The Charlie Brown tree is officially up and decorated! About 19 of our family members and extended family came over. We had hot cocoa, cafe au lait, beignets, chocolate chip cookies and a host of other beautiful offerings brought by the family.

Katie and Jon brought over their pyramid to show everyone. It’s a holiday tradition from eastern Europe. The candles propel the motion that is both beautiful and charming (to borrow Jon’s description.) So happy we got to see that!

The kids helped decorate the tree. Then we got a bit of a talent show from Edward sharing a new composition and Humza and Channing dancing. We enjoyed each others company and caught up on all of the goings on.
We got up and went to Northpoint. So grateful for such an amazing church!
Awfully quiet around Walchle World today.;-( But Jaimee made her 10 hour trip back to Ft. Wayne beginning at 3am and is now safely home. The rest of the family is home and safe and the oldies enjoyed every second of the last five days! We are now headed to the barn for a well-earned nap! What a great time we had with family!

Over the past five days, as our home was filled with wall to wall children, a lot of love, joy and laughter I was reminded of my single days and this passage from Isaiah 54 that I’ve had tucked away in my heart for so many years: “Sing, barren woman, you who never bore and child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; more are the children of a desolate woman than one who has a husband. Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; and your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.”

I’m pretty sure that I have enough children and grands to fill a nation or two! Here’s a picture of our family version of The Blind Side!;-) What a great, big God! Big hugs, D