It's Beginning to look alot like Christmas!

This is our nativity. Love it!
Lisa asked why Gracie wasn't in the pics from the tree farm ,here's why. She wasn't at all into have her picture taken:")

Yes, we decorate as soon as possible after Thanksgiving. I love having a tree up with beautiful lights. I leave them on all day! Nothing is better than doing devotions beside it!

So here are the pics of everyone decorating the tree. And Piper continues to redecorate it every chance she gets. I am a little behind on posting them. We've been enjoying it since Sunday.

Reilly

oops, added it again at the top

Well, we have a new addition to our family, we think. We are trying out Reilly this week. She is a super sweet lab mix. We got her from a foster family, her original family needed to get rid of her when they had their second child. But they loved her tons, she is well trained and has a great temperament. As you can see, Pipey is riding her! I think everyone is already love with her. I am the deciding factor, can I handle the hair?

Our Tree

Hmmm, which one?
Yes, it's perfect!



Do you smell that? It's our beautiful tree! We went to get it in the mountains on Saturday. It has become a tradition to go up as soon as possible after Thanksgiving! to get our tree. Jeremy isn't too fond of it, but he humors me. Thanks honey! He thinks you should just go to Lowes. Which we have done for many years. But I love going up there and picking it and watching them cut it down. And the girls enjoyed it. Making memories!

Thankful For....

I finished up my study on Ruth this past week. I think that is what I will focus on for what I am thankful for... I wish that I could have written to you everyday as I read it, it was so incredible, but time just doesn't allow for that.
Naomi has decided to go back to Israel, the covenant community and has urged Orpah and Ruth to stay with their people so they will be taken care of. Orpah decides to take her advice and misses out on a living relationship with God-the only thing that truly matters. But not Ruth, she says "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you." So powerful. Ruth was trusting God to meet her as she laid down her life for Naomi!
Once they are back in Israel, they have to have food. So Ruth goes out to glean for them. This is very dangerous. She is a Moabite and a woman with noone to protect her. But Boaz takes notice of her and tells his workers to leave stuff behind for her to glean. Thank you Lord! She takes home a TON of food, about 80 lbs. And Boaz told her to stay in his fields so she would be protected.
Ruth goes home with all this food and Naomi starts to see God's kindness. Remember, she is very bitter and not very repentant for her past sins. She begans to realize that God is not out to get her and that He will provide her needs. She tells Ruth that Boaz is one of their redeemers. A kinsman who back then-would buy back relatives who fell into debt. Boaz did not have a legal obligation to them though, but He saw the bigger picture.
But this points us to an even greater redeemer, Our Redeemer! "Boaz was the means that God used in a small way to show Naomi his goodness. Her bitterness, which had hardened and deepened under what she saw as the lashes of God's judgement, at last began to melt when brought face to face with an undeniable experience of His goodness and grace. She began to recognize that, contrary to what she had earlier thought, the Lord had not stopped showing his covenant faithfulness to her and Ruth."
Mr Duguid goes on to explain that there was a clock ticking in the book of Ruth-the clock of redemption. Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem just in time for the barley harvest, then seven weeks later was Pentecost! These ladies are experiencing the first fruits of God's deliverance but not the fullness of it yet. "For us, too, a clock is ticking. We who have received the first fruits of our salvation await its fullness. Often, we are so preoccupied with the challenges of surviving from one day to the next that we are inclined to forget the clock's relentless beat. When we do think about it, our redemption seems slow in coming. Yet we ought not to forget that in God's perfect time, our present groaning will give away to shouts of joy(yeah!!), as we receive our full adoption as the sons and daughters of God. Quieting out hearts and focusing our attention on the reality and certainty of the inheritance that is stored up for us in heaven will feed our hope and encourage us to persevere patiently until the sands of God's time run out."
So I am so very grateful for my Redeemer! What a costly work He has done for us! This year has been filled with trials in our house yet we have seen our Redeemer's faithfulness. For He is good and worthy of our praise!! He is using all things for our good and His glory. We wouldn't want it any other way!

Black Friday

That's ALOT of packages!

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! We were in Angier with Jeremy's parents. Great visit:)

So today is one of my favorite days of the year. It's the day I get to use my spiritual gift-Shopping!! Yes I love this day, it has become a family tradition for all the girls to take the day to shop for Christmas. The past few years even some of my friends have joined in (and might I add they used to gawk at me and tell me how crazy I was for getting up so early.I guess if you can't beat her, join her?)

So at the ripe hour of 3:30 Lisa and I began standing in line at Kohl's. yes, am. Tracie and Becky soon followed. It was freezing but we all made it. The deals were great and I got almost ALL of my Christmas shopping done today. After we left Kohl's we headed to Target then to IHOP. Then Lisa and I headed to the mall to top it all off. We ran into most of my family at some point during the day. They have decided they are too old or too tired to join me in the wee hours anymore:)

Whew! I am pooped. Was it worth it? YES indeed! I chose to write about shopping instead of Thanksgiving since I don't have many brain cells left right now. Do they regenerate overnight? So tomorrow I will post about what I am thankful for. For there is so much!

Abbie

I had the best time today! My mom, dad, and I were able to go to my sister Abbie's school where she is student teaching. Her precious teacher invited us up and had a surprise party for her since she is almost done with her student teaching. They had food and cake to celebrate. The best part was watching those little second graders be impacted by the teaching of my dear sister. They loved her and so did the teachers! What a blessing! While the kids were waiting to get their food, they each told their favorite thing about Ab. One little boy said his favorite thing was the way she asked them if they understood what she taught them. If they understood she had them put their thumb up, if they don't, thumb down. He also said she really worked hard to help them learn. At one point they all came up and gave her a group hug! It was the sweetest! One little girl said, "You don't look like your sister, but you talk like her!" I know, the accent is thick and very real:)

Her teacher is just a doll. The Lord was so very kind to place her in that very classroom. Thank you Ms McBrayer!

And Abbie, you will be the BEST teacher ever! We are so proud of you and seeing you use the gift God has given you to touch children brings great joy to our hearts! We love you!

Ruth

I have been studying Ruth the past couple of days. It is part of the commentary that I was reading on Esther by Iain Duguid. And once again, it is fantastic! Ruth is one of my favorite books of the Bible. But, once again I have learned so much more about it than I previously knew. First of all Naomi and Elimelech decided to leave the promised land and their God due to the trials there-famine, etc... In doing so they disobeyed God and Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion all died. Leaving Ruth with her two daughter-in-laws in a foreign land, and they were Moabites (sons weren't supposed to marry anyone from Moab)! Talk about consequences-losing your husband and sons because they chose not to trust God and remain with their people. So here's Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah with noone to care for them, no way to get daily bread. Naomi decides to ponder going back to Israel, where her family was. Israel had repented and there was food in the land again. Maybe someone would take her in? Here is what Mr Duguid says,"Such a positive outcome was certainly not inevitable. Naomi, along with her husband and children, had set out on a road of disobedience, and they had experienced the reality of God's judgement. Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion were all dead as a result. There was no hope of repentance and return for them. Yet God in his grace had not left her family completely without survivors. A remnant remained, giving hope that there might be a future after all. God's judgement on sin is reliable, for His word is faithful, but even more consistent is God's desire to restore wandering sinners to himself. GRACE IS ALWAYS GOD'S LAST WORD (emphasis mine)." Then he goes on to say "God's grace transcends our rebellion, and not only leaves the door open for us to retrace our steps, but stirs our hearts to see our folly and the welcoming arms that await our return. So the Spirit of God stirred in Naomi's heart to leave the land of rebellion, swallow her wounded pride, and start out at last on the long road home." There's so much more....

Last Night

Last night was a special night for our family. We have a tradition, when we find out the sex of our baby we all go to dinner together to find out what it is. So last night it was Lauren and Chris' turn to share what baby #2 is going to be. We have to wait until everyone is seated at the table and by this point, my dad is usually about to go crazy:) Then we go around the table and everyone shares what they think it is. Soooo, any guesses?

It's a GIRL!!!! Yes, more of the same:) Let's see, that makes 9 girls-5 granddaughters and 4 great grands on both sides of my family. There is one boy, poor cousin Jared, all alone:(

We are excited though! What would we do with a boy anyway? And Tristen will get a sister. There's nothing like those:)

She is healthy. Lauren does have a low lying placenta so they will check that again in a few months through ultrasound. If it begins to cover the cervix she will end up with a C-section.

So baby girl is due the end of April! Can't wait!!!

Laminin

At the Chris Tomlin concert, there was a speaker, Louie Giglio. I have never heard of him before, he is outstanding!! He is a dear friend of Chris' and they travel together. Louie always gives a message at the concert. So this year's theme is How Great is our God. So that is what his message was on. Let me tell you, it was incredible. He said his goal was to have everyone leave there realizing that God is way bigger than we thought before we came in. Well he definitely accomplished that!! I was going to tell you about the message but this guy did such a good job on his blog that you should read his. Please do it, it is soooo amazing How great our God is. It won't take but a minute. If you only have a second, scroll down to where he talks about laminin. And then post and tell me what you think. I was blown away at how truly great my God is. That He takes time for piddly ole me. Here's the linkhttp://global51.com/2007/03/laminin.html
Amazing Huh???

How Great is our God

That's Him-Chris!

They were singing "Oh Happy Day..when Jesus washed my sins away.." One of my favorite parts:)

The splendor of the king

Clothed in majesty

Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice

He wraps Himself in light

And darkness tries to hide

And trembles at His voice, and trembles at His voice

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD

SING WITH ME

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD

ALL WILL SEE HOW GREAT, HOW GREAT

IS OUR GOD

Age to age He stands

And time is in His hands

Beginning and the end, beginning and the end

The Godhead, three in One,

Father, Spirit, Son,

The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb

NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES

WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE

MY HEART WILL SING HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!!!

Last night, we have the privilege of going to the Chris Tomlin concert. It was fantastic!! I felt like I was in worship for 3 whole hours! And we had 5th row seats! Anyway, Chris has an awesome voice, very gifted by the Lord. And the concert was sooooo focused on God, not on the band. If they come back, I highly recommend that you go. We had a blast! Scurlocks went too!

Esther

Do you ever study something in the Bible to learn that what you have believed your whole life was wrong? Well that just happened to me! I have been studying Esther with a commentary by Iain M. Duguid. It is sooo good. All my life I believed that Esther was a very Godly woman who depended on the Lord daily. She depended on Him so much that she asked all the Jewish people to fast for her before she went in to King Ahasuerus to plead for their lives.
Well, not exactly. I think Esther was a Godly woman but she made many compromises that were damaging to her faith. In order to be queen she had to conceal her identity as a Jew, living a lie for five years until she had to reveal herself in order to save all the Jews from being annihilated! Even more than that, she married a pagan (King A.) and totally immersed herself in the world! Being part of the pagan kingdom totally cut her off from her people, God's people.
God is not mentioned one time in the book of Esther!! Can you believe that? Of course He is there on every page, guiding history. But they never give Him any credit!
Yet, Here is the good part! God used Esther mightily to save His people! He could have picked someone else. But He chose her, a sinner just like you and me. A woman who did all the things we listed above. But He allowed her to change history forever, to save His beloved people! I love these kinds of stories in the Bible. When God takes the ordinary girls and gives them extraordinary tasks!

Invincible

OR NOT... Well I have succumbed to the plague of the Gibson house. Yes I am not as invincible as I thought. Bummer. So the sickness continues. This stinks!! I am feeling a little better today. But on the bright side, I have the house all to myself today. Jeremy is at the men's meeting at church and the girls are at the Doodlebops with La La and Nanny (Mom you are my hero). Mom went in my place since I am sick. I am really sad to miss the girls having all that fun. Lauren will take great pics for me though.
And I had to miss the ladies meeting last night. So very sad about that one. Hope you all took good notes so you can fill me in:)
Well I should go make good use of my time!

Migraines and Tagged-Again!

I went back to the neurologist today and thought I would update you. I have decided to take the daily preventative medicine. I am not thrilled about it, but I do have peace about the decision. The med has some bad side effects. However, the neurologist thinks if I take it at night some of them will be minimized. So, maybe I won't get them at all? We'll have to see. I've been having two migraines a week for about eight months now so I am hoping this will give my body a little break. I don't plan to be on it long, but we will see what happens. I trust that God is in control of the situation and He helps me through each and every headache and provides for my family:)
And that crazy Juli has tagged me again! So I am supposed to list 8 random things about myself...
1. I was born and raised here in Charlotte. (Like you can't tell that from my accent:))
2. Jeremy and I lived in the same dorm in college, a floor apart and he used to get my clothes out of the laundry for me and take them to his room so I would have to come in there and get them:)
3. I absolutely hate snakes. I am petrified of them.
4. Uhm... I like country music.
5. I am the oldest of three girls.
6. The house and land that we own now used to be owned by my friend's parents. Used to come here for sleepovers!
7. I would love to cut all my hair off, as short as possible. But my hubby doesn't like that idea.
8. My hubby likes to help me fulfill lifelong desires. He bought me a beautiful baby grand piano! That was definitely one of them:)

Okay, I tag Marge, Erika, Robin, Dawn, Dana, Shawna, Meghann

Food

I have a confession to make... I LOVE food! Way too much in fact. It is an idol in my life. Now I know you are thinking, "You Lindsay, come on. You are small." Yes, I am on the small side but that has nothing to do with it. I love to eat anything bad for me. French fries, chocolate, desserts, the list goes on and on. I don't eat alot at a time, which is why I'm not as big as a house, but I still need to eat healthier. Why, so that I can serve and glorify God to the best of my ability. What has prompted this? Well, I have eaten healthy in the past because of different health issues, most of them still exist. But I've never stuck with it and seen results. My body is really changing now and I am seeing the affects of my poor eating habits. Not just in my weight, yes I am 15 pounds heavier than I should be, (No I am not crazy nor making that up-it's really true. I am short people:) You will just have to trust me on this one.) but my thyroid levels and hormones are still out of whack. And I would love to see a decrease in the migraines! I also think it would help with the sugar cravings and fatigue.
Sooo, I started eating healthier yesterday. By God's grace I hope it sticks this time! I will keep you posted on how it goes. And if I see a difference I will let you all in on what I am doing. I have done lots of reasearch and have come up with a little plan. And my friend Anna has helped me too. Thank you!! This is really a lifestyle change, not a diet. I am telling you all so you can keep me accountable. When you see me out, note what I am eating. And don't be afraid to ask me about what you see. The temptations are great!

Sick and Tagged

Yes, we are still sick here at the Gibson house. I feel like we have the plague or something. Gracie is coughing her head off and sneezing, the end I think of this yucky virus. Piper is a little stuffy and has a runny nose. But worst of all, poor Jeremy is sick in bed. He has a terrible sore throat. My hubby never comes home sick, but he did today. I feel so bad for him. So far I have remained unscathed.

And I've been tagged by Juli. First for me too here in the blog world. That means I have to list 7 children's books and tag other bloggers. But Juli and Becky have gotten just about all the other bloggers I know. And girls, I don't know how to link other people's sites. help?? Unfortunately, my girls don't like for me to read to them, well Piper does a little, so my list is a little limited. Anyway, here is my list...

1. "Guess How Much I love You"

2. "I Already Know I Love You" by Billy Crystal

3. "Stellaluna"

4. "Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers, The Gospel" by Joey Allen

5. "Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers, The Bible" by Joey Allen

6. "Designed by God, so I Must Be Special" can't remember:)

7. "The Princess and the Kiss" by Jennie Bishop

oooh I did better than I thought.

Here you go girls, I tag...

Marge

Dawn

Dana Tweed-anybody know? I can't remember since Becky took all her links off:) That's been hard Beck:)

Robin Miracle

Erika Dahl

I hope these linked right? Man, there are lots of us who blog! Thanks ladies!! You think if I tagged people who don't have blogs they would get busy?:)

Reunion

Here's all of us, I'm in the middle, third row
My friend Emily, we have been friends since elementary school!!
My awesome husband!! Thank you Lord!!

Tonight was my 10 year highschool reunion!! I graduated from North Mecklenburg, right here in Huntersville. It was so neat to see everybody. There were so many faces I immediately recognized and many that took me a while. It was such a fun mix of people. A little from this crowd and a little from that one. I was always some where in the middle:) Floating from group to group. I was so blessed with friends from all different cliques. So I enjoyed catching up with lots of them. I can't believe how many still live right here. Yet I don't see them out places. And to top it all off I got an award...For being married the longest!!!!! Can you believe that? I am one of the youngest in my class too. It's been Nine years, almost:) But the person who won the most kids, they have six. Oh my goodness, they have been busy!

Anger #5

Well I have really drug these anger posts out! Sorry for that. I am going to end with this one! But rest assured I will be posting about anger for the rest of my life, I am sure. I wanted to end with the glorious hope we have in our Lord! Alot of what I am posting comes from CJs book Humility, True Greatness.
Next time you sin with anger, consider this, "For those who feel the effects of their serious condition, who realize their humanly unalterable condition, the good news is that there's One who appears on the scene and says this: "I've come. I'm leading the way. I'm moving relentlessly to the place where I'll be nailed to a cross and lifted up as the ultimate example of suffering, and there the concentrated fury of the Father's wrath for your sins will be visited upon Me. And I will groan, for I am sinless and I'm unfamiliar with any sin, with even a single sin. Yet on that cross I will experience the sins of many visited upon My body. And I will die."
I think unless I ponder what God has done for me, any attempt to combat my anger is futile. Unless I am humble and realize my sinful state before the Almighty God, I am going to be far too prideful to respond to my children any differently. CJ says, "The cross ransoms, the cross liberates, the cross transforms!" Praise God! Lord, what an incredible gift I will never be able to fully grasp until I meet you face to face.
Friends, I hope you have received encouragement and hope that God is transforming you to be more like him. He loves us more than anything. Afterall, He died for us!! Anger has no place in training our little ones. It teaches them to fear man, not God. We must see ourselves as God's agents. We have been given a mandate to teach our children that when they sin, they are offending our God. It has nothing to do with us. It's about our Savior. Glory be to God!

Pictures

Gracie-Uniqua from the Backyardigans, Piper-ballerina, Mannino girls-care bears, Anthony-punkin
Cousin Tristen is a fairy
Pablo Jackson from the Backyardigans and Lucas Spiderman

Here are the pics I was trying to post yesterday.

Dress Up Time

Hey everybody! We always enjoy Halloween at our house. We have a tradition of getting together with the Scurlocks and the Hollemans! So this year was a little different. My little princesses are still sick. Yes, this is week two. Piper threw up Monday night and then nothing. Then both girls had fevers Tues afternoon and Gracie has the sore throat, achy body, fever virus now. Poor thing, she is so pitiful. She just cries when her throat hurts. The medicine works well though, thankfully. Please pray for us all. Mommy is tired:)
Back to Halloween. We start off at Mom and Dad's church for trunk-or-treat. The kids love it and the fam gets to see the kiddos. This year the Manninos joined us! Then we head to the Scurlocks for trick-or-treating and food! This year we didn't stay long since we have yucky germs:) We just went for the treat part and visited for a little while after that. We couldn't deprive ourselves of the whole evening:) Lauren, Chris, and Tristen joined us for that!
Well, I can't get the pics to download. It's taking forever. Does anyone else keep having this problem?