So it's hard to tell from this picture, but last night, Christmas Eve, we noticed that our bean plants had taken the form of three crosses. We were amazed at the profundity of this, and were able to take a minute to remember that Christmas isn't just about the birth of Jesus. It's about the most amazing story ever told, of God coming to earth to make the ultimate sacrifice for a world full of sinners. What indescribable love!

The last week has been so full. We've had long rehearsals, followed by a 12-hr day at the church on Saturday, followed by a journey back and forth to Alabama, followed by a day of getting ready to have our family Christmas celebration at my house last night. Jeff and I are just completely worn out. Today began early of course, but has been so much fun.

Last night, right before the kids went to bed, Bradley remembered they hadn't put out the milk and cookies. This year Bailey got to write her own note, and she was so proud of herself.
If you can't make it out, Bradley wrote, "Dear Santa, I hope you like what we set out for you. It is okay if you didn't get me everything I wanted. Sincerlly, Brad. P.S. Wrap the presenst pleas." (I'm going to attribute the bad spelling to his being so tired.)

Last year Santa wrapped the presents for the kids rather than having it all out for them when they walked in the room. We all liked this so much better, as it builds the anticipation and makes the fun last longer. I'm just glad the kids liked it this way better too.

Bailey had me write hers out so she could copy it. Her first dictation was about six sentences long, so I made her shorten it. This is what we ended up with...

"Dear Santa, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas! Love, Bailey." Short and to the point.

She was thrilled when Santa wrote his thank you on her note. We all marveled at how he can eat so much at every house!

We told Brad and Bailey that they couldn't come in our room to get us until 7:00. So at 7:00 on the dot, Bradley burst into our room announcing Santa had come! We couldn't be annoyed, because we both remember forcing some pretty early mornings growing up. But another hour of sleep would have been divine!

As we were waiting on Daddy to say we could come downstairs, we managed to survive what could have been a nasty accident and Christmas in the emergency room. Bryant was standing at the top of the stairs, kind of banging his butt against the gate. I was standing in my room watching, and the thought occured to me that he could push the whole gate over and go toppeling down the stairs. But before I could voice these thoughts, what actually happened was Bailey, for some unexplicable reason, decided to open the gate. So the next time he went to bang his butt, he fell backwards through the gate and did back flips down the stairs. Fortunately our stairs have a landing before they make a sharp turn, so he didn't fall down all of them, but needless to say we didn't start off the morning exactly as we had planned. It's never good to yell at your child on Christmas morning, but I just couldn't fathom what had made her open the gate. Original sin, I guess!

So once we all calmed down and Daddy said it was okay, we all descended the stairs into Christmasland. Most things were wrapped of course, but the kids got a mini-trampoline, and it was out on display. This has already been a tremendous hit, and I'm loving the energy it eats up, and how the jumping is no longer on the furniture!

But undoubtedly, the biggest hit of the morning was Santa's gift. After months of hinting (and begging) the ever longed-for Nintendo wii is now a reality at the Swords house. Screams of joy and multiple versions of the happy dance have filled the day.

The sheer genius of this game system blows my mind. I can't begin to get my brain around how the thing works. But it is cool. Really cool.
Tomorrow we'll be off to Christmas with Jeff's family. Like so many of us, I fear that my kids have no concept of what it's like to not have the things you need and want. In their world, if they want something bad enough, it appears. I'm so thankful that we are able to provide and have family that are so generous, but I worry about the message my kids get. I struggle with it every year, and yet nothing really ever seems to change. Maybe one year we'll get brave enough to do something radical and punt gifts altogether. But I doubt it.

For now, hopefully I'm able to remind them that it is more fun to give than receive, and that they are very lucky kids.

Apparently Bailey has picked up on this a little. When Jeff's folks were here on Friday night, they brought a few pre-Christmas gifts. The kids were waiting to open them until Jeff and I left for dress rehearsal. When I walked in the room, Bailey was sitting on the couch in front of her wrapped gifts. She said, "Mommy, I'm doing what you said."

I said, "Really? What's that?"

"I'm not pouting, and I'm thankful for what I have!"

May it be so. :)

christmas with the ogles

Here comes Santa Claus...

Yesterday we drove to Alabama for Christmas at Jeff's grandparents with his mom's two sisters and their families. Everyone was there this year, and we had a great time with family, some of whom we haven't seen since last Christmas. This year we did it on Sunday afternoon instead of at night, and I think everyone agreed it was a great change. This way we were done by early evening, and Jeff and I weren't driving home in the wee hours of the morning.

There are two grandparents, three daughters, three son-in-laws, six grandchildren, six grandchildren-in-law (of which I'm the ONLY granddaughter-in-law :)), and ten great-grandchildren. Lots of food; lots of chaos. But part of the reason we liked doing it in the afternoon was that the kids were able to go outside and run some of their energy out. That was great!

Poppa G helped Bryant open his presents. The flashlight was a hit, but I think the Elmo xylophone song book won the favorite present award!

This year we also decided to take pictures of the family by thirds, so we didn't have the enormous task of getting everybody lined up all together and trying to have everybody look good all at the same time. I think it worked very well.

Bailey was looking at the picture we took last Thanksgiving where everyone was in it all together. She so eloquently looked up and asked Jeff's aunt, "Do we know all these people?!"

Hope you all have as much as fun as we are!

Ain't we pretty?

This year our choir had the unique opportunity of being a part of Michael W. Smith's Christmas tour. There wasn't a concert in Nashville this year, so Michael agreed to do a charity concert at our church after his tour was completed, with the offering going partly to his Rocketown, and the other part to our partner church in Cape Town, South Africa, Living Hope. Because the tickets were gone to the 7:00 show in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes, we ended up doing two concerts, one at 2 and one at 7:30. This made for a long, but thrilling day.

Not only did we get to sing back-up for Michael W. Smith, but this year he was touring with The Katinas, as usual, and Melinda Doolittle. What amazing talent all of these people have, and they all seem to have hearts of gold. It was such a huge privilege to be a part of this, and just added to the long list of reasons why I love being a part of my church.

Most amazingly, the conductor for this tour was David Hamilton, our own church pianist. David is truly one of the most talented people I have ever had the privilege of knowing, and certainly one of the most humble. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to work with him on a regular basis, when people all over the world pay him the big bucks to do his thing. He orchestrated and arranged the Disney World Halloween parade, just as an example of his demand. And yet he still makes it to church on Sunday morning to play the piano as often as he possibly can. What an example he is of using the talents God gives you to His glory. I've learned so much from him.

And on the note of humility, I was thinking on the way to church Saturday what amazing people our music minister, Dennis, and his assitant Jeremy are. Most choir directors look to the Christmas program as their moment to shine. They are out there dressed to the nines and it is time to show off "their" choir to whoever decides to show up. Dennis and Jeremy have worked unbelievably hard over the past six months getting this thing together. The ticketing process was a nightmare for them. They saw attitudes from people that I'm quite sure they'll never be able to forget.

And yet, on the day of the concert, neither one of them stepped foot on the stage, other than perhaps to adjust some wires or something before anyone was there. They were behind the scenes, working with the tour people, working with disgruntled ticket-nonholders, and thousands of other things. I'm so impressed by this. I've known Dennis' heart for ten years now, and I'm not surprised by it. But just so thankful to be led in the worship ministry by a couple of men who truly get it. It's much easier to lead worship when you have such a great example to follow.

I hope I never get so used to these cool opportunities that I forget how special they are and take them for granted. This is a unique place to live, and I'm so thankful the Lord has us here!

Ask and you shall receive:

2 boxes powdered sugar

1 can Eagle Brand milk

1 stick margarine

1 tsp vanilla

1 C finely chopped pecans

2 jars maraschino cherries

1-2 boxes semi-sweet chocolate baking squares

1 cake paraffin (Gulf Wax)

Mix sugar, butter, vanilla, nuts and enough Eagle Brand milk to have dough the right consistency to mold. Roll into small balls. Press hold in center. Insert cherry. Cover with dough. Continue until all dough is used. Melt 3/4 cake paraffin with 1 box chocolate. Dip each candy with a toothpick and set on wax paper to dry. (I usually go through them all once, and then dip them again. Then I dribble chocolate over the tops to cover the toothpick holes.)

Enjoy!

Beans and Cherries

Think they're ready to hang with Christmas lights yet? Who knew that you could really and truly grow beans with just a jar, water and paper towels?

So far our bean experiment has been a great success. It it just a matter of time, I guess, before they knock the jar over, but we're going to let them go as long as we can.

I asked them today, since it was the last day before Christmas break, if they had thought about whether or not they wanted to keep homeschooling for the rest of the year or if they thought they wanted to go back. Bradley said he wanted to keep homeschooling and for Bailey to go back. I think he was kidding...

This afternoon we continued with the Reid family tradition of making chocolate-covered cherries. This is an old family recipe, and has been part of my Christmas for as long as I can remember. The kids absolutely love it, as I did when I was their age. It's not often you have permission to roll food around in your hands like this and get messy.

Although the dipping is traditionally the adult's job, they just begged and begged until they wore me down. I had let them use the extra dough to make little bitty dough balls, and they were each allowed to take a turn at dipping. They learned that it really is harder than it looks!

No need to tell you how they enjoyed the fruits of their efforts. That face says it all!

I hope you all enjoy your family traditions over the next few weeks. If you don't have any, it's never too late to start. Let me know if you need a good cherry recipe.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Not so much fun when you have to work all day, but we found a few minutes for Daddy's favorite birthday dessert. Once they all blew out the one candle, it was nice and germ-free. We share the love in this family.

Once Jeff's birthday is here, you officially have one week left until Christmas. Get shopping, Debo!

Segregation in Alabama

If you've ever wondered how serious the Alabama/Auburn rivalry is, this picture says it all!

Thanks for the laugh, Darlene. :)

And this is what they spent the rest of the afternoon doing...

By last night they were completely exhausted. It's the first time Bradley has asked to go to bed at 8:30 EVER!

Since I know you are all as sucked into the miracle of beans growing in a jar as I am, I thought I'd share our latest growth. It is unbelievable how these things are literally growing noticeably every couple of hours. I've never watched anything grow this fast before. Now we're all just wondering what is going to happen. Obviously if they keep up this pace they will outgrow the jar before long. We're just hoping to see them start growing new beans first. Stay tuned!

Yesterday the homeschool group at my church had the privilege of helping with the Christmas Food Baskets. Our church will provide over 300 needy families with some wonderful packages of food and other useful things this Christmas. Our job yesterday was to assemble the boxes. I was so impressed with all of our kids. They worked so hard to put these boxes together, and I didn't hear any complaints other than being thirsty. It was a great project for them.

Bradley was a pro with the tape gun, and he LOVED having this responsibility!

Bailey spent most of her time slapping stickers on two sides of each box. But part of the time she was transporting boxes down the the deaf chapel hallway. This is what it looked like down there at one point.

These are just a few of the #1 boxes.

Here's our hard workers, ready to head over to Pump it Up for the rest of the party! Things like this remind me why homeschooling really is a blessing to our family. I love that my kids worked so hard to help others. At least for a few hours, Christmas wasn't about them, and that's a really good thing.

Check this out! This is how much our beans have grown since yesterday morning. If this keeps up, we just may find a golden goose!

By the way, my boy Fred kicked some butt at yesterday's debate. It's about time, I say. Too bad only about 12 people saw it.

Now I must vent. I have no specific knowledge of how my e-mail got commandeered by all the right-wing crazy groups (although I can only assume it's because I have contributed to Repulican candidates at various points in the past.) But I get at least 5-8 e-mails a day from "Right vs Left" or "MinutemenHQ" and various groups like this. They go immediately to my junk mail, but they still annoy the heck out of me, because my Outlook display shows me when I have junk and I have to go click on them to make them not be highlighted anymore so I don't see a number in my "junk" folder. I realize I may be showing some technical ignorance here, but I'm going to pretend you're not sitting there thinking there is an easy way for me to fix that and continue my rant.

I also get e-mail from some group called "Christian Response," which just irritates me to no end. As if there is one Christian response and whatever stuff they are selling is it.

But I just got an e-mail from them that blew my mind. I have no idea who "Christian Response" is. None. But they just sent me an e-mail advertising some smear video against Hillary Clinton that is supposedly home videos that have been banned by the media showing her true monstrous personality and criminal activity. I had also received an ad for this same video earlier today from "Right vs Left" or one of the others, and just ignored it as typical hyper-partisan garbage.

But to get this e-mail from a group called "Christian Response"? What is wrong with this picture? This is my whole problem right now with mixing Christianity and politics. Call me crazy, but I don't think Jesus would sanction a mass distribution of hate-inspired, fear-mongering propaganda against anyone, even if she is a Clinton.

Growing Beanstalks

I just thought everyone in blogger land would want to see the fruits of our most recent science experiment. Here it is in Brad's own words:

Or if you prefer a legible copy:

"Last week we planted beans in a jar. If you want to do this expirament you will need:

* a jar

* beans 4-8

* a knife

* a roll of paper towels.

1. Use the knife to cut off a piece of the paper towel like this: (arrow to back, where you can find the diagram)

3. Put the wet smaller piece of paper towel in the jar. (an arrow here, showing the mixed up numbers)

2. Wet the smaller peice of paper towel

4. Put your beans in the jar to, like this: (diagram)

This expirement is so much fun!

The beans, after a few days, will began to grow. The sprouts go up and the roots go down.

As I'm not typically very good at science, you must share my sense of accomplishment at making it fun for my kids, at least this week.

How much more fun could our lives be?

Tuesday was one of those days that made me so happy to be homeschooling. I've lived in Nashville for almost 10 years, and I've always wanted to go to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. When I saw the commercials this year I made up my mind to go for it. Since we aren't confined by public school times any more, we were able to make a day of it. We still did school in the morning, and then it was time for a field trip!

After a lunch at Cracker Barrell, we headed out to Opry Mills. Parking at the mall is free, and within walking distance of both the Grand Ole Opry and the Opryland Hotel. Since we had over an hour to kill, we decided to hit the mall. Our first stop was the Aquarium restaurant. Not to eat, but just to look. That place is amazing!

Here's my little darlings, still young enough to humor their mom taking their picture in the middle of a crowded mall.

When we entered the candy store, my kids went nuts. They acted as if it was the first time they had ever seen candy in their entire life. They were each allowed to pick 1/4 lb., and I thought it would take forever. They finally settled on some loot, and I earned some serious mommy points.

Now it was time to head on over to the show. We met up with some other homeschooling friends, and the excitement was palpable. Our seats were in the balcony, and the kids thought we had the best spot in the house. I love experiencing things like this with them, because they make every moment new.

Although parts of the show were a little hokey, the Rockettes did not disappoint. The precision of their moves is just mesmerizing. I'm so glad we went!

Here's our future Rockettes, working out their kicks in the lobby. I'm so glad my camera takes video, because these clips are classic.

The very best part of the day was when Daddy and Bryant met us after the show. We had dinner at the mall and then walked over to the Opryland Hotel to see the lights. My goal was to get a Christmas card picture, and what you see above is the best it got. I was determined not to get too stressed out about it, because they were all really tired, and I knew getting "that" shot was going to be unlikely.

But we got a lot like this...
and a few like this...

Our final event was to watch the water show. In the Magnolia Garden of the Opryland Hotel there is a place that has about 30 fountains all shooting up out of the ground. Every hour they do a music and light show and the fountains put on an incredible display. My kids LOVE it, and this year Bryant got to truly experience it for the first time. The oohs and ahs were enough to melt anyone's heart, and made any stress up to that point completely worth it.

These are the moments when I can't imagine my life being any other way. May we all have exactly this look on our face at least once this Christmas season!

Someone asked me the other day why I don't like Mike Huckabee. I couldn't pin it down, other than the fact that i just don't think he's everything he is claiming to be. So I spent some time tonight hunting it down a little bit.

First of all, Governor Huckabee claims to be a big tax cutter. His record in Arkansas indicates otherwise. The following is from the Arkansas Times back in May:

"Huckabee said that he had a consistent record of tax cutting and that he had slashed taxes in Arkansas "94 times." His record is this: He signed one big tax cut, a 1997 income tax revision drafted and passed by the other party.

"He supported two other smaller tax cuts that became law. He fought elimination of the sales tax on groceries. He raised taxes far more than he cut them. He raised them so much that treasury surpluses set records his last two years in office."

I'm also concerned about his ideas on immigration. This is from a letter by Gary Bauer, the head of the Campaign for Working Families:

"When he was governor of Arkansas, Huckabee supported legislation allowing illegal immigrants who had attended Arkansas high schools to participate in a scholarship program to attend college. Huckabee lost that debate, and the bill failed.

"He also strongly opposed an effort by State Senator Jim Holt, also an ordained Southern Baptist minister, to end taxpayer subsidies for illegal immigrants in Arkansas and to require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. Huckabee denounced Holt's legislation as "race baiting" and 'demagoguery.'"

Not only did he call his opponent's bill un-Christian and un-American, but he claimed to drink a different "Jesus juice" than Senator Holt.

That leads to what I think is bothering me the most about this guy, which is exactly what seems to be fueling his momentum. And that is his outspoken claims of Christianity.

Let me explain before I offend. There is nothing I would like more than for the man in the White House to answer to the authority of Jesus Christ. There can be no higher calling. One of the primary reasons I have stuck by President Bush is because I believe that he seeks God in his decision making, and I know he values the same things I value. I want my president to believe in something higher than himself. Otherwise, we might find ourselves having to deal with a Hugo Chavez or Vladimir Putin, or at the very least just another guy in office with no apparent moral authority who risks national security for the sake of his own gratification.

But at the same time, I don't want someone in office who will justify all of his actions as the only appropriate Christian response. We in the body of Christ are a VERY diverse group. God has given His children a myriad of personalities and passions. If we all were exactly the same, not only would it be a very boring faith, but an extremely narrow one as well.

I've often heard someone say, "I just don't understand how you can be a Christian and support so-and-so or such-and-such." I'm quite sure those very words have escaped my lips. But over the past couple of years, my eyes have been opened to the fact that my view of the world is not necessarily always the only way to go.

For instance, let's look at the poor. While we are all called to be merciful, there are some Christians whom God has especially bestowed with the gift of mercy. I must confess, it doesn't show up very high on my spiritual gift roster. But a person who is high on mercy will look at the poor in a very different way from someone who isn't. They might theoretically like the idea of "teaching them how to fish," but when they are standing there with the hungry one, they want a fish, and they want it now. They believe you can sort out the rhetoric later. Does that make them less of a Christian because they believe in welfare programs and government subsidies? Of course not. Does it make them a liberal in this particular area? Probably so. But in this example, conservatism may not be the more compassionate choice.

Yes, I get onto liberals constantly. I get angry enough at them to spit on a frequent basis. If you've spent any time reading my blog, you are not surprised by this. But I confess that I generalize about them far too often. I'm usually speaking out of my passions, and that causes the rhetoric to be a little heated sometimes.

But let's look at something like abortion. There are many Christians, including James Dobson, who use abortion as a litmus test for any elected official. I personally think this is a mistake. I think that it is incredibly dangerous for Mr. Dobson to lead a political movement away from the chosen Republican nominee (assuming it's not Huckabee, I guess) based on the fact that he doesn't like their abortion records. We don't have to look back in history very far to see what happens when a major percentage of the voting block goes for a third-party candidate. And the security stakes are just so high.

I don't have time to go off on this tangent right now, but perhaps soon. I'm reading a book right now called "The Myth of a Christian Nation," by Gregory Boyd, and it is about the dangers of mixing Christianity with politics. It is fascinating, and I think well worth the read.

But back to my point. I don't believe we are going to change abortion in this country through the courts. Not the Supreme Court or any other. I believe the only way to reduce abortion in this country is to change hearts and minds. Overturning Roe v Wade won't do anything but send the issue to the states (which would be better, undoubtedly). If overturned, you would very soon see a legal abortion map that looks much like the election map of 2000. Your coastal states would have legal abortion, along with some in the Midwest. People living in fly-over country would have to make travel arrangements in order to terminate their pregnancies legally. Could this ever happen? It's possible, if we end up with a very conservative bench. This TERRIFIES those who consider themselves pro-choice, and it's one of the reasons they have such a vehement hatred for conservatism.

But would outlawing abortion really keep a determined woman from carrying out her plans? Probably not. It might inconvenience her, and could possibly endanger her life if she chooses to go to a back room clinic somewhere.

So what do I think is the answer? Education and the love of Christ. I think my mom, by working for the past couple of decades in a crisis pregnancy center, has done far more to defeat abortion than angry protesters outside a clinic who terrorize the young women going in and cause them even more agony than their choices already have. Showing a pregnant woman her ultrasound goes a million miles farther in encouraging her not to abort her baby than showing her pictures of grotesque aborted fetal tissue and calling her "Baby Killer."

My friend Cheryl is an adoption advocate. She is using her time and energy to help others pursue building their families through adoption. We need more of this. We need adoption to become the most acceptable course of action for an unwanted pregnancy. This will take time and a lot of effort, but it is doable.

Picketing and screaming or simply writing a check to the National Right to Life are really the easy ways to fight abortion. It may not be practical to dream that the climate of our culture could really shift towards life, but isn't it worth dreaming? Isn't it worth praying and working towards in whatever way possible?

I'm out of time, so perhaps I can pick up here another day. I've just really been thinking lately about the whole Christian Right and the shift towards trying to solve the world's problems politically rather than changing hearts. (Incidentally, if you can find a copy of CNN's "God's Christian Warriors" I highly recommend you watch. It's eye-opening.)

We're called to love people. We're called to offer Jesus to a dying world. We're not called to get caught up in anything this world has to offer, including our government.

Don't get me wrong - you know I enjoy politics. I love the game of it. I love my right to vote, and I consider it one of my highest calls as an American. But I need to spend more time pursuing those things which are eternal. What am I called to do as a Christian? To study the Word. To pray. To love. To offer hope in a desperately dry land.

Will you join me?

I miss my blog.

I really wish I had time to write more. I still think. I still opine (just ask my poor husband.) I just can't find the time to sit and write. Something about three kids and homeschooling. And life.

So much to talk about, it's hard to pick just one. So I think I'll start with the most cynical.

Does anyone out there think it's just a teensy bit possible that the whole escapade at Hillary's headquarters on Friday was staged? Does that make me a conspiracy theorist? I just find the facts a little too irresistable.

The man who did it told his family to watch the news that day. He was drunk. He armed himself with flares. No one got hurt. The whole thing was a 6-hr media circus.

And the headlines and major stories all over Good Morning America this morning? Hillary taking charge during a crisis. They talked all about this being the perfect opportunity for her to show America how she could handle herself during crisis. She cancelled everything as soon as she heard the news and went into full-fledged management mode. She wanted to fly to Rochester to be with the families of the hostages, but wasn't allowed to immediately. She offered to do whatever it took to diffuse the situation, even speaking to the hostage taker. Once it was all over, she was immediately there with the families. Man, she sure has impressed me. I think I might have to vote for her now.

Please just don't spend too much time thinking about the fact that her poll numbers are down and it looks like Obama just might beat her in Iowa. Which is not good when you are the inevitable nominee. Overlook the fact that her biggest competition with Rudy is that everyone in the country got to see him "handle" 9-11. I'm sure she and her image makers hadn't given either one any thought.

But perhaps I am being too cynical. Too Republican. The fact is, I'm not sure there is a candidate out there that I might not at least question whether this was a staged event. Such is the state of our choice in 2008.

Whether it was fake or not, the orgasmic media fest over Hillary's amazing composure under fire is very, very real. And it makes me want to vomit.

It's going to be a long next couple of months until she has this nomination thing cinched up. Although fighting Oprah may prove to be her most formidable opponent yet. At least it'll be fun watching her squirm.