Operation Christmas Child

Christmas is supposed to be a season of giving.  A season to remember and celebrate the One who gave it all for us.  Jesus.  I love the Christmas season.  The way it transforms our society and causes us to think outside ourselves for a moment in time.  I really want to teach my children to give and cultivate a spirit of giving in each of them.  We do that in small ways throughout the year and really try to focus on it at Christmas.  Our church participates in Operation Christmas Child and so we had the opportunity to give through another avenue this year.  The church has been collecting items for weeks (toys, school supplies, toiletries  etc.).  We had a big wrapping party on Wednesday night to prepare the boxes with all the collected items.  Our kids made boxes for kids just like them.  They went around and picked out the crayons and toys they would like and then prepared the present.  The best part was filling out an info sheet to include in our boxes.  We were able to tell about ourselves and draw pictures of what we look like and where we live.  The kids got really into it and were excited to make the presents for other kids.  On the way home Levi was longing for a Cars bath set he had put in his box and it gave us the opportunity to share with him how much we've been blessed by God to live in America and have all the wonderful things we have that so many others long for and need each day.  I'm hoping this is only the beginning of our giving this year.  

 Showing off her completed box.

 Drawing a picture of himself to send with his box.

 Putting the finishing touches on box #2.

*I know we haven't celebrated Thanksgiving yet, and I'm not in the habit of pushing Christmas before Thanksgiving, but Operation Christmas Child is the perfect time to remember all of our many blessing from above.  Therefore Happy Thanksgiving and may our hearts of thanks be prepared for the joy of Christmas to come!

There's No Place Like Home

We received official notice yesterday that we would be returning to GA at the end of the year.  While we have mixed feelings about the move we are excited to get back to our home as well as our family and friends.  We should be there by Dec. 31st, but may try to move back before Christmas.  Just last week Aaron & I were praying that God would give us some answers for how long we would be in NC.  We were both expecting to be here for several more months, so the news was a little surprising.  I hesitated to even post because I don't really believe it just yet.  However, God is good and gave us answers where we were asking.  He is faithful!!  While we don't know how long we will be in GA, we are going to be back for the foreseeable future, but something tells me our adventures are just beginning.

We will definitely miss NC and all it has offered us over that last 8 months.  Here is just a few things we will be sad to say good-bye to:

• Great Smokey Mountain National Park.
• Cataloochee and the elk.
• East LaPorte park (across the street)
• Webster Baptist Church.  Small group and friends.
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• NOC
• The mountains.  I'll definitely miss the mountain beauty each and every day.
• Family Saturday adventures.
• The gym and park being 5 minutes away.
• Wal-Mart being 10 minutes away.
• Aaron's job being close by and eating lunch with him everyday.
• All the punch bugs.
• Catamount Gap

What we are looking forward to in GA:

• Babysitters!!!
• Family!!!
• Friends!!!
• A house with normal size shower and lots of closet space.
• BSF
• Grandparents!!!
• TV so we can actually watch football.
• Being able to decorate, paint, hang pictures, etc.  

We'll see you all soon!  

Every Life is Beautiful

Aaron & I are huge advocates for LIFE.  We have been blessed beyond measure with our two children.  I seriously couldn't imagine my LIFE without them.  Getting pregnant does not come easy to us, and we have had to say good-bye to two children through miscarriage.  The grief and heartbreak of such a loss is more than I can put into words.  These experiences, both the joy and sorrow, have led us to realize that every LIFE is beautiful.  Through this realization our hearts have been opened to giving LIFE to those who need it, so we are planning to adopt within the next few years.

We have made a commitment to stand up for LIFE in every opportunity that comes our way.  The recently release move October Baby deals with the issues of abortion, adoption, LIFE, and the gift of forgiveness.  From its website this is what is said about the movie;  "With its powerful, compelling story of a young woman who was adopted by loving parents after a failed abortion attempt, OCTOBER BABY will remind moviegoers that every life is beautiful. As it does, the movie will open eyes and hearts to the sanctity of life."  We just viewed the movie last week and it was amazing!  I definitely recommend that you watch it.  Part of the movie's agenda is the Every LIFE is Beautiful campaign.  There are stories of abortion survivors, the beauty of adoption, children with disabilities, healing after an abortion, LIFE, and death.  Each video is just 1-3 minutes and is so worth your time.  You will be blessed I promise!  Please check it out here at everylifeisbeautiful.com.  If you'd like more information about the movie as well there is a link to it from the website.  Please join me in standing up for LIFE and showing others that every LIFE is beautiful.