So Allie, Grace, and Hannah or the Terrific Triplets as we lovingly refer to them.. were doing some cleaning up after a TT tornado had swept through the family room causing what seemed to be every toy, puzzle piece and book stored in the cabinets, to be strewn about the room... and I was cleaning out our office, when Allie comes in sad as sad can be, declaring..

A: MOM, We have a situation. (kid you not)

M: OH no.. what is that Allie-o.

A: (as serious as one can be) When I was cleaning up, and I asked Hannah really nicely for her to clean up and stop playing, she yelled at me and called me a.... A pigeon. ( and the tears flowed)

M: (Doing everything in my power not to bust out laughing) I am very sorry that you got your feelings hurt. But honey, are you sure that is what she said, or that she was trying to hurt your feelings, cause I don't even know what that is, or what she means by that.

A: (indignantly) I DO. I know what it is. It's a type of Bird. And I AM NOT A BIRD!


To which she storms out, finds Hannah and and proclaims...

" I AM NOT A BIRD, HANNAH!"

I mean, come on. That is funny stuff right there.


So I am wondering, is Pigeon preschool slang for some insult, or can we chalk it up to error in translation? Or Possibly just a very clever way to work around our house rule of no unkind words allowed? hmmmm....

Baby Stellan is in the hospital with RSV! This will be a tough night for him. Please pray for him through the night, as well as for his sweet family.

Thank you friends!

Much Love~

I have been blessed with e-mails and comments telling me what you are choosing to G.R.A.C.E this Christmas.... Thank you for sharing. I DID NOT cry at each one. So if you think I did, quess you just don't know me very well, do you. ;)

My SIL pointed me in the direction of this video and charitable organization, and I thought I would share. In case you are looking for ideas. Which btw, if you are, shoot me an e-mail. I would LOVE to give you a list of organizations you could check out. Take a peek at the comments, others have already posted some great ideas!




Blessings!

So my super sweet hubby, who knows my affinity for acronyms and naming things, saw my call for help in my last post, and came to the rescue....

So how about we call it Christmas Grace O8??!!!

“Give and Request A Charitable Endowment”

G ive and

R equest

A

C haritable

E ndowment

I thought it was pretty clever, and just perfect.

So there You go. Won't YOU join us for,




Christmas GRACE 08?

Tis the season for Holiday Craziness. Is it just me, or do you sometimes feel like we kinda click on auto-pilot to make it through the Season? Do you think it is because we get all caught up in making all the parties, baking goodies, deciding what to buy everyone, shopping, shopping and more shopping, holiday programs, Choosing matching outfits for the family pic for the Christmas card, taking that perfect family pic, composing the Christmas Card, sending them out, trying to consume as much eggnog as physically possible because it is a seasonal item and you feel as though you must enjoy as much as possible because soon it will be gone for another year?... Maybe just me on that last one.

I think sometimes I get so caught up in the Holiday-ness that I might forget to stop and remember what this holiday is really about. The birth of our Savior. Not Santa, though he is fun, and I do love me a jolly old man. Wait. That didn't sound like I meant it to. Point is, I really feel like we need to take back this holiday and put the focus where it was meant to be, on Jesus. On doing as he would want us to do. Putting HIM first. Doing unto others. Oh and forgiving.. didn't we go over that a few posts ago? Just thought it was worth mentioning again. ;)

Christmas time is truly my most favorite time of the year. I love the lights. I love the music. I love the smells. I love that there always seems to be an endless supply of goodies around. And I LOVE how everyone is so cheerful. I think it is because they are giving. It just makes you feel so good to give!!! People just exude joy at this time. And it is catchy. Man I love Christmas.

So wouldn't it be cool if you could find away to bless more people than just the person you are gifting to? A way to multiply the blessing. Most of us have a long list of people to buy for... family members, co-workers, teachers, bus-drivers, lunch ladies(men), mail persons, etc. etc. etc.... Wow. That is a lot of people to bless. How Fun!

So here is what I am proposing, how about making a donation on their behalf to the charity of your choice. That way you not only will be blessing the recipient of your gift by doing something charitable on their behalf, but you will be able to bless those whom the donation will go to help. NOW think of how many people you could end up blessing. WOW-zers. That is some cool stuff there.

Pick a charity that is near and dear to your heart and make a donation in the amount, or more if the pocket book allows, to what you would have spent on all of the gifts combined. Did I just say pocket book? Anyways... then spend an afternoon with your loved ones baking some cookies. Good quality time. This just keeps getting better. Bag those bad boys up, tie a ribbon around them with a tag attached that say, " This year we have chosen to make a donation in your honor to _____. "

Its a win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win... Saves you time deciding what to get each person. Saves you time you would have spent schlepping all around town purchasing the gifts. You get to spend quality time with loved ones baking goodies. You get to eat the leftover goodies. Your children(presuming you have kiddos) will learn a valuable lesson about the importance of keeping the focus on what matters. The person you are gifting will love your thoughtfulness. (trust me) Money will go to a good cause verses another "thing" we might not really need. And in this simple act, you will have multiplied your blessing. Cool stuff. See win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win. That's a lot of Blessing and Winning going on. Not a bad deal, eh?

So I was thinking, if you wanted to join me in my bless-win-athon Christmas Extravaganza-Palooza 08 (huh?) , you could just send me the info on the charity you decided to donate to and I will make up and send to you via e-mail, a little donation tag to give out to your peeps. You can just print it out, slap it on your goodies, and you are good to go. And when I say I will make it, I will have most likely found a way to convince my mad-talented , way more creative than I could even ever dream to be, friends into coming up with something for me to pass along to you. (Hi Michelle!! Hola Rebecca! Love you girls) ..For your sake, lets hope I do. :)

So won't you join me in our Blessathon?..(nope, still not it).

Hugs to you all~

Amie

Will you forget and forgive me for how negligent I have been towards you? Pretty please.
Can I just say I have been super duper busy. In a good way. Lots of really cool things happening round these parts... And I could not be more thankful!

And now... on to the bribe.

Here are some pics of when we met J-man for the first time. I thought posting some pics of myself looking goofy with giddiness(is that a word?), might make you forget that you are mad at me for waiting so long to fill you in.



A very goofy mommy dying to get her hands on her little man.



Just plain GOOFY! And So Happy!


Thought a pic of all the kiddos in our big ol' van we call BIG MAMA, might make you smile. It does me. :)(David and Katie are so far back you can't even see them. Now that's funny stuff!)


J-man and mommy hanging out the first night.
I might have personal space issues when it comes to this sweet little man!

I stole this from Lisa. Thanks girl.(scroll down and click on pause button, to pause music)

WOW!!! sniff, sniff.

PRAYING for all who WAIT. Here... and There.