merry, merry christmas.

we got a christmas gift

a little early this year.

our little L started crawling.

and he hasn't stopped since.

B and i are in absolute awe

and so is L's PT.

L has never started doing something new 

and progressed this quickly.

never.

ever.

and until now, 

he has preferred to go backwards first.

but not this time. 

God is so good.

all the time.

He is so, so good.

and while we have been praying that he walk by christmas,

we will oh-so-gladly 

take and be grateful for this gift.

and besides, K recently told me 

that God spoke to her heart 

and said that He hadn't decided 

if L would walk by christmas or not.

and here is a photo of some snow

(or just dust floating 

through the sun shining in our house)

i will be taking a blogging break for all of next week 

but will be celebrating my blogoversary on january 2nd!

have a very merry christmas 

and may you celebrate the greatest gift 

we could ever be given.

a baby born in a manger 

who would save us all.

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

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 2:9-10

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

1706. perfect little gifts

1707. lunch out

1708. too much laughter at meals

1709. a fabulous new OT

1710. the gift of a Savior

this is not my life.

well, this photo actually is my life.

K and i were finally washing and drying

the last few dishes from a work-related party

we hosted over the weekend.

and it was tuesday.

i just couldn't muster the energy 

to tackle it on monday.

the part that is not my 

(usual) 

life 

is that i got to visit

Burke Williams Spa.

all by myself.

(that means: without any children).

it was so incredible that i got to go there at all.

and even more incredible that i was there

before i was completely worn out 

(think next week).

i usually don't stop until i get so run down 

that i have a cold and am forced to stop.

you know how that goes, i'm sure.

i put L to bed and then left the big kids with B 

and headed to the spa.

i got to take two showers within two hours,

where i was not:

interrupted.

interrupted even briefly.

interrupted even for a half of a second.

i had a treatment called 

emilie's intrigue

where i was put in a cocoon of loveliness.

i literally was.

the therapist gave me a massage 

and wrapped me up in 

eucalyptus leaves and hot towels.

and then i got to rest.

i didn't do a thing.

other than breathe.

and get this:

i started and finished thoughts.

it was really refreshing.

and definitely not my 

(usual) 

life.

when i came home

with freshly blow-dried hair

(that i dried at 9pm at night

where i didn't wake even one sleeping child up)

B said that i looked five years younger.

and you know what?

i felt it.

and i still do.

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

1701. going to the spa

1702. clearly seeing the answer 

to a decision that needed to be made

1703. the cutest little gingerbread cookies

made by one of our favorite friends

1704. a peaceful day

1705. something really grand i'm posting about tomorrow

picture me {im}perfectly.the little gifts

my mother-in-law has a lot of 

Christmas decorations in her house.

we were just up there for a little bit this past weekend 

and while the adults were finishing up a glorious lunch,

my big kids found a few little gifts 

that they decided needed to be opened.

yes, they painstakingly opened 

a bunch of the little boxes that 

rested in this adorable car and trailer set,

thinking that good things must be 

inside such small packages. 

no wonder it was so quiet. 

i should have known they were up to something.

to their dismay, it was just styrofoam cubes. 

they sure made a good mess, though. 

check out jenni's sweet blog:

and read about her 

bold vulnerability 

in blogland.

picture me {im}perfectly

is a weekly project to reveal that we don't have it all together.

i will post a 

picture me {im}perfectly

blog post every wednesday 

where you will be able to link up to your blog

revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,

your kids are not picture perfect,

your house is not picture perfect,

your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let's 

encourage, 

inspire and 

remind 

other women 

that none of us have it all together.  

<a border="0" href="http://capturingmotherhood.blogspot.com/search/label/picture%20me%20%7Bim%7Dperfectly" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TEajznl6Lw4/TTTZOgmZkqI/AAAAAAAAHAw/NH8EssqyeZc/s144/pictureme8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />

add my button to your blog post

until next wednesday

and link up to your direct posting

and feel encouraged. 

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

1696. the last christmas school party. phew

1697. focusing on right now

1698. my little helper elves

1699. a night out

1700. lots of extra chairs

wild, wild weekend.

we had a wild, 

wild weekend

(hence the lack of a blog post yesterday).

it was 

filled to the brim and flowing over. 

but it was good.

just very, very busy.

and i am very happy 

that it is no longer the weekend anymore.

and that my big kids don't have school this week.

and that we have just a few things here 

and a few things there on the calendar.

this week is going to fly by.

i just know it.

but i don't want it to be 

filled to the brim and flowing over 

with things to do and see.

i want it to be 

filled to the brim and flowing over 

with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit

as we prepare our hearts and minds 

to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

May the God of hope 

fill you with all joy and peace 

as you trust in him, 

so that you may overflow with hope 

by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

and this little nugget of frost 

was collected from our backyard last week

and currently sits safely in our freezer door.

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

1691. when God allows things to come together beautifully

1692. a great, great PT session

1693. paint all over my table

1694. receiving christmas cards

1695. Jesus Calling

my big, little man.

he's 6!

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

1686. half-birthdays

1687. doing something i have been meaning to do since september

1688. face time with my sis

1689. listening to lots of birthday messages

1690. someone choosing to obey

picture me {im}perfectly.peter pan's shadow

i don't know if you have seen this on pinterest:

(image source here)

but i thought it would be the perfect gift 

for K to give D 

for his 6th birthday, 

which was on monday.

but of course, i left it to the last minute

(which lately is where all things tend to end up).

and i just couldn't get the shadow 

to really show up on his wall.

so i brought in the big guns... 

i asked B to help. 

and he couldn't figure it out, either. 

so here's what we ended up doing:

and you know what?

D couldn't be more thrilled. 

but it's not perfect.

my sister (the graphic designer)

suspects that maybe the pinterest photo was photoshopped.

that made me feel slightly better 

that what i was trying to do was actually impossible.

but it was still something that i couldn't do perfectly 

and something that i left until the last minute to do. 

and this girl 

could have been speaking my own heart 

when she wrote her blog post.

picture me {im}perfectly

is a weekly project to reveal that we don't have it all together.

i will post a 

picture me {im}perfectly

blog post every wednesday 

where you will be able to link up to your blog

revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,

your kids are not picture perfect,

your house is not picture perfect,

your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let's 

encourage, 

inspire and 

remind 

other women 

that none of us have it all together.  

<a border="0" href="http://capturingmotherhood.blogspot.com/search/label/picture%20me%20%7Bim%7Dperfectly" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TEajznl6Lw4/TTTZOgmZkqI/AAAAAAAAHAw/NH8EssqyeZc/s144/pictureme8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />

add my button to your blog post

and link up to your direct posting

and feel encouraged. 

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

1681. etsy. enough said.

1682. my sister making a flier for me. 

totally last minute

1683. writing out my to do list

1684. lovely people on the phone 

who really do want to help you

1685. sweet, sweet emails

this family.

i got to do a little shoot for 

this completely

adorable 

family.

and i loved it.

and not just because 

i didn't have even one 

of my own children hanging off of me

during the shoot.

or the fact that the weather was 

unbelievably gorgeous for a december day.

but it was simply because this family

was so comfortable in front of the camera. 

the way that these easy-going parents

interacted with their children 

was inspiring.

both of the children

have stolen my heart.

and this little girl warmed up to me in no time

and loved the camera.

which made the shoot even more fantastic.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree 

that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 

And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, 

to Bethlehem the town of David, 

because he belonged to the house and line of David.

Luke 2:1-4

1676. very understanding family members

1677. not having to pick up D from school in the rain

1678. a shopping date with my girl

1679. cold soda on the road

1680. a snowman drawing

ten on ten.december

1- 5 sweet stockings

2 - blocks

3 - dancing because he beat me getting dressed

4 - B picking the perfect tree

(like always)

5 - merry christmas

6 - tree hangings

7 - our reading machine

8 - yummy, yummy

9 - "snow flakes" in our backyard

10 - our tree

When Joseph woke up, 

he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him 

and took Mary home as his wife.

But he did not consummate their marriage 

until she gave birth to a son. 

And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 1:24-25

1671. falling asleep on the couch

1672. seeing christmas lights with the kids

1673. two little ones who sleep the same way in the car

1674. birthday festivities

1675. the Judd's christmas album

that night.

remember when i posted about thanksgiving?

well... here are some of the the details.

my sister made the most amazing appetizer 

sparkling cranberry brie bites.

they are a must.

a must, i tell you!

i am still thinking about how delicious they were.

who doesn't love cranberries doused in syrup and sugar?

now i sound like Buddy the Elf.

yum.

yum.

yum.

and this little man dressed himself.

just as delicious, right?

my other boys.

(and somehow i didn't snap a shot of K or me.)

the busy bakers.

and don't you just love the piano bench seating?

love.

the other fun of thanksgiving was that my parents' dishwasher broke.

yes. 

it was broken for the thanksgiving dinner.

and there were lots and lots and lots of dishes to be done.

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 

He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 

to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers." 

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Luke 1:53-56

1656. the most thoughtful UPS man

1657. a delivery of the perfect DVD for date night

1658. a much needed date night

1659. christmas performances

1670. talking about the nutcracker

picture me {im}perfectly.christmas shopping

it is december 7th

and i have not started my christmas shopping.

i know.

totally not like me.

every year, i attempt to get 

all of my shopping done in the early fall

and have it all wrapped up by halloween.

and every year, i fail.

somehow, i forget that fall 

(or really, all the time) 

is a busy time for us.

we have new schedules, 

new schools, 

two birthdays 

and life going on 

every fall.

but this year, 

oh this year.

this year is oh so different.

i think that i have been in survival mode for a while now

(i haven't yet been able to stop and assess the situation).

every time i leave the house, 

i fear that i have forgotten to

bring something that i needed to bring.

or do something that i was supposed to do.

sometimes this life is just so hard.

and i just can't seem to get it together.

it's like my time goes into some sort of void 

and i wake up 

and am somehow further behind 

than i was the day before. 

but we have our first of 

five.

christmas.

celebrations.

this weekend, 

so i must get my act together, 

at least for that first celebration.

check out 

this sweet blog  

and how she is dealing with her 

human-wrecking ball.

picture me {im}perfectly

is a weekly project to reveal that we don't have it all together.

i will post a 

picture me {im}perfectly

blog post every wednesday 

where you will be able to link up to your blog

revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,

your kids are not picture perfect,

your house is not picture perfect,

your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let's 

encourage, 

inspire and 

remind 

other women 

that none of us have it all together.  

<a border="0" href="http://capturingmotherhood.blogspot.com/search/label/picture%20me%20%7Bim%7Dperfectly" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TEajznl6Lw4/TTTZOgmZkqI/AAAAAAAAHAw/NH8EssqyeZc/s144/pictureme8.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />

add my button to your blog post

and link up to your direct posting

and feel encouraged. 

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord 

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 

for he has been mindful 

of the humble state of his servant. 

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

Luke 1:46-48

1651. working outside

1652. a walk that warmed me up

1653. getting a bite from whole foods

1654. time to clean out my purse

1655. meeting another believer at L's school