MOVING TIME

Thanks to all who keep up with our family through this blog.

I've moved it over to www.jafred.wordpress.com.

Please check out and bookmark the new site.

A Little Time For Us...

For the last couple of months I (Fred) have been trying to plan an overnight getaway for Jen so that we could spend some time together without kids. My first two attempts were foiled for different reasons. Persistence paid off and yesterday we headed to Asheville for the candlelight tour of the Biltmore decorated for Christmas. Pics aren't permitted inside and when we finally finished our tour it was dark and foggy. But we took a few shots anyway.





We're heading back today to see it in the daylight. Sure I'll have more to say later.

Do You Ebay?

I have an "on again- off again" relationship with ebay.

Every six months or so I remember that it exists and start looking for things that I'm in the market for. I usually pick up a couple of items and then tire of checking my list of stuff I'm watching and dealing with last second bidders driving prices up.

Right now I'm in one of my active ebay phases.

How about you? Do you ebay?

As a buyer? Seller? Both?

What do you tend to bid on? Do you really save money?

What's the best deal you've ever gotten?

Any tips or learnings you'd be willing to share with the rest of us?

What's Your Favorite....

...Christmas cd?

I've been thinking of getting some new holiday music.

What do you have playing to get you in the spirit of the season?

Getting Christmasy

Today we went to the mall and Addy, Colston (& Jen) got to see Santa.  Yes- the REAL one. Addy asked for an Eve (from Disney's Wall-E) and interpreted Colston's request for a "goof" a.k.a. a stuffed Goofy.

Tonight the girls in the family strung popcorn to put on the tree. 

Here's the final result.  

I give it a day before Colston starts using the tree as a snack source.

I Heart Mondays

I'm learning to look forward to Mondays. Really.

That wasn't always the case. I used groan like a lot of other folks when the calendar landed on Monday. I mentioned my appreciation for this often dreaded day of the week on Facebook and within seconds I got the response- "What's your secret?"

Good question. Had to think about that for a couple of minutes.

My response? I'm seeing Monday a bit differently.

Instead of thinking of this day as the beginning of a week of work- I'm thinking of this day as the beginning of my week of work.

Huh?

Like you, I've got a ton of stuff to get done this week. Some I really want to do. Some I need to do. Some I have to do. All of it needs to be done by Sunday (in my case).

I've finally realized that I'll never have any more time this week to get stuff done than I do today (Monday).

Today I'm at the beginning of the runway. The speed only increases and the distance shrinks from here on out. Monday ought to be my least stressful day of the week.

I'm also choosing to see Monday as my best opportunity to pray over, prioritize and order my week. No new info there- just trying to practice it.

So, happy Monday.

Breathe deeply.

Stretch a bit.

Thank God for today.

Nudge the throttle forward gently.

Enjoy your week.

Advent Devotionals

Looking for a way to stay focused on God in the middle of a busy holiday season?

Check out Following The Star. This online guide provides daily devotions (w/scriptures, music, reflections, & prayers) for each day between now and Christmas. This 10 minute experience could provide a lot of grounding in the next few weeks. Make sure you check out the “On your first visit” and “About the experience” sections the first time around.

Looking for something even simpler? Stop by the Waiting, Day by Day Advent Calendar. Click on the current day of the month and you’ll find a short poem, prayer or thought about our wait for Jesus’ arrival.