I picked up the kids from their grandma’s house yesterday and on the way home I asked Ava what she wanted to do. She suggested that we shave off my beard. So we did.

What you might not know is that the following process is how men go about shaving off said beards.

You have to take it through a series of stages.

The Old Man Winter Stage…

The Denial Stage…

The Forefathers Stage…

The Billy Goat Stage…

The Dirtbag Stage…

The Frenchman Stage…

The Acceptance Stage…

Oh look, one kid helping another. That’s nice.

We set up a train that I got online last year for one penny…yes…one penny. It was worth at least a nickel. Ava and Finn loved it though…especially Finn.

Merry Christmas everyone. Stay safe out there, but remember to do something dangerous too.

P.S. – My face is cold.

My snow bunnies…

I think Finn has restless body syndrome. He gets it from his daddy. This little boy can’t stop moving. You struggle to hold him he flails around so much. Some friends and I took him bowling with us a few nights ago. He didn’t bowl very well, but he did get some beer spilled on him. He returned the favor by vomiting on two men at once. He’s got skills like that. He’s also starting to stick his butt up in the air and rock a little bit…he might be crawling by 5 months.

Ava is also a nutcase.

She got her first haircut this week. We go through the depths of hell trying to get the tangles out of her hair each day and she fears the hairbrush like I fear going to the dentist.

It was only about 6 inches off…but I thought I was going to cry as her last little curls fell to the floor. It’s about 700% easier to brush now.

Allison’s been getting creative and making these little hairband thingies for little girls.

She’s been churning them out like organic butter and we’re going to start selling them on etsy soon. We’re wondering how much we should charge for them though.

Headbands too…

I’ve been getting creative and growing my beard longer. It’s come in handy lately.

The Christmas parties have started already. I think James played a good Santa.

Ava was easy to please…

But Finn is even easier…

I mentioned above that my beard has come in handy lately and I don’t mean for keeping warm. Two different funerals have fallen into my lap in the past week and I felt more confident up in front of everyone sporting a face-fro than if I would have if I was some clean-shaven “kid”.

A young man died of a heroin overdose and an older woman died of cancer. These times are rough, but God has an incredible way of re-routing the story and transforming it into something beautiful. One woman spoke at her mother’s funeral in a way to encourage people to use the tragedy for good. She said that there’s a good book and a bad book and we want to fill up that good book with more stuff than the bad book so that we can be reunited in heaven.

I don’t agree with this particular thought, but I appreciated what she was intending with it. I’d agree that there are “books”…it’s just that all we’ve got is a “bad book” until we trade it in for the good one. Jesus gives us the opportunity to begin a new story altogether. We might remember what was written in that “bad book”, but thanks be to this concept of grace that we can live in the story written upon those “good book” pages.

It’s not about what we can do for Him, it’s about what’s already been done for us.

It’s been nearly a year and a half since I posted about Allison and I making a decision to sponsor two kids through Compassion International. That’s one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

The kids are older now. They’ve gotten bigger and they’ve gotten healthier.

Here is Ana Rosa:

She sends me letters every month or two and words cannot express how much I love getting these.

She draws me pictures too…





She lives in Honduras and I can’t help but wonder if I’ll get to meet her in person some day. It costs $32 per month to sponsor her. To give her additional food and books and care and hope and love. A bargain at twice the price.


And this is Miriam:



She lives in Bolivia. She and her father send us letters and drawings as well.





Miriam costs $32 a month to sponsor as well. $32 each month to give a child a better life and to let them know that there are people in this world who are willing to fight for them.

What better way is there to remember what Jesus did for us than to follow in his footsteps and help take care of these children? It’s not about the shopping, or the traffic, or Aunt Edna’s Ambrosia salad. It’s about remembering that a prophecy was fulfilled, and the Savior of the universe was born and laid in a feeding trough for animals. That He grew up and lived his life blamelessly, and He gave himself over willingly to the cross so that you and I wouldn’t have to.

Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” – Mark 9:37

Let’s welcome the Father, the Son, and these little children into our lives by sponsoring through www.compassion.com – I can promise you that you’ll never, ever regret it. These children are great imitators, so let’s give them something great to imitate.

God responds to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea. – Psalm 102
Let’s be the hands and feet that help respond to these pleas.