Christmas Reflections

The most momentous point in history was a time of great joy and great sorrow - a great paradox, as most of life tends to be.

An angel told Mary she had found favor with God and would give birth to a son, and "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:31-32).  But being favored by God doesn't mean being favored by people, and her "disgrace" nearly made Joseph divorce her till an angel intervened (Matthew 1:18-25) and it most certainly ostracized her from her own community.

The Savior of the world came as an infant, small and weak and dependent.  But that baby became a child, and "the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him" (Luke 2:40), and that child would eventually "save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).

The shepherds witnessed a heavenly host of angels who sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:13-14).  But tidings of peace did not last long in Bethlehem, as Herod "gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under" which led to "weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more" (Matthew 2:16-18).

Mary, the mother of Jesus, had a front-row seat to all of these paradoxes.  She was a woman in favor at the same time she was a woman in dishonor.  She placed her newborn in a manger at the same time she knew the Lord would give Him the throne of His father David.  She rejoiced in the coming of her son at the same time her neighbors wept over the loss of their sons because He came.

So much joy, so much sorrow, so much paradox.  No wonder "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).

I can scarcely imagine how much Mary had to absorb and process within the span of a few years.  That's a lot to take in, a lot to treasure and ponder.  This year, the way I've attempted to reflect on the Christmas story is to ponder the heart of the mother of Jesus from my own mother's perspective.  Our son Asa is still an infant and he is small (relatively), and utterly dependent on us.  His head bobbles, his mouth drools and his hands are barely able to grasp onto things.  And he is marvelous in our eyes.  It is incredible to consider that this is how our Savior came.  The Wonderful Counselor drank his mother's milk, the Mighty God couldn't hold his own head up, the Everlasting Father drooled down his shirt, and the Prince of Peace didn't sleep through the night.  But oh, what good news!  The answer to the plight of the world came in the form of a helpless babe, and an angel declared this to be good news that would bring great joy to the world.

As our son continues to tug our hearts everyday, we can testify that if ever there was a sign of hope for the world, it is in the beauty and innocence of a newborn, and if ever there was a proclamation of joy, it is in the smile of a baby.  I am treasuring and pondering this as I'm sure Mary did when her son Jesus was born.  This is what Immanuel looks like, to have God with us:

And so I sing with Mary,

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." 

(Luke 1:46-47)

From Our House to Yours

Last week we visited my sister's church to see our nieces and nephew in their annual Christmas program.  I noticed a lovely Christmas tree and thought to myself, "We should get a family photo on this rarest of days in which we aren't all dressed in sweats and T-shirts!"  This was the result:

We did actually come away with one decent photo, but this is my favorite.  It tells a truer story than the Christmas card photo.  So Merry Christmas, from our house to yours!

Three Months Young

Three months in and this boy has proven to be a mostly happy and content moose baby.  He's huge and hefty, wearing 9 month clothes and weighing around 17 pounds.  He's usually intrigued by the constant hubbub around him and loves any attention he can get.  Asa smiles easily and drools like a drooly monster.  Oh, how we love this boy!

The Angry Fireman

A recent trip to the Flint Children's Museum was full of fun and frolics.  These boys pretended to be dinosaurs, mailmen, chefs, helicopter pilots, and firemen.  Every imagining was happy...except for this angry fireman.

But don't worry.  He was countered by this delightful and dutiful fireman who insisted on putting out the fire with gasoline.

As you can see, we're raising our children to be conscientious citizens who contribute to society with joy!

Christmas Tree

We found ourselves a free Christmas tree this year, and all it required was walking through the pasture at my parents' house and dodging horse poop!  We found a great tree and only one kid walked away with manure on his boots.  Success!

First things first: apples for the horse.  We hadn't seen Breaker since being in Michigan and the boys were quite excited to share some goodies with him.

Next up: searching for a tree.  My dad has pine trees planted around the property and we compared a few before picking one.  The kids tagged along and Caleb and I liked the same tree.  It was a beauty and Kai helped my dad saw it down.

Lastly: decorating!  The boys were giddy about the lights.  Kai kept saying, "They're on!  They're on!"  Caleb remarked, "What a beautiful tree!"  Indeed :)  Caleb also loved playing with the ornaments.  His current favorites are the wolf and the starfish.

Each year we get a new ornament from our travels.  Despite traveling more this year than any other so far, we didn't remember to look for an ornament until our very last trip, which happened to be after Asa was born and happened to be during missions training in Colorado where we visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and fed the giraffes.  So that's where we found our ornament this year.  And it will always remind us of this time in our life when we were preparing for missions with three little boys.

So we've got a beautiful Christmas tree at the lakehouse and we're relishing it.  We're not sure what Christmas will be like in Kenya next year but it probably won't include a freshly cut pine tree with our own ornaments from the past ten years.  So we're cherishing this tree this year.

And, as always, we're cherishing these treasures too :)  Three moose babies in moose pajamas, celebrating Christmas time!

Blurry in Black & White

I took a bunch of photos of Asa the other day, but most of them are blurry.  The lighting was terrible and his bobble-head made it difficult to keep the lens focused for up-close shots.  But I took a bunch of photos anyway because he was content and smiley and I couldn't resist!  I wasn't happy with the results but I turned a few into black & white which made them palatable.  These two are my favorite.

I couldn't resist taking photos even though the conditions were ripe for failure because that face catches my heart every time, even if it turns out blurry!

Resettling and Catching our Breath

We've been back in Michigan for over a week now and we're starting to feel more settled with each passing day.  It's rather difficult to go through the rest of our boxes (read: it's impossible to have even five uninterrupted minutes with three boys around!) but we're establishing more of a routine with each passing day, and routine is good for feeling settled.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday with my family and now we have an entire week before us with nothing to do but BE.  There are chores, yes, and the never-ending to-do list, but ultimately we can hang around the lakehouse and catch our breath.

What does is look like for the Horns to catch their breath?  For Caleb and Kai it means running amuck and playing superheroes.  Spiderman and Superman were quite busy tonight chasing robots - moose robots, bear robots, dinosaur robots - all of their own imagination :)

For Asa it means kicking and cooing and flashing his dimple whenever he smiles :)

For Daddy Horn it means relaxing for more than two minutes and opening a book.

And for me it means taking pictures and enjoying the moments.   There's no better way to spend an evening in the Horn household!

Oh, and to cap it off, the boys took baths and enjoyed a ride in a naked hammock.  Eli started this post-bath ritual last month in Colorado, and Caleb and Kai can't get enough of it!  These little boys love being naked and swinging through the air.  Naked hammocks are a new and truly important Horn tradition :)

Two Months Young

In the blur that is our life right now, another month has passed and our beautiful moose baby is officially two months old!  Asa has been smiling more with each passing day and has been a highlight among the community of missionaries here at MTI.  He's such a delight!  He's content most of the time and enjoys being held by just about anyone.  He's super smoochable and is, quite simply, a chunky bundle of joy :)

He blessed me with some of his smiles tonight.  Melt my heart!  My favorite thing about his smile is seeing the dimple come out :)  He actually has a dimple on both sides but the one on the right is prominent.  Oh how I love the dimple!

Life is busier, crazier, and fuller with this boy!  He keeps me sleep-deprived by waking up multiple times a night, but holding him in my arms and nursing him and inhaling his baby smell when his head is on my chest all make up for the lack of sleep.  We love you, Ace!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

It was a beautiful weekend here in Colorado so we headed to the zoo!  We'd heard great things about the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and were not disappointed!  The zoo is on the side of a mountain and offers fabulous views of the Colorado Springs area.  And the animal exhibits were amazing as well.  There were several highlights from our visit: feeding the giraffes, watching three lion cubs play, petting a chuckwalla, and watching an alligator eat lunch!  Caleb and Kai had a blast, and Asa slept through the entire thing.  Some new friends from MTI joined us and their son Jack was running and roaring along with our boys.  It was a great day!

Back at MTI, our boys continue to have fun, especially on the playground outside.  Caleb is partial to the rock-climbing wall and Kai favors digging in the dirt.  Asa just snuggles with whoever is holding him and we all appreciate the chances to be outside and breathe the fresh Colorado air.

The days are busy and are flying by.  We're already halfway through with our training here.  We're thankful to be here and thankful our boys are doing well despite not understanding what we're doing or why we're here.  Thanks be to God for the adaptability of little kids!

Here and There and Everywhere

In brief, within the past three weeks we moved from Minnesota to Michigan, began to get settled at our new temporary home, then traveled to Colorado where we've already spent a week at Mission Training International.  Life's been a blur.  Our boys are managing the transitions remarkably well, thanks be to God.  We've been suffering in the sleep department, however, so we take each day as it comes and by God's grace get through each day.

Our flight to Colorado Springs went as well as we could've hoped with three kids.  It was Asa's first flight and he was an all-star traveler.  It was Kai's first time with a seat to himself and it was great to have the extra wiggle room.  It was a long day of traveling and we were exhausted by the time we arrived at MTI, but we made it!

We are going through the Compass program at MTI.  It's a requirement of our mission organization and is a 4-week course here in Palmer Lake, CO.  After one week we can officially say that it's fabulous.  There are many other people here, heading to countries all over the world to do ministries of all kinds.  It's exciting to be surrounded by other missionaries headed to the field.  One of the most encouraging things we can experience is to fellowship with other missionaries.  We understand each other in a way no one else can.  We've been talking with people about how we each were called to missions, how the training process is going, how the fundraising process is going, and where our hearts are at as we journey toward the mission field.  We've been talking with other families about the hopes and concerns of raising our kids overseas.  We've been praying for each other as we meander this unique life we're called to.  And we've been sitting in class together, hearing former missionaries speak about cross-cultural issues and language learning concepts.  It's been enriching even though we're exhausted.  We are so thankful to be here!

The boys are having a great time too.  Caleb and Kai spend each day in their classroom and they love it!  There are a total of 16 kids here this month and the boys are making new friends and playing hard every day.  They are being taught about the love of Jesus and we are so thankful for their teacher, Miss Emily, who is caring for them every day while we're in class upstairs.

Asa spends time in the nursery except when I need to nurse him or just want to have him with me.  The staff here are caring and understanding of the fact that we have a newborn with us and they've encouraged me to take naps when I need them, even if it means skipping class.  Everyone adores Asa and he gets passed around a lot.  He's added a wonderful dimension to the group!

We do training during the week, but the evenings and weekends are mostly free.  So today we rested as much as we could and enjoyed some family time.  We brought costumes for the boys to wear on Halloween and they were elated to be superheroes for the day!  Then, because the people here are so awesome, the kids got to trick-or-treat through the halls of the building.  It was so much fun!

We'll be here for another three weeks, learning about culture and language, reflecting on who God is and what He's doing in and through us, and investing in new friendships.  It's good and it's exhausting, like so many things in life.  We're glad to be here and are thankful for God's grace to sustain as we press on!

Birthday Boy

Kai turned two last Saturday!  We had planned to visit an apple orchard in the morning but the day was cold and rainy so we opted to play with friends instead and have a low-key celebration.

Kai started the day watching one of his favorite movies - about construction machines!  This boy loves construction, especially diggers and backhoes.  Few things give him greater joy than driving by a construction site and seeing machines at work.

There are also fewer things that give this boy greater joy than eating Special K.  He loves to eat that particular cereal, and he likes it plain and dry.  We made cinnamon rolls for his birthday but he opted for his usual Special K instead.  Eventually he started stealing bites from everyone else's cinnamon rolls but he kept coming back to the cereal.

And then he opened his first present of the day.  Caleb was perhaps more excited than Kai was, but our darling two-year old was pretty happy with his presents :)

My parents came over for dinner and Eli made stir-fry because Kai loves it.  He gobbled it up and made an enormous rice mess and was a content little dude :)  We also made a cake and Kai was particularly happy to pick off the chocolate chip "rocks" from the "mud" frosting.

And that was it!  A low-key celebration but a celebration nonetheless.  Hezekiah is an amazing little man who loves to run and wrestle and get raspberries from his daddy.  He speaks emphatically and repeats himself until you've heard him correctly.  He plays hard and takes good naps.  Kai isn't much of a snuggler but loves to be tickled and chased and thrown around.  He loves to read and loves to sing.  Every night he wants to hear "Leaving on a Jet Plane" as his bedtime song and he perpetually chews all four corners of his snuggle blanket as he gets ready to fall asleep.  He's a fan of Curious George and Bubble Guppies and his favorite Avenger is the Hulk.  He loves to learn about David and Goliath and the story of Creation and we sometimes catch him singing "Jesus Loves Me" to himself.  We adore this boy and pray that He will grow in the strength of the Lord all the days of his life!