We had a wonderful Christmas celebration on the 24th and 25th.  On Christmas Eve day, the children played and I made a few preparations for Christmas day dinner.  It was a relaxing morning and I also got some laundry done.  Then in the afternoon we took pie over to my mother-in-law's house and had a visit with her.   We enjoyed visiting and the girls always love playing with Grandma's toys. 

At 5 pm we went to Christmas Eve service at church.  It was a time of worship and remembrance, where Jesus was exalted and God glorified.  I always enjoy singing Christmas hymns of worship, corporately by candle light.  

After church we came home and had a wonderful spaghetti dinner, made by the best spaghetti chef.  D*A*D...it was delicious. 

Then we all curled up under our warm blankets and watched The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.   None of us had seen it.  All of us loved it.  Grace was asking us last night if we could watch it again.  We are going to buy it and Prince Caspain with some of their Christmas money.

Christmas day, my husband and I woke early to make the morning preparations.  This was a different Christmas in our home.  For the first time, we didn't pretend that Santa was going to visit our house.  It was different to not set out cookies for Santa or listen to the girls anticipation of what they would get from him.  But instead they were excited to celebrate Jesus birthday and must have sang Happy Birthday to Him, 20 times leading up to Christmas. 

I always take holiday food requests to plan the menu.  The girls big request was sausage gravy and biscuits.  I also made scrambled eggs and sliced oranges. 

Jennifer had went to her dad's house to spend the night and have an early Christmas morning there.  She arrived home around 8 am, just as the little girls were getting up. 

We ate breakfast and then Jennifer always reads the story of Jesus birthday from the book of Luke.  Here she is reading it from the newspaper. 

Then we take turns praying, thanking God for His provision and gift of Jesus.

Next they opened up their daddy Santa gifts.  My husband surprised us and bought "Santa" gifts which they opened. 

Jen got a slim camera which she can take movies with also. 

Grace also got a camera.  She loves taking pictures of her stuffed animals. 

Liz got a 1Gb Ipod.  I don't know where the picture went to.  Here she is with a hard to find toy.  Pixel Chix..

Belle loved her Christmas stocking toys.  This gingerbread man was ripped open and the squeaker captured within 15 minutes of her possessing it. 


My husband surprised me with this great camera.  I am still figuring out all of the bells and whistles.  I have secretly been wanting a camera that would fit in my purse.  I thought it to frivolous to ask for, and I never told him I wanted one.  He is an awesome husband! 

Blends fantasy and allegory to give families and children a fresh look at the wonder of the Incarnation and of the “Christmas” that occurs when God finds a lost sinner.

Dylan loves his family’s yearly vacation to Holiday and wishes it could last all year. When he finds a flyer asking if he’d like to keep Holiday, he encounters a bigger and better Holiday than the one his family has always visited; he also learns that entering it requires the Founder’s authorization. Thus begins Dylan’s quest to meet the one of whom people keep saying: “You can’t find the Founder; he finds you./He’s not just the Founder, he’s the Finder too.”

As Dylan reads of Holiday’s origins, he experiences a number of adventures and meets characters who represent the sights and sounds he always finds in Holiday—characters who explain how each of these familiarities points to the Founder’s previous rescue of the city’s inhabitants. And the more Dylan learns, the more he longs to personally know the one who holds the key to entering the “real Holiday.”

Writing for elementary-age children and older, author, teacher, and grandmother Starr Meade offers a book that families can read together, discovering along with Dylan how God brings a person to faith. Keeping Holiday is also a charming, insightful way to help children grasp the meaning of the Incarnation.

My Thoughts:

Elizabeth and I have been enjoying this book throughout the month of December.  It is a delightful story that draws you into a tale of God's grace and loving sovereign plan.  As we seek Him, He is always there to be found. 

Although this book is written with the Christmas season in mind, it actually could be enjoyed any time of year.  The message is not season specific, but it is specific to the wonderful journey of the Christian life. 

I recommend reading this book with and to your children.  It is written at a 4th-5th grade reading level, but the entire family can enjoy the story. 

~In gratitude,

Linda

(click book cover to read an expert at Amazon)

Title: Christmas Promises
Author: LeAnn Weiss

From the back cover:
The Christmas flurry of parties, shopping, decorating and a thousand details can quickly frazzle and deplete.  Activities that promise so much can leave you feeling a puzzling loneliness that doesn't mesh with all the frivolity.  Or perhaps your life is not about vague discontent, because you're going through very real and serious circumstances right now, and you don't think you'll ever feel light and hopeful again.  The answer to either scenario is to take a deep breath, gather your thoughts and find a quiet space to focus on a tiny baby born in a stable long ago.  His story is God made flesh-heaven meets Earth-and He promises to be with those who seek Him.

Within the pages of Christmas Promises, you will find refreshment for your heart, mind and soul as you read personalized scriptures of God's view of you and your circumstances.  And you will be refreshed and inspired by true stories of people who have received God's provision and restoration--even in life's bleakest moments.  May you be blessed by the gift of God's promsies today and always.  And may you trust in Him wholeheartedly to fulfuill His promises to you. 

My Thoughts:

This wonderful book was a quick read to boast my Christmas mood.  I usually read it in the morning after my AM quiet time.  I enjoyed the stories that go with specific life-applicable bible verses.  I would recommend this book as a gift on Thanksgiving day, to begin someone's Advent celebration.  It is highly encouraging and entertaining.

I love doing crafts with the girls.  They are always willing and excited to participate.  I am not a crafty person, so to do anything artsy-crafty is a stretch. 

I bought two kits at Hobby Lobby this year.  One were these candy-cane ornaments.

Our big craft thing was making and decorating graham cracker houses.  It was a wonderful experience in creativity, patience and perseverance.  It takes a bit for the frosting to set. 

This is the recipe that I used from Cooks.com.  I highly recommend it!   A few friends bought the gingerbread kit and had a lot more trouble then we did.  The main problem for us is that we didn't wait for the walls of the house to set before adding the top. 

FROSTING FOR GINGERBREAD HOUSES
2 lbs. powdered sugar 6 egg whites 1 tsp. cream of tartar   Beat with electric mixer - carefully! Use to glue graham crackers together to form houses and to glue on candy decorations.

~We are keeping these displayed on the fireplace for awhile, there was a lot of fun and hard work that went into them! 

December 26...the day after the BIG celebration.  As I look forward to Christmas each year, I usually don't look forward to 12/26...it is always such a let-down.   But this year seems a little different.  I think we all had such a wonderful Advent and day of celebration that we are relishing the day we all enjoyed together yesterday.  I wanted to share a few memories of this Christmas season.  It was joy-filled for me, so many times the joy would suddenly catch me off-guard.   How wonderful to think of my Savior as a newborn baby, and this time of worship of His birth as a human.  I am also so grateful for these years when all three of our daughters are with us in our home.  To quickly they will have their wings unfold and fly to the wonderful places the Lord is/has established for them. 

We read through, but did not finish, Jotham's Journey. 
But we loved what we did read, we were not disappointed in this wonderful book that helped us prepare our hearts for celebrating the birth of Jesus.   We also read Keeping Holiday, which I reviewed here.

Another favorite book was this one that I found at a library book sale.



This book is filled with Christian Christmas gems.  We enjoyed reading the history of Christmas and St. Nicolas day.  During Christmas we sang favorite carols and learned their history in this book.   There are wonderful Christmas stories like, The Gift of the Magi by O Henry.  Also delightful Christmas poems that we will work on memorizing next year.  It was a great find! 


For my own Christmas reading pleasure, I loved reading this book in the evening before bed.  

 Each reading written by Billy or Ruth Graham, helped to keep me centered on the Christ of Christmas.  It helped bring keep the joy and peace of each busy-bustling day, also quieting me before sleep. 

My favorite Christmas devotional remains this one:

I also read through this book:

Which I reviewed here.

We also read through this book several times...

I was reading through a few posts from last year and read how I wish I would have done more.  I also stated that I hoped to be more organized next year.  I wasn't!  There were a few times when I was ready and organized but other activities bumped my plans.  But I will not be discourged, Lord willing there is next year. 

Yesterday we celebrated Grace's 5th Birthday.   Her birth came four days after my Grandmother's death.  As we returned to our hotel room, following my Grandmother's death, my water broke.  My poor husband, I made him travel the two hours to the hospital I work at.  It was 11:00 at night, and thankfully the roads were clear from ice and snow.  It was four days before Grace's birth.  A very different birth than her two sisters, yet filled with her name--Grace.   God's loving grace surrounded me throughout the four days that I was in the hospital until she was born.   

 First Brithday.

At her preschool church program on Sunday.  She was so funny, I asked her why she was acting so silly during it.  She said she was being shy.  Grace is not a performer, she likes to watch more than be a part of things. 

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma!  She loves this toy.  Barbies have become one of her favorite play items over the last few months.  Grace loves to sneak off and play quietly by herself, away from her older sister. 

~~~Holding all of these days in my heart forever,

Linda