Christmas Part I (Missoula)

Here are some pictures as promised.

The kids decorated some sugar cookies before we left Fort Lewis, here are my little elves.

Ashlee the artist
Christian the cookie monster, he just wanted to eat them.

Our drive up Snoqualmie - SO BEAUTIFUL!

The kids before going outside to play in the snow at Grandma and Grandpa's

The little snow bunny enjoying the snow

My other snow bunny

Christian have soooo much fun

Before sledding

This picture has quite a story behind it. Although none of it was caught on camera. Christian went down the hill on the innertube, and at the bottom he crashed into this kid and knocked him down like a bowling pin. This was pre-impact

Mom and Dad taking a turn down the hill

after a day of sledding, daddy pulling the tierd kids to the truck

On our way back to the house, my dad spotted this street sign.

A little game of scum

This is what Royalty looks like

And this is what Scum looks like

tough crowd

Woke up to this on Monday morning. I think we had about 4-6" of new snow overnight. Mommy was EXCITED!!!

Christian/Mommy's snow fort

Daddy/Ashlee's snow fort

Daddy's snow man

Home for Christmas

Right now we are in Missoula visiting my parents. It's just so beautiful this morning waking up to the snow covered mountains and trees. We have spent the last 3 days outside playing in the snow; sledding, building snowmen, and snow forts. It reminds me of my childhood and all the fun we had as kids, but then I am quickly reminded of how old I am getting with my tale bone bruised from sledding yesterday. Ha Ha!

We will post some pictures soon. I pray everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season. We have so much to be grateful for, but the greatest gift of all is Jesus. We watched The Nativity Story last night, and I was reminded how humble God is. He sent his son, Jesus; the King of Kings, Lord of Lords to earth to be born in a stable! He didn't chose royalty to bring him into this world but a simple virgin woman (teenager to be exact) from Nazereth. His earthly father was no one of importance, but they obeyed what God had commanded them to do. Just blows my mind sometimes.

May we all remember what the true reason for Christmas is, and just think upon it.

Captivating

For several months now, I've been wanting to read this book, Captivating, by John and Stasi Eldredge. This book has been very, well let's say, CAPTIVATING and I love it! I hope you'll take the time and read it as well. I wanted to share with you an insert from the book that just really struck my heart the other day:

God wants to live this life together with you, to share in your days and
decisions, your desires and disappointments. He wants intimacy with you in
the midst of the madness and mundane, the meetings and memos, the laundry
and lists, the carpools and conversations and projects and pain. He wants to
pour his love into your heart, and he longs to have you pour yours into his.
He wants your deep heart, that center place within that is the truest you.
He is not interested in intimacy with the woman you think you are supposed
to be. He wants intimacy with the real you.
Here's how the flow goes in Hosea. First, God says that he will thwart our efforts to find life apart from him.

"Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them. " (2:6-7)

He does this, as we said, in order to wear us out, get us to turn back to him
in thirsty longing. Then he begins to woo us. He often takes us aside from
every other source of comfort so that he alone can have our heart's
attention.
"Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her." (2:14)

After reading this, I realized that God isn't the "Sunday morning God" or the "Big guy upstairs", but as the pursuer of my heart, my romancer.