December 23 to 29

9126. Sleeping until almost 8
9127. Being reminded I need Jesus more than sleep
9128. Working on meals for the week
9129. Working on sending 2013 Letters
9130. Getting more done than expected
9131. Jamey doing some copy work
9132. Jamey drawing
9133. Jamey and Lillian learning to play together
9134. Finding more addresses
9135. Getting a couple of emails sent
9136. Anticipating the week ahead
9137. Figuring out how to celebrate the holiday
9138. Lillian going to the grocery store with Jim
9139. Getting more stamps
9140. Stamps being available at the grocery store
9141. Minimizing stops
9142. McDonald's for lunch
9143. McDonald's sweet tea
9144. Gabriel taking a long nap
9145. Lillian sleeping
9146. Hearing from Allison
9147. Making plans with Gidget
9148. The activity of children
9149. Jamey learning to do more on his own
9150. Finishing Hebrews
9151. Realizing I need to study Hebrews more closely
9152. Reading some in Genesis
9153. Seeking to devour the Word
9154. God's graciousness with humanity
9155. Seeing God's grace and mercy in new and different ways
9156. Wrestling with things difficult to understand
9157. Seeking how to explain difficult things
9158. Remembering I do not have all of the answers
9159. Watching Reuben make shapes
9160. Reuben giving high-fives
9161. Jamey helping Jim make pancakes
9162. Pancakes for dinner
9163. Chocolate syrup
9164. Gabriel downing 3 pancakes without blinking
9165. Enjoying laughing together
9166. Lillian's funny sayings
9167. Being together as a family
9168. Jamey asking to watch "Narnia"
9169. Teaching Jamey and Lillian more about Sudoku
9170. Snuggling with my babies
9171. Getting some emails cleaned out
9172. Smooth bed time
9173. Reminding the kids of proper decorum in the early morning hours
9174. Hugs and kisses
9175. Prayer
9176. Privilege of praying for our kids
9177. Being reminded I had a free ebook I need to read and review
9178. Starting The In Between by Jeff Goins
9179. Being reminded of the need to enjoy the every day moments
9180. Desiring to be more patient and at peace with where I am
9181. God growing and changing me
9182. The challenges of everyday life
9183. Getting more letters printed
9184. Having a productive day
9185. Watching CSI: NY with Jim and Becca
9186. Being able to use Becca's laptop for most of the day
9187. Coffee
9188. Amaretto creamer
9189. Becca making strawberry banana smoothies
9190. Sharing some mac and cheese
9191. Productivity while still being low key
9192. Learning to be thankful for the technology we have
9193. Learning all of the verses to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"
9194. Hearing the deep theology in "Hark the Harold Angels Sing"
9195. Thankful to be learning more verses of hymns
9196. Loving hymns more
9197. Growing in knowledge of God as I sing hymns and learn new songs
9198. Being able to praise God in many ways
9199. Being given God's ability to create
9200. God's amazing grace and mercy
9201. Sleep
9202. Being able to wake up and get out of bed
9203. Coffee!
9204. Huge bowl of perfect cheese grits for breakfast
9205. Talking with the kids over breakfast
9206. Having kids who really like breakfast food
9207. The kids eating breakfast well
9208. Meeting Gidget for coffee
9209. Gidget bringing donuts from Nord's
9210. Decaf black and white mocha from Sunergos
9211. Talking about lots of things
9212. Getting to know each other better
9213. God teaching me in our conversations
9214. Seeing God at work around me
9215. Margo playing well while we talked
9216. Gidget helping me with a gift
9217. Talking about getting together with everyone again
9218. Learning we have a lot in common
9219. Being reminded of how good being open and honest is
9220. Being able to talk for over 3 hours
9221. God being good in all things
9222. Learning how to see God's grace in many different things
9223. Chinese food for lunch
9224. Digging more into Genesis 2-10
9225. Reading 2 Timothy
9226. Encouragement from God's Word
9227. Good rest time
9228. Gabriel getting in 2 naps
9229. Reuben taking a good nap
9230. Time to read
9231. Feeling lots of baby movement
9232. Time to journal
9233. Clearing out some emails
9234. Time to think and pray
9235. Reflecting on God's movement
9236. Seeing God move in mighty unpredictable ways
9237. Christmas Eve service at Sojourn
9238. Seeing many Brothers and Sisters
9239. Being able to walk to the service even in the cold
9240. Opportunities to grow
9241. Opportunities to teach our kids how to deal with uncomfortable situations
9242. Kids excited about Christmas Eve
9243. Seeing Hilary
9244. Seeing Cory and Courtney
9245. Meeting Chris and Elizabeth
9246. Hearing a little bit about growing up in South Africa
9247. Finding connections
9248. Meeting new people
9249. Hearing about Jesus's birth
9250. Singing about the birth of Jesus
9251. Reflecting on the fact that Jesus was born to die
9252. Remembering that Jesus willingly left His place with the Father to live among sinful humans
9253. Seeing Mandy
9254. Seeing the Pates
9255. Being able to help Grace
9256. Grace walking home with us
9257. Wonderful Pasta for dinner
9258. Jim making dinner
9259. Having a computer Grace can use
9260. Grace having dinner with us
9261. Watching "The Nativity Story" as a family
9262. Lillian falling asleep within 10 minutes
9263. Snuggling with Lillian and Reuben
9264. Jamey falling asleep soon after starting the movie also
9265. Reuben laughing and playing
9266. Grace enjoying being with our kids
9267. Becca going with me to take Grace back to her car
9268. Becca being able to work a couple hours
9269. Blue Bell ice cream for less than $4
9270. Cookies and Cream ice cream
9271. Vanilla with real strawberries ice cream
9272. Blue Bell ice cream
9273. Getting kids in bed easily
9274. Gabriel getting to sleep early
9275. Eating ice cream
9276. Living in a country where we can worship as we are led by God
9277. Our government not being able to kill our kids because they might be a threat
9278. Being able to sympathize with the women who lost their children because of Herod's decree
9279. Wanting to hug my children a little tighter
9280. Jesus birth changing the whole world
9281. Enjoying a Christmas comedy: "Home Alone 2" with Jim
9282. Time to read more
9283. Updating a few things
9284. Becca getting to go to the 11pm service
9285. Getting sleep
9286. Waking up a little before 8
9287. Lucky Charms
9288. Getting breakfast going
9289. Laughing together
9290. Playing
9291. Reading 2 Peter
9292. Reading Jude
9293. The encouragement of the Bible
9294. Being able to write thoughts and prayers on what I read
9295. True freedom from Christ
9296. Christmas
9297. Remembering Christ's birth
9298. God's grace
9299. Time to read to the kids
9300. Snuggling with Jamey
9301. Teaching the kids Russian
9302. The kids asking to read the Russian books frequently
9303. Learning more every day
9304. Enjoying being together as a family
9305. Jamey tickling Gabriel
9306. The laughter of children
9307. Lillian teaching Reuben how to do puzzles
9308. Reuben growing in his ability to do puzzles
9309. Gabriel learning not to eat puzzles
9310. Kids being together
9311. Seeing kids growing closer to each other
9312. Becca making sandwiches for lunch
9313. Having a ham sandwich on a hoagie roll
9314. Kids loving corn puffs
9315. Kids eating sandwiches well
9316. Cookies
9317. Talking over lunch
9318. Enjoying being together
9319. Watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
9320. Kids enjoying the new movie
9321. Introducing the kids to new movies
9322. Watching "The Nativity Story" again
9323. Getting to doze for a few minutes
9324. Gabriel getting a good nap
9325. Reuben getting a good nap
9326. Jamey and Lillian resting on the sofa
9327. Time to write in my journal again
9328. Jim calling his dad
9329. Jim getting to work extra
9330. Time and a half for holidays
9331. Time to read
9332. Kids resting well
9333. Snuggling with Lillian
9334. Lillian wanting to rest with me
9335. Hearing the kids talk to each other
9336. Frozen pizzas
9337. 2 really good pizzas
9338. Having to put my hair up
9339. Putting in my contacts
9340. Desiring to be more disciplined in my sleep habits
9341. Seeking to figure out how much sleep I really need to get
9342. God's greatness
9343. Remembering that I really need Jesus for everything
9344. Having the Holy Spirit to help me fight
9345. Making a to do list
9346. Seeking to get more ordered and organized
9347. Watching the kids dance
9348. Talking some to Becca
9349. Getting kids' sheets and bedding washed today
9350. Getting beds made
9351. Gabriel's huge smile and laughter
9352. The contagious giggling
9353. Gabriel showing off his teeth
9354. Gabriel eating 2 pieces of pizza
9355. Kids eating pizza and lots of grapes
9356. Kids playing together
9357. Listening to kids act out movie scenes
9358. Lillian's repeating lines from "Despicable Me" as she ate her "cheetos"
9359. Kids seeking to make us laugh
9360. Gabriel enjoying having his teeth brushed
9361. Other kids getting good at brushing their teeth
9362. Really smooth bed time
9363. Working on prayer list for next month
9364. Getting most of the prayer list completed
9365. Hearing from lots of workers this week
9366. Seeing God at work around the world
9367. Hearing incredible stories of God's saving grace
9368. Getting my planning calendar for next year
9369. Working on getting things thought through for next year
9370. Beginning to make plans for things to come
9371. Reflecting on the blessings of the past 2 days
9372. Getting to write a short blog post
9373. God's amazing love
9374. The beauty of the Trinity
9375. Thinking about blogging for the next year
9376. Time to relax
9377. Going to sleep before 10 pm
9378. Being able to get up and going
9379. Time to pray
9380. Kids playing well this morning
9381. Kids being quiet when they got up
9382. Reuben sleeping until after 8
9383. Big bowl of cheese grits for breakfast
9384. Becca making extra grits
9385. Everyone eating breakfast together
9386. All of the kids eating well
9387. Enjoying talking together
9388. Being able to take a nice hot shower for a little bit
9389. Getting ready to work
9390. Becca being able to run errands
9391. Making a plan for the day
9392. Having a very productive morning
9393. Beginning to get things in our file cabinet
9394. Cleaning off the stairs
9395. Getting books put back on the shelf
9396. Adding new books to our collection
9397. Running out of room on our shelves
9398. Having access to a lot of books
9399. Having the ability and resources to buy books
9400. Filing all of our recent Sojourn sermon notes
9401. Kids playing with Nativity stickers
9402. Jamey doing extra school work for fun
9403. Jamey desiring to write
9404. Lillian reading for fun
9405. Reuben wanting to do work
9406. Reuben coloring and learning to do stickers
9407. Kids playing well while Jim and I organized
9408. Getting all of our towels washed
9409. Becca making lunch
9410. All the kids eating lunch well
9411. Gabriel taking a nap
9412. Getting a lot done in a little time
9413. Time to read
9414. Reading 1 John
9415. Being reminded that we are to follow God's commands showing we are in Christ
9416. God's amazing work
9417. The clarity of Scripture
9418. Learning more of the deep Truths of God
9419. Jim vacuuming the whole house
9420. Becca, Jamey and Lillian cleaning the bathrooms
9421. Having kids who like to clean
9422. Seeing more things I need to teach the kids
9423. Reuben learning to put his dishes away
9424. Reuben giving high-5s
9425. Gabriel's laughter and cheesy smile
9426. Watching Gabriel throw a ball
9427. Having a few minutes to rest
9428. Taking a brief doze
9429. Kids resting
9430. Writing about what I'm reading
9431. Time to read for fun
9432. Getting more laundry done
9433. Cleaning up the kids room
9434. Finally moving the laundry basket
9435. Jim and Becca making dinner
9436. Lillian actually sleeping
9437. Reuben taking a good nap
9438. Jamey resting well
9439. Getting a lot of reading done
9440. Rest time for all
9441. Good reminders of God's grace in my book
9442. Daddy, Mom and Rachel getting her safely
9443. Lots of excitement
9444. Reuben warming up quickly
9445. Gabriel enjoying the attention
9446. All fitting at the table
9447. Enjoyable conversation
9448. Discussing baby names
9449. Jamey saying the baby's name is Esther (though we do not know gender)
9450. Jamey not saying he will be sad if the baby is a girl
9451. God's grace evident in Jamey's life
9452. Really good corn chowder
9453. Laughter
9454. Play time
9455. Lillian taking a good nap
9456. Being full
9457. God's provision for our family
9458. Family "Christmas"
9459. All the kids getting Art sets and drawing books
9460. Family t-shirts for the museum next year
9461. Getting Just Dance 4!
9462. Bamboo cutting board with different cutting mats
9463. Lots of kitchen shears
9464. Umbrellas
9465. Kids enjoying their gifts
9466. Kids taking pictures
9467. Getting immediate use out of Just Dance 4
9468. Fun new songs to dance too
9469. Watching Jim, Rachel, Mom and the kids dance
9470. Songs I like on the game
9471. More time to read
9472. Smooth bed time
9473. Finishing What Did You Expect?
9474. Hearing greetings from friends
9475. Updating my Good Reads account
9476. Having Goodreads available to me
9477. Seeing how much I have been reading
9478. Thinking about the days blessings
9479. Watching some of the Pirates movie
9480. Sleep
9481. Getting out of bed before 6 am
9482. Kids having things to draw on this morning
9483. Mom showing the kids their drawing books
9484. Having significant amount of time to pray
9485. Reading my Bible
9486. Reading 2nd John
9487. Reading 3rd John
9488. Books from the Bible that are encouragement to persevere in the faith
9489. Lucky Charms
9490. Kids eating well
9491. Jamey helping me clean out the dishwasher
9492. Reuben and Gabriel sleeping until 8 am
9493. Gabriel inhaling his banana
9494. Doing Russian with Lillian
9495. Time to journal
9496. God moving
9497. Hanging out
9498. Low key, few plans day
9499. Being with family
9500. Yummy sandwiches
9501. Rachel and Jim making sandwiches
9502. Enjoying lunch together
9503. Stimulating conversation
9504. Talking theology
9505. Finding Daddy and I agree more on theology than I thought
9506. Encouraging each other in the faith
9507. Kids resting
9508. 3 younger ones napping
9509. Daddy reading to Jamey
9510. Daddy reading to Lillian
9511. Gabriel playing well
9512. Jim getting to nap
9513. Relaxing afternoon
9514. Learning more about seeking God's best
9515. Learning more about how to encourage others
9516. Growing in knowledge on God
9517. God opening my eyes to help me understand Scripture more
9518. Sharing what I learned from reading What Did You Expect?
9519. God's continual grace and mercy
9520. Having spiritual eyes
9521. Being blessed more than I deserve
9522. Jamey learning how to draw
9523. Jamey being able to draw a picture from the instruction book
9524. Jamey growing in different skills
9525. Jamey liking to draw
9526. Lillian trying to draw some
9527. Reuben coloring
9528. Daddy cutting up onions
9529. Rachel and I getting 4 cups of cheese shredded
9530. Getting dinner started before Jim got up
9531. Jim being able to get dinner ready quickly
9532. Daddy and Mom making guacamole to go with our black bean casserole
9533. Lillian taking a 4+ hour nap
9534. The kids all eating well
9535. Avocados (really wish I could grow these here)
9536. Kids loving avocado
9537. Jim getting out the door smoothly
9538. Jim already having food at work
9539. Going to Pie Kitchen with Daddy
9540. God working out divine appointments
9541. Not being able to find a Starbucks gift card
9542. Jordan making me a slice of cookie dough ice cream pie since there wasn't any in the freezer
9543. Meeting Jonathan and Chelsea from Sojourn
9544. Sharing a little with them
9545. Getting Chelsea's email address
9546. Really good conversation
9547. Challenging each other
9548. Seeking God's wisdom
9549. Chelsea excited to learn more about prayer for workers
9550. Eating ice cream with Daddy
9551. God's perfect timing
9552. God's amazing grace
9553. Being able to talk about sin struggles
9554. Talking about what we are learning from God
9555. Exchanging ideas
9556. Sweet Tea
9557. Jordan giving me a glass of sweet tea
9558. God's provision in the little things
9559. Praying together
9560. God changing hearts
9561. Seeing God at work in many things
9562. Talking some with Becca
9563. Finally getting to bed
9564. Being able to get up with only about 4 hours sleep
9565. Mom starting breakfast for the kids
9566. Coffee
9567. Having time to pray and read
9568. Being able to go to God when I am really struggling
9569. Lucky Charms
9570. Making it through the morning
9571. Jamey and Lillian building with magnetic blocks
9572. Jamey growing in creativity
9573. God working in Jamey
9574. God always at work
9575. Kids asking to play the dance game instead of watching something
9576. Starting Revelation
9577. Seeing a lot of warnings for the church today in Revelation
9578. Recognizing things I need to be on the alert for in my life
9579. God getting through to my head even in a fog
9580. Going to lunch with Mom
9581. Daddy, R and R taking the kids to eat and play at McDonald's
9582. Eating at Cheesecake Factory
9583. Really good salad and sandwich
9584. Getting avocado on my sandwich
9585. Mom asking me about my book
9586. Sweet Tea
9587. Getting Cheesecake to go
9588. Walking around the mall
9589. Getting exercise
9590. Being able to resist the mall
9591. Growing in dislike of mall shopping
9592. Finding potential family ornaments that have 7 people on them for next year
9593. Being reminded of how different people are
9594. Being reminded of how people learn differently
9595. Finding a maternity shirt on sale
9596. Finding a maternity shirt in a style I like
9597. Meeting another pregnant woman
9598. Being able to encourage the other woman
9599. Getting good info from her
9600. Dinner getting ready
9601. Scalloped potatoes
9602. Kids having fun at McDonald's
9603. Jim getting some sleep
9604. All eating dinner together
9605. Everyone fitting at the table
9606. Jim getting off to work
9607. Having good left overs for him to take for lunch
9608. Kids playing the dance game with Becca and Rachel
9609. Smooth bed time
9610. Kids going to sleep quickly
9611. Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake
9612. Going to sleep before 8 pm
9613. Waking up early
9614. Waking up refreshed
9615. Time to work on a few things
9616. Time to pray before everyone got up
9617. Time to read more of Revelation
9618. Looking for understanding
9619. Learning to be OK with mystery
9620. Having a God we cannot completely comprehend
9621. God's greatness
9622. God knowing all things
9623. Trusting that God knows all things
9624. Trusting that God is in control
9625. Having a little time with just Jamey this morning
9626. Getting breakfast started
9627. Cinnamon rolls
9628. Kids eating a good breakfast
9629. Reuben sleeping until 7:30
9630. Gabriel sleeping until 7:30
9631. Jim having a good night
9632. Rain
9633. God replenishing the earth
9634. Seeing Rachel
9635. Seeing Gidget and Margo
9636. Worshiping my Lord with other believers
9637. Learning about why Jesus had to die
9638. Being reminded that we also must die
9639. Hearing great thoughts on how to go about resolutions
9640. Thinking about what I want to focus on next year
9641. Thinking about how I need to die to myself everyday
9642. Figuring out how to die to self and live for Christ everyday
9643. Hearing how great what Christ did for us is
9644. Knowing that Satan and death have been defeated
9645. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus!
9646. The idea of suffering in our lives being part of our glorification process (2 Corinthians 4:17)
9647. Jesus drawing people in love
9648. Being reminded to be careful what I love
9649. Great thoughts for the end of the year
9650. Talking to MyLee for a few minutes
9651. Finding out the Corona's are looking for a house in our area of town!
9652. Talking to Lora for a few minutes
9653. Getting out of the church building quickly
9654. Going to Olive Garden for lunch
9655. Sweet Tea
9656. Olive Garden bread sticks
9657. Olive Garden salad
9658. Lasagna
9659. Jamey and Lillian picking out their food and drink
9660. Having a good full meal
9661. Daddy and Mom buying all of us lunch
9662. Jim getting to nap
9663. Time to rest on the sofa
9664. Talking about Scripture with Rachel and Daddy
9665. Snuggling with Lillian
9666. Talking about God's character
9667. Seeking Truth together
9668. Admitting there are some things that we cannot understand on this side of Heaven
9669. Jamey sharing with Lillian
9670. Playing a game with Lillian
9671. Talking with Rachel
9672. Jim getting a good nap
9673. Hanging out
9674. Eating leftovers for dinner
9675. Really yummy mac and cheese
9676. Kids playing
9677. Staggering bed times
9678. Smooth bed time
9679. Time to talk with Jim
9680. Going to bed early