A Virtual Christmas Card

It's totally cheating, I know.  Virtual cards are just that.  Thin air.  Imaginary.  But...

Since I don't have a physical address for all of you dear blog friends of mine, this will have to suffice.  Thin air is what we get our breath from after all.  It's not without value.

If I didn't send you a card this year, please allow this to act as a substitute.  Turns out, homeschooling takes a lot of time.  It's flexible, yes, but I don't get to take off days from work to address cards or bake cookies anymore.  And you would be amazed how much longer it takes to accomplish these tasks when you have 8 helping hands.  The smallest two hands really like to eat paper too.  That doesn't bode well for the cards.  If you did receive a crumpled card in the mail from me, that was just Leah.  Saying hey. 

 (If you look really closely, there's a squinty Abby eye peeking through there too.)

I have the grandest intentions of coming back and blogging before Christmas, but we all know how my intentions go these days... 

Just in case, Merry Christmas to you all.  Have a blessed time with your families.

You Might Be a Sheppard in 2012 if…

…you started the year with more of your belly showing out from the bottom of your shirt than any grown woman should ever bare thanks to the impending download of Shep #4. 

…you willingly, albeit nervously, laid on a table and watched as a laser reshaped your cornea and, as a result, said “good riddance” to your corrective lenses, hopefully forever - because all dads should have the vision of Superman. 

…you welcomed Leah Caroline, a 3^rd bouncing baby girl, to the ranks on an awesome day (3-6-12) after a pitocin-induced, epidural-free labor & delivery with busted blood vessels all over your face to prove it.

…you took your 10 day old baby to a homeschooling convention in Spartanburg, SC to test the waters of what could be the biggest adventure of your life.

…as an 8 year old boy, you and your 5 year old kid sister scored your first goals ever, thus promoting soccer to the “favorite sport” slot.

…after spending your entire pregnancy worrying that you would pass a kidney stone, you were blessed to have nine months plus a bonus eight weeks after birth before having to deal with one of those pesky things.

…you and your best friend/big sister took swimming lessons and after watching Abby bravely jump off the high dive on day 2, you shocked everyone by exhibiting fear for the first time ever  and outright refusing to do it. 

…you taught second graders in VBS in the morning for the second consecutive summer, then went to work for a full 8+ hours after lunch.  Sleep is for the weak.

…as an eight year old boy, you accepted Jesus into your heart at VBS and publicly committed your life to Him by being baptized on your daddy’s 30^th birthday. 

…you took off your engineer hat and dove headfirst into the world of homeschooling a third grader and kindergartener with a 3 year old and an infant after feeling an undeniable call to teach them at home, and you don’t even wear a denim jumper or grind your own wheat.

…you opted to capitalize on your freedoms as a homeschooling family and took a vacation to Amelia Island, FL in late August after schools were back in – because you could.  Once you go offseason, you never go back.

…you discover that traveling is one of the best ways to imprint history and the beauty of nature on your kids’ hearts and minds, and therefore opt for a three week road trip up the coast and all over New England in late September and early October during peak leaf-turning season.

…you type up your end-of-year newsletter with a reminder from one of your favorite Christmas books, “And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?”

You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face and tell him you have received his Christmas gift. ~John R. Rice 

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. ~Isaiah 7:14