Christmas Letter 2017 - Take 3

Merry Christmas! This is draft 3 of our annual Christmas letter. I've been trying to decide what you all would like to hear...News of our year, news of our kids, what we've been thinking about lately, or a little of all of it! (Or none of it! Ha!) So in an effort to not make this letter too long & rambling, here's a snapshot of us.

News of our year...
The big kids have taken up rock climbing, we drove the RV out west for a 3-week adventure, K & I celebrated 16 years of marriage, L turned 8, H turned 6, and R turned 3! We enjoyed some amazing shows, including my very first U2 concert. We camped at Holiday World (in Santa Claus, Indiana). K went to Asia & South Africa. We celebrated at four weddings at four fun destinations this year: one cousin, two nephews, and one niece got married. (Starting to feel old over here...) Our time in Florida continues to be life-giving for us, and we are so thankful to spend time there in the winter. Our homeschool continues to evolve as we go, which keeps it interesting! We have been blessed by both of the Classical Conversations communities we are part of as well as the Wild & Free community.

L is an amazing 8-year-old. A sampling of his interests are reading, Lego (jumping into the programming/robotics side of that this winter), working with his hands, playing piano, rock climbing, shooting hoops, and adventuring at White Pine Wilderness Academy with his sister and buddies. He & I have enjoyed reading aloud the Lord of the Rings series this year.

H is a beautiful young lady who can certainly keep up with her brothers. She continues to love all things nature (even the dead things) and has also loved her time at White Pine Wilderness Academy. A sampling of her interests are rock climbing, playing dolls, zip lining, read-alouds, cooking with me, and playing with R.

R is full of joy & gusto. As a 3-year-old, he is verbose and happy and very physical. He learned to swim this fall as well as potty-training...a big September/October for him! He wants all things big-kid...no baby toys for him. He wants glasses like L when he gets big. He adores his big brother & big sister. He loves balls & zip-lining & tickling & books. He brings us all such joy with his easy laugh & personality. He is our one true extrovert.

Gus turned one this year and has proved to be a true wonder dog, made of the stuff Syd & Max were made of. He is sturdy & adventurous & loves to play and cuddle and just be with us. He hunts the squirrels...and the blowing leaves...wholeheartedly. We are in love with him.

The kinds of things we are thinking about these days...thin places, our rallying cry, how to live a gospel-centered life, (what is the gospel?), how to live out church...to name a few.

May your holidays be blessed & your new year be full of wonderful surprises. We love you all & hope our paths cross sooner than later along the journey.

Love,
K, MB, L, H, R and Gus the Wonderdog

Christmas letter 2017...sort of

Merry Christmas everyone! It seems our cards have beat us to the punch. I promise I will update this blog in the next few days with a proper Christmas letter and photos! Stay tuned....

Roses

This lady, this beautiful lady, is my grandmother. She went to heaven two years ago and I miss her so very much.

My aunt is here on a visit. As she walked up my back steps, she commented on my pretty planters, overflowing with an array of flowers. I told her thanks but that I couldn't take credit for them. We have a landscaper come plant the planters for us. I told her I'd love to do it, that my heart is willing but that I just can't pull it off these days. (Saying these words, I feel a tinge of shame as both my grandmother and my aunt standing before me were and are avid gardeners.) My aunt told me that when she was young, rose salesmen used to come to their door selling roses. And my grandmother would tell them no thank you, that she has all her roses already...her six children inside the house. Apparently, she didn't garden like I remember until her kids were bigger. I needed this reminder -- that my children are my garden.

Having this simple knowledge lifts my heart in relief and gladness, that my grandmother, who kept amazing gardens, put this on a shelf for a while during the busy child-rearing days. But it also makes my heart heavy as I wish I could pick up the phone and hear more of her thoughts on mothering...and gardening.

Then, as I was tucking my 2-year-old in for an afternoon, I remember that my grandmother is closer than I think. The very heartbeat of her days was fed by the scriptures, the same, unchanging scriptures that I have on my nightstand. Her heart is wrapped up in those words, those truths. Her mothering advice was rooted in the scriptures. Her love for her family, her friends, her flowers...her entire worldview came through the filter of those scriptures. Here's a picture I took of her Bible after her funeral. This was one of many Bibles she marked up and pondered and allowed to change her and challenge her every day. EVERY. DAY.

So while I no longer can pick up the phone and call her with the myriad of questions I have, I can pick up my Bible and steep myself in the truths that shaped her heart and life. And it's also pretty nice to have aunts and uncles and parents and brothers and cousins who can keep her legacy alive. Thanks Aunty LA.

Prayer Paws

Sanibel is known for its amazing shelling. People spend hours on the beaches in search of all sorts of shells, hoping maybe they might find something interesting. Fighting Conchs.Worm Shells. Turkey Wings. Alphabet Cones. Lightening Whelks. Lettered Olives. These are all beautiful, fun shells to find that may or may show up on the beach in a given week. If you're really lucky, you might find something rare, something precious. Angel Wings. Lion's Paw. Paper Nautilus. And of course the esteemed Junonia. You get your picture in the local paper if you find a Junonia.

But Cat's Paws. These are common. These are all over the beach. Everyday. They're cute and it's fun to pick them up. Plus they have a sweet name. We collected a bunch last year to use as math counters. Anyone can find these little shells. We walk over them everyday.

A friend of mine challenged me last night at dinner. She said these little shells became Prayer Paws for her. Every time she picked one up, she said a prayer for a sick friend. Then she put them in a pretty jar and sent them to her friend as a visual reminder of the prayers that have been lifted up on her behalf. I was moved by this gesture. I have a sick friend. I have a sick uncle. Both are doing battle with cancer.

So this morning, as we went for our morning beach walk, we all looked for Cat's Paws. These little, common shells that we normally pass by suddenly became very precious. My kids were picking them up by the handful. Prayers for my friend. Prayers for my uncle. And every time I bent down to pick one up and held it tight in my hand, my heart burst open. The little shells became a profound metaphor. It's so like God. Putting something so obvious in front of us, so little and yet so beautiful in its simplicity, to either take or not to take but there nonetheless. Like His love. Like His presence. His faithfulness. He's there. All the time. And it's so easy to look over this beautiful gift in pursuit of something bigger, more beautiful, rarer.

My son has expressed frustration at not being able to find the more precious shells. He just doesn't see them. But today as we were picking up Cat's Paws, he told me that he's really good at finding these! He sees them all over the beach. I told him that perhaps he's actually finding the most precious shells. What better gift could we have been given but life in Jesus. What better gift can we give to each other but our prayers.

If this wasn't beautiful enough, on our way home, both my kids were jibberjabbering about how they wanted to collect money to help my friend and my uncle. A penny per shell. And we'll send the money to help pay for medicine. My eyes are swelling with tears at this simple gesture. Wait, my daughter says. What if we put our chore money in a jar on our dresser and when it's full, we send that money to my friend, my uncle. What?! Your chore money?? Yes!

One of my biggest prayers is that our children would be people of gratitude. Because out of thankfulness comes so many other beautiful things like generosity. Hearing my children think about someone other than themselves this morning was the encouragement I needed today. And collecting/saying all of these prayers for these precious people we love who are sick makes my soul sing. Let us be people of prayer. For each other. For our leaders. May we keep the faith and remain people of hope.