Christmas

Christmas

One dear family in need brought Christmas to us

more than all the presents under our tree.

As a parent, we want to give and give to our children

but what are we giving our kids this Christmas?

Will our kids remember seeing the little girls wide eyes as she danced around holding her new clothes?

Will our kids remember hearing the sickly mother with Cancer who could only say Muchas Gracias?

Will our kids remember the shy but thankful father?

or will they be too focused on the toys under our own tree?

Is it just another day to help a family in need and pass it by without pondering on it?

Hand-me-downs, used toys, new clothes is that really enough?

Dear Family, will you read the Bibles that we set before you?

Oh, how we wish that we could take away your life's grim reality and give you HOPE.

Hope for a new day, cancer free

Hope for a new way, to provide for your family

Hope in Jesus, the only Hope that lives forever.

So, Dear Family (in need) , in You we saw Christmas

But in us, did you see JESUS?

10 reasons why I've loved this week

Besides the previously negative post, this week has been riddled with GOOD. It was the small pleasant memories each day that I chose to "ponder in my heart." I must say, I feel alive in the Winter. December in particular is my favorite month. Staying home is so much more enjoyable when the windows are open, the breeze is cool, and the air smells like Balsam Fir. Let me clarify, this is Florida winter I am talking about. Sometimes I forget that the majority of the country is shoveling snow.

Some of the cherished memories this week:

( pictures will be added a little later)

1. THE WEATHER...as mentioned above

2. An afternoon outside laying on the hammock while the kids dug in the dirt, playing a little football with them, then taking pictures while Daddy dug out the dirt hill to form a bike ramp and watching with a nervous heart while all three boys (Dad included) jumped the hill on their bikes.

3. Getting our Christmas tree. Probably the tallest and fullest one since the establishment of the Connell household 9+years ago. There are several great things about this tree. a) it smells lovely, b) we moved furniture and redecorated the whole living room around this tree. (some may know that it doesn't take much for me to re-decorate :)) c) we have new LED energy efficient lights on it, thanks to a large garage sale by Home Instead Senior Care- the lights have a much kinder glow and are not hot to the touch, d) Now the darkness of the mornings and evenings is made cozy and inviting for plenty of book reading and breakfast picnics.

4. Our Advent Calendar: found it at Jo-Ann's fabric, consists of 25 little booklets, and comprises one excellently told story of Christ's birth. So much so that I tear up everytime I read it. Each night we read one new story from it and will continue to do so until Christmas Eve.

5. Imagining with Owen: This boy's brain is so imaginative that it intimidates me at times. He loves to create with his mind and role play. He is so enamoured with his trucks that i will admit it is hard for me to sit and play, but when I let go, I find myself in a fantasy world that is so incredible and there is no turning back. It is times like these that help ease 75% of the other times right now when he is acting "3."

6. Date night with my husband: ENOUGH SAID!!!

7. Blind side: an inspiring movie seen on date night which afterward we both expressed our desires in living out of a missional life.

8. Christmas Shopping: I love shopping for the kids

9. Cookbooks: It was a highlight for me while shopping in Marshalls, to come across a cookbook called Decepetively Delicious for $6.99. My interested was sparked when I heard about a cookbook that "sneaks" vegetables into meals and desserts.

The other cookbook I have been wanting is The Almond Flour and Gluten Free Cookbook. My mom ordered it for me today from Amazon. I have tried 2 or 3 of these recipes and they are very delicious and healthy.

10. Harvest time ministries. Well this could have been #10, but unfortunatley due to the constant rain the last two days, our family service project was post-poned. I was really looking forward to this. We will hopefully participate in the near future.

Family Pictures

Proof of what can happen with a camera, tripod, and an urge for a photo shoot

This was a last minute idea right before church on Sat. night

Mike got the boys dressed in their new shirts and instantly I was swept away with emotion from how much my boys are growing older right before my very eyes.

I have learned that if there is a particular outfit i want them to wear in pictures, not to let them wear it at all beforehand. Boys attract Dirt.

Fishing Fiasco

It started out to be a promising day... Weather was great, Kids were excited, Fishing poles were set...Today was going to be the first fishing lesson for some eager boys.

GranDaddy even joined us to offer help, bond with the kids, and try to catch a few.

Then Mommy, had to give it a try...enough said

I thought for sure I would be the lucky one to reel in the big fish

that no one else seemed to be able to catch.

On my second cast, (because my first didnt go past the grass) instead of catching a fish, I caught the TREE!

How you may ask?

I have no idea!!

Notice how far Caeden is standing away from the tree. Then look a little further to the right, and that is where my fishing line got stuck. No where in the vicinity of where i was aiming.

Poor Mike had to paddle the boat out to the tree while we watched on the bank.

It took much longer than these pictures relay because the boat kept drifting away from the tree. Think about standing in a boat trying to maintain your balance, all the while holding one paddle that serves sometimes as a paddle and sometimes as a tool to unhook the fishing line.

Right in the center of this photo,( If you look close enough, or enlarge this picture) you will see the red/white bouy hanging from the line.

He unhooked it, by breaking two branches and thus breaking the line. The hook and lure were still stuck in the tree until the trusy paddle knocked it into the water, never to be seen again

So I have been told that I am officially banned from any and all family fishing trips.

That is disappointing, because I really was trying to catch a fish.

9/9/09 mike has just informed me that I can still attend the fishing trips, just can't use a pole.

Gee thanks

question

Question: What do these 3 things have in common?

1) Riding a bike uphill while towing 80 pounds

2) Driving a giant dumptruck

and

3) Writing a children's story about a made up Fire Train

Answer: they are ALL part of our day yesterday

We rode to the library on bikes. I should say i towed 80 pounds of kids and strollers 4.5 miles to the library yesterday morning. After the library we rode another 4 miles to Woodsmoke to see Daddy and get the car. Daddy was high in the bucket truck cutting trees, so the boys watched and waited to get a ride in the big truck. When we got home, O took a nap and C and I read all the library books, then we decided to write our own story. He wanted it to be about a Fire Train that rescues animals and puts the fire out. I might share it eventually.

The rest of the day my legs were crying out in agony from the bike ride. I am more sore from that ride than from the 26.5 miles. Anything for an adventure!

First Day of School

Our humble montage of Caeden's first day of pre-school.

It is a big deal around here!

Sunny days

This first picture made me laugh so i wanted to share it.

A new day is dawning, I am so thankful that God cares enough to take care of my physical body as well as my spiritual body. I am feeling about %50-60 better overall since the new medication, plenty of vitamins, eliminating wheat, and changing me eating habits.

I am also excited that 2 sunflowers out of the 20 that we planted have actually bloomed. They are gorgeous! Now, if the rest of the weed-filled yard would just follow suit.

I have never seen a lizard laiden with dew before until this morning. He is so sparkly!

It's too bad that the shadow on half the flower was from me standing in front of it and blocking the sun. These flowers just make me SMILE! To think that i actually planted something that didn't die!

The Gift of Time

Someone asked me what my husband gave me for my birthday.

My answer was, "He rode bikes with me."

To some, that may seem like no gift at all, but for me, it is exactly what I wanted..... 2 full hours alone, in the quiet of the morning, my hubby and I watching the sunrise. Sure, we were cruising at about 15mph and at various times my left foot would go numb, my neck and back were cramping, but through it all there was delight and a real sense of connecting. Delight that I biked 26.5 miles on my birthday, but more so because it was spent with the man I love. He indulged my desires to ride 34 miles on my 34th birthday. I didn't quite make it that far, but nonetheless, he encouraged me despite it not being much of a workout for him. (he did mention that at that pace, he felt like he could ride all day) :)

This is us during our 10 mile break. We left just after 5:30 a.m.

This is us at my birthday dinner the night before.

Time is a gift I am cherishing more and more. It has been 14 years since he and I first started dating. It seems like just yesterday that we met, in Wal-Mart where he worked:)!

Time slips away so quickly which is most of the reason I love to blog. I can look back and see how the kids looked and what activites we did and what they were in to. My creative memories, without all frilly pages, and corny stickers, and money spent in the craft store. Sorry, if i just offended anyone.

These pictures of the kids made me take a second glance at just how old they are looking now. C starts pre-school next week and O and I are left to fend for ourselves. I am looking forward to some one-on-one time with him. Can anyone say desperate for potty-training?

I wouldn't trade what's happening now in our lives for any money in the world. I want to cherish what has been, engage in what is happening now, and look forward with anticipation for our future. That is why the Gift of Time is so special.

boys Aug. 2008

Boys Aug 2009

It's a boy

I previously posted this really quickly because I had just received the news that Amber is expecting a boy due Oct. 10, 2009.  I didn't had time to explain myself before, so, now I will.

My sister, Amber, and her husband, Sam,  have lived over in Italy for 2  1/2 years now as missionaries with Saints Bible Institute.  It is a place where christian college students can study abroad for a semester, receive training in Biblical Theology and Missions and travel throughout Italy.   Sam is the dean of students and Amber teaches Italian to the students.   The school is located in San Lorenzo, Italy which is northeast of Venice.

It was founded by Amber's in-laws (Sam and Chris Spatola) who 11 years ago also founded  Saints Equiped to Evangelize. (SEE)

SEE is a ministry that utilizes short term missions teams to travel Italy in the summer preaching the good news of Jesus and connecting them with local church plants around the country.  I have had the privilege of being involved on a missions team back in 2001 and it was an experience I will never forget.  We were located in Trieste, Italy, during the day we scoured the streets with evangelism and tract distribution, and at night time we performed ministry through mimes and songs in order to draw a crowd in the piazzas, then at the end someone would preach God's salvation message through an interpreter.  I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a life-changing missions adventure in Europe.

If anyone knows of any college students that would jump at the chance to study abroad in Italy, then please contact here  to obtain information.

In October, Owen and I will be flying over to Italy to meet the little bambino and help care for him and my sister.  My parents will be over there as well, but for a longer stay.  I am really excited to be there to purely serve my sister through the birth of her firstborn son, although the location does make it a little sweeter.

Can't wait to see you Am, I love you 

We have sprouts!

our sunflowers have sprouted in the small pot as well as outside.!!

i am excited about our future flowers (and my cheap sun hat)

Here is Our Heart

Today's encouragement on "Motivation for Moms"  

Pray for purity in the hearts of your children, and the renewing of their spirit as the Psalmist wrote, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

It blew my mind when I read today's Motivation for Mom's because it is EXACTLY what I was praying for my children today and the last few days.  Ever since God impressed upon me to pray Matthew 5:8  for my boys.  "Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall See God."

In my journal today I wrote on my thoughts about Purity.  In my mind,  a pure heart does not let any outside/worldly influence crowd the space where God resides.  So i struggle with how to teach my kids to stay pure in such an impure world.  When boys in general are so easily enticed by the lusts of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  The two verses I came across in my studying purity this morning were

1) James 4:8 "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded."

2) I John 1:7 "If we walk  in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His son, purifies from all sin."

This second verse seemed to lift the burden of my thoughts.  It made me understand all over again that it is not about our actions or about us purifying ourselves.  We need to pursue fellowship with Christ and allow Him to purify us from within.  So instead of my boys constantly struggling to keep themselves pure, they need to pursue Jesus wholeheartedly.  They need Faith in his cleansing power!  

  So how do they take hold of Jesus as their own?  Mike made a comment the other day that impressed me.  He said , "How will my sons ever know my heart, unless I give it to them?"

Which tells me that we can't expect our children to live for Jesus and understand how he can change their hearts as He has ours unless we share it with them.  Unless we bind it on their hearts and meditate on it day and night and talk about it as it is life.  Because they are our children, we pass down not just physical traits, but character traits as well.  They inherit our sin, YUCK! Oh, how we want them to know how they can be set free from such bondage. How Christ can take the pride, fear, lust, anger, insecurities, judgement, and lies and create Purity!

May God help us in this journey!

Sunflowers

Here's to hoping that our project of planting sunflowers today turns out beautiful.

I will be the first to say that my thumb is anything but green.

C and I took an hour planting these and as soon as we finished the storm came and watered our seeds.  Grow please Grow!  

PFR

PFR formerly known as "Pray for Rain" to those of us keen on Christian music in the mid-1990's.  Famous in the Wheeler household for such songs as Goldies last Day and Great Lengths.

I digress, lately the Connell household has been praying for rain. Not just sprinkles, but lightning, and the crack of thunder to be specific.  Our prayers were answered mid-afternoon yesterday, and it was an amazing down-pour.    It is hard for kids to understand why we pray and how God even listens and answers. Good ole' Fl. has needed rain, so we decided to ask God to water the flowers, grass, and trees because they were really thirsty.  A few days of praying and waiting in anticipation and suddenly the storm was almost here.  We sat outside eagerly waiting for it.  First the clouds got dark, really dark, then the wind started to blow harder and harder, we could see the dark clouds moving overhead and hear thunder off in the distance.  We sat and waited to see who would be the first one to feel the raindrops on their skin.  Once the raindrops were felt, a minute went by and all of a sudden it is as if a train was coming down the road, the rain was so loud and was announcing it's arrival.  There were cheers and glee and running around outside getting soaked with big smiles on our faces, because we knew that God had heard our prayers.  We knew this rain was for us just as much as it was for the dry, thirsty ground.  Lightning and Thunder soon followed and two giddy boys watched from the window panes of our front door.  

I was so glad that we received an ideal storm for teaching my kids,  the way it came and went was perfect, we could use all of our senses to tell it was coming and when it came it was a huge arrival and did not disappoint.

That night before bed, we thanked God for listening to our prayers and answering us.

Owen's prayer went something like this:

Daddy: " Thank you God for the lightning and thunder"

O: " Thank you God por da witenin and punger"

Daddy: (smiling because of hearing punger) " Thank you God that Owen is so cute"

O: "Thank you God dat I'n so Cute"

Daddy: " Thank you God for my family"

O: "Thank you God por Daddy's family"

Daddy: "Thank you for Loving us, Amen"

O: " Thank you por wuving us, Amen"

Rain Rain come again!

picture was taken with my mobile, a few months prior

A great day!

Pictures that tell the story of our day of celebration