Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

(To the Left) Rob and our son with some of the youth at the Christmas Eve service. (To the right) I am in a band and we played at the Family Christmas Eve Service held at Mt. Zion. We were all a little nervous cuz other than playing in front of the youth it was our first "gig" :) We did really well.

Our Cozy Living Room at 11pm on Christmas Eve

All four of these photos were taken Christmas morning. The kids main gifts were bikes and it was nice enough to go out and ride them. Rob was excited to get "The Bread Bible" and a brand new standing mixer because he's been wanting to start learning how to make all sorts of homemade breads (believe it or not). I was excited to get socks and underware, honestly. And I bought myself a couple of sweaters today with a gift card. (Before anyone gets down on my hubby for getting me socks and underware he gave me my main gift - a brand new digital camera - a couple months ago.)

The Art of Anne Lavo Santacrose

Some of you know that my Grandmother (on my Dad's side) is a professional artist and I just love her artwork. Here are some of her pieces...

This one is actually of me, my brother Joe and my cousin Annie as children... I remember the day the photo was taken that Grandma later used to paint this... isn't that funny how you remember random moments in life?















This one is of my older sister Theresa, sleeping as a child. This piece hangs in my parents house.

The next few images are ones from my childhood that I will hold in my heart and mind forever... My Grandma's basment/studio... pastels everywhere... peices of art just starting to take shape... hundreds of frames...

These are her current works-in-progress....

I didn't know as a child that my Grandma's house was unusual, but now I realize how special it is. I feel especially connected to God through color and art and I'm thankful to have grown up with it all around me.

One of those days...

The kids didn't take a nap today (AT ALL) and I showered just to come out and find NO towel (not even a dirty one) and I was feeling totally stir-crazy. Well, on PBS they showed a kid bowling and my son said "Mommy lets go bowling!" And my daughter screamed, "Yeah! Bowling!" So I said "Why not". (They were like, "Really? Right now? Really?") So we drove out to the only bowling alley I know of - about 25 minutes away.

We got there at three, they put up bumpers, gave us two 6lb balls and we had the place to ourselves. My son demanded we cheer for him everytime and my daughter would throw the ball and then dance around singing "Wok and woll baby, wok and woll". My son could at least get some decent ball speed but my daughters was soooo slow that (no joke) at one point she rolled her ball and as she did my son said "Mommy I have to go to the potty" so all three of us walked across the room, found the bathroom, and as the last one of us walked into the bathroom I heard the ball hit the pins! Seriously... like so slow of a roll that you're thinking "is it going to make it or will it just stop?" So, bowling was fun but 10 frames seemed to take FOREVER. I bowled at 111 (with bumpers! Pretty crappy :), my son a 79, and daughter who refused to bowl the last frame because "I'm done" bowled a 65.

We ended there at 4:15pm (had spent a grand total of $11) and I still couldn't bare to go home so I took them to McDonalds playland and let them eat happy meals and go crazy with two nice little girls they met there.

We got home at 6pm and they are currently watching a video. When that's over, bed time. Today was a far cry from a normal boring day for us but I couldn't stand it today! Seriously I was like, ok I can stay home and go INSANE or we can spend $20 and they can have some fun.

Tomorrow, I'll have to figure something else out but hey! At least I made it through today!

Recent Trip Home

The kids and I took a recent trip home for my Dad's 50th birthday party. It's always nice to see all of my parents grandkids get to play together... and my sisiter's baby is growing so fast! (Notice what the girls were doing at 12 noon (reading w/my sisiter) and the boys at 12 noon (craziness w/my brother-in-law).

At my Dad's party he had my brother and I cook-off: We got random ingredients and had to make an main course and a dessert right there on the spot. My brother won but that's no shock. (He makes his living as a chef :) People did like my chicken though (a non-fried crispy chicken parmesan).

If you want to know which dish is mine and which is my brother's: His dish is the one with 3000 calories and the danty rose made out of a lemon peel and mine is the HEALTHY, fill you up, and not make you die young, meal! :) (Just jokin' bro.) From the pictures you can tell that he's the food artist and I'm the I made it so shut up and eat it type cook!

All in all a good trip home.

Thanksgiving at the Abell House

We decided to do something different this year. We all selected our favorite food to have: Our son wanted ham, our daughter wanted cereal but then changed her mind to pasta, my hubby wanted mashed potatoes and I wanted my favorite food - black bean soup. So we made all of that and had a feast. But of course Mommy has been so frazzeled that I had bought everything but - you guessed it - black beans. (Nice.) So I just made some soup with what I had and pledged to make myself black bean soup sometime soon. We still had a really great time.

The kids are always asking me to help them dress up and usually they request simple things like my son here who asked to be a mouse. No problem I thought.. some ears... a tail... no biggie. But then there's my daughter, "Mommy, can I be a pink crayon?"

"What?" I thought. I tried to talk her into something else but she really wanted to be a pink crayon so.... I think I did ok... :)

New Camera

My awesome husband just bought me a digital camera and I've been testing it out around the house...

I told you you shouldn't...

Well, I have been having this problem with my 3 year old son. I am always catching him licking the top of our condiments - the mustard, the chocolate syrup.. etc. (Yuck! I know!) And I of-course am always scolding him for it but so far have not actually been able to make him stop. Well, one day this week he came to me with a guilty/sheepish grin and said "Mom, I need a drink." I said, "Why do you look like that?" and his answer was "Well, that was really hot" (he spoke as his tongue was hanging out of his mouth). I made him show me what was hot and he lead me to the fridge and the Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce! (Rob and I like our food pretty spicy). I burst into laughter, "I told you not to lick things, didn't I?!!!" He giggled a little and said "Yeah" as he gulped down his milk.

Another quick cute one... He came to me, out of the blue, yesterday and said "Mom. I didn't use the scissors." To which I replied, "What didn't you use the scissors on?"

He's a pill. :)

Camping with Youth Group

We've been hanging out with our church youth group "Youth Unplugged" on their last two camp outs. We don't stay over night but we go and stay pretty late. At the last one Elise performed a muti-song set for everyone and insisted on everyone cheering for her at the end of each song!

My Two Year Old Drinks Coffee

My Two Year Old Drinks Coffee
By Christian Abell

My two year old drinks coffee.
Every morning she has a cup.
Of-course it’s a splash mixed with tons of cream & sugar,
And served in a tea cup the size of a shot glass,
But all the same, she needs her morning cup.

We sit at our kitchen table….Silent.
I drink from my cup and she drinks from hers.
Her little hot-pink fingernails wrapped around the small white porcelain cup.
Big brown eyes stare ahead as she takes her sip.
Her eye lashes are so long and beautiful (unlike mine!)

Before I had her I was afraid of girls.
I had a little boy already… a “Mama’s boy” in-fact.
And girls…. Oh man… “Girls have too much attitude” I’d say.
But then this peaceful little thing was born to me.

Her features are delicate, her little lips so red.
She enters a room and brings a sense of peace with her.
In a corner she’ll sit quietly “reading” to herself,
And her days are spent feeding and caring for her baby dolls.

All things must be pink. All things.
Not just her clothes and shoes, but her ice cream, teddy bears and jewelry.
Even the most timid of animals will let my daughter touch them.
If she sees a dog behind a fence or in a cage she’ll work and work
Until she can figure out a way to set them free (much to the owner’s dismay!)

My daughter amazes me. She’s such a beautiful soul.
A far cry from what I thought a daughter would be.
I love to sit here and watch…
As my two year old drinks coffee.

Long Time No Blog!

Hey all! Sorry I have been so slow at putting up anything new in the last month or so. I've been soooooo busy and tired so I will try to catch up now.

Here are some photos of my kids from this summer. We took them to their first ever fair and they loved it!






And Aunt Roxy sent some cute dress up clothes just because. (Thanks Roxy!)


And I was incharge of VBS this year for our churches so here are some pictures from our VBS parade float...

“See God, who thinks like that?! I’m sick of being a freak.”

THIS IS AN ARTICLE I WROTE FOR OUR CHURCH NEWSLETTER...

Why do we fight who we are? Why do we fight who God made us to be? It seems like for as long as I can remember I’ve been fighting to change myself and I’m not sure why. I look at the talents and abilities of others and am envious. I think of the dreams God has placed in my own heart and just don’t have the confidence to see them happen. What’s the deal?

I struggle a lot with the question “Who am I?” I feel like I don’t fit any molds… I don’t fit any set of usual talent combinations or skills…. I just don’t fit. I think of everything in a very deep, sort of poetic, way and it gets annoying!

I was crying the other night alone in bed, and as I cried I thought to myself “Man, there is just something so beautiful about one tear rolling down your cheek…” And then I cried harder and thought, “See God, who thinks like that?! I’m sick of being a freak.” and His response to me was “but I love that about you”. (Which made me cry even harder – because of the amount of love and acceptance all packed in that little 6 word sentence!) It was an important moment for me. Why do I fight who God made me to be? Why do I fight how creative and artsy I am? Why do I lack confidence? God has put all of these things in me and He loves that about me! He loves that I don’t fit what I think in my mind a Mommy, Wife, Pastor’s wife, Daughter, Sister, Woman, Republican, Christian, should be.

I recently had a good friend call me out on this. He called me out on being so apologetic about the talents God has given me and the desires and dreams God has put in my heart. He called me out on not owning those things. And I mean he really called me out on it! It was a rough, intense, conversation but a possible life changing one at the same time. It’s funny because one of the gifts I see in him is that he has insight. And what do you know… he’s using it! He’s not sitting there scared to use his gift. He didn’t hesitate for one moment to speak the truth to me and he didn’t worry what anyone would think of him, including me. He took the special ability that God has placed in him and he used it. Interesting…

So here’s where I am… I am trying to embrace all of these seemingly random skills and dreams. I’m doing a lot of thinking and asking a lot of questions… and I’m starting to go for it. I am starting to go out on a limb and live! I am trying all of the things I secretly thought I could do if I just had the confidence to do them. And I hope you will do the same starting TODAY. Is there something that God has placed in your heart that you are just afraid to do? Some dream that you need to go for? I hate to quote my husband (cuz he’s a dork) but he was right when he preached that each one of us really is a beautiful work of art. God has fashioned you. He has thought long and hard about you and has made you so unique. And he loves that about you! He really does.

The Abell Family in Concert

On June 19th Rob and I did a concert at Mt. Zion Hall to raise money for Rob's up-coming Mission Trip.

For two weeks at the end of this month Rob, as a requirement of school, must go on what they at Westley Seminary call "An Immersion". He has to "immerse" himself in another culture for two weeks. He had the choice between going to another country or spending time here in the states - which ever he thinks would help him more later in ministry. So he chose to spend two weeks immersed in the youth culture with a youth ministry called "Salt and Light" in southern PA. He'll be asking the teens questions about their view on life: families, politics, any and everything. The goal is to find out how today's youth feel about their lives now and their future.

So, we put on a cencert to try to re-coop some of the $900 that we had to send in to pay for this trip earlier in the year and the $100 he'll need for spending money. We played 12 songs - some with us both singing, some with me on guitar, some with Rob on guitar, some with the conga, etc.

Our Set List Was:

Grace Like Rain (Todd Agnew), Enough (Jeremy Camp), Give Until There's Nothing Left (Reliant K), Let it be Said of Us (John Waller), Indescribable (praise song), You Said Go (by me, Christian Abell), Be Thou My Vision (hymn), TEN MINUTE INTERMISSION - Nothing But the Blood (Hymn), Trading My Sorrows (praise song), Those Who Trust (Waterdeep), Nothing Compares (Third Day) and ended with Bring the Rain (MercyMe).

We had the Hall set up like a little cafe - with all of the tables decorated different and refreshments served. We ended up with a crowd of about 25 people and the whole thing went very well. The kids even did a few songs right before the intermission - and were a BIG HIT!!! We raised about $360 that night. We had already received $200 from some other people and a couple of weeks after the concert we received $240 in donations from various people. So we are up to $800 and we are VERY pleased with that! We weren't sure if we'd raise very much at all so we are happy!