Celebration!

Today was R.A.'s last day of school before the break and there was much celebrating!! Quite literally indeed...a Sunday school class from Briarwood put on a fun and crazy Christmas party for the the 3rd grade. It included Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, treats, relays, and balloons...oh my!

Now Aaron and the other teachers just go in tomorrow to have parent-teacher conferences. Hopefully these little cinna-mini treats with a cup of coffee will help gear them up for the day.


Hope that your December is full of celebration, meditation on the birth of Jesus, time with friends and family and some delicious treats too.

P.S. Forgive my blogging absence. All is well, just busy.

Gingerbread House

My sister-in-law Katie has a fun tradition of making a gingerbread house every year. She makes the real deal...home baked gingerbread and all. We had fun helping with it over the Thanksgiving break and I love the way it turned out!

Joanna and her friend Kelsey hard at work

I had fun decorating trees and people...too bad I didn't get a picture of gingerbread Susie and Aaron. They were a little comical. Somehow gingerbread Susie ended up being twice the thickness and height of the others.

The finished product!

Wednesday, November 30:

Pray for human trafficking around the world to cease. Ask for freedom for the captives and for justice. Pray specifically for progress against the trafficking and prostitution of children in Atlanta, a major hub for such activities. Pray for the two million children exploited in the commercial sex trade. www.ijm.org

Tuesday, November 29:

Pray for parents separated from children in foster care. Pray for God’s intervention with all families, particularly those struggling against alcohol and drug abuse and mental illness, to enable them to successfully complete programs for recovery and allow the reunification of foster children to safe and caring birth families.

Thanksgiving 2011

Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving

To God the creator triumphantly raise.


Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.


God's banners are o'er us, His light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.


Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished
As forward we travel from light into light.

Monday, November 28:

Pray for Palmer Home. Pray that Palmer’s children may overcome their family and emotional hurts and learn to trust and grow in the Lord. Pray for Palmer’s staff, that they would remain steadfast in their faith and be effective representatives and models of the love of Christ toward the fatherless. www.palmerhome.org

Still praying?

Just a few more days left in this monthly orphan prayer guide. Hope it has been helpful!

Sunday, November 27:

Pray for Grace House, a residential group home for girls in Birmingham providing a stable Christian home for girls from crisis backgrounds, with the commitment to develop mature, godly women. Pray for the residents, for their caregivers, and for their teachers at Restoration Academy. www.grace-house.org

Saturday, November 26:

Pray for families for the many orphans with special needs. Pray that the Lord would spare the unborn ones in the womb and provide loving families for them. Pray specifically for the many orphans with HIV.

Friday, November 25:

Pray for adequate nutrition and clean drinking water for orphans, especially in countries plagued by famine.