Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Snow Days
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas Day
One of Lillie's biggest reactions came when she opened a pair of pajama's with feet in them. She also got a camera, which had over a hundred pictures by the end of the day. :o)
Both girls received a ton of things from Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles. Something that my parents did each year was take a picture of us with our gifts and it is kind of neat looking back and remembering what we got, so I have been doing the same for my girls.
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas too!Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas
Santa Claus and Christmas trees and presents are okay,
But Jesus is the real reason, we have a Christmas Day!
Luke 2 Message
The Birth of Jesus
1-5About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
6-7While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
An Event for Everyone
8-12There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."
13-14At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
15-18As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
19-20Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!
Blessings
21When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.
22-24Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God's Law: "Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God," and also to sacrifice the "pair of doves or two young pigeons" prescribed in God's Law.
25-32In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:
God, you can now release your servant;
release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I've seen your salvation;
it's now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
and of glory for your people Israel.
33-35Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,
This child marks both the failure and
the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
as God reveals who they really are.
36-38Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.
39-40When they finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth. There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit. And the grace of God was on him.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Visit with Santa
Don't worry she did not mind and talked for the rest of the evening about getting to see Santa. Here is another picture from later in the evening of the girls eating cookies at the party. As you can see there seems to be no long term affect of the trauma she endured earlier. :)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
I want a hippopatamus for Christmas!
This is for my little brother! Merry Christmas, Ryan!
Lillie is beside herself with excitement. Every time I come in the living room she is peering under the tree. She doesn't try to open anything, but just making sure I hadn't snuck any new presents under there. :) Yesterday she wrapped a couple of things for Gracie from her and when Gracie got up from nap, Lillie exclaims loudly, "How did those presents get there?" It was too cute. This is going to be such a fun year!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Cow Pee
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Less than a week
I hope that your family is excited too, but let us not forget the real reason for the season - JESUS!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Special Day
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The countdown is on!
All the shopping is finished for the girls except stocking stuff and I have Alex's presents bought and wrapped. So, I am ready for Christmas except the girls' gifts. Lillie and Gracie have been helping me wrap presents for gma and gpa and a few others we buy for. Lillie is a good little elf. Gracie, bless her heart, tries to help, but ends up getting frustrated that I won't hand over the scissors and tape. "But I am a big girl, Mommy." :)
This coming Saturday we are hosting a Christmas dinner for Alex's side of the family. This will start out our busy week of Christmas. Although it will busy, it is nice to get to see family that we don't see that often.
We saw Santa last night. It was an adventure. I will share more after we get the pictures back so you can fully enjoy the tales. :)
Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Christmas update
We also were able to order a couple of Christmas presents for free!! I ordered a princess popup tent and tunnel and a Disney princess book from Amazon.com. The total of this to me was around $10 (shipping and tax). I paid the rest of it with gift cards I earned using swagbucks!!! I have only been signed up for about 7 months and hoping that by next year I can pay most of my Christmas using swagbucks. It is very easy and even better - free to sign up for and use. Just simply search the web using their search engine (powered by google), earn points, and redeem for cool prizes - such as gift cards. I think that the best deal is the five dollar amazon gift cards for 45 points. Click on the links above to start earning points!
The girls are very excited about the snow. I let them go out on Monday for a few minutes and play. It wasn't very much, but enough for them to enjoy. They also loved watching the snow Wednesday. Lillie wished that it would not stop snowing until there was enough to build a snow man. Honestly, I wouldn't mind a bunch of snow, but after this weekend. I love snow now that I don't have to get out and drive in it. :)
I hope you are having a great Christmas thus far.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Funny Things
:o) Yesterday I had to intervene when my girls were fighting over who was bigger: Jesus or Gracie. Of course Gracie was telling Lillie she was bigger and Lillie informed her that no one is bigger than Jesus. This went on for several minutes, as I chuckled in the other room, until both girls came to me to ask who I thought was bigger.
:o) When we got home from the store today, Lillie comes from running over as I am putting groceries away. She excitedly says, "look what they gave us, a free bag." She was holding an unused plastic bag that had been stuck on a used bag. You would of thought she found a new toy.
:o) As looking for pictures, Gracie gets mad because Lillie is wearing one of her shirts in the picture. Of course it was Lillie's shirt before Gracie's.
:o) I asked Lillie to pick up her doll toys that she had been playing with. Later I saw where there was still stuffed animals and toys out, when I asked why she didn't pick up her toys, she replied, "I did, you just said to pick up the doll toys. I did that."
Saturday, December 5, 2009
A Lillie Thought
"When you get to heaven, Gracie, you forget all the bad things you done. That's right all the bad things you done."
Friday, December 4, 2009
Hammer Time
So, it is to the gym and honestly it feels pretty good. I am also more likely to go because someone is waiting for me. There is also a little bit of a competitive spirit that rises up in me and pushes me a little harder when I am working out with another person. I have already noticed an increase of energy when I get home from working out. I have been running, biking and using the elliptical demon... I mean machine. :) Since I can only work out when Alex is off, I am trying to do more stuff at home. Yesterday I did a bunch of sit-ups and push-ups and today I am going to try to run too.
I am also watching what I eat as well. I am not a dieter, so instead I am just eating smaller portions and trying to cut back my snacking. I am hoping that all this will produce some outcome in the next couple of weeks, even if small.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Spreading a Little Christmas Cheer
Lillie has spent the past several days making presents for everyone and anyone! They usually consist of paper, string, stickers, markers, and glue. It is pretty thoughtful though because she has one for each member of our family (and some have two). She closes her door with her craft supplies, wrapping paper and works away only stopping to ask me to write down names on a sheet of paper that she can copy from. I was pretty impressed when I found a present she had wrapped for me. She had figured out how to spell mommy by sounding it out and wrote it with no help. Because she has been so sweet and thoughtful and since everyone but her has a present beneath the tree, I surprised her by wrapping a present for her. Just to see her eyes was priceless.
What makes the above so much better is that she knows Christmas isn't about presents or Santa which are nice, but about the birth of Jesus. When commercials advertise and say it is all about the _______, Lillie jumps right in and corrects them!
Well, she is pacing right know with a stack of paper robots she made and wants to wrap. When I asked her who they were for, she replied - I don't know yet, but they will be for someone. :)