A Christmas Song

This isn't a very popular Christmas song, but I love it!  Enfield has done my favorite version of it, in case you want to download it. I've posted the lyrics for you. 

"Who is He in Yonder Stall"

'Tis the Lord! oh wondrous story!
    'Tis the Lord! the King of glory!
    At His feet we humbly fall
      Crown Him! crown Him, Lord of all! 

Who is He in yonder stall,
At whose feet the shepherds fall? 

Who is He in deep distress,
Fasting in the wilderness?  

Lo! at midnight, who is He
Prays in dark Gethsemane? 

Who is He on yonder tree
Dies in grief and agony? 

Who is He who from the grave
Comes to heal, help, and save? 

Who is He who from His throne
Rules through all the worlds alone?

'Tis the Lord! oh wondrous story!
    'Tis the Lord! the King of glory!
    At His feet we humbly fall,
      Crown Him! crown Him, Lord of all! 

 

Peace

I have found myself in constant prayer for the families affected by the horrible tragedy in Connecticut this weekend. My thoughts range from anger at the evil of it, to heartbroken for the families. 

Today at school I have had to answer questions from students and hug parents. I had to attend a safety meeting where I was asked my input on how to make our school safer; and realized that if anyone broke into our school, I would be the students first line of defense. I spoke with police officers about the safety of our school, and am now in charge of running safety drills.

With all of this going on I am able to still stop and have total peace that the Lord is in control. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so how will we live today. 

I was so saddened for the people I talked to because the real safety that they need only comes through Salvation in Jesus Christ.

an unexpected memory of Dad

I woke up to pouring rain, it's not snow, but in California it's the closest I've felt to Christmas this year. I'm not sure how thinking of snow and Christmas got me to thinking about my Dad washing my hair, but it did. 

Dad had to be both Mom and Dad for us girls after mom passed away.

Looking back Dad did such a great job being "mom" to us. 

On Sunday mornings we would wake up and go downstairs where Dad would wash our hair in the sink. We would lay on the counter top, he would have laid down a towel to make it comfortable, and then put another rolled up towel under our neck for comfort. Then, he would take the sprayer and rinse our hair just like we were at a salon. 

I just remember laying there talking as he held my head and washed my hair. 

When he was done, he would brush my hair out for me by the fireplace. (if time allowed) Then it was off to get ready for church, while my dad went to wash the next sisters hair.

I think I'll probably wash my own kids hair in the sink someday. 

The day before Elijah's Birthday

I am already beginning to show signs of being very similar to my grandmother. I have the worst time remember my nephew and nieces birthdays! Actually, after David and Elijah, I don't know any of their birthdays. It's so sad that I'm already losing my mind. I have been there for each of their births except for Amelia. (I think her birthday is in the end of April) And it was VERY hard for me to miss it.

Well, my sister went into labor this day, 4 years ago.  I accidentally call Elijah on the 11th every year instead of the 12th, because we though she would deliver on the 11th. This year,  I actually called him a month early. (Elijah knows EVERYONES birthday, I think I'll have the 4 year old make me a birthday calendar...)

I miss him so much. He is thoughtful, a great big brother, very protective, and he is smart! Not in the "your biased about your own nephew" kind of smart, it's the "he can complete puzzles with the pictures side down" kind of way, or the "I'm turning 4 and remember 20 family members birthdays" kind of way.  He has a kind of hard time sharing, but what first born doesn't! He has a tender heart like his aunt Abigail. He LOVES family. He loves to laugh. He is ok with a little alone time. He loves to read. 

I wish that he lived closer so that I could take him on dates and he could get to know us better. 

The last time I saw him I was able to go to his house play some fun music and dance with him. I wont ever forget it!

Happy Birthday (a day early) Elijah! Aunt Bek-Bek loves you VERY much. 

I stole all off my pictures from my sisters blog because she takes great pictures and has more of Elijah than I do. You can check out her blog HERE!

Serving with Kyle

It has been such a  blessing serving on high school staff with Kyle. 

I knew that it would be a blessing for us individually, but it has also been great for us as a couple. I love watching him love and lead his boys. He does a great job with them; and I learn a lot from how he leads them, what he goes through with them, and how he talks to them. 

They love him! It's fun to see how much they have opened up to him.

Uhhh, maybe they love him a little too much...

Date Night

Kyle is in Florida for a week. He left early Sunday morning, and so he took me on a date Saturday night. We had a great time! We always do. I snapped 3 pictures of him (He wouldn't just sit still for me... ) He told me he just couldn't handle the pressure of being my model and that I had to stop.

Isn't he just the cutest! I Love this man!

Psalm 130:5

       This is what I was reading and studying this morning. The exposition is by Spurgeon. It is a bit longer than what we usually post, but I hope it is as encouraging to you as it was to me. I think it's worth the read!!!

        I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait. Expecting him to come to me in love, I quietly wait for his appearing; I wait upon him in service, and for him in faith. For God I wait and for him only: if he will manifest himself I shall have nothing more to wait for; but until he shall appear for my help I must wait on, hoping even in the depths. This waiting of mine is no mere formal act, my very soul is in it, -- "my soul doth wait." I wait and I wait -- mark the repetition! "My soul waits", and then again, "My soul waits"; to make sure work of the waiting. It is well to deal with the Lord intensely. If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for him. He is worth waiting for.

         The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord's people have always been a waiting people: they waited for the First Advent, and now they wait for the Second. They waited for a sense of pardon, and now they wait for perfect sanctification. They waited in the depths, and they are not now wearied with waiting in a happier condition. They have cried and they do wait; probably their past prayer sustains their present patience.

         And in his word do I hope. This is the source, strength, and sweetness of waiting. A word from the Lord is as bread to the soul of the believer; and, refreshed thereby, it holds out through the night of sorrow expecting the dawn of deliverance and delight. Waiting, we study the word, believe the word, hope in the word, and live on the word; and all because it is "His word," -- the word of Him who never speaks in vain. Jehovah's word is a firm ground for a waiting soul to rest upon.

Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole

Kyle called and asked for some "Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole" that his mom used to make. "Sure!" I said. He rarely requests food so I was more than happy to make him some. I asked how it was made, and of course he didn't know. I called his mom and she didn't answer... so, I searched allrecipies.com and combined a couple of different casserole's. Kyle and I were both really happy with how it turned out.

 

 It looked a lot like the picture above, but I stole that from google. I used all leftovers. This would be much more time consuming if I made it fresh, or from scratch.. well it was all fresh and from scratch at one point, just not anymore..whatever, it doesn't matter and I think you know what I mean.

Ingredients: Shredded Turkey, enough to fully cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

                     Mashed Potatoes

                     Green Beans

                     1 Can cream of mushroom soup

                     Cubed Cheese

                     1 Onion

                     Garlic

                     left over stuffing, optional

 

Directions: This is basically a glorified shepherds pie, layer, layer, add some potatoes.. 

                   If you are using the left over stuffing thinly layer that on the bottom of the pan; if not, then start with the turkey. Cover the bottom of the pan with the shredded turkey.

                   Next, cover the turkey with the green beans.

                    I sauteed the onion chopped it and added it on top of the beans ***I sauteed the onion becuase the casserole wont cook long enough to really cook the onions, i think this way is much more flavorful and just better. 

                   After the onions I added the can of mushroom soup.

                   Now, this might be the best part! I cut cubes of cheddar cheese and stirred them into the mashed potatoes with garlic. I LOVE garlic and cheesy potatoes. Put this on top and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.  

                  

                     

Christmas Decorating

I couldn't wait to start decorating for Christmas. However this is our first year decorating since we weren't home for it last year. So, thanks to my mom and grandma I was given some fun little decorations and I made a few of my own... so here is a glimpse of our first decorated apartment. 

Poor Kyle, he doesn't realize that each year the decorations will grow, and I will also get decorations for every holiday so we can be perpetually decorated! YAY!

Thanksgiving Pt. 2 Backpacking

Kyle and I went backpacking with some friends over Thanksgiving weekend. It was so pretty and actually felt like fall!

Packing up and prepping for the trip

It was so great to see these friends!

 Stephen generously holding the guns while we put out packs on

Team America!

  The hike was beautiful and filled with fall color

 Our first resting stop by a creek. It was the perfect place to stop for lunch. We got to spend some time with Jonathan and Sarah. What a sweet couple. 

 Liz and Erin kept us laughing, and sweetly served us the whole time!

 Team America... standing in the fresh water... so nice!

 Kyle couldn't resist posing with his gun as the hike continued.

 This was right near our campsite, we brought a pump, so this was also our water hole.

 camp site.

Hiking back out in Poison Oak. I am SO itchy today!

 It was so beautiful!

Thanksgiving, pt. 1

I LOVE the holidays, and I love that they kick off with Thanksgiving. How wonderful to dedicate time to giving thanks. Our church does a Thanksgiving Eve service and Kyle and I have been lucky enough to attend it twice now. It seems crazy that we have lived in Temecula long enough to experience the holidays down here twice already. We love the Thanksgiving service and chance to fellowship in that way with the body of Christ.

Okay, well without further ado, I will tell you all about doing the Thanksgiving meal alone for the first time. 

Our friends let us use their beautiful property for the day so that we could have more space. It was AMAZING. 

I drove down early so that I could prepare all the food while Kyle played his traditional game of football in the morning. 

It was so nice to drive down and really spend the morning to thank the Lord for my MANY blessings. It was a sweet time. 

Then it was time to focus on the turkey.

I cleaned it out and didn't forget the neck cavity. I heard so many stories about first timers forgetting to pull all the insides out. 

 

After I washed it up and patted it dry I spread some butter over the skin and stuck it in the oven

 

It was SO YUMMY! It wasn't too dry, and it was super flavorful. The only thing was that the legs didn't stay tucked in. Oh well, I filled it up with stuffing and I think it looked kinda nice. 

 

 

 While the turkey was cooking I made myself a nice little fire, read, and then took a nap.

 I wanted to take pictures of the rest of the food, however, Kyle and his dad started digging in so quickly I forgot! It was a nice peaceful day with them. We took naps on the comfy oversized chairs on the front porch in perfect weather. 

It was a wonderful day!