Oh Blessed Christmas Morn

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to their own town to register.
 
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
 
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
 
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

What a gift that was given to us!  I only pray that my heart can truly come to understand the depth of His great love for us.  I pray that you and your family take extra time out today to reflect on the beauty of this day.

Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
            Amen and Amen.  (Psalms 72:18-19)

6 Years & Counting!!

Happy Anniversary Tim!

You are the cheese to my macaroni. 
You are the horizon to my sky. 
You are the bacon to my eggs. 
You are the laces to my sneakers. 
You are the jelly to my peanut butter. 
You are the smile to my face. 
You are the gravy to my mashed potatoes.
You are the bubbles to my bath.
You are the milk to my cookie.
You are the ink to my pen.
You are the ketchup to my french fries.
You are the water to my ocean.
You are the icing on my cupcake.

Seriously though!  You are an amazing man!  I'm SO thankful I have you as my husband!  I can't wait till you get back and I look forward to the many more years we get to spend growing together!  I truly feel blessed to have your love!

Would you like a cookie with those sprinkles?

 Yeah...there are cookies under that red mountain of sprinkles.  See...I thought it would be safe to give Colin the sprinkles with the little holes on the lid opposed to the one without.

I was SOOOOO wrong!

Have You Ever Seen Anything Cuter???

Just look how handsome he is....

Man..he's so stinkin' cute!  Makes me want to eat him up!

Whit's End

Last weekend my mom and I took the boys to Focus on the Family.  We didn't do a tour or anything.  We just went to Whit's End where there is a small indoor play place and an indoor three/four story slide.  I have been a few times before but this was a first for the boys.  The day we went they had a Civil War display and a Santa available to take pictures with.  Ryan didn't care to see Santa and Colin was a little shy, so this is what we got....

After that we headed downstairs.  Ryan and Colin really liked the airplane they had down there.  We walked around for a bit before the slide opened up.  They had costumes, puppets, models, etc that make Whit's End come to life.  Of course, my boys are a little young for Odyssey Adventures, so they didn't fully understand the fun in it.  They also had a room where you could walk through the wardrobe into Narnia. 

After a bit I took Ryan up to try the big slide while Grandma watched Colin on the little slide.  I wasn't sure if Ryan was going to be timid about it or not.  I was pleased when he went down without any issues.  It probably helped to see all the other boys in front of him doing it too.  They have you put your feet in a potato sack and if your are wearing a short sleeve shirt they give you cut up socks to slide on so you won't get any burns from the slide. 

Later the boys got a special treat in Whit's Soda Shop.  Grandma got them chocolate ice cream and a cookie.  At 10 AM!!!!  My mom said this is one of the differences between being a mom and a grandma.  She said she NEVER would have given us kids ice cream and cookies at 10 in the morning. 

It was nice to get the boys out for a bit and it wasn't horribly crowded either.

Chocolate Thief!

Three days ago I found a small secret stash of chocolate in the kitchen at my parents house.  (Yeah for hidden chocolate!!!) 

Two days ago I gave Colin a piece of chocolate from this secret stash.

Yesterday, Colin decided to help himself to the secret stash of chocolate while I was getting dressed.

I had heard him go upstairs while I was getting dressed and I heard a cabinet close.  I knew exactly what he was doing.  By the time I got upstairs I think he was on his third piece.  Unfortunately, he hasn't figured out that there are TWO wrappers on the mini Reeces cups.  I'm pretty sure he ate the inside wrapper.  Thankfully he only had one of those.

Cold Weather

Well we made it to our next destination and the temperature is about 30 degrees lower.  Coats, hats, gloves...all required.  Surprisingly enough it didn't stop the boys from wanting to go outside and hang out with Grandpa for a little bit. 

This is out in the gazebo my dad built in his backyard.  (All those benches will fold down into a big bed.  And the opposite wall is lined with them too.  Not in the picture is the little charcoal fire they had going to help keep them warm.