Things I Am Thankful For:

1. My God
2. Adrian and Mali-Bear
3. Family and Friends
4. Cate (My Wonderful Niece and Answer to Prayer)
5. Crest Whitestrips
6. Living in FL This Time of Year
7. Garlic Press
8. Flip Flops
9. Soccer
10. Gas Prices Going Down
11. Mom's Baked Corn Casserole
12. Jumping Off Cliffs at Rock Run
13. Snow Days
14. The View from Rattlesnake Mountain
15. Christmas Claymation
16. The Wood Stove at Mom and Dad's House
17. Mali's Toys Laying All Around the House (Evidence of Her Presence)
18. Coffee
19. Having an Extra Refrigerator for Thanksgiving
20. Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish
How about you?

Christmas Jesus Freak

Maybe its the fact that I am a mom now and we are thinking through what we want to communicate to Mali and forming family traditions, or maybe its the fact I am just becoming more aware of a world in need, but I have all of the sudden become a sort of Christmas Jesus Freak. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not out on the streets of Tampa clad in John 3:16 with a megaphone shouting to passer-byers to "repent." I'm just passionate about making Christmas about why it originally began in the first place: the birth of Jesus Christ "who came to save his people from their sins." (Matt. 1:21)

This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. I John 4:9 NIV

That said, I found this wonderful little DVD that tells the true Christmas story, so I plan on buying it for all the little ones in my life. Christmas is not about materialism, but about blessing someone's socks off! Last year, our pastor told us that the average family spends $1,000 on Christmas gifts each year (yikes, that's a lot for an average), so he challenged us to spend half of what we normally spend, save a fourth and give away the remaining fourth. So that is what our church did and we sent thousands of dollars to build wells in Africa so the people there could have clean water to drink. That is what Christmas is all about.

Hello My Little Smart Girl!

This is Mali's latest read and boy does she LOVE this book. We have read it over and over and over and over and over . . . I also love it too, so I don't mind a bit. Yesterday I overheard her talking to herself, so looked over to see her sitting with this book opened on her lap. She was "reading" it by herself from memory!!! I thought to myself, "Oh well, she knows a page or two . . ." but she knew the whole thing!! I've got to get this on video.

Pumpkin Festival

For those of you who think this blog is worthless without pictures of Mali, here are some to make you happy.

Latest Reads

So I was happily reading Wide Awake, by Erwin McManus when the library called to let me know that the book I requested, How Should We Then Live, by Francis Schaeffer had come in. Well, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to just peek into the first couple pages of Schaeffer, but now I'm hooked. I can't very well read both at once and since I have to return Schaeffer in 3 weeks and I own McManus, Schaeffer won out for my current read. Sorry McManus. I love you and will return to you soon.

St. Maurice

Have you ever heard about a Roman military commander named Maurice? Yeah, neither had I until just yesterday when I happened to read about him. You know Christ's prayer that we as Christians "be in the world, but not of it?" Maurice took this to a whole new level. Back when the Roman Empire ruled the world and Christians were persecuted, Maurice was given orders to direct a persecution of Christians. Instead, Maurice handed his insignia to his assistant so he could join the Christians and be killed as a fellow believer. This took place in the Rhone valley in Switzerland under the mountains of the Dents du Midi. It is for him that the town of St. Maurice is now named. Wow, what strong faith he had! I want to be like that.

Nothing Better in the World

I was just thinking about the feeling I get when Mali runs up to me with arms wide open and gives me the biggest hug she possibly can or when I give Mali a snack or hand something to her and she says, "Choo choo Mommy" which translates to "Thank you Mommy" or at night when I'm tucking her in and she says, "luh you Mommy"or when she first wakes up in the morning and is still a little sleepy and will sit and cuddle with me for a while and let me kiss her hair, or when she sees a booboo on my leg and kisses it and tells me I need a Dora (her word for bandaid), or when she leaves a really loud toot and looks at me and starts laughing and then we both start laughing really hard, or at my soccer games when she shouts, "Go yeyo!!" (I'm on the yellow team) or when she gives me eskimo kisses . . . ahhhhh, that just fills my heart up to overflowing. There is no better feeling in the world.