Merry Christmas!!

Last night, we went across town to a house that has computerized lights that literally dance to the music. Pretty impressive. It's about a $50,000 lighting job (not counting the massive stereo system that cranks Christmas music full tilt). Keep in mind, this is someone's house. Not a store or mall. People come from all over the place to see it, and there are hundreds of people standing in the streets in amazement. The adults are just as blown away as the kids (see look on Tim's face). With everything from trains and smoke machines to bubble machines and over 100,000 lights, the whole place goes to the beat of the music using a custom programmed computerized controlled system. In short, this place knocks your socks off. We stood there and watched for 20 minutes (at one house) and I still wanted to stick around when we had to leave!! Needless to say, Sophia was most impressed (and perhaps a little overwhelmed). Here's a video that shows a run through of all the photos we took...

So from the Drumm family to you, here's wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. May the Lord bless you and your family with a wonderful time this year as you celebrate the birth and coming of our Messiah. Don't forget - the baby in the manger was born to die so that we could live. ...and he'll be coming back again to finish what began in Bethlehem.

catching up

So this is my attempt to catching up on our blog and the fact that Alaythia is almost 4 months old.  We are so blessed, she is such a happy child.  And yes those are blue eyes, they are really amazing.

Saying good bye

Well as most of you know Jason and I got rid of my car last April.  We are trying to honor the Lord with our finances and felt that was a wise sacrifice so I could stay home with our girls.  Then the Lord was gracious to allow me to use my sister Lucey's car for the last 9 months.  Lucey is so thoughtful, while she was out of the country she said I could use her Honda Element.  She drove all the way from California so I could use it.  It has really been a blessing too.  Especially with two little girls it has been perfect.  Well at the end of this month she will be coming home and will need her car again.  I am so very thankful for being able to use this car for the last 9 months.  Thanks Lucey! You are such a sweet thoughtful sister and Aunt and we cant wait to see you!

 Meanwhile please be praying that the Lord will work in mighty ways.  That He will provide a car for us somehow and that He would be glorified through that but, more importantly that He would make my heart glad in Him and not in having a vehicle.  Oh how I want Him to be glorified in my life, car or no car!  

One Word: "Awesome"

Notice the graphical icon for Wednesday on the Conroe, Texas Forecast.
That's right. Snow baby!
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.......and I like it.

A little bit of cuteness

We were snuggling on a cold morning on the couch.  She is so sweet!

Sneak preview

Okay so most of you will be getting a Christmas card from us with our family picture in it but I thought I would give you a sneak preview.  I am so blessed to be celebrating with my beautiful family the fact that Jesus came to earth and died for our sin.  I am so thankful to God that He has shown me the true meaning of Christmas!  

Praise God for what He has done in my life!!!!

Alaythia

Okay despite what everyone says about 2nd child syndrome I am determined to make sure that Alaythia has some of the lime light too.  So here are some of the latest pictures of her.  Isn't she so cute.  We are so blessed!

she is our sweet baby angel

Alright Alright I know you want to see those beautiful blue eyes and her cute face I will quit teasing you now!!!!!

WE ARE SO BLESSED!!!!!

a day at the farm with Granny

Last Friday Granny took us out to the farm(petting zoo and coffee shop)  It was a wonderful treat for all of us since we have been sick for over a week.  The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.

Sophia is walking and has some cool shoes

Okay so it is so fun to see Sophia walking.  She loves walking everywhere now!  It is amazing to see our girls grow up so fast.  Not only is she walking all over the place but with some very cool shoes too.  Her Auntie Lucey got her some really cool pink shoes.  She also got her some purple and red ones too, which will be featured in a few months as Sophia's foot gets bigger.  She is such a big girl!  Thanks Auntie Lucey for some great shoes.

Love

Love is when you pack your husbands lunch for him.
...and putting little Hershey's bars in there.

Love is when you take out the trash everyday.
...and roll it out to the street every Wednesday and Saturday.

Love is changing thousands of poopy diapers.
...then washing your hands because those wippies never work.

Love is shining your husbands shoes.
...and actually being disappointed when you don't get the chance to.

Love is when you remember what kind of apples are your husbands favorite.
...and buy 'em every week at the store. HoneyCrisp Apples!!

Love is when you hug and hold your daughter even closer.
...even when she has a 100 degree fever and you know you're gonna get it too.

Love is getting all dressed up and putting on your make-up.
...at the END of the day - before your husband gets home from work.

Love is listening to your husband blab about Photoshop for 30 minutes.
...when you have absolutely no clue what he's talking about.

Love is making your husbands lunch, taking out the trash, changing poopy diapers, shining shoes, grocery shopping, snuggling a sick snotty Sophia, getting all dressed up, and listening to your husband talk nonsense about hi pass filters and adjustment layers.
...when you can hardly stay awake because you've been up all night with a fussy newborn baby while you let your husband sleep like a rock.

Love is when you pour out all that you are to serve a man who is stubborn, foolish, sinful, and very hard to live with. When you pour out MORE than you have, empty yourself, and become like Jesus Christ. Day by day, you joyfully give your life for someone else - not by dying - but by living.

My wife Claire shows me more love than I know how to comprehend. In the face of difficult circumstances, total exhaustion, and complete frustration, Claire joyfully serves Me, Sophia, and Alaythia with incomprehensible devotion. Claire is the rudder of the Drumm family ship. Her ongoing, self-abandoning, and unflinching love for me and our girls is a constant testimony of God's faithfulness to me, His child.

Sound like im a little over the top? You don't know my wife. The list above is not a "best of" the last 12 weeks, its a sampling from the last 12 hours. This is the norm in our house.

Claire, I can never repay the debt of love that I owe you. But I intend to spend the rest of my life trying...

Drumm Family Moment of Laughter # 6,497

Sophia learns to experiment with facemaking...

Our Sweet Alaythia

Okay for those of you who have been waiting patiently for more pictures of Alaythia here they are. She is such a sweet, easy going baby and it is real cute because she smiles all the time. So enjoy.......

Economic Crisis: Part I

The Economic Crisis. Are you failing to understand exactly whats going on? Yeah me too. What, you thought I was gonna straighten it all out for you huh? No, but I do plan to offer some color commentary - quite literally - photos in color. I plan to offer a 2 part series. This is the first part: How serious the problem really is.

The "Brokers with Hands on Their Faces" Blog

Sounds silly at first, but this blog gives some pretty incredible insight, if nothing else, into the seriousness of the whole thing. Further proof that Photographers have a silent voice that reaches across the earth. Follow the link below to check it out.

http://brokershandsontheirfacesblog.tumblr.com/

Part 2 will actually be quite a bit more helpful than this.
I promise...

Head's up Apple Fans:

The blogosphere just blew up in anticipation of Apple's latest announcement.
Apple just scheduled a press-conference for next week.

Perhaps a cheaper notebook that will bring Apple into the lower level price market.
Read the New York Times report here:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/the-hottest-ticket-in-silicon-valley/
and here:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/09/apple-notebook-event-is-on-october-14th/

Job

Something to check out...
John Piper's Desiring God Conference this year will focus in on the book of Job, and will be held in (why didn't I know about this sooner so I could have prepared to be there!!?) Austin, Texas. Well, bummer. We're gonna miss it. But nonetheless, the video is pretty cool, and a good reminder. "What we have lost, God will restore. That, and Himself, forevermore."



www.jobthebook.com
and HERE is a link to the conference info.

A gift from my sweet husband

Okay so I know some of you were wondering if I would ever post again. But it has been really busy with TWO little girls. What a blessing they are.

I bet some of you are also wondering what it is that my sweet husband got me for our love dare. That's right he got me the sound track to Pride and Prejudice. The cool thing about this is that I have wanted this for a while and it really shows that my husband listens when I speak.

It also shows that he really knows me. What can I say I am a hopeless romantic at heart and I love this movie. Fireproof and Pride and Prejudice are my two favorite movies. I love a good love story.

But I must say that I am living out the best love story of them all. My husband is such a blessing from the Lord in my life. He is such a great example to me. And this day in age when marriage is made fun of and is unhappy, because of Christ our marriage is amazing and full of happiness, fun, love and excitement.(even after four years and two kids)

Because Of Jesus Christ our marriage is getting better with time instead of wearing thin. The more we seek Jesus the better our marriage gets. Jason is such an example of Jesus in my life and a wonderful leader to me and the girls. I am so thankful to the Lord that our sweet little girls have such an example of what a husband should be.

I pray that one day they will find a husband like mine. Oh how truly blessed I am. As I write this I reflect on the fact that I am such a sinner( I disobey His law countless times a day) but God has been so gracious to me to bless me with life , salvation and on top of that an amazing family with an incredible husband. Thank you Lord Jesus!

Mac Users: Surprise!

Here's something you didn't know you had! If you own a Mac, give this a try.

Open a new Terminal.app window (/Applications/Utilities)
or just launch terminal using spotlight.

When the terminal window appears, type "emacs," then hit enter.

After the screen loads, press "escape," then "x."

Type "tetris" (lower-case) and hit enter. That's right, you guessed it.
A fully playable game of Tetris. Use the arrow keys to control the blocks.

As my buddy Mike said when he showed me this tip, "I love these computers."
I just keep finding more fun useless stuff that makes me smile.

Like the "Bad News" voice in the speech controls (Hint: Show more voices)

"The Love Dare" Day 3

Well, for those of you who still haven't seen "Fireproof" the movie, what are you doing? Stop reading this dumb blog and go get tickets for you and your spouse right now!!

Claire and I saw this excellent movie on Saturday. From the makers of "Facing the Giants," this movie takes aim at addressing the central issues in marriage. The main character, Caleb, is played by Kirk Cameron. Rock on Kirk! Caleb is an amazing firefighter. However, his marriage is burning to the ground.
Unable to understand how to save their marriage, Caleb and his wife are headed for divorce fast.



His father gives him a book, "The Love Dare." It requires a 40 day commitment from Caleb to do everything the book says, one day at a time. Day 1: "Resolve to be patient with your spouse today, and to say nothing unkind out of impatience." Day 2: "In addition to not saying anything negative to your spouse today, also do one random act of kindness."

Well, the days move on, and Caleb begins to realize his biggest problem in marriage is himself. He is a selfish husband.

Well, as you can expect, a happy ending results.

The coolest part:
You can get a copy of the love dare for your own marriage. Yup. Not that we're on our way towards a divorce (in fact, far from it), but we consider it a little preventative maintenance. Claire and I started reading it together just a few days ago.

Today is Day 3 for us.
Todays Dare: "What you invest your time and money into will determine what you have chosen to love. Your heart will be inclined to what you invest in. Today, buy something unexpected for your spouse as a way of showing them that they are what you value most."

I thought as Claire and I read it on the couch this morning, "Oh that's sad. Claire wont be leaving the house today, so she wont be able to buy me anything."

But my sweet wife outsmarted me again. Yes, again. I just got this email.


Praise God for my amazing wife and the sweet blessing that she is to me in ALL of the creative ways that she chooses to give up her own wants for the sake of meeting mine. Thanks baby, you rock! I am praying that God will fireproof our marriage from now until death does us apart (or Christ returns).

So you're wondering what MY gift is to Claire. Well, I haven't given it to her yet, so you'll just have to wait and see...