Happy Birthday, Memaw!!

Memaw-- The Monkeys wanted to tell you "Happy Birthday"! We love you, and we hope you have a great birthday! -- Katie, Andrew, Brendan, and Aidan

Digging Out

I awoke this morning to life cluttering around me: dishes in the sink, a sick, crying boy, mounds and mounds of laundry. Running late, I didn't even have time for my morning devotional-- Speeding off toward preschool at a break-neck pace, I began to gasp for spiritual air-- how could I dig out of this mess? I pray a bit, only to be dragged down by the undertoe of life-- a whining child, another red light-- and somewhere it dawns on me: It was not my job to dig out-- In fact, no matter how hard I tried, I could not rise above the everyday problems encircling me. But HE, yes, HE could dig me out-- the Prince of Peace could calm me, hold me. I still have a sink full of dishes, and the laundry is still piled on my living room sofa, but I am no longer drowning. The Prince of Peace has stilled my heart. Sit, just for a moment, and he will do the same to yours.

Can You See BEYOND?

I read this for my quiet time today, and God taught me something, or maybe he just remined me of something that's inherently already known. This life that we live now-- all of it-- the noise, the pain, the sorrow, the laughter, the love-- it is but a fleeting moment in eternity. It is merely the opening act to the REAL show-- the preview for the REAL movie. And I, well, I should live my life as such. I should not get wrapped up in this little preview-- this pre-game show. I should keep focused on the REAL life to come-- the life I will live in eternity with my Savior. All of a sudden-- so many things seem less important, almost trivial-- and many things seem to be, well, just a waste of time. . . That TV show I love-- Who really cares when you're focusing on eternity? And so, now, I realize that I need to keep my life focused on what is BEYOND my life-- my Love, my Savior-- the One who should be my All, but isn't always.

And as I pondered keeping an eternal focus-- those strange little magic eye pictures popped into my mind-- God often gives me pictures-- little parables-- perhaps because I'm too thick to understand the ones he already gave in the bible ;)-- And so my thoughts were turned to those crazy images that you have to look PAST to really see. I decided to look at a few, and I discovered a few things about living today focused on the Beyond:

You've got to REALLY focus on a point far past the picture to be able to see it-- REALLY focus, for a while, not just a short time-- in fact, when your eyes dart back to the picture, your focus has to remain BEYOND it, in order to see the image. And so, as I live my life today, I am going to focus on my Savior-- I'm going to look beyond this world, this preview, into the REAL life I will lead in eternity-- a life overflowing with love, peace, mercy, and kindness-- a life that is wrapped up in God-- and I will stare into eternity. I have a strange feeling that as I do so, my life will become a magic eye picture-- all the tangle of the worry and the fuss and the unknown-- will suddenly come into view with eternity-- and seen in Eternity's light-- it will all come into focus. And so, I encourage you to look Beyond today-- into our Eternal God, and see what glorious image pops up in your magic-eye life.

Our Little Santas

The boys are definitely in the Christmas spirit. Brendan wakes up almost every morning and asks me if it's Christmas day yet! And Aidan, well, you'll just have to watch the video below to see Aidan's new trick!

Aidan has now decided to say "Ho, Ho, Ho!" whenever ANYONE even says the word "Santa". So, when I got Brendan out of bed this morning, the conversation went like this:
Brendan: Is is Christmas day yet?
Mommy: No, sweetie, it's still just Christmas TIME (we've been working on the difference between the two).
Brendan: Did Santa Claus bring me presents?
Aidan: "Ho, Ho, Ho!"
. . . My crazy little Santas!

The Second Time's the Charm: Christmas Plaid Freebie(s)

Ok, so my links below didn't work. Can you tell I'm new at this?!! I think I've got it this time. Here is the preview of Christmas Plaid Part Two:

The papers have chalked edges, and they include the folded over paper with the star button. There are more elements than on the preview (they just wouldn't all fit!), AND there is an ALPHA included in the elements download.
And HERE are the download links:
ELEMENTS
PAPERS

And, in case you missed part one of Christmas Plaid:


Download Part One Here

I hope THAT works!! Thanks for putting up with my lack of computer skills!

Christmas Time

So, this post was originally my first try at uploading those links above. But, since I've got that all covered now, I thought I'd let everyone know how we are doing. Brendan is officially enthralled with Christmas. We have been praying (yes, I said praying) for Santa Claus EVERY SINGLE NIGHT SINCE LAST CHRISTMAS!!!! We are now going on 340+ days of praying for Santa Claus. Well, I sure hope he's good to the kid this year. Adian is officially enthralled with the Christmas TREE. His new hobby is hitting it with any sort of destructive implement which may be at his disposal (a toy ax (yes, we have a toy ax, don't ask), a toy hammer, etc.). He also likes to take off ornaments and RUN so that mommy has to chase him around the house to retrieve them. Yes, both the boys are enjoying Christmas time to its fullest extent. Now, it's time for mommy to enjoy hers. . . off to make a cup of hot chocolate and munch on the cookies a neighbor brought by this afternoon (I have the BEST neighbors :)).

Happy (early) Father's Day!

Since Andrew is working this weekend, we thought we'd celebrate Father's Day a bit early this year. So, WE LOVE YOU, DA-DA!!! Andrew, you are a wonderful husband and father, and I thank God each day that I get to share my life with you. We hope you like the "Da-da Interview"-- a true insight into the mind of our boys :). Happy Father's Day!