A favorite Christmas treat for our family is homemade Egg Nog. This year my 7-year old daughter Hannah helped me whip up a batch for a Christmas party for our Kids’ Ministry Leaders. After sampling it for what she said was her first time ever she decided it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. We had to whip up another batch a few days later for our family to properly inhale, I mean enjoy. 🙂 It’s super easy & because it’s Christmas the calorie intake doesn’t count. Enjoy!
They say beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
It’s a romantic notion. But also one that suggests that beauty can somehow change or shift depending upon the person observing it. Take for example me. I’m not altogether sure most people would look at me and think I’m beautiful. I’d like to think I’m not overtly offensive to most, but still the word beautiful seems a stretch. It’s a description we tend to save for those things or people who are truly special to us. The interesting thing is that while most would not bestow this title upon me, my husband does. He absolutely thinks I’m beautiful. At times it baffles me. Early on in our marriage I just flat out thought that he was full of it. That he was just flattering me. But I’ve come to realize that he truly believes it. When he looks at me he sees more than just my outer or physical attributes, he sees who I really am. He knows me. And he believes me to be beautiful. And you know what?
I keep trying to sum up my trip to Africa in a word or a few short sentences. I have so many wonderful friends & family members who supported me along the way and they want to know, “How was it?”
And so I keep grasping for the right word. There must be one. Or the right the answer. Something to say to the neighbor in that 5-minute window we have that will capture all my thoughts and feelings about the incredible country and the amazing people I met during my trip. But honestly, there’s just not. And it almost seems to cheapen the experience to not share it all. To just say, “It was amazing” or “Life changing.” Although it was, in fact, both of these things.
I love it when something “clicks” in my parenting journey. I love it when there’s a connection point for me or my kids, or both if we’re really lucky. As a mom I’m constantly devouring anything I can in regards to parenting. Books, blogs, magazine articles, absolutely anything. Sometimes I wonder how I can take in so much great information and still be such a klutz when it comes to applying it. But when those “connection moments” happen, it can be pretty powerful.
Pulling the covers up tight around my daughter’s face the way she likes them. Just her little wide eyes and the very top part of her nose peeking out. Tucking the blankets up and under her feet, making her all snug and cozy. I lean in and whisper to her how thankful I am that she’s mine. Leaning in, I kiss the top of her head as I say a prayer over her. In that moment He whispers to my heart: I want you to lean in to me like you lean in to her.
But leaning is kind of personal. A certain amount of vulnerability comes with it. After all, we don’t tend to lean in to people we don’t know all that well. Or trust all that well.
