Merry Christmas

We have been very busy enjoying all the activities that come with preparing for Christmas. Last weekend was the town parade that included an entry from our church. The girls both rode on the float and waved their arms off. Friday night was our church Christmas party and Saturday evening we enjoyed a wonderful visit with family that came in from out of town. The girls decorated their annual gingerbread house and gifts are being wrapped. I have a ladies brunch on Thursday and the school party is on Friday.

The tree is trimmed and the lights are all on...................

This is all wonderful and fun. If we aren't careful we can forget the meaning of Christmas.

Last week, while I was waiting to tell the judge why I can't serve jury duty, I pulled a little book out of my purse that I always carry with me. You have probably read through one yourself, Our Daily Bread. I will share the entry for that day:

As we approach Christmas, it's good to remember why Jesus was born. The Son of God did not come to establish a nostalgic, family-oriented, commercially successful holiday. The angel told Joseph: "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus : for he shall save his people from their sins"(Matt. 1:21).

Christmas began with a present from God to his sin-damaged world: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

The masterpiece of God's human creation, marred by turning away from Him, can be restored when we give our hearts to Christ. ---David McCasland

I think it is wonderful to have family-oriented memories that include traditions and activities as long as we give God the praise and glory for everything and put Him above all else!

I will be taking a blog break until after Christmas. The girls will be on Christmas break after Friday and I am really looking forward to having them home. God Bless everyone and again have a Merry Christmas.

Church was so wonderful last night. It is always wonderful. We are working through the book of Judges. We started chapter 17 last night. Samson died in the previous chapter and we are now introduced to Micah. Micah stole from his mother. He later returned her silver for fear of her curse, not for fear of the Lord. They used a portion of the silver to make a graven image as the mother said she had wholly dedicated the silver to the Lord. Verse six then says, "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." The mother did what she thought to be acceptable. We know that God abhors false idols and would not want her to make one.


We have to be very careful not to use the world's standards to live by. Our hearts and eyes are deceptive. The rejection of God's authority is the main problem in the world. We often look to man's authority and measure our behavior and beliefs. We should use God's standard to choose music, activites, clothes and behavior. Colossians 3:23 says, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."

Just a little picture of our sparkly living room all ready for Christmas. I added a few more things to the mantel after I took this picture.

Remember making these?

When I was a kid, we used to string cranberries and popcorn to decorate the Christmas tree. It was lots of fun. Our tree had the homemade garland mixed with crazy blinking colored lights and store bought ornaments. I have always favored clear lights on our trees and really never thought of making the garland again until this weekend. I think it turned out really cute. I didn't have any fresh cranberries on hand so I used a bit of ribbon to add the fun color. We have been busy with decorating and working on our homemade Christmas projects. What are some of your homemade Christmas decorating traditions?

See the popcorn on our little tree too? We made a mini paper chain for it last year.

{eight}

My baby is a big girl now.
HaPpY BiRtHdaY

Miss Mia !

Apron strings

I have been meaning to post this apron that my mom and Madison made for me during the summer. I think the house border is so cute. I love aprons. I really do use them. I think I could collect them if I let myself. I was really impressed with Madison's sewing skills on the pockets. After my mom showed her how to make the pockets, she made them entirely by herself. I think she needs to teach me how to make some.

I would really like it if you would say a special prayer of protection for Jared as he moved today, into his first apartment. I felt like I asked him 200 questions and gave twice as many suggestions when he told me he was getting his own place. Even though he has not lived with me for a very long time, he is in my heart and thoughts every day. While he was living with his dad I knew where he was and that he would have food and warm socks. Now he has moved to the next, very important step. It is not easy to let go but it is very necessary. Mac and cheese is not so bad and warm socks are easy enough to come by. He is in God's hands.

In Christ Alone

I place my trust and find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory let it be said of me

my source of strength

my source of hope

is Christ alone

One of my favorite songs. It is all in His hands anyway. Just a funny memory; Jared used to be terrified of the big mall hand. He would walk way around it when he was about five. We tease him about it but he doesn't mind. He has such a sweet spirit.

Either brown or green

This is our fall. It was 85 degrees just four days ago and the girls were swimming. The water was just cool enough that they had to keep on the move. In and out of the 70 degree water. It was sunny and nice.

Today was the first real feel of the new season. I have yet to see leaves in any colors other than brown or green. But they are falling, and falling and falling. I think all the raking I did today qualifies as an official workout too, right! :) Keith and I have decided mowing this yard negates the need for a gym membership. The picture of the leaf piles shows only half the back yard and the front is equal in size. We've been told it takes until January for all the trees to be completely bare.

We enjoyed a nice rain this evening with a fire burning in the fireplace. It was just right to take the little chill out of the house. Hope everyone is enjoying this harvest season. I saw pictures that my friend took just about an hour from us and the colors were just amazing.

Our version

This fun and super easy craft is our take on fall color. I started making these when I taught preschool. I love them so much that we make some every Autumn.

We color regular coffee filters with markers, squirt them with a water bottle, then cut out a leaf shape when dry. I put them all around the house and on the windows. We will get some real leaf color but not until close to November. I can't wait that long. Our leaves looked a bit more tye-dye this year because the girls used less brown. They wanted to use the other colors more :)

It's Jared's day

Happy Birthday to my sweet son. He turns 20 today, oh my! We had a very nice dinner with him and Linsey last night. They are so cute.

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Psalm 19: 7-10

They like to jump.....

and play in the giant corn 'pool'. It was the funnest activity at the pumpkin patch. It was kind of like playing in the sand but not so messy. The kids and adults were throwing it, burying each other in it and as you can see, jumping into it. I couldn't believe the girls were doing flips into it. They were on their second jump when I took the picture. I was a bit worried that it wasn't safe so that was their last jump. I put my arms deep into the corn and it was cold under the surface. There was an umbrella shading one corner. This is where I decided to sit after taking a ton of pictures. It was actually very relaxing.

{ Madison, Kaprianna and Aimee doing a flip into the corn}

The girls did come home with some kernels in their waistbands:)

Wise men

Our first president, George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

John Adams, our second president said, "The Bible is the best book in the world." He also believed, "Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their own law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited...what a utopia; what a paradise this region would be."

We made it out!

Just a little glimpse of our day. We visited a pumpkin patch that claims to have the world's largest corn maze ( 43 acres). It was HUGE and I must take their word for it. Let's just say, give us ladies a map and we will get out (legitimately or otherwise:). I am off to get some rest as tomorrow is my day to be in the classroom at school. I hope to post again this week with some highlights of the day and more pictures.

Slowing down

Things have been so very busy for us lately. Our back to school routine was put on halt this week due to Pastor's Conference. We are used to this break and welcome it. However, my cell phone makes my 'office' too portable, and other commitments have made us feel the need to slow down mid-week. Keith was gone for dinner tonight so it was a great opportunity to make dinner just for us girls. We love fettuccine alfredo with salad. I have Starr to thank for this delicious, rich, recipe that turned out just perfect. While I made dinner, the girls were upstairs playing. I decided we all needed to have a special time at dinner tonight. They came down to the dinning table set with three places and candle light to eat by. They were very excited. I had music playing from the next room and it was very relaxing. They said it was better than a restaurant because we were in our comfy clothes and we got to choose the music. I reminded them that we get to wash our own dishes too :) I take pictures of everything so of course I have a picture.

Proverbs 16:24

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.




This is a picture I took while visiting the butterfly habitat at 6 flags. So many beautiful colors!