Christmas Vision

I was all set to share a picture of the stage at our church today, even took two pictures with my phone, but neither came out good at all. I'm so disappointed, because it's pretty remarkable. Hopefully Katy and I will remember to take her camera next week and we can get a better picture to share, but as a teaser, imagine Narnia with 4 big trees created from paper mache, I think. Also a bridge over a babbling brook, water and all, which a guitarist stood on while playing during a special of U2's "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". The stage is pretty incredible, but so was the song.

At any rate, we just began a series on Christmas, of course, which focuses on being treasured and recognizing the true vision of Christmas. It got me to thinking, during service (you know, when I should have been fully concentrating on the message), of what I really treasure in my life. I'm thankful for the treasure of a God who loves me enough to let me vent when things aren't going how I want them to go, Who is patient with me and leads me with a firm hand in the direction He has for me, for us as a family. Even as I am struggling with our move to this place, this desert, I know that if my focus is entirely on God, everything around will become a non-factor in my level of happiness.

I also treasure Katy, who has brought me a level of peace and comfort I knew I was looking for, but thought I'd never have. I treasure my children very much; Claire, my beautiful 12-year-old who is so caring, so loving and so funny that I never tire of talking to her; and Zac, my handsome, hilarious little bundle of joy, constantly pushing the boundaries of fun with his cute little habits, like clapping his hands when he wakes up, even if he's actually unhappy.

I know both Katy and I can honestly say we treasure our families very much, with wonderful parents who have loved and led us down the right path and done a great job of teaching us how to be good for each other and good parents ourselves. And, despite the challenges siblings throw on you growing up, or even in adulthood, we both very much love them as well, and not even begrudgingly! :)

Thought you might enjoy two pics today, since I couldn't get a good one from church to make it three. This one of Claire is of some pictures they just had taken for Christmas at Olan Mills. I hope it's safe to put this up here, as I just wanted to share something current of Claire for all to see. :) Then this one of Zac was taken this morning when we got home from church. We've moved him into the bigger car seat when in Katy's car, and it turns out it's pretty good for sleeping as well! Take care, all.

Toe Blowing

Yes, I know, not the most benign title in the world, but it grabs your attention at least a little bit, doesn't it? On Wednesday nights, we are in a couples Bible study through church and it's in Odessa. Now that Zac is in daycare in Odessa, that means I'm picking him up after work. From a time perspective, it doesn't make much sense to then drive back to Midland, turn around and head right back to Odessa, at least not every week.

On Wednesdays we have to eat out anyway, due to timing, so we try to eat cheaply. Taco Bell was the choice this week, and in typical fashion around here, it took about 15 minutes to get our food. At Taco Bell. When nobody was in front of us. Yes, that's how bad food service is here. It should pick up once the oil bust occurs and there are more employees around, but the main reason it's bad is that the workers don't care.

Anyway, during that wait, I fed Zac some dinner, chicken & vegetable I believe, and then we were playing. He got a kick out of me blowing on his toes, so I decided to capture a little of it on my phone and here it is. :)



On another front, Claire is getting to be online quite a bit recently, so I get to chat with her now. Makes it a lot better when I know we can connect more often!

Found Us A Church Home

Well, we have found a church home. You may recall a previous post where I mentioned we'd narrowed it down to two churches. We had intended to visit both of them again, but decided after re-visiting Crossroads Fellowship this past week that it is where we feel the most comfortable.

From the moment we checked Zac into the Nursery, which I can only describe as ridiculously high-tech, very well organized and full of enough play areas that Katy and I seriously considered skipping out on the service, we felt this was the right fit. While we had enjoyed the worship the first Sunday in August when we first visited, it felt like even more of a fit this week. Great band, great message and service, and of course the most important part, movie theater seating. See, after spending almost a year at Heartland Church in Omaha, which met in a movie theater, we've become a bit spoiled and now seem to feel as though we "deserve" this seating design. While they aren't as wide or comfortable as the ones in the actual theater, don't rock and don't have cup holders, they do the trick. :)