No Toys Necessary!

The other night as we were heading upstairs for bed, the kids decided that it was "raining." Nathaniel ran to get under the clothes basket to hide from the rain, and Hannah Beth had to quickly get her "rain coat" - a towel. Apparently all you need is everyday household items to have a great time! :) I love my kids' creativity, and that it doesn't always take very much to entertain them!

Then Hannah Beth decided that she needed to use my camera, and she took a really fun video! Enjoy!

Slowing Down

November, especially the last half of it, was so busy for us with Hannah Beth's birthday, the Nutcracker, Thomas being in and out of town and Thanksgiving. It was all lots of fun, but it just took a lot of extra time and energy. Over Thanksgiving we went to the beach with Thomas' parents. His mother spoiled me by doing almost all of the Thanksgiving dinner herself so I didn't have to do much of anything. Hannah Beth and I did make an apple pie together, which was fun. We were able to have good family time over that long weekend and relaxed a lot. We took the kids to the mall and got to see all the Christmas decorations and they rode a little train through the mall. While we were sitting down eating lunch there, Nathaniel kept asking to go into the bookstore (which was right behind us). I couldn't figure out why he wanted to go in so badly, but I took him in, and as soon as I did he started asking for the Thomas the Train table - I should have known! This is his latest love, and thankfully it was the same bookstore we go to here and it did have a train table! He is starting to remember things so well!

This week has been so good for me. Thomas has been out of town most of the week which has not been good - every two or three weeks this fall he has had somewhere to go for about 4 days. We are actually getting used to the coming and going (although we wish he wouldn't go so much!). I have been pretty productive this week, and as a result feel better organized and in control.

Speaking of control, God has been trying to teach me to let go of my control and let Him control how things go. This is an ongoing battle that I will probably fight until I die. I like order so much that I tend to feel that I have to have everything in order and in control around me (my house) before I can sit down and spend time with Him. In reality, my sense of control, peace and order is going to be so much deeper and more satisfying if I will just stop no matter what things are like around my house or how early my kids get up, and just seek Him first!