weekend {before Christmas} links!

It's the day of our Christmas party and I'm excited and happy that I got a lot of what needed to be done ahead of time so I can enjoy the day with my family.
The boys and I built a snowman this morning and I got to Facetime with my friend Kelly and see her brand new baby girl!
About an hour before the party I'll put together the cinnamon infused hot chocolate in one slow cooker, and the wassail in the other {thanks to my friend Christina for lending me hers!}. The cookies will get put out, the candles will be lit, the music will be playing and we will wait for our first guests.

You like the way those cookies above look? They're gingersnap s'mores and they were ridiculously easy and the perfect party food as far as I'm concerned! While I'm all for making everything from scratch, when you have a lot to do and you're hosting a bunch of people, sometimes it's best for your sanity to do things the easy way. There ain't nothing wrong with easy now, is there? Check out the instructions here for Gingersnap S'mores.

Have you seen the video with Jean Claude Van Damm where he's standing between two trucks and then does the splits? If you thought that was impressive, you can be sure Chuck Norris can make that look like doing hopscotch! Merry Christmas from Chuck Norris.

I read this blog post from Jamie the Very Worst Missionary about how Christmas isn't always candy canes and presents for everyone. It can be a difficult and painful time and we need to be aware of this {if you aren't already}. Sometimes Christmas can be sucky.

My friend Beth wrote a post the other day that speaks to this balance of experiencing joy and peace in our own lives, and yet holding in our hands the pain and suffering of those around us. She quotes CS Lewis in this: To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. Check out her post here. It is both beautiful and vulnerable. 

On the same note, if you are the praying type, would you please pray for my friend Andrew? He is battling Leukemia for the second time around and his situation is not looking good. Just today, his white blood cells have jumped to a very dangerous level and there is risk for stroke and brain hemorrhage. He's married to a close friend of mine, Suzanne and they have two little boys (aged 3 and 8 months). My heart is breaking for them and we are praying our hearts out for a miracle for Andrew.

I've posted this video before {this is a typographic version}, but every year it speaks to me so strongly and I pray it encourages you and reminds you of what we wait for during Advent season and why we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

December THREE {on the fourth}

I've been dog sick for the last two days. It's kinda weird, actually because I wasn't hugely congested although that was part of it, it was mostly a brutal migraine that made me want to pass out and throw up all at the same time. So that was fun.
But I'm so over-the-moon thankful for my husband who happened to have this week off. And although shuttling around kids and cleaning wasn't his idea of how we'd spend this week together, it was exactly what I needed. Because if I'm going to get sick, let it be now when he's around! He flies to Tanzania on Friday and it's just me and the kiddos for the next 10 days.

Oh yes. These three crazies. Jude had a complete meltdown tonight when we had our friend Trevor {who we lived with for our first year in Uganda} over for dinner. He refused to come down and ended up going to bed without dinner because he just didn't want to come and see Trevor. I felt bad for both of them, but I think Jude was just tired after another long day of school. These long days really tire him out! Hopefully the early bedtime will mean a more rested {and happy} kiddo for me tomorrow.

You can see Blaise & Jude really enjoying the window stickies. That was yesterday's advent activity. Simple, yet enjoyable. Today's {paper snowflakes} just didn't happen. Oh well. Tomorrow I am excited to teach them about St. Nicholas and leave out their shoes at night and see what happens {a chocolate coin in the morning!}. There seems to be confusion about Santa around our house these days. They know he's not real but sometimes liken him to God because they can't see either. So what's the difference?
I tried explaining it to Noah tonight and talked about how if God doesn't exist then we've wasted our lives ambition and especially the last two years in Uganda. Persistence in teaching what is true and consistency with how we live our lives as parents I think is key in guiding our children and teaching them God's Word. The rest is prayer and the mercy of God.

I've been a bit emotional these days and I'm sure there are many contributing factors but I am trying to be more introspective and as I listened in to Jamie explaining communion to Jude in church this past weekend, I almost burst into tears as the sacrifice that Jesus made was revealed in a fresh way to me. Skin and bones and blood, just like my little Jude sitting on the chair next to me. And for me He died! Gratitude overwhelms my heart and the tears spill over.

I love these kids. My heart yearns for them to love Jesus and know Him as I do. Some days I feel like I'm not doing them any favours by planning fun little advent activities. I should be reading the Bible more to them. I should be seizing more opportunities to explain the gospel to them. I should pray more for them. I should pray more with them.

I am never going to be a perfect mother. I was never meant to be. Again, thankfulness overwhelms that I don't have to be perfect. Jesus already did that.

He's so good. Every time. All the time.

every month I {try to} take pictures of my boys on the third. see past months here. 

weekend links! {Canadian version 1.0}

Weekend links are back, folks!

Blaise's hat / Joe Fresh {bought in store}

The tree is up, the candles are burning, some presents are even wrapped! I have not started any Christmas baking but in an attempt to curb my sugar intake, I'll only be baking for specific events and not to stock up and just have lying around our house. But I'll for sure be making the ever-favourited Cheese Stars. Other than that, I'm not too sure. Definitely some sort of shortbread, possibly a Vanilla Bean Shortbread since I still have tons of vanilla beans from Uganda. I'm on a charcuterie/cheese platter kick right now so it'll be lots of lovely cheeses and fruit and yummy crackers {like these} and meats that I'll be bringing/putting out for different events.

Advent envelopes are assembled and our first activity on Sunday will be to make bird feeders. We have this lovely bush in our backyard that tons of tiny little birds love to gather and sit upon so I'm hoping it'll be the perfect addition and a nice treat for those sweet little guys. There are also three squirrels {two black and one grey/brown} and a chipmunk that like to terrorize each other and the neighbourhood so I'm kinda looking forward to seeing what they'll do with the feeders. So anyway, I dug up an old Weekend Link from last year because I had remembered posting this sweet tutorial on making your own bird seed hanging. We'll be following from this one and possibly making this one too. Stay tuned for pictures on the outcome!

Finding your way through the commercialism and loud materialism during the Christmas season is not easy or pretty. I know in my own heart I yearn for simplicity and a sweet, simple focus and anticipation of the return of Jesus and the celebration of His birth. And yet I am a walking contradiction because my heart also longs for all the pretty things in all the stores, sparkling and gold and white and oh! How I want it all. And so my friend Kelly posted this exact same thing on being torn between the two things this season and how ultimately we want Jesus and we want our lives to reflect Him. I also found this post helpful with 5 things we can choose to do with our families during Advent to help us eagerly anticipate Jesus' birth.

My friend Barb blogs about the lost art of letter writing and all things relating to it. {You can check out her blog here.} This relates in that I bought a little something special and exciting - a personalized return address stamp for all our Christmas cards {and other letters and cards we send throughout the year}. It's lovely and it makes me happy. You can check out tons of designs on Etsy but the one I bought was this one. And it's on sale today!

Happy first weekend of Advent, everyone!

it's 9:15 and this is my life

I stack a few plates to make room on the kitchen table for my computer. Ella Fitzgerald is singing about New Years Eve and Blaise is happily munching away on  banana bread and swaying to the music.
I'm trying out a new class at the Y this morning and looking forward to it. I haven't done an official Pilates class other than the videos I did in Uganda but I'm hoping it's a good, hard class and I'm hurting tomorrow. I like workouts that aren't a waste of my time.
I cut a few more cubes of banana bread for Blaise and we do a bit of a face off as he whines for ALL THE CUBES instead of just the four I've plopped on his tray. I win.
Noah and Jude are already at school and I wonder what they're up to right now.
I've finished my Advent envelopes and I stare at them through the doorway that connects our kitchen to our dining room. I'm thinking about that article that's gone viral -
Blaise is finished his cubes and wants more. I make a stack of four on his tray and watch him knock it over and then try and replicate the tower I made. We both hear the heater come on and he points to the front door.
- so back to that article. It was about celebrating Christmas with "littles" and how we as Mothers shouldn't strive for perfection, but rather to be present. And I think this is true and good. Lately I've tried to only do things that bring joy and refreshment to our family. I don't always succeed, but if something is really stressing me out, I scrap it. This is my approach to advent activities. I love them and I know the boys do as well, but if it's overwhelming me, then I opt for something more low-key like watching a favourite Christmas movie or listening to Christmas music and making popcorn.
I think this will be key for us all as I'll be solo parenting for 10 days this December as Jamie is in Africa encouraging the team that took over for us when we left.
The milk sippy cup gets chucked onto the floor. I had forgotten this "throwing all the things on the ground" stage. It's annoying. But Blaise is now trying to make me smile and laugh by making cute noises and bonking his head. A talent he no-doubt gets from his brothers.
He wants his milk back and adorably signs "please". I praise him and hand him his milk.
He's done eating and it's almost time for us to head to the Y.
I'll go a bit early so I can spend a bit of time reading the Word. I'm longing for my heart to be set right during this Advent season.

And with that, it's time to pack up and go!

things i'm loving, lately...

The smell of Christmas. I've been simmering a pot on my stove and it's making the whole house smell delightful! 

All you need is:

1 orange, quartered

a handful of cranberries

a few cinnamon sticks

a tablespoon of whole cloves

Put all the ingredients in a pot, fill it with water so everything is submerged and then simmer and enjoy the glorious smells wafting through your house.

Songza Christmas music mixes. My current favourite is Lauren Conrad's Holiday Soiree. Check it.

White Christmas lights on our tree and around our big bay window. So magical.

Bath & Body Works Candy Cane Bliss hand soap. It's in our powder room and my boys can't get enough of it. They'll wash their hands {bonus!} and come out waving their hands in everyone's faces saying, "Anyone wanna smell mint!??!" But seriously. Next step is to buy a candle in the scent because it's amazing.

My new advent envelope artwork by Naptime Diaries. So gorgeous and now I don't have to decorate new envelopes each year. 

Now to figure out the activities I'll be doing. I still have a week, right?

Having people over in our house. Okay so I've loved that for a long time, but it's nice now that we're more settled to have the space to accommodate them all! We had both our families over after the Guelph Santa Claus parade last weekend and with 10 adults and 3 kiddos it was a full house and I loved every minute of it! 

Can you believe my boy are the only kids on both sides? So far! I'm loving the fact that I'm going to be an Auntie come May! My sister is pregnant and I am thrilled at the prospect of being an Aunt for the first time! 

I'm attempting to do an Advent devotional this December and I'm using this free one from Desiring God. 

So technically I haven't started yet, {although I have read the introduction} but I am looking forward to taking time each day to focus and still my heart in preparation for the celebration of Jesus' birth. I'm loving that I get this privilege of talking to and hearing from the Creator of the Universe who came to Earth as a humble, helpless baby for me and you. Amazing.

And I'm loving that my boys are so ecstatic about the snow. Noah proclaimed yesterday as the snow fell and stayed on the ground, "This is the best day ever!". They want to go outside and play every day and I am definitely loving the fact that we have a built in sledding hill in our backyard. Yet another reason God picked this house for us. 

I am loving spending time with friends and family. Being in their homes and having them in mine is such a lovely blessing and I am soaking it all up. 

What are you loving, lately?

settling and preparing

It seems as though we are finally settling into a bit of a routine and it seems to be working. The boys are doing well at school and I'm finally getting in some exercise at the Y {now that Blaise has dropped the morning nap gloryhallelujah}. Jamie and I are getting out every now and then and the Christmas and Advent preparations are in full-swing.

I'll be doing Advent envelopes with the boys again and I'm looking forward to continuing that tradition with them. We'll also be reading the first bit of Luke 2 every day with the boys and you better believe that the Christmas music will be playing non-stop. {Have you heard that Page CXVI is putting out an Advent album? It releases on December 3rd! Get your copy here!}



I have so many hopes and dreams and things I want to do but I'm striving for simplicity. So some things will have to wait. All good things. But sometimes the best things are few. Refined and focused and lovely and soul-refreshing. So we will do a few of the best things and wait and anticipate celebrating Jesus' birth here in Canada. Surrounded by family and friends in the snow and cold with slippers and hot chocolate, winter coats and boots, church and neighbours and candles and sparkly Christmas trees. I am embracing Christmas and winter and choosing to love each and every moment of it {even when it's so cold that tears stream down my face. *sob*}

the one with the christmas baking

it's surprising what you can and can't find here in terms of cooking/baking.
to be honest, i can find most things i need for baking/cooking. but when it comes to specialty baking items, sometimes i have to scour a little harder.
so do ya wanna know what i'm baking up for christmas this year?
of course you do.

i've blogged about my cheese stars that i've made every year since jamie and i were married. i'm still planning on making them this year {i can't bear to break with tradition, even though cheese costs a fortune here} and i did go for the less expensive cheese so hopefully they turn out.

i've also already made gingerbread house-cookies and they turned out quite nicely. the one thing i really miss? my big fridge/freezer and my deep freezer to store baked goods. so we just eat 'em. not such a shabby deal, after all.

i tried a new recipe this year - jam butterballs. they turned out nice enough. not sure if they're a keeper for next year, but yummy.

the amazing 3 pepper spiced cookies i made last year are also on the dock for this week. they were amazing. i'm making them again. even if i haven't found dark chocolate yet.

martha stewart's chewy molasses-spice cookies are also a must. so simple. so delicious.

then i'll probably throw in some of this delicious-looking buckeye bark, chocolate raspberry almond rugelach, lemon shortbread squares and maybe some christmas caramel popcorn.

i made candy cane cookies with the boys. it was fun and also gave me an opportunity to share the gospel with them through the telling of the story of the candy cane. these we also ate right away. they were also gigantic. good times. lots of sugar. that should be our family motto.

yesterday the boys' advent activity was to pick out something from the world vision catalogue to give to a family in need. noah thought we would get to pick out the piglets and chicks ourselves and deliver them like we did the gifts to the babies' home. i think it was slightly less exciting than he had envisioned. but still...

today's activity is to make some hot chocolate and watch the polar express! noah's really excited to watch it. and drink hot chocolate. jude might just be excited for the hot chocolate. but either way...fun!

1 week 'til christmas!

God With Us

about a month ago {maybe more?} i read on twitter about a band called folk angel and so i decided to check them out. 

they had a couple christmas albums.

and they were good!

they would be releasing a new christmas album this month and i knew that when i got my hands on some iTunes credit, i'd be purchasing that album.

and then they tweeted that they were giving away the entire album for free to the first howevermany people used the special code. and i got it for free!

and it.is.incredible.

but i think my favourite song is not actually a song at all. 

it's something called spoken word. it's not rapping. it's sorta like reading a poem. sometimes with music. and it's extremely powerful. 

anyway, the last song on the album is called God With Us and it blew my mind. every time i listen to it, i break. i want to fist pump. i want to learn it all and perform it someday. i want to let it sink down deep and permeate my entire being.

and i've been trying to figure out how to share it with you guys and today i found it. 

please, if you watch anything this christmas season, watch this video. 

this is what it's all about.

jesus. 

coming down from heaven. the rescuer. the saviour. pure and blameless lamb of God.

taking the penalty for our sin.

THIS is the good news. THIS is what makes Christmas so amazing, wonderful, joyful, incredible. THIS is why we celebrate on christmas day.

GOD WITH US

Poem by Isaac Wimberley

The people had read of this rescue that was coming through the bloodline of Abraham

They had seen where Micah proclaimed about a ruler to be born in Bethlehem

Daniel prophesy about the restoration of Jerusalem

Isaiah’s cry about the Son of God coming to them

So for them—it was anticipation

This groaning was growing, generation after generation

Knowing He was holy, no matter what the situation

But they longed for Him

They yearned for Him

They waited for Him on the edge of their seat

On the edge of where excitement and containment meet

They waited

Like a child watches out the window for their father to return from work—they waited

Like a groom stares at the double doors at the back of the church—they waited

And in their waiting, they had hope

Hope that was fully pledged to a God they had not seen

To a God who had promised a King

A King who would reign over the enemy

Over Satan’s tyranny

They waited

So it was

Centuries of expectations, with various combinations of differing schools of thought

Some people expecting a political king who would rise to the throne through the wars that he fought

While others expecting a priest who would restore peace through the penetration of the Pharisee’s façade

Yet a baby—100% human, 100% God

So the Word became flesh and was here to dwell among us

In His fullness, grace upon grace, Jesus

Through Him and for Him, all things were created

And in Him all things are sustained

God had made Himself known for the glory of His name

And this child would one day rise as King

But it would not be by the sword or an insurgent regime

It would be by His life

A life that would revolutionize everything the world knew

He would endure temptation and persecution, all while staying true

Humbly healing the broken, the sick and hurting too

Ministering reconciliation, turning the old to new

A life that would be the very definition of what life really costs

Saying—if you desire life, then your current one must be lost

And He would portray that with His own life as His Father would pour out and exhaust

And Jesus would be obedient to the point of death, even death upon the cross

So just 33 years after the day that He laid swaddled in the hay

He hung on a tree suffocating, dying in our place

Absorbing wrath that is rightly ours, but we could never bear the weight

So He took that punishment and he put it in the grave

And He died

And when I say that He died, what I mean is that He died

No breath, noheartbeat, no sign of life

God is a God of justice, and the penalty for our sin equals death

That’s what Christ did on that cross

Then… On the third day, in accordance with scriptures, He was raised from the grave

And when I say that He was raised, what I mean is that He was raised

Lungs breathing, heart pumping, blood pulsing through His veins

The things that He promised were true

He is the risen Son of God, offering life to me and you

Turning our mourning into dancing

Our weeping into laughing

Our sadness into joy

By His mercy, we are called His own

By His grace, we will never be left alone

By His love, He is preparing our home

By His blood, we can sing before His throne

Jesus paid it all

All to Him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

So now we, as His bride, are the ones waiting

Like the saints that came before, we’re anticipating

He has shown us that this world is fading

And He has caused our desire to be for Him

So church, stay ready

Keep your heart focused and your eyes steady

Worship Him freely, never forgetting

His great love for you

Immanuel, God with us

two weeks

i saved the m&ms my mom sent me from canada especially for this.

not gonna lie, it was total sugar overload. but so much fun!
both the boys decided to "save the rest of theirs for tomorrow" after picking off 90% of the candies after dinner tonight.

we don't have snow to go sledding on. {or shovel.}
we don't need down-filled winter coats or cozy ugg-boots.
in fact, it would seem that practically over night we've entered the dry/hot season.
i didn't expect it to happen so quickly!

we've stayed faithful to doing our weekly family advent devotional, but most weeks {every week} it looks like {from all outward appearances} a bust. this morning when we did this week's devotional, noah ended up in a timeout for sassing and being rude. there were tears. and screaming. and anger.
we are not a perfect family.
we never will be.
but our job as parents is to teach and instruct our children and tell them of God's love for them. for us.
so we keep on keepin' on.
and we trust in His word.

immanuel

we've been opening our advent envelopes and have done things like going on a nile cruise, made paper snowflakes, done other crafts, read the story of Jesus' birth by candlelight, but yesterday our activity was to go and buy some things for the sanyu babies home and today's activity was to go and deliver them.
so this afternoon {after we went to a christmas party at kelly's house}we went back to our side of town and visited the sanyu babies home to complete our advent activity for the day; dropping off some diapers, wipes, rice, formula and other needs they had.
remember my 1/2 birthday party that my amazing friends threw for me back in april? well, half of the money that was given to me was to go toward a charity/cause of my choice. this is one of the things my money went to!

i was excited to involve the boys and give them this chance to help other kids.
i'm not sure what i was expecting to see, but for some reason i was not expecting to see all 49 children running around without shoes on. i was not expecting to see one of the little toddlers with completely soaked pants {from pee}. i was not expecting to see one of the staff crying as she said good-bye to a newly adopted baby {we had just arrived at the end of their farewell party}. i was not expecting to be offered to share a lollipop with one of the kids.
i believe these children are given what the staff can give them {be it love/attention/physical needs} and that it is one of the better run and maintained orphanages in kampala, but still my heart aches.
i watched my children walk into the playground area in their crocs and sandals with fresh diapers and clean clothes on, still smelling like the shampoo from the night before. they played on the swings and slide with the other kids, oblivious to the fact that at the end of the day, these children would likely sleep in a room with a lot of other children with no parent at the end of the hall to come in and lie down with them when they wake up during the night. when jude fell off the swing he knew he had me to comfort him. and even though he screamed as we left {he wanted to stay longer and play}, i thought of all the other children who had no choice but to stay there.
we will definitely go back to sanyu many times over the next year and a half that we are here. i will hold children and give them love and attention.

 and my heart will still ache when i leave.

tonight i prayed with the boys that God would send more parents to sanyu and all the other orphanages in uganda and the world to bring home their babies {no matter if they're 9 months old or 9 years old} and bring them into a new family just like God brought us into His family.
it all comes back to Jesus.
and that is what christmas is all about.
i was adopted into God's family because Jesus gave up everything to become a baby and be the rescuer of mankind.
immanuel. God with us.

a great Christmas video

so i found the perfect christmas video.

have you heard of this incredible program called Jelly Telly? it's all kinds of awesome.
so they have a christmas video {you can watch trailers for it here.} and i bought it and then downloaded it {over the course of many hours overnight - yep. our internet is slow-ish.}. we watched it this morning after working on paper snowflakes {one of our advent envelope activities} and building a fort in the living room.
anyway, this video is great. it is entertaining for the littles who may be on the young side to understand everything in the video, but it also explains everything from why we call it "christmas" to christmas trees to st. nicholas and how they all point to the birth of Jesus.
most importantly, the gospel is shared clearly. i love it.
it is exactly what i was looking for.
noah did throw an incredibly large tantrum after it was over when i said he couldn't watch it again {right away}, but i'm taking that as a sign that he liked it.

wandegeya

wandegeya.
an area we often drive through here and joke about as a team that this is where the guys do their drive-thru shopping. many vendors will come up to the windows and try and sell you their wares. we've bought locks for our gates there, sunglasses, fresh produce, kids' toys as well as getting more airtime cards for our phones.
but there are also other people coming up to our window at wandegeya.
people in wheelchairs, homeless people and children.
begging for money.

Truly he taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.


today we were stopped at the main intersection in wandegeya when 3 little children ran up to our car.
my heart broke.
i asked one little boy what his name was.
araba, he said.
one of the little girls looked to be only just older than noah.
they spotted our water bottle and started miming the drinking motion.
i handed it over, grateful to be able to give something tangible but wishing i had three of them.
the light turned green and we started to move.

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
and in His name all oppression shall cease.

noah says, i hope there's a restaurant at the store where we're going because i'm starving.


how do i reconcile the huge gap between my lifestyle and those begging, starving, thirsty children?

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!


i can't give to everyone and my giving isn't necessarily going to be the best way to help in some cases.
but what i do have, i'll give. and where i can, i'll proclaim the power and glory of Christ.

come quickly, Lord Jesus.

advent ideas

ad - vent
noun
1. a coming into place, view or being; arrival
2. the coming of Christ into the world
3. the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.


this will be the first year we've actually done something intentional for advent {besides chocolate advent calendars}. i've been scouring the internet for ideas and talking to friends and so i thought i'd share what we'll be doing together as a family this year for advent.


advent envelopes
you can find a plethora of variations on advent envelopes on the internet {hello pinterest} but basically you have envelopes numbered 1-25 and open one every day. inside each {of ours} is an activity for our family to do together such as decorate gingerbread cookies or drink hot chocolate and watch The Polar Express or make paper snowflakes and decorate the windows. i adapted some ideas i found online to our not-so-wintery climate and i think the kids will really like them.


advent story books
so i kinda went overboard and ordered a bunch of books off of amazon for advent this year.

The Advent Storybook 
24 stories told by Benjamin Bear's Mama to Benjamin as he impatiently awaits Christmas. each story brings you closer to the birth of Jesus and ties it all back to God as being the central focus of Christmas. love it. we'll be reading a story from this one each night before bed.


Celebrate Advent
this is a cool book that has 25 christmas stories from around the world with corresponding tree ornaments. i'm excited to read this book with the boys and i'm sure they'll be excited to have more ornaments to hang up on the tree.




The Story of Christmas
this is your typical "advent calendar" style book. it opens up to display 24 mini board books and read in sequence, they capture the story of the first Christmas, from gabriel's visit to mary (book 4) to the three wise men gazing at the star (book 9) to Jesus' birth (book 24). each book is one of four different trim sizes and features a gold thread loop so that after it's read, it can be hung on the Christmas tree. i think we might do this one in the mornings along with our advent envelopes. 


christmas books
there are so many great christmas storybooks that i wish i could buy or borrow, but unfortunately there aren't really any public libraries here in kampala and my funds are limited but here are two i purchased this year.

Room for a Little One
this is gorgeously illustrated and a sweet story.
i think i was drawn to this because jude will often say to us before his nap or bed, "there's room, mama" and pat the space beside him on the bed.

Humphreys First Christmas
adorable illustrations and told from the perspective of one of the camels accompanying the three wise men. i think my boys will like this one.







family devotional
we have started the first of our advent devotionals. jamie's adapting this one from matt chandler's The Village Church for our boys in conjunction with The Jesus Storybook Bible.

other advent resources
i downloaded a few advent colouring pages for the boys and will probably bring them with us when we take off for a few days later on this week. you can download them for free here.
another great resource is a book called Treasuring God in our Traditions by Noel Piper. i didn't bring mine with me when we moved to uganda, but i wish i did! a friend of mine has a copy here and i'll likely give it another read-through. {note, this is not a Christmas/Advent book per se, but has a section on Christmas}.

the only thing i'm really lacking is some solid christmas dvds for kids. i'd love to hear your recommendations if you have any!

so that's what we're doing - maybe we won't get through it all, but we've got some great traditions that i'm ready to start with my little family here in uganda.

i'd love to hear what you're doing {or not doing?} this christmas!

november busyness

i can't believe it's november 25th already. craziness.

we've been busy here! 

we had our first visitors this past week {did i take pictures? of course not. ugh.} and i went on my second ever boda boda ride {it was much better during the day than at night}. 

i bought christmas presents at the craft market {have i mentioned how much i love shopping without my kids? so.much.easier.}, i wrapped christmas presents {which jude got into while i was blow drying my hair and totally opened at least one present and then proceeded to adorn himself in said christmas presents},

 wrote {or at least started to write} christmas cards, 

made the Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake {and it was just as amazing as she described},  

and even completed making my advent envelopes {here's a sneak peek}!

i've started playing christmas music and on saturday we'll be decorating our tree! 

i love christmas and since i've become a parent i've found an increased richness to this holiday. i've searched for ways to make memories but also tools and ideas to teach and instill in my kids the true meaning of christmas. this year we are starting a few new christmas and advent traditions. i'm excited to have this time with just our family to strengthen us as a family unit and solidify the traditions we'll decide participate in possibly for the duration that our kids are at home - maybe even longer! 

{on monday i'll be sharing some of the tools and ideas we're enjoying during this Advent season with our kids and our family. so stay tuned!}

until then, happy friday and enjoy the christmas tunes!