Mountain Home Christmas

It took 3 cars and 2 motel rooms, but we ALL went over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house for Christmas. We attended their Christmas Eve service and had Christmas lunch with my extended family. Mother always is the best hostess and is never bothered by the noise and the amount of people we keep bringing! (Well, the noise is sometimes bothersome!) 

I'm so thankful my kids want to spend time with their grandparents and that even though my married ones needed to be in 2 different states...they made it a priority to be there for our time with my parents. Ryan and Katelyn headed to Texas after lunch and Ian and Lauren headed to pick up his parents and head to Tennessee sometime in the afternoon. 

My children are blessed to be loved by many and to be able to call many family. 

Rogers family Christmas!

It was our privilege to host the Rogers family Christmas! There are a lot of us and we're loud! It was fun to have the house full of family having sweet conversations, taking pictures, running through the house, playing games and eating!

Mimi telling the kids about the ambrosia salad her grandmother and mother passed down from Louisiana.

The girls showing Mimi a video of a Christmas when the kids were all little.

Silly picture, but this is the island I dreamed of lots of people eating from!! 

Cameron likes gifts. 

All the littles get presents from Mimi and Gramps. Annelise, Audra, and Jordan get ready to open. Rebekah and Rob cheer them on. 

This is a room full of chiefs...playing a game! It was loud, with lots of barbs, humor and laughs! 

Girls team wins! 

This is my favorite picture. These are the grandkids! What a legacy! 

INDEPENDENCE DAY! 🇺🇸

BIG weekend for our family...packing up and leaving town! We've stayed close to home this summer and it was good to get out our bags and plan a fun weekend with Richard's family. Richard's parents got a HUGE house for us all to stay in close to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson and it was just the thing we needed to have some fun! Lauren and Ian even came from their honeymoon and joined us! 

We ate all meals together, played board games and outdoor games. The kids swam at a pool that we could walk to, we went to a BIG firework display at Big Cedar and just had fun! The littles LOVE to chase each other around and come up with crazy plans of dances, shows and games to play. I'm thankful for time to catch up and getting to laugh with the fam! 

To my son

To my son who asks for more blog posts...two nights before Christmas. I've been busy shopping, wrapping, cooking, cleaning, parenting, shopping, baking, taxi-ing children back and forth from school, sending Christmas cards, decorating and cleaning the house, organizing my paperwork for my next event, doing 4 post sale evaluations with other franchises, reading a Christmas book, helping Sheridan study for semester tests, doing my Bible Study Fellowship lessons, laundry, going to Sheridan's choir concert and Jordan's music program,  making food and taking fantastic white elephant gifts to my last life group, shopping, making spreadsheets of gifts for 9 people for 3 people (getting it all even as can be), feeding my Hallmark movie addiction, taking 22 water bottles to Cameron's school party, attending his school party, going to Jordan's school party, sending cash with Cameron for his school store and discussing his budget for each person, going to LR for Dad's work Christmas dinner, shopping for and wrapping gifts, reading the advent book each night, parenting, cleaning the kitchen, shopping, running up to the property with dad for decisions on property, going to closing about the land, baking and hosting a Whobilation, singing in church last week with a 6am practice, re-filling the bird feeder on the back porch, working from 2-9 last Sunday at the Christmas mall, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, emptying the dishwasher, laundry, giving Jordan medicine, arranging and facilitating a facetime call with Marvin, writing 9 love notes, making 20 twice baked potatoes, a dessert and salad for Christmas eve, and feeding our family tonight before Candlelight. So, thank you for wanting to know what's up here. I'll get back to some more interesting posts next week maybe, or maybe the next.

Quote of the Day

I loved the name Richard gave our anniversary yesterday...our Michael Jordan anniversary. Not gold, not silver, but Nike. You only get one of those.

10-10-15

Today we celebrate our 23rd anniversary. We have no plans, no cards and no gifts. What we do have was taught on at our LIFE GROUP on Wednesday night and I'm more thankful to have that 365 days of the year than flowers today. We have AGAPE LOVE.

The Greek word agape is often translated "love" in the New Testament. How is "agape love" different from other types of love? The essence of agape love is self-sacrifice. Unlike our English word “love,” agape is not used in the Bible to refer to romantic or sexual love. Nor does it refer to close friendship or brotherly love, for which the Greek word philia is used. Nor does agape mean “charity,” a term which the King James translators carried over from the Latin. Agape love is unique and is distinguished by its nature and character.

There are hundreds of times I have asked Richard why he still loves me. There are so many times when he is patient, kind and giving to me when I can hardly stand myself! I have bad moody days, short temper days and just plain grouchy days. Richard always answers the same, "I choose to. I will love you forever." And that, for anyone who is reading, is how marriages stay not only together but are GREAT even 23 years in.  

I'm so guilty of thinking I don't "deserve" love, especially when I'm feeling bad about myself, and really, that's not giving Richard any credit. When I say that, it's putting our love in the same category as loving pizza, loving ice cream, or loving basketball. It comes and it goes. And that's NOT how agape love works.

Making this choice is not easy because our flesh and selfishness tell us we don't "feel" like it. But that doesn't have anything to do with agape love. Jesus demonstrated this best, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

I'm so thankful today for a man who chooses to love me. I get in a funk so often when I don't "feel" like treating him kind, or sharing, or giving my best. He never does. He looks at me in love even when I'm looking rough. He treats me tenderly even when I'm shooting arrows out of my eyes. He serves me when I'm pouting and he gives even when I'm selfish.

I'm so very thankful for the CHOICE that God gives us to LOVE and that my man loves me this way.
Happy Anniversary Sweetheart.

Inscribed on the inside of his ring, and true today:

 1 Peter 1:22b

"...love one another deeply, from the heart."

They call me MOM

I put together this little graphic because I've just started taking pics with my kids this year and I had at least one of everyone. Sometimes I can't believe 6 kids call me Mom...and sometimes their friends too. It's humbling to think about, so I'm thankful God gives me lots of grace, wisdom in those moments, and strength.  I'm a mess every minute I try to do it without Him.

Some highlights from the day: A present from art class from Ceven (aka Kevin, as in Durant). The pinch pot was painted AND wrapped in a customized super hero bag. I thought this would be the best moment of the day...

...UNTIL he came out of Kid Life with this on. In a very crowded hallway and foyer. I mean, why take it off?