So This is Christmas

Joy to you on Christmas

Christmas Pictures

Thought I'd post these Christmas pics of the kids before Christmas is OVER. I'm so behind this year!! I just now sent out cards out and never even put up all my decorations. We did put out the nativity and tree, but that's about it. Oh, and Aaron put lights on the house this year-that's something we've never done before and they look really great.

But really, all that Christmas "stuff" sitting in boxes doesn't bother me at all. This is such a blessed time of year to me regardless of the decorations. Singing with the choir, doing special things with family, and telling my children about the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior is all what makes this such a special time of year to me.

Here's some pic of the kids. We try to get at least ONE good one to send in cards, but this year it was quite a challenge! We pretty much had to chase Ava all over the yard to get a picture of her.

All but one child behaving/looking at the camera here.

This is pretty much how the entire photo session went.

I even made it into a few shots!

Ava was quite the escape artist!

Finally! One good one!

Now some individual pics.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

"God has sent His oly begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him."

1 John 4:10

Dancing Elves

This is too funny not to share!

Click here or on the image above to see our dancing elves!

Make your own and leave the link in the comments! I would love to see some of you dancing! (I need a good laugh today ;)

Sadness is...

If ever I were a superstitious person it would be now.

My last post was about my three year old and her blankie (a.k.a. the love of her life right now). Well, that was posted on Wednesday night, and then, THE VERY NEXT MORNING we lost the blanket. Now, blankie has been lost before, but always somewhere right under our noses. You know, stuck in a hiding place somewhere, outside on the swing set or wrapped around a baby doll, but always in a place where we knew it would eventually be found. But not this time. After retracing all of our steps on that day, I've concluded that it is in the great black hole of Wal-Mart.

Gone. Forever.

It is heart wrenching to see your child hurting over the loss of something that seems so unnecessary to us grown-ups, but very precious to them. So in my weakness, I produced ANOTHER blankie to try to substitute in. It was reluctantly received at first, thrown on the floor a few times in an attempt to go to sleep that night, but I think it has finally been accepted.

She knows the one she loved is gone. And this, I guess, is the first of many heartaches to come. But isn't it good to know that this world is not our home. I pray that I can use these moments, even at three years old, to teach my children the truth in Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

And no, I'm not superstitious.