Christmas Thank yous....

Thank you God for Jesus' birthday....and the yummy Spice cake with Maple Glaze birthday cake ;)

Thank you Grandma Pauline for Josh's CDs, Brandon's movie, Trevor's car,

and the picnic table for the twins and Elli - they LOVE it!!! 

....and for Chris' and my axe..... 

Thank you Aunt Hopie, Brittany, Jade and Grace for all the Retro candy and games, the cookbook and calendar, the calculator, the nutcracker and jumpdrive, the Domo shirt and the CD, the Hello Kitty tea set, and the Dallas Cowboy Slippers....you totally spoiled us!!! 

Thank you Grammi and Papa for the BOOK OF MAN, the cookbooks, the Scentcies...

....Elli's pretty clothes....  

...and all the hats, slippers, and gloves.... 

Thank you Uncle Sam, Aunt Patti and crew for the books, scentcy stuff, and clothes....

Elli's shirt was so comfy, she fell asleep in it during breakfast....

Thank you, also, to the Vandecruz family for their incredible box of goodies....something for everyone, and packed full of love - we miss you all a ton!!!  :)

Thank you, everyone, for all your thoughtful gifts.  The only thing that would have made the gifts better would have been to have you all here to open them with us.  We love and miss you all!!

Christmas Season Pictures....

I have been so bad, this Christmas season, about having my camera handy to take pictures.  So, this post is going to be sort of a hodge podge of pictures from the past week.... 

Elli woke up looking so beautiful one morning, her daddy had to take pictures of her....

We finally got our Christmas tree up and decorated....

Elli's new favorite breakfast is a bagel with peanut butter and jelly - she loves it so much that she saves  some of it for later.... 

We finally made our Christmas cookies too.....

Elli thought you were supposed to eat the cookie cutter.... 

I wonder where she got that idea....

The twins love making cookies....the waiting is the hard part.... 

Elli wanted to see the finished cookies....

Jason just wished Elli hadn't eaten so many of them so he could pick her up and show them to her.... 

Reagan was very proud of his cookie making skills....

right behind his head you can see all the reindeer cookies he made to lead Santa's sleigh.... 

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! 

(Click on the words above for a surprise!!)

And here for another Christmas Surprise!!

Luke 2:7-20

"7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9 And behold,[b] an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”  13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  14 “ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”  15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”  16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.  17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely[d] known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.  18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.  19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.  20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them."

Shhh...don't tell....

I am so excited about the gifts Elli will be getting this Christmas....they are all pieces of furniture that I have picked up - or rather - out of other people's trash ;)

Believe it or not someone actually threw this chair out as is....unbelievable....so all I had to do to this rocker was clean off all the mud, leaves, and spider webs...

This doll high chair was painted a chipped and faded light blue, and one of the spindles on the back of the chair was broken in half.  When I saw it in the garbage I had to save it.  It reminded me of one I had just like it when I was little.  I glued the spindle back together - it was a clean break - and then painted it a dark brown.... 

This little baby crib was actually a magazine rack.  I picked it up off the curb last January - actually, Mackenzie, my niece, picked it up for me.  I was driving Mackenzie somewhere when she was visiting, and I saw it and I made her get out and put it in the car.  It was very dirty and gross.  I took out the center rack that held the magazine, filled in the holes, stained the patchwork and scratches, polished it up, then made a mattress, pillow, and blanket for it out of scrap fabric that I had....VOILA!!! 

I know I took "before" pictures of all of these things, but I cannot find them - they are somewhere in the many folders, files, and backed up files on our computer :/  Anyway, I am so excited to place these little treasures under the tree for her in just 4 days!!!  Yeah!!!  

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!

I Believe - Natalie Grant
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T - 13

In our house, we count down to birthdays by writing a "T -" on a white board hanging on the refrigerator, and then putting the number of days remaining until the BIG DAY after the minus sign.  Today is T-13 days until Jesus' birthday.

I don't know about any of you, but I often find myself thinking about Mary and Joseph and what it must have been like to have a baby that wasn't "theirs".  I know the joy of having a baby, looking at it and thinking about who it looks like, coming up with a special name, and then going home and raising that child and dreaming about who this little baby was going to grow up to be.  I wonder if there was a resemblance between baby Jesus and His earthly parents.  What did they think as they looked at that baby's face knowing that He was the Son of God.  They named Him Jesus, just as Mary was instructed to by an Angel.  When they were raising Jesus and teaching Him things - to roll over, to sit, to walk, to talk - what kind of anxieties did they feel as parents to do a good job.  I know I am constantly questioning my ability to be the mom that I need to be, the example that I need to be....did Jesus' parents feel that way too?  I know that they knew Jesus to be a Savior to mankind, but I don't believe they knew the details.  Chris and I are constantly teaching the boys and helping to prepare them to become responsible adults ready to make their way in the world.  How did Mary and Joseph help prepare Jesus for the role He was to play in the world?  I can imagine Mary and Joseph's hearts breaking when Jesus was brutally beaten and crucified.  I can also imagine their incredible joy at the role they played in bringing the Savior into the world and watching Him fulfill His Father's will.

Anywho...these are some things that I have been thinking about as we get closer to Jesus' birthday.  I saw this video this morning and it got me thinking again.  I loved it....hope you like it too....

The Pictures I promised....

While living in Ohio, I met a wonderful woman named Susan.  She has 2 sons, Daniel and Andrew.  Daniel is Brandon's age, and Andrew is Trevor's age.   Like my friend Lucy, Susan is a kindred Spirit - so are her boys.  We always had so much fun when we got together with them, and we miss them immensly.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, there was a knock on the door around dinner time.  It was Susan and her boys.  They drove 8+ hours just to visit us for the weekend.....how amazing is that!!!!????  We spent Friday night just catching up and playing, we had campouts in the living room Friday and Saturday nights, we spent Saturday on the boardwalk in Ocean City, and Sunday they hopped back in their car and went back to Ohio.

I feel so blessed to have friends that would drive all that way for us.  Thank you, Susan, Daniel, and Andrew, for coming to visit us.  We love you guys!!!

From right to left:  Dan, Susan, Andrew, Reagan, Josh, Jason, Trevor, Elli, Lori, Chris, Brandon

Camping out in the living room (you can see Elli crawling around in there waking them all up)...

Trevor, Reagan, Andrew, Joshua, and Jason after Elli woke them up....

At the boardwalk....Reagan....

Andrew and Jason.... 

Susan, Me, and Elli....

Brandon, on a deserted beach.... 

Dan, on a deserted beach.... 

Joshua, Trevor and Andrew exploring.... 

The taffy pull machine at Shriver's candy store on the boardwalk....YUM!!!

Elli loovved the candy store...

Thank you Dan for sending me the pictures from your trip out here. 

Thank you Susan for bringing your beautiful family to see us - I miss you!!

Happy Birthday Brandon!!!

Today is Brandon's 17th Birthday!!  I cannot believe it has been 17 years!!  I love you Brandon - you are my favorite Brandon on the ENTIRE PLANET!!!! 

A Celebration of Life!!

When does life begin?  It is a question that has come up frequently in our home since the birth of our niece Lily.  Lily was born with Downs Syndrome.  Since her birth, our family's eyes have been opened to the world of children with DS.  It is a world full of happiness, love, and miracles.  It is also a world filled with darkness, misunderstanding, fear, abandonment, and abortion.  I saw this video on Patti's blog and I had to post it.  Yesterday I posted that what I truly loved about the Christmas Season was the Love, Hope, and Peace that filled it.  Today I am adding Life to that list.  Let's us not forget God's gift of Life, and the Life of  His son Jesus.

Before you watch the video I thought I would list some scripture about God's involvement with the unborn baby....

Jeremiah 1:5...5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you, before you were born I set you apart;..."


Psalm 139:13-15
"You did form my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother's womb...you knew me right well; my frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret..."


Luke 1:15
"He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth." - Speaking of John the Baptist, the "babe" mentioned in the next scripture.


Luke1:41-44
"And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy."
(The Greek word "brephos" is used in Scripture for the English word "babe"....This is the same word Luke uses in Luke 2:12,16 "You will find a baby lying in a manger." to describe the infant Jesus, and in 1 Peter 2:2 "Like newborn babes...." - clearly God sees no difference between the unborn and born baby)


Genesis 25:23
"two nations are in thy womb" (Jacob and Esau) "and two manner of people."


Proverbs 24:11-12
"Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don't stand back and let them die. Don't try to disclaim responsibility by saying you didn't know about it."


Jeremiah 7:6, 22:3,17 and Exodus 23:7
"shed not innocent blood."


Proverbs 6:16-17
"The Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood."


Exodus 20:13
"Thou shalt not kill."


Matthew 5:21
"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill..."


Genesis 9:6
"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He man."


Genesis 33:5
"The children which God has graciously given me."


Psalm 127:3
"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward."


Psalm 14:1
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'."