Funny little sayings.

Here are some of the funny things my kids said in the past year that made me giggle in laughter, or open my mouths wide in astonishment.


Odelia: When I grow up and be like mommy, I will sleep with daddy.

Ariana: For Christmas I want a new white car so I can drive and a real baby!

Odelia: I had a dream with angels and they were wearing red dresses.

Ariana: mommy come here, I need you now! Don’t argue with me! (Its funny how they pick up on certain phrases.)

Odelia: I want tea with honey in it, because it’s healthy for you!

Ariana: (she saw a spider on the wall, in the bathroom) Help, Help, I need help here urgently!!! Please save me! (I thought she fell into the bathroom or something, as I heard her screams.)

Missing you.

I feel like I am missing something in my life. Missing a piece of my puzzle, do you know what it could be? I am trying to surround myself with Christian music, bible verses, bible reading and studying, praying, but still I am missing something, what could it be? Am I missing God as the creator, as the missing piece of my soul? The love of my heart is He, but I am not feeling satisfied, not feeling fulfilled. Is it even normal to feel like that? Can I let my life be dictated by the feeling I am having? Why do I feel like I am thirsty for the living water, am I not getting enough of the religious things. Maybe it’s not in the religion and the bible and the music, maybe it’s the presence of the real God?


Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:1-2

2009 is coming to an end.

One ship drives east and another drives west

With the self-same wind that blows.

‘Tis the set of the sail and not the gale

That tells us which way it goes.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,

As we journey along through life;

‘Tis the set of the soul that determines the goal

And neither the calm nor the strife.

Unknown

Christmas has passed with giggles and childish laughter as they unwrapped their presents, and with awe and joy on their little faces when they realized what they got. I love this period in a Childs life, when they are too little to demand or request big presents, but old enough to experience the joy of an actual gift. The baby was happy with reaping paper into tiny pieces, and putting scraps of it into her mouth.. It all just went by too fast in a whirlwind of activities and cooking and entertaining.

Now we are waiting for the New Years celebration. Usually we spend time with family, put kids to sleep later then usual, and stay up later ourselves. I try to make it till midnight, but last year being 9 months pregnant I went to sleep early, ha ha. Well I will try to stay up late this year, but with little ones not sleeping through the night still sometimes I get too sleepy...

I wish every one a Happy New Year!!!!!

Genesis is talking to me.

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham listened to my voice and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws. Genesis 26:2-5


What is this passage telling me?

1. God does not want me to go to this world but to live in gods ‘land’ when the road gets hard.

2. When I listen to God, he will be with me, and with my children.

3. All nations are blessed through one person, Abraham, because he listened to his voice and kept his commands.

4. If I listen to God and keep his commands, and try to live a godly life, my children will be able to have the blessings of God through me…. Is that even possible? An amazing gift God gives us.

Does the bible verses speak to you like they speak to me?

Merry Christmas.

Lost Christmas


Why wait till Christmas time again is here?
Why spend those precious hours in hectic ways
Doing the things that you could do all year
And let the noise of whirl of festival days
Drown out the angel's song? Why not take time
To lift the eyes to candles in the sky;
To walk some silent night, while carols chime
And hear the hush of wings brush softly by?
Take time to mediate: to catch the spell
Of childish trust, that simple faith you knew
When love was everywhere, and all was well...
The gift you lost may now come back to you.
Seek not for Christmas in the busy mart
But cradled somewhere in a trusting heart.

Rachel Van Crème

Gifts from God.

Christmas pictures are fun with my little ones, especially when they stay still for a little while...:)

Christmas week.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the goverment will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. {Isaiah 9:6}

Christmas is like 5 days away...wow, it sure is going fast. This is the Christmas week. The holiday starts today at our house. We had friends come in for breakfast, we went to see the Children’s Christmas museum, where different churches made little scenes from the bible period, around when Jesus was born. Girls really enjoyed it, especially the little 'angels'. I think they wished they were dressed like that.

There were roman soldiers... here is one with my oldest.

There were the wise men, the shepherds and also there were a lot of animals, goats, sheep, and rabbits. I guess when Jesus was born there were a lot of animals around him.

A lot of pictures didn’t turn out as well as I hoped, but some still will capture the memories for my girls. My girls said that they saw a 'real' Jesus, laying in 'real Mary's' arms. It sure is interesting to explain to them that its not real, but that Jesus was born long ago, but now this is just what people are dressed as Mary and Joseph, soldiers, and shepherds. That now we need to let Jesus be born in our hearts so He can live there and then we will be able to live with Him forever. It is a wonderful privilege for us to know that when we give our hearts to Jesus, we are going to be with him in heaven, and that nothing in this life can compare to what awaits us there.... I love it.

A gift of love.

Because of His boundless love,  
He became what we are
in order that
He might make us
what He is.
(Saint Irenaeus)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. {John 3:16}

Be glad. Be joyful. Be happy for a great Gift is coming to you! Its not a gift you can see or touch or unwrap. Its far more precious. Its the indescribable sense of awe and wonder that comes when the celebration of Christ's birth reminds us once more that long ago God gave his only son to us in a form of a newborn baby.
How astonishing that is! And now we feel the amazement and gratitude in the knowledge that if we let it, Jesus can make a permanent home in our hearts, filling us with a deep and abiding love.

Thinking Christmas in our hearts.

Every day we start by having Christmas in our hearts. We wake up and pray to God, we thank Him for sending Jesus to us, for his amazing love for us all, for dying for our sins. We listen to Christmas songs, we try to do a lot of winter things, like going to see the singing Christmas tree, buying presents and going to church, especially on Christmas service, cooking and a lot of baking. My plan this year is to take the girls ice scating, to the snow, and to enjoy other winter functions.

This is when we went to see the singing Christmas tree. Very entartaining, the girls loved it.

Looking for presents undernit the tree... where are they?

Decorating my house in subtle, simple decorations.

The three angels in my bedroom.

My own three little angels, sitting pretty for mommy.

And the three little angels in my girls room.

I hope your Christmas season is going well, simple, and I hope you are having a beautiful, joyful time.

Rain on a dark night.

The night is dark, wet and cold.. the wind and the rain are coming down hard. I am home with my girls alone, as my husband stayed late at the church function. When I was younger and just married, when I had no children, I always complained if my husband had to be away, and I had to stay by myself. But now, with having little ones to keep me busy, I dont get lonesome anymore, there just always something to do, to read, to entartain ourselves. Maybe when the children are all grown, maybe then I will feel lonesome again. Or maybe not? Not if I have Jesus to keep me company, right? :)

This is a nice weather to stay home by the fireplace and enjoying a nice hot cup of tea. Too bad I have no idea how to turn my gas fireplace on...  :D

My front porch is all soaked, the water has no where to go, and the earth is waiting for it to stop raining.

The water we are getting here in California is actually good for us. We get such dry summers that every drop is a blessing to us. So the more rain the better. And then when we get rain here in the valley, the mountains get snow... and I love snow. The girls love it too, so it means that in the next few weeks we will drive to the nearest mountains and let us all enjoy and play in the snow... and take pictures ofcourse...:)

Todays scripture that I love is: Your faith has saved you; go in peace. {Luke 7:50}

Nowdays.

In December life is busy, life is full of candycanes, decorations, baking and dreaming of presents. I asked my oldest child what she wants to get for Christmas and she replied, "I would like to get a big white car so I can drive, and a little baby girl...", and as I sat in shocked silence staring at her, my husband told her that to buy a car and to have a little baby girl she cant do it by herself, that only a prince can help her with that. After she gets married.... she can think about that.... oh my, isn't it a little too young for a 5 year old to think about little babies? and buying cars? They do grow up fast.

The days are getting colder and most of the trees are bare with hardly any leaves on them.

We had a lot of frost the past few days, but unfortunately I didnt get the beautiful white grass we had in our backyard... I didnt want to freeze my behind. :)

My children still enjoyed going outside, into the fresh crisp air and beautiful sunshine.

I dont know from where my oldest child gets her attitude, which I guess is part of her, even in the pictures she cant hide it....

.

My two little models.... how fast they grow.

Darling gifts from up above, my children.

My children are the gifts from God. Each child is unique with their individual personality and character. Each child is like an open book, with blank pages, for me as a parent to fill those pages with good positive encouragement and instruction in godly ways, or I can just let them learn on their own, from any source that they come into contact with.


Every parent wants their children to grow up to be good, responsible adults, loving, caring, and honest. But it sure is hard to install those qualities in our children, how do parents even do it?.

I feel bad if my children watch too many cartoons, or if I don’t spend much quality time with each child. I get consumed by guilt, and start thinking that I should do better the next day. And it happens everyday. Of course some days are better and some are worse. My two year old says to me, "don’t be afraid mommy, God is always with you." That’s the best advise, I should pray to God to give me wisdom in raising my children and being a better mother. I am glad God blesses us with little bundles of joy, so we can help them grow up into adults, who in turn will have their own children to pass the wisdom to.

The gift of Joy.

Such joy on a child’s face just to see her mommy..... What love. I love the look of pure happiness on her face just to see me. I wonder if God feels the same way when we come into his presence, do we get happy to be with him, or are we more grumpy, upset and unhappy? When we go to church do we spread love and joy, or do we wait for others to cheer us up, to notice us, to say hello to us. I heard some Christians say that no one at church said hi to them, no one asked how they are doing, what kind of church it is if no one even notices you!? But the person talking has been a Christian most of her life and never even thinks that perhaps it is time to be the one who notices a new person, notices someone when they are sad or down. Maybe its time to be the comforter to someone else and to be the one who stands firm and strong. How many years do we need to be a Christian before we start lending a helping hand to our sister in need? When do we decide to feel the joy, the gratitude of our Lord and savior? Is it a choice we make for ourselves, or is it something that we receive from Jesus?.. Is it something we can receive this Christmas season? A gift of joy to share with others? And in giving, our joy will double. This is why we celebrate Christmas, to have joy evermore.

Our storm cellar is in Him.

"Faith is not a storm cellar to which men and women can flee for refuge from the storms of life. It is, instead an inner force that gives them the strength to face those storms and their consequences with serenity of spirit." - Sam J. Ervin Jr

Jesus is here for you. He is here for you today. He can see your pain and your tears. He loves you more than you can understand. He died for you.

Tell Jesus when it’s hard to live this day. Go and tell Jesus when life is tough, and you don’t know what else to do. Tell him how you feel, tell him to lift the burden off your shoulders. He is here to help you, He loves you. He will carry you through this day. He is here for you….

Cry out to him; fall to your knees, or anywhere you are tell him how you feel. Tell him your burdens, tell him your sorrows, and tell him your pain. He is here for you. He is here for you today and tomorrow. Let him love you; let him hold you in his arms. Let him carry you through this storm.

After you tell him everything that’s on your heart you will feel his love in your heart, for he is the only one who can really understand what you are going through.

(The words are for my friend whose husband is going through cancer, for him who is in pain, and for who ever need encouragement.)

The gift of winter.

I open the door. The gorgeous guest from afar sweeps in. In her hand are her gifts- the gifts of hours and far-seeing moments, the gift of mornings and evenings, the gift of spring and summer, the gift of autumn and winter. She must have searched the heavens for boons so rare. {Abbie Graham}


December comes bearing gifts, not wrapped in tissue and ribbons, but in cherished memories. This is the month of miracles and the most important gift of Jesus. For God so Loved the world He gave us His only son. A gift of love, that brings us great joy. The kind of joy that brings light into our hearts, and made the simple, common days into holy days.

December brings us the gift of winter from up above... and everyone will see a different side of this gift. Some will see coldness, ice, and wind. While others will see beauty, snowflakes, and the warmth of your breath on a cold, chilly morning. This is the time when we appreciate soft goose feather-down blankets, wool socks and scarves, cashmere hats and mittens, a hot cup of steaming coffee or tea, or sitting by the cozy fireplace... beautiful gifts indeed. This is the time when I especially love my husbands warm embraces, and his warm hand when we take a walk.

Lets stop for a moment in this busy times of our life and look around us at all the gifts we have already to praise God for his abundance and his miracles, but mostly thank Him for his only Son- Jesus.

Coffee or Tea?

Is coffee good for you or bad? I never really thought anything about it as I drank my 1st cup of steaming coffee with milk and sugar... It was actually the only thing that could give me a boost after a sleepless night with my little girls, or when I had to really get up early for work. But recently I read a very interesting post about coffee, and I went to my local natural store and bought some interesting alternatives to try out.... it tastes pretty good. Do you want to give it a try? Or is your cup of coffee, or mocha your saving grace? In any way you should stop over at Stephanie's blog and read a wonderful view on coffee.

Keeper of the Home : Breaking the Habit with Coffee Alternatives

Smile please.

My little 2 year old artist is drawing a picture, she is so into it, that at first she doesnt even notice me taking her picture. She is concentrating so hard, holding her markers with both hands.

'Mommy what are you doing?', she asked me...

A surprised look, 'You are taking my pictue?'

'Oh Ok, then... Let me smile at you'

How precious is the smile of a little child... innocent and sweet.

Everliving garden.

The past spring was the first time I had a big enough yard to start my first ever garden... I loved the experience. Now I cant wait for spring to arrive again, so I can have a bigger, better garden than this past spring. This year I had about 15 bushes of tomatoes, some took so well that they grew up taller then me, while others didn’t grow much and looked kind of crippled and sick... I had a long row of organic cucumbers, which were going very well, and then at the end of the season, they got some kind of mites that attached themselves to the plant and dried the whole row. Here are still some of our tomatoes left, but I wonder if I need to pick them now, before the frost gets to them.

I still have a nice bush of mint growing.

Do you know what this is?

Its the seeds of basil... which had a wonderful smell when the leaves were green.

The parsley didn’t really want to grow, only now its pushing out its green petals, but still looks a bit brown around the edges. Also, I have a lot of weeds growing all over my yard. Next spring I hope for a more plentiful garden, with lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, parsley, dill, basil, and lots of other herbs and vegetables. Nothing really brings such pleasure as eating a home grown salad. Yum, Yum....

In having a child.

With having three little girls, I get a constant stream of questions from everyone to find out if we are going to try for a boy? Its almost funny to see people's reactions when I tell them that, "Yes I will have another baby when the Lord deems appropriate for us." Usually everyone think I am a bit crazy for wanting to 'try' for a boy, when we already have 3 girls. While we can 'try' all we want, but only God knows who we will have as our 4th child. How can anyone even know for sure? For my next child God may bless me with another girl again, which is just fine with me, since I love having girls, and they bring such sweetness to my family. Why do people think that we will 'try' for a boy next time anyway? I mean is there a special way of 'trying'?? Is there like some kind of rule to follow? Its almost funny to talk about this. When only God will know the gender of my 4th child. I also told everyone that when I do get pregnant with my 4th child, I will not find out the gender until delivery... so Ha!! No one will know until baby arrives.

Then another funny thing is, how I even can think about having another child, when I have a 10 month old baby girl. I wonder too sometimes, why do I even think about being pregnant, or going into labor, or having another child, when its was just recently that I had a little one... I think I am getting addicted to being pregnant, and having a little newborn to hold on to.... Because it is very precious indeed. Don’t you think so?

A thankful heart is a sacrifice.

I love thanksgiving , I love the family getting together, the turkey and all the trimmings that go with that. Not to mention the pie, and the caramelized apples… this year was no exception. The family members all came late to the dinner celebration, the turkey burned a little bit, the food was delicious and plentiful.. I was so full, but still had to have desserts. The kids were loud and ate too many sweets. But everything turned out just lovely and I am very thankful for another yummy Thanksgiving.

Grateful, thankful, appreciative.... are the words we use at Thanksgiving. Its good to be thankful, and we teach our children to do the same... but how do we know if it is really from the heart? I know that God does want thankfulness that is from the heart not just from our lips. There are so many things that I am thankful for each day, which means that everyday I should thank God for everything that He provides me with, not just on a Thanksgiving holiday. Here are some reminders for us from the scriptures…


I thank my God every time I remember you. {Philippians 1:3}

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
{Psalm 100:4}

..always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.. {Ephesians 5:20}

I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. {Psalm 116:17}

So if thanksgiving is a sacrifice.... well that sure makes a clear picture doesn’t it? In the old testament they used to bring animals, or birds as a sacrifice to the Lord, now God doesn’t want that from us, now He wants a different type of sacrifice. A sacrifice of thanksgiving. An offering of our selves as a living sacrifice to God.

Even the angels will bring thanksgiving to the Lord as it is written in Revelations 7:11... all the angels stood round about the throne, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying Amen; Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever... Amen.

November is coming to an end... but fall is still here.

Beautiful color is knocking on my window... softly, that its easy to miss it, but when you do look up and see it, it knocks you down with the magnificent beauty of it. Our God is such an amazing Creator.

I love the beautiful gray limbs, stretching out in which direction, covered with an orange-yellow lace dress.

Thank you my Lord for such generous colorful beauty that surrounds us every autumn day... such amazing gift. The smell, the fresh crisp days are filled with You every where I look.

I am looking for You my Lord.... every where I turn I am surrounded by your love.... I cherish Your embraces. I worship you with a thankful heart, my soul sings You praises.

Grass is green and laundry smells fresh...

Its cloudy and gray today, but that didn't stop me from hanging my bed sheets outside to dry...:)

Ariana my oldest child was helping me a little....:) mostly by posing for my camera.

The grass makes a nice green background, doesn't it?

My sleeping Beauty is waiting for her prince to come and kiss her...

Isn't she just adorable...?