Late, but Still Inspiring

When Tim and I visited England (1999) with his parents we stopped one evening at the York Ministry. There was a choir practicing inside and the music was ethereal and brought chills down our spines. Tim and I have agreed it was one of the most spiritual experiences of our lives. We have looked for music that sounded like it ever since. I just found a performance of a favorite German Christmas carol that I found very comparable.When I hear things this beautiful, I know there is something greater and glorious than what can be found in this sometimes dark and dreary world. Happy New Year Everyone!

Cats 1, Tree 0

We finally got our tree yesterday. I have been dreading this day ever since it occurred to me that it is going to be a totally different experience with cats. I asked a number of friends who have cats for their advice and experiences. Some have had no problems with their cats but many of them have pretty much wished me good luck with a knowing smile on their faces.

I am thinking of keeping score in this battle of the pets versus the tree. Today: Cats 1, Tree 0.

We came home to the tree laying down on it's side today. We havn't decorated it yet so no harm done. I think we will be making our Christmas Tree ornaments out of paper this year and every year until things change in one way or another. It is too bad I have grown attached to our cats. If it had been our rats..they would have been OUT OF HERE!

J.C. Penny Redemption (more Christmas Cheer)

This is a pretty hilarious add.

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/video.aspx

A Little Christmas Cheer (. . . at the expense of others)

For the holidays one year, rather than send gifts, my friend decided to enclose checks in her greeting cards. Inside each card she wrote "Buy your own presents" and then sent them off.
A few months later, she discovered the checks she'd "mailed" under a pile of books.
-Ruth Williams (found in Readers Digest, Jan 2009)

Lincoln's Dream

Last night Tim was reading the Advent scripture for the night with the kids. The story was the wise men receiving a dream that warned them not to return to Herod after visiting Jesus. Tim told the kids that some day they may receive an important dream as well, and they should not ignore their dreams.
Lincoln then shared that he dreamed about Jesus. At risk of not giving it the proper reverence I would really like to share it. He said,
"I had a dream about Jesus once. He told me to be quiet."
The Lord really does understand doesn't he?

Layering is in!

Sam has decided he will "change" his own clothes, like 4 times a day. "Chainging" in Sam's language however is "layering" in mine. In this picture he is wearing a blue knit shirt with a collar, then a batman undershirt over that, then an orange and green striped shirt over that and then a blue, white and green striped shirt on top of that. With this in mind, I am glad he asks me to "Change" his diapers for him.