by then! So they went to a different walk-in clinic. At that walk-in clinic they discovered that there was already about 20 people in line! Roger remembered that there was a clinic in our local town that opened a little later. So they headed there. Thankfully, Chandler was able to be seen by the nurse practitioner who prescribed prednisone and a cream for his skin. Roger picked up the cream and Chandler put it on. Roger had planned to take Chandler to school, but the cream caused his skin to start to “weep”. Clearly, he wasn’t going to be able to go to school like that. So he took Chandler home. A teenager on prednisone was a crazy week! Chandler is like the energizer bunny without a steroid, so he was really eating us out of house and home this past week! He was irritable, unable to sleep and ate so much food I don’t know where he put it! However, we made it through, and his skin does look a lot better. We are thankful that we found a clinic to go to and that Roger was able to adjust his work schedule so that he could take Chandler. 

Friday found me with a passel of kids to take home after school, which I absolutely do not mind in the least! Garett and Chandler had a basketball tournament for part of the day on Friday, so they were gone to that. Typically we go to all their games, but I had already planned a “baking for Christmas” evening with a few friends. Since I wasn’t going to the game, I ended up taking a few extra kids home with me as their parent was at the game. The kids had a great time running around in the yard and playing while I got ready to make a huge mess in the kitchen. Laura and her sister, Suzanne, arrived around 5:45pm with Suzanne’s son, Eli. Two of the other kids that I had brought home had already left, so there was just seven kids left. Laura, Suzanne and I made so many sweet things that we probably were close to a sugar induced coma! We made peanut butter balls, dipped Oreos, gingerbread cookies, caramels, dipped pretzels, reindeer pretzels, Christmas toffee, and I don’t even know what else! It was the perfect day to do it because we had to stay up late anyways waiting for the boys to get home from the basketball game. It was a late night, but such a fun night! Wyatt, Travis and Emma were thrilled to have friends to play with, and it was such a fun night of laughter and fellowship! 

Travis said on Saturday night that “We used up all our Saturday!” And he was rather dismayed about it! We went to watch the boys play in the basketball tournament on Saturday morning. It was a longer day than anticipated as all the games started later than they had anticipated. The boys ended up losing the game, so that was disappointing for them. The boys have learned a lot this season, but the late night are really late nights! We aren’t a late night family, so that’s been a total adjustment.  I’m thankful that they’ve had this opportunity to try, but I’ll be curious to see if they try out next year. 

This past week we also received a really big blessing regarding Emma’s school bill. When we moved to North Carolina, we discovered that the state of North Carolina offers an “Opportunity Scholarship” that will help pay for a student’s tuition bill. However, while we met the financial qualifications for the requirements, we didn’t mean the other requirements. A student has to be entering K, 1st or 2nd grade or be from a military family or be adopted or have been in a public school for at least a semester. Well, we didn’t meet any of those. God provided a job for me though and we’ve been slowing working through paying off the school bill. My parents and sister, Jen, have also given generously towards helping us with their tuition. Late September we made the decision to move Emma back to second grade. Once we made that decision, I decided to see if we could apply for the opportunity scholarship for the second semester of school. We received a reply almost immediately that we were eligible to receive at least a portion of the scholarship and we would be notified if funds became available. I didn’t think much about it after that, but then at the beginning of November, we received an email stating that Emma qualified for 90% of her tuition fees for the second semester! This was a huge, huge blessing to our family! Then we received and email stating that if our child had been enrolled in the same school since October 1st, we could ask for a tuition scholarship for that semester. I sent the email, the school secretary helped with a few phone calls, and a few days ago we were notified that Emma would receive 90% tuition assistance for this school year! Praise the Lord! While God has always provided, and always right on time, this tuition assistance does help relieve some of the financial concerns regarding the school bill. When the kids were enrolled in Maine, we received a significant discount since I was teaching, as well as the Christian school there had a policy that any family that had more than four children, the fifth was free. That worked out well for our family with five children! God has always been faithful and this past week was just another reminder of His goodness to us. So we will continue to pursue our children having a Christian education as we continue to trust Him to provide while we budget and work at it also! God is good. 

This has seemed like a long week, but tomorrow is Friday! Friday is my favorite day of the week. It’s the day that I anticipate all the many projects that I’ll accomplish over the weekend, which I never complete the list! But it’s still my favorite day of the week. 

As we prepare for Christmas, we are looking forward to some family time, making memories, and enjoying a few days off of school. We’ve started a devotional book for Advent season and it covers some of the many familiar Christmas carols. We are only a few days in, but we are enjoying it. I love music, and I am so thankful for music. We pray that you will enjoy this Christmas season. Take some time to read through the Christmas story in the Bible. A helpless babe - and the Savior of the World! 

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