Extended Lino Christmas

Ten years from now, this crew will be 19, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12 and 10. I can only imagine how things will have changed by then. For now though, I would like to keep them all this age. This is my four with three of their cousins. They were able to come and visit at Granny and Grandpa's house for Christmas. It was such a special treat since our two families usually do not travel for the actual day of Christmas. The cousins had a wonderful time of getting every last toy and game out at Granny and Grandpa's house. The sounds of little laughter, squealing and all-around fun were heard throughout the day. I treasure the times we have together so that the cousins all grow up knowing and loving each other.

New This Year

Over the course of a year, we get several new ornaments for our Christmas tree. It is always so much fun to pull them out each year and find just the right spot for them on the tree. Almost all of our ornaments hold a special meaning. They were either given to us by someone significant in our lives or they represent something important that happened in our lives over that year. Granny and Grandpa give each of us an ornament that we have to try and guess what it is from the clues before we open it. We try to get an ornament from each of our vacation destinations as well. Our tree is filling up fast with memories of things and people the Lord has brought across our paths. It's absolutely beautiful!

These are some of the ornaments that were new to our tree this year. We received some of them last Christmas and collected the rest this year. I am just now getting around to pulling out the box of the ones collected throughout the year.

Toad's ornament from ECC 2008-2009 - his last year of preschool.

Samoosa's ornament that says she is the youngest grandchild......bought long before the unexpected news of her little sister's arrival!

Our 2009 IMB ornament that reminds us of our part in the global mission to let all the peoples of the world know the love of Jesus Christ.

Our first ornament with String Bean on it!

Our 10 year anniversary trip back to our honeymoon location.

Girly Girl started gymnastics this year.

Our big road trip with three kids - the SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis - took us through major floods and Granny helped us drive home.

Merry Christmas

Getting Christmas cards out early is the norm for me. Then I had a fourth kid. Now I am behind on almost everything. I did get these mailed out before Christmas but not the day after Thanksgiving as is the usual. I hope to one day get back to my regular schedule.....in more areas than Christmas cards. Merry Christmas from the Linos.

Here are two that we sent out this year.

Any Guesses???

Aren't they cute!! We went through some old pictures a few days ago and these are two we came across. I just had to have them side by side. I will post more later on these two.......

The Middles Singing

This is a short video of Girly Girl and Samoosa at their Christmas program at ECC today. I am so thankful that they have the opportunity to be part of a program that focuses on Jesus and his birth at this time of year. Thank you to Ms. Angela and her staff for their hard work and desire to see little lives impacted for Christ.

You can see Samoosa sitting in the bye-bye buggy just looking around and Girly Girl is on the top row. There are of course more videos...........GG sang four songs and Samoosa sat looking pretty for one song.

Daunting Drama

It is certainly never dull around our house. The drama is most commonly due to the three little girls that have almost completely overtaken the upstairs of our brand new home. They each have such fun personalities - some dominating, some reserved (only at times), some tender, some manipulative (yes, it's true - they are!), some sweet, some charming, some ambition, some funny, some responsible, some annoyed, some sensitive, some lively, some grumpy, some possessive, and some energetic. While they may all look quite alike, they are each beautifully unique and bring a wonderful dynamic to our family. These dynamics are not always easy to navigate. All kidding aside, these three girls are a daunting task. They are cute and fun right now, but there is much to be done to prepare them for the real world, for biblical womanhood, for challenges they will face, for righteous living.

My role in their lives, given to me by God, is to model and teach to them the biblical principles and tools they need to be women who love and honor the Lord Jesus in all that they do. It requires constant effort. It requires much prayer and a focus on the things of God. It is not easy. It is more than hard. It requires support and knowledge. Something I want more than I know how to describe here is for these three to know and experience the high value that God has placed on their womanhood. The culture that they are growing up in is diametrically opposed to biblical teachings of what it means to be a woman. Dr. Russ Moore is someone I trust to keep me 'in the loop' on cultural happenings and the destructive images of women that are so pervasive today. For example, you can track back through his recent blog post to see some of the messages girls receive from the Twilight series (books and movies) and the theology behind them. If I am going to have an accurate biblical impact on our girls, I am going to have to not only know what to pour into them, but also what I am up against. The tools of the enemy come in many shapes and sizes. I pray I am prepared with the biblical response to his tactics and faithful to teach it to our girls.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:7

It Will Never Be the Same

The Lino 'looking at Christmas lights' experience will never be the same again. Granny and Grandpa took us out to Lake Conroe to see the Christmas lights - on the boat in the freezing cold. It was so much fun! Mr. Jack got out his boat and took us across the lake for a great hamburger and a tour of the lights on the lake. The kids had so much fun all bundled up. They got to drive the boat, look at lights, roast marshmallows and play all night. It is such a wonderful memory that I know my detail oriented children will never forget. Thank you Granny and Grandpa. I am so thankful that the little Linos have grandparents that are able and willing to invest time and energy in them. It was a blast! Driving around in the van next year will not be nearly as exciting or memorable.