Glorious Gift

These angels were a free gift just for me -- on Thursday, the Winkler MCC store was giving away all their remaining Christmas decorations. There were few shoppers and fewer remaining Christmas things, but these angels caught my eye. I immediately felt so blessed to be "gifted" them.

Infinitely more precious is the free gift of God's Son, Jesus, Whose coming was announced by angels:

"Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day ...
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord ..."
And suddenly a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying,

"Glory to God in the Highest,
and on earth peace,
Good will towards men."

This greatest glorious gift is for you too!



Merry Christmas!

JESUS

the Answer to all our questions,

the Yes to all God's promises,

the AMEN to all our prayers,

the Giver of all our blessings,

the Forgiver of all our sins,

the Savior of all who trust in Him.

Eternal is HIS WORD,

Forever is HIS PEACE,

Unchanging is HIS PROMISE

of everlasting LOVE.

It's a Happy Day, Happy Day!

Those are the exact words I heard from three little men.

I've said it before, now I can show you ... cardboard boxes make wonderful toys! In this case, the bigger the better. And this box is HUGE as far as boxes go. I expect we'll have a permanent fixture in our basement ... at least for the winter.


Today is like Christmas at our house...and December 25 is still 5 days away!


A big new freezer arrived in a huge cardboard box. One look and there were six excited young men planning a playhouse for little sister. They had just as fun making it as she's having playing in it.

Winter's Lace

Winter has arrived with mounds of white stuff. The sparkling snow on a sunny day or the swirling snowflakes floating down all make the landscape so pretty & pristine.

I'm reminded of God's words,

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7

and

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as snow." Isaiah 1:18



Then ...

I liked this bit of poetry that Jaynee shared on her blog. I thought it relevant to share with you:

Snowflakes are like children.
Each one beautiful.
Each one unique.
Each one designed by our Lord!

You were once a child, so was I. In fact everyone was. We are all beautiful, unique, designed & loved by God.

... and that thought is so amazingly beautiful!

Faith can be a frightening place, but nothing compares to the adventure of entrusting yourself to the capable and loving arms of the Father.~~ Peter Jordan

Sweet Treat

Most candy dishes are filled to overflowing this time of year. Goodie bags are frequently handed out to children at schools, at Church programs and at Grandma's.

There is entirely too much of a not-so-good thing around.

How is a parent to keep their children healthy and happy through it all ... especially if one of the children is diabetic?

We've struggled with that for more than ten years now. Candy is deemed a reward, a good thing when in reality it is not. Especially to a diabetic, but just as certainly to every child.

The truth is sugar is deadly for everyone ... in the long run.

We can't always say "No" to a child when candy is in question. Oftentimes it also hurts them to be singled out as "different" & given their own "special" candy. To them it isn't special, they just want to be normal & get the same junk everyone else gets without limits like everyone else ... BUT diabetics CAN'T.

Sometimes it would be nice to change the world ... yet in reality? Life doesn't work that way.



So, what do you do to treat you children?



We have found a few things that compensate: one is gum & candies made with the sweetener called xylitol. "Spry" is the brand we've come to enjoy ... it was first recommended to us by our dentist. The bonus? Xylitol inhibits cavities and though it does have a carbohydrate count it does not cause a spike in the blood sugar. Win/win!

We have tried the Spry gum in four flavors: cinnamon, spearmint, peppermint, and fruit flavored - they have a new green tea flavor out now.

The Spry mints/candies are in four great flavors: lemon, berry, peppermint, spearmint and a new raspberry that we haven't tried yet, but the rest are yummy!

More candy ideas here.

At our house, gummy vitamins and flavored vitamin C work as "treats" also. Yay for Mom, cause I like 2 for 1's!!!! Acidophilus rates right up there with candy among my littles too. Of course, we limit these to the rating on each bottle.

There are other treats of course, inedible ones like floss pics, erasers, etc, but I'm always looking for more ideas.

Do you have any ideas, favorite treats? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks so much for sharing.


Disclaimer: Check with your physician before using these suggestions. This post is not meant to be taken as medical advice.

Hours & Hours

We are so-o-o blessed to have a hill right on our yard, just outside the door. Our littles, and company, have spent hours & hours of fun out there ... on that hill, using it to one advantage or another.

In winter, it is great for sledding:


In summer, it hosts a great water slide - yep, using the water tank FULL of water in one day.