A Glimpse into our Christmas

Go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lnalmengor/Christmas2008#

Enjoy!

Christmas Eve's Vulnerabilities

Many are posting beautiful meditations on the Christmas story today. Go here to read about 'humbling holidays', here to 'wonder', and here to read about an 'incarnation conversation'. I am grateful for my articulate friends who can turn their meditations into poem or prose from which we can all benefit.

Today, I am finding myself surprisingly vulnerable to temptation. Though I realize I shouldn't be surprised by temptation as my flesh never takes a vacation nor does the enemy of my soul. I guess functionally I did assume I could be carried by the joy of having friends and family near, the anticipation of good food, opening presents and reading the familiar passage in Luke 2 and not have to purpose to depend on Christ, the One we do all this for (right?!). But, I find myself early on in the day on Christmas Eve particularly vulnerable and needing to run to my only Hope...Jesus...thank you for being tempted in every way and yet never sinning. Thank you for enduring this sin sick world and ultimately the cross where you suffered the full wrath of your Father, now my God, with whom you only knew perfect harmony. Thank you for defeating death so that I would one day know eternal life. And thank you, today, for the day you initiated all of this and more: the day of your birth.

Today, I will prepare a turkey and stuffing for my family to eat, tidy up my kitchen, try to set a nice table, bring in fresh pine from outside for a lovely fragrance, address Christmas cards and pack to travel to PA to see more family tomorrow. I want to do it all as a sacrifice to you, Jesus. I want to do it all remembering for whom I do it. I want to do it all depending entirely on your grace and not my self effort.

One day we will not make anymore Christmas dinners, address anymore Christmas cards. No more treking out to the Christmas tree farm for the beloved Christmas tree. No more drives to see Christmas lights. No more Cantatas or Live Nativities to drag the kids to see. We will one day do no more of these things because we will be face to face with the One for whom we do all these things. My dad, 4 grandparents, precious Livi and others are just watching us in all our activity as they enjoy Christ Himself. Thank you, Lord, that one day I'll join them. Help me to honor You today with that hope of tomorrow.

Cast of Characters

In our family Christmas pagaent that we're apparently having this year, Judah declared this morning the following cast of characters:

"Mom can be Mary. Papi can be Joseph. Bella will be the angel; Tucker, the shepherd, and I will be Baby Jesus."

Me: "You will be Baby Jesus!"

Judah: "Yeah, I will be Baby Jesus because I suck my thumb."

Merry Christmas!!!

As we look back on 2008, we often felt we were in the midst of a storm which came in many forms: late hours for Lawrence at work, 3 crying kids all at the same time while the phone rings and dinner burns, extended family issues to work through, health problems, the nature of friendships change, etc. But, God was and is teaching us how to sleep in the storm… not to be irresponsible, but rather fearless, knowing it is our good God who orchestrates the storms and promises to provide peace in the midst of those storms. It is armed with that mentality that we rejoice this Christmas and celebrate the birth of Jesus, the One who was born to die so that we could know Immanuel, God with us, through whatever storm we may face in 2009!

May God bless you with the same peace which is found in Jesus.

Lawrence, Briana, Judah, Tucker and Isabela

The Holiday Bulge

Apparently the statistic is that Americans will gain 5-7 pounds between Thanksgiving to Christmas. I haven't reached that statistic yet, but I think I must have gained some weight per my sons' recent observations.

Judah: (Playing with my belly, which to a 4 year old probably feels much like a bowl of jello) "Mom, you ate too many desserts."

Yes, Judah, yes, I do.

a week or more later,
Tucker: "Mom, your belly popped out.

From the mouths of 'babes'. :)

Our Elfin Jam

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Search and Win

Check this out. I just registered with something called "Swagbucks", a search engine site. One earns points for doing searches just like at google or ask.com, etc. Once one reaches a certain number of points, he is eligible for gift cards. I learned about it at a money saving blog I read frequently called Money Saving Mom.

Check out this link:
http://swagbucks.prodege.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=258040 and start earning $ today. :)

The Inexpressible Gift

A quote from Of First Importance:


“What we see at the cross is the white-hot revelation of the character of God, of his love providing the price that holiness requires. The cross was his means of redeeming lost sinners and reconciling them to himself, but it was also a profound disclosure of his mercy. It is, in Paul’s words, an ‘inexpressible gift’ that leads us to wonder and worship, to praise and adore the God who has given himself to us in this way.”

- David F. Wells, The Courage to be Protestant (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 2008), 129.

Thank you, Lord, for your 'profound disclosure of mercy' in giving up your only Son so that I could know You, commune with You, talk to You about anything, anytime, anywhere and be heard by You, loved by You, preserved for Heaven by You and ultimately, one day to see You face to face and live eternally in Heavenly Bliss. Indeed, You are good and have been good to me.

The Ongoing Food Wars

We have food wars in our home...not the fun kind where everyone is eventually covered with food (yes, that would actually be fun for me as opposed to the kind of food wars we have).
My boys are notoriously not the best eaters. There has been MUCH growth, and I can say God has given both them and us (their parents) much grace over the last 3 years to persevere in taking small steps toward good eating habits.

Today, war was waged over vanilla yogurt and berry granola mixed. Mind you, this was requested from my son. I double and triple checked with him to make sure he wanted it. He did. But, after a 1/2 of a bite, he told me he was full.

I tried various approaches to get him to finish his lunch and finally I pulled out the old, "Who's in charge?"

Son: "You're in charge, mom"

Me: "Who put mommy in charge?"

Son: "God."

Me: "Why did God put mommy in charge and not you? (wanting to hear something like, 'because God loves me and wants what's best for me OR because mommy can take better care of me than I can of myself, etc.') Instead, I got....

Son: "..Because she wants me to eat and not die."

Well, yeah, I guess that was close enough. :)

Do You Have a Heart For Missions?

Well if you do, I want to ask you to jump over to my brother and sister-in-law's blog to find out about their upcoming adventure to the Ukraine. My brother, Garrett, and his wife, Kristen, are currently raising support to do a 2-3 year stint to the Ukraine. They love Christ and have a passion for overseas missions, particularly church planting ventures. They are currently at 93% of their needed monthly support. If you want to learn more about them and their journey to the Ukraine, please visit their blog:

http://garrettclemmer.blogspot.com/

Excellent Perspective on Today's Election

Take 4 minutes from you day to watch this video of John Piper offering excellent perspective on today's election. It will well be worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFvlfc2VkN0

The Dearest Place on Earth

I'm talking about my church, now named "Sovereign Grace Church". Yesterday we had a special Sunday in the life of our church for it changed its long held, dearly loved named of Chesapeake Community Church to Sovereign Grace Church. During the service, our pastor spoke of the Sovereign Grace of God that brought about the birth of our church, has sustained us for many years and that we can anticipate for years to come. At one point in the service, several members of the church shared their testimonies of God's Sovereign Grace in their individual lives in a unique and powerful way. Here is a link to view this special part of our service yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU8HvPHycPs

As you watch, consider how God's Sovereign Grace has saved and sustained you and be blessed. And, if you don't know God's Sovereign Grace in your life, I'd love to talk to you about it!

Day in the Life of...

I have found myself too busy and my mind too cluttered to capture all that is racing by me lately in the lives and development of my kids.
SO, I'm just taking a second to jot some things down...

Tucker has been infatuated with a retractable measuring tape which he calls, "Stretch". He wants to take stretch everywhere and measure everything with it. Very funny.

Judah has been saying that his thumb fell off a lot lately...don't know if that's because I'm always telling him to take his thumb out of his mouth???

Bella sits for lengths of time taking shoes on and off or trying to put any article of clothing on via her feet. Yesterday, she had the sleeve of her sweatshirt up on her leg.

Longing For Deliverance

Another quote from my most oft-read blog: Of First Importance.


“Every time you acknowledge your sin, you long for Jesus too. But you’re not longing for the final sacrifice, because it’s already been made. No, you and I long for final deliverance. We long for that moment when we’ll be taken to the place where sin will be no more. We long to see Jesus, to be with him, and to be like him. Isn’t it comforting to know that that final deliverance has been written into the story as well? It is our guaranteed future. And so we long with hope.”
- Paul David Tripp, Whiter Than Snow (Wheaton, IL.: Crossway Books, 2008), 90.

Aren't there so many things our hearts long for? Some are significant things like a child to a barren woman, a wife to the single man, or healing for the chronically ill. Some longings aren't as significant but are longings nonetheless, like a longing for chocolate (a longing I'm all too familiar with), good weather, or a new wardrobe. Some longings are fulfilled this side of Heaven. Some remain deferred hopes. Isn't this such good news that the fulfillment of the greatest thing our hearts could and do long for, "final deliverance" from our sin, has been guaranteed for those who believe in Jesus! So, whatever you are longing for today, may you most long for final deliverance and therefore "long with hope".

Let Your Victories Be Recounted...

Monday Judah had to go for a routine EUA (evaluation under anesthesia) for his eyes. We only have to go for these every 6 months which is a blessing as they used to be every 3-4 months apart. Judah is now old enough to know who all his doctors are and what he has to go through with each one. So, when he found out we were going to see Dr. Jampel, he fought to choke back his tears.

As a mom (and dad), to watch him wrestle with his emotions over these appointments absolutely amazes me and always earns not only such respect for my son but also awe at God's grace on his little life. He is so mature in some ways, doing battle with his heart that is prone to fear and/or grumble about his lot. Truly, some adults would not do as well undergoing the kind of medical rigor he goes through as a matter of course.

Granted, I know there are sooo many others who go through things so much more difficult. I know because I've seen with my own eyes. It's hard to walk in and out of Hopkins as much as we do and not be confronted by the staggering mercy God has shown Judah and our family. His medical needs are relatively minimal compared to so many other children out there.

We met such a child and family this visit to Dr. Jampel's. While I was back in post-op. with Judah (who did amazingly well waking up from anesthesia this time), our dear friend, "Ms. De" was out in the waiting room making friends (little beknownst to us, but not surprising). When Judah and I were wheeled out of post-op., I peered into the waiting room and called for De who was talking to another anxious mom waiting for her daughter to come out of post-op. as well. De stood up and gave this woman a hug as I leaned into Judah's ear and said, "Ms. De is making friends again." :)

De is one of the most friendly, unpretentious women you'd ever meet; though also one of the classiest at the same time. She strikes this beautiful, God glorifying balance of femininity. We love having her with us for these hospital visits. No matter how early in the morning we have to leave, she is willing to not just ride along, but provide such emotional strength to both Judah and me each time. (And, she's not naturally a morning person..so I know she's got to be walking in the Spirit for making these trips with us).

She does this not so much by letting me cry on her shoulder and seriously talking me and Judah through the circumstance (though she will and has done this), but by being silly and fun, light hearted. She is so refreshing, and Judah just loves when she goes with us. She serves me by entertaining my son, helping him not take himself or his circumstances so seriously (even though she absolutely appreciates and affirms the serious nature of them and how difficult a lot it can be for us). This frees me up to take care of the logistics of our visits (parking, talking to dr's, signing papers, etc.) and also from having to carry both mine and my son's emotional load that typically accompanies these visits.

All this, AND I find her this past visit seeking to minister to another anxious mom while I was back in post-op. De and I talked about her interaction with this mom, and it was apparent that this mom didn't know the God of the Bible. De spoke rather boldly with her but also communicated deep compassion as well.

After we were discharged, we decided to hit the cafeteria for lunch (something I don't think we've ever done before). But, looking back, I can see this was a divine leading as we ran into this mom again along with her daughter and husband. We stopped and I officially met them. We exchanged information about our children's syndromes and briefly shared about our experiences with the medical community over the past 4-5 years.

And, then the mom said something like, "I've come to realize doctors really don't know that much." The context was such that we weren't slamming the talents, knowledge and skills of doctors, but just amazed by how much there is to still figure out about the human body. This provided such a clear opportunity for me to speak of the God of Psalm 139 who has so fearfully and wonderfully made us and who so amazingly sustains us.

We both agreed that the more reasonable expectation we should have when anticipating the birth of a baby is for there to be something wrong rather than that the baby would be altogether healthy because we have seen (and this a limited sight) just how much has to come together for us to be and remain healthy and function "normally" as humans.

I walked away so grateful that God opened this door not only to tell of His excellencies and of Who He truly is, but also to hopefully enlighten this woman's view of God, to provide her and her husband with an opportunity (and maybe there have been other opportunities in their lives) to be confronted with the truth that they are not only accountable to a living, Holy God but also that they are loved by Him if they place their trust in Jesus.

Walking out of the OR this time after holding the gas mask on Judah's face while speaking right into his ear that Jesus would be with him and I love him and would be here when he woke up, bearing again having to listen to him scream with utter terror until finally he fell "asleep", and kissing him on the cheek before leaving his side, I realized this never gets easier. The medical staff usually picks up on the fact that we're (Judah and me) very familiar with all the procedures and prodical, but even in what may seem rote to us both, it never gets easier. My prayer every time we go to the doctor is that God would somehow be glorified and redeem all that we go through. The opportunity we were given to speak to this woman and her family about the Lord is an answer to those prayers.

Steel Cut Oats

Anyone ever eat and/or know how to prepare steel cut oats?
I heard they were superior to regular oatmeal that's apparently been stripped of some of its nutritional value, so I picked some up recently at BB's and want to try it. Any tips?

Good for me may be good for you, too...

From one of my favorite blogs, Of First Importance, a quote that is so helpful and instructive to me this morning as I battle not only a nasty cold but my nasty heart that wants to give into self pity and doubting God's care for me:

The trade of doubting
“When the Christian trusts, he is happy; when he doubts, he is miserable. When the believer looks to his Master and relies upon him, he can sing; when he doubts his Master, he can only groan. What miserable wretches the most faithful Christians are when they once begin doubting and fearing! It is a trade I never like to meddle with, because it never pays the expenses, and never brings in any profit —the trade of doubting.”
- Charles Spurgeon, Fear Not

May we Christians be happy today as we look to our Master and rely on Him today.

The Ultimate Comfort Food

Like so many of us, I eat for comfort at times. And, I have my own list of foods that seem to fit that category. Of course, chocolate is found on this list, but honestly I don't consider it as much a comfort food as an indulgence. My comfort foods tend to be warm and easy to eat like oatmeal. Believe it or not, I consider rice, beans and cheese to be one of those ranked high on my comfort food list. May sound strange, but my latest favorite is something called "Baked Louisiana Dirty Rice and Beans", a recipe I found in Cooking Light. I consider this recipe the ultimate comfort food because one need not feel guilty after eating it. It's good for you!! Here it is for you to try the next time you need some comfort food:

1 Tblsp. olive oil
1 c. finely chopped green bell pepper
3/4 c. chopped red onion
1/2 c. finely chopped celery
1/2 lb. skinless, boneless (I use ones with bones in and cut off the skin myself) chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 in. cubes (I leave them whole, too...less work).
1 c. uncooked long-grain brown rice
2 1/2 c. fat free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onions
2 tsps. minced fresh thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8-1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 350.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bell pepper, red onion, and celery to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in rice; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and remaining ingredients; bring to simmer. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

I cook and bake this in my Pampered Chef Executive Skillet. I love that it's a one pot meal that way!

And, some pictures...

Judah and Tucker's 4th birthday celebration with Lawrence's family

Bella loves many things. We've captured a few in pictures:

Corn

Reading books (and occasionally ripping pages)

Climbing like a monkey

and her Papi!!

Growing Up

My three gifts from God (that would be my children I'm talking about) all had well visits with our pediatrician recently. Usually I can manage all three by myself. It's not pretty, but I manage. But, because all three of them were scheduled to have shots, I asked my MIL if she'd go with me. Thankfully, she agreed!

Judah and Tucker are 4!!!
Amazing to me to think that a year from now, God willing, they will be entering Kindergarten!!
My boys are growing...Tucker is in the 25th percentile for height and weight, and while Judah is only in the 5th percentile for height, he grew at the same rate as Tucker over the last year. To me, this is a good sign. I will be taking him to see his endocrinologist toward the end of September for her to take her measurements and continue the dialogue of whether to try growth hormone treatments or not. This is an ongoing concern of ours, but we are so grateful that Judah is still on the charts and still apparently growing! Thank you, Lord!! Keep praying.

Daily, the boys wow me with the intelligence God's blessed them with. Recently, they have been interested in math. "Mom, did you know that 2 and 2 make 4?" They write their name (not well, but they do it). They LOVE to read which, in my opinion, is the key to any and all learning. They're VERY curious, almost ad nauseum. All day long, I answer the question, "Why?". I have to often remind myself that this is a good thing as it can get quite annoying. :)

The boys are nearly OBSESSED with Thomas the Tank Engine which my pediatrician says is actually developmentally quite normal. From the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep, they play (or want to) with their trains and tracks. I'm grateful to be at this stage finally where I can watch them play with such focus and intensity while I get other things done. Not totally off the hook, though, I often have to step in to help them work through many a conflict.

Every Friday, we go to the library for storytime. I have been taking the boys to drop in storytime since they were about 18 months. The boys are reluctant, if not entirely resistant, to participate with any finger plays or songs. It's something Lawrence and I are praying about and asking God for wisdom to know what to require of them, how to discern what's going on in their hearts, etc.

The boys tend to be rather fearful but daily, we see so much growth. They fall, scream, but are growing quicker to shake it off. They are beginning to wrestle more with each other and their buddies, not as fearful of getting hurt as they once were. They have watched a couple movies with us (the most recent one was "Jungle Book") that scared them out of their wits (especially Tucker), but made it through and hopefully are growing in courage as a result.

They're also becoming better eaters. It has required a lot of perseverance, and we still have far to go, but now they have a much larger list of foods that they'll eat. There are no special made dinners; they eat what we eat or don't eat at all. They will now eat 2 carrots for lunch, sometimes even without dip! Judah loves corn on the cob. They both eat chicken, prepared many ways, not just nuggets. :) They'll eat an array of fruits and do really well with beans fixed in many different kinds of dishes, taco soup being one of their favorite.

The boys love to watch me bake in the kitchen. They pull up their stools and help me measure and pour. Tucker especially takes an interest in anything I put together in the kitchen. He's our "smeller". He always wants to smell food items especially. It makes me wonder if he'll be a chef some day.

The boys love when I make them chocolate chip pancakes, which I typically do on Saturdays when Papi's home. And, they LOVE when Papi's home. Lately, they'll come in my room in the morning, and the first thing they'll do is go to the window and lift the blinds to see if Papi's car is there or not. We'll do the calendar in the morning as a part of our breakfast routine, and they'll sometimes figure out where we are in the week compared to the weekend (when Papi's home).

They also LOVE their buddies and having company or something to do each day. This could be perhaps from the way we do our calendar time. I have a calendar where we review the day of the week, the month and date each day. Then, we have magnetic activity blocks that we can put on each day. SO, the days we go to the library, I put up the library magnet. As a result, nearly everyday, they ask who's coming over or what we're going to do that day.

My boys live a very full life, and daily I am amazed by the blessings God bestows on my family!!


Bella is 18 months old (and showing it by testing the limits all the time now)!!
Among the many things Bella enjoys, EATING is one of her favorite. There are times the girl will eat as much as I do at a sitting. And, while she doesn't care for most vegetables, she is hands down a better eater than either one of my boys. And, I'm very grateful.

Even still, she only weighed in at the 25th percentile for height and weight.

Bella continues to be the delight of our home. She loves to dance and will shake her groove to just about any beat. She's got a bag full of various moves, too.

She loves to be outside. She'll go to what I call the shoe spot (where the kids leave their shoes by the bottom of the steps), grab her shoes and bring them to me as if to communicate, "I want to go outside."

She is starting to speak (and not just her baby babble that she can be heard uttering all the time). Some of her first words have been: kitty, doggie, shhh, ball, baby, Coco, mine, nose, toes, and of course, momma, papi (baba), judah, tucker...oh, and the roomba she calls "da da". One of the ways the boys will entertain themselves is by 'making' Bella say certain words.

For a while Bella would just meander around the living room doing really nothing while the boys played all day long with their trains and tracks. But, recently, she began to get into their space just a little bit too much for any of us to endure. So, it finally occured to me to bring her kitchen set upstairs for her to play with. She has been having lots of fun playing "mommy" in her kitchen and for the most part, staying out of the boys space.

The girl is proving to have quite an independent spirit (gee, I wonder where she gets that from). God is giving me confidence, however, in helping her learn where and when it is appopriate and God glorifying to exercise her independence. In many circumstances, I'm grateful she's independent. Where it gets her in trouble these days is when she opens the pantry and pulls out the cereal, or stands on one of the toy bins and tries reaching for the things on the pass thru window or tries to climb over the gate and falls on the kitchen floor, face first. :)

Bella's also a little monkey and fearless. Again, something that has its advantages and disadvantages. There are slides at the playground that the boys only recently are willing to go down; Bella's going down with gusto at 18 months. But, she also walks away from me and/or quietly disappears when I'm distracted, never looking back to see if I'm with her or watching her. She's nearly been in the street, hit by a car twice before I noticed. She's quiet and quick. I have to keep an eagle's eye on her at all times.

And, she loves men. It's funny (scary) how she'll nearly bat her eyelashes when she has the attention of a man. She loves her Papi most of all, though, and I know it'll take quite a lot for any young man to not only win Bella's heart but moreso, my husband's approval one day.

Ahh..but that day is not today. Thank God.
Instead, today, I get to enjoy this adorable, baby babblin', dancing, sweet little girl of mine, and I'm so grateful.