Day 8

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
   Good morning!
   You're beautiful with God's beauty,
   Beautiful inside and out!
   God be with you.
She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.
   He will be great,
      be called 'Son of the Highest.'
   The Lord God will give him
      the throne of his father David;
   He will rule Jacob's house forever—
      no end, ever, to his kingdom."
Mary said to the angel, "But how? I've never slept with a man."
The angel answered, 
   The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
      the power of the Highest hover over you;
   Therefore, the child you bring to birth
      will be called Holy, Son of God.
"And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."
   And Mary said,
   Yes, I see it all now:
      I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.
   Let it be with me
      just as you say.
   Then the angel left her.

Luke 1: 26-38

Day 7

Zachariah said to the angel, "Do you expect me to believe this? I'm an old man and my wife is an old woman."
But the angel said, "I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won't believe me, you'll be unable to say a word until the day of your son's birth. Every word I've spoken to you will come true on time—God's time."
Meanwhile, the congregation waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so long in the sanctuary. When he came out and couldn't speak, they knew he had seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the people.
When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went back home. It wasn't long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. "So, this is how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!" she said.

Luke 1: 18-25 

We just had to share

Day 6

Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.
 But the angel reassured him, "Don't fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You're going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He'll achieve great stature with God.
 "He'll drink neither wine nor beer. He'll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother's womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God's arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he'll get the people ready for God."

Luke 1:11-17

Day 5

During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.

It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. 

Luke 1:5-10

Day 4

'Watch for this: The time is coming'—God's Decree—'when I will keep the promise I made to the families of Israel and Judah. When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right. That's when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, "God Has Set Things Right for Us." 

Jeremiah 33: 14-16

Day 3

 A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse's stump, from his roots a budding Branch.
The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him, 
   the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit that gives direction and builds strength, 
   the Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-God.
Fear-of-God 
   will be all his joy and delight.
He won't judge by appearances, 
   won't decide on the basis of hearsay.
He'll judge the needy by what is right, 
   render decisions on earth's poor with justice.
His words will bring everyone to awed attention. 
   A mere breath from his lips will topple the wicked.
Each morning he'll pull on sturdy work clothes and boots, 
   and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land.The wolf will romp with the lamb, 
   the leopard sleep with the kid.
Calf and lion will eat from the same trough, 
   and a little child will tend them.
Cow and bear will graze the same pasture, 
   their calves and cubs grow up together, 
   and the lion eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will crawl over rattlesnake dens, 
   the toddler stick his hand down the hole of a serpent.
Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill 
   on my holy mountain.
The whole earth will be brimming with knowing God-Alive, 
   a living knowledge of God ocean-deep, ocean-wide.

On that day, Jesse's Root will be raised high, posted as a rallying banner for the peoples. The nations will all come to him. His headquarters will be glorious.

Isaiah 11:1-10

Day 2

The people who walked in darkness 
   have seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows— 
   light! sunbursts of light!
You repopulated the nation, 
   you expanded its joy.
Oh, they're so glad in your presence! 
   Festival joy!
The joy of a great celebration, 
   sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.
The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants— 
   all their whips and cudgels and curses—
Is gone, done away with, a deliverance 
   as surprising and sudden as Gideon's old victory over Midian.
The boots of all those invading troops, 
   along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,
Will be piled in a heap and burned, 
   a fire that will burn for days!
For a child has been born—for us! 
   the gift of a son—for us!
He'll take over 
   the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor, 
   Strong God,
Eternal Father, 
   Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow, 
   and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
He'll rule from the historic David throne 
   over that promised kingdom.
He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing 
   and keep it going
With fair dealing and right living, 
   beginning now and lasting always.
The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies 
   will do all this.

 Isaiah 9: 2-7

Day 1

 The Word was first, 
      the Word present to God, 
      God present to the Word. 
   The Word was God, 
      in readiness for God from day one.

Everything was created through him;
      nothing—not one thing!—
      came into being without him.
   What came into existence was Life,
      and the Life was Light to live by.
   The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
      the darkness couldn't put it out.

John 1:1-5

Loving this Christmas Season, remembering the true reason for this beautiful time of year!!!

Thanksgiving

How was your Thanksgiving??

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! We went to North Carolina on Wednesday and spent time with family which was great!

          We ate tons of food...

Pilgrim Cookies

different cheeses!

Yeast rolls

Turkey, sweet potato casserole, mash potatoes, fruits, veggies and lots of  dessert! 

          Played Games...

Axis and Allies

          Watched Football...

          And spent some quality time with family...

The boys played golf while the girls (and Bug) shopped and watched "girly" movies!

         Bug off course had a blast with his grandparents aunts and uncles! 

It was a fun Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for our family! God has truly been good to us!

Thankful

We have adopted a tradition that Mom R. started about 15 years ago in an effort to emphasize Thanksgiving for the family! The Thankful Tree is now something i have grown to look forward to during fall, and this year our sweet little Bug was part of the whole tradition. We went to look for a tree around the area last week, and found the perfect one! Then we set it up, cut out leaves and started listing all we are thankful for!

Salvation

Love

Family

Friends

Our Small Group

Jobs

Laughter

Date nights

Home

Our Son's "Firsts"

Time Together

What are you thankful for?

Dear Paula Deen...

Wednesday night i decided to make an apple cake. I google-searched apple cake recipes and came across "Uncle Bob's Fresh Apple Cake" recipe. Paula Deen deemed it "Easy" so i gave it a try. I quickly realized Paula's "easy" is my "hard". Granted, not having 3 very important ingredients might have been the reason this "easy" recipe was more difficult than it needed to be. 

Though i had to substitute the apples (we didn't have Granny Smith apples), and for some reason the pantry decided to run out of vegetable oil and sugar (substituted Olive oil and brown sugar), it turned out pretty tasty. Definitely will be making it again - with the ingredients the recipe calls for. It is a perfect fall treat and it sure made our kitchen and apartment smell DELICIOUS! 

Ingredients

Honey Glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons milk

Apple Cake:

• 3 cups diced Granny Smith apples, about 2 apples
• 1 cup lightly toasted chopped walnuts
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 3 eggs

Directions

Glaze: Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and stir until smooth. Set the bowl aside.

Cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a Bundt pan or tube pan.

In a bowl, mix together the apples, walnuts, vanilla, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Add in the dry ingredients and beat until completely combined. Fold in the apple mixture.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to fully cool in the pan, about 1 hour, and then turn it out onto a plate.

Drizzle the apple cake with some of the honey glaze, serve and enjoy!

Cook's Note:

The cake can be wrapped tightly and stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

ENJOY! HAPPY FALL!

Celebrating Fall

I love the fact that churches have Fall Festivals! They are such a great alternative for parents and kids. It gives kids the opportunity to play and get candy and it's worry-free for the parents! This year we were lucky enough to be able to go to two. Although Bug was a bit too little to fully enjoy all that the festivals had to offer, he got dressed up in his lion costume and enjoyed some fun fall activities.

On Saturday, October 29th, we went with my mom and brother to their church and enjoyed a festival inside (since it was under 30 degrees and snowing outside). Bug played some games and watched a really fun puppet show.

With Uncle Javi! 

Luke Skywalker/pirate! Best costume there for sure!

 On Monday, October 31st, we opted to not go trick-or-treating. It was cold and by the time it was dark enough it would have been way to late for Bug. We went to our church for the Fall Festival. They had food, games, face painting, music and horses! We enjoyed time with friends and Bug's friends too! He rode a horse for the first time and LOVED it. He giggled the whole time! Then he played with the youth pastor's new dog (Bug loves dogs!) and we came home right on time for bed time! It was a wonderful day!

Bug and Chewbacca! 

Getting sleepy

Great first official Halloween for our little one! Maybe next year we'll try trick-or-treating with him!

The Birthday Party

**Sorry this is so late!**

Bug's birthday party was a success! We had to change locations because the pumpkin farm we were originally planning to go to was under water and we had to make last minute plans and tell everyone. Thankfully everything turned out even better than we planned! Though it was a little bit chilly, Cows-n-Corn had everything we needed and more. They had a tent with tables ready for us, the staff was WONDERFUL and so helpful, and there were animals to pet, hay stacks, hay rides, playgrounds, and the maze (as muddy as it was). Everyone seemed to have had a great time!

Bug trying to grab the goat after he kicked it.

Laughing with his Grandpa "Pa-Pa"

The boys enjoying the hay stacks

The band

Bug loved playing with the cow and the goats! He learned to go down the slide by himself and really enjoyed that! The cake was delicious (thanks to my cousin!) and Bug received some amazing gifts!

The delicious cake!

 We can truly say that we have been incredibly blessed with wonderful friends and family.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY! 

The Beginning of the Toddler Years!

Thursday our little boy turned ONE! It continues to be surreal that a year passed by already and that we now have a toddler at home!

In the midst of planning a birthday party, praying for good weather, and Jared working insane hours, we really tried to spend every possible minute watching our growing boy go from baby to toddler!! We watched as he became more and more aware of his surroundings, and of how things (his toys, my phone and the remote) work. He has become much more vocal; knows what he wants and is sure to let me know what he doesn't want or like.

Thursday, i woke up with the feeling that everything was going to change. I went to his room expecting this big kid, walking, talking, independent, just ready to be a "big boy". Instead, to my heart's content, my son looked up and smiled and reached up so i could pick him up. He was still my baby,and that made me so glad! We spent the day doing different things: We opened presents and then went to the mall for a treat, played with new toys and then went to Build a Bear for his birthday present!

There was lots to see and lots to do, but i'm glad that the 3 of us were able to spend some time together building a bear, before Jared had to go back to work!

Fall

This time last year we had no idea that in TWO days we would be holding our beautiful son! A year has passed by WAY too fast, and i can't believe it's already here! In just a year our little boy went from being solely dependent on us to becoming a self-feeding, mobile, talkative boy.
Since these are the last couple of days are the last ones before Bug's birthday, we asked our friend, S, to take some pictures of our little family. The leaves are changing, and the weather has been BEAUTIFUL lately, so it was the perfect time of year to take some pictures!