My Life...is AWESOME right now.

My apologies for the lack of posting. Explanation follows:

• Christmas. Two sets of families merging for the holidays creates lots of demand for board game participation and has no mercy for the one needing to make time for blogging. You understand.
• onething. Working a 15,000 person conference while my some of my best friends in the whole wide world are in town also isn't very conducive to writing one to three times a day.

Hope I can get pictures up soon, but if this blogger is ever going to put anything simply, it's this: I'm having a fantastic time. For now, that's all I have time to tell you and therefore all you need to know.

A Beginning

I saw it from across the room.  One of those large 8x11 envelopes, stuck upright between two boxes, and all I could see was "Westmont" in the upper corner.  I walked slowly across the room, pointing at it, mouth wide open (I kid you not).  

As I tore it open I hurriedly spilled "it's a big envelope!  a big envelope!  you know what that means??"  Everyone already knew...if you get a normal sized envelope, it's a simple rejection letter.  If you get a major envelope, it's a whole acceptance packet.  

Sure enough, in the envelope was a fancy folder:

"Westmont

CONGRATULATIONS

Offer of Admission Enclosed"

AND...I got a sweet scholarship.

Yippeee!!!

Just a few hours earlier I had been telling Amy that, since I have been wanting so badly to stay in Kansas City, every time I think about getting into colleges I almost ask the Lord that I would just get rejected, making the decision easier.  Then I realize how nice it will feel, though, to be accepted and approved in that way. :)  

Sure enough, it does feel quite amazing.  The Lord is ultimately in control of where I get in, so we'll see...   

"D" is for Denmark

Jenny.Lee assigned me the letter "D"...I have to think of ten things I love that start with D. It was the first time I had been to her blog, and I decided to dive in head first! =D Here goes...

Delight

Isaiah 62:4 -- "You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you."

Whether it's Glorie's little laugh, making baby Samuel smile, or sitting with Jesus and listening to Him tell me things, Delight describes one of the best feelings in the world.

Daddy

I love my Daddy! He's one of the wisest people I know. Every day of my life, he has worked to instill the Word of God in me...growing up, every answer to my questions had a lesson from the Bible in it. I have a feeling I've hardly gotten a foot deep into the ocean of treasures God has poured into my father...I can't wait to learn more and more and more from him. He has caught me off guard so many times with his responses of tenderness and kindness (read: when I like a boy, his understanding surprises me...have I mentioned I have the best dad in the world?) One of the best feelings in the world is knowing the delight that my dad takes in his children (read: "me!") He loves to quote the verse from 3 John to us: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." Dad, you have loved and taught us well!

P.S. Isn't my Daddy handsome?? =)

Dancing

Hands down, best part of wedding receptions. Plus, last year in PE we had dance lessons for a few weeks, and I have a basic understanding of the foxtrot, a line dance, and the rumba.

And, dances are such an integral part of all the Austen romances...

Deciduous Trees

Can you tell this is getting hard? hehe

Life just wouldn't be the same if I didn't live somewhere where the trees didn't turn brilliant orange, red, and yellow come September.

Darcy

Mister, that is. I mean, who doesn't?

Design

But only certain kinds...I don't like art, really, but I love designing weddings and rooms. Basically, stuff with color schemes and elegance really gets me.

Delineating 

Delineate: to portray in words; describe or outline with precision

• I like to blog
• I'm working on speaking more clearly :)

Dora 

This woman is amazing.  She took my brother away from us one Thanksgiving when he visited her while she was studying in Spain, and the next Thanksgiving they were a few days from being married.  Love her, love her.  My sister she is!!

Deuteronomy 32:47 

"They are not just idle words for you—they are your life."

Death to Self...

My life is not my own, and it's not about me.

Philippians 2:5-7

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 

 Who, being in very nature God, 

      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 

 but made himself nothing, 

      taking the very nature of a servant, 

      being made in human likeness."

So, I started working on this post on Thursday and have only now finished.  Yippee!!  (And, thanks to all my friends on facebook who gave me suggestions once I got stuck.)  

The Madness Begins

The Christmas guests begin arriving tonight.

This is going to be wild.  It's like one non-stop party from now until January 2nd, when everyone not taking up residence in KC will officially be gone.  First Christmas, then onething08...

So, I really wish I had something interesting to blog.  Let me think...

Oh wait, I do!  Except, I can't find Liz's camera cord, so I can't upload the videos that will melt you like the sun on a 500 degree day (from cuteness...the cuteness will melt you).  When I get home, I will attempt to upload said videos and pictures.  Let's just say that Pre-School Christmas Programs are priceless.

What else, what else...  Ummm....  Nothing's coming.  If I think of anything interesting, I'll let you know.

Oh wait!  Christmas shopping...  I have one more official gift to buy -- after that there are a couple more I might get, but being almost done feels so good!  Let me clue you in on a few deals:

Amazon.  I'm falling in love -- free shipping not once but TWICE.  The way to Annie's heart is through free shipping, which is why...

Gymboree makes the list!  Free shipping and 20% off EVERYTHING!

How is Christmas shopping going for you?

Feeling Loved

I have the sweetest sisters in the whole wide world.  All of 'em, seriously.  There are no better people.

All last week I was close to the depths of despair because TheCall Christmas party was on Friday and I, before I knew of it, made a babysitting commitment for that night.  I called the parents, let them know the situation, said I would totally still do it, but by any chance did they have anyone else they could call?  No, they didn't.  Ahh!

I planned on visiting the party once I was done babysitting (technically it would be over, but I hoped people would still be there).  THEN.  Ohmygoodness then.  Elizabeth offered to babysit for me so I could go to the party.

Did I mention I have the best sisters in the whole world?

Liz filled in for me!  It was such a treat.  I had totally gotten myself into striving-strong mode where I tried to be the best I could be for everybody to prove who I am, and that just doesn't work.  Basically, that sort of living quite quickly makes you ready to throw in the towel and be a hermit for the rest of your days.  I had to remind myself that I can't save the world and it's okay to let Liz help me out and it's okay to ask Suz to take a cake out of the oven if I have to run to an obligation ('nother story).

I loved the party.  I think it wouldn't have mattered what actually happened, I was just so fabulously happy to be there.  Liz's orders as I left were: 1) "You better have the time of your life!"  2) "Stay out all night" (Then she thought about it and recanted: "Well, you know...not too late" and 3) "No kissing!"  (she kids, she kids...No kissing going on in this life).  Me and my coconut cake made our way over there, and just had a wonderful time. :)  

Meanwhile, Liz hung out with what I thought was going to be a sleeping baby who ended up throwing up on her and not going to sleep.  Ah, sister.  True sacrifice.

Thanks SO much, Liz!  I just had to blog about the whole thing to let everyone know how amazing you were. :) Love you to pieces!

Edited to Add

Poor Samuel...none of his pictures got into the Christmas card post yesterday!  Two of him that I love...

And, here are a few from Glorie's 2nd Birthday:

This was one of Glorie's presents...   Liz had thought for a while that sponsoring a little child with the same birthday as Glorie would be a great thing to on the occasion, but hadn't looked into it.  The week before the party, Liz had a dream where she saw a picture of a little girl, and it was so confusing, because it was a little white girl, and she always associated sponsoring children with little children in Africa.  The next day, she got on World Vision only to find that you are indeed able to search for children by birthday.  She typed in Glorie's special day and up popped this little girl -- the exact same one as in her dream.  She is in Armenia, and is exactly as old Glorie.  SO amazing...we wonder what's in store in the future, since Jesus obviously picked this little girl for Liz to sponsor so specifically.

Christmas Card!

Today, Suz decided that we should use our half an hour where we had free time, dress the kids up, and take a Christmas photo. It worked! Of course the children had a hard time doing nice smiles instead of massive "CHEEEEEEEEEEEESE" (you just don't know until you see it for yourself), but it all turned out okay in the end. :) This beauty will be printed as a 3x5 print and sent with all the Christmas cards that will be leaving the McD household:

Some other favorites that didn't make it into the card, but still melt my heart:

And, just in case you can't see that picture of Ariel that is on the card itself, I'm going to give you large version because, well, it's one of my favorite pictures of all time.  

Read it!

I just want to point you to this blog that has some posts that you might really like:

Dana Candler

It's a little bit different than my usual blog-read, seeing as I usually go for the blogs filled with every-day life stories.  Dana, though, has such deep revelation about who God is and what His word says, as well as having a real gift for expressing those things.  I know her (her daughter goes to preschool with Ariel) and she is just amazing through and through!  Anyway, I especially enjoyed the newest post "Wordless Words of God in Bethlehem".

Enjoy!

Just when you thought you had the cat in the bag...

I figured, "hey!  I learned to drive in a Chicago winter!  I got this DOWN."

Then I drove away from the onething house down a hill.  Oops, we don't have any of those in Chicago.  I didn't get in an accident or anything (praise the Lord), but I did have to drive fifteen miles an hour down Red Bridge.  Liz called me while I was at my friend's house, told me to go home, and gave me a three-second lesson in how not to slide over the phone.  I was off, switching into 2nd gear down hills and pumping the brake the whole way.  Thanks, sister!

I got an orange scarf to go with the new coat:

Pretending to be a spy (aka how I kept my neck warm before I got a scarf):

Better views of the whole thing:

The thing is, I really need gloves and a hat.  My fingers ache for a while after being in the cold...is that weird?  

Lastly, my sister Amy is on her way to me!  (Insert shameless plug that her book Perpetua is one of the best books every written by one of the best authors ever to live.  It's about a third century martyr in Carthage-- how she met Jesus, learned how to live the Gospel, married a godly man, had a baby, then gave her life for Jesus in the ampitheatre -- true story.  Get it!)  She is leaving Hawaii, where she was my sister-in-law's faithful companion while Sam was deployed.  Although it's hard for her to leave them and the beauty and sun of the island life, I am so glad she's coming home to me!  She'll get to her final destination, KC, in a little over two weeks, and then it will seriously just be ONE BIG PARTY here in the middle of the midwest.  Hope you still have your winter coat, dearest, because the snow is crashing our party in massive amounts.

I Love Him More...

Surrender seems to be the theme of the everyday Christian life.  I know that seems obvious, but...

It's all about loving Him more.  The other day I was thinking about this divine scale that tips between understanding God and what He says, and understanding with eyes of faith things like the Trinity that cannot be described or taken in as mere words.  Specifically, the Bible.  That book is God's very words...explanation of life and death are found in them.  From the world beginning in Genesis to the end of the age in Revelation, the words are perfect.  Perfect and true, yes.  Easy?  No.

There's a spot where your mind and your heart collide.  There's the "common sense" of the world that says you should go one way, but you know the Lord is calling you to walk another.  As humans we seem to have this reflex called control, where if it doesn't make sense or match what we want, then we throw it out.  Think about it...we try to design everything to be as comfortable as possible for us.  

But with God, we can't always understand.  And that is uncomfortable.  Our need to be in control?  Impossible.  Our want to dictate how everything works?  Abolished.  

You can try to understand God, and force it all to "make sense" to your human brain, but that usually leads places like Postmodernism and Agnosticism, not to mention just plain religion.  

As I thought about this issue of people being tripped up by not being able to understand the Bible or not being able to understand God, it came down to this: Love.

I love Him more than I love my right to understand.

Relinquishment for the sake of love.  Isn't that what Jesus did?  

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  --Philippians 2:5-7

And, with His help, we get to do it with our every day -- with all of us.   He is worth it all...every thing we have to give up, every right to control and to understand relinquished -- all of it.  He's worth my all.

Good Things of Life

Recently, I've been smiling inside and feeling, well, like Cinderella.  (Cinderella at the end of the story...I did just sweep the floor, but, I have neither an evil stepmother nor any evil step-sisters).  

I can't totally explain it, but I do know that Jesus is continuing to be crazy good to me.  Some of my best friends in the whole wide world are coming to Kansas City for onething, and every time I think about it, I could jump out of my skin.  Yippee!!

At the moment, I'm watching The Great Escape. If you haven't seen it, go watch it on Netflix or something.  It's an incredible true story from World War II, and one of the best parts is knowing that Steve McQueen, one of the main actors, got saved later in his life.  Awesome.

Someday That Will be Me.

I'm not at all implying the two-guys part. However, I did find myself today resolving that someday I want to wear this little black dress. I just need a party to go to, and I need to find, um, the dress.
And I want to wear shiny black heels and pearls with it. I've wanted black heels for a long time...