Las Posadas

People have been celebrating Las Posadas since its introduction in Mexico by Fray Diego de Soria in 1587. On the nine nights before Christmas, friends and neighbors gather to recreate the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and their search for lodging on the night of Christ's birth. These ceremonies are called posadas, which means inn or lodging. With lighted candles the procession goes from house to house and shelter is denied. Finally, the procession comes to a home where they are welcomed with refreshments and a piñata game for the children.

Tonight, Sister Petra (an old friend of my mom's) graciously invited us to attend "Las Posadas" at La Villa (Catholic Church). We had such a great night of singing and laughing and eating and talking and watching all the people. The "sisters" organized the event that brought different people of all ages and ethnic groups to participate. Walking from place to place and listening to the songs (all in Spanish), reminded me of my childhood.
My Mom's family used to get together on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Christ and have a great time with the family. The night would start off with a prayer and a Christmas Pageant play. The kids each took part in it and had a blast reinacting the Christmas story. Then we'd eat menudo and tamales (of course, talking away with our family and the kids running around with excitement like mad-children). Then, we would gather together to do "Las Posadas", going from room to room singing the songs and rejoicing at the end b/c finally "Mary" was able to settle and give birth to Jesus. We'd sing American Christmas songs and gather around the tree to open presents. Our family was so big that we had to pick names, which was always fun! We'd each get a chance in the "spotlight" (in front of the tree and everyone else) to open our gift from our cousins. When it was 11:30ish, we'd all get our jackets and jump in the car to go to La Villa for midnight mass. Once there, sometimes, we kids were able to dress up like angels to sing. What a night that would be for us all... young and old alike! :)

Okay, sorry for the long detailed flashback... here are some of the pics that I took tonight! :) We has such a fun and blessed time.

Me & Rachel in front of the chapel.R and Mom

Sister Petra (the lady who invited us) asked us if R could be an angel. When we asked her she said yes. They found the smallest outfit and it was still big, but we tied it up real well and off she went. :) She really took her part seriously. ;) She kept running to catch up with the other "angels". ;)



Tia Paz and Daisy showed up during the singing outside. Rachel and Daisy were helping each other to catch up to the other "actors". :)
God truly blessed us with a fun night. I am glad that R was able to experience one of our Mexican traditions first-hand. I believe that these experiences will help my little girl to embrace our Mexican heritage.



"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage of David), to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child."

"And so it was, that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

-- Luke 2:1-7

Oak Hills Family Fun Day

Our church had a great family fun day to celebrate it's 50th anniversary. R and I picked up my mom and headed over this morning. :) It was so much fun...

R got her face painted for the first time... yes, it's a chocolate ice cream cone! ;)


R jumped in the moon bounce.
R petted the softest bunny ever.
R got to sit on a pony.
R rode the "train".

And best of all, she got to go up on stage to sing praise and worship songs.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

Well, a little bit! ;) We have a small 4.5 foot tree that we bought 3 years ago when we moved back into an apartment. Rachel is now almost as tall as the tree! She had such a blast helping me put up the ornaments. She loved to look at each one while I told her about who gave it to us. There are many stories from each ornament that makes it so much fun to share with R. :) Here she is showing off our little tree finally done! ;) (I usually try to put up the tree and decorations on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but we actually spent the morning at the stores then hung out at my parents house for leftovers. ;) Saturday was another day of relaxing and then going to run some errands then enjoying church. Sunday was the day we finally got to start the Christmas season in our home. ;)

On Sunday morning we went to eat at a local Mexican restaurant because Ben just has to have tacos or chilaquiles once during the weekend. :) When Ben was paying for the meal, I took R to the car to leave. The waiter came running out after us and gave us that reindeer that R is holding. He said that he was addicted to playing The Crane Game located in the restaurant and he had many stuffed animals. He said that he gave one stuffed animal to each child at his table. That was so sweet! R just loved on him all day. :) That was a nice blessing for R! :)

Craft time! R and I worked on a craft one night last week when Ben was working late! It was so much fun to get our "creative juices" flowing. She had a great time making this gingerbread bag for her friend Payton. :)

R showing off her new Disney princess slippers.

Matthew 1:21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Thanksgiving 2008

We had such a great time at my mom's and dad's house for Thanksgiving. :) We were able to eat our lunch outside this year because it was so much warmer than other years. :) It was so nice to see our family and friends. :) And of course the food was delicious! :)

God has blessed me tremendously and I am so thankful to Him each and everyday for His love and faithfulness and grace and mercy and redemption and goodness...

Here's a recap of our Thanksgiving day:
We took pics before we ate...
I'm commanding Ben to hurry! I was getting hungry and you don't mess with Hungry Melony! ;)
After lunch R was having a blast playing with her friends. Here she is running to her "clubhouse".
Yum, I want pickles too! ;) R's playing with her friends eating pretend food!

The Girls! Ashley, Fatima and R

Mom and DadBen and I

The loves of my life! :)

Colossians 3:14-16 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Thankful...

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

An excerpt from Rachel Olsen's blog (Proverbs 31 Ministries)

Welcome if you've found your way here from my devotion. Feel free to introduce yourself and maybe tell me what are you thankful for at this moment on this day.

If answering that question is surprisingly harder that you expected, maybe you should join me in staring a gratitude journal. I've keep one in the past and I can tell you it is certain to stoke the fires of gratefulness in your heart, and bring the many benefits of "thank you power" I wrote about in the devotion linked here. You just have to commit to doing it several nights a week - it only takes a couple minutes.

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I wanted to take the time to write down 5 things that I am thankful for today:
*My sweet husband took care of Rachel for most of the day on Saturday so that I could go to a jewelry party. He also made Rachel and I dinner last night. :)
*The wonderful kisses and hugs (squeezes) that Rachel gave me this morning while we were playing. She also told me that she was having so much fun playing with me. Awwwww!
*I loved this beautiful weather God is giving us today! So sunny and bright and just the right temp. :)
* I am grateful for my sweet friends... yesterday I had a blast listening to and eating with and talking to my friend Emily while the kiddos played so nicely. God has blessed me with such fabulous friends. :)
*The great sleep that I got last night was amazing! God gave me such peace and rest last night that I didn't get up at all for 7 hours straight! :)
*My wonderful mom and dad who are always so supportive and helpful... tomorrow they are going to be taking care of Rachel so Ben and I can go out on a date! :)

"Member Mommy?"

Rachel always asks me if I "member" things from when she was a little girl. I tell her the stories of her being a baby and she just loves them. She asks me to tell her again and again. I was just going to post some pics of R's clubhouse, but found some pics that help me "member" my baby as a baby.

Here she is only 1 week old... I wanted to put a pic of her first Halloween, but don't have it right now, so this will do.

R at 15 months as Pocahontas for Halloween '06.

R as a ballerina princess @ 27 months for Halloween '07.

R as Alexa (Diamond Castle Princess) for Halloween '08.

Okay, so here are the pics that I took this week of R, my mom and I enjoying her "clubhouse". :)

It's too much fun! Mom and I even enjoy being in there talking and playing with R. It's warm when it's cold outside and cool enough when it is warm outside. :) Thanks Papa, we are all enjoying it so much! :)

Tea Time @ Rachel's Cottage.

I love this girl so much!

R playing with her bear and baby. She's a good little mommy.

Tada! Thanks AGAIN Papa!

A little behind

The Saturday before last, Ben was so sweet to take care of Rachel for the morning so that I could help my mom and aunt do a "Wreath Workshop" with Friends. :) Mom just has a natural touch when making floral decorations. My Aunt Paz asked her if she'd help her and some work friends with making some holiday wreaths. Mom agreed and we all met at Hobby Lobby to make sure that all the materials were picked out and purchased. We all then headed to mom's patio to work on the wreaths on that beautiful day! :)

Tia Paz showing off some of her beautiful bird ornaments to be put on her wreath. :)

Mom and Ms. Gerloff finishing her Hanukkah decoration. Carrie showing her final product! ;)

Alma had to leave early, but she bought alot of great items to freshen up this wreath! :)After we had lunch, I headed home to give Ben a break. Rachel woke up from her nap and was given a little "parize" (her word for surprise) from mommy. New Cinderella sunglasses!

Jump to Tuesday Morning for our Women's Bible Study. Rachel wanted her picture taken in front of the beautiful flowers outside of the Bibleland classes. She loves her school. :)

Afterwards, we went to Alamo cafe to celebrate Ms. Emily's b-day! :) She had one of her sons, Jackson join us. He and Rachel were so good during this lunch. We were quite proud. :)

Happy B-day Emily! May God continue to bless you and your family!

Ms. Susan and Ms. Kim joined us...
Susan was a sport and let me take a pic of her!
I wasn't so lucky to get Kim's pic! ;)

Okay, onto some fun news from Papa and Lala's house... Dad has been wanting to build Rachel a little play house. He mentioned it a month ago or so and was in the planning stage. He thought about and even got a plan from online to see how to build it. He was showing us and telling us all about it, but the planning stage was a bit longer than Rachel wanted. On Halloween, while Dad was pushing Rachel on the swing, she asked him about her house. The conversation went something like this...
Rachel: Papa?
Papa: Yes.
Rachel: When you make my clubhouse?
Papa: Well, tomorrow I am going to Home Depot to get some supplies...
Rachel interrupting Papa: No Papa! TODAY!
Papa laughs....

Well, that night, mom told me that her pushing really got him going and thinking, so the next day he began. It took a few weekends and some help from mom, Rachel, me and their neighbor Lonnie to get it done! :) Here are some pics of the almost finish project. I will upload the finished project soon!

Devo from Russell Pond

I prayed: "Lord, this is kind of scary."

His words rang through my spirit, "Can you trust me?"

"Yes Lord, I trust you. I trust you with my life and with my death. I trust you with all that I am and with all that I have" (John 14:1).

The fear melted away.

Just two days before that hotel experience, I had boarded a plane from Dallas to Tokyo. Thirteen hours in a cramped cabin flying 6 miles above the ground at almost 10 times the speed I drive my car could be terrifying. But again I prayed, "Lord, I trust you with all my heart" (Proverbs 3:5).

Away from my family, more fearful thoughts about their safety filled my mind. Again, a prayer, "Lord, I entrust my family to your care. You are more than able to guard them and keep them safe" (2 Timothy 1:12).

Learning to trust God has been the cornerstone of my recovery process. Anxiety and fear can easily consume my mind when those fearful thoughts are not dealt with. The cycle of "what if's" can spin wildly out of control. It's a cycle most of you know very well.

"Well Russell, you have such strong faith. It's easy for you to trust God." Constantly, people write to me with these kinds of comments. But, it's not as easy as they claim. I still battle fearful thoughts. The cycle of "what if's" still sneaks its way into my mind. Strong faith does not equal perfect peace. Perfect peace comes from total trust.

One aspect of faith is how you respond to the crumbling world around you, especially when you can't understand all the reasons why. Can you trust God even when nothing makes sense? Can you trust him with your life? With your death? Can you trust him even when you don't understand?

When those fearful thoughts come crashing in, I've learned to cry out in prayer: "Lord, I don't really understand why this is happening, but I will trust you. I want to run and scream and panic! But, I will stand still and not give in to the fear. I will trust you."

I encourage you this week with Proverbs 3:5, my life scripture: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding." Trusting God is the foundation of faith. When you can place all of your trust in your Father, especially when nothing makes sense, then his "peace that passes all understanding will fill your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).

Prayer: Lord, I want to trust you more. Teach me to trust in the midst of fear. Teach me to rest in the midst of the storms.

Blessings!

God bless our Veterans and Troops

Handprints of Love by Renee Myers

“Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.” Proverbs 31:31 (NLT)

Devotion:

Oh, the memories of summer days spent with my husband’s parents at their cozy lake cottage. My mother-in-law Jeanette was a wonderful hostess who always made us feel welcomed and loved. Their peaceful home sat on a canal that led to the lake. The views from the windows looked across a tree-shaded yard to the canal where their boat was docked. At any time you could look out to see ducks wandering in the yard or floating by, cranes flying overhead, boats motoring along, or fish jumping out of the water. Our young son loved to stand at the windows with his hands pressed against the glass to catch these fascinating sights.

While talking to Jeanette after one of our visits she said, “This might sound funny, but I haven’t washed the windows since you were here last. I still enjoy seeing your son’s handprints on the glass and just can’t bring myself to wash them off.” Silently I thought to myself, “No, that doesn’t sound funny at all. I never wash our windows either!” Then my heart allowed me to be touched by what she’d just said. Although she was an excellent housekeeper who liked everything neat and tidy, she looked past perfection and sought preservation of the moments her grandchild spent in her home, leaving his handprints behind as evidence of the happy times they’d shared.

Hmmm…I had a lot to learn from her. I was so busy trying to be a good mom and keep up with my tasks (which included wiping off all the sticky handprints I found), that I was overlooking precious “handprint moments” with my own son. I wasn’t allowing myself to stand back and cherish them as my mother-in-law had so wisely done.

Psalm 127:3 tells me that children are a gift from the Lord. In the busyness of motherhood, I failed to see and cherish him as such. Wisdom spoke through the loving words of my mother-in-law to remind me.

I’ve learned many lessons from Jeanette’s kind and gentle ways. She treated me as a daughter-in-love, not a daughter-in-law. I’ve never heard her raise her voice or speak negatively of others. Although Jeanette was a retired elementary teacher, she never stopped teaching the things that mattered most. She took pride in her duties as a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother up until the day she lost her life to cancer.

She left handprints of love on my heart that will never be wiped away, evidence of deeds that publicly declare her praise (Proverbs 31:31).

Dear Lord, please help me to leave handprints of love on my loved ones hearts, just as You have done on the hearts of those who turn to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reflections:

Whose handprints of love are on your heart?

How might you live your life so that you can leave handprints of love on the hearts of others?

How can you honor those whose love-lessons have made a difference for you?

Power Verses:

Titus 2:1, “But as for you, promote the kind of living that reflects right teaching.” (NLT)

1 Peter 1:22b, “Love one another deeply, from the heart.” (NIV)

John 15:12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (NIV)

Halloween Fun

Rachel dressed up as a cheerleader for her Bible Class Harvest Party. :) She was so excited to get the party started, that she didn't even want to go and pick up Lala that morning. Too silly! Lala didn't mind, though, because she knew how excited R was! :)

Rachel was Alexa, a Diamond Castle Barbie Princess, for Halloween. :)

Here mom was helping her get ready to go trick-or-treating and then to pass out treats. :)

Here is the Diamond Castle Princess Alexa that Daddy got for her.

Cheese!

Mommy & R...