Labor of Love

I love Christmas music, don't you? It's so cheerful and fun - well, mostly.

This year, I've been thinking a lot about Mary and trying to imagine what it must have been like for her. The following song made me picture it best. It's called "Labor of Love" and it's by Andrew Peterson:

It was not a silent night, there was blood on the ground

You could hear a woman cry in the alleyway that night, on the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean and the cobblestones were cold

And little Mary, full of grace,

With the tears upon her face,

Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain, it was the cold sky above

But, for the girl on the ground in the dark,

With every beat of her beautiful heart,

It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph by her side, callused hands and weary eyes

No midwives to be found, on the streets of David's town, in the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed, shafts of moonlight on his face

But the baby in her womb, He was the Maker of the moon

He was the Author of the faith, that could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain, it was the cold sky above

But, for the girl on the ground in the dark,

With every beat of her beautiful heart,

It was a labor of love

For little Mary, full of grace,

With tears on her face,

It was a labor of love

It was not a silent night,

On the streets of David's town

I love, love, LOVE this song! I think it paints the clearest picture of Mary and what she must have gone through (not that I would know). As I sat and listened to this song, I wanted to cry and jump up and down at the same time. Mary...

She was probably 14 or 15 years old. Last year (23), I couldn't imagine having a kid. That's a lot of years I had on Mary. To be that young? To follow God's call? Unimaginable. And yet, at the same time, I want to have that much courage. That much faith.

Do I?

These thoughts are running through my head this year. I can't believe what Mary went through. Of course, there are times when I think my life is "difficult," but it's not. Not like that.

Mary might have had no idea what was happening to her or understood pregnancy. Laying on a cold ground and not knowing what was going on? Dreadful. She went through so much to bring us our Savior. Mary was just so young. So inexperienced. So scared. And yet, she went through this. For me. For you. For us.

That just brings me to tears. Tears of greatfulness. Tears of shame. Tears of love. I wish I could know her. I wish I had her courage.

I. wish. I. had. her. faith.

I wish I were more eloquent in writing this, but I don't even have the words. I just can't imagine what she went through - at 24 I'm not sure I could handle it. I don't know that I could do it. I sat and tried to think about how I would react if I heard I was going to give birth to Jesus, the Savior of the nations, the giver of Life and Freedom... And, I couldn't.

All I could be was so greatful for Mary and her strength. For believing when she probably didn't even understand what was happening to her. For giving birth to my Lord.

She amazes me. And, this holiday season, I'm trying to think about how I want to be like her...

One Room is Done!

Well, we only have one room really done in our house right now. Pretty much everything else is "in progress." It's getting frustrating, but really, it's just little stuff. I wish I knew how to do more, though, because I feel like I just sit around a lot (even though I know I really don't).

So, here is the front of our house and living room. Enjoy the fall decorations - they're coming down on Saturday.

Going out on a date. I love going out with Shawn! We don't get to very often because of our schedules (well, mostly his).

While it might not seem exciting or like much to you, I love it. I think our living room is cozy and there's a pretty good amount of room for entertaining (which we'll one day start doing) and playing Wii (ha!). I'd love to show you the picture of our bookshelf, Blogger doesn't feel like letting me. It's still my favorite part of the house.

Hopefully there will be more pictures to come soon...

Meet Libby: Part 2

Well, Libby has been with Shawn and I for about 2 months now - since the day after we got back from our honeymoon. She's just so adorable and sweet. Now, anyway. It took a few weeks for me to actually like her. Cleaning up pee and poop got old really fast - as did her not listening to me. I'm not sure how Brent and Tiffany took care of a whole litter of puppies. One almost did me in.

Yes, Shawn tried to warn me that a puppy wasn't easy and that they could (quite frankly) be pretty annoying. I still didn't know what to expect as I never really had a pet (besides a bunny) growing up. I've always wanted a puppy.

Here are some quick pictures... She's gotten big pretty quickly.


Aidan attempted to take Libby on her first walk. We didn't get very far and I'm surprised he didn't strangle her.

Just look at those big, sad eyes. She's even turned Shawn into an old softie.

This is my favorite picture.

Her second walk at the Gunpowder went a little better - even if she did throw up 3 times there and once on the way home.

And, this is definitely the funniest. She climbed into Gavin's exersaucer all on her own. I looked away for a minute, and I still can't figure out how she got herself in there.

Brent, Tiffany, and family (probably mostly Caitlin) got this dress for Libby and I put it on her when they came to visit last week. Shawn's not such a huge fan of it - he wouldn't even take her outside to go to the bathroom with it on...
Finally calmed down and asleep. It takes a lot to wear Libby out and now that she can get on the sofa by herself, she thinks she owns the place.

I guess Libby's our "kid" for now. Heaven help me, I think I've become one of "those dog people". I have her Christmas present (chew toys) in our bedroom to prove it.

Hmmm...

I read this last night in preparation for Sunday School. I found it in Crazy Love (yes, I finally got back to reading it) and it's really made me think.

"The critical question for our generation - and for every generation - is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness and with all the friend you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?"

~ John Piper, God is the Gospel

Honestly? I read the first part and was like, "Wow, that sounds pretty great to me!" Then I got to the last phrase and it literally stopped me in my tracks (so to speak). I couldn't even answer it with a definitive "yes" and that just made me so ashamed. How could I even think about being satisfied without Christ? Isn't that the whole point? Or, at least, shouldn't it be?

I know I love Christ, but I need to work on making Him a priority. And, I know I can't possibly be truly happy or satisfied without Him. So, why did this even make me hesitate? I don't have the answer to that, but I now know what I need to work on.

As we talked about today, "What is my motive for following Christ?"

You Like?

So, after five years of waiting - I finally took the plunge. And did this...

I finally cut my hair! I'd been growing it out for about five years since Shawn and I started dating. (Yes, I knew we were going to get married that soon - lol). I was really nervous about it, because I've only had short hair one time in my life and that was a disaster. But, I've been dying to do something different. Even though I love my curly hair, there isn't too much you can do to make it look different.

Shawn got tired of my complaining about how I never get to do anything different and told me, "you have to just do it, your hair will grow back, blahblahblah." Of course, he doesn't really care what I choose to do, but I did the push. I mean, everything else in my life has changed in the past year. So, why not this small thing too?

The result? I aboslutely LOVE it! For once I feel like I really got my money's worth. It only takes 15 minutes to do - a major plus.

Whaddaya think?

"Fancy Cheese Fondue"

I haven't made too many meals so far. At least, not anything requiring a recipe. But, Shawn & I (ok, mostly I) have decided that Fridays or Saturdays are going to be "dip & movie nights." It's something easy, but if you know Shawn - that's what he likes the most. Our first week home, I decided to try fondue since I love The Melting Pot. Shawn's not a huge fan since everything takes "too long." He does like the cheese fondue, though, so I thought I would try to make something similar that would hopefully taste as good (and be a good bit cheaper).

I found a recipe for Fancy Cheese Fondue on another woman's blog (she blogged a new Crock-Pot recipe every day for a year - can you believe that?!?). It seemed easy enough and (obviously) didn't need an actual fondue pot - major plus, since we don't have one.

This recipe is made for a small fondue pot ("The Little Dipper"), but we quadrupled it and made it the big Crock-Pot since we were eating it as our meal.

Here ya go:

1/4 cup each of three "fancy" cheeses (we used Swiss & Gruyere, Sharp White Cheddar, and Mozzarella & Provolone)

1/4 cup white wine (I just bought the cheapest white wine they had at the liquor store)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

* Shred the hard cheese and put them in the Crock Pot. Add the cheese. Pour in the white wine and sprinkle the nutmeg on top. No need to stir - it will melt together.

* Plug in the Little Dipper. Cook for 45 minutes, then stir. Cover again and heat until cheese is melted and bubbly.

* Shawn and I ate the fondue with apples, pretzels, nachos, carrots, and French bread. Soooooooo good!

We're Baaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!

Well, folks, the honeymoon was simply amazing. There will, of course, be pictures of both the honeymoon and the wedding eventually. Not yet, though - I promised a friend Shawn and I would bring her dinner and show her the pictures. And, since she has a Facebook - I can't be putting the pictures up here. It wouldn't be as much fun for her to see them twice. So, next week it shall be. I'm excited to see them all myself :)

As I was saying... the honeymoon was great! The weather was gorgeous, the views were beautiful, and it was so much fun. It was pretty wonderful being "disconnected" from everyone. Of course, there was the stray text message. *Ahem, Amanda & Caleb* But, it was nice not replying (sorry, guys) - the phone was only on in case Shawn & I should get separated. And, yes, I checked Facebook to see if anyone had put up pictures of the wedding (I had to know what I looked like!) and to put up some pictures that Shawn & I took ourselves. But, since I can do that from my phone by a simple text message and since I did while we were waiting for the subway - I don't think that really counts.

I loved being just with Shawn for 9 days straight. Because of his job, we usually didn't have more than 2 or 3 days together a week. So, it was great - just the 2 of us. I'd break into that old 90's song by Will Smith, but I don't think anyone wants that.

Now we're home, and already I am stressed out - trying to set up the house. My house. Our house. It's still weird to think of it like that sometimes, but it really feels like mine now that I'm actually here for more than a few hours a day. I'm trying to get everything ready as soon as possible, so that way it can be done. Libby (the new puppy) is adding a little bit of extra stress. She likes Shawn better and doesn't listen to me too well. We're hoping to change that.

I guess I'll end this rambling post now - I just wanted to do a "quick" update for y'all now that I am home...