A paraphrase

We've been working on some Bible verses with Clay. The "flashcards" have a picture pertaining to the verse, to help the child remember the words.

Tonight Clay saw the picture and said,

"The Name of God is like a big castle. People run into the doors and are safe."

I loved his wording. May God be your big castle this week.

On the road to eating healthy

Do you know what this is? I didn't, until last week. My brother-in-law, Eric, was telling me about some little known healthy foods, like BEETS. He said his kids liked them raw, they have great nutritional value, and they help clean your liver. My neice Ashlyn chimed in, "Yeah, and if you eat too many, it turns your pee purple!"

So, yesterday I bought one and fed it to the kids as an "appetizer" before lunch. It didn't get rave reviews. But, Clay was anxious to see his purple pee. He also ate carrots and then asked, "What's purple mixed with orange?" (You know where his mind was going...)

As for me? I had to eat a bite of carrots WITH the beets because at least it added some flavor. The beets kind of tasted like crunchy dirt. But, my liver is feeling cleaner already! :)

Mile High Christmas

On Christmas afternoon, we went with some friends to Mt. Baldy, about an hour away, to go hiking in the mountains and see a snowy waterfall. It was breathtaking!

Home for Christmas

We had a wonderful time in Indiana celebrating Christmas with both our families. It even snowed so we were able to make snowmen, ice skate, and go sledding. We are so thankful for the relationships God has blessed us with. Here are some of the highlights from our trip.

We went ice skating twice!
Lots of sledding...
A waterpark in Shipshewana with my family
Building a snowman with the Ries cousins...Cassia, Ashlyn, Hunter, Zachary, Clay, and Emma
A full trip...a nap on the plane ride home.

Merry Christmas...

from our family to yours... We're leaving tomorrow for Indiana for 14 days, so I'm taking a little blogging sabbatical. May you and yours be especially blessed this Christmas season.

"Fragile finger sent to heal us. Tender brow prepared for thorn. Tiny heart whose blood will save us. Welcome to our world." --Chris Rice

Eternity in our hearts

At Mosaic Church this Sunday, there was an announcement about support for those suffering a loss while others celebrate (the holidays), and I thought of my Grandma Marge, who lost her husband, my Grandpa Ed, 3 years ago (12.24.04).

Then at work on Monday night, a man named Jerry came in. He's a Houston's "regular"...and always super friendly to us. He's a big guy, with a huge smile and heart. He reminds me of my Grandpa Ed. When I walked by his table, he waved at me, and I thought of Grandpa Ed, always being so friendly to the waitresses at Essenhaus when we'd go out for breakfast together. I almost started crying right there because it was like Grandpa was sitting there smiling and waving at me...through Jerry.

It's weird how it hits me at different times...and I remember my Grandpa and cry.

Yesterday afternoon I was reading "The Tale of the Three Trees" book to Clay. I read, "And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world." (The tree was built into a manger for Baby Jesus.) It was one of those moments when everything stopped and it was just Clay and me having a deep conversation.

He said, "Mom, why is Jesus the greatest treasure in the world?" So, I explained how Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died so we wouldn't have to... Clay asked how our bodies get to heaven when we die. Whew, that's a tough one. He answered his own question and said, "Is it just our spirits that go to heaven?" "Yes, Clay."

We talked about Grandpa Ed and Grandma Doris and how they're not on earth anymore, but they're in heaven in new bodies. Clay wondered out loud about his new body in heaven, "Do you think I'll have a blue nose?" We had such a beautiful moment there. Then an ambulance siren sounded outside and broke our conversation as Clay rushed over to the window to look. How ironic.

The closing paragraph from the final book of "The Chronicles of Narnia" reads:
"But the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read; which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

Peanut Blossoms

We had our own little Cookie Making Factory this morning. In our assembly line, Clay rolled the peanut blossom cookies in sugar and Emma unwrapped the Hershey Kisses.
While Clay topped the cookies with the candy, he exclaimed, "Momma, I LOVE this job!"

Naples, California

Some friends of ours encouraged us to visit Naples at Christmas because of the beautifully decorated homes that line both sides of a canal. We went tonight and walked about 2 miles, looking at pretty lights, boats, and a few gondolas that went by for a sunset cruise. I loved how the lights were reflected in the water. In one of the homes below, you'll notice they made the house look like a giant Santa face. We were both surprised that out of the hundreds of homes we saw, none had a nativity outside.

One of my favorite carols reminds me of the meaning of Christmas. I hope you can reflect on these beautiful words by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894).

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign;
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty
Jesus Christ.

What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part--
Yet what can I give him,
Give my heart.

That doesn't go there!

Emma has lately been putting things in the WRONG places...

Clayton's green dinosaur down the bathtub drain,

a Tigger figurine down the toilet (which makes us have to use the plunger a lot...),

and the other day it was a GREEN PEA up her nose. I left her alone eating her lunch and when I came out from the kitchen, she was sniffing and acting like she needed to blow her nose. She still had some peas on her plate and I had the idea to check up her nose. Sure enough! I ran to get a tweezers but Jeff told her to just "blow." She did, and in Clay's words, "It shot out like a rocket!

So, she's good as new again. :)

Decorating for Christmas

I have always loved to decorate for Christmas. Just in the past few years I have begun to collect old, shabby things, and I like to use them at Christmastime especially. This year I decorated with seashells, vintage glass "Shiney Brite" ornaments in a mason jar, old books, pinecones, and white ironstone.

The Grove

Tonight we took Clay and Emma to The Grove, an outdoor shopping area near Beverly Hills. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas, with a real fir tree over 110 feet tall, and we enjoyed the water show to the music of Harry Connick Jr.'s "Let it Snow." When the song began, the water and lights were synchronized with it, and tiny white particles of "snow" began floating down all around us. Santa and his reindeer were "flying" above us. It was magical. :)
We even got to meet Santa, whose real-life name is "Nicholas," and was the nicest Santa Jeff or I had ever met. Our elf was Jewish, and told us she thought he was the real deal. Only in Beverly Hills... Clayton is starting to believe in Santa after tonight, and asked how reindeer fly. What have we done??? We ended the night with a trolley ride through the festive village.

Gingerbread House

I bought a gingerbread cookie mix at the store this week and last night we made a house with it! Jeff was the architect who made the blueprint. I was the baker, and the kids were the decorators. They loved putting M & M's on the roof and also eating a few...
The final product. Clay wanted to use malted milk balls as rocks, and we used pretzels as wood pieces for a fence and shutters. It was fun to get creative with food and see what we could make. This will definitely be a Reichanadter Christmas Tradition from now on!

J.T.

We had J.T. Deardorff here with us for Thanksgiving weekend. He was in the youth group at First Baptist when we were there and just graduated in May. He moved out to California to be in the marines, and had no place to go for Thanksgiving. We had a great time with him...
He and Jeff and Clay played Risk one night.

Let the festivities begin!

Tonight we walked to Holly Street, where 30 tons of snow had been delivered earlier in the day. There were lots of people playing in it and our kids joined in on the fun. We also saw two live reindeer, went on a train ride, and got free hot chocolate.
Then Jeff, JT, and the kids went to the Pasadena Tree Lighting Ceremony, where Tommy Lasorda gave a speech and Santa Claus lit the Christmas Tree. As Tommy walked out, Jeff patted his back and said, "Merry Christmas, Coach."
Our friends called us tonight and said, "Clay was just on the news. He's a star!" Clay was on Jeff's shoulders and the cameraman must have thought it was a special father/son moment with the lighting of the tree in the background. Another big day in Pasadena.

The Great Thanksgiving Feast

Today we spent Thanksgiving with several families here at Fuller. We had a huge spread of food and enjoyed eating and playing together all afternoon.
We are so thankful for the great friends we have made here, and also for the family and friends we have who are far away! We love you all. Happy Thanksgiving!

Houston's

I thought I should write about my workplace, because this where I spend 20 hours of my week. I really love it there...the people I work with and the high level of service. My manager's nickname for me is "Midwest." :)

The restaurant is mostly lit by candelight to produce a romantic atmosphere. To see a menu, click here.

Pumpkin Pancakes

This morning Jeff made pumpkin pancakes for us. Yum! We got the idea when we were walking by "Harry and David" store this week. We went in to taste some samples and noticed they were selling pumpkin spice pancake mix. Jeff said, "I think we could make these at home!" So, last night he googled it and found a recipe. A fun treat! I have the best husband ever. :)

A wedding on the beach

Yesterday we drove two hours to La Jolla (near San Diego) for my cousin Bekah's sunset wedding. It was a gorgeous evening and a touching ceremony. May the Lord bless you and keep you, Bekah and Jesse!
My cousin Andy, Bekah's older brother, did the ceremony....very meaningful.
It was a beautiful California day and the kids enjoyed playing at the beach in the afternoon.
I just love little girls and their swimsuit ruffles...
Emma had fun running away from the cold ocean water.

Down the Drain

We had a bit of drama here this morning. The kids were taking a bath together and I left them alone for a few moments. I heard Clay say, "Mooo-om, Emma put the green dinosaur down the drain!" I went running, and yes, it was true, Little Greenie was no more. I reached my hand down the drain but could not find the precious toy. Clay immediately began crying and said, "Now he's going to go all the way to the ocean!"

So, we taught Emma the lesson of not putting things down the drain... Do any of you have "drain stories?"

32

This morning Clayton asked how many days til Christmas. So, we decided to make a paper chain that counts down how many days til we fly back to Indiana. 32! He wanted to hang it on his bed.

The Whoopie Pie Blessing

Last week, my friend Heidi (from Lancaster County, PA) made wonderful pumpkin whoopie pies and we got to taste a sample. Jeff and I thought they were delicious...so of course I needed to add the recipe to my collection.

I made a batch this afternoon and when I was finished, I exclaimed, "Oh my word, Jeff, this made so many! What are we going to do with all of them? Give them to our neighbors?"

Clayton was listening, and he suggested, "We could give them to poor people!"

I was humbled by my son's idea. So, we all decided that would be a great thing to do with the abundance of whoopie pies. Tonight we wrapped them and took them to some people who live on the streets. We met Dennis and his wife, who were bundled up in their blankets on the sidewalk outside the courthouse.

They were grateful...but I think we were the most blessed...

Thank you God for lessons learned from a child's simple act of generosity.

A blank piece of paper

Last week I had just finished reading some Bible stories to the kids and I needed to get some things done. I gave them each a blank piece of paper and told them to draw the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den... Here is Clayton's rendition. He even drew a hole on the top, for Daniel to be thrown down, and also a hot air balloon in the upper right corner. I love his creativity!