Christmas in America

Chris and I have had so many conversations about Christmas in America - perhaps you have recently as well. You know the conversation that goes something like this:
"Oooh, I saw ______ in the store today, and I know exactly where I would put it, . . . if I got it!"
"Oh, yeah, and just how much was ___________?
"Well, the price was kinda high, but it was definately worth it . . . . plus, it's Christmas!"
"Oh, so Christmas is about the presents?"
"Well, no. And yes!"
"Um, maybe you should go back to Sunday school."
"Okay, no, it's not about the presents, but it's nice to know I have something under the tree that you got me besides new socks and some slippers."
"What about what we've been praying about lately? The poor, the needy, those who can't afford any of this stuff, and not to mention most of the rest of the world - Christmas to them is hardly about presents!"
"Fine. But if all we do is read the Christmas story on Christmas morning . . . then I'm not making pancakes & bacon! Just oatmeal!"
"Well, at least we have something to eat!"
"Aghhh!"

I don't know if you've had a conversation like this or not, but both my husband and I have been on both sides of this one this year. We're trying not to buy into the American Christmas - which honestly is hard to do - we've bought some gifts! So, how's your view of Christmas this year? Jesus is really why we celebrate. So let's celebrate Him!

Merry CHRISTmas! Blessings to you.

Oh, yeah, and mom, I found one of Abby's gifts in our dumpster - seriously, I did - it's one of those fold up fabric playhouses (almost fills up the floor of our kitchen) - nothing wrong with it - someone just got tired of it. Don't worry, I sanitized it - Go Lysol and stuff people throw away!

I can't believe she's 2

wow . . . doesn't time just seem to fly. If it keeps getting faster every year, as "they" say it does, then by the time I'm 65, I'll sneeze, and it'll be the next year. Regardless, these 2 years with our little Abby have been amazing! She is a blessing and we have loved watching her grow. All day today we celebrated Abigail and her life. We even managed to get 2 naps in for her, since I knew her party would go past bedtime. So it was a day of 2's. She had about 15 people/kids show up for her party at Starbucks, and she was given some great gifts (even though we requested no gifts). She loved it. The kids got to color and play with the toys, and the adults stood around and talked over coffee and the noisy children. It was great! I wish you could have been there. Here's a video and some pictures of our happy birthday party to Abby. Enjoy!

The Reiter fort

Well we decided that the mini forts we had put together for Abby using Micah's play arch weren't going to teach her anything about how the Reiter family really plays! So we built a fort in our living room tonight out of 3 chairs and 2 blankets, just the way we remember doing it when we were kids. So we thought we'd share it with you. Plus, since Micah was there too, we put in a couple pics of him so as not to leave him out of post. Love you all!

Prayer Retreat

Chris and I were able to be a part of dreaming up and setting up a prayer room at a Ministers and Mates Retreat for the pastors/staff on our district. We loved how God was a part of the whole process. Anyway, I set up a section on silence with a prayer that I have come to love. I wanted to share it with you:
Be in my mind and my thinking
Be in my eyes and in my seeing
Be in my ears and in my hearing
Be in my mouth and in my speaking
Be in my heart and in my feeling
Be in my life and in my living

Blessings to you.

Oh, to catch ALL the memories!

I find myself at 2:30 in the morning wishing that I could be past Micah's late night bottle, and the times Abby wakes up with weird dreams and wants to come to our bed . . . . I find myself wishing at 6:30 in the morning that I had another 8 hours to sleep unhindered and uninterrupted . . . . I find myself wishing that the cup of coffee I sheepishly cannot do without would somehow restore my tired face to an unscathed glow . . . . I find myself wishing all these things until I come to my senses every day and see the beauty in my life - the family I am so blessed to be a part of. I find myself smiling because, even amidst my weariness, I wouldn't have it any other way. I find myself laughing because my daughter has my millions of goofy laughs and a couple million of her own. I find myself in awe of the way my heart breathes when I see my son smile and coo when I come into sight. I find myself softening when my husband wraps me up in his perfect hug. And then this, tonight, I watched in wonder as my daughter, so young and so bright, read her little brother a nighttime story . . . from one of my favorite books. Who ever said speaking in tongues wasn't an amazing thing to behold. You'll understand when you see. I am so blessed. Yep!

The summer is so gone!

Well, October is here in full force. We thought we might get some warm weather to make up for our lack of great weather this summer, but it didn't happen. The cold is here and in turn, our heat has finally turned on! We have begun stacking our wood pile and making sure on the cold nights in Oak Harbor, we can still warm up next to a fire! Micah and Abby are doing well and enjoying growing up together - well at least Abby enjoys Micah - we're not quite sure what Micah thinks yet! Tomorrow, we will leave them for an entire day with a friend and head to Seattle for the Missions Day youth event that Chris is leading. It should be a great day for the youth in our district to be Jesus to those who are in need. I'll be helping in the worship and check in arena. We're excited to participate, and equally excited to have it over with - this has been a long road for Chris with planning, e-mails, mailings, and coordination - all the while still doing his Masters work and getting used to a new baby in the house. We'll be ready to quiet down. Oh yeah, and then I start back at Starbucks on Monday. Woo - hoo! Life never slows down does it. God, make us lights for you even in the midst of a busy life! Amen!

Free Cycle discovery

So, mom, you would be proud! I've discovered freecycle! For those of you that don't know, its a "re-use" group in your area that passes their stuff onto interested people in the same area for free, instead of sending it to a second hand store where you have to pay for it, or putting it in the landfills and adding to the mess that's already there! So now, instead of finding things that people throw away before the garbage man comes, mom, I've found a web-group that does it for free BEFORE it goes in the trash. Yes, ironic that I always used to make fun of my mother for this, and here I am . . . doing the same thing, just a little more 2008-ish! :) ha ha ha ha!

Back to life . . . back to reality

Yeah, you know you're all singing the tune now! Anyway, we're home and life as usual has begun again. We're doing laundry from our vacation, but we're doing laundry with a nice tan! Oh, yeah! All the Oak-Harborians here are wondering if we went to Hawaii for a week - I wish! No, we just went to Eastern Washington where the sun actually says hello for longer than a few hours! But no complaints! It's green here, and that comes at a cost! Abby is taking a nap as we speak, and Micah is sleeping but seems to be stirring - next accomplishment of life: get their nap schedules the same! Can I hear an amen?!

Awwwwww . . . . Vacation . . . . Yes!

So we always take our second week of vacation once the students in the youth group start school again. It's a guarantee that things are back in swing, and we can sneak away for a little R&R! Let me tell you - we have been given a gift this week - we were able to stay in a condo in Lake Chelan owned by a generous & precious family in our church. It is a small one-room studio condo with a flip-down bed (out of the wall kind) and an attached bathroom. The kitchenette is perfect too. It is small, cozy, and RELAXING. Our little family of 4 knows not a soul and we are loving it! We have breathed in rest and exhaled schedules and continuous phone calls! We'll write later . . . . .

I'm ONLY 30!

I hurt my back for the first time yesterday. Abby wasn't feeling well after she got up in the morning, so I picked her up to put her back to bed. As I leaned over to place her in the crib, I felt my back strain. Nothing popped, which I hear is good . . . or better. Anyway, I can't lean over or pick up the kids - Chris had to rub Icy-Hot into my lower back last night, and that helped a little. I tell you, these last few weeks have been rough . . . I thought my back wasn't supposed to have issues until I was at least 40! haha!

So, does sleep ever happen?

Chris and I have had many a conversation around 3am about whether or not we should add more children to this family of 4. Usually the conversation is over the heads of our sleeping children who have managed to make their way to the middle of our bed. You laugh, yes I know. My mother must be smiling, thinking that my "time" has come, and yes, ironically I agree with her. So, it's with a weird sense of irrational thinking that I wonder if we still want more. A friend of mine from Starbucks was empathizing with me. I asked her how she raised 5 children, and she said the hardest transition was from 1 to 2. After that, "you're just tired anyway, and you can't tell the difference, so it's just easier!" I laughed. So, do we want more . . . I'm too tired to decide.

Living as a single mother

So, it's me, Cherie. I have been a "single mother" for the last 4 days while my husband has been backpacking in the Olympic Mountains. I think everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. We all got sick - really bad colds. We stayed home and did nothing. The DVD player wouldn't work - the VCR busted. The dog threw up on the carpet. Micah has a cold in both eyes. The sink got plugged. Abby got pink eye. Micah peed through more clothes than I could wash. I was supposed to wear something "Hawaiian" for church, and couldn't find a thing. We were late for church. There are fruit flies reproducing somewhere in our house. Micah ended up with milk all over his face and in his eyes/ears when Abby tried to feed him when I wasn't looking, and Abby found a pen and wrote on the outside of my current book, my journal, and my leather Bible! And the list goes on . . . but we just got the phone call that daddy is on his way home . . . so everything that went wrong, suddenly seems like nothing - our favorite "man" is coming home - and we're VERY ready for him to be here! Makes a person laugh - yep, that's what I did! I cried a little too!