More Christmas Pictures Just For Fun

 This was most of the family's first time to meet Samuel. 

My sweet mother-in-law always manages to plan and organize the food for the entire herd, which totaled 36 this year.

A beautiful snow fell after we were all safely in town.

 This is Jaxon, the son of our sweet niece, Tara, and her husband, Mark.

Kregg's brother brought a game for all of us to play.

Christmas morning is quite a challenge because we have reach critical mass with so many people and presents in Grandma and Grandpa's living room.

Jeremiah thought the light-up Christmas necklace finished off his outfit nicely.

Poor Grandpa has to take a power nap now and then. :)

Every two years, my mother-in-law arranges a huge family portrait while we are there for Christmas. Thankfully, we have "connections" so that we could get inside one of the buildings on the ACU college campus-a place large enough for us all. Of course, furniture had to be moved and rearranged. Hannah was able to get us all organized and posed and we were finished quickly. After the whole group, Hannah took a few of smaller family groups.
 

Afterwards, we had to put everything back where we had found it. The large rug was the only challenging part.

Another power nap, while holding the newest member of the Conder clan.

One of our favorite traditions when we get together for the holidays is a rousing round of "Chinese Christmas."

This gift with this little hat was a popular gift that was stolen multiple times. The hat is made out of cardboard and can be worn in multiple ways. It was really interesting.

 Our nephew, Tim, took this lovely apron home with him. No one felt the need to "steal" it from him.

 Kregg had to try on the hat.

 Rebekah fell in love with it, being the Origami specialist.

 Jeremiah is so silly!

Then, it was Caleb's turn.

And, finally, Mark had to offer his dramatic interpretation of how the hat should be worn, at a jaunty angle. 


We are so blessed to have such wonderful family gatherings and are very grateful for the willingness of Kregg's parents to be invaded by such a horde. 

Wrapping Up the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge

Photo Credit

Well, the challenge is now complete for 2011 and I am finishing up with the Bible as #52. For all the other books, I wrote a review/summary. I can't do that with the Bible. :)


If you have never read it all the way through, you would find many blessings by doing so. And it's the perfect time to start! There are many reading plans available, or you can buy a copy that is set up already divided into 365 sections so that you don't even have to think about keeping up with your spot.


Finishing with chapter 22 of Revelation, "Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen."

Link to the Challenge

The Story Behind the Ring

Kris is terrible at keeping secrets. Mackenzy knew when he was asking us for her hand. She knew when he bought her ring. She knew the time frame during which he was planning to propose. He is so excited, he can't help but talk to her about everything. And since they are normally separated by hundreds of miles, both working and going to school, when they do find time to talk, they want to talk about their future life together.


Since Kris asked our permission to marry Mackenzy a couple of months ago, she really has been quite patient waiting for that special day to arrive when they would be officially official. 


That day was to be Christmas Eve.


Kris was to fly in that morning, and the plan was to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with his family, then they would drive to Abilene and join all of us at Grandma and Grandpa's, with the rest of the Conder Clan. 


We left home on Friday afternoon. The weather forecast had the possibility of snow in it, but it hadn't begun when we left. After we left, however, several inches fell. That's amazing for us to have two snows in the same winter! 


The morning of Christmas Eve, Kris' father drove Mackenzy to the airport to pick him up. While there, they learned his flight was delayed. He had made it as far as Dallas, and they weren't sure whether they would actually head west or not. They did finally decide to board passengers and try to make it. As it turned out, they flew all the way to Midland, but were only allowed to circle. West Texas is not well equipped to handle frozen precipitation. The other planes that were in the holding pattern went all the way back to Dallas. Thankfully, Kris' plane stopped in, of all places, Abilene! Kregg drove out to the  airport and snatched him up before they changed their minds and took everyone back to Dallas.


Mackenzy, poor thing, was beside herself!


Here we were with Kris, in Abilene, on the day he was to propose. And there she was, still at home, in the same city as Kris' parents. Not exactly what they had planned. After consulting the Department of Public Safety, we decided Mackenzy could try to head toward Abilene. We didn't like the idea of her driving in the snow by herself, but she promised to take her time and be extra careful. Thankfully, the worst of it was localized around Midland.


A few hours later, she arrived safely. Kris had already "run the gauntlet" of meeting all the relatives by the time she arrived. In total, there were over 35 of us that eventually gathered. If that didn't scare him off, he's definitely a "keeper." :)


That evening, after we all had dinner, Kris and Mackenzy drove into town and walked around a beautifully lit college campus in Abilene, called Hardin Simmons. Under a large tree, lit by thousands and thousands of lights, he got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife.

When they returned, everyone wanted to congratulate them and see the ring. It was so sweet.

After the family picture on Christmas afternoon, they drove back to Midland to celebrate everything all over again with Kris' family. 


Now all the wedding planning may commence. Officially. :)

Lessons Learned (or Affirmed) in the Last Year: A Link-Up in "Pages in Our Heritage of Faith"

I still need to allow Him to purify my heart.


I still need to choose to receive the Grace He makes available, every moment of every day.


Without yielding my expectations, I easily become impatient.


My children are constantly learning from me, my best and my worst.


My heart can still expand to love more people, and love them more deeply.


I am still selfish.


There is still sanctification to take place in my heart through the most mundane tasks of homemaking.


As the reality that this world is not my home burrows deeper into my heart, it causes the pull of "here" to loosen its hold on my soul.


He is Faithful. Always.


My children are agents of free will and still need to be covered in prayer.


The skies do proclaim His Glory. Everyday. 


Discipline is a blessing.


The fruit He bears through us is ALL His doing.


It is a blessing to be completely submitted to the authority of my husband.


My heart knows Peace in proportion to my level of surrender to His Will.


I must allow Him to number my days aright that I might gain a heart of Wisdom.


The only way for me to take a single step in Victory is to be focused on Him.


Stuff will never make anyone happy.


The choice to be fully present in each moment makes all the difference in the quality of relationships.


I do not need to be understood. I simply need to trust Him to be my Defender.


Pride drives my tongue too often.


Perfect Love does cast out fear.


He provides Wisdom for mothers in perfect portions, and at perfect times.


He can redeem ANYTHING.


We need a bigger Vision! For He is able to do more than we ever imagined.


I can still be quite judgmental.


The Body of Christ is so very precious and so very powerful.


I am SO BLESSED!


He still has plans for the Antbed.


I need to be more faithful in prayer.


Time in our most valuable resource.


When He trusts us with "more," He will grant the Wisdom needed to bring Him more Glory.


The season of life in which we now find ourselves is one which He has been preparing us for all our lives. That is a sobering perspective, that should be driving us to more prayer.


I could go on and on and on. The point is, the Lord is so Faithfully speaking to me, teaching me, stretching me, disciplining me. And I want to be a good student as we begin a new year. 

How has He shown Himself Faithful in your life? Will you testify of His Faithfulness? Write it down!! Share it with your children! We need to glorify Him for what He does in our lives. We need to acknowledge His Faithfulness and give Him thanks. We need to think about it and pay attention. Otherwise, we can become forgetful, ungrateful, unaware. His Faithfulness can be seen in every moment of our days in ways we may not even recognize. The very fact that I am able to draw my next breath testifies to His Faithfulness to provide the air and to allow my lungs to function. Looking for His Faithfulness in my life causes my heart to assume the posture of humility that is appropriate before the Almighty God, Whom we are blessed to call Abba.


Will you share a page in your story? It can be something you wrote a long time ago or something you write today. It can be about any way He has been Faithful to you, to your family. Your testimony blesses those whom you share it with. Grab the button in the sidebar and add it to your post, please, so that others may join us here and hear of His Faithfulness. May He be Glorified by every word.

Ministering to Adoptive Parents

If you've hung around here for any length of time, you've heard our adoption story. Seven years into the journey, the Lord has brought us so far. He has carried us through the "long, dark night of the soul." He has been our foundation and anchor through the storms that raged as He formed us into a family of nine. Only He truly knew what it took to bring us this far. Only He was able to it. In our strength and wisdom, it would have been completely impossible. 


He wanted us to be completely dependent on Him. He wanted us to recognize our weakness so that we would stay focused on Him. He knew Josh and Ben would need to see us walking out the faith that simply does the next thing He tells us to do. Our biological children needed to walk that same path, believing in His Grace to accomplish His Will. 


As I've shared before, it was a very lonely journey. Our friends couldn't understand the dynamics of what was going on in our hearts, in our home. Everything looked, from the outside, like it was picture perfect. That was not an image we tried to create. We were actually frustrated that that is what people thought our life was like. 


When the Lord places someone in your family that you didn't birth, especially if it is not an infant being adopted, there is no "switch" to flip so that your heart automatically feels the depth of Love that has grown over years for children you gave birth to. If that is your expectation going into an adoption, you're probably going to be in for a bumpy ride. We didn't understand how difficult it could be to walk through the process of allowing the Lord to transplant children into our hearts, into our family. 


The "transplant surgery" is worth all the pain. But the pain is real and it is very intense. The evil one loves to whisper lies to you about His Sufficiency, trying to shake your faith in His ability to accomplish His Purposes through what He has asked of you. 


And this finally brings me to the point I hoped to make.


You probably know someone who has adopted a child. Even if all appearances lead you to believe that things are wonderful, they still need your prayers and encouragement. What an incredible blessing you can be to a mother or father who are walking out a very difficult calling. 


Why not drop them a note of encouragement, telling them you are praying for them?


You could write out a blessing for their new child and send it to them.


If you are able, offer to watch their children and give the parents a night out. It can be very hard, especially in the first few months, for the parents to have any time to themselves because newly adopted children can require constant supervision. Josh and Ben couldn't be left alone for a moment during the first several months they were here.


You could write out a prayer and drop it in the mail to them.


Get a couple of your friends to help you prepare a meal for the adoptive family. 


Often, after the initial "buzz" has worn off a few months into the journey, most people may think that the hard part is over. In reality, that can be when the "honeymoon" phase is over and the real work of training in values and undoing wrong values begins. That's the perfect time to let the adoptive parents know that you are still faithfully lifting them up in prayer. Call them and ask if you can drop by to pray over the family. What a blessing that will be to them! 


Tell them that they can call you anytime and simply say, "Pray now!" When they are in the midst of an intense session of training or spiritual warfare, knowing they can call for backup through prayer is like offering to be a safety net to them.


Ask for specific prayer needs for the family. It may be that dishonesty is a huge problem for the new child. You can make it a daily prayer that the new child will "desire Truth in the innermost places." When you join them in faithful prayer for a specific issue, you are offering incredible support. You are helping them wage war against spiritual strongholds in the spirit of the new child.


Be a listening ear for a mom whose heart is worn and weary. You don't have to offer answers. Just listen. By offering that service, you are assisting her in carrying the incredible weight of the spiritual burden she is bearing for "the least of these." 


Pray specifically for the Lord to build a hedge of protection around the adoptive family so that the attack of the evil one will be rendered powerless. You can be certain the family will be under attack because the evil one does not want that child to be set free from any generational curses or sins. 


Remember the story where Joshua and Aaron were holding Moses' arms up while the battle raged? That is what you can do for adoptive parents. Committing to pray on a regular basis for an extended time can offer an incredible amount of support and encouragement. They need support for years. You cannot imagine the blessing your ministry to them would be! 


The picture at the top of this post is from our trip to Alaska last year. It just seemed the perfect visual representation of how tenuous things can feel when you step out onto a path that is completely unknown, completely unpredictable, changing your entire family forever. To have faithful, loving prayer support and coverage is the best gift possible. Is there someone you could support in this way? 

Samuel's First Christmas

It's been a big year for our family. One of the most important things that happened was the birth of our first grandchild, Samuel. He's six months old now and only gets cuter. Yes, we are completely prejudiced. 

We got him a nativity. It's just his size and the figures are perfect for little hands. 

Everything goes in his mouth, so Jeremiah said, "This puts a new spin on the verse that says, 'Taste and see that the Lord is good.'"

Kregg has always done this with our babies, and so now he is initiating our grandchildren.

It's really a shame we don't have many pictures of him, isn't it?


Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!