Christmas was different this year

This year, our family went through a time of need.

It changed everything about our Christmas this year.
and made it one of the most magical Christmases we have ever had.

Thanks to amazing friends {who are the very Hands and Feet of Him who loves us so}, and for SO MUCH provision from God, we were not only in want for nothing, but we were blessed with abundance.

We still wanted to give each other gifts, and we did so modestly, using Christmas as a day to get each other things that we truly needed, such as stuff for the boys' school, or umbrellas, or clothing needs. Plus a few extra small goodies (like the Season 3 disks of Chuck. The gift of Laughter from my honey. If you don't watch Chuck, truly, you must start. I digress...).

We had a gracious plenty under our tree... a multitude of donations from our friends.
I tell you this for one reason alone. With the hope to point others toward the Glory of God. Every need we had was met and more. Even our wants were gloriously granted.
And, this Christmas was so clearly a culmination of an amazing year where God revealed to us, in a much needed and personal way, that He is our Jehovah Jireh {God who Provides}.

Not only did God take care of us during our time of need, He used this time to turn our hearts more toward Him, and to put our family in a situation that is MUCH more prosperous (and I am not talking about money):
What was dead, was replaced with life. What was strained, was replaced with peace and ease. What was dark, depressing, and down, was replaced with hope, joy, laughter and upward-climbing.
How can we thank Him???

Thanks to the moving prompt of this post, we began a new tradition this Christmas.
Why hadn't it crossed our minds to do this before? I don't know.

But this year, instead of spending our resources in the typical Christmas fashion (we still did a little bit!!), we gave our gifts to Jesus. It is His birthday after all!
All the while, I could not get this verse out of my mind:

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

   “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

   Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

 ¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

   He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

   Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

 ¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

   Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

   Jesus said, “Feed my sheep..."  {John 21:15-18}

So, by His grace, we chose to Feed. {click on the links to find ways you can help too}
With Water.
With Food.
With the Word of Life.


We spent the afternoon of Christmas, curled up on our couch, and pouring through Giving catalogs. Picking out gifts for Our Lord.
Then, down to the playroom we went... and we filled box after box. 
Picking out gifts for Our Lord.
for His Sheep.


Merry Christmas, dear ones. May His Love put a permanent smile of wonder on your face and in your heart. May His Love cause you to shake your head in amazement. May His Love prompt you to Feed His Sheep.

a new ornament and a new camera {squeal!}

found this on our tree yesterday:

hmmmm. Fake, child sized, construction-goggles make for quite an interesting ornament, right???

see them?
hanging right in the middle of the tree?
cute.




and....
{insert giddiness here}

I was able to take these gorgeous, albeit highly unprofessional, pics {if I do say so myself}, in very low light,






because Matt's family gave me this for Christmas:

{insert silly and ridiculous scream of delight}

Did I ever tell you that my current Canon Elf was left outside on a pile of rocks for two weeks, and endured 3 severe thunderstorms, 3 days above 100 degrees F, and a mini-tornado that uprooted trees at every house on our street????
Yes.
That puppy still worked.

But alas, with each new day, she was dying a slow death.
gotta give her credit for hanging on.

and I was hanging on too. Or you could even argue that I was getting desperate.
Until,
wonder of wonder. miracle of miracles.
I got my dream camera for Christmas!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

Thank you so much to Nana and Pop Pop!

...just wondering God. When are you going to stop showing off with all these little big gifts??

Three more Provisions

In this post, I shared the amazing story of all that God did for us during Matt's untimely departure from his employment.

There was one thing I forgot to put on the list of God's Provisions {but I am off to go add it now, so you might just find it updated}.

1. "The Perfect Resume."

I could rattle off a commercial for this awesome book. Basically, if you follow it's advice, and then follow-through with intense networking and cold-calling... you can strongly increase your chances of getting improved employment. My opinion.



But, the cool thing about this silly ol' book is not its results.
No.
The cool thing about this book is that God sent it to us.

hokey? maybe.
but, while at the library, 3 days after the rock was pulled out from under us, I was feverishly pouring through books on homeschooling.

smack dab in the middle of the homeschool books was this:

So. I checked out a copy.

And it helped my hubby. A LOT.

and ya gotta wonder?   What was this book doing smack dab in the middle of the homeschool section??

Maybe it is because He is Perfect. His Timing is Perfect. And His Provision is Perfect.

2.  And remember my list of things that I won during this time? Well, I won one more thing! And it was another Provision... because Matt and I had decided a long time ago that we would not partake in one of our favorite traditions of Christmas: Card exchanging. Which was an extra bummer, since we WON these AMAZING photos from Amy.

Well.... I won a service for free Christmas card e-delivery, from Mistle Mail, through a giveaway on my amazing friend Genevieve's awesome, awe-filled, beautiful blog.

3.  And, a few days ago, I had a friend give me a gift that was actually written down on a wish list of mine for this Christmas. She had no idea. Glory!!!

I am shaking my head at our Amazing Lord! Why is He just revealing His Provision to me all over the place???

Oh, How I love Him. Oh, how He cares about the details.

Provision.

{darlene}

{would you consider helping me grow my new online interiors blog, Fieldstone Hill, by Following, Liking on Facebook, and/or Subscribing? Thank you so much for helping me spread the word!!!!}

He will sustain you

This post has been a long time coming.

In fact, this post marks the end of something, and the beginning of something new in the life of my family.  And while I could call it the end of a dark season... I don't know that that is really the case.

In mid-July, I wrote this post, about the rug being pulled out from under us. Our family, through God-ordained circumstances, found ourselves without a family income.  It was not all-together unexpected, but, it was quite a bit out of our control.
Isn't everything?

On Monday, all of the pieces -that God has been orchestrating- fell into place.  We will no longer be without an income, and we will fall back into what the world might call: "secure."

Funny thing is, we never really felt insecure. When I said that the rug was pulled out from under us, but beneath it was our Rock... they were not just words to me. I experienced and felt the stability, peace and security that comes from an Unchanging God. But, it came as a surprise to me... how good it felt to rest in Him.

Now, I would not be telling you the truth if I said I did not experience fear, or doubt, or plain-old worry about the uncertainty that faced our family. From July until now, our family had emotional ups and downs. Serious concerns. Emotional wrestling. What-ifs about huge decisions.
Decisions like moving. giving up homeschooling. mommy getting a household-sustaining job. selling our dream home. finding alternate means of income. eliminating any spending. giving up Christmas gifting.
And then there was the up-and-down drama and nail-biting that comes with supporting your husband through the interview processes, acceptances and rejections.

But as we weathered through this brief season, (and praise His Name, it was brief), God was there for us. Oh, I know that sounds so dull and trite... but here me... God was THERE for us. He was not up in the clouds playing some harp somewhere, or managing lives that were more important than ours. No. He was there in practical ways. and, He was there to listen to my whining and ranting and stiff-necked-ness.... as He always is, to His Glorious credit. He is so Merciful.

See what great things He has done:

It was God who moved my wonderful, godly husband (who has a work-ethic the likes of which this country was built on) into a place where he could barely endure his job.
It was God who, ultimately, freed my husband from a job that was poisonous.
It was God who planted the seed for my husband's current job at Company A.
It was God who arranged for three unrelated friends of ours to connect us to the owners of this company... all within the same week.
It was God who prepared our hearts for an unexpected opportunity.
It was God who taught us how to do more with less.
It was God who used this situation to soften my heart toward his gentle instruction to me.
It was God who planted in me His Word, so that I was never consumed by worry.
It was God who blessed us with underserved and unexpected gifts like these. Just for fun.
It was God who used His children, to reach out to us, pray for us, bring us food from their gardens, hand-me-downs, Christmas gift cards for the boys, balloons, flowers, and Hope.
It was God who used His children to give me five different books to encourage me in my Walk.
It was God who used His children to connect us with any and every friend they had in my husband's field of work.
It was God who used our families to help us meet financial needs.
It was God who made it frustratingly impossible for me to find a simple Christmas-temporary job. He knew the timing.
It was God who greatly blessed us with provision, by allowing us to come to know Him as Provider.
It was God who opened our minds up to think outside the box we had made for ourselves.
It was God, who heard me cry out this prayer, and answered me that VERY minute with a phone call and an offer.
It was God who answered our prayers... not just the ones of Provision, but the ones about Discernment and Clarity and His will.
It was God whose timing is so perfect that our job offer came the very day after our monetary stability ran out. The very day, people.

"Cast your cares on the Lord. He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall." -Psalm 55:22

Repost: A Small Big Thing

ONLY A FEW MORE DONATIONS NEEDED! Your small gift can Help in a big way! A BIG WAY!

(um. no. this little guy is not actually up for adoption, but I thought his cute mug might inspire you and remind you of the very cute innocence of children...):

So, my cool bloggy friend Courtney is not one to think small.

and that is VERY cool.

And she has set a big goal... that YOU can help make smaller.

You can make A BIG difference.

With a small step.

And an even smaller amount of George Washingtons.

$10

or $5 is NOTHING, people.

It is small.

But not for the little lives that will be changed FOREVER.

That, my friends,

is BIG.

Now stop finding something else to do, and

Click here:

my daughters. my friends. my family.

Caroline, Agniya, and Darlene.

We are family.

Just,

not the blood kind.

And this weekend I got to be with both of my special girls in New York City.

We dined.

We hit Times Square.

We had a last-minute Broadway date-of-a-lifetime. One only God could arrange.

It was a dream.

A dream I will never forget.

I love you Agniya.

I love you Caroline.

You are so very, very precious to me.

A Magical NYC Christmas

This past weekend our family hit the town and had a fantastic day with friends and family in New York City... and our day was magical.

I love the City at Christmas time. But this year, the best parts were seeing the magic in the children's faces, and an extra special visit with friends.

Caleb, with his buddy Alex, taking the train into the city:

Agniya and Christian get their morning cup of coffee:

Window Shopping Pictures:

Agniya at Magical Macy's:

at the Pond at Bryant Park:

Cute guys:

Agniya's first Christmas at Rockefeller Center:

fun Rockefeller Center pics:

Sak's Fifth Avenue (look at my big smile!):

Our family got a most special surprise. We met our precious Caroline for the day. I cannot explain to you the joy!!!!!!!:

A dream for me! Here I am with 3 of my favorite, dearest friends, Caroline, Jessica, and Agniya. Hands down; One of the greatest presents I could have received:

And after an amazing, eventful day, we had a very sleepy train ride home:

I wish I could tell you how much fun I had!!! Of course, on the drive home from the train station, I was still frantically counting heads to make sure we had all of our children... but every effort was worth the amazing memories and the special moments.

The Starfish

I don't know the author of this well known 'parable', but I think of it often.

Usually when I am afraid I cannot make a difference....

the starfish

Once upon a time there was a philosopher who would walk along the beach every morning thinking about how to help the world.

One day as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a figure moving back and forth, rhythmically dancing to the day.

This gave him great pleasure, so he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young woman and the young woman wasn't dancing, but instead she was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

When he got closer he called out, 'Good morning! What are you doing?'

The young woman looked up and replied with simple joy, 'Throwing starfish in the ocean.'

The man looked puzzled and said: 'I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?'

'The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die.'

'But, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!' said the man.

The young woman listened politely. She then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea past the breaking waves and said with a smile...

'... but I made a difference to that one'.

As Christians, we are called to serve. May God help me as I trust Him to work out the big picture.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." -Galatians 6:9

Whooooooo's Twoooo? An Owl Themed Birthday Party

Guess Hooooooo's Turning Two?? This year Christian's Second Birthday Party had an Owl Theme. It was so much fun, and very easy. Don't ask me why, but my 2 year old loves owls. Whoooo knew?

Here are the super easy, super cute owl cupcakes {pretty self-explanatory decorations}:
And the ultra easy goody bags {Christian's bag may or may not be wrinkled due to me beating it into submission so that it would stand up}:
The BIRTHDAY BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my cuteness gracious: The main event at the party was the perfect fall whether, yet another Little Big Gift from God. All of the little ones and big ones headed outside to enjoy this fleeting, beautiful time of year: A great shot of Aunt Tammy and Christian looking at the early harvest moon: Mommy, ahem -with some yummy wine, and our exchange daughter Agniya, enjoying the sounds of happy children:

What is a fall day without football????:

Um. How cute is this????? Go, Peyton. It's your birthday.:
After lots of fall fun, it is time to fill the children with sugar. Out come the Owls and the Happy Birthday Song, of course:

Happy Owl Eater:

Some after dinner music, thanks to our lovely guests:
And the opening of a few presents:
Here, I must give a shout-out to Caleb for being REALLY good to his brother at his B-day party, and by being very cool about the "lotsa gifts for him but not me" thing. You are awesome, buddy!:And yes, we managed to gather the gang up on the sofa and get most of the sweeties to smile and look at the camera {you don't want to know what all the dads had to do to make this happen}:
A great picture of Caleb and Christian with their "sister":

Sigh. Mommy and her precious birthday baby. I can hardly believe that my little guy is TWO!

So, Whooo's Two? My baby. Who was just born yesterday, wasn't he??