Christmas Part I

And before we knew it, Christmas time had come to the Broge household. As is likely the case with most people, this season brought with it more adventures then could possibly be summed up in a simple blog post, and so I won't try....or I won't try to do it in a post, instead you will be forced to put up with multiple posts. We begin with the annual small group Christmas party. You may or may not remember that last year we were unable to attend the small group party. The girls had not been home from the hospital or very long and it just wasn't going to happen. However the small group brought the party to us.

This year we were able to join the fun and festivities.

... more to come

Christmas Comes to the Broges

So I'm sitting on the couch with the monkey in my arms, trying to keep her good and calm while Mary Jane prepares to give her a bath. Next to me sat Nana holding Emma Jane. The Chronicles of Narnia was just starting and we were sort of watching it, and sort of waiting to get the whole feeding thing started and sort of just cuddling with the babies. When all of the sudden there arose on the lawn such a clatter....at first I thought the neighbors must be having a party, and then I realized what I was hearing was singing. And I knew...I knew it was our small group. And sure enough...we were being "caroled" by our small group.
Tonight was the small group Christmas Party, and, truth be told, we Mary Jane and I were bumming about not going this year. Our small group decided to go ahead and bring the party to us. They didn't stay long (they had sick kids in their midst), but they brought with them food, song, and the "true meaning of Christmas". Something that is often missing during this time of year. They reached out to us, as they have so many times over the years, with the love of Christ.
It's funny. When Mary Jane and I moved to Saint Louis back in the summer of 2004 we did so with somewhat heavy hearts. We left a strong network of friends and felt quite lonely. It is hard to believe that in so short a time we could have been blessed with so many who would love and care for us so deeply.

Thank you.

Spotlight on Large group…er…small church…um….small group…yeah...that

We can’t say enough about our small group. This blog could easily be devoted to how cool everyone in the group is. In many ways it was the small group who helped us decide that we could maybe…just maybe survive this whole St. Louis experience. We moved to Saint Louis right after getting married in 2004, knowing that eventually I would get to the seminary. We knew no one in town, and it was pretty hard. We joined the small group in November, and by the New Year we had our St. Louis family.
They have been an important part of our lives for four years now. There is no way I could possibly sum up all the ways they have been a blessing to us over the years. So I won’t try.
But I will say this. They prayed for us for three years as we struggled to get pregnant. (Dave even fasted). They cried with us and for us. They cried tears of joy when they found out Mary Jane was pregnant. When the “great escape” began they mobilized faster then 137th on D day. Holly picked up Nana from the airport. Brian picked up Emily from the train station. Liz acted as a contact person and poured out information. They (along with many others) have brought meals. Dave, Charlie, Chris, and Jon finished priming the baby’s room, painted the room, and even mowed the lawn. Charlie came by randomly after church one Sunday (while I was at Salem preaching) and dropped off fresh home made bread (made by his wife Holly) and seeing the lawn needed mowing again…mowed it. Let me tell you coming home after church planning on changing clothes rapidly in order to rush over to the hospital, and finding fresh bread and a cut lawn was … well there really aren’t words. Liz made the blankets which you see in the background of a number of photos as well as some hats and shrugs. They have run errands, they have eaten lunch with us, they have put their arms around us, and they have prayed. They have prayed, and prayed, and prayed. (Some have even taught their little kids to pray for Parker and Emma Jane).
Last night they threw us an “upright bath.” It was the longest period of time we’ve all been together since this all began, and in many ways it felt like home. We ate, we played games, we talked, we received gifts (thank you) and Jenny put together the most awesome book you could ever imagine. (Really, this thing is an amazing. It had Mary Jane in tears before we even had it opened. I’m really going to need to take a picture of every page and blog about it, but I don’t know if that will do it justice. All the families in the small group contributed to it and Jenny put it together. It’s…well…amazing. Thanks!)
I could go on and on….in fact I probably should. I have only scratched the surface of the ways in which they have been there for us. Forgive me for not mentioning everything. For the things you have done that I haven’t listed here…we know…and we are so thankful.

Thank You!!
a possible future small group merger?

Heisners enjoying some cake

looking at the book
Jason competing at "price is right"

Ben...playing his own game