Gift of a Christmas TEA

Well, another Lighthouse Homeschool Association Mom's Christmas Tea is in the books! What a wonderful time of blessing last night as Moms gathered to focus on "Preparing Our Hearts for Christmas" brought to us from the heart of God by Mariel Davenport of http://www.growingodliness.com/ Here is a summary of her talk- Using the letters in JESUS' name she refocused our hearts on the true meaning of Christmas. J-JOY, the joy we have in Christ, like the joy the angels spilled out from Heaven the first Christmas night. E-EVANGELIZE, the shepherds were the first evangelists, sharing what they experienced with everyone, just as we should share our personal encounters with God with those around us. S-SACRIFICE, Joseph sacrificed his rights in being Jesus' earthly father, Do we sacrifice for others in His name, or do we dwell in the world of self-pity? U-UNDERSTANDING Mary pondered all of the wondrous events of the first Christmas in her heart, as we need to pause and ponder God's gift to us this Christmas and finally S-SAVIOR, Jesus' name, a name above all names, still today His name is one to be in awe of, remembering that He grew from a baby in a manger to a Savior on the cross. I have always enjoyed this special evening of fellowship and encouragement in my homeschooling group. Tables were decorated creatively with the beautiful colors of Christmas. Everything looked beautiful in the soft candlelight and shimmering gold and silver that filled the room. The food was delicious as always and the conversation was sweet. I got some fun ideas for decorating from all of the incredible displays. I love getting lost in these type of delightful times of fellowship and love, and imagining that this is what HEAVEN will be like, everyone gathered together in, one accord and in fellowship and love, the rush and busyness of life melted away. I truly feel that I unwrapped one of the very best gifts of this Christmas season. Thank you JESUS for friends, fellowship and most of all I thank you truly for the gift of your LIFE and for the second Christmas that is yet to come!

Getting Ready for A Big Tea

I am helping to plan a Christmas Tea for my homeschool group. We are expecting around eighty ladies to come for an evening of tea and delightful finger foods while enjoying Christmas music, a wonderful guest speaker, door prizes and lots of fun. 

I have been working on the lists of who is bringing what and preparing emails with all the information our members need to know so that the tea will go well. As much work as big events tend to be, a tea party for 80 ladies, I love to serve the ladies in my homeschool group, Lighthouse Homeschool Association.  

I feel so blessed to be part of such a diverse and ever-growing group of families all educating their children at home. Table hostesses are working on creating unique tables with Christmas themes for this evening. I cannot wait to see how everything looks. I will take pictures and post them after the event in December. For now I can breathe a little easier knowing that the plans are in place and begin praying for the ladies that will be coming for an evening of Christmas tea.

Happy Birthday America!

Happy 234th Birthday America! Our family has been enjoying a "vacation" at home this year over the 4th of July Holiday. We are near the end of our five days of family fun in our home, and I have enjoyed our time together celebrating our great nation's birthday. Red, white and blue are the colors of our vacation. I pulled out every patriotic thing we own and the kids have been wearing all of their red,white and blue regalia. One of our dogs is wearing her own patriotic gear as well.

We have been blessed with swimming in our neighbor's pool while they are out of town for the holiday weekend. We watch their kitty cats and get to swim. What a swap! Last night after swimming, we had some pizza and cheese dip and then a fabulous, free fireworks display, courtesy of our town just a short walk up the street. Our days have been filled with things I remember from my own childhood,talking with neighbors, bug spray, a little sunburn and lots of yummy summer time food. I made a family favorite, blueberry pound cake.

Today, in honor of the official day of Independence, we are grilling out burgers and corn on the cob and having sweet watermelon. Later the night sky will be filled once again with the bright light of our kids running around with sparklers and before that some silly string! The tournament of tailgate golf will continue this evening. Our oldest has pulled ahead, however a rule consultation has determined that yesterday's tournaments may be tossed out because points were not awarded correctly. Competition in our family is fierce!

We have tried to slow down and enjoy our kids and play hard with them the last several days. Honestly, I am pretty tired, but I am having fun and hoping that the kids will remember fun times at home with Mom and Dad. All the aches and pains of pool volleyball and crazy badminton will pay off one day when the kids are sitting around remembering the times we spent together as a family. We are truly blessed to live in a land of freedom and our family is so grateful to have my dear husband home with us to celebrate Independence day. Last year he was in the heat of Iraq away from all things family, it was just another day. We definitely are making up for that this year!

Happy Independence Day!

Good Friday

Some of us think at times that we could cry, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" There are seasons when the brightness of our Father's smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness; but let us remember that God never does really forsake us. It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ's case it was a real forsaking. We grieve at a little withdrawal of our Father's love; but the real turning away of God's face from His Son, who shall calculate how deep the agony which it caused Him? In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief: in His case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from Him for a season. O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God's face, but art now in darkness, remember that He has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when He shines forth in all the lustre of His grace; but since even the thought that He has forsaken us gives us agony, what must the woe of the Saviour have been when He exclaimed, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Charles Haddon Spurgeon The Spurgeon Archive I loved this quote about the agony that Christ suffered on the cross on Good Friday. Puts everything else in my life into perspective when I think of all that He did for me and the pain He suffered as His Father turned His face away...thank you Jesus.

Winding Down 2009

The year is quickly coming to a close. It is amazing to me how quickly the years seem to be going. I remember last year and getting our New Year's Day meal together and here it is time to do that once again. Our family traditionally eats New Year's Day meal together with aunts, uncles and grandparents as a way to mark the beginning of a brand new year and a fresh start. We eat pork barbecue, baked beans and black-eyed peas, collards, homemade macaroni and cheese and other favorites. We usually have something special for dessert as well. There will be lots of bowl games to watch as well.

I enjoy the tradition of eating together and I am looking forward to starting the new year, 2010. Dear husband should be returning in the early part of this year. We will begin our second semester of school and looking towards summer! Happy New Year to everyone!

Galloping Christmas Dog!

My camera is broken and until the company sends out the repaired one or a new one I decided to dig out a photo from last Christmas that I love. Hard to believe this puppy is now our big Ginger girl. She is embracing Christmas in a big way this year! She loves Christmas bows and garland and smelling all of the Christmas treats on the kitchen counter top. She has decided that dishtowels make great chew toys as well. She especially loves cute embroidered ones with neat little ball fringe, oh what fun! She has not quite figured out the stockings hung by the chimney with care, but I am just waiting for them to come crashing down along with the mantle garland. Tonight she almost made off with the Advent wreath on the kitchen table, candle and all, if not for a last minute save by dear son. Decking the halls has definitely been modified at our house this year. No glass ornaments on the tree and all bows with in Ginger range have been removed. In short Christmas has been Gingerfied and simplified.


Even though she has caused some disturbances in my usual Christmas decorating I am happy for the chaos she provides. She is a handful but I love it! It has helped me to really focus on why I put up the decorations in the first place and why it is so much fun to celebrate the season of Jesus' Birth. Funny how a tiny puppy grows up to be a 50 pound galloping dog that brings so much into your life. She is a good reminder of what is important this holiday season for our family...simply enjoying the Reason for this Season and remembering all the many, many blessings that we have.

Easter and a Special Birthday

We celebrated Easter with family this past weekend. The kids dyed Easter eggs at Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house with their cousins.
We went to a huge Easter egg hunt and Spring festival sponsored by our church. We are talking over 10,000 eggs for the hunting! It was fun and a great distraction for me. My niece and nephew were with us as well and so was my Mom. Dear son and daughter climbed the rock wall, ringing the buzzer at the top and ate some cotton candy and snow cones. We had a great day outdoors. Easter Sunday was beautiful. We went to church and enjoyed Easter dinner out at a special restaurant with family.

I love Easter and the renewing of all of life around us during the Spring. It reminds me of the new life we have in Christ because of His resurrection Easter Sunday. I love the sense of new beginnings that Spring brings. Easter is a time to reflect on God's love for us and His overwhelming sacrifice on the Cross.

We also celebrated a very special birthday. Dear son's 13th Birthday fell on Easter Sunday this year. We our now blessed with a teenager in our family! I remember that feeling of growing up so well! Good times, good times... We celebrated in grand style with balloons, a guitar cupcake cake and all of the trimmings. Really, he will do his celebrating with his friends in the days ahead. The family party was sweet and special with everyone reminiscing about the day he was born. This birthday day was special and started off with a special and unexpected call from Kuwait. What a present! Dear son never lost that smile all day long! What a great birthday. I am so happy to be the Mom of a Teenager!

A Different Kind of Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

I always enjoy this holiday because it reminds me how much I am loved by God, my darling husband, my wonderful children, my precious family and dear friends. I could feel really down because my husband is away from me this year for Valentine's Day. I was thinking back, we have spent Valentine's Day together for the past nineteen years. Wow! O.k., I could get very sad, but instead I am going to concentrate on what I do have this Valentine's Day. Three children to hug, two furry dogs to chase, a family that surrounds me with love and sweet memories and dear friends that fill me up with fun and happy times. This holiday has really been captured by commercialism. Forget all of the stuff our culture says this day should be. Cut past all of the unrealistic expectations to the LOVE part. The best place I know to go for pure love is God.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Now that's what I am talking about! What a Valentine's Day present. He can fill you up to overflowing and then some. I know that is a good place to be and I am camping out there!

Thank you Lord for this Valentine's Day. It is different, but I feel loved up to the very top!

Enjoy the Everyday in Your Christmas Holidays

I had the wonderful experience of going to an event at my church called Holidays Honoring Him. Every table hostess decorated the table with a holiday theme that centered around honoring Christ. My Mom and Sister decorated this first table at the beginning of my post. The table sparkled and was magical in the candlelight. It was a lovely night and a wonderful way to remember to keep Christ the center of everything I do from holidays to homeschooling and everyday life. My home school support group is having a Christmas tea this evening, and I look forward to going every year if at all possible. The Holidays Honoring Him event reminded me of our group's Christmas tea, but all of the tables at the tea are done in a Christmas theme. This year getting to the tea is a little more challenging because I am a solo parent again with dear Husband gone with pre-deployment training. I did not go last year because my sister in law was in the hospital battling cancer and I just couldn't go and be with others... This year I am going and excited and counting it a blessing for my week!

Here are a few more of the tables that I captured with my camera... Enjoy the everyday in your Christmas holidays, you know cards in the mail...the cool air...hot chocolate with rosy cheeked children...snuggling up with a Christmas quilt and looking at your to do list...enjoy

Full of THANKS and GIVING

We are now on Thanksgiving break. A brief break for the week from school and outside activities i.e. Scouts, ballet, etc... I am enjoying the respite. I have so much to be thankful for this year. Here is just some of my abundance: A sweet relationship with Jesus, my wonderful family and extended family, good health, a loving husband, a warm home, especially with the unusually chilly weather NC is having right now , homeschooling, the wonderful addition of Tapestry of Grace curriculum this year as well as a TOG co-op, dear friends, new friends and the endless opportunities that being an American bring every day...I just wanted to pause in the beginning of my Thanksgiving week to remember just a bit of what I have to be thankful for and also as my pastor said on Sunday to remember that there is a giving part of Thanksgiving, and to try my hardest to give of myself and my time and resources to those around me that are in need. My prayer is that I never become so complacent in my own comfortable life that I loose sight of the giving that God would have me to be part of in my every day world. I love this time of year! I just want to savor it and remember to have a truly thankful spirit. Happy ThanksGiving to all.

Thank you

Veterans Day - November 11

Veterans Day is today!

Thank you to all who have served, who are serving and who will serve our great country, the United States of America. My husband is one of those serving now, and I am so proud of him and wonder at his profound love of our country and his dedication to serve. We miss him, but are humbled by his God given strength and determination to serve and give of himself for the country he loves so very much. See you soon sweetie.