Christmas Miracles

2007 Christmas




Before I really get started...
on a Christmas card note.......here we are only a few days from Christmas and the thought of Christmas cards is just that.....merely a swiftly vanishing, not-enough-time-to-cram-it-all-in thought. Having received tons of them...with pictures, I might add.....in the mail today my burden of guilt mounted at my inability to do all things properly and accomplish everything I set my heart on. We did them last year and I purposed to make it an every year event from there on out. Annnnnnnd......that's now kind of come and gone. They were such a huge success last year and our children were even featured for public viewing on the city's notice board at the town bank due to everyone's delight at their picture. They quickly became the town mascots, I suppose you could say. Their Christmas card picture was the talk of the town for weeks.....do I dare need say how very small this town is???? It doesn't take much to enthuse. Of course, that was all while they were enrolled in public school and we attended the Baptist church so we were a very accepted part of society and the town's delight. Send them out this year and the town may host the biggest bonfire to date with Bettis Christmas cards serving easily as forked up kindling by every local around. Homeschooling and large families just don't mesh with these people. But then...come to think of it......they don't mesh well with most people.

I lost count of the amount of times "Sit down, Garrett!!!!" was said. It's still a good one in the running nonetheless!

Back to the card issue. If you are one of the few that do happen to get a now New Year's card from us then you will undoubtedly see the top picture again. But, if not, here's our crew at Christmas 2007. We were able to get some fun group ones on the porch again this year and then Daddy's coming next week to take some and see what he can get. One thing I deeply love about being an experienced parent is that my idea of perfection has changed from when Grayson and Evye were young. I used to require the perfect pose and setting and now I just want to capture their sweet little spirits and personalities for that moment in time. I absolutely love last year's pic because it did just this. It was a far cry from the world's standards of portrait perfection but I look at that picture and I see them at that stage in each of their little lives..forever captured for Brad and myself. And it's just incredibly funny to me to see one of them laughing too hard or Garrison in one of his ever changing faces with his incredibly funny personality or Garrett standing up 1/2 way trying to walk off. It captures what it is to get a picture of them at this stage of life.....Grayson's self confidence, Evye's up and coming maturity, Aubrey's forever carefree, independent spirit, Garrison's many faces, Grant's absolute delight at life itself, Garrett's inability to sit still during his toddling years and then Gavin's utter contentedness and his sweet, fleeting moments of infancy. They just grow up so fast. Life is too short to make it all perfect. Next Christmas Gavin will be almost 18 months old. It's so hard to think about when you look at him now in this picture and wonder what this next year holds, each and every milestone and think of each one of then growing up another year. This was Garrett just last year.

Christmas 2006

We got Jackie's and Curtis' (my sister and brother in law) card in the mail today and their picture is by far the best in years. I see Madison and Curtis Wade and once again time flying seems to hit home much too hard. It seems like just a few years ago that I was holding a toddling Madison's hand and cradling baby Curtis. Here's their great Christmas pic this year. They're so physically pretty. Every one of them. I think they're even prettier to me because I see their hearts and I know each one of them. And I know the change that's taken place in their family as well. Baby boy Cyrus is due sometime in April.

On other happenings of life.............our Christmas miracles.....we have had many many reasons to fall on our face before the Lord in thanksgiving over His abundant love and care for us. He is indeed an Almighty God who does heal and who does provide.

Aubrey had her 30 day recheck on her eyes. It was left that probable surgery was needed to loosen the muscle in her right eye. At her initial appt the problem was seen as so severe that he thought surgery was an action that would need to be considered at her 30 day recheck. She was put in glasses and the 1st course of action was to reassess her in a month to see how her eyes responded. But he didn't feel it would be too promising. Her vision was said to be very poor and the right eye muscle problem extreme.

Both Brad and I went to her appt this past week and the dr was amazed by her progress. He said surgery is not even a consideration now due to how very well her eye responded to the glasses. I wanted to cry. These past 30 days with her have been an emotional journey. All of the other children pitch in and help her with her glasses, bringing them to her, telling her how pretty they are and even finding pairs of sunglasses so they can wear the new look around too. Leave it to Garrison to wear shades all day to do what she does. The 1st 2 wks or so went exceedingly well. They gave dire predictions of how she would despise them and how we were walking into a minefield until she grew accustomed to them. But to my relief at that point, she adored them. She wore them day in and day out all day long as instructed. From the second she rose to the second she went back to bed they were over her eyes. But at the 2 wk mark she began to change. Her tantrums became worse, she obliterated her glasses case by slamming the bedroom door on it, she threw her glasses at anythingn and everything in her outrage at life, she discarded them when no one was looking, she pushed them down in between the seats of the Suburban so that the entire 3rd row seat had to be taken out to get to them and then the ultimate..........she conveniently lost them outside one day.......not to be found for another 4 days. When they were discovered by Brad they were laying in the flowerbed a little more bent and twisted then before....but, more importantly, they had been found. There were several days in there that I cried with her. It seemed so wrong to me that somebody so little should be so burdened with something. At only 4 she now has to learn to be entirely responsible for something she never should have ever had to think about. It seemed to me, while on my own pity party for a few days, that it was a handicap on somebody so little and innocent and so undeserving. It still crushes me when she interrupts something by saying, "Wait, mom. My glasses are dirty. I have to go wash them with the water. I'll be right back" as she holds up a small little index finger bidding me to be patient with her interruption.

Since her 2nd appt she has progressed by leaps and bounds and reverted back to her initial love of them. They adjusted them so that they are clinging tightly to her head instead of slipping down the bridge of her nose incessantly. Since they cease to slip now she has no longer had issues with them and has, in fact, become the one asking for them and telling us she can't see. She is coming to realize how much they aid her eyesight and that she really can see so much better with them. Right now she is said to be seeing double of everything without her glasses. But, as her appt went on, he was so impressed with her eyes' and brain's response to the glasses she had to have an entirely new lens strength prescribed. He said that was an amazing thing in and of itself and rarely ever happens at a 30 day recheck. I felt so much better having gone to the appt too and now having a much clearer idea of what to be praying for her. It was explained that by the world's standards it is considered a birth defect but in all reality of what all can possibly go wrong in an unborn developing baby it is just a minor little issue requiring attention. He spoke what I feel so incredibly strongly....that it is absolutely amazing given the process that God created as a baby goes from an egg the size of a grain of sand to a full term 40 wk baby that anyone ever comes into this world fully functional and healthy. It indeed in a staggering thing to comprehend that one cell could multiply into billions and form every part of a human body in order for it to live normally and outside of its mother's nourishing womb. It's amazing to me that a specific cell is told to form a pancreas, and another told to form a bone and which exact bone, and yet another told to create the brain, the nervous system, the lymph system and every part of your body that one is born with.

In Aubrey's case, she was born with her right eye nerves being too short. For whatever reason they did not develop fully and were created too short. I could not help but ponder the thought of how amazing it is that a child even has specific cells to create those nerves and how grateful I am that she had those cells telling her to create them and then praising God that He created those cells that resulted in short nerves instead of no nerves at all in that eye. And now knowing what it is that we need to pray for more specifically we have turned our prayers in that direction. He heard our cry for her healing and has already begun her complete healing. She is a living testimony to a God that dearly loves His children, his little tiny children that He created, and He has already eliminated the need for any surgery. We continue to pray for her complete healing and that her nerve cells would catch up to her body's growth so that her eyes will function in complete health as the Lord intended our bodies to do.

And as a God that heals He is also our Provider in every way. We purposed to give our finances completely over to Him in every way. By the world's standards there is no way Brad's income will support our large, growing family. We are not so stupid that we do not know this. But so many families today base their number of children on the income they see before them. But, as a God that does not change or ever go back on His promises, we know more than anything in life that He does provide for His children. He does nothing but speak of the heritage and blessing that children are in the Bible. That which He gives He is faithful to provide for...and Brad and I take Him at His very literal word for it. As we have been deeply convicted about paying off debt.....all of our entire debt in life.......we have purposed and directed every bit of money in that direction without straying very far. The incredible financial blessing we received in Nov was primarily directed towards our last few remaining debts. We are down to nothing but house, truck and trailer left, which we are eagerly working towards and chipping away in every way. With money already allocated we knew going into it that the bus was our Christmas.....which was a unanimous decision in every way. And each child received one present just for them on Christmas Day. This actually became the most fun Christmas we've had in awhile as Brad and I pondered each and every child. It enabled us to carefully discuss each of their personalities, likes and dislikes extensively as we tried to pick that perfect gift for each of them. We both continued on in utter contentment and honest joy as we planned out our Christmas. It gave us an open door to also discuss with the children where each and every penny is going and the importance of a debt free life in every way....lessons Grayson is very much taking to heart these days.

My family has completely gone to no gift exchanging at all except for the children. The family has grown and become so large and money so tight that we all agreed the true meaning of Christmas was slipping away and stress was becoming more and more of an issue that surrounded the holidays as we all sought to give gifts. So, instead of gifts we all agreed the true gift was each other and the time spent in each other's company on such an incredible day. That was a huge turning point for us as Brad and I began to realize what Christmas is truly all about. It's not about obligatory giving or trying to buy 50 million people gifts for 1 day but about sitting around a table filled with food in a warm, dry house with a fire blazing in the fireplace and drinking whatever happens to be the hot drink at that moment....ranging anywhere from cider, to hot chocolate to coffee. All while children romp and play, lounge on the floor playing checkers or propped up on 104 pillows watching whatever dvd they received that year while sipping hot chocolate through their straws. It's the memory making and the fellowship of people that are held so dear to your heart. I can't tell you the gift I received 4 years ago but I can tell you who all was there and what we did.

In those thoughts Brad and I grew more and more excited about our little family holiday. With Thanksgiving being our primary travel holiday we came to absolutely cherish what Christmas became to us last year as our little family sat around a meal and made our own memories here at home. I feared that I would ache for the family that we are always with and have never been away from each Christmas but instead it grew to be something I dearly loved and would remember always as our 1st Christmas as a family of just us. There were pangs of loneliness as I thought of my huge extended family celebrating hundreds of miles away but I looked around and loved what I saw in our little home that Brad and I have made. So, we continue on in complete contentment with life and a new understanding and perspective on gift giving....even to our children. As we attempt to take the focus more off of receiving and focus more on giving it seemed joyous as we shopped for their one gift.

Maybe it was in this new found release and contentment that the Lord saw our hearts. Maybe it was just the freedom from holiday bondage. Maybe it's because of what we are trying so desperately hard to instill in our children about what this season means and teach them at such a young age. Maybe it was because we finally discovered what so many are still searching for during this season. I'm not really sure. But, as we picked up the here and there's with overflowing happy hearts for each child we received a card in the mail shipped next day air. Upon opening it there were instructions to spend this solely on ourselves and the children and nothing else. A job that seemed joyous and heaven sent considering the fact that we have worked so hard to get out of debt and most every penny has gone in that direction. As I opened the envelope inside the card I discovered many crisp, new, hundred dollar bills tucked neatly inside. Grayson, forever being Grayson, saw an opportunity to add to his ever growing stash of cash that he continues to save diligently and begged for "just 1". As I sat there a little stunned as to the contents of the card he sat begging next to me in the front seat, "Please, mom. Just please. May I have just 1? Just one of them????? You got so many that I could have just 1? Please???? That would put me up to 278.oo for my 4 wheeler! Oh please!" It's so hard to say no when faced with his incredible green eyes knowing how much he gives of his earned money. He saves like an old oger but his soft pliable heart gives in every way. He would give his own clothes away to someone who needed them. He gave Evye 10.00 for her birthday to pick out her own sunglasses, he gave Mother 20.00 to aid her in paying her electric bill the week after she lost her county job and he buys me anything and everything if he perceives any kind of need I have. Using his own money he'll bring me back cokes from the little grocery. He's stated that once he has a steady income he wants to support a child every month through one of the mission programs. I marvel at his heart and I pray fervently that we are able to nurture that within him and give him the environment in which that can grow into something that is ingrained into his adult life. I pray that he is exceedingly abundantly blessed for it.

So, in staring into his green eyes I laughed and teased with him before giving him his firm "No" as he pushed the issue in all of his Grayson ways. Brad and I discussed heavily how to go about spending the money wisely, sticking to our convictions about not overdoing Christmas with materialistic "I wants" and still using this extravagant blessing for our family. So, before ever going out, we made a list of the biggest desires of each of them and then narrowed it down to what would be the most utilized. We weeded out anything with lots of parts and pieces and then continued to narrow it down as we thought through any items that would be fought over or cause selfish behavior and wreak havoc instead of creating a playful fun environment for all. We then decided to buy 1 or 2 gifts that would truly minister to them individually and then focus everything else on what they could all use....and then one really large main gift for them all to enjoy.

This has become by far the most fun Christmas Brad and I have ever had in celebrating and buying for the children. I think mostly because we put so much thought into it, having become so convicted about the amount of junk toys we have that have just accumulated over time. It allowed us to dig deeply into each child's individual nature and rediscover the uniqueness of each and every one of them.

We have been so exceedingly abundantly blessed in every area of life. Our sweet children are a continual source of overwhelming joy to me. They are something God is continually using to probe microscopically deeper into my heart and reveal who I truly am inwardly...exposing the deepest regions of my inner self to change me more into the likeness of Him and away from the worldly mindset that so saturates the world. I see Gavin's absolute abounding contentment with life and the joy that he radiates and I wonder if it's because the Lord has molded me and shaped me into a better parent in all of these years. Brad and I stayed up pondering last night if Garrett's and Gavin's happiness is due to the constant stimulation, noise, joy, love and siblings each are completely engulfed in. Or is it because the presence of an ever loving God sees what we are so mortally striving to accomplish for His Kingdom in what He has called us to do and the joy of the Lord truly is our reward...both in ourselves and in our children. We both are fully aware that we have had supernaturally happy, content, joyous children in both Garrett and Gavin. And it is my children that God uses each and every day to continually draw me more and more into Himself because without Him I am so inept at ever being able to do this parenting thing.

There are days I just look at my children and want to cry. I stand in awe at what God has created through Brad and I. I stand in wonder that we were chosen to be the parents of so many when there are so many that can't even have one. I stand in amazement that we have been given such inwardly and outwardly beautiful children. There are days that I feel so utterly unworthy to have them....to even be doing this job. There are days when I know I have failed them and I cannot imagine whatever it was God saw in me to raise them. But there is not a day that goes by that I do not stand in awe of the complete gift that they are to me.

And I still stand in utter amazement each and every time God blesses us so very much more than we ever anticipated. He not only provides for us but sees that we are blessed many times over even what we thought possible. He is still in the miracle performing business. He is our provider in every way. And He is our healer. He is Aubrey's healer.