Author name: hill

a real retreat.

yesterday, i got to have a real retreat.
and not one of those frantic two hour ones that i try to have a couple of times a month.
an actual
restful retreat.
away from everyone.
(that part was key.)


it included:
quiet
prayer
a warm fire

thinking about what my priorities are as a:
woman of God.
wife.
mother.
keeper of the house.

praying about this year’s verse:
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 
John 1:16

and really trying to transform my sometimes:
overwhelmed
frantic
frustrated
distracted
selfish
envious
mindset into one that focuses on the multitude of blessings that i have received from God.

creating a new weekly schedule
loud music
making lists
crossing things off of said lists
showering
getting acquainted with our new ipad (can you even believe it? i can’t!)
reading B’s finished book
and not being interrupted.
not even once.


lest you think that my husband just offered that time to me, i won a bet.
a very good one, indeed.
i am now thinking that that we need to bet more.
a lot more.
or maybe, i can somehow work a monthly retreat like this one into our schedule.
what do you think, hon?
i think it would be good.
really good.

611. quiet
612. being away
613. the eager anticipation of returning
614. letting thoughts completely process
615. counting my blessings

i have hope.

when we picked up our tree earlier this month, 
we didn’t have to tie it to the roof or have it hanging out the window but 
instead, we were able to put it in the back of our car.
how perfectly, perfect. 
when thinking about 
my children, 
 my life
and my future,
i have hope.

not hope in them.
not hope in me.
not hope in the circumstances
not hope that things will be all better.

not hope that things will be just fine.
because it is quite possible that things won’t necessarily turn out 
all better or 
just fine.
 
but my hope is in the Lord.
 
i can trust that everything we go through is for His purpose.
and i cling to that.
and when i do, He gives me peace.
 
and that my friends, is so much 
bigger and better
than things being 
all better or
just fine.
 
And we know that in all things 
God works for the good of those who love him, 
who have been called according to his purpose. 
Romans 8:28

After they had heard the king, 
they went on their way, 
and the star they had seen when it rose 
went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 
Matthew 29:10
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, 
and they bowed down and worshiped him. 
Then they opened their treasures and 
presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11

i hope that you had a
very merry CHRISTmas.

606. Christ’s birth
607. Christ’s death for all of us
608. His perfect peace
609. celebrating CHRISTmas
610. knowing His love

the real us.

it’s {embrace} the camera day!

we took this photo right after D’s preschool Christmas performance.

and yes, K wears those boots everywhere
(thanks Aunt CC & Uncle NN!).
usually on the wrong feet.
and she calls them her “cowberry boots.”
and if you even accidentally refer to them as cowboy boots, 
she will refuse to put them on because she is “not a boy.” 

as you can see, it is so hard getting a good photo of all five of us.
but this is our real life, folks!
and 
(thanks to etc)
 these are the 
(real)
moments we will remember. 

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and 
found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 
“Go and search carefully for the child. 
As soon as you find him, report to me, 
so that I too may go and worship him.”
Matthew 2:7-8

i have been so honored to not only have been nominated 
but to be in the top five of this blog award!

601. nearly finishing my wrapping
(woo hoo!)
602. somehow getting all the things checked off my list
603. B has finished his book. 
hallelujah!
604. L’s new progress in PT
605. L’s new progress in OT

Christmas is a comin’.

this year, all of our wrapping will be done
(hopefully soon)
using inside-out tj’s bags and 
red and white baker’s twine from here
(great deal, right? my sis found it).





so far, the only things that have been wrapped
are those that needed to go in the mail.
my (preggo) sis and her hubby will not be joining us this Christmas.
boo hoo.


other than that, not a thing has been wrapped.
maybe that’s what i’ll be doing today.
i sure hope so.
i just don’t need any house guests as my “helpers.”
we all know how that goes. 
not well.






When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, 
and all Jerusalem with him.
When he had called together all the people’s chief priests 
and teachers of the law, 
he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, 
“for this is what the prophet has written:
 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
   who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Matthew 2:3-6


i have been so honored to not only have been nominated 
but to be in the top five of this blog award!




596. homemade bread (thanks, bread maker!)
597. the completion of two homemade (surprise) Christmas gifts
598. the fact that the squirrels staring at me 
(no, i’m not being paranoid, they really did sit and stare at me today) 
did not pounce on me when i went outside
599. that our Christmas lights can be turned on and off with a light switch
600. david gray on the ipod
(who’s ipod?)

lights.

this past week, the kids and i had the chance to visit my parents
and see this year’s boat parade.
which was even more lovely than last year’s.



not only are the houses on the water beautifully decorated,



the boats are simply incredible. 
we even saw one with a live band on it.


we cruised the harbor in the heated 
(yay for that!)
electric boat while eating dinner
and then docked to watch the boats go by. 
when it was over, D wasn’t certain it was really over.
he thought we should wait there for just a bit longer
 just in case one more boat came by. 

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, 
during the time of King Herod, 
Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 
“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? 
We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1-2

i have been so honored to not only have been nominated 
but to be in the top five of this blog award!

591. a free car wash (thanks, rain!)
592. being rescued by B
593. seeing the boat parade the night before the rain began
594. His mercies which are new every morning
595. mega to-do lists

house guests.



i’m having a rough day, today.
there are so many things that i feel like 
i need to do 
(with having Christmas only 5 days away).
but a bigger part of this struggle is that there are so many things that 
i want to do.
which i can’t.
well, not when i want to.
and let’s be honest here. forget about getting anything done,
how about finishing a thought.



a dear friend recently told me that my life with these children 

is like i have out of town guests staying with me 24/7. 
she is absolutely right.
i have some 
very loud,
demanding, 
out of town guests.

Watch and pray 
so that you will not fall into temptation. 
The spirit is willing, but the body is weak
Matthew 26:41
but i know that my job today,
my job right now,
is to be 
an obedient child of God,
a wife to my husband and
a mother to my children. 

 Then Jesus said to his disciples, 
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me.
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,
but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
Matthew 16:24-25

He must become greater; I must become less.
John 3:30

and really, who wouldn’t want to be around this demanding house guest?

The shepherds returned, 
glorifying and praising God 
for all the things they had heard and seen,
which were just as they had been told.
Luke 2:20

this week’s voting is a bit different. 
click on the icon above and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page 
where you will have to leave a comment saying you are voting for capturing motherhood.
and, anonymous votes will not be counted. 

586. my 90 year old grandmother who not only reads this blog 
but is completely computer literate.
587. an encouraging email that arrives at the most perfect moment
588. the lovely rain
589. how green the grass looks in the rain
590. being in a cloud

a special little something.

i’ve received an early Christmas gift 
from a certain man in my life.
and, it’s jewelry. 

it’s going to be simply perfect to wear as Christmas approaches.

it’s made of pieces of straws, pasta and beads.
and, it is lovely.

i’ll let you figure out who gave it to me. 



When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, 
the shepherds said to one another, 
“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.”
 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph,
and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Luke 2:15-16


this little blog has made it through the fourth round of 
the blog guidebook’s top blog award!
that means that capturing motherhood is in the top five!
wow. wow. wow.

this week’s voting is a bit different. 
click on the icon above and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page 
where you will have to leave a comment saying you are voting for capturing motherhood.
and, anonymous votes will not be counted. 

581. a fancy date night out with B
582. gnocchi just the way mama makes it 
(from our favorite restaurant)
583. Grammy, who babysat the babes
584. Grammy, who happily did ALL of our ironing
585.  a quiet morning with the bigs out running an errand with B

do you believe this?

i don’t either.
check out this video.


and did you see the new “badge” on my sidebar?
the perfectly pink one?
and yes, i am tickled pink.

576. finally getting a package out in the mail
577. taking a much-needed shower
578. sleeping kiddos in the car
579. the color aqua
580. the promise of hot lemonade

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