The miracles of Santa?

Mike and I have been talking about what traditions we want to do for Christmas as a family, and the subject of Santa inevitably comes up every time. The thing is.. Santa was a tradition in both of our families growing up, and, of course, it was fun and we both had a great childhood. I don't think believing in Santa did us any harm or was bad in any way. There's just been something nagging at us about it. There are several reasons we have come up with as to why we maybe don't want to continue this tradition, but I believe the real reason for this unsettling feeling about santa claus is so simple--there's not enough time for that story.

Isn't the birth of our Lord and Savior, the King of Kings, the Lord Immanuel more than we are even capable of celebrating? Isn't the miracle of His birth so much bigger than the miracles of Santa and the good deeds of St. Nicholas? Why do we get so excited about Santa Claus coming to town on the day that Jesus came to town when they don't even compare? I just don't want to have time for the Santa story. Lord, help me marvel at Your Gift to us so fully that there's no room for Santa.

I don't want to be able to go a day this holiday season without being COMPLETELY overtaken by the fact that God loves us so much that he sent His son to save us, to save ME, and to save YOU. There isn't anything we can add, including Santa, to make the real Christmas story more special or more magical.

I want to spend all my energy showing Joshua the true miracle of Christmas. Once we do capture the fullness of God's Gift to us, we will have fun with the story of Santa. But.. God's love is endless, and so, too are the miracles of Jesus.

A New Year, 2007

a little early, but i can't help it.. i'm in a list mood.

Goals For The New Year:
keep a cleaner home
be clutter-free: deal with it as it comes in
pray more
read more
have a daily quiet time
be a better witness
live extravagantly
acknowledge my appreciation of others more
count only my blessings
be quick to love & slow to judge
wake up earlier
run in the mornings with salem
have coffee with mike in the mornings again
be healthier (less sugar!)
run a half-marathon (Boston: May 27)
keep a routine for joshua
be a better listener
get a better memory
do random acts of kindness daily

A few of my favorite things...

playing with joshua in the mornings
sleeping in on saturdays
coffee & pancakes with mike
sipping tea in the bathtub
being at home with mike
running in the snow
backpacking in banff
camping
maple lattes from starbucks (or better yet, second cup)
snowboarding
family walks/hikes
roadtrips
snow
christmas
fall leaves
lindt chocolate
maple syrup
avocados
trees
rocks
rivers
researching info
crunching numbers/statistics
figuring things out (action plans)
snowshoeing
fires
learning about nature and health
flowers
planting seeds
healthy food
making up silly songs for joshua
being a mamma

Happy Birthday, Mike!!

Dear Mike,

This has been such an awesome year, and it's still just the beginning-- how amazing. I am still just getting used to the fact that not only do i get to be with such a great guy, but i am actually married to him... and he loves me... and we get to hang out together... or even do our own things... but most of all, we get to be together. i love spending time with you, whether we're being silly or serious, and even just every day things. i wouldn't trade the life we have now for anything.

and, now, you are a father. you are such a great father to joshua, and have been such a wonderful husband as i've been getting the hang of being a mom and therefore being 'on call' 24 hours a day. even though you can't really help with those middle of the night feedings, you always seem to be a step ahead of me in other ways: those saturday mornings when you would take joshua downstairs so i could get a few more hours of sleep, and when you watch joshua so i can go run. you are so thoughtful and always make sure both joshua and i are taken care of.

i love watching you with him. it's so cute so see you both smile and laugh while you make silly faces and when we make up silly songs to sing for joshua. we have so much fun! i'm gonna love it as joshua gets older and can run and play, and when we can go on family hikes and a christmas tree that's just decorated on the bottom, but i'm in no hurry because i love what we have now. we have so much fun together.

you are so wonderful. i couldn't ask for more. i love you so much!

love,
elizabeth

you are a beautiful tapestry

i got this vision for mike last night and thought i would share it as it applies to everyone. i saw mike as a beautiful tapestry, woven of the finest threads. that all his experiences in life have been hand woven by God into a beautiful tapestry, where each thread is vital to the beauty of the whole.

that vision was given to me for mike, but i believe it is the same for all of us... that God has used all of our experiences and choices, whether good or bad, to weave us into beautiful tapestries. everything about us has been made perfect. if we try to pull out a single thread, we may fall apart because each experience has shaped who we are. God has used even our bad choices and experiences to teach us about His unending love, grace, and mercy. He has made us beautiful.

you are beautiful.

photos

i now have my flickr photos set to appear in the sidebar of this blog so that you can see the most recent ones that have been downloaded. if you click on any of these images, you will be able to view the collection of photos.

thanks mark!

getting our christmas tree

today we went to the tree farm and cut down our christmas tree. now, it really feels like christmas! we already put it up, decorated it, and everything. we had a minor problem fitting the tree in our living room with the mike's kayak hanging from the ceiling. this year, we decided to do something different, and we topped the tree with a red bow and ran the ribbons down the side of the tree to symbolize the blood of Jesus.