Right where we are suppose to be.
This month has been so full. my heart has felt a very wide spectrum of deep emotions. thankful and amazed at my baby turning 3. heartsick over the things we hear happening in Syria. longing for deeper connections and friendships with syrians. restless, anxious, ready to help. gut wrenching anguish over what happened at Sandy Hook in Connecticut. feeling more established and rooted deeper in friendship with Lebanese than ever before. missing my family so much it aches. watching my twin become a dad. wishing to be there and hold that little cutie til it hurts. family outings that feel so perfect that practically sing. the build up of christmas with a 3 year old.
but these last 4 days settled into the absolute ideal. they were busy, they were rich. poignant moments and still moments. laughing and holding back tears.
Christmas eve we had a fancy party. Melanie hosted in true Ulrich grace- and we entered a beautiful, decorated, peaceful home and dined on fun appetizers and christmas goodies.
The kids made it lively as always, and it all came together when Ryan busted out the piano. Apparently he practiced all weekend to be able to lead us in christmas carols and it was beautiful. The girls heart response were ballet moves.
Drew and i brought our tired children home and then got to wave the wand of Christmas. The parent wand. the bringing out of presents, moving around of furniture, the eating of the cookies and i could feel the anticipation mounting. We cuddled close to watch a Chrismas movie, only to be creeped out by Disney's Christmas Carol with Jim carrey, no thank you. we will plan better for next year, that is for sure.
Claire bear woke up at 6:30am and ran straight past our beds ( which she never does) and into the living room and i jumped out of bed to meet her. She was standing in the middle of the room in awe. and i loved that moment. she opened up her stocking and i loved that the simple silly toys brought her such joy.
then we settled into a long cozy morning. we opened a few presents, skyped with our Tulsa family, opened more presents..but there was no hurry. no rush. they played with their presents in between opening other presents so it felt endless and joyful and so so fun. They are too young to have the "what's next, i want more" spirit and i cherished that this year. it was so fun to see Claire's eyes light up with each gift.
we had waffles and real bacon for our christmas breakfast and it felt like such a splurge. The girls loved the waffles.
and due to great planning on this mama's part, i just enjoyed them. i did not have much to cook. i played games, i snuggled in close for nap time, i read new books, and played with fairies. it was dreamy.
as the sweet little ones napped, we prepared our home for the team family Christmas dinner. I felt so peaceful and thankful as i set up the table and cooked. What a great story we are living.
and as our empty table filled with some of our closest friends, i could feel my heart just sigh.
our family away from family. we are brimming with stories and children and laughing about memories and commenting on what meals and holidays have been flops or accomplishments. and there is more to come...more meals and memories and stories and kids. so much promise and hope at our table.
The beautiful sincere couple we brought and sat with are devastated. they are in the middle of a horrible tragedy and start tearing up when the talk about what they have seen, what they have lost, and their future. they are desperate. and somewhere in the middle of their loss...their un-proccessed pain Drew was able to speak hope and promise over them. it was incredible. they were hanging on his words. they started asking advice and telling us they had never met anyone like us.
and our amazing Lebanese pastor came over and welcomed them, processed a bit with them, and even was able to speak to them about the hurt and woundings they have that are so raw towards how the lebanese are treating them right now. he talked about the difference between believers and ones who are filled with their own hurts and wounds. it was powerful.
and as i corralled my two exhausted kids, i let my heart ache for this couple. and also let prayers slip effortlessly from my heart that they would feel the love of the Father, that they would have breakthrough with finances and that they would find healing. and i thanked God that we couple speak arabic. and that we were here at this time for this family.
and i am reminded again how God designs the beautiful gospel, the news that sets us free, to be shared from person to person, from family to family. that He loves us deep in relationship, inviting people into our lives and our kids lives.
but these last 4 days settled into the absolute ideal. they were busy, they were rich. poignant moments and still moments. laughing and holding back tears.
Christmas eve we had a fancy party. Melanie hosted in true Ulrich grace- and we entered a beautiful, decorated, peaceful home and dined on fun appetizers and christmas goodies.
The kids made it lively as always, and it all came together when Ryan busted out the piano. Apparently he practiced all weekend to be able to lead us in christmas carols and it was beautiful. The girls heart response were ballet moves.
Drew and i brought our tired children home and then got to wave the wand of Christmas. The parent wand. the bringing out of presents, moving around of furniture, the eating of the cookies and i could feel the anticipation mounting. We cuddled close to watch a Chrismas movie, only to be creeped out by Disney's Christmas Carol with Jim carrey, no thank you. we will plan better for next year, that is for sure.
Claire bear woke up at 6:30am and ran straight past our beds ( which she never does) and into the living room and i jumped out of bed to meet her. She was standing in the middle of the room in awe. and i loved that moment. she opened up her stocking and i loved that the simple silly toys brought her such joy.
then we settled into a long cozy morning. we opened a few presents, skyped with our Tulsa family, opened more presents..but there was no hurry. no rush. they played with their presents in between opening other presents so it felt endless and joyful and so so fun. They are too young to have the "what's next, i want more" spirit and i cherished that this year. it was so fun to see Claire's eyes light up with each gift.
we had waffles and real bacon for our christmas breakfast and it felt like such a splurge. The girls loved the waffles.
and due to great planning on this mama's part, i just enjoyed them. i did not have much to cook. i played games, i snuggled in close for nap time, i read new books, and played with fairies. it was dreamy.
as the sweet little ones napped, we prepared our home for the team family Christmas dinner. I felt so peaceful and thankful as i set up the table and cooked. What a great story we are living.
and as our empty table filled with some of our closest friends, i could feel my heart just sigh.
our family away from family. we are brimming with stories and children and laughing about memories and commenting on what meals and holidays have been flops or accomplishments. and there is more to come...more meals and memories and stories and kids. so much promise and hope at our table.
and then the third dimension. the thing that really took Christmas to another level this year. getting to pack my two girls up, my sweet little angels, and pick up a syrian refugee family who have no one to spend the holidays with. We took them to our Lebanese church and sat around a table and went deep into their story. The room filled with some of our favorite lebanese believers and most people brought lonely, hurting people or refugees. it was beautiful. There was a holiday meal and the kids ran around us and among us.
and our amazing Lebanese pastor came over and welcomed them, processed a bit with them, and even was able to speak to them about the hurt and woundings they have that are so raw towards how the lebanese are treating them right now. he talked about the difference between believers and ones who are filled with their own hurts and wounds. it was powerful.
and as i corralled my two exhausted kids, i let my heart ache for this couple. and also let prayers slip effortlessly from my heart that they would feel the love of the Father, that they would have breakthrough with finances and that they would find healing. and i thanked God that we couple speak arabic. and that we were here at this time for this family.
and i am reminded again how God designs the beautiful gospel, the news that sets us free, to be shared from person to person, from family to family. that He loves us deep in relationship, inviting people into our lives and our kids lives.
and so Christmas for me was so rich. so charged. and i am really hopeful
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