My Little Angel

We had an exciting weekend with Patrick's very first t-ball game. He was very proud to wear his new uniform. And I have to admit, I got a little misty seeing my baby looking like such a little man. All started off very well and then in the middle of the first inning the drama started. Poor Patrick had scraped his knees something fierce the day before. Not such a tough guy with blood and boo boos he somehow tripped coming in from the outfield and hurt his poor tender knees again. Well, let me tell you, embarrassment city! He wailed, he moaned, he yelled, he hooted, he hollered. He was absolutely dead set against walking let alone running, and here we were at his first game and he was about to have his first turn at bat. Brett literally had to pin him down so I could re-Band-Aid his knees, all the while he was screaming "NO! DON"T!! Don't touch me" Who knows what people thought we were doing to him. Anyways, he was all rebandaged, but that still wasn't enough. He wouldn't walk, only Brett could hold him. So, he completely missed the second inning and there are only 3 innings!

However, he made a come back, he said he "decided to throw his sad face away"-- how poignant for a five year old. He realizes that it is a choice sometimes. It's all in the attitude. I need that pep talk more than I can tell you. So, in the third inning he got to play the pitcher position, and I will tell you that boy got every  ball that came his way. He was focused and having fun. Great decision, Patrick! Not to mention he had his turn at bat. Thento top it all off, the coach, our neighbor and friend, gave Patrick one of the game balls for how well he did at fielding balls as pitcher. Talk about a come back. I really thought once he bumped those knees he was done for. What a great example of how our change in attitude can make all the difference in our experience.

"to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:23-24

Patrick at bat and running the bases.

On the pitcher's mound

Go Angels!

Happy Easter

I hope you had an Easter focused on Jesus! Ours was busy, but Alyssa kept us focused on the real deal. I am so proud of her. When she woke up in the morning and I told her she had to wait for Patrick to wake up until she could come downstairs to check out the Easter baskets, she snuggeled up with me in the chair and said, "I want to focus on Jesus today." Joy. What a joy she is. And how simple and perfect that statement is. Shouldn't that be my prayer everyday?!

Showing off her new Bible

Hunting for some eggs, took Patrick longer as he opened each one as he found it!

No basket is complete without one of these!

A Christian Seder

After reading Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus I was really moved and inspired to host a Passover Sedar with a Christian emphasis as Jesus celebreated Passover. Ultimately, his last Passover meal is what Christians call the Last Supper. This is where Jesus let his disciples know his fate and where He instituted what we Christians know as Holy Communion or the Eucharist.
So, I invited a few friends over to celebrate with us.

One thing that was very important to me to make clear to our guests is that we were not pretending to be Jewish, but honoring the "Jewishness of Jesus as well as the centrality of the Passover seder in the life of Jews, and therefore, Jesus as a Jew" (Smith xii).

In preparing and hosting the seder I learned so much-- from cooking new foods to deep roots of my faith. The night nourished me physically, mentally and spiritually.

One of resources I found especially helpful was Let Us Break Bread Together: A Passover Haggadah for Christians. It was written by a pastor and a rabbi together. It walked us through many of the parts of the "telling" for that is what Haggadah means in Hebrew. At the Passover seder you retell the story of Exodus, the Israelites being rescued from slavery. This resource added in the fulfillment of the story which is Jesus' redemtion of all of us through the work done on the cross. At different moments in the "telling" this Haggadah really helps Christians connect the dots of how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover and creates such a deeper understanding as to how he really is the "Lamb of God." I infused our telling with bits I had found elsewhere, such as in Beth Moore's Jesus, The One and Only and Mike Ratcliff's Blog "Possessing the Treasure". Moore's section on the Last Supper really explains thoroughly how events played out at Jesus' last Passover meal.

Things I learned at our Seder:
1) I love the symbolisim of everything. I think it made it more kid-friendly and reinforced the main concepts we were learning about.
The Seder Plate:
haroset: the mortar that the Israelites used in helping build the pyramids
roasted lamb shank: symbolic of the Paschal lamb sacrafice, from the Christian perspective it symbolizes Jesus, "For Christ, Our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us," (1 Cor. 5:7 NIV)
bitter herbs: represents the bitterness of life in slavery
Salt water: tears of suffering turned to tears of joy
Green vegetable: reemergence of life-- dipped in the salt water
Boiled egg: reminder of the fesitval of sacrifice at the temple, it also reminds Christians of the new life we have in Christ

2) The important role of kids in the Passover seder. I learned that questioning and debating has a long history in the Jewish religion. I love that! The Haggadah is full of questions for the kids to ask, as well as adults. It also encourages us to ask more questions and to debate issues, as to broaden and deepen the understanding of our faith.

3) The Third Cup of Wine
Traditionally, four cups of wine are drunk at the Passover seder. Each has a significance and is tied to Exodus 6:6-7:
1- I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
2-I will free you from being slaves to them,
3-and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
4- I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.


The third cup is my favorite. It is the cup that Jesus did not drink from at the Last Supper as he said, "I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." Matthew 26:29  So, why didn't he drink from the cup of redemption? He was to become the cup of redemption on the cross and spill his own blood out for us. As it says in Exodus 6:6, "and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm"-- that he did, that he did. How beautifully God ties it all together, it awes me.

Jesus grappled with the work that He was sent to do. He prayed long and hard in the Garden of Gethsemane about it. He even asked for His Father to take the cup of redemtion away, if it was His will, "Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Matthew 26: 39.

All of this is deepened my understanding of just how important the Passover is to me as a Christian. Passover is about God liberating His people. It is about His promise to do that, and how he kept that promise, not just in the days of Pharoah ruling over Israelites but in the days of all His children, as He sent His one and only Son to be the Paschal Lamb, to cleanse us of sin.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Seder Menu:

Chicken Soup with Mini Leek &; Chive Matzah Balls

Chicken Broth

1 onion chopped

3 stalks celery with leaves chopped

2 carrots chopped

2 parsnips chopped

parsely chopped

Mini Matzah Balls

5 tablespoons margarine

1/2 cup finely chopped leeks

1/2 cup finely chopped chives

4 eggs

2 tablespoons giner ale

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

pepper

ground giner

1 cup matzah meal

Melt margarine in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add leek and saute fro 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add chives.

Beat Eggs, ginger ale, salt, pepper, and ginger in a bowl. Mix in matzah meal and leeks. Cover and chill for at least 2 hrs.

Line a large baking sheet with plastic wrap. Using moistened palms roll rounded teaspoons of mixture into balls. Place on plastic. Chill 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in matzah balls; cover pot. Cook for 40 minutes. Transfer, using a slotted spoon, to a bowl. Refridgerate, can be made up to 3 days ahead.

Bring soup to a boil, boil vegetables for 40 mimutes, add matzah balls, conutine cooking for another 10 minutes. Serve. (Bon Appetit, Holidays)

Chicken Marrakesh

4 whole chickens (2.5 pounds each), each cut into eighths

12 large cloves garlic, finely minced

3 tablespoons dried thyme

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup best quality olive oil

8 teaspoons green peppercorns, soaked in water and drained

2 cups whole pitted black olives

3 cups dried apricots

2 cups dried small figs

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup good red wine

2 cups large pecan pieces

grated zest of 4 lemons

1. The day before, combine the chicken, garlic, thyme, cumin, ginger, salt, wine vinegar, oil, peppercorns, olives, apricots and figs in 2 large bowls, dividing the ingredients equally; marinate covered in the refrigerator overnight. Mix several times during the day. Remove the bowls from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Arrange chicken in single layer in 2 large, heavy, shallow baking pans. Spoon marinade evenly over both pans. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and pecans and pour the wine evenly between the pieces in both pans.

4. Cover the pans with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake, basting frequently with the pan juices, 50 minutes.

5. Using a fork and slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, olives, dried fruit and pecans to a large serving platter. Drizzle with a few large spoonfuls of the pan juices. Serves about 8. (Roselle Cranford, Hadassah, NJ, The Hadassah Jewish Holiday Cookbook)
 

New Parsley Potatoes

3 dozen small red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered

1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Steam the potatoes over boiling water until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley. (Jewish Holiday Treats, Zoloth)

Steamed Asparagus

The Last cup of wine is drunk in honor of peace. The Hebrew word for peace is "shalom." My friend, Kristen, particulary liked this ending to our celebration, "Peace is not the absence of strife but the ability to engage even an enemy with out losing sight of the truth that even one's enemy is part of the human family of God."

Go in Peace.

Serve the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Oatmeal with Grated Apple & Pear

I am trying to make a concerted effort to be more healthy and more active. I have been living too much in gluttony these days. I really need to be more disciplined in my eating and my exercising habits.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20


So more fiber, more veggies and fruit, more water, and more excerise. Less McDonald's, less chocolate, less butter, yes, less butter. So, this morning I made up a batch of oatmeal. Alyssa who never eats oatmeal, ate it up with no complaints. I feel better already, taking better care of what God gave me.

3 cups water

1 cup Trader Joe's Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 apple grated

1 pear grated

1 teaspoon lemon juice, to keep fruit from browning

Bring the water to a boil. Add the oats and reduce heat. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly. Add brown sugar, cinnamon and fruit. Cook one minute more. Remove from heat.

Alyssa and I like to eat ours with some Greek nonfat vanilla yogurt.

(4 servings)

Daily Prayers for Kids

I checked this book out at the library this week and I wanted to share it. It is a book of daily prayers written for children to say. There are prayers for each day of the week. Each day is broken into three parts: waking, midday, and nighttime. Each prayer is based on one of the Psalms. Each deals with subject matter familiar to children. I liked that the prayers focused on blessings, giving thanks, and asking for protection. My daughter and I read this book cover to cover last night and she really enjoyed it, the simple rhyming lines and familiar imagery was soothing. This is a great book for helping children broaden their prayer life beyond the traditional, "Now I lay me" prayer. We will be looking at this book more!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Both my husband and I have Irish roots. My husband's grandmother is a Davis descended from County Kerry known for its scenic mountains and coastline as well as the Lakes of Killarney. My roots are in County Kildare, home to the shrine of the Celtic goddess Brigid, "woman of poetry, healing, and smith's work" her name means "a fiery arrow." I would love to live up to all of that. It is also where Saint Brigid is from. She was an Irish Christian nun who founded several monastaries.

Brett and I have always loved celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

While he was in college, he would go to Savannah's River Street with fraternity brothers to celebrate it "thoroughly." After college, we found a couple of irish pubs we really liked, and not just for St. Patrick's Day. One was Ireland's Four Provinces in DC, we loved the Irish bands that played there, and I admit, I loved eating a late night shepherd's pie there. But now with kids we have found some other ways to celebrate the Patron Saint of Ireland.

I have to note that this year is the first year that, our son, who is named Patrick, didn't think today was his birthday. Usually he is asking me where his presents are by now since we usually have some sort of party. Alas, this year we have been so busy, we did not do it up as we usually like to. However, we did try to keep the spirit. I bought him this book last year:

It is by Tomie dePaola. I like everything he does! I actually learned a few things from this book:

1) Patrick was English, not Irish

2) He was captured by the Irish and employed as a slave until he escaped about six years later.

3) He returned to Ireland after having a dream that "called" him back to be a missionary

4) How he was conitinually persecuted

5) That he started the first church in Ireland out of a barn.

The book also has a section at the back that tells the legends about St. Patrick, such as how he drove snakes out of Ireland and how he taught the trinity with a shamrock. As always, dePaola's illustrations are amazing.

After learning more about St. Patrick I am reminded that God calls us to difficult tasks, ones that may even seem impossible. However, we must have faith, we must obey, and we must persevere. Patrick led a life that did that.

"As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverence and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."-- James 5:11

Now what you really came for, the food!!

Of course, I made our traditional Shepherd's Pies. Tonight I made them in individual ramekins since we all needed to eat at separate times. I just popped them in the fridge and baked them when I needed them. I will say this, the Hungarian paprika is a must, it has such a wonderful flavor, regular paprika is too bland.

Mini Shepherd's Pies

5 medium sized potatoes, sliced
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 onion finely chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pepper

8 oz. tomato sauce

In a medium pot boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes or until tender. Preheat oven to 375'. In a nonstick skillet brown the beef with the onions and carrots. Once browned drain the grease. Add the peas and spices. Add the tomato sauce and heat through.

Divide the beef mixture among 8 6 oz. ramekins.

Meanwhile, drain and mash the potatoes with the milk, butter, and cream cheese.

Top the beef mixture with the potatoes.

Bake for 30 minutes.

You can make this a few hours ahead of time and bake once you are ready to eat. Just bring ramekins to room temperature first.

Leek and Potato Soup
This is my favorite! It is super easy, and leeks are super good for you.

3 tablespoons butter
3 large leeks
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 1/2 cups of chicken stock

Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium heat. Clean leeks and cut leeks. Add leeks to the butter, stirring often. Once leeks are tender add the potatoes. Cover and cook until the potatoes begin to soften but are not browned. Add the chicken stock and simmer 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, you could also puree in a regular blender in batches.

Of course, all this tastes better with Guiness!

Leprechaun Soda 

3 scoops Lime Sherbet

6 oz. Sprite

"May you always walk in the sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door"

Irish Blessing

Book Review- The Shack

I read a lot. I love books, always have. Very rarely do I come across a book that I feel so strongly about I think everyone should read it-- and to confess, I think people "should" do a lot of things I think. But this book does something so profound, I'd hate anyone to miss it.

I did not want to read this book. I heard about people reading it, I knew it had to do with kidnapping and a grisly crime. Well, as a mother of two young children, I felt that I just didn't need to read a book that dealt with such "dark stuff." It would just feed my already paranoid, overprotective craziness, right?! Wrong.

If anything, this book helped me overcome some of that paranoia. And believe me, I am QUEEN of paranoia, I was raised on it as if it was something good for you to eat. Maybe I shouldn't say paranoia since the definition of that is "unfounded or exaggerated distrust of others, sometimes reaching delusional proportions. Paranoid individuals constantly suspect the motives of those around them, and believe that certain individuals, or people in general, are "out to get them."

Well, my distrust has always been "founded" so maybe I am not really paranoid. But like any good mom, I am wary, careful, and protective.

So, this books first few chapters were enough to send me screaming, keep my heart pounding, and yes, I did check on my children a few times while they were asleep and I was reading.

But then this book opened up into a beautiful calm. I don't want to ruin it for you, but I will tell you that if you push through those first few chapters, you will be rewarded with so much. This book ambitiously tries to capture the nature of God--from the trinity, what he wants from us, how he approaches us, what we can do, what he will do. It achieves this ambition. For Christians, this book will draw them closer in relationship to Him. For people with little relationship with God or Christ, this will draw them to Him.

This book also deals with the age old question "Why?" Why does God let bad things happen. This book so effectively deals with this question. I have never been so satifised before as I have been with how this book deals with that question. And I am sure everyone has asked that question!

Not only do you care about the people in this book and what happens to them, you fall in love with a loving, forgiving, and merciful God.

Now--go read it!

Eulogy for Caroline Frances Kolacz Martinell, Grammy

My Grammy was never afraid to give advice among her pearls of wisdom was, “Take care of each other“ and she lived it, as a wife, as a mother, as a grandmother, and great-grandmother, she took care of us and in doing so showed us how to take care of each other.
Grammy lived her childhood amidst the poverty of the Great Depression. Yet, she recalled memories of these days with a thankful heart. She was thankful that her family had a farm, because that meant there was food. She was thankful she slept in the middle of the bed between her two sisters, that meant she was warm. She was thankful to have finished high school, recalling the sacrifice her older sisters made for the family by working at an early age after their father died. But that is what families did, they took care of each other. I’ll never be able to know all she overcame during those years, but I do know she learned some lessons to pass on to us.
The biggest impression Grammy has left on me is in her devotion to my Pop, and it is rivaled only by his devotion to her. A more loving couple you will never find, search if you will, my Gram and Pop chose to love each other through it all. Since the beginning of their marriage, they’ve been taking care of each other. They sacrificed by working alternate shifts so my uncle and dad had parents at home. When Pop suffered his first of many heart attacks Grammy adjusted the menu and cared for him—the rest of us recall that as the “no salt era”. In Grammy’s illness, Pop has cared for her, loved her in such huge ways. My grandparents’ marriage has taught me so much—about how daily love is, how to persevere, how to take care of each other.
Grammy had a zealous kind of love. You know she loved in what she did for you, cooked for you, and sent to you. Grammy would do anything for us kids, I mean anything. I remember, after getting my Polaroid camera, asking her to “pose” for me. We took all the plastic fruit from her counter outside and I made her pose with apple under the tree. I even went as far as to ask her to get up in the tree, she did it. She was that kind of Grammy, the kind of Grammy who played with you. She entered our world when we would play. She knew Pigs in a Blanket were my favorite dinner, so it was always there waiting upon our arrival. My favorite memories are of cooking with her, her showing me how to roll the pig up like diapering a baby. I love the times we’d go visit Aunt Kay together and talk about all the different things you could do with a zucchini. She also used to send me stuff, that made me always know she was thinking of me, whether it was cotton for my nail polish remover, recipes, coupons, or articles from the paper. I especially looked forward to her letters when I studied abroad, a great comfort when far from home and she was my most faithful penpal. And Each and every birthday you could count on a phone call from her and Pop singing in unison. She was always thinking of ways to “take care of us.”
In the past years, I’ve missed being able to call her for advice on cooking, gardening, and cleaning—did you know how many uses there are for baking soda? She did. She also can bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie, cook the perfect pot of chicken soup, and I am convinced that they taste so good because of her secret ingredient: love, her love. So no one else’s will ever quite be the same.

More than once I’ve been told I am like Grammy. My dad once said I was here to replace her. I don’t know about that but I felt a connection to her like I have had to no other person. There are just some things I think we understood about each other. We never spoke them, but they were always there.
My Grammy is feisty—“she’d give you one of these”, strong willed, frugal, spiritual, nurturing, loving,-- If anyone says, “You are just like Grammy” you know that’s a compliment.
When we would visit I got to sleep with Grammy. There is nothing better than laying in bed next to Grammy and saying your prayers, it’s the safest most comfortable place, all is right in the world hearing her say, “Good night, God Bless, tootaloo!” Which I do say to my kids, they smile and think I am silly, but it affords me the opportunity to share with them my memories of a very special Grammy.
And we when we clean with baking soda, or make a batch of pigs, or dance around the kitchen, or sing a little ditty, or work in the garden we will smile and think of her.And now our Grammy is home, we are left with her words to us, “Take care of each other.” That’s what she wants us to do.

Polish Blessing: "Zit-cheh toe-byeh styen-chah, zdrove-yeh, doe-breh poe-vode. Zen-yeh, a poe schmer-chee nyeh-byess-kee kore-oh-knee." I wish you luck, health, and prosperity, and afterward a crown in heaven."

New Year

So as part of a New Year's resolution I am trying to memorize some scripture. I am starting with Micha 6:8--“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

I picked this verse for a few reasons-- 1) it was readily available as the verse of the day on Biblegateway.com 2) it really spoke to me

God has showed me what is good. I have come into 2009 so thankful for all His blessings and just wanting to be faithful and of service. So I love that this verse spells out what is required of me: "To act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with [my] God." Today the sermon was all about mercy and how that is what Jesus is all about, not "the law." I tend to like the law, but I do always fall short of keeping it. But I sure notice when others don't and that is not loving mercy. If I myself act justly and love mercy instead of acting righteous and loving justice, I'll be a much better person.

The best part of this verse is about walking with God. That takes time and effort. That means I need to spend time with Him in His word. I need to be delibrate about that. More so this year than last. I hope that this verse will stay with me and help me prioritize.

Happy New Year

Pagaents

As Christmas draws near I am trying to keep myself focused on Jesus, his birth, why he came, and what he accomplished. I am trying to keep focused on that instead of my "to do" list to get ready for all the festivities which really are secondary compared to Him.

I just finished teaching an adult Sunday school class at church that compared and contrasted the two nativity stories in the gospels and we just wrapped up that with watching The Nativity Story movie, which if you haven't seen it-- please do. It is so good. While watching it last night I am always moved how the movie portrays Joseph as such a generous, wonderful, and righteous man. In pageants and this season, sometimes Joseph gets overlooked. But God chose him too, to be Jesus' earthly father. Anyways . . .

The kids are in a pageant on Sunday at church. When I told the kids about it Patrick kept insisting that he was going to be Jesus-- wrong! Originally Alyssa requested a speaking role, which meant she was to be one of the Magi, I thought that was pretty cool. However, as soon as I told her assignment she burst into tears because she only wants to be an angel. So, after convincing the pastor to rearrange things, that left Patrick with the Magi role, which he is more than excited to do! However, then he got upset because at preschool they also did a pageant in which he was a cow, and he kept saying, "No! I am supposed to be a KING!" Luckily, he was an enthusiastic cow, full of mooing.

And now Alyssa thinks her angel role is a speaking one and she keeps telling me her lines, "Be not afraid, you are going to have a baby and you will name him Jesus." While I am thrilled she knows the story, in reality, she has no lines, she is part of the angel chorus!

So-- I am left trying to humble these children. I am trying to impress that each role is amazing and special because each role is a witness to Jesus' birth, he is the real star of the show (which obviously Patrick gets, since he wants that role!) Jesus came down to earth, and he came all the way down, to be born in a stable and be vulnerable to many dangers. God in flesh.

I am praying my kids will get that it is not about the part they play and how "prestigious" it is, but that the real honor is always knowing and seeking Jesus and giving Him what we've got, even if it's just a really enthusiastic "moo".

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23:12

Give Thanks!

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his ;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Thankful

Here we are almost seven years after 9/11. As I think back on that day it seems eons ago, and yet it seems like just yesterday. All I can do is give thanks.
I am thankful that Brett was home sick that day and not at work, in the Pentagon. He is rarely sick and rarely does he take off even if sick. I guess I have Jimmy Buffet to thank or those sausages he ate at the Jimmy Buffet concert that we think gave him food poisoning.

I am thankful that I am not a widow being escorted into the memorial tomorrow morning. I am glad for the husband I have and who I have seen him become these last 7 years.

I am thankful for the children he has given me. They have given me so much joy-- not just joy but depth of love. They have revealed things in me I never knew there.

I am thankful that Brett is the kind of man who has worked the majority of his career to pay tribute to the people who lost their lives 7 years ago and makes sure their families are treated with respect.

I am thankful for the miracles the Lord has worked in our midst. In the midst of hardship, loss, and pain.

I look at Lucky, our dog and think-- your name is Lucky because we feel lucky, we felt we dodged a bullet 7 years ago, and we did. But it's more than luck. Who knows what to call it. I know I feel blessed, but that isn't a good name for a dog.

Baby Brother Wedding Extravaganza!

So my baby brother Paul is all grown up and married. He had a super wedding up in Johnstown, PA. I got to hang out with his wife, Nicole's sisters, who are just as fun and great as she is. He has really chosen well! There is just something about weddings that is awesome. Two people coming together to make promises with God to each other. I love it!

This was a first for us, our kids were at the wedding. Alyssa was the flower girl and did a superb job, which is good because with a 4 year old, there is a bit of risk involved, you never know what they might do. She was angelic. Patrick actually fell asleep on the pew! That was great, he couldn't have been more well-behaved. Although, I was a bit worried looking across the aisle at him asleep, he never does that! Of course I thought something had to be wrong. No, he was just wiped out. They had an awesome time dancing at the reception and eating from the cookie table. Which for the first time in Alyssa's life did she admit to eating too many cookies, "Mommy, my tummy hurts, I think I ate too many cookies." Wow!

As for Paul and Nicole, I am so happy for them. In each other they have found such love. They go together so well. It is so nice to see my brother so happy and having so much fun. At their wedding I prayed that their marriage be blessed by, "love, faith, perseverance, forgiveness, mercy, babies, and laughter" for the invocation.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-17

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13: 1-8.

Well-Built

Six months later . . . the project continues. The top picture shows Paul and Brett during the demolishtion of the bathroom in December. The 2nd pic is taken after putting up the drywall, Brett's dad helped with that. My mom and Joel helped us spacel (sp?) and tape the walls and now finally Paul, Brett and Alyssa are priming the walls! It's been a long haul, but things are really starting to shape up in there. Next I have to learn how to tile. I am a little terrified of that. That will make all the difference in how that shower holds up. What a learning curve for us.

"He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built." Luke 6:48

"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain." Psalm 127:1

Mary, Motherhood, & My Two

After the birth of Jesus and all were amazed about him Luke 2:19 says, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." What must she been pondering! To give birth in a stable to the Son of God has got to give you something to ponder and to treasure, Amen? To follow Mary's example I too want to treasure and ponder the miracles not only of motherhood but of the Lord as well. He blesses us daily.

Tonight my kids were sweet. We all cuddled up on my daughter's bed and read stories together. They actually got through a few before they started tackling each other and Patrick started crowing like a rooster! My kids are 4 and 3, so needless to say, it can get a little crazy when they get worked up. But while I was giving Alyssa a hug, Patrick came up and wanted to get in on the action, and unlike his usual rough manner, he was so gentle and he even put his head on her shoulder. I treasure these moments.