Christmas 2011, check!

We're sticking to our usual road-trip Christmas, but cut the stops short to only Jackson, Mississippi this year. Driving down, we stopped 6hrs into the night (by midnight) and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and I have never thought I'd be so thrilled to see a hotel bed! Poor David started the trip with a double ear infection, but was a surprisingly content backseat rider both ways. I thank those who remembered to lift up our road trip to the Lord - safe and success!

We stayed with Grandmama this visit, due to David's early bed-time and our love to party with the family. And I mean the whole family, 88 year old Grandmama Grant included! We enjoyed her dear company, encouraging conversation and of coarse - sweetly (I'm talking candy, cookies and cake) generous hosting. I regret that I didn't get more photos with those that we love to spend time with in Jackson, but let me name them here by order of appearance: Uncle Jerry and Aunt Olivia who beat us first place to Jackson by 2 hrs; cousin Jerry who David loved to be loved by; sister Seale and her ever familiar family warmth; bro-in-law Matt and his manly presence; Grant, Stephanie & Addison who have all become family I love to chat with; David, Kelly, Cole & Noelle a growing family I can relate to; and finally our beloved Grandpa G and Mimi who completed our Christmas with more cheer than we could have expected! I've said before and I'll say it again - this group is incredible gift givers and as I find homes for each gift in our home now I'm absolutely thankful. I'm thankful for the thoughtfulness but more so for the memories of time with our precious family.

Till next year in Jackson...

Here are some highlights from the trip and photos of Christmas at our Bosworth apt.

Christmas 2011, a set on Flickr.

Reflection on 1 Kings

King of the playroom, visor and all

Beloved King David's death gives birth to Solomon's reign at the beginning of 1 Kings. King Solomon's wisdom and wealth is unmatched through biblical history. The Temple he built, in my mind, rivals the fragrance and glory of a cedar and pine sparkling mansion. Before reading 1 Kings, I related the look of the Lord's temple to Roman ruins I saw on a trip to Italy - not so. Following a prayer of dedication for the Temple, the Lord speaks to Solomon in what is known as one of the key verses in 1 Kings:

"As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel' "

(1 King 9:4,5)

David was not perfect, but the Lord notes his integrity of heart and uprightness. He did not serve other Gods... unfortunately all the other kings to follow couldn't help themselves. Among Solomon's plentiful supply of resources were a plethora of wives. 1 Kings 11:3 says he had 700 wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives lead him astray. v.4 Says his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

From here, the book of 1st Kings falls head first into a tug of war between idolatry and repentance. There were schemes to kill prophets and the building of golden calf shrines. Yet, there were glimpses of succeeding kings who wept and tore their clothes in regret before the word of the Lord. The Lord had made clear that Israel's security and unity rested in their relationship with Him. Still, the Kings of Israel and Judah fall to idolatry and self sufficiency and STILL you'll see in the book of 1st Kings, God persistently forgives.

I reflect on 1 Kings with great gratitude for God's mercy through history and in my life now. I can see myself in those wild and wicked kings. Idols galore. Yet in that olden day before Jesus's ultimate sacrifice and fulfillment of the law, God still forgave. For some reason I thought he was more wrathful and angry then. Nope, same forgiving Lord. From the moment I received the gospel, the Lord made clear that my security and unity with Him rests in my relationship with Him through the blood of Jesus. Yes, we're in new testament covenant now so I don't have to give sacrifice at Solomon's glorious Temple. Glory to God for the blood of Jesus that cleansed us once and for all!

One final thought, the Lord was continuously speaking to each King about what he wanted to do with their life. God's voice was so present and the events of each King's life was precisely knit to God's movement. I'd like to end my reflection with Acts 17:26-28

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that  men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being."

Reading man photoshoot

David has taken quite an interest in books. He may not be walking, but he is reading... and then he still takes the most interest in his toys.

You're beautiful

The Lord has overwhelmed me today with thoughts of His beauty and our eternity with Him! While working on a financial display booth project my pandora pulled up this song and I had to share. Just as real as my delicious cup of coffee and deadlines are the biblical truths that say I will see Jesus. I will arrive on eternity's shore and it will be beautiful. Glory to God!

Your Beautiful
Song by Phil Wickham


I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
Youre beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
Its all proclaiming who You are
Youre beautiful, You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
Youre beautiful, you're beautiful

When we arrive at eternitys shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
Well enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and well sing
Youre beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful

I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, I see Your face
I see Your face, Youre beautiful, Youre beautiful, Youre beautiful

Home

Truly, isn't this home just beautiful?! I took the photo to try to
remember that brown and red can go together and still
be timeless and classic.

Look at our new house in Wilmette! Just kidding! That would be a dream come true, but as of now I'm completely grateful for our Bosworth treehouse and will be until my children look me in the eye and say, 'we can't take this anymore.'

Last Friday, David and I walked to the Linden EL station in Wilmette from having breakfast with Tripp at Walker Bro.'s Original Pancake House. That morning brought the first sight of snowflakes of the season and a whole lot of reflection. As I passed one gorgeous Wilmette home after another I thought of all the families and their stories behind those doors. Beyond the street where we were walking, I saw the Bahai temple dome towering above the trees. Such beautiful homes, such a beautiful temple - neither holding any eternal worth. As a matter of fact, that brilliantly white dome may as well be the gates of Hades. Such earthly beauty, which I praise the Lord that he's given us to enjoy, yet when the refining fire comes, it will all pass away. Thinking on time, things passing, I look down and see what could be an eternal gem in my phil and ted's stroller. My son, D. I could build a house for him that would be only more dust in the end. Or, I could get down on my knees and pray for his salvation daily. I could pray that his salvation would lead others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Lord have mercy on us all.

I meant for this entry to be a light-hearted thought about the change of season. Somehow, when I sit down to write though - I feel there's really one conclusion worth making. I can't lay claim on any of the goodness in our life, still I am so grateful that His mercies are new every morning - and that includes pancakes!

Tricky Foods: Green Eggs

I've recently tried being tricky with vegetables and slipping them in David's food wherever I can. This is because we're in the 'throwing unacceptable food' and 'spitting out healthy food' stage. So, I am SURE I'm not the first to think of these tricky foods but, I am feeling quite triumphant here. If only for the sake of future reference I'm going to do a series of posts called 'Tricky Foods' as I win in the kitchen.

GREEN EGGS

Ingredients

2 Eggs

pinch of garlic powder (or fresh garlic if you live by an international grocery store that's practically giving this stuff away)

broccoli or spinach chopped (or if you have a magic bullet or good food processor throw all this stuff in there and blend until unrecognizable)

butter

cheese of any kind

Scramble eggs and mix in garlic and green item. Whisk or blend to death. Cook in a buttered frying pan trying to maintain 'whole' shape like making an omelet. Flip once and sprinkle with cheese.

Variation: if all you have is a big hunk of cheese, and if you have a blending tool - throw that baby in there and incorporate it with the eggs.

Now. This food does sometimes qualify as 'unacceptable and deserving of throwing' so in that case, put it on a baby fork and hand the fork to your little monster. If that doesn't work. Sorry, guess this wasn't tricky enough... add more cheese?

Peter Pan & Wendy VS Captain Hook

For Halloween this year we combined the dress up holiday with the Lee's going away party. I have to say, it was a much cherrier way to celebrate the Lees moving! Tripp and I dressed up as Peter Pan and Wendy and David was our antagonist Captain Hook.

The story of the pink panda pajamas is this. I sent Tripp to Target to pick out a 'nightgown' for my wendy costume. He called me in a panic when the nicest think he could find turned out to be pink panda pajamas. We toyed with the idea of getting the full body (with footies) pajamas with sock monkey feet, but they were $7 more. Anyhow, there you have it. I was a modern day tacky Wendy!

Doesn't D make the sweetest little Captain Hook?

November Wallpaper

People, Smashing Magazine's November wallpapers are gorgeous this month! It gets me excited to think about what snowy beauties may be awaiting next month!

Bee-boppin' and Burgers

The other night, we strolled to 5 guys for some juicy burgers. David loved the burgers, but maybe even more, loved the music.

New Hair and Baby Einstein

If you've spent time with me and David in the past month or so, you'll know that we equally love Baby Einstein. I have my sister to thank for introducing it to us when David was a wee baby. Similar to other wonderful baby toys like the jumperoo or exersaucer, Baby Einstein guarantees at least 20 minutes of focused entertainment for David. For me, that means I can accomplish one thorough task and today it was dishes!

In other news, Tripp gave David a stylin' haircut on Saturday. Have a look at the new little man!

David's riding his horse with a new hair cut from Laura Grant on Vimeo.

Fall wallpaper

image from poolga.com

First, let me say that these iphone backgrounds are gorgeous (I've posted about these before) but check out poolga.com if you haven't already. Before you say to yourself, 'I don't have an iphone, I can't use these!' think again!! Got a printer? The ipad version of the images is high enough resolution to print and keep in a small frame. I would say if you don't have a printer you could send the image to print at wallgreens, but I think they have reservations about printing artwork (sometimes). Otherwise, there's always the $1 color prints at kinkos.

Per usual, I'm getting around to changing my desktop background for the next month's calendar just before months end. However! I discovered that smashing magazine's desktops come without the calendar! So, so need to change 1/mo., just 1/season which is much more fitting! If you're looking for a fun October wallpaper, go here and peruse. Lots of spooky options, so most are definitely seasonal. Having a halloween gathering? Get one of these spooky beauties up on your screen for a little decor ambiance.

example of wallpaper option without calendar, great right?!

Butternut squash mac + cheese

Pinterest tells me that I can embed pins into my blog... let's just see about that...

Source: marthastewart.com via Laura on Pinterest

25 ways to wear a scarf

Incredible! And if you're a rabbit trail clicker, Wendy has some adorable tutorials for hair on youtube.

He has made me glad

'For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.'
Psalm 92:4

A friend of mine recently brought me a bouquet of mums that literally touch my heart everyday. I've had to transfer the mums to a new vase so that the big bundle could reach water and they're still just gorgeous. Last Sunday, as Tripp and I prayed with the worship team, I had a lump in my throat as I tried to recount my gratitude for the Lord's work in my life. I was struck with the thought that if I went down that road, thanking God for all that I could think of, I would fall to pieces. This week, I continued to feel this way as I met with God in prayer. I just wanted to share in this post that I am thankful for all the gracious things the LORD has done in our life. We deserve damnation, but God in his unthinkable grace gave us life. His work, His hands, His blood and we stand near and sing for joy.

If you're in a place today where you're not sure what to do in your life, reorient yourself to see He is working. If you can't see it, recount your gratitude to the Lord. Consider your salvation... go down that road and just see where it leads.

Jacky + Cayte Visit October 2011

Jacky + Cayte Visit October 2011, a set on Flickr.

Uncle Jacky and Aunt Cayte came to Chicago for an Autumn visit with us! We walked as far as their feet could handle, ate like Kings (heehee), and enjoyed everything pumpkin - from picking to making pumpkin spice fudge and pumpkin spice lattes.

This visit was especially memorable for the friendship I saw grow between David and his Uncle Jacky. From dancing to wiggling to feeding to swinging, Jacky was David's best bud. I have a feeling that these two will probably be inseparable during visits from here on.

And from here, I'm so thankful for the friend I have in my sister-in-law Cayte. She's one of the most comfortably honest women I know, which always draws the comfortable out in me. I breathe easy with my buddy Cayte around and I'm thrilled we have a lot more 'family time' to come. Thanksgiving 2011 is first on the list!