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Does your grandpa eat ice cream like my grandpa eats ice cream?

I think that there was some frozen yogurt underneath there somewhere.

My Grandpa Obenchain had a birthday this weekend and we took him out to celebrate at U-Swirl last night. It was fun to watch him select his flavors and toppings.  He's very eclectic...and still a kid at heart.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

We love you.

Redeeming the Mundane Minutes

I will be the first to admit that I was not completely thrilled to have Marc spend his Christmas bonus on an iPad.  Sure, it sounded fun...but completely unnecessary.  I didn't want another electronic gadget causing quarrels among the girls, tempting me to waste time on the internet, sucking away hours of precious life, etc.  Now I will be the first to tell you what a blessing that little machine has been around here.  It has redeemed HOURS of mundane activity for me...while getting ready in the morning, while folding laundry, while cooking meals, while mopping the floors and so on.  These days, I can't wait to have a mundane mommy task to do!  That's because I know that I will get 10 minutes of good teaching from the likes of John Piper, Steven Cole, Timothy Keller, Francis Chan, etc.  Over the course of a day I can easily listen to at least one whole sermon.  That's time and money well spent spent, don't you think?!

(Words with Friends is pretty fun too!)

PS. Thanks to any of you who prayed for little Kirstin.  She was released from the hospital this week and is isolated at home, still taking oral antibiotics.  I wanted to give you an update from her mom and grandma:

Andrea wrote ... Today we went for our final Dr. visit for now....in a few months we will be meeting with the neurosurgeon and an ear specialist. We are encouraged as Kirstin's blood work looked good. A few days ago she started rolling over again, yesterday she sat up, today she wanted to crawl a bit on a bed etc. It is so exciting to see her regain her strength. She is a very sweet baby. The 3D pictures of her fracture are unbelievable...it is hard to believe all our baby has gone through but God is good.
Kirstin's Grandma wrote ... Little one year old Kirstin (at home) sat on her own yesterday, has already crawled a little, smiles often, is content and peaceful. Her personality is still not the same but we are so happy for her progress. Thank you Lord and thank you to all who have prayed and been part of her medical care. So many things for which to be grateful!!!!

Please Pray for Kirstin

After dropping my Facebook account over two years ago, I felt compelled to reactivate it this week.  I had heard (via another blog) that one of my dear friends from high school was in a difficult situation and needed prayer.  I couldn't get any other information and I knew that all the details and updates would be on her Facebook page.  I was right.

My Mom has given me good advice when bad things happen:  "Go to the Throne, not the phone."  I have done that.  God has not let this friend out of my mind and I have been praying constantly for her.  But now I'm also going to the phone - or in this case, to the blog reading world.  Please pray for my friend Andrea Higdon, her husband Kristjan and her children...especially baby Kirstin.  Kirstin turned one last week, but she was in the ICU for her birthday.  I still don't know what happened, but about 10 days ago she suffered a major fracture on her skull.  That sounds bad enough, but really the fracture is not the issue at this time.  Since the injury, Kirstin has had a persistent high fever, low appetite and partial facial paralysis due to an infection of meningitis.  She has already had a blood transfusion, a couple of CT scans and is receiving antibiotics and nutrition intravenously.  She is really fighting for her life!

Andrea and I were missionary kids together in Brazil.  Her husband went to Master's while I was there.  Andrea and Kristjan have been living on the beautiful island of Madeira - off the coast of Portugal - for several years.  Kirstin is in a local hospital that is terribly understaffed.  The nurses are kind, but the doctors have not provided the best of care.  You can imagine how difficult this must be for Andrea and KJ as parents.  Please pray for:
     1.  Healing for Kirstin - that the antibiotics would work, no new infection would develop and that the fever would go away.  Pray for her tiny body to sustain all the pokes and prodding.
     2.  Strength for Andrea and KJ - They split their time between the hospital and their three other children  at home.  Thankfully, Andrea's mom was able to fly over there to help out.
     3.  Good Doctors - That they would be kind, thorough and competent in their care.
     4.  God's glory - The Higdon family is being watched by many people on the island and at that particular hospital.  Pray that even in this horrible trial, they would maintain an excellent testimony for the God they love and serve.  Pray that their faith and hope would remain strong.

You can read more general information about them at their website, here.  Thanks for praying for them!

Christmas at the cabin is about...

... the stockings on the mantle.

 ... playing lots and lots and lots of games.

... being together. 

... visiting Grandpa's workshop. 

... reading! 

 (Did I mention LOTS of games?!)

... making pizza with Grandma.  (Check the new Christmas nail polish!)

 ... cousins getting into mischief together.

 ... doing puzzles.

 ... rain puddles!  (Rain puddles?!  Yes.  Sadly, there was hardly any snow.)

... keeping the woodpile well stocked.

... eating cinnamon rolls!

... and driving Grandpa nuts by decorating his animals.

Merry Christmas

By:  Ally (age 5)

Generosity

I have spent the better part of this morning trying to find a book, or rather, a certain paragraph in a book.  I was not successful.  But SOMEWHERE I remember reading a good illustration about generosity, so I'm going to have to paraphrase it for you here.  Now, maybe it means a little bit more to me because I lived in Israel for several years.  As a kid, I floated in the Dead Sea and swam in the Sea of Galilee.  (How cool is that?!)  But I think that you'll still get the point.

"There are two lakes in Israel and there are two kinds of people in the world." 

The Dead Sea in the south has an inlet, but no outlet.  It receives but it never gives.  The land around it is arid and lifeless.  Although its water is rich in minerals it is not suitable for drinking or sustaining life.

The Sea of Galilee in the north has both and inlet and outlet.  The landscape around it is green and refreshing.  Animals and humans alike benefit from its supply of fresh water.

And so it is with people.  There are those who always receive and yet are like a parched wasteland.  They never give and therefore the landscape around them dries up.  And then there are those who have a constant outlet for their blessings.  They give and give and give, yet they never run dry.  They are refreshed and they bless those around them.

My sister is one of those people.  She never comes over to our house without some kind of blessing - usually a cute item of clothing for the girls that she picked up at the Other Mother's 25 cent sale or a super-duper couponing bargain item for my pantry.  In fact, she has a whole closet in her house called "the gift closet."  It is full of baby items, clearance clothing, toys, lotions, etc.  If you looked up "generosity" in the dictionary, her picture would be there!  For sure.

I mention this because lately our family has received one blessing after another.  I posted about the beautiful Christmas tree that someone delivered, but I haven't told you about the card that someone left in our church mailbox yesterday.  $100 cash - no signature.  Or, how about the large Scrip gift donations through the families at Marc's school?  One blessing after another.  It's been so encouraging and so humbling.  I just hope that we never end up like the Dead Sea.

My Flammy

I love these people - plain and simple.

I love that we enjoy being together. I love our dumb family jokes. I love that my kids beg to spend time with their aunts and uncles. I love that my girls don't know whether to call my dad Grandpa or Pastor. I love getting to hear Dad's teaching every Sunday! I love that Sierra and Ally are taking piano lessons from Grandma Phyllis. I love the vicious love-hate relationship that Valerie and Riley have right now. I love to watch Annie and Ally become completely engrossed in the Polly Pocket world. I love my mom's Bible study lessons. I love that we play board games together - even if Benjy usually wins. I love that we get to spend these years together in Idaho. Who would ever have imagined that all of us would be living within 20 miles of each other?! We've been spread across the country and across the world for a long time. This is a very blessed time.

PS - Happy Birthday to Missy and Susie this week!