Merry Christmas to all of you! I know it’s a few days after the 25th, but Jesus’ birth is just as miraculous and glorious today as it was 4 days ago. I hope you are basking in the joy of that truth. I know I am! God with us has been a long-known truth of which we we have peeled back layers and layers over the past year and it’s been sweet to finish the year with this month-long celebration of Christ’s advent – the very thing that makes it possible for us to experience God with us each and every day.
We had an awesome time celebrating with my state-side siblings this year. We had my sister Martha and her daughter Simone for 8 days; Mark, Hannah, and my brother in law Ian for 5 days, and my Brother Joel, sister-in-law Mary Stuart, and their Oliver for 2 days. Danny and Kimberly and their 4 kids live down the street so we split the house guests between us and had a grand time. We SO MISSED Jonathan and Maggie and their 3 girls in S. Asia, and Mom, Dad, Micah, and Seth in Japan. Still, getting this many of us together for Christmas was quite a feat and I am so grateful.
numbers 1, 4, 5, 6, & 7 of 9 together at the beach!
the little cousins together with Simone before she left and Oliver came
Joel, MS, and Oliver.
(The kids were passing around a stomach bug by the end of our time so we didn’t attempt any group shots, in hopes of sparring him his cousin’s germs.)
I posted about 100 more pictures on facebook and Danny made this video of our time together… yes, you guessed it, it was quite crazy, but it was sweet insanity. 
One huge blessing of having so many wonderful people around and also being so busy making sure there were meals and plans and places for everyone each day, was that I didn’t have time to mourn Jonathan and David’s keenly felt absence as much as I would have with a quieter setting. Still, I went to bed each night in tears and ached and prayed for some “Christmas miracle” that would at least give us hope of them coming home in the new year. I so wanted to anticipate their entry into this beautiful and lively group of cousins who adore one another and and need a few extra boys to even out the mix (right now there are 9 girls and 3 boys among them, with one on the way). But my heart was so guarded and it’s so hard to hope after so many deep valleys in this journey to get them and hardly any good news these days.
Sometimes I ask God how long can I live like this? If we never get them will I always have this empty, aching spot in my heart? Will Christmases and birthdays and celebrations always remind me that they are missing?
I need to write an adoption update, and maybe I will get to that soon. We definitely need your prayers and I want to ask you to pray for some things specifically. Hopefully I can later today after I get all the Christmas decorations put away.
We send our love and thanks to so many of you who have prayed for us and cared for us so generously in 2011. We are so grateful for you and how you’ve shown us the joy of being in God’s family. I pray the Lord is with each of you and brings great blessing and joy and more of His presence in 2012.
Continue reading about a late Merry Christmas! and other tidbits from us
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love’s sake becamest poor
Thrones for a manger didst surrender, sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love’s sake becamest poor.
Thou who art God beyond all praising, all for love’s sake becamest man.
Stooping so low, but sinners raising heavenward by Thine eternal plan.
Thou who art God beyond all praising, all for love’s sake becamest man.
Thou who art love beyond all telling, Savior and King, we worship Thee.
Emmanuel within us dwelling, make us what Thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who are love beyond all telling, Savior and King, we worship Thee.
(Hymn by Frank Houghton)
“Our Lord Jesus Christ… was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” - II Corinthians 8:9
I hope you had a wonderful celebration of the incarnation that brought about our redemption.
What a reason we have for great joy!
Merry Christmas from our home to yours!
Continue reading about Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love’s sake becamest poor
I am really enjoying hearing the children talk about Jesus and his birth. We decorated for Christmas yesterday and have two different nativity sets that they can play with. For the last half hour or so, Noa has been directing a worship service, complete with many songs about baby Jesus, as well as instructions for all of us to
“Open your Bibles. If you don’t have a Bible you can use one of our pews…”
We keep our kids with us in Sunday morning worship and I always wonder if they pick up any of what they hear… I guess they do!
I’m also loving Miss Martha walking around with the Little People nativity baby Jesus under her shirt saying,
“I Mary. I have baby Jesus in my belly.”
And it gives me reason to pause and contemplate when Noa, in her narrative, with total passion says,
“Look, those soldiers are coming to take Baby Jesus and they’re putting him on the bad ol’ cross!”
We always pray our kids will connect the baby in the manger with the Savior on the cross. When she said that this morning it sounded so horrific to me and I realized how often there is a disconnect in my own mind – and heart – between the two. It’s good for my heart to stop and reflect that indeed, the sweet babe would live to be the man brutally killed for my sin. What a reason mourn, but what a reason to celebrate! And even more so, because, even as I wrote this, Martha pulled the baby from under her shirt and reminded us all:
“Look! Jesus is ALIVE!”
Amen!
Merry Christmas!
We had a fabulous day on Thursday, celebrating Christmas with many who we love so much. I’ve told Eric over and over again that this has been my favorite Christmas season. God has been really gracious to keep it really low-key and stress-free, thus enabling us to really step back from the hustle and bustle of ministry and marvel at the beauty of Jesus, Emanuel: God is with us! I think He used Noa to bring that about to. We talked a lot about this being her first Christmas that she may actually remember, and wanting so fiercely for her to connect this time of year with Jesus first and foremost. In His goodness, God used that in our own hearts, to refresh us and draw us close to our incarnate Savior. It has been a sweet time indeed!
Some of our memories from the last few days include:
A gingerbread house making party with our dear friends, The Dingle Family, and my Parents and siblings! What fun! Here is Noa’s first gingerbread creation (her creative touches are the already-been-tasted candies all over it. Needless to say, we haven’t offered the house to any guests to partake…)
Christmas morning was a precious time as a family, enjoying taking it relatively slow, getting to read the Bible and pray with our Noll family in America via ichat, as well as open gifts “with” them. Modern technology is wonderful, and, while it doesn’t even come close to the joy of being together in real life, does help to soothe the ache of being away from our loved ones during this special time.
We had a great time just the four of us, with the girls enjoying their new toys. Noa received a baby stroller for her doll and Martha received duplo blocks. Very very exciting for them both.
Noa and Daddy taking a play-break to enjoy a cinnamon roll:
And me trying for a photo with my girls. Please note Noa’s new “cheeeese” smile:
Continuing in tradition from last year, we had our fellow short-termers from our team – Tim, Isaac, Andrew, and Samantha - over for brunch, along with our dear friends Kumiko, Ai-chan, and Chizuka. It was a sweet time of fellowship and laughter, as usual with these friends, and I guess the fact that I don’t have any photos shows you how busy I was eating and having fun.
Mid afternoon we headed to my parents’ house and had a wonderful evening celebrating with 3 dear families from our church. It worked out great for Noa as 2 of her best friends, Minori and Mikuni, are in those families so she was quite busy all evening. Here are some of the photos:
Martha is sitting next to little Sara Dedachi. These two precious girls will be baptized together tomorrow. We are so thankful for other Christian parents with whom to share in the joys and struggles of raising up little ones. We had a wonderful time of lots of yummy food, tons of fun, and family worship.
And in keeping with Iverson family tradition, I had to get a photo of the girls on the stairs in order from youngest to oldest. Maybe God will one day bless us with a staircase full of smiling faces.
We pray that you and yours enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration. God bless you!
We had a fabulous time a few weekends ago, remembering Christ’s birth through acting out the nativity story with the students from school. Thank you for praying, and please continue to pray with us that many were touched and realized the true miracle of Christmas.
The heavenly host, appearing to the shepherds (and animals):
The Hallelujah Chorus, worshipping the newborn King:
The star that led the wise men:
Carpenter Joseph (aka Eric) worked really hard on this star this last week and I am really impressed with how it turned out
Wise Guys Men:
Shepherdesses:
It is so exciting to me that this, Noa’s third Christmas, is probably the first year she will begin to understand that Christmas is about Jesus’ birth. We have loved playing with Nativity sets and reading books, and talking all about Baby Jesus. Last week, when looking at gifts under a tree she said to my sister, “Baby Jesus, present. Died on the cross.” It’s been so exciting to see her make the connection between the Baby in the manger, and the Man on the cross. May the Holy Spirit continue to make the story of salvation real in her heart.
She loved watching the Nativity, her favorite part being when the “Angels say Ha-ye-yu-ya!!!” She came up right away after it to check out the baby Mama was holding and realized it was one of hers! (Hope that wasn’t too confusing to her!)
Merry Christmas!!
It’s that time of year again!
CCSI will put be putting on “A Living Nativity” tonight and tomorrow, twice each evening. Please pray that the Lord would use this to show many people the miracle of Christ’s birth and the salvation available through Him. Please also pray that it wouldn’t rain tonight. The weather says 70% chance, but we know our God isn’t a God of chances, right?
