"Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care"

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed

My front porch with luminaries

the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.

The stars in the sky looked down where He lay.
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes.
But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes.

I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
and stay by my cradle til morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
close by me forever and love me I pray.

Just a few of the 26 luminaries around our house

Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And bring us to Heaven to live with Thee there.
-Lyrics to "Away in a Manger"

With recent events on the East Coast, I have prayed for those families who hold such grief in their hearts. And I have wanted to do something more. One idea I heard about was to light luminaries, 26 of them in memory of these "dear children" old and young who were killed. I live away from neighbors, streets or anyone who would see these lights but I know God sees and hears our prayers. So as I filled paper bags with sea glass for weight and lit 26 tea candles my heart felt such sadness, 26 lives gone. I felt gratitude for my knowledge of Jesus Christ and his role as a Savior and Redeemer. And I felt a call to love and care for my children, and all children even more.

May the families who mourn at this time feel of His "great redeeming love" and may each of us regardless of our place in life, also feel of that healing love. For I know that He heals all sorrow...
Kirstin

Look what the waves washed up!

All just sitting in the sand for me to collect!

Small pieces but nice to find something!

One thing I have to say - my maternity pants don't fit so well and they don't have belt loops. So I walk down the beach one hand holding up my pants (because they wiggle down when I move and bend) and then other hand grabs the sea glass I find. I am thankful for more than one reason the beach is quiet - I looks so silly! And time to find some pants that will stay up!!

King Tides

I had never heard of these types of tides until a friend commented on them, then I heard a story on NPR about King Tides. It means (when you look at the tide charts) the waves come up really high and they go down really low! Perfect for beach combing!

Here are some speciments from the past few weeks. I have tried to head to the beach regularly (which has been hard with all the holiday happenings and sketchy weather) but with bribery the kids and I have made it!

Purple piece that Child #2 found on her own!

Piece of pottery found!

Perfect name "King Tides" for this time of year as we celebrate the "King of Kings!" Merry Christmas:)

Being There

I've been so missing sea glass. With a big storm that has come in, I have been checking the beach - and seeing nothing but smooth sand. Today I decided that perhaps I have been looking in the wrong place (great connection to real life -huh!?). I loaded up child #2 in the stroller and set out to get some exercise and to check out another part of the beach.

We wandered along finding only a few small pieces. Child #2 is a very good little sea glasser and as we came to a few spots with bigger sand pebbles and more sea glass, she was excited as I was. We escaped a few of the incoming waves but then one came in faster than we realized, we were up high on the beach so it was only inches of water, but when you're 3, it is enough to knock you over. She fell down and that moment as instinct had me turned to try to outrun the wave, I turned back to her and made sure she could see me. We locked eyes as I took the two steps over to scoop her out of the water. It was the eye contact that struck me... I couldn't save her from getting wet but she could see me and knew that I was one arm reach away.

As I thought about that little incident and moment when I knew in my gut that I couldn't get her out but that the next best thing was to communicate that I was right there, I considered, how often we can't rescue or save someone we love from incoming troubles or difficulties. We know they will be alright but while they are in the swirling mess, our nearness, eye contact and concern can reassure and be the support they need. Genuine friendship and support is so important to me and I know that others feel the same way. I need to be more aware of those "moments" when rather than dashing out of the waves (or to get things done) that I turn back and lock eyes with them and share a few extra moments of friendship. And this is the perfect season to do this!

Soaked from chest to toe, Child #2 cried and continued to look for the last pieces of sea glass(such dedication!) until I finally convinced her to take off her shirt and ride on my back. Then when we got back to the stroller, I took off my tank top (the only piece of clothing I could shed and still be modest) and and had her snuggle under its thin protection. Luckily it was a fairly nice day and the sun was warm. We made it home with smiles on our faces and what I would like to say is the "first glass of the season!"

Kirstin