You've got mail!

I love getting mail.  There is something about checking the mailbox and finding a card or note from someone special.  I have always loved writing (even though I am not always great at keeping up on here), and it is something that I hope to instill in the girls.  Clara is already becoming quite the letter writer - she leaves special messages in the mailbox of our neighbor, Emma, at least twice a week now.  I love Emma's excitement over receiving fun cards, and I especially love Clara's joy in working on something special for a friend.

Over the Christmas season, my dreams of mail really come true.  I love opening up festive envelopes and seeing pictures or reading notes of what friends and family are up to, especially ones far away and mostly out of touch.  It is difficult once Christmas is over to part with these sweet notes and pictures - I don't want to throw them away!  But, clutter runs rampant in my house, even without extra mail, so what to do?

This year, in answer to my dilemma, we have decided to do something a little more intentional with our cards.  Each of the cards we received was tossed into a bowl on our kitchen table.  Several times a week, we pull the top card out, talk to the girls about this family (how we know them, where they live, where we met, etc) and then pray for that family.  It so far has been a fun way to introduce the girls to families that they don't well (or at all) and to be more faithful in praying for our friends.  It also makes the parting of the picture/note a little easier!  I think this will be a fun tradition for our family, and also a way to prompt me to love others throughout the year with notes of encouragement.

Along those lines, I recently had a chance to review some cards through Dayspring's blog (in)courage.  I am always on the hunt for a fun card, and this collection of cards did not disappoint.

I love the fun colors and fonts, and each one has a sweet nugget of scripture tucked inside - love! I'm really looking forward to sending these out over the next few weeks.  Thanks, Dayspring!

Thankfulness

Sweet Clara has finally finished up her thank you notes from Christmas.  She received so many sweet gifts from friends and family and has diligently been writing her notes every night.  Once she got into the groove, it became easier for her; she memorized how to write the greeting and quickly remembered to state what the gift was and how much she enjoyed it.  My favorite part was that each note had a "personalized" drawing on the back of things that she knew the giver liked...horses, flowers, castles, rainbows, cars, etc.  As she finished her final note (and I crossed it off of my to-do list), she asked for the next one.  I told her that she was done for now - whew!  No more notes!  She then said she had one more to write and that she didn't need any help at all.  A little while later, she returned with this...

A thank you note to God - written all by herself!  She drew a picture on the back; she was standing with Jesus in a flower garden, under a rainbow (so girly!).  She asked me to give it to God when she went to him in heaven.  It is displayed on our fridge now - as a reminder to be thankful.

This was one of those moments - a reminder of the sweetness of parenting little ones and even more, a reminder of the Lord's hand and faithfulness in the life of our family.

Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  Psalm 107:8

A New Year

I am not big on resolutions.  It's not that I don't believe in them, or have things that I want changed in my life.  It's just that I have never really bought into the New Year's Resolution bit.  This year, as we have done with the oldest girls, Madeline gave up her pacifier for New Year's.  It has become a small tradition with the kids, and also an easy way to say goodbye to the pacifier before they are able to name it!

As I have been thinking about changes for my own life with the new year...exercising more, more consistent prayer, deeper investment in relationships with friends...I have come back to one common theme.  Change and newness are not natural to me.  It is not my natural desire to change, well, anything.  I tend to like things how they are, if for no other reason, it is comfortable.

As I have chewed on this for a week or so, I have been reminded through God's word that it is the Lord who changes and creates - not me!  He is the one who makes all things new (Rev 21:5) and who causes us to be born again to a living hope (1 Pet 1:3).  It's not natural for me to change because it's not supposed to be.  This new year is a reminder to me of my inability and his ability, of my lack and his sufficiency.  I have put off the old self and put on the new self (Eph 4:22-24) - not because I have changed anything, but because he has changed and is changing me!

Blessed be the God and Father of out Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  1 Peter 1:1-3

Happy New Year!

Christmas Sweetness