Seven for Sunday

1. She did it!

Kloe has been saving up for a trampoline for like forever. She has saved and saved and saved, and I'm so proud of her! So many times she would say, "I want this or that..." but would choose not to buy it and instead keep saving. She asked for money for her birthday, and had several other "donations" from grandparents and other relatives. When we were at Grandma's house for Thanksgiving, she gave Kloe a jar full of pennies, and when we counted it all out there was just over $10.00 - just enough to put her over the top of her goal!! We went to W*lmart last Sunday and she bought her trampoline with her very own money. She was sooo excited!



Jacob (and Annie) helped Daddy put it together.



Way to go, baby girl, you did it! I'm so proud of you!!



2. Advent. It is sooo overwhelming to me. There are so many books and calendars and traditions and different ways to do it. Singing. Reading. Scripture. Stories. Crafts. Baking. Chains. Candles. It totally and completely makes my head spin. And so I've avoided it until this year. Recently I saw this free devotional being offered by Ann at Holy Experience, and it was all laid out so nice and neat, so easy, all there in one place. I decided this was something I could manage and was just about to hit "print" when I ran across this book:

From the website: "After running away from his father's tents in a moment of anger, ten-year-old Jotham has lost his way, and his family. As he journeys through Palestine in search of his nomadic home, Jotham is helped by a fool, a priest, a zealot and a wise man. Chased by a gang of thieves, thrown from one "foster parent" to another, Jotham slowly discovers the miracle of the first Christmas, and some miraculous things about his own life and his own family.

Written as a devotional for parents to read to their children during Advent, Jotham's Journey unfolds day by day until the exciting climax on Christmas Day. Each day's installment of the story is followed by a short devotional which will challenge your family to share in Jotham's discoveries."

I loved the idea of a progressive story, so I ordered it from Amazon and it arrived in two days! :) About half way through the first night's reading, Jacob sighed and said, "I love this. I love hearing stories this way. I love it when you read stories to me." It was perfect. And, true to the author's predictions, at the end of the first night, Kloe asked with eager anticipation, "Can we read day two? Pleeease?"

And so....ahhh. Simple, easy, intriguing. There are so many traditions I would love to do for Advent. But for now, this is perfect for us.

3. I have to admit I was a little sad that no one played along with my little stolen meme last week.

4. I know I'm supposed to be getting in the Christmas spirit, but I'm still basking in the beauty of fall that's all around us here. This is the scene outside our lobby window at work. So beautiful...



5. And, these guys are back in town....one of my very. favorite. parts. of fall.



6. The Mister and my mom threw a surprise birthday party for me yesterday. Yep, I really was surprised. I actually was surprised that I was surprised! Mister threw me a surprise party for my 35th and...umm...yeah. Not surprised. But yesterday they totally got me! :) Only problem is, when the surprise is for me, well, there are no pictures because telling me to bring the camera is not too conducive to the whole surprise thing. It was lots of fun. All except for the old people jokes.

7. With The Voyage of the Dawn Treader coming out next week, the Mister is doing a re-screening of Narnia LWW tonight to see if we think it's ok for the kids to see yet. We've never let them watch it because of the wolves and the sacrifice scene. I love, love, love that movie, but we're very particular about what we allow into their hearts and minds. Overly so, some would say. But we believe it's imperative to guard - and teach them to guard - their hearts.

The first time I saw LWW (in the theater) I was in the middle of doing Beth Moore's Believing God study, and I just wept through the entire movie because of all the symbolism. Peter's sword. And shield. "Stay your weapons. This is Peter's battle." "He's not a tame lion. No, but he's good." Oh my word. I could cry right now just thinking about it.