Merry Christmas!

'Twas the Weekend Before Christmas...

And all through the house,

My children were literally jumping from couch to couch!

We loaded up the girls & headed down to Fayetteville to see the lights.

The weather was so nice Sunday that we decided to go ice skating.  However, because the weather was SO nice our little outdoor rink was closed because of some melting.  The girls were already SO looking forward to it & there was NO changing their minds at that point so we headed to the mall where they had a free rink set up.

Turns out it is free because it isn't really ice.  It was some sort of wax over snap together tiles.  Bferg said it was slicker than snot.  Aubrie actually got the hang of it pretty quick.  Lily spent most of the time on the "floor" which meant she was covered in wax shavings by the time we were ready to call it quits.

Merry Christmas Eve!

I hope my two little anxious girls can go to bed tonight!!!

Till He appeared & the soul felt its worth, 
A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices!

Party In Your PJ's

The girls wrapped up their last week of Pre-K until the new year yesterday  Both days included pajamas, sweets, games & all around FUN!

My Loves.

Multi-Tasking.
Eating candy while playing a game!

Lily just kind of enjoyed her cupcake.

Aubrie & her sweet friends!

Now for a relaxing weekend...

"Children are a gift of the Lord."

Psalm 127:3

Some Joy

Our hearts were heavy all weekend after Friday's tragic & sad act in CT.  As a Mom I just cannot fathom.  Cannot.  My prayers continue to be with the families who woke up Saturday to empty beds & hearts.  

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."

John 14:27

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

After a day of errands we decided to let the girls visit Santa & then do their Christmas shopping for each other.  Lily has always been more leery scared to death of Santa.

2009

2010

2011

She was totally fine with letting Aubrie do all the talking but she wrote out her little list just in case.

Watching & Waiting...

Big sis offering up words of encouragement.
And a hand to hold.

Santa reading her little list.

Success!

I love the look on her face!  She is so proud of herself!

Santa is not the main element of Christmas in our house but his presence this weekend brought our family a little smile & joy to our day.

Joy to the world the Lord has come!

The Gift of Giving

"What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts, thine own dear Son, begotten, not created, my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute, his self-emptying incomprehensible, his infinity of love beyond the heart's grasp.... O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds & enlarge my mind; let me hear good tidings of great joy...to look upon my Redeemer's face...let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child to my heart, embrace him with undying faith, exulting that he is mine & I am his.

In Him thou has given me so much that heaven can give no more."

(Excerpt from The Valley of Vision pages 28-29.)

I love this old puritan's prayer.  I love the word pictures that walks my finite mind from the shepherds, to the manger, to Simeon...but the last sentence is the climax. 

Jesus' birth was the ultimate gift.  

Heaven emptied it all that cold night in Bethlehem.

Take this Christmas season to give.

Take time to teach your children to give.

Give because HE gave so much for us.

A New Tradition

With our girls being older this Christmas & being able to fully grasp the real meaning of Christmas we decided to start a new Advent tradition.

Advent: The arrival of a notable person, thing or event.

Our kids obviously anticipate Christmas (understatement of the year) so this year we are taking that anticipation and adding Scripture to each day reflecting on Christ's birth & His goodness.  

Therefore we are celebrating Advent.

I found some pre-cut strips of paper & I had a rough guide of some Scriptures (thank you Pinterest!)...25 Days of Scripture that also doubles as a count-down to Christmas.

I made two (one for each girl) so that there is NO fighting over who gets to tear the link as well as some of the passages were too long for one strip of paper.  

It has been great!  

It has been fun to see their excitement over reading a new one each night & then having a kid friendly but completely intentional Spiritual discussion on each verse.

It will definitely be a tradition that we will continue!

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; 

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

'Tis the Season

We dove right in to the holidays this past weekend by heading to Silver Dollar City with some of our best friends.  Apparently 10,000 other holiday celebrators were diving in too...SDC was packed!  It was overwhelming at times but we still had a blast!

Our Family

Aubrie, Gabby & Lily

Watch Out!

Lily & Gabby

Can you spot the pigtails?

Watching the parade...

Merry Christmas to all & to all a good night!

Thanks to the Paladino's for sharing their free passes with us!