a Christmas greeting and 2009 rewind...

Merry Christmas to You!!!!

another year is drawing to a close, Christmas 2009 is just a couple weeks away with 2010 waiting to burst forth with endless possibilities and potential!! yes, i have much anticipation for the beginning of a new calendar and a list of goals (God willing!) that we hope to work on & move toward in 2010... and let just get this out of the way, it is so odd to be typing 2010!! wasn't i just getting accustomed to writing 2000 and BAM!! ten years have flown by!!


but before we move on to a new year, i don't want to forget all that has happened in 2009. we are so thankful that you have taken a minute to drop in and read about our family (fyi... we invited all our family & friends on our Christmas cards to stop in) and all that we have going on in our world!! feel free to pursue the blog, read past writings, visit my Community, check out the beautiful pictures of my POK* and please leave us a quick 'merry Christmas' or somethin' in the comments so we know you stopped by!!


*POK: Posse of Kiddos

so what happened in our life this past year? hhhmmm..

.. well let's see if i can recount all the blessings and events of this year:

• my amazing Man has traveled all over the country this year for work, from California to Alabama, South Carolina to Las Vegas, Dallas to Georgia... the life of a corporate mogel is never boring, hee hee!! it is definitely a bit of a strain here at home when he has to be gone for a week or two at a time but i am incredibly proud of him and how he has climbed the preverbial corporate ladder. the Lord has truly given favor in abundance to Daddy, and while work isn't necessarily fun, it is a blessing in and of itself to have a great job in a rather lousy economy (but a lousy economy is a whole other post!!)
  
  



• we are blessed, oh so blessed to be planted in an awesome church!! i am involved in the worship & praise team department along with assisting with leading our high school choir; wow it has been such a great experience. i have since taken a step back, leave of absence so to speak, just because the life of mothering 3 kiddos many times doesn't leave an abundance of time. but i am working with the toddler department now and teaching on Sunday mornings and this has been a great, great, great experience. the Man also has a ministry in the early childhood department working security in the elementary area... not because our 1st graders are out of control!! but to keep them safe :) and he is really enjoying this position and this allows him to meet & hang out with others in the church. 'P' is a big kid now (then why am i still cutting up his chicken at dinner?...) and has services in the realife building just for junior highers and i love seeing his desire to know God grow and to serve the Lord boldly!! nothing brings us deeper joy. my lil' girlie 'S' has service in the upper elementary department and again she is great at memorizing Scripture, and she is a worshipper!! it's awesome!! and well, baby 'K', he loves coloring his Bible pictures, playing at playland during service and he says "Je-vus is gud", what more can we ask for at 2 1/2?!!
  
  






• this year we are a completely all natural, organic food eating family!! we i use all natural cleaners for our fun household duties and i'm going to start intergrating tofu, sshhh!! your gag reflex might have just showed itself, but this part of our lives, going organic, has been a great experience for all of us in trying new things and i highly recommend trying to cut out just a few artifical elements from your foods and see how you feel :) . we started the all natural route in late 2008 due to my sudden turn for the worse with sickness, and along with the guidance of my natropathic physican and my own intense research, we went all natural, baby!!! and we aren't looking back!! it has blessed our entire family's health and has been fun to make 95% of all of our food from scratch... it's been fun for me to cook more, which i really do love. how about you: are you organic?

that isn't even close to all the blessings but i don't have 67 hours to write this, you know?!

let me brag on each Kiddo real quick and give you the low down on what they've been up to:

• master 'P' is a great 11 1/2 year old kiddo, who got baptized in water this year after realizing the importance of being completely obedient to God's calling on his life (yea!!!), he played football again this year in the Mighty Mites league and was the starting tight end & backup quarterback and defensive end and yes i know what all those positions are and didn't have to ask my Man for help (giggle), he plays on 2 different competitive basketball teams and is working extraordinarily hard to develop his talents and loves playing ball, 'P' is an amazing student on the honor roll whose fav subjects are science & writing & recess (that's from his mouth!!), he went to KC Chiefs football camp for the second time in June and had a stupendous time, participated in an endless string of basketball & football camps, went to church camp for a week, he is a outstanding big brother who truly loves his sister and is a great example for his little brother, 'P' is an awesome kid that we are so privileged to call our son and we are so proud of his heart, his attitude...

• lil' girlie 'S' has a heart of gold trimmed in pink!!, she is not only a beauty outside but on the inside as well, she is compassionate and kind, she has been named Caring Kid of her class each year, she will play with everyone but is totally okay spending time in her room for hours practicing to be a mommy (that is what she wants to be when she grows up!! along with being a pop star..), she has been taking piano lessons against her strong will since early summer and is doing very well with an upcoming winter recital, she is playing basketball this year, she attended cheerleading camp & had an awesome experience and she is soooo excited about pursuing this, she spent 3 days at church camp and she didn't cry at all (i can't say the same about me, it was her first year to attend...), she is a straight A student, she loves to read Fancy Nancy books, her will is strong and tenacious with a strong sense of justice, and she loves it when 'P' lets her tag along with him around the neighborhood and she loves mothering baby 'K', she still loves to sit on my lap and snuggle, she is a Daddy's girl and loves to go on Daddy dates, and we couldn't imagine life without her!!







• sweet baby 'K' is all boy, running & jumping & throwing a ball all the time, he has grown so much in 2009, he is always talking and is following the example of his siblings 'cause when i call out to him he doesn't come, he just yells back "Wah?", he is a beautiful boy with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, he potty-trained this year (thank you God!!), his best friend is our mammoth great dane puppy Magnus, he is ever-so-much in love with his Mama, loves to wrestle with his Daddy, his big "bubba" is his hero and he follows 'P' everywhere while holding onto his hand, his "zizzy" is who he goes to when he needs a kiss and hug and loves to snuggle with her & look at books, he absolutely completes our family and while he is a wild child we love him immensely!!
  

(halloween outreach at church)

in 2009 we've been thankful for...

• our jobs, while so many have experienced this hardship we've been blessed with the Lord's provision. my career has taken many hard blows due to the state of our economy but i'm still hanging on and my Man has had a crazy, busy career in 2009 (as i previously wrote) and the Lord has really used him to speak Life to those who don't know Him.





• when my Man's car emploded, we were so thankful for the blessing of a (almost) brand new suv for him and it didn't cost us very much at all





• healthy kiddos who are strong and growing (believe me! i have the grocery receipts to prove it!)





• the Lord's leading in strengthening our marriage through revealing His plans & will for our family. we are working, God willing, on me being a full-time at-home mama and this is a wonderful yet difficult path right now. we are selling our home & down-sizing a little, shaving some luxuries out of our lives, but as we work & pray on this, the Lord has drawn us even closer to each other and to Him





• that the Lord has sustained me physically and grown me spiritually. i have suffered so much over the last 18 months with illness & horrible pain, and when i think back to this time last year, we wondered if i would even be here a year later but God is so good (read Romans 8.28) and He is my Healer. and while i have claimed healing before only to have this disease resurface, many times worse than before, i know that i am healed by His stripes and this trial has been a blessing to my walk with God, it has drawn my Man deeper with Jesus, shown my kiddos how to suffer well & to walk in faith.





• our family and friends, near and far. it is a blessing to do life with those that lift you up with their words and actions, but to also be used to pour into others lives.





• the research work i do for natropathic medicine and how this has totally changed our lives, our health, it is a blessing...

okay, your retinas are bleeding profusely by now!! so i'll wrap up this 2009 rewind...

during this 2009 Christmas season it is our family's prayer for you to think back over the year and recall the countless blessings that have been bestowed upon you & your family; that you remember that it has nothing to do with the amount of gifts under the tree but that you spend time growing closer to Jesus & celebrating His birthday; hug your loved ones tightly and know that we are not promised another day, another moment to love them, that God's gift of love is for you and those around you, how cool is that?!

our family loves you all, have a very merry Christmas!!!

if you are able to come and celebrate with us, we are hosting a Christmas Open House next Saturday the 19th from 2p to 8p. come by the house anytime, stay as long or as little as you please, eat some of my organic cookies (they're awesome!!) and drink coffee while we catch up on life. email me if you need more info or directions, floodedbygrace@gmail.com and i'll get back with you asap.

'when they [the wisemen] saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him.' Matthew 2.10-11