Tucker oohs over his new noisy Elmo toy (which Mommy is already heartily sick of)

Jar Jar Binks joins us for Christmas. Aren't you glad you weren't here, Derrick?

Chloe "Minnie Mouse" Jones enjoying her new vanity set

Merry late Christmas, friends! I could say I've taken a vacation from blogging, but that wouldn't be altogether true since I'm not the most regular blogger in the world. So sorry!

We had a really happy, restful Christmas--our first as a couple not spent with either set of parents. On Christmas Eve we visited my grandma in the nursing home. We spent our time with her in the dining room while she ate her lunch, and it was precious to watch the other elderly residents enjoying the children's antics. That evening there was a Christmas Eve service led by Earl Sandford at church. Nearly everyone who attends our church was there, plus a few more. It was a cozy, intimate time of reading Christmas stories and singing Christmas carols.

On Christmas morning the kids were very kind to us and didn't get up till nearly 7:00 (beats the 5:30 my sisters and I used to get up as kids!). We opened stockings, then ate breakfast--or picked at it; even Dunkin Donuts weren't enough to tempt the kids when there were presents to open. Then we dug into the bounty! It was fairly chaotic but not out of control. The kids actually let me and Evan open a few. Tucker was happiest playing with everyone else's toys. I think I've finally grown up--I got more pleasure out of watching the kids get their presents than I did out of my own. Though I did get some wonderful presents. An ESV Bible, fur-lined (fake, of course) leather gloves, and a large tote bag my mom made were among my favorites.

Chloe got a little vanity with fake makeup which has turned out to be her favorite. On Christmas night I caught her perching on top of a waist-height toolbox with the vanity set on a shelf in front of her actually PRIMPING! I got a picture I hope to post here. Pretty scary to think of her already figuring that out at only 2 1/2. Didn't I mention a few months ago it was going to be a long 16 years?

Both our cars passed inspection today! Praise the Lord! And with less than $200 worth of repairs. We were afraid it might be worse. God is good.

I've tried to think of this week as a vacation week, which is a little challenging since a mother's work never goes away. But we haven't had Bible study or company or AWANA, I haven't done any housecleaning (horrors!), I've read a few pages from a couple of books, and I've done some scrapbooking, something I haven't done since before Tucker was born. It was time to get his scrapbook started and it's been really fun.

Most of you know I have food allergies. The Lord has been gracious to help me deal with them graciously without complaining (too much), but every now and then everything within me rises up and rebels against them. I mean, Lord, gluten is bad enough, but couldn't you at least let me have chocolate? or peanuts? or dairy? Cut out those four things and you don't have much left. Especially at Christmastime. Several weeks ago I had a serious talk with the Lord. All the yummy Christmas goodies seemed to have all my allergens, and I couldn't even find carob that didn't contain gluten or dairy. There were chocolate bars without gluten and dairy--BUT I CAN'T HAVE CHOCOLATE, for crying out loud! So I was whining to the Lord and asking Him to please let there be something yummy I could eat this Christmas.

Well, once again He showed Himself to be the compassionate, loving heavenly Father that He is, able to deal with my temper tantrum. First, He gave me the idea of searching on the internet for Jillable (a term a friend coined for anything Jill is allowed to eat) carob. It didn't take long for me to find a company that sells carob bars and chips manufactured in Israel that were gluten- and dairy-free. I ordered some and they came the day before Christmas Eve, just in time for me to enjoy. I took a bite out of one and had to keep checking the label to make sure it was legal because it TASTED SO MUCH LIKE CHOCOLATE! In less than a week I've eaten three whole bars and a batch of out-of-this-world (for me anyway; you all might not agree!) carob chip cookies, all the while thanking my dear Father for this special Christmas gift.

This all probably sounds funny, but when you think about not being able to eat these foods for 15 years, finding something like this is a huge deal. And I felt the Lord helped me to not be bitter in my complaining, just pour out my heart "in my complaint" as one of the Psalms says. You know what I mean how it's different?

Anyway, to make a very long, tedious story short, several other things happened to show that the Lord has a purpose in allowing this thorn in the flesh, other than the obvious of character building. My mom called and told me about a friend of hers that had just been diagnosed with gluten intolerance who might be calling me soon for ideas on alternatives and recipes. And I found out a young girl in our church also is allergic to gluten and dairy. It gave me great pleasure to buy her a legal treat that I could give her when I delivered our family's gift of homemade (illegal) toffee, and to find out how much that meant to her. She later gave me a bag of delicious gluten-free cookies she had made! So, to see that our own sufferings can be used of God to help others is a beautiful thing, making them not seem quite so painful.

Safely through another week...

We're almost there! Evan gets back tomorrow! It's been quite a week. The Lord has been very good to me, giving me plenty of grace to get through long days without my sweetheart. I have great empathy now for single moms, soldiers' wives, and wives whose husbands travel. It's hard when one (or all) of the kids wakes up in the night and you're absolutely wiped out and there's no one but you to take care of the needs. Or in the evening when you want to get out of the house but don't have the option of lining up a babysitter. Evan does so much to help around the house, and this week has made me more aware of just how much.

My dear sister-in-law Lindsay has been so incredibly wonderful to me and the kids this week. Let me just say here that she has the biggest servant heart. Every night she has joined us for dinner--which is not a relaxing time by any means! She either helps get the kids ready for bed or cleans up the kitchen or tidies the playroom or plays with the kids or brushes teeth--or all of the above! Last night she brought home Burger King happy meals so I wouldn't have to cook. While I was getting the kids ready for bed she tidied up the kitchen and Evan's office, where she and I and our friend Sue Fulone watched a movie together later in the evening. And all this while she's been fighting a cold. Lindsay, I don't know how to thank you. I owe you big time.

Enough about me. I've been able to talk with Evan every day and the work has been going very well. He has even run some jobs, working with another guy to wire houses. The other night he told me that his supervisor raved about his work and has been bragging about him to everybody. That's my man! Winning friends and impressing those in charge everywhere he goes!

Apparently the devastation down there is still very apparent. He told about a home across the street from a church that had been spraypainted by health officials with words like "Danger," "Enter at your own risk," "Human waste," etc. Some homes have marks indicating how many dead bodies were found inside. The needs are great, but the people have incredible attitudes about it all. Many of them are just grateful to be alive and more aware of the things in life that matter most. A number of people have been led to the Lord, having been drawn to Him by the kindness of the laborers. Hallelujah!

In the spring they're planning another campaign down there. Evan wants to tell lots of people about it in hopes that others will consider going. This week there were people from 38 states and Mexico and Canada.

Evan comes home tomorrow and I CAN'T WAIT! This is the longest we've ever been apart.

Our boys both needed haircuts and Chloe needed her bangs trimmed. Not wanting to spend twenty bucks on cuts knowing I'd have to do it again in a month, I finally bit the bullet and spent the same amount to get my own haircutting kit. This past summer my friend Mary Aldrich showed me how to cut a boy's hair, but I've been too much of a wimp to try it on my own. But I finally did it and cut everybody's hair this morning. And I'm happy to report that they don't look half bad! I don't think I'm brave enough to try Evan's hair yet. Maybe not till I've mastered the art on the boys' heads.

Widow for a Week

My dear husband left this afternoon for Mississippi to help with the rebuilding effort after Hurricane Katrina. He will be gone till next Saturday, working under the auspices of Eight Days of Hope, an organization he heard about through American Family Radio. This morning as we were packing and getting him ready to go, we agreed that though the week looks big to both of us, we feel great peace that he's right in the middle of the Lord's will and that God is leading him down there.

It's been fun to tell people where Evan is going! I'm so proud of him. At the airport as he was checking in his luggage at the curb, he had to tell the skycap that he had a bunch of tools in his bags because he was going down to MS to help with the relief efforts. She was really pleased to hear that and thanked him for doing it. When Evan was first talking about going, he told Jed about it. Jed had been very aware of the hurricane when it was going on, being fascinated by the horrible pictures of disaster on the news. When he learned that his daddy might go down and help with the rebuilding, he got all excited and started telling people. He helped push Evan over the edge and make the decision to go.

I'm very thankful to have Lindsay next door to be my friend and provide some much-needed moral support, especially at dinner and bedtimes, the most difficult times of the day when I rely so much on Evan--and when it's most tempting to pull out the arsenic! And once the kids are down the two of us are going to hang out several evenings this week and do girl stuff. Tonight I'm going to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I haven't seen yet. Evan doesn't want anything to do with it, which isn't surprising! but I have always adored the story, both the book and the old movie, and can't wait to see this one. I've gotten mixed reviews from friends so I'm not sure what I'll think. How many of you have seen it and what did you think?