Christmas Part 2

As you can see we try to pack as much fun and tradition into the Christmas season as we can. (not the usual shopping, shopping, shopping!) We sooo enjoy this time of the year! I love the lights, weather, community and church events that go with it!

A lot of the traditions we have revolve around discussions of Christ, his birth, his life, his death, his purpose, and the call we have to continue to share each of these things with the world. We want our children to remember Christmas past as a time when great memories were made with family, friends, and neighbors and that some of the best of them were made giving to others.

The weekend before Christmas we attended an open house at Bryant's Miniatures. We have been out to these stables before but never for their Christmas open house. The girls loved it. My children are not only crazy about babies but animals as well!

They even got to pet and feed the camel. The Bryant's have such a neat variety of animals. Delaney was able to name the camel and donkey because of our talk about the nativity.

*Just a quick note...this year the girls were given the little people nativity at the beginning of December. Genna and Delaney played with it often. While they were playing I would tell them the story again and explain who each animal or person was. After a few times D would approach it and say Mary, baby Jesus, wise men, and etc.. It turned out to be a great hands on learning tool for her. I loved it!

After leaving the stables we headed out to get our Christmas tree. I know the weekend before Christmas....we were a little behind, but it was perfect there was snow on the ground and everything!!

We picked a great tree...GREAT BIG that is! The room it was going in only has 8ft ceilings and the tree was a little over 8ft. Josh cut off a little at the bottom and brought it in. He put on the lights and we decorated it. Then Grace got the honor of putting on the star.

That is when we realized a little more needed to be cut off. The girls insisted however that we leave it. So this is how our star remained the rest of the season!

One more post coming up!

Christmas Season 2010 Part 1

It has seemed like forever since I blogged!

Things have been busy around here. However, they have also been great! I hate to say "it has been busy" like it was a bad thing. Most everything that occupied our time in December were things we chose to do or felt God had led us to do..... so no complaining here!

A quick update before all the Christmas stuff.

This month we sold Josh's car in order to get a vehicle with a few more miles on it and to eliminate a vehicle payment. We also were able to sell his 1975 CJ5, for all you JEEP lovers out there you know this was a BIG deal. This was his baby, his project. He decided to sell it though, knowing that his time with "his baby" would be even more limited with another child around and that we could use the extra money....

Last month we had to replace the washer and dryer unexpectedly. So selling both of those were a huge blessing.

Also Josh's new-to-him ride is in the JEEP family, just an FYI for all of you who were feeling bad for the guy!! ; ) I did feel a little bit sorry for him.

Last Thursday we went to our fingerprint appointment at the United States Citizen and Immigration Services. Everything went well and we are hoping to hear back that we are clear. At that point, we will be referral ready, except for the rest of the fundraising!

Now on to some of the CHRISTMAS FUN!

We started off the season with Genna's school Christmas program. She was so excited! I didn't want to send her to school all day in a dress, so I stayed up the night before and made her a Christmas shirt! She loved it!

The girls were in the Christmas program at our church. Genna was Mary and Grace was a modern day girl. Can you tell they both love to sing!! Both their mouths are open the widest!

Grace's program at school had to be rescheduled due to the four snow days we had before break.

They did a wonderful job, even though most of their rehearsal was done a few hours before the program.

The girls love to be in the kitchen and always want to help cook. So we spent a few days making gooodies! On this particular day, we made homemade thin mints, snicker doodles, chocolate chip cookies, and triple chocolate. A total of 16 dozen in all! The next afternoon they delivered the goodies to the neighbors in the snow. Oh what fun!!

And yes in this next picture I am on the floor with crazy braids in my hair letting D stir the cookie dough. She kept climbing from the stool onto the counter where the hot cookies were all laid out. So I sat down on the floor and let her stir with me there. I promise those of you who ate the cookies, none of them touched the floor!

More Christmas fun to come!

Anything Else? Thanks & Praise

Oh what a week! I started out the week being sick. I had fever, body aches, headache, and swollen throat. I was off two days of work and spent most of the time laying around like a slug. Complete with slimy clothes and hair...uugh! I had no motivation or energy to do anything. Wednesday I went back to work with no fever but still some symptoms, by Thursday I felt much better.

Early in the week my cell phone started going out. Continuous dropped calls, text messages coming in hours late, and the phone shutting down even with a full charge. I use my cell phone not only as my basic phone but also for work. Midweek my van started making loud, shrieking sounds anytime it was running. On Friday, the dryer quit. Oh my, what a week!!

I was excited that we had plans on Friday night to work a booth with our Senior High group from church. The annual county Christmas festival was this weekend. We sold white chocolate covered popcorn and dipped pretzels. The group had decided that all of the proceeds would go to by a gift through Samaritan's Purse. A goat is what one of our girls had set her eyes on to buy for a family in a third world country.

Saturday Josh, Gbug, D, and I watched the Christmas parade and enjoyed the decorations at Memorial park. We even stopped by the appliance store to order the new washer and dryer, which wasn't in our budget plans.

All in all the week turned out to be fine. As hard as it is at times to not let life's circumstances get to you, it is vital that we remember the blessings that abound. We have been given life. Not only the one we live here and now but the promise of an eternal one. So each day my prayer is that our family will choose to remember where true joy comes from and that above all worldly things it will prevail.

I am: Thankful that God chose to accept me as his child. Thankful for a heavenly father that loves me in spite of me. Thankful for the gift of his word and the Holy Spirit to guide me. Thankful that I was given another week with my family. Thankful we are free of illness. Thankful I am able to work and be in the ministry. Thankful for the freedom to worship. Thankful for the friends God has placed in my life. Thankful for more then I could ever put down on this page.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I hope you all have a wonderful week of family, friends, and Thanksgiving. ~Andrea