Addendum to cookie baking:

This was done when I was not at home.  In no way do I condone my boys wearing PINK aprons.  We give no quarter to sissiness of any kind.
- Jason

Cookies!

Thursday we baked 16 dozen cookies.  It was quite a feat!  The children started out really excited, but by the end we were ALL ready to be done. 

Baking cookies with my kids will always be a precious memory for me and I hope that it will be precious to them also.

Time for nap!

camping

We went camping this weekend with Jason's parents and all of the cousins, aunts, and uncles from his side of the family.  There are 8 grandchildren with the oldest being 7 and the youngest being 11 months, so there is never a dull moment.  They love being together.  Here are some pictures ... 

Our First Tooth Fairy Visit

Isaiah lost his first tooth last week.  It was very exciting and a little sad (for me).  It makes me realize he's growing up!  Time just goes by soooo fast. 

Grumpy in Wal-Mart

Yesterday, Jason and I went shopping for gifts for the children.  This year we've decided to spend less (for financial and spiritual reasons) . . . so they get 3 gifts each. I usually LOVE buying their presents.  I am a real sucker for all the Christmas merchandise.  I love the Christmas music in the stores and everyone shopping for their families.  I am very easily distracted.  I start to feel that I really need new dishes and the kids should have this toy AND that toy.  But Jason is with me and he is a saver not a spender (and not easily swayed by the latest marketing scheme).   So as we're sort of window shopping (because I can't decide on the 3 things the kids will like that will fit into our budget)  I start to get depressed and a little grumpy thinking how much more fun this trip would be if we could just forget the budget and fill the buggy with "stuff"  our kids would love to have on Christmas morning.   Heart check -- Christmas is not about presents.
So when we get home it hits me that Yes, we are taking away a part of Christmas that I had as a child -- lots of gifts.  But we can't just take that away and say "Kids enjoy Christmas, it's about Jesus not presents."  We've got to replace the worldly things with something from God. We need to show them how God can bring us joy that lasts longer than the joy we get from a gift.   So today we're going to ask our children how they think Jesus wants us to celebrate His birthday and see what they come up with.  I am looking forward to what the Lord has for us -- something that will satisfy more than gifts under the tree.
I'll keep you posted.

Christmas Gift Ideas

One of the things we've discussed in our small group Advent study is making or purchasing gifts that cost less money, but more time and thought.  So, I'm thinking of printing out scripture verses onto cardstock and framing them.  This would be a gift for family members on my Mom's side.  Many of them have traumatic lives and desperately need encouragement.  If anyone knows of a specific verse which has encouraged you, please share.  I've been searching my Bible, but haven't come up with the "perfect" ones yet. 


Here are some pictures of ones I did for our home a couple of years ago.   The pictures aren't great, but it gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.

So what's your favorite verse of encouragement?

Christmas Card Pictures

I just ordered my Christmas cards from Wal-Mart and I'm soooooooo excited because this is the first time I've ever had pictures cute enough to put on the front of a card.  Last year I had found matching outfits in a GREAT clearance sale.  I couldn't wait to get the kids all dressed up and plaster their picture onto a Christmas card.  However, they did not cooperate.  This is the BEST picture I could get. . .

. . . so I used some cards I already had and stuck one of the photos inside (I wasn't going to spend the money on a photo card with this photo).  Most of my friends and family got a good laugh.

Anyway, this year my wonderfully talented sister took pictures for me on Thanksgiving Day and as an added bonus, I was able to put together matching outfits from last year's Christmas and clothes my friend had let us borrow :)

And here are this year's pictures. . .

Thank you Bridget!!!!!!!!!

Advent

                         
Tomorrow is December 1st and we start Advent.  We've celebrated Advent with the children for the last 2 years.  However, this year is different because we are also studying Advent in our small group and focusing on spending our time and money on preparing our hearts for Jesus rather than preparing for a commercialized form of Christmas.  So, I've been thinking a lot about how I approach the holidays and where my heart is.  I LOVE Christmas -- I love getting a tree, decorating, listening to Christmas music , cooking, and shopping  (I even like wrapping the gifts).  So, this weekend I started asking myself what would Christmas be like this year if I had none of those things that I associate with Christmas.  What would December 25th be like if all of the extras were taken away and I were just to focus on the birth of Christ?  It's like "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" -- would I be singing if I woke up on Christmas morning to find no decorations, no presents, no Christmas dinner?  NO!  I would be crying.  So, what does this say about my heart?  This Advent season, I am praying that God will show me the true meaning of Christmas and help me to be completely caught up in HIM rather than worldy things created by man which serve to distract us from Christ during this season of celebration.

Jude at the table

I am just so Happy to be here!

But I'm not sure about this food . . .

More please!

Our Little Pumpkin

A Fresh Start

After a bad experience on Facebook and months of half-hearted blogging, I have decided to recommit to blogging.  So. . . I am starting over with a clean slate and a new blog (mostly because I couldn't get the wallpaper on my old page to change and it was driving me crazy!)  Anyway, I'm hoping some of my "old" blogging buddies will hold me accountable by harassing me when I fail to post on a regular basis. (Amanda, you're good at that.)  My goal is to post at least 4 times a week.  There's something cathartic about making yourself sit down and write out something positive about your day a few times a week.  So here's to fresh starts!