This week (and every week, for that matter) was a mix of joy and failure. Tears and high fives. We don’t like to talk about the hard. The ugly. But what I’m realizing is that I am craving authenticity, and it has to start with me.

This summer I took some time to make a list of all the things that I wanted the kids to learn this year- ya, I kinda love lists! Among the academic goals I had for each of the kids I began to realize that our focus this year needed to be on the kids ability to hear God. I want them to know Him….like, reeeeeeally know him. To run to Him. To desire Him.

Some of the things I love most about the Christmas season are the traditions we have started as a family.
While some of them are simple and fun- like the new pajamas we open on Christmas eve to wear on Christmas morning, others are so much more than that…. like the Cookie Countdown we started a couple of years ago.
Last week Evan asked me if we could please deliver our cookies to the homeless again. Oh how my heart swelled at not only the fact that he remembered but also that he was hoping that we could do it again. When I told him of course we would his face lit up. “Awesome! That was so much fun!”

Could his response have touched his mama’s heart any deeper?

This year we are going to add in a couple of new traditions…

I lost her today.
It was probably for less than 30 mins… but it felt like hours.

We were at Evan’s hockey practice. The whistle had just blown and we were getting ready to go down to the dressing room. The girls had been chasing each other up and down the arena bleachers and as I looked up I saw Selah running towards me… but Abby wasn’t behind her.
When I asked where her sister was she just shrugged her shoulders.

I didn’t panic, as many times she will wander off and I’ll find her happily playing nearby.
I circled and checked down the long hallway. I called into every dressing room and checked all the possible hiding spots… but the longer I looked, the faster my heart beat.