It's a Conspiracy!

Wow, it's been so long since I've been over here.  For record keeping sake, I wanted to get over here and make a short note of our three day Christmas tradition.  Watch the video below to see how it all got started.




To read more about our rethinking of how we approach Christmas, see our first Christmas of Presence in 2008.

I will be back soon with pictures of our activities.

If you're a friend on facebook, you can view our digital Christmas Card there.  There are pictures of other children on there that I don't have permission to share publicly.

Blessings,

Dana

PERSPECTIVE - My RESTLESS heart..

“There is within us a fundamental dis-ease, an unquenchable fire that renders us incapable, in this life, of ever coming to full peace. This desire lies at the center of our lives, in the marrow of our bones, and in the deep recesses of the soul. At the heart of all great literature, poetry, art, philosophy, psychology, and religion lies the naming and analyzing of this desire. Spirituality is, ultimately, about what we do with that desire. What we do with our longings, both in terms of handling the pain and the hope they bring us, that is our spirituality . . . Augustine says: ‘You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.’ Spirituality is about what we do with our unrest.” 

― Ronald Rolheiser

It's funny how God speaks... and does not.. It's been so long since I had heard His voice.  Somewhere deep inside the bitterness I felt towards His silence I learned to love Jesus in His humanity, more.. As if they are separate--which they are not..But they were for a moment.  And now, a small piece, I understand.   And so I suppose, the purpose of the silence has been served and so He speaks again..

I haven't written in so long.  I've had no words.  

But yesterday, I found myself reading St. Augustine's Confessions.   I'm not even sure how I ended up there.  But these words pierced my heart..

‎"For you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you"- St. Augustine.

They brought with them perspective..PERSPECTIVE.. It is everything..

My heart has been RESTLESS.  And after months of hearing silence, the floodgates open and He comes to me, washing over me.  And rushing so overwhelming that words still can't convey.. 

But more PERSPECTIVE for myself-- Answers to questions from a former student during our time in youth ministry.. She doesn't need my answers except as required for a paper for a class.. I know only some of her experiences.  Only a small piece of her PERSPECTIVE.. One I wish I had at her age yet am grateful that I did not..  Because experience forms PERSPECTIVE and usually experience that does, is far from painless.. But I needed the answers and so here they are.. A small piece of the journey of my restless heart..

1. How would you define "spirituality" or the "spiritual life"? 
A journey with a human instinct to make detours and a powerful and unexplainable force that steers me back to the path (sometimes gently with a soft saddle and a slow trott and sometimes bareback while I hang on for dear life!). And I have no idea why I'm riding a metaphorical horse because I haven't been on a horse since I was bucked off of one when I was 12. But I'm sure there's some spiritual significance there somewhere. 

2. What are some practices or things you do that play a formational role in your spiritual life? When I'm on the path, pray, music, read and cry.. I think that when you can't cry on the outside you bleed on the inside.. When  I've taken a detour, often, I find myself covering my ears and saying, "la la la la la"... 

3. What difference does it make for you to worship/fast/pray/praise communally/corporately vs. individually? Which do you prefer?
This depends... If it's with people that I know believe in the power of it, it is the most meaningful thing I can experience. If it's with people that are just checking it off a list it can be the most frustrating experience. In real life application, the most meaningful experiences I've had with this have been in communion with Adam. I do often long for a community to do these things with in faith.. So I guess I would say I prefer it. And I probably need to focus more on making it happen.

4. Of the quote-unquote "disciplines", which is the most difficult for you? Do you see this as reason to push into this practice more or less? Well currently, because of my stage in life where I have small children that I have to feed, I find fasting difficult.. However, this has come up in conversation for Adam and me a lot lately with a realization that we've never fasted for the life at the current church we're working with and I think that we will probably be doing that very soon. So, I guess I would say at this current time, I feel a push to do it more. 

5. When/how do you feel most connected with God? Prayer, praise, silence, service, something else? When I see the church being what I see described in the Bible. That's when I feel like I see Heaven breaking through.

6. When speaking with someone about growing in their relationship with Christ, how would you advise them to move forward? 
By committing to pray. Even if it's just to the discipline at first. I don't know if it's the age old question of whether prayer changes God or changes perspective. I think in my heart of hearts I believe it's both. But actually, a change in perspective for myself is usually the most important because God does just fine when I get myself out of the way. 

7. What do you perceive as the goal of these "practices"? 
As somewhat already addressed above.. Discipline and perspective change. 

8. Anything else you'd like to say on the topic?

I will say that up until recently, I think I had taken a major detour and fallen in a hole. There's a longer story behind this but it mostly involves the loss of quite a few people that I hold dear to my heart and disillusionment with the church (not specifically the congregation that we're in but the church globally ) and it was a commitment to the discipline of praying with Adam no matter what that got me back to "the journey". 

You should also keep in mind that my role in life is probably alike to maybe one percent of the population if that. I find the life of being a preacher's wife often lonely. I am a friend that people go to when they need something. (Edit: I should add that to some degree I defined this role.  Or perhaps, I let the role define me). I long to giggle like a school girl with friends that see me as just me. I think everyone experiences loneliness to some degree because of a feeling that no one truly understands us. I believe that loneliness can be an opportunity for growth or a force of destruction. I am trying to understand my loneliness and use it as a force to help me understand the sufferings of Jesus and bring me closer to God, the only one that can completely know and understand me.. 

This may very well become a blog post.. Since it may put some meaning behind why I haven't written one in so long..

Blessings, I love you!

Dana

Little Pink Lady

Emma in her get up for 50's Day for Red Ribbon Week at school.  I think I have more fun putting these costumes together than she does wearing them.  Cutos to the costume store downtown for the "Pink Ladies" jacket and scarves.   Kids costumes on sale for $2.00 Score!  The rest came from around the house and the pants, they're Chloe's.. 

Truett Cathy's 7 Reminders for Building Children--A Much Needed Reminder to Me. .

I've reached the final week of my first class at Wilmington University. Yeah, 535 points available in the whole class and 225 of them are in the last week.   I've gotten all but six points up until this point but I could still completely fail in the last week. No pressure there.  So here I am at 3:00 a.m. working on my research paper that is due a week from now.  Because unlike those fortunate people that work well under the pressure of procrastination, I am not one of them and will totally end up having a nervous breakdown if I don't have it done in time to let Adam proof read it.   This is my only prerequisite class not yet met.   (Principles of Management)..  I will be glad to move into my Marketing classes and get into the stuff that I really love.  But I have to admit that a class on Management couldn't have fallen at a better place and time in history.  It's been fascinating to learn about companies that are successfully meandering through the weak economy and to pinpoint some of the traits that have made them successful.  Without boring you with further details, I'll just say that in my opinion, the businesses that are thriving have earned it.

And speaking of thriving businesses and what brings me over here today.  I'm doing my final research paper on Truett Cathy, founder of Chic-fil-A.  I have been inspired by the man since I heard him speak when I was attending  one of the many colleges I've attended as we've done our ministry tour across America.  He's a fascinated man with high principles and as I was researching his management principles, I came across his 7 Reminders for Building Children.  And I must admit here.  It was a bit of a slap in the face. Overwhelmed by the tasks that lie ahead this week, I went to bed tonight praying the song,  (because I couldn't even think straight enough to say my own prayer)


Create in me a clean heart oh God And renew a right spirit within me Create in me a clean heart oh God And renew a right spirit within me  Cast me not away From thy presence oh Lord Take not thy Holy Spirit from me  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation And renew a right spirit within me

---

7 Reminders For Building Children*
by S. Truett Cathy,
Founder and Chairman of Chick-fil-A

1. Every child I know who overcame long odds and grew into a responsible adult can point to an adult who stepped into his or her life as a friend, mentor, and guide.
    
2. Don’t be too concerned that your children don’t listen to you. But be very concerned that they see everything you do.
    
3. Be so consistent in your discipline that you’re boring.
    
4. Stop arguing in front of your children.
    
5. You may think children have outgrown the desire to be rocked to sleep at night. They haven’t.
    
6. Children will never believe in the covenant of marriage unless they see you living it with their own eyes.
    
7. How do you know if a child needs encouragement? If he or she is breathing.

And since I couldn't sleep, I took these points as the answer to my prayer.   I look at these points and think "ouch"?  Let's see.  Adam's adjunct teaching to help pay for my school, all three of us girls are going to school.  I've got 10 hours a week that I'm childless which means the housework is lacking (despite Adam's avid attempts to pitch in).  Soccer games, field trips, guitar practice, spelling words, multiplication facts, projects and the work of a little church where the duties out number the people.  Class to teach on Wed night, small groups to prepare for at my house on Sunday night, calendars to plan and more than I can even remember right now.   Based on number 4 alone, our children are doomed.  We're severely slacking on number 3 and all of the rest of them could use some work too.. And I begin to wonder.. Can I do this without my children being the sacrifice?

For now, I thank God for squeezing a much needed view of Him into the research for my paper and though I don't make it over here much to post and will be forgotten as a blogger, please don't forget us in your prayers..  We need them.

Blessings,

Dana

Happy Birthday/First Day of School

Surprise a blog post!  One that is over a month late but do you know what that means?  It means that shortly after these events took place, I started back to school myself.. My only goal with the blog these days is to record the major events that will go in "The Ellis Family Yearbook".  And, if I come across a fun idea and find the time to get over here to share it, then yay!  Truly though there are many blogging momma's out there that I'm counting on to keep me up on the kiddy things while I'm a student too and I assure you, they can handle it much better than I can until I figure out a way to install more hours in a day.   But, more on that later..  This post is for my baby so I'll make this about her.. 

My Chloe Anne turned 4 on August the 30th.  And since we decided to go ahead and keep her back in school because of her late birthday,  that meant that she started 3 year old preschool on her 4th Birthday which for our little social butterfly meant that she got her cake and ate it too!  

So we filled her room with balloons for her to wake to and stuck a candle in some heart shaped cinnamon rolls and then got ready for the first day of preschool...  

The backpack that Chloe used last year was just the perfect size and Aunt Jan had personalized it so we weren't ready to retire it.  I jazzed it up a bit by adding a pair of wings and my dollar store addition made the records in Chloe's book.  It also turns out that taking cupcakes the first day of preschool isn't a bad way to introduce yourself and just as suspected Chloe loves preschool, her teachers and loves "keeping the boys in line" (as her teachers say) even more.  

Chloe's birthday falling right at the beginning of the school year makes having a birthday party with school friends difficult.  So while I had the help of Nonna and Aunt Denise for a weekend visit, we had a birthday party with just church friends and gave the water slide a run for it's money to finish the summer off.  We have hopes for a tea party play date with the girls from her class once we get the chance to get to know everyone.  

Thank you to everyone that helped make Chloe's birthday special.  I don't think a smile has left her face since!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar and a Cupcake Holder Lampshade

Emma and I did several projects over the summer that ended up being a little bit too difficult for Chloe to fully participate  like:

                   

 turning this

Into this

This is so simple to do.  All you need is a good deal on a lamp, some cupcake holders, and some earring posts and backs (pack of 30 pieces at hobby lobby for $1.99), and spray paint.  We spray painted our thrift store lamp ($1.49) and then turned the cupcake holders inside out and pinned them on the shade..  Easy Peesy... But, since it involved spray paint and sharp things, it was a little bit too old for Chloe.

So, I scouted out a few things that I could gear specifically for Chloe to do in the couple weeks we've had between Emma starting school and Chloe starting.  

And, I came across this oh so cute "Very Hungry Caterpillar" on Pinterest and, after reading the story, I got to work on painting hands... When we finished the handprint caterpillar, Chloe commented that she wanted to make the butterfly too.  And what do you know but the next time I went on Pinterest, a friend had posted a picture of a footprint butterfly... So low and behold

A complete metamorphosis!  

Emma Donate's Locks Again

Taken June 16, 2011

Posted August 24, 2011

We cut off Emma's hair once before to donate to "Locks of Love"in 2009.  At that time, she immediately started letting it grow so that she could donate it again.  It seems as if it takes just a little over two years to get another 10 inches to donate..  Since I didn't think that her hair would be in real great shape after a summer of swimming, we decided to go with the 8 inches that Pantene Beautiful Lengths requires.  I guess this will an every two years or so ritual.  I'm so proud of her.

Blessings,

The Second Day--Emma's First

 Well, we got off to a rocky start in more ways than one.  Emma missed her first day because she was running a fever and in the chaos of taking care of her, I forgot to charge my camera battery.  But, we got back on track and staged these pictures after school and that's why they're so bright..  I mainly wanted to capture the smart fashion sense that she's developed.  The outfit that she settled on wearing her first day of school was actually a dress of Chloe's that she wore as a shirt with a pair of capri pants.  I'm not sure if she realizes what this will obligate her to later down the road in the little sister department but it works to her advantage for now.

Anyway, Emma bounced back just fine and absolutely loves the 3rd grade. She will switch classes for Math and Science this year and loves both of her teachers.  She will also be in the gifted and talented program and is so excited to see what that is all about.  She ended up with several of her friends in her class and it appears to be a formula for a great year.  

As far as extra curricular activities go, she talked about doing cheerleading but eventually landed on taking guitar lessons.  I was excited about that decision because Chloe is playing soccer and I wasn't looking forward to spending every day at the Rec. Center.  And, we all know that Taylor Swift was cooler than the cheer captain because of the fact that when she was on the bleachers, she was also holding a guitar.. Emma will also continue to do Jazzercise at school like she did last year.

Here is my age progression storyboard that I like to do every year... It can also serve as an advertisement for True Green Chem lawn and a sprinkler system.  We ditched the lawn service to make room in the budget for Chloe's preschool and our sprinkler system broke.  I'm pretty sure it's a simple fix that Adam's done before.  But he's ended up having to mow the grass less and our water bill has been lower.. So, I think we inadvertently kept pushing it to the bottom of our To Do list...  Even though our yard looks like a brown mess in the middle of all of our neighbors beautiful sea of green and we are "that neighbor", it does have it's positives...

I came across some fun treat ideas to put in her lunch box for the first week of school.. I think it got me major "fun mom" points.  She even said that some kids were saying she was lucky.  Go me :-).  I still remember random little things that my mom did for me to let me know that she thought I was special like baking miniature cakes for tea parties with my dolls so I always look for ways to imprint those kind of memories in my girls.  

Cupcake shaped sucker, "3rd Grade is a piece of cake".

Swedish Fish "You are O-fish-ally a 3rd Grader"

Starbursts "You're a 3rd Grade Super Star"

And my favorite: Rainbow Sour Tracks and Rolos

You're the gold at the end of my rainbow... 

Looking forward to having her home for the weekend and sleeping in!

Initial Rag Wreath

The girls and I had an absolutely marvelous summer.  We crafted and created and swam and played and I just enjoyed them so much.  It was a refreshingly recovery from last summer since much of the past year has been a blur of going through the motions as I tried to get a grasp on the grief that I was experiencing from all the tragedies that our family and friends experienced in the year or so before.  I'm finally beginning to feel like myself again.   

Anyway, I have a lot of catch up posts to do including Emma's "real first day of school".  But, this is what I did on her first day back to school with a little "help" from my little hot mess that I call "My Chloe Girl".  

I had been searching around Pinterest for a cute wreath idea for our front door.  I'm just not your typical flowered wreath kind of girl and I was looking for something that just struck my fancy.  Well, eventually, I decided to compile a couple of ideas together and this is what I came up with.  

I posted a picture of this on my friend Jay's facebook wall and my friend Heather requested a tutorial.  So, I'm going to do my best to give you one..   I always have intentions of taking pictures step by step when I do something like this and then I get in the zone and get in a groove and I forget... But, this was so unbelievably easy that I think it could be done with no picture instructions at all.  But none the less, I do have a couple..

Chloe and I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and we started out with a ball of scrap fabrics in fall, green, browns, yellows and reds and an initial which was on sale for 50% off of 2.99!  Score!  

Side Note:  though I've become a bit of an organizing junky (not by nature but as a coping mechanism to my husband's ADD), you could never tell it by walking in our front door because my dining room is always functioning as either an art or a photography studio and more often than not, looks like this.  

I spray painted the "E" with Krylon spray paint that I used to create the Shrek head pieces for our Christmas play last year.  The color is "Ivy Leaf" but we affectionately call it "Shrek green" and that's a more appropriate description.  I tied a piece of yarn to the "E" before I spray painted it so that it would also get painted and would serve as a way to attach it to the wreath

I was delighted to find a wire hanger after digging through all of the closets.  I'm not sure why I had it but you can usually get them free from the cleaners.  

I sort of shaped the hanger into a circle using wire pliers.  Then I just went to town tying on scraps of fabric.  (This is where I got excited and forgot to take pictures).

Once I got it all together, I decided that the "E" looked too plain so I pulled out the white circle stickers that I used to make everything polka dotted  for Chloe's "Pink Polka Dotted" Birthday Party last year.  

And waa laa, a polka dotted E..  

And there you have it, a wreath that is me and cost about $7.00 to make and is very much my style.  Could be cheaper for you if you actually sew and already have scrap fabric!  

It Was the First Day of the Third Grade-- And Emma was not there...

Because my friend, Sam is finishing up her Early Childhood Education Degree and goes to school in GA and GA starts back to school a week earlier than we do and Sam was working with the teacher that she'll be interning with to set up her classroom, I had Ron and Sam's kids the last two weeks of summer.   By the end of the second week, the kids were acting like brothers and sisters and were tired of being cooped up inside together because of my fear of taking all four kids out by myself.  But, since we had two of the kids that were in our youth group years ago in Panama City, Andrew and Holly, who are now fabulous adults, arrive on Tuesday and I had Holly as an extra set of hands, I developed a brilliant plan.

Since GA was already back in school, I knew it would be an opportune time to catch Chuck E Cheese's on a low crowd day... PLAN NOT SO BRILLIANT.... Emma contracted some kind of stomach virus.  And though she only threw up once, her fever keeps returning... So, she missed her first day of school..

I tried to pull a Billy Madison and go for her.  I walked into the classroom and her teacher said, "Hi, I'm crazy" and I instantly knew it was going to be a wonderful year.  I replied that I was Emma Ellis' mom and that I was crazy too and was prepared to stay and be a substitute 3rd grader but her teacher (whom I think we're going to love), graciously took her materials saying that she would use Emma's as the example set up..

  I put these treats together to give to the class just to remind them that Emma was on her way.

Emma was devastated at first, putting this event into the same category of worst things that have ever happened to her as Rotavirus and broken leg.  But, being the optimist that she is,  quickly decided to make lemonade out of lemons and is using this last day off to finish up the second Harry Potter book.... She knows almost all of the kids that are in her class this year.  And really, she has the confidence to walk into a room full of kids that she doesn't know anyway so I think we'll survive.