advent days

city seminary christmas party;
be there or be square*.

gathered around jess’s beautiful table
for christmas breakfast

christmas fairies

our friend, d, is the hands-down
best
christmas celebrate-er
around.

three trees & counting,

their apt must smell am.az.ing!
xo

duane reade upstairs =
the perfect people-watching spot,
esp on a rainy day.

an afternoon’s games + homework
with adam + madison

the most wonderful time of the year?
when we take down the normal newyorkercartoons
inside the bathroom door and
replace them with
christmas newyorkercartoons.

you want to go to there.

specialthanks to morv+jono for
the make-your-own-lipgloss
bday present – a scream.

yes, she slept with these
three beloved vials next to
her pillow the past 2 nights.

last week was the final week
of catalyst & youknowwhatthatmeans…
[drumroll]
fg is back at our house!

the kids were so excited;
they’ve missed the group.

my heart sensed all was right with
the world once they were safely
gathered in, worshipping, caroling,
discussing isaiah, and
praying.

oh, they are dear.

john,
cory,
meg,
carrie,
amy,
bernhard,
jeff,
nate,
grace,
hannah,
keely,
shannon,
jen,
christina,
jess,
laura,
judy,
grace c,
regan & i,

a gift from the Lord
to be with you guys.

a special ending to a 2-hr
christmas-card-extravaganza
around sandi’s beautiful table
with uws mom’s group leadership team =
praying name by name for
each husband and wife
on the four respective leadership rosters.

and realizing how many women are
serving in such stunning ways.

may the Lord grant you peace +
endurance today, friends.
thanks be to God for your
faith, life & love.

clever idea from le pain:
marshmallows-on-a-stick
dipped in dark chocolate +
packaged up as a gift.

i love it when
the entryway looks
like this.

mercy teaches us about
a guilty conscience and
the power of repentance +
forgiveness.

we’re using honor club materials
this year; brilliant.

after this, we read david/bathsheba/nathan
from catherine vos +
acted (and re-acted and re-re-acted) out
nathan’s interaction with king david.

even karate-men are
intrigued by the
conscience cleansing action
of ‘God’s plan’
(water/food color/bleach/a stir stick that
is labeled ‘god’s plan’ – it was awesome)

Lord,
may your plan permeate
their hearts
quickly,
deeply +
exclusively.

protect them by the
power of your Name.

wise caroline knows that
the cure for whatever ails you
in life =
being around that lovely lolly.
xo

early morning pile-up

*i sadly was square due
to a babysitting snafu,
but cory made merry on
my behalf.

i made both cory & carrie
recount the evening in its
entirety to me [thanksguys];

living vicariously at its finest.