Christmas COCOA

Being intentional about celebrating the true meaning of Christmas...
I stole this from a Proverbs 31 devotional. It blessed me and I hope it will you!

COCOA

C= Christ.
Spending as much time seeking God's heart as we do the perfect present for another.

O= Ornament
We can easily spend more time decorating our house to look like the holiday edition of a magazine, than we do adorning our inner spirit with God’s love and compassion. Let’s ask God to make our hearts beautiful by giving us His patience and kindness. Then let’s look for ways to bless those around us, especially those in need.

C= Cheerfully Celebrate the Season
“A happy heart makes a face look cheerful. But a sad heart produces a broken spirit.” Proverbs 15:13 (NIV)
As gift lists grow and calendars get full, our physical and emotional energy can be drained. Although Christmas is meant to be a joyous season, many of us struggle with depression and discouragement during this time of the year. Let’s take time each day to focus on how much we are valued and loved as children of God. The holidays are merely a season, but God’s love and compassion for us are permanent.

O= Overjoyed not Overwhelmed
"When they saw the star they were overjoyed..." Matt. 2:10
When we focus our hearts on all God has done, we won’t get as easily overwhelmed by all that still needs to be done.

A= Abundance
Whenever I think of Christmas morning, from my childhood to the present, the word ABUNDANCE comes to mind. Abundance of presents, food and activities. But these things are temporary. What we need is the abundant life Jesus came to give us. Our hearts need His mercy, peace and love, not only on Christmas day, but every day throughout each year.

Praying a COCOA Christmas for each of you!!

All Dolled Up.

This morning was our church Christmas program. The kids sang a few songs and topped it off with plenty of donuts. We do not "doll-up" very often, but everyone was cooperative today--except that Macy complained about her tights the entire morning. I am cherishing this in my heart, these kids are precious and the days are passing so quickly! I also am not doing an official Christmas card this year, so enjoy these pictures! Merry Christmas to you--most of you reading this are dear to me!

Check out our homemade star...it is bigger than the tree :) It is a tradition (I stole from my grandma when my mom was little) to make our own star...this is a styrofoam star about 2 inches thick and it falls off everytime a wind passes-which is quite often and usually some form of a ball or stuffed animal flying through the air.

I encourage you to read the Christmas story this week (Luke 2). It has given me great joy and peace amidst the preparation of present giving, food indulgence, and the "Santa" craze all around us...."This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."vs.34

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."v14

Tis the Season...

for the school Christmas concert! Lots of songs about Santa, shopping, food, and reindeer....not our first choice for Christmas songs, but the kids have fun and they are adorable to watch.
Macy in the brown/white sweater.

Caden and his buddy Chris.

Julia, directly in the middle in colorful shirt!

You know you live in a small town when.....

A note comes home from school requesting "your Grandmother's cupcakes"!!!
What a hoot!! Check it out Grandma Karla....

This is for Macy's class next week. Her teacher obviously wants to eat a YUMMY cupcake--the yummiest are made by Josh's mom--I can't blame the teacher for requesting them!! Tooooooo Funny!!!!

Macy's 1st Drive....

Macy got brave to drive Caden's dirtbike...oh boy, I think shes got a new hobby!



We've had a few things going on at our house, including celebrating Josh's birthday with pie and homemade presents from the kids, Macy had a Thanksgiving play at school that she was so proud of and she ate up the memorization it required, kids are home from school for Thanksgiving (I can't believe how fast the year is going!), the flu bug (passing through quickly thankfully), beautiful weather = as much outdoor play as possible, we missed one family gathering but have two on the agenda hopefully everyone will stay healthy and we can attend.

I asked the kids to describe Thanksgiving, this is what they responded:
Thankful, Joyful, Mouths-full, Happy!

Turkey Fever!

She is so funny! This girl has grown and blossomed so much since starting Kindergarten. Her class has been doing many Turkey projects in the past week, and she was SO excited to display them to me after school on Friday! Talking non-stop about her projects and pulling stuff out of her bag as fast as she can. Her love for learning has grown tremendously--she has a fantastic teacher and I am so, so grateful! JuJu is one unique individual and you cannot help but love her!

NO-she did not wear the dog shorts to school--however, she changes ASAP to her "home" clothes when she gets home--just thought I'd clarify her outfit!

Family Pictures

These pictures have significance to us, not only because our kids our precious and memorable ages (you know, the ages we want to freeze time...DON'T GROW!) but also because the scenery is REAL. We live at Josh's Great Grandma's property, she is 98 in the local Care Center. She LOVES it that we live at her house and the scenery is beautiful, especially through the Fall season...beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...so we went to the back woods for our pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving Week everyone! Thanks be to the Lord, whom has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Eph. 1:3

Picture session DONE...shed the sweaters and run back to the house!!

A bow and a book....

...and she's off with her Dad to sit in a deer stand! Macy has been asking to hunt w/ her dad for awhile now. He invested in a 2 seater tree stand this year hoping to have some company. She shot a log with the bow and said she was a little bored, however Daddy time makes it all worthwhile. Nothing like Daddy-time for a little girl!!

Meet the Dog!

Marathon Memories

Thank you for those of you who were thinking about me and/or praying for me during this Marathon this past weekend. I am very sore today, more and more so as the day wears on. I am very burnt-out and mindless (I planned two suppers for tonight without realizing it...ummmmm.....snap with it Emily!!). The kids had today off of school so I had to parent--that did not go well for me today! Anyhow, recovery will be another whole journey...right!! I was very happy with how my training and run went. I am very thankful for people put in my path these past couple of months to encourage me and give me training advice...such as the carb load up and eating Skittles during my runs. I am very happy to finish strong, with sore legs but no pains that hindered me from finishing...I ran a steady 4:42:42...I even made a friend along the way and enjoyed the scenery. It was fun and well worth the past few months of discipline.
Enjoy my pictures!

Excited! Maybe even a little giddy!

OK-Josh caught me getting a little nervous....

My brother and his wife surprised me at mile 20 by being spectators...and they ran with me for a little bit--so much fun!

Almost done...and even smiling!

The real deal....DONE! NOT SMILING!

Whew! I got to my husband and he can hold me up!!



Heat sheet...a life saver for my tired bones!
That kiss was a life saver for my tired bones too!! hehe!


I think my new motto is NEVER SAY NEVER!

I studied on several "run" verses up to this weekend, but one I read before I left the hotel room--then was on a girls shirt in front of me at the start line--then came to my mind at mile 18 when I settled into the "tough" running was this:
Isaiah 40:31
"those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint."

The kids were cheering me on from my parents house in Keota. Along with hanging out with Papa Trent, they managed to find his sucker stash in the combine!

Spoke to me this morning....

On my drive to work this morning, this song (of course, turned up really loud in my car) spoke to my heart. Sometimes my light gets burned out...busyness, stress, giving to my family constantly, just life in general has got my light barely burning--this song reminds me to rely on HIM-Lord Jesus! Oh yes, the SPARK, the SHOT TO THE HEART...that is what I want from HIM! Thank you Lord, I pray your love shine down and you put your light in me! Amen!

One and a half weeks till I run my first Marathon...praying for healing to some of my aching body from 5 months of training and a strong run for HIM! Message me if you need prayer--I am devoting 4-5 hours Oct. 16th 8 AM to praying-YOU will be in the midst of my run if you have a need-I will pray!

His First Squirrel!

Hunting season has officially begun...it started out strong with a boys Sunday afternoon squirrel hunt. Caden killed his first three squirrels! So now there are skinned squirrels in the fridge awaiting the frying pan...I'm a little hesitant!!

I love this picture!

Forever PANTHERS!

Last weekend we made our annual trip to the UNI Panther Dome. We have gone on Family weekend to watch a football game for the past three years, and it makes for a great family getaway! Josh and I are both UNI grads and we love that place--so we want our kids to love visiting there too! Purple & gold ice cream, McDonalds happy meals, and a night at a hotel can't go wrong, right! We also hooked up with some old friends for church and lunch on Sunday. What a great time! We look forward to doing it again next year!