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

simple beauty.



this little sweet thing
has been giving us a hard time lately. 
a very hard time.

every single thing is a struggle.
getting her dressed,
getting her undressed,
getting her hair done,
getting her shoes on, 
taking her shoes off,
getting in the car,
getting out of the car
and 
on and
on and
on. 

she is trying to see what she can get away with,
which (unfortunately for her) is nothing. 
but, it’s still a struggle.

one really great thing about all of this though 
has been that i pray for her throughout the day
much more than i do when she is truly being a sweet little thing.
well, and i pray for me, too and how i will respond to her highly emotional responses.
to everything. 

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, 
praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:13-14

today is the last day to vote in this round!
click on the icon above and 
vote for this little blog yet again.
the poll is in the center column!
(you can vote on each of your browsers, on your phone, ipad, etc.)


571. K (sweet or not)
572. what happens when i allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me
573. a surprisingly unchaotic evening without B here to help
574. cuties
575. that K can peel the cuties

moved.

it’s {embrace} the camera day!

one year ago today, L was admitted into the hospital.

i am 
so very glad
that we are not there today.
so very glad.

when i think about last year,
 am reminded (yet again) of 
what dear friends we have 
and what sacrifices they are always willing to make.

the emotions well up in my heart
until i feel as though i might overflow or just burst.
when i consider what lengths others have been willing to go to
to share Christ’s love with us, 
i am not sometimes, but 
always
moved to tears. 

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, 
keeping watch over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, 
and the glory of the Lord shone around them, 
and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, 
“Do not be afraid. 
I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; 
he is the Messiah, the Lord. 
This will be a sign to you: 
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:8-12

click on the icon above and 
vote for this little blog yet again this week, 
the poll is in the center column!
(you can vote on each of your browsers, on your phone, ipad, etc.)


 566. giggles
567. sweet, sweet words
568. His peace
569. apple cider, a fire and one of my favorite books with the kids
570. cranberry scented candles

not so distant.

the internet can be such a distant place.

but it can also be an incredible way of connecting to people’s day-to-day lives.
a college classmate of B’s has just experienced a tremendous tragedy 
and it was all documented online. 


please pray for their family
and be sure to hug your loved ones.

(and how appropriate is today’s advent verse?)

And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. 
She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, 
because there was no guest room available for them.
Luke 2:7

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vote for this little blog yet again this week, 
the poll is in the center column!
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561. today
562. those four people
563. being reminded that we are just a mist
564. important reminders
565. the internet

believe it or not.

we’ve already had one Christmas celebration.
B’s dad and his wife had us over for some early Christmas cheer.

here is L and L.

this photo was taken at a rather calm moment. 
those kind of moments were quite rare 
but that’s how it seems to be when all the cousins get together. 

little L loved being held by GrandDad. 



and here are all the munchkins.
ages:
7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
so now you see why it is so chaotic. 


He went there to register with Mary, 
who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
Luke 2:5-6

click on the icon above and 

vote for this little blog yet again this week, 
the poll is in the center column!
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and, i’ve added a little tip to the advent tree diy.
just look for the text in red at the bottom. 


556. freshly baked zucchini muffins that are nearly gone 

(thanks for the recipe, Annie O!)
557. hot apple cider
558. the sweet little clink that my ring makes on the mug
559. being with an amazing group of women, some of which have gone through so very much. 
560. impromptu picnics on a simply gorgeous day

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