various fall festivities

This was the first year we have gone trick or treating...I have felt a little conflicted about it, plus Trenton wasn't old enough last year to want to go...but this year he had looked forward to wearing his batman costume for weeks, so we found something cute for Chloe, and had our first experience of trick or treating. It was great, my nieghbor Jan invited us to go with her grandkids, and Trenton had a great time. Chloe was pretty miserable with her two yr molars coming in, but was a good sport and said "thank you" pretty consistently. :) She never did get the hang of "trick or treat", but held out her little bucket as cute as you please. In the picture are from left to right, Dillon the fireman, Hanna the fairy princess, Trenton as batman, Chloe as a grumpy butterfly, and Nick as Woody.

The two trees in our back yard have lost most of their leaves now. Piles and piles of gold and yellow and brown. They provided alot of fun these last few warm weeks of indian summer.

As you probably know, I turned 30 this year! My dear friend Pam convinced me to have a birthday party, and did a lovely job of making the treats and doing the planning. We had a massage therapist here and she did reflexology foot treatments on everyone! So fun!

Those fascinating goblets were a wedding gift from my sister Andrea, hand made in Romania. the design on them is actually painted on brass. Very unique!

Chloe has been really having a hard time with her two year molars, very fussy, not wanting to eat things that require chewing. She even bangs her hands onto her jaws while moaning and saying "teef hurt!". Its also affected her (and my) sleep pretty badly. All four were swollen, and finally one broke thru, the top left one. To my suprise, it seemed to be sideways! As in, longer from side to side than front to back. It was out part way, all the jaggedy points thru, and then when I checked again a few days later, its gone! Only one tiny point is still out. The pain seems to be better for now, but I know we will have a hard time ahead of us! Poor love, she has inherited the Whiteman problem of too small a mouth for the teeth!

You may also notice she has finally gotten some hair! yay! Not enough for a pony tail, but certainly warrents a clip! yay!

works or freedom?

I am having a great, sometimes frustrating, ever deepening, life changing time studying in the New Testament. As you know, I like to process things that are on my mind by talking thru them, so here we go.
Galations 5
Paul is writing to the Galation church regarding the fact that someone has been again insisting that the followers of Jesus must be subject to the o.t. law, in this case, circumcision.
As I read, I like to go back and forth between the k.j.v. and The Message. So alot of this wording is from The Message.
vs 1-4 "I am emphatic about this. The moment one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning, the person who accept the way of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave-life of the law."
Why did returning to the system of law appeal to the Galations, when they had already been told by Paul that it was useless for justification? I believe part of the reason is this- it is appealing to my ego to think that something I can DO, or refrain from doing, I can have a part in my salvation, sort of "meet God half-way". That by my striving, I can have some active part in saving myself. Its easier to buy into the lie that "God helps those who help themselves" than to look straight at the facts- that we are hopelessly helpless to be anything other than sinful disasters apart from the Work that Jesus did for us, our redemption in Him!
Listen to vs 6 "For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard for religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love."
So what then do we do with this freedom?
vs. 13-14 "It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word (the Law) is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourselves. That's an act of true freedom."
And now, "the rest of the story..." how to live a Godly life IN our freedom.
vs.16(k.j.v.) "This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" ...live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with living by God's Spirit. These two ways of life are at odds, so we cannot in our own power live the way that we know we ought. But if we make the choice to be led by God's Spirit within us, then by HIS power it is possible! Our lives will then bear witness thru the "fruit" or results of our relationship with Him, these being love, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

I know this is a gramatical nightmare, and I apologize. Would love to hear what you think, if anyone would like to talk about this.

possibly spring?

Some updates...
This is one of the pictures from the kid's birthday party...I did not have one for Chloe on her birthday, so we had a combination party on Trenton's birthday. She did have her own little cake, though. This darling is Trenton's friend Ava. One of Chloe's gifts had this lovely boa in the gift bag... the kids and Kitty loved it!

Chloe does love her dolls...she was so excited with this baby, it talks and says "Mama" and laughs. Totally cracks her up. :)

Here she is using the popcorn bowl for a hat! Silly baby!
Our Kitty is now a grown up cat who loved to nap in the sunshine coming in the back door. She says "pat pat" while petting him

My big girl is suuuch a Mommy's girl...she still is not walking, and one friend sugested maybe she is just happy to be carried all the time by her mommy. ...I am too indulgent, I know, but the days go so fast...How long will she be comming to me and and begging to be held?

How in tarnation did it get to be (nearly) the middle of March?! I am feeling old...my 30th year is here, and time is speeding up again. I heard a quote once from a 90 yr old lady; she said she felt like Christmas was coming around every 15 minutes!

My crocus bulbs are blossoming, and it has been almost warm the last few days. Ah spring, how glad I am to see you. I love spring in Indiana. Maybe its because there is such a contrast in the seasons. The blooming trees are the best part, I think.

Well, thats all for now, hopfully it won't be so long between posts next time! :)

the naked romp and other blessings

Every night after their bath, my babies insist on at least 10 minutes of naked romping. Honestly it is one of the highlights of my life. I wish I could convey the joy of these two little people running and crawling and jumping on my bed, all while giggling hysterically at each other. It is great. My heart swells a little as I "chase" them down, one at a time, to lotion, tickle, and pajama them for the night.
Tonight I was rolling on the floor with Trenton after he "shot" me again, and suddenly heard a shout of concerned indignation from Chloe. She came crawling as fast as she could loudly chastising in baby language and proceeded to try to push Trenton off of me. She was so upset, and not until I sat up and picked her up did she calm down. It was so sweet to see the fierce protecter rise up in her. She has defended her brother a few times the same way, when she became concerned at his crying. I can see it will possibly be a problem in the future when he is punished. :)
I so love to see these little glimpses of their characters and personalities. It gives me pause to realize how much they already ARE the person they will grow up to be, and reminds me that no moment, no day, goes by without some influence affecting their developement. Oh I must remember to be intentional in my parenting, not to let time just go by as if it leaves no imprint on their souls. God, help us. You have entrusted us with so much. Let me keep my life a light to point my babies to you.

I don't know the last time my house was such a disaster. Probably a few times when Chloe was a newborn. I mean, sure, there is often a room or two that are really unfit for any eyes, but today it is the whole house. This is one of the reasons why I generally refuse to get sick, but I wasn't able to resist it this time. Guess I need to start taking my vitamins again. So today the kids seem to be feeling better, as evidenced by the relish with which they have destroyed the house. They both slept well last night, eventually. The eventually part holds alot of meaning....
The last few nights after I put Trenton to bed, he is not staying in bed. I tell him every night after we read a story and say prayers "now Trenton, if you don't stay in your bed I am going to spank you for disobeying mommy. do you understand?" "yes mommy" I go out, shut the door, and a few minutes later hear him coming out of his room. Go smack his bottom, lots of crocodile tears, and back to bed he goes. Repeat once or twice. Why? I don't know.
Anyway, this cold has hampered my hearing and last night after I went back downstairs I didn't hear his escape from his room. I went up to check on him after a few minutes and we did the whole spanking and crying routine and back to bed he went. About an hour later I went up to get ready for bed, and what do you know, he is in our room. Has been digging things out of daddy's closet, including the c.b. radio, the small safe, and various other stuff that he has no buisness in. Also, I notice he has stuck a shoe lace into the box fan motor, and it is no longer working. This morning I also found a nail in there. AAAAAAArgg. Feeling somewhat relived that he didnot manage to burn the house down, I take him back to his room. This time I just give up and put his mattress back in the crib. "What are you doin' mom?" ...sigh... "you won't stay in your bed so you are going to have to go back in your crib." He does not protest, but lays right down. I go to bed.
Wake up this morning feeling like someone large is sitting on my head and holding it underwater. Not keeping up with the kids very well. They manage to unroll a whole roll of t.p. in Trenton's room in an amazingly short period of time. ....its nice when they play quietly together.... sigh... So anyway, other than finding Chloe has sneaked into the laundry room and is eating the cat food, and Trenton is wiping his cheese stick on the glass table instead of eating it, things are still mostly afloat here. As long as I don't look around too much. Really hoping this coffee I am having will help me here...and my cold doesn't stick around too long.

happy New Year

I am sitting at the computer watching my one year old daughter play on the floor. She goes over to the couch and talks to the kitty, then back to the toybox to pull out some more things. She likes to play with the big lego blocks. I can tell she knows they fit together, even though she doesn't have the physical ability yet to build towers. She taps them together. I watch her potential. Babies are such wonderful pictures of potential, of future. She was born on the first day of the year, you know, and has been a little barometer of the years passage to me.

So are any of you (my imaginary audience) making resolutions for the new year? Part of me feels like it is a very silly idea. I mean, why pick an arbitrary line in time and make promises to yourself that you know will be broken possibly even before the month is out. But on the other hand, its a lovely optimistic feeling to look ahead at the new year as a kind of clean slate, never been marked, where we can do better, put hurts behind us, and be the kind of person we want to be. In that spirit, I have thought of some things. In no order whatsoever, here they are.
In this new year, I will grow in my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Actually, this is probably not something that needs to be set as a goal, because I love Him and He loves me and I want to talk to Him all the time and hear what He says and this naturally leads to a deeper closeness.
I hope to be a better Mother to my babies this year. They are such amazing gifts, and I want to always remember that and treat them as such. I want to be more patient, more like Jesus to them. I want them to understand God's love a little bit by my example.
This year, I want to be the wife my husband needs. My heart longs for closeness with him, to truly feel connected. I need to learn and accept my failings, and somehow do better. I desperately need my Father's help.
In 2010, I will be more deliberate in my day to day life. More deliberate in my interactions with my family, more deliberate in my walk with God.
I will take better care of myself this year. I will acknowledge my own needs, and realize that I can better care for others when my own tank is full. This means getting a hair cut once in a while, or a pedicure, or a trip to the museum. Anything that leaves me feeling refreshed.

This past year has been one of the hardest for me. I know I have grown as a person, but so often growth only comes with pain, or so it seems at least. But I am so grateful as well. Some wonderful blessings came to me in 2009; my dear daughter, a wonderful church group, new depth in friendships, and a heavier leaning on Jesus.

Well, I know this may have been more personal than you were expecting. I hope you were not uncomfortable. ;) I have never been very good at facades, so as always, it is what it is!

I hope you are looking forward to your new year as I am, with an optimistic heart and faith in your heavenly Father's love.

Well, I still haven't been able to figure out how to put the pictures where I want them...but anyway, here is the gingerbread house. As you can see, it did not turn out to be the charming cottage I had in mind, but looks more like an industrial building. The problem was that I made the roof panels much too small. Ah well, you live, you learn! I am sure it will be much better next time! It was deee-lish anyway. ;)