Loving My Aunties!

Thanks Auntie Melissa and Pamela for the trendy duds! I especially love how the leggings show off my curves. Hee! Don't you just want to squeeze me??

Noelle's First Christmas

Well...it's officially been 2009 for 15 days, but I am going to reflect on Noey's first Christmas none the less. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with both sides of the family. Noelle loved the wrapping paper, ribbons, and all the hugs and kisses she received. Joe and I loved all the helping hands, a couple of legitimate dates, and thinking of how miraculous it is that Jesus arrived in the form of a babe.

For Nothing is Impossible

"For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, "I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me as you have said." Luke 1:37-38

Every December, as I read the Christmas story in Luke, I find myself savoring these verses. Mary had just been told that she, a virgin, would 1)conceive a child, and 2)that this child would be the son of GOD! Wow! Talk about impossible! But the truth that lies in this verse is so profound, so deep, so hope-giving....NOTHING is impossible with God.

All throughout my life I've had struggles with my own "impossibles". Would I ever meet a man I'd want to marry...and have him like me? Will my bills always be met? Would hard relationships be reconciled? Could those deep hurts and patterns in my life be healed and forgotten?

Over and over again God has continued to answer: "I can do it, believe me", "I can do it, look to me", "I can do it, follow me!"

Just last year at this time I sat in our quaint one-bedroom apartment, with a baby in my belly, wondering how we'd EVER be able to afford to rent a two-bedroom in West LA. I felt God asking me to trust Him, to believe Him to work something glorious. And here I sit today, in the most beautiful four-bedroom home...which we attained by miraculous measures! Praise God!

And Mary? Well Mary was on the front-end of the most awesome and perfect miracle of all time, with no ability to see into the future. She had only the truth told her by an angel...for nothing is impossible with God. And she believed! She laid down everything and let God do to her and with her whatever He pleased. What humility! What trust! So beautiful.

Lord, I long for a heart like Mary's. You are the God of the impossible. May it be done to me as you please!

As we decorate our beautiful tree, hang lights, shop for presents, loudly sing our favorite Christmas carols, and enjoy delicious treats, I'm so thankful for the most cherished part of all...His birth. God sending his only Son to save us! Each December as I plod through the book of Luke in the Bible, I eagerly anticipate reading and remembering how Jesus came, lived, died and rose again to save us.

I'll be there soon, but for today, I'm observant of Mary's attitude...and prompted to follow her example. Will you help me Lord?

A Tooth!

Ah Ha! Those nights of tears, the endless drooling, and the rubbing of gums have finally paid off. Noelle popped out her first tooth on Friday! She is, however, still very private when it comes to her gums. We tried to snap a pic to show off her pearly white, but ended up with these. Alas, you'll just have to blindly celebrate with us...

Sweet like candy

Our sweet little bunny. She was ready for bed by 6:45....but I bet she still enjoyed her first Halloween.

shrieks and giggles

like music to our ears....

generations

"...future generations will be told about the Lord" Psalm 22:30

"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." Psalm 145:13

What an thought-provoking experience to birth, mother, and love future generations by mothering my tiny Noelle. My future generations will, Lord willing, be birthed through my Noey. Joe and I have been given the weighty responsibility to love, guide, and set the stage for our future generations. What will we leave them? I long to leave a legacy of loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength, and loving others more than ourselves. What does it look like to pass this on to a five-month old? As I sat rocking in a dark room tonight, holding Noelle to my body and feeding her for the seventh time today, stroking her soft head, and whispering a prayer over her, I thought, this is it. This is the beginning.

God speaks often and boldly regarding his protection, blessing, provision, and fulfillment of promises for generations after a family lives righteously. Lord, might I live in a manner that will someday bless my great-great-great grandchildren!

This summer we were able to introduce Noelle to her great-grandparents. They held our baby and prayed a blessing over her. Tears streamed down my face as I imagined the Lord's joy at this prayer. Marilyn and Ray Riihilouma gave their lives to the Savior and gave their lives to blessing others many, many years ago. Their lives forever marked my mother's. My mother's mine. And mine, I pray, Noey's. I hope to someday sit, hold, and pray a blessing over my great-granddaughter. I hope to see the joy of the Lord on her parents' (my grandchildren) faces. I hope their mother, my Noey, will be living boldly with a heart for her Savior and a heart for people.

"There is no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 4