Aliza Performing

Just click play if the screen is black.

This evening Aliza was in rare form. Janell and Jeff (in background) were relaxing after having painted the nursery and Aliza took the opportunity to perform. She started singing and running in circles. I think this clip is almost 3 minutes. We have 12 minutes videoed and we didn't start videoing right away. So her performance lasted quite awhile!!

Scrap Challenge

Christie and I did a scrap challenge. The idea is to limit yourself in what supplies you use so that you try new things and feel inspired to create in a different way. It was refreshing and inspiring.

Our rules were that you could only use red, white and black and you had to tear an edge.

My edge is supposed to resemble a Christmas tree. Not exactly sure that it worked, but I tried and it was definately something I wouldn't have tried on my own.

The journaling is about Aliza and I decorating our Christmas tree that I blogged about in an earlier post.

You can see Christie's layout....when she posts it.....at www.dwellinpossibilities.blogspot.com

Nursery Painted

Jeff and Janell painted the new nursery yesterday. They did a great job and we owe them a lot....at least a trip to Plaza Tapatia.

Aliza liked standing at the gate to watch.

Now we need some baby furniture.

Kenya on My Mind

I've been reading about the violence in Kenya recently and I find it popping up in my thoughts more frequently as time goes on and the refugee crisis increases. It has been almost 10 years since I spent four months in Nakuru, Kenya as part of a Youth Evangelism Service team. I don't keep in touch with anyone from Kenya, but I remember faces and names and wonder how this situation is affecting them. It makes me sad to think that some I know could be suffering.

Word: 2008

A popular scrapbooking blog (aliedwards.typepad.com) challenged it's readers to choose a word to focus on during 2008. So I was sortof thinking about what word I would choose and then Christie posted hers and so I was officially inspired to choose a word.

I really wanted to choose a trendy word like balance, energy, passion etc. But they didn't really resonate with me. Didn't really challenge me the way I wanted it to. What I wanted was a selfist word that meant "taking care of me" "not losing me in the grand scheme of raising children and being a wife" That's not where I ended up.

My word comes from the Beth Moore Bible study on the fruit of the Spirit I recently did called Living Beyond Yourself. The word is gentleness.

The Greek word translated gentleness is praotes. The following definition comes from Beth. Praotes does not denote outward expression of feeling, but an inward grace of the soul, calmness toward God in particular. It is the acceptance of God's dealing with us considering them as good in that they enhance the closeness of our relationship with Him. Praotes describes the complete surrender to God's will and way in your life. The term basically means to stop fighting God. It is quite the opposite of weakness. Meekness or gentleness is the power and strength created from submitting to God's will. Gentleness is responsibility with power. Gentleness is made up of the components of submission, humility, teachability, and teaching ability.

A verse I want to remember this year is Jeremiah 26:14. "As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right."

Expensive Stickers

As I was finishing the supper dishes, Aliza came in and very animatedly was telling me something. She took my hand and showed me the new stickers she found. To my surprise she had found the stamps and thought that she had hit the sticker jackpot. I couldn't help but chuckle. She was so proud of herself. I am thankful that my child has not developed a manipulative attitude. She doesn't hide a thing.

But obviously she isn't allowed to play with stamps. So I'm trying to explain to an almost 2 year old that stamps are like money and not stickers. She didn't get it!

The greatest part was that Jeremy was sitting right there with sticker stamps on his shirt and was completely oblivious to what was happening. Yes, I took a picture just because I was annoyed and needed solid documentation!!!

Decorating Cookies

There just wasn't enough time to do everything before Christmas so today Aliza helped decorate cookies at my Mom's house. Yes, there was a method to my insisting that this be done at Grandma's house.

Aliza's decorating consisted of picking off the chocolate morsels as fast as Linda and I put them on the cookies. She popped them into her mouth complete with a goofy smile and "Mmmmm...."

Then Mom gave her some dough to roll out and play with. She ate it.

Finally, she helped Mom roll the dough and cut the cookies. She got into that. It was fun and the recipe only made 2 dozen cookies so it didn't take very long.