Jesse Tree: Day 3

Day 3: Inside the Ark

After Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden, the sin in the world grew worse and worse. Soon there were so many people who did not love God and God was angry.  He decided to destroy the world by sending a great flood .  However, there was one man named Noah who loved God and followed Him in all of His ways.  God told Noah to build an ark and put 2 of every animal along with his family.  Inside the ark, Noah and his family were safe.

The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Those who do not turn to God will be lost forever, just like those who turned against God during Noah's time. But God has provided us life through His Son Jesus.  Through Jesus' death on the cross, we are forgiven for our sins and can have eternal life with Him.

Jesse Tree: Day 2

Day 2 is The First Sin. When God first made the world He saw that everything was perfect. That was until sin enter the world. Satan disguised as a snake deceived Eve, making her question God. After eating the forbidden fruit, sin enter our world.  But God knew this and that day He promised a Savior who would come and take our sin away and bring us back to God.

Today we placed an apple on our tree.

Jesse Tree: Day 1

To lead us through our Jesse Tree, we are using the The Advent Jesse Tree by Abingdon Press.  Each day it has a devotion for children and for adults along with a memory verse, song suggestions, questions, and a prayer.  We also purchased a small 4 ft fake Christmas tree to serve as our Jesse Tree and place our ornaments on each day.

Day 1 is the Light of Creation. Gen. 1:1 and John 1:1-4.  In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. He has always been and He created all that we can see and hear.  He created man and woman. Everything He made was good.

Today we put added the globe to our tree.

Happy 1st Birthday Oliver!

Sweet Oliver,

One year ago today, you surprised us all by coming 20 days early. Evidently you didn't care what the calendar said and you just wanted out. :)  From the very first moment we saw you, we knew our world would never been the same.  You showed us early on how strong your lungs were and you made sure your needs were attended to immediately.

You've had a crazy first year of life full of doctor's appointments and tests, but you haven't let it faze you at all.  We are so thankful that your little tumor is almost gone and you are a smart, funny, and healthy toddler now. You have the cutest little expressions and are constantly make some of kind of noise.  You are mischievous, fearless, and easily amused.  You bring so much joy to our lives and we praise God that He chose us to be your parents.

As you reach this big milestone, here are some of the fun new things you are doing:

• You now weigh 22 lbs 14 oz. (52 %tile) and are 30 3/4 in tall (80% tile). Sadly son you have a big head at 18 3/4 in (84 %tile). 
• You are now drinking whole milk exclusively. Sadly due to Mommy's back injury, we quickly had to finish the weaning process. You were a champ though and never looked back. 
• You are doing a little bit of baby sign language now; you can do more and all done.
• You can make sounds that sound like: dada, mama, nana, baba, nigh (for night night) and I swear you said kiss the other day.
• You are starting to point to things you want and people in our family.
• You are eating A LOT! You must be growing through a growth spurt because I swear you are eating more than Owen these days.  I've also learned that you don't like to eat the same thing 2 days in a row. Just because you liked to eat something for lunch today doesn't mean you'll like it tomorrow. You like variety! :) However your new favorites have been apple cinnamon cereal bars and goldfish. 
• You are almost out of 12 month clothes. 
• You have become more of a daddy's boy this month.  You get so excited when he walks in the door and start fussing if he doesn't acknowledge you immediately.
• Clapping is your new favorite thing.  You love for us to sing and you will immediately start to clap when someone breaks out in song. Favorite songs are Wheels on the Bus and If You're Happy and You Know it.

We look forward to celebrating your first year tomorrow with our families and friends.  We pray that we have many, many more birthdays to celebrate together.  WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

An Advent Tradition: The Jesse Tree

A few years ago I saw this awesome advent tradition called the Jesse Tree. The Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots."  It is a vehicle to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history. The Branch is a biblical sign of newness out of discouragement, which became a way to talk about the expected messiah (for example, Jer 23:5). It is therefore an appropriate symbol of Jesus the Christ, who is the revelation of the grace and faithfulness of God.

The Jesse Tree seeks to tell the story of God's redemptive plan for the world through 25 symbols of the Old and New Testament. The symbols trace the heritage of Jesus Christ from beginning of creation to His birth on Christmas Day. Each day of Advent, there is a Scripture passage to coincide with the symbol, which most families portray as an ornament for their tree (their big family tree or a separate small tree).

After reading up on the activity, I decided it was something I definitely wanted to do with my boys to help us focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  Making 25 ornaments though, is no easy task.  An old friend told me how her mom's group got together for a craft night and did an ornament swap.  Last November, I presented the idea to my moms' group and they were sold. I coordinated the whole night and scheduled for all to get together on Dec. 2nd.

Oliver, however, decided to surprise us all and come 20 days early.  I, therefore, did not make it to my own craft night but it went on without a hitch. Beautiful ornaments were made (each lady made 25 of one symbol) and exchanged. It went so well that I was asked to coordinate it again this year, though I'm not in the group anymore.

Because of Oliver's birth, we didn't get to start the tree last year so I was excited to do it this year. For this next month, I'll be sharing more about our tree so stay tuned.

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving 2011 was quite eventful. Per tradition, we alternate years between the Piners and the Coxes. This year it was our year with the Piners. My mom opens their home to both her and my dad's sides of the family (totally 22 people). I love having all my family in one place and I love all the delicious food my mom, aunts, and cousins make.

Sadly this year though, it was not quite as fun.  Thursday morning I was trying to rock Oliver to sleep for a nap before everyone got there.  After he fell asleep in my arms, I stood up to put him in the pack-n- play and extreme pain shot down my back.  I immediately fell back in the chair, yelling for someone to come help.  It took a while for anyone to hear since they were cooking and all the doors were closed. Finally, they came to my rescue.  I spent the rest of the day stretched out in a recliner with heating pads and pain relievers.

I am so thankful for my family who was there to help with the boys that day.  I felt like I wasn't really part of the celebration that much and sadly I took no pictures.  Luckily my cousin Heather sent me this cute picture of the boys with her daughter Emma.

I hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving!
 

Month of Thanks: 23-30

Sadly I neglected the blog the last week of November. I didn't stop being thankful, I just got too busy enjoying my blessings. So to wrap up the month, here they are:

23: I am thankful for the Pilgrims who came over to America for religious freedom. I am thankful that they were bold enough to stand up for what they believed in.  My prayer is that I would always be bold in sharing my faith.

24: I am thankful for my extended family and that they make it an annual tradition to come to my parents' house for Thanksgiving.  This particular Thanksgiving, I am thankful they were there to help with the boys as I threw my back out that morning while rocking Oliver to sleep.

25: I am thankful for Black Friday and that I could save so much on Christmas gifts. I love giving gifts and good deals make it possible to do more. :)

26: Today I am thankful to live in the US, where I have clean water and air.  I love that I have freedom to praise God publicly. I am thankful that I can vote for my own leaders and that I can express my opinions.

27: Today I am thankful for our small group.  Though it has been a challenge at times, we have continued to work together to find a schedule that works for all.  I'm excited to finally be in a groove and studying God's word together.

28: I am thankful today that Oliver has finally gotten back into a routine and is sleeping all the way through the night again.

29: Today I am thankful for muscle relaxers that finally relieved the pain in my back.

30: I am thankful that I was able to nurse Oliver for a whole year, though honestly I'm glad to be done. :)

I hope you stuck with me through the month.  I feel like this activity really demanded me to reflect on my life.  I heard a quote somewhere (facebook, pinterest?) that said, "What if tomorrow, God only gave you what you thanked him for today?" Why the theology may not all be right, the phrase struck a nerve with me. How much to come to God for supplication instead of thanking Him for all He's done for me already? Thankfully I serve a merciful God who cannot love me anymore or any less than He does now.