Well, I do believe we have almost officially survived 2007. Christmas day was nice and relaxing for us! We went to my mom's and opened gifts, ate food and had some good ole QT. Jordan was pretty surprised with a new macbook from me, his parents, and my mom and her bf! So you can all imagine exactly what he has been doing for the last 6 days. Here are a few pics of course!

Jordan is "everything mac"

My mom helping the boys play with their new cars...disregard the tight PJ pants...nice.

Way too cool for school...stickers and all

Apparently Noelle likes macs too...

What, you don't wear shoes with your pj's?

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful...um, no you haven't.

This weekend was also Jordan's official last weekend at Sagebrush. We've both felt a bit indifferent about it. It's hard to say goodbye to something that you love...even a job. Working at a church will always be the more than just a job...maybe that's why it is so hard to leave. Either way, we will continue to seek the Lord's provision for where our family should be these next months. We are definitely looking forward to a brighter future ahead. Thanks to those of you who have supported Jordan and our family's next step. Your words of affirmation and encouragement in confusing times are coveted. And can I steal a moment just to say that I could not be more proud of my husband. I am proud of the man he is when he is praised and when he is not. I am proud of his unflailing honor and integrity to his ministry and to his family. I am proud of the living example he is of the mercy and humility of Christ. I am proud that my babies call him daddy and proud that he will forever be mine. I really can't think of a way to improve that man.

What it means to be held

I really am not a scrooge. I tell myself this in kind of a convincing way. I admit that I get a little overwhelmed at the thought of buying gifts and all the things necessary for a "successful" Christmas. Our anniversary is the 22nd of December...which I love! We had a fantastic day and evening to ourselves...thank you mom! But this weekend has set a little different tone of Christmas for me. The presents are still here...the food is prepared...I am wearing my official "Christmas Eve" pajamas as I am writing. My kids are sleeping and my husband (aka Santa) is putting together a train set for the boys. So here is where it gets a little off track...Saturday morning a friend of mine called to tell me that her aunt, who had been diagnosed with cancer only 2 weeks ago, passed away unexpectedly that morning. It was difficult to hear her raw emotion, and I truly hurt for her. This morning another friend called to tell me her grandma was found unconscious and they were spending their Christmas Eve at the hospital....waiting. Tomorrow, Christmas Day, is the same day years ago that my own grandpa lost his battle with lung cancer and my mom and I made an impromptu Christmas flight to Ohio. With all that said, yesterday at church a song was sang that I had never heard. I see it's pretty popular now that I have officially "googled" it, but it was new to me. It is called "Held" by Natalie Grant. It's a raw song about hurt, loss and devastation. Here are the lyrics to the chorus that is so touching to me through this past weekend...

This is what it means to be held

How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved and to know

That the promise was that when everything fell

We’d be held

The song is a reality check that horrible, devastating things can and probably will happen to us...even to those who "have died to live" as the song says. Our promises aren't that nothing will fall...only that He will be there to hold us when it does. Losing the ones I love is the biggest fear that I have. I refuse to even play out those "what if" emotions in my head, but I am comforted knowing that in all things I will be held. So this Christmas, I am praying for and hurting for my friends that I dearly love. I am also remembering how much I miss my Grandpa...I miss being called his "little pill" and how he and Grandma would come to our house every October and he would spend all day fixing up every broken lawn chair in our backyard. I miss feeling how spikey his hair was against my little hands and feeling so proud to be his "Roseann Rosanna-danna". But above all these things, I am spending this Christmas being "held" in His arms.

This is me and my grandpa about 24 years ago!

Fun family visits!

This week we were lucky enough to see BOTH Papa (Stacy's dad) and Grandaddy (Jordan's dad). Papa came into town Friday night and Uncle Matt and Aunt Sara were here on Saturday. We had tons of fun...the boys absolutely love when family comes to visit and so do Jordan and I. Noelle was in love with them all...of course. It was the perfect visit for everyone! Papa really took it for the team by sleeping with Landon and getting peed on TWICE...sorry Dad! One day we'll have a spare bedroom!

Noelle and Grandaddy laughing at each other!

More love with Grandaddy!

Papa and the kids!

Noelle and Papa!

We are getting pretty excited about Christmas! We have an awesome christian advent calendar that we got a few years ago and the boys love looking forward to the story every night. They get to hear the Christmas story almost every night in December! If anyone out there wants to know where we got it, let me know!