What is the TRUE Meaning of Christmas?

That question has been on my heart lately. How do I teach my children that it's not all about the gifts? A concept some adults have a hard time understanding.

Greed is a part of our culture. Everything is "all about me","what is fair for me". It is so easy to fall into that sin. It is easy to look at what people 'have' and judge them based on what they give.... or don't give.

This Christmas has been hard for us. Kevin hasn't worked in 6 weeks.... and counting. Although we save up for times like this, we don't have an endless supply of money and it does run out. We have to start choosing what to spend our money on. What is more important....food on the table or a present under the tree? For us the decision is black and white (food on the table.)

Fortunately we had purchased all of our gifts before Kevin stopped working.

This is the first Christmas that we made the decision not to exchange gifts with my siblings. I sent out an email to let everyone know that we wouldn't be able to do that this year. I knew they would understand, and they did. When my family had our Christmas, there weren't a ton of presents under the tree and that was OK.

A gift was given to me from my brother Paul and his wife Nadia. It came all packaged up in a big huge box. Once I opened it, there was a smaller package, and then another, and then another. By the time I unwrapped all the packages I was laughing. Then I opened the last gift and was shocked by their thoughtfulness. It was a membership to Costco. I know that might sound funny, but it was perfect. It was the kind of gift I wouldn't have even asked for. Prior to receiving the membership, anytime I needed bread baking supplies (like flour, yeast, sugar) I would have to meet Nadia at Costco or call a friend of mine to find out if I could go with her. It was perfect.

My brother and his wife gave all of us siblings something unique and special. All I had for them was a loaf of homemade cinnamon bread. It is a humbling place to be. They gave me so much, but all I had for them was bread. But they didn't feel that way...they gave without asking for anything in return.

Paul and Nadia are some of the most giving people we know. God has blessed them because of this. They freely give money to Nadia's sister in Russia to help support her family. They freely give money to Nadia's other sister in New York to help support her. They brought Nadia's mother here from Russia and they support her. They don't specify where the money goes, they don't asked to be repaid. They just give...

This Christmas they are down in Florida, they flew Nadia's sister and her daughter (whom they have never met) in from Russia. Paul and Nadia rented a place in Florida and both of Nadia's sisters (& families) and Nadia's Mom are enjoying a much needed vacation.

Most of us would look at that and think, "that is nice of them, they have the money to do all that." We don't.. They have that money because they go without so many other things that we all take for granted. How many of us would be willing to go down to one vehicle? There was a time when a two vehicle family was unheard of, now it's unheard of to only have one car.

After our family's Christmas party, I was reflecting on what had happened. How they gave to all of us and I just gave them bread. A few days later, Nadia calls me and tells me that they had some friends over for dinner and she served my bread along with their meal. She told me how good it was and how the other couple loved it so much and she thanked me for giving them the bread. I was again humbled by her thankfulness of the gift I had given them. "It was JUST bread"...I wanted to say...they gave me a gift worth so much more!! But to them, it wasn't about the money that was spent. It was about the thought behind it. They didn't care that I didn't buy anything from a store, they saw the time and effort it takes to make bread and they appreciated that gift.

That is what I want my children to learn. I don't want them to grow up greedy, expecting to get something if they give something. A gift is a gift, no strings attached. So how do I teach that? I have reflected on that this past week as well. Again, looking at Paul and Nadia. They give more than money and gifts to people. Paul gives his time as well. Paul is always just a phone call away when I am having issues with my computer. He has come over many times until late at night, trying to figure out my latest computer problem. He doesn't get mad or frustrated when I call, he gives me his time willingly. They give their time to help many other people as well.

We have other people in our life that are equally as giving. Both sets of parents have gone above and beyond in giving of their time and resources over the years. We are very blessed to have them in our lives as well. We also have some very good friends that would give us the shirts off their back if we asked them too. One friend even said to us last night, when talking about how difficult life is getting without Kevin working, "well, you don't have to worry about food, we would feed you." And we know she would.

So this Christmas has been really eye opening for us in many different ways. With all that we have been going through, God has really awakened us to some important life lessons. Ones that we hope to teach our children. It is better to give, than to receive.... If you expect a gift for your gift, you are better off not giving.... Sometimes all you have to give is bread and that will be more than enough for the ones you love.

Blessings!!

I was interested in what the dictionary said the definition of a gift was. The sad thing is, most people have no clue how to give a true gift...

–noun

1.	something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.

2.	the act of giving.

3.	something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned: Those extra points he got in the game were a total gift.

4.	a special ability or capacity; natural endowment; talent: the gift of saying the right thing at the right time.

Prayer Warriors

The last few months have been very difficult for me. I am sure my faithful readers have read some of my blogs and have wondering what is going on. This blog has been a place for me to write my heart and at times it is very difficult to plaster my most intimate feelings all over the internet and still keep a level of privacy. I however have found myself in a place where I need some prayer warriors praying for some specific things. I still would like to maintain a level of privacy about this particular area of my life. So if you are willing to pray please email me, or if you don't have my email, leave your email in the comments and I will send you an email with the specifics.

**I don't mean to sound rude, but please don't ask for specifics unless you are serious about praying. I need people who have a direct line of communication with our Father but also know how to keep things confidential. Thank you to those of you who are already praying!!**

~lyn

Dancing for Jesus

Last Tuesday the parents were allowed to come into "The Room" to watch our beautiful children do a Christmas dance. This was such a treat. I have not seen any of what Jilli is learning. There is a window in the door to "The Room" with blinds on it, but they keep them pretty much glued shut. It's like a top secret mission or something and Jilli hasn't been very forthright in sharing what she is learning.

Jilli is taking both tap and ballet. So first they did a little dance in their tap shoes. It was cute to watch, but it really didn't wow me. I don't know why, but even the teacher said that tap isn't the preferred dance for most kids.

This is the move that I liked the best, I love that I captured it while she was in the air.

Then the girls changed into their ballet shoes.

Just looking at her standing in such an beautiful way... the emotions started to move inside of me. They danced to a version of Silent Night that was just beautiful. How could you not help, but remember the Doctors telling us that she had no hands, feet were questionable, but it really didn't matter because she probably wouldn't live.Then she started dancing for Jesus. One of the many reasons why I love that she is in a Christian dance school. They teach the girls that you don't dance for any other reason, but for Jesus. It is a way of worshiping Him.Jilli was a beautiful dancer. I know that most mothers would say the same thing about their daughters, but she seemed to be very elegant in her movements and she was very precise with her hands and feet (a trait from her Daddy).

So I will admit it, I had tears in my eyes...

Watching all the girls was such a special treat, but watching Jillian was priceless...
A quick word about the "out of control tutu". The girls are not required to wear them, although most of them do wear one. Jilli has a cute light pink tutu that she always wears, but this morning I couldn't find it anywhere (this is not typical). So I allowed her to wear the tutu that my friend made for her. It was big, PINK, and had sparkles all over it (which were all over the floor by the end of her class). She looked so cute, even though it was pink (note: I have an aversion to pink...purple is much more my flavor). Regardless of what she was wearing, she was the light of our world that morning. Kevin had even left work to come and watch Jilli's 15 minutes of glory.

Blessings!!

Busy

Sorry for my lack of blogging the last few days. I wish there were more hours in the day, but there just aren't, so something has to give and it usually is blogging. I have had a lot of editing to do, but because I am working on other families pictures, my blog kind of gets put to the side.

I wanted to share with you some of what I have been working on.

OK, need to get back to work.

Blessings!!

Hike Continues

Here are a few more pictures from our hike. Jilli is marching up A LOT of steps to get to the top of the hill.
Along the path there are many different places that you can stop and look at the view. This trail was called the Lost Lake Trail.
Every time we stopped by the water Tyler had to feel how cold it was. Couldn't take our word for it, he needed to figure it out for himself.
Blessings!!

Hike

I am back to blogging about the hike. Sorry, but so many cute things happened while we were hiking.

There was this huge tree that had fallen down and the boys ran right for it. They wanted to climb in the tree. I think I stood there for 30 min before we finally moved on. It was great. Letting boys be boys without too much of a mess and not too much danger is right up my ally.

Then the "Big Boy" had to show his little boys how it was done. "Look Mommy No Hands!"

then he showed the boys what it would look like if you were falling out of a tree.

He is such a great actor! He deserves some kind of an award for his performance!

Even Jilli had her turn at climbing the tree, just look at the concentration on her face.

After they were all done playing in the tree, we continued on with our hike.....

Too Busy?

Holidays are always a busy time of year. This year seemed especially busy for some reason. Maybe because I started my Thanksgiving at 5:15am at Meijers and didn't end it until 1am Friday morning. Or maybe it's because my family celebrated my birthday yesterday (since Tim and Melissa were in town to celebrate with us). Or maybe because I celebrated my birthday with Kevin's parents tonight. Or maybe because life is just that....busy.

So often we fill our lives with so many things, places to go, people to see, that we don't slow down and concentrate on the importance of being home and just being a family. There are many times that I wish I lived back in the 1800's. I know that life was hard back then, but it was also simple. Neighbors looked out for each other (can't tell you the last time I have even SEEN one of my neighbors). Life was all about family and making sure you had food on the table. There is something magical about living back then. Even when I sit and listen to my Grandma talk about life as a child it makes my heart yearn for a simpler life.

I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa on Tuesday. I am sad to say it had been a REALLY long time since I had seen them. It was just Jilli and I. I sat on the floor at my Grandma's feet with Jilli on my lap and together we listened to the story of her sister's birth. Why was my Grandma telling me about Auntie Lu? Because she passed away the day before. My Grandma is the oldest of 7 children, 4 girls and 3 boys. She is now one of 3 remaining siblings and the only living girl. I think her heart was full of grief that day and she needed to talk about her very special sister.

Auntie Lu was born at home. Grandma remembers there being a lot of commotion that night. The neighbor must have noticed that too, because she came over in the morning to find out what was going on. I need to stop here a moment... When my Grandma told me this fact, it struck me. How many of us would go over to our neighbors to find out what was going on. Most of us would either say "mind your own business" or "it's none of my business". Not back then. Neighbors looked out for each other. My Grandma even remembers the name of the neighbor that came over. Back to the story... My Great Grandparents invited this neighbor in to show her the new little girl they just had. It was an exciting time. The neighbor commented on how she had just received word from her sister in Iowa (my Great Grandparents lived in Wisconsin) that she had just had a baby boy that morning as well, and how wonderful it was that these two babies were born on the same day. Little did anyone know, but God had special plans for those two babies. For just over 20 years later those two babies were married. My Grandma called it a "marriage made in Heaven". I sat there listening to this story in awe and all too soon it was time for me to go. I apologized for not coming more often. My Grandma said that it was OK, for she knew how busy I was and they didn't expect me to come see them much. It made me sad. I was too busy to visit my very precious Grandparents. All too soon they will be gone and I will have missed out on the many visits I could have had, because I was too busy.

My parents traveled to Wisconsin to go to Auntie Lu's funeral this past Wednesday. Mom said it was a beautiful service. Some of her children and grandchildren spoke of the wonderful women she was. How she loved to share her faith and how she prayed for those who had none. Her children were rising up and calling her blessed.

What I remember about my Auntie Lu was that she always had a smile on her face. She looked so much like my Grandma, I remember thinking it was kind of creepy. I remember the smell of her house when we stayed there. I remember taking a bath in their huge bathtub with lots of bubbles (something we never got to do at home) and I remember her little dog Casey. Funny what a child's mind remembers about a person.

Just over a month ago, Kevin and I were in Wisconsin visiting family and I was able to hug my Auntie Lu and talk to her for a little while. She had had a stroke awhile back and was losing her memory. In April when I saw her, she knew who I was, but in October, she couldn't quite place me. I mentioned that I was Tennie's granddaughter and her face lit up. They had a great love for each other. She then asked me all kinds of questions about my Grandma. It was a very sweet moment in time. The next week she fell and broke her leg and slowly declined into a coma and then died.

How quickly life changes. How quickly you lose people you love. How easy it is to get so busy you forget the little things in life only to look back and wish you had paid more attention to them.

James 4:14 ~ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

So what am I doing while I am a mist, that makes a difference? Am I getting myself so busy that I will vanish before I do anything worth while? Will MY husband and children rise and call me blessed? Am I leaving a legacy that has an impact on someones life? I hope so... My Auntie Lu did...

Blessings!!

Strong Boy

While camping at Ludington we went on a few hikes. There are miles and miles of trails there, it is such a great place to get out and enjoy God's beautiful creation.

As we started out on one of our hikes the boys found this dead limb. Tyler flexing his muscles picked it up. Kevin and I were surprised that he could lift if.

Not to be outdone by her brother, Jilli had her hand at lifting it. Again, Kevin and I were surprised by her ability to pick it up.

Of course Tyler could not have his little sister show him up, so he decided to lift the log behind his back. At this Kevin and I just said "WOW" and laughed.

Blessings!!

Kid Quotes

A few weeks ago, Micah had been getting up early and instead of watching cartoons he was watching the Today Show. He watched a story about a little girl who had died of cancer and had left little notes and letters all around the house for her family to find. When I got up that morning, he told me all about the story. A few days later we were having lunch with Kevin's parents, sister and friends when I was telling them about how Micah had seen this story on the Today Show and he says "No, I saw it on the Couple Days Ago Show." To which we all cracked up laughing.

While we were camping Micah was in need of a washcloth so he asks "Is this washcloth available for me to use?"

The other day I was playing a game of Sorry with the kids and Tyler was just about to land on my guy and throw me back to the beginning, when I asked him to move another guy (which was a better game move for him to make), and I was telling him that it wasn't nice to put Mommy back to the beginning again, in which he responds "I am not programed to be polite."

Jillian told me "my booboos on my knee elbows are better."

Blessings!!

Full Heart

I come tonight with a heart that is full. Full of so many emotions that I can't even being to start writing about them all. It is days like these that leave me crying out to my Father for understanding and wisdom. I am a fixer that at this moment can't fix. I feel the need to help heal, and at this moment I can not heal. I am overwhelmed with helplessness. Sorrow flows from my eyes as I am held in a warm embrace.

My Grandfathers favorite Psalm brings comfort to me. As a little girl my Mom had me memorize it and I am so thankful that it is written on my heart for days like today. "I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." (Psalm 121)


It seems, as of late, the Lord has me on my knees for various reason. When I think that I can start to stand on my own two feet, he sometimes gently and sometimes forcefully puts me back where I belong. When God commands us to pray without ceasing....He means it.


The Bible tells us "The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Romans 8:26) I am so thankful that I have The Spirit that can pray when I have no words.


Kevin and I were just talking tonight about people who go to church but have no personal relationship with God. My heart aches for those that have to go through tough times but don't have The Spirit living inside of them to help them along life's journey. There is a passage in 1 John that says, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth." When I read that a little over a year ago, I had to do a heart check. It made me stop and evaluate my relationship with God. I am so far from what I want to be, but am I striving to walk in Truth or am I living a lie? I am so thankful for that time of reflection. It started me on a path that has taken my relationship with Christ to a deeper level. A level that God knew I needed for "such a time as this."


And even in this time of struggle, fear, worry, sadness....there is a Rainbow that God has given to us on this very special day. It comes in the form of a beautiful little boy. A boy who has captured my heart and my camera on many occasions. He is mixture of all things wonderful and beautiful with a little Dutch and Russian spice. A year ago today he came into this world...a little early, but for God, right on time. His eyes capture me every time I look at him.
My beautiful nephew, who for today, is a Rainbow in the mist of my tears.


Blessings!!