Whoa, it's December!

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Man, where did the year go? I was barely exhaling from an exhausting semester of Sociology and Advanced Excel,then Thanksgiving dinner and now it's time to "deck the halls"? I'm late already!

The storage is still being swapped out. The rooms are still being reduced and organized. Pantry stock is dwindling from lack of time to go grocery shopping lately. But one thing I knew I couldn't compromise on is our whole month tribute to the Lord's birthday during this month.

It starts like this...

We light candles or one big candle and we turn down all the lights. We choose to either be in complete silence or have a reverent Christmas song in the background, barely audible... Then we choose a story, any story; as long as it reminds us to be better people because Jesus Christ wants us to be better people.

Tonight, we started with "A Brother Like That", a tale of unselfish love of one brother for his crippled sibling. All he wanted was to give his little brother all that he couldn't because he is crippled, starting with a great car that can show him all the wonderful things he's missed out on.

I then asked the kids what they "shared" today. A cue that sometimes, the act of sharing is what's important, not what was shared...

This is Kila's first exposure to our Christmas traditions. It was a great feeling to see her willing to participate and share in our special efforts to show our Redeemer the honor HE deserves during this time of year.

FREE Gourmet Dinner Tonight!

Today was just a normal day; the kids went to school and progress reports came home. Homeworks were done and checked. Forms signed and put back in the folders.

The kids wanted a specific meal but I don't have one of the ingredients for it, so they'll have to wait until we go to the grocery store next time. Of course, sometimes that's a blessing. Also, do you remember when I posted about stocking up to share? And I told you how blessings pour out when you do?

Here's proof: Check out this dinner menu:

Italian Wedding Soup
Ribeye steak
Garlic Fried Rice
Potatoes & Green Beans Steamers
Ice Water
Cheesecake slivers

Delish and gourmet, right? But it's all FREE! Yes, FREE!

First, my awesome neighbor, Annette, got a humongous cheesecake last night. This afternoon, she surprised us with half and claims that they have more in their house. Yikes! The cheesecake slices are big enough for 3 people! Then, I found two medium sized ribeye steaks in the freezer and baked them in foils. After we made the fried rice from leftovers. I also found a bag of Potatoes and Green Beans Steamers from last month's grocery trip and the can of soup was from my pantry. After everything was ready, I sliced up the two lean medium cut ribeye steaks to feed 5 people.

I guess the kids will just have to enjoy another luscious and FREE cheesecake for dessert, but just a sliver because it is a New York variety meaning all cheesecake! No crust for Ian...

Oh, did I tell you that the ribeyes I made were from Annette, too? She gave them to me last month. So, I guess tonight, we literally ate for FREE!

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Day 35
Love is Accountable
"Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established."
Proverbs 15:22 KJV

DARE:
Find a marriage mentor—someone who is a strong Christian and who will be honest and loving with you. If you feel that counseling is needed, then take the first step to set up an appointment. During this process, ask God to direct your decisions and discernment.

What I Did:
Charlie and I have this thing everynight where we just go up to each other and hug and whisper I love you several times. It melts away any irritations and renews our relationship- FREE counseling!

I'm glad we do this, because currently we are surrounded by other couples who fight and cuss at each other, cheat on each other and blame their children, separate for petty reasons and the list goes on and that's just the last two weeks! When they talk about it, they don't see how petty or insignificant the reason was, they just wanted to be validated for the hurt. Or how hurtful it is that they let their children hear how disrespectful they were to them by cussing and calling each other names.