January

Before I begin...

This sweatshirt sums up how I feel about winter!

I really should have bought it!

"I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth."  

Luke 11:8

The first verse of the New Year to jump out at me.  

I realized that many times the next verses are the ones that get all of the attention:

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."  

Luke 11:9-10

So why did verse 8 jump out when everybody is talking about verses 9 & 10?  Maybe because verse 8 tells us that even though the asker is a friend, the person being asked still will not give him what he is asking for.  Wow!  The person being asked wouldn't give his friend what he was asking for BUT (or until) because of his importunity he will get up and give it to him - as much as he needs.  So what exactly was importunity?  According to Dictionary.com to importune means to demand with urgency or persistence.  I think sometimes we forget that drive-by prayer is not the answer.  Sure verses 9-10 are important:  ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened, but we need to remember that God wants us to be persistent in our prayers!   I never feel as if I have a handle on prayer.  Just how much am I supposed to ask for?  How can I be sure it is God's will when I ask?  So maybe this jumped out at me because God just wants me to be faithful and persistent and let Him do the rest.  I'm still struggling with the drive-by prayer, but now I am striving for more.

I enjoyed that quiet time New Year's morning to get into God's Word.  After ringing in the New Year the night before - why DO they call it ringing it in, for me it pretty much involves yawning it in -we were ready for the crazy pace of Christmas to be over!  New Year's Day was lovely, with twelve hours of college football and a new electric blanket to keep the cold at bay (thanks Mom and Dad!).  I do love football (and that electric blanket), and it was a good day as most of the SEC lost which made for a happy hubby.

Ok, so the crazy pace of Christmas was over but we still had some Christmas left to celebrate!  Danielle, Kenny, and the kids came over to exchange presents.  We always have so much fun that we often wonder why we don't do it more often!  The kids were crazy excited, and to be honest so were we!  Last year I did a Little House on the Prairie theme for the girls.  This year was Harry Potter, complete with books, wands, chocolate frogs, and the Wii Lego game all in the coolest trunk I found at Hobby Lobby (which I will admit to wanting to keep for myself).  Sammy's theme was Spiderman!  We got him a Spidey backpack and water bottle to take to co-op!  He kept putting ALL of his presents in his backpack.  It was so cute!  The kids were jumping around so much that most of our pictures were blurry, but here is Skye opening her present from the kids, and Aly, Madi, and Makenna cuddled up watching a movie after all the excitement was over.  

In case you haven't met the newest animal member of our family, let me introduce Everdeen.  Granny found Everdeen wandering around the hollar before Thanksgiving.  She thought that the girls and Bryce and Carter would enjoy having the bunny around for Thanksgiving week before finding a good home for him.  Well, we did find a good home for him.  With us!  Like Skyeler was not going to come home with that bunny.  Aunt Cheryl said it was divine intervention.  Skyeler had been wanting a bunny for over two years!  Well, the ornery booger has already wormed his way into our hearts so I had to include a couple pictures.

The highlight of my January was a scrapbooking weekend with Cheryl!  It had been a very long time since we had had the opportunity to get away without all those yahoos!  You wouldn't believe the shopping we got done (see picture below) with no yahoos getting antsy or accidentally pushing open dressing room doors while were are in it (ok, so that really hasn't happened for 12 years but we will never forget it LOL!).  I was excited to finally get to scrapbooking our vacation to Orlando (yes, that was 3.5 years ago, good thing I'm not anal about staying current!).  13 pages scrapbooked over the weekend!  Two more than Cheryl!  Woot woot!

In the midst of the cold, freezing days of winter, there is still beauty to be found.  A beautiful sunrise shining through the frosted windows.  The picture doesn't do the sparkling crystals proper justice.  

And what good would any blog post be without pictures of my girls?  Skyeler channeling her inner Downton Abbey, and Aly rockin' her new outfit and necklace from Aunt Cheryl.

(please excuse the quality of the pictures, obviously I seriously stink at taking them with my phone!)

Skyeler has been reading Harry Potter to Madi and Makenna (hence the Harry Potter theme for their Christmas presents).  Just last week they finished reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets so we decided to have them over for a movie night sleepover.   We watched both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  I had no idea that it would be such an interactive experience LOL!  There was lots of wand waving and Wingardium Leviosa spells.  And Sammy was cheering louder than Hermione during the Quidditch Match!  What a blast to be able to share these with the kids.  Skyeler said it's the closest thing to experiencing it for the first time again.

So January of 2015 is behind us.  Looking back through my Bible Smashbook (thanks, Robin!) I'm reminded of something I wrote down at the beginning of the month...

"It is wise to seek God's direction daily so you know 

where to spend your time."

Jackie Wellwood, One Hundred and One More Devotions for Homeschool Moms

As I see just how fast time flies, I want to remember this quote!  I am striving to spend my time wisely and not waste a precious minute of what God has for me.