Saturday, October 16, 2010

Grannies & Grand Babies

Yes, Grand Babies.  I don't care if they are 20 years old... they are still our Grand Babies and we love them to bits!

The holidays are fast approaching.  Last weekend, we took our Grandson (Zachary) to Apple Annie's.  We had a hay ride to the pumpkin field and he selected pumpkins. It was a fun, fun day.  On the way home PawPaw and I were singing the "Old MacDonald" song and Zachary, who was tired kept yelling out, "No, no!"  But we kept singing anyhow.  After we stopped, we heard him singing "EI EI OO".  How funny was that?

Sunday morning we were awakened by Zachary at the foot of our bed wanting to climb in with us.  Of course we allowed that - he's only three years old.  Then after a little horse play we got up and PawPaw and I began to prepare for church.  We woke Zachary's Daddy and said, "Get up, watch your son, we're going to church."  We thought that was that.  Lo and behold, Zachary said, "GammMa, help me get dressed." So I did.  Next he grabbed his "pack-pack" with his busy items, put it on, walked to the living room and said, "Come on PawPaw, let's go to church.  Dad, you can't go!"  Well of course we took him!   

During the service, we were singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and PawPaw was holding Zachary who was singing, "EI EI OO"!  What a hoot. 

I am in awe that such a small child who normally doesn't go to church wants to.  I will never deny him that opportunity.  (May his father follow suit! From my lips to God's ears!)  He will even remind us when it's meal time to pray for the food.  Bless his little heart!

I shared this info last year, about a post marked letter from Santa - I'm repeating it this year.  It's a fun project for Grammie's or PawPaw's and creates a wonderful magical memory.

POST OFFICE TO SANTA: WRITE BACK EARLY



THE NORTH POLE - You are six years old. Your Mom and Dad bring in the mail. They hand you a letter with a North Pole postmark. You open the letter. It's more than Santa's response to the wish list you sent him - it's a memory of a lifetime.


The Postal Service is helping you create and preserve this memory for your child. Here's how it works. Work with your child as they write their letter to Santa. Secretly craft a response from Santa and mail it in a second envelope to North Pole, Alaska Post Office. The Postal elves will postmark and mail Santa's response back to your child. To make this holiday activity especially enjoyable, follow these suggested guidelines.

  •  Beyond the traditional, "here's what I want" list, ask your child to write why the holiday season is special.
  • Teach the child that proper addressing techniques include a return address -- otherwise Santa may not write back.
  • After you take the letter and tell the child you'll mail it, keep it in a safe place until you can write Santa's response. If your child recognizes your handwriting, ask a friend or neighbor to rewrite it.
  • To make Santa's response extra special, beyond reminding the child that Santa knows if they've been bad or good, add a positive line or two about the child's recent accomplishment that was not included in the letter to Santa.
  • As a P.S., Santa might want to remind the child to be in bed at a certain hour, and hint that he and his reindeer appreciate holiday snacks left near the tree.
  • Place Santa's response in a stamped envelope addressed to the child, and be sure to include the North Pole as the return address.
  • Place this envelope into a larger, properly stamped, First-Class Mail or Priority Mail envelope and mail it to:
 North Pole Christmas
CancellationPostmaster
5400 Mail Trail
Fairbanks AK 99709-9998

The North Pole Post Office will postmark Santa's reply and place it in the mail stream.

Hugs to you all, and remember to keep Jesus in the Season!

~Tamara 

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Devotions

John 1:16 (New International Version)

16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.



A Prayer for a Busy Life

“GOD OF THE GOOD NEWS, in the fullness of my life, empty me of distractions. Still my busyness. Quiet my chatter. Sing your song of grace to me until the tune rings in the core of my being and my life resonates with your good news.”


- Alive Now

From ALIVE NOW(R) magazine, November/December 2000, copyright (c) 2000 by The Upper Room, p. 36. All Rights Reserved.

I haven't been around for a bit.  I've been waiting for the Hubs to give birth to a 7mm kidney stone.  OUCH!  This past Monday he did have an ultra-sound procedure to "smash" the item.  He has had no problems since and is passing the equivalant of sand.  He has not had to use the pain medication.  He will be seeing the urologist for a follow up visit, but my humble opinion is that all is going well!  Please remember him in your prayers.
 
Also, my friend Roxanne's mother is having some serious medical concerns and issues.  She is hospitalized and they are in the testing mode.  Please keep Joyce in prayer.
 
Peace to you and your house,
Tamara