Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas!  This sweet time is shared all over the world, i emailed a friend from Ethiopia, and his country celebrates Christmas 10 days after we do.  Even if people don't know or believe in Jesus, just hearing the songs is all that's needed for the seed to be planted.

Even though the commercialsm part of Christmas gets long and old for me, we have plenty of good memories to tuck away.  For some reason the boys were more excited then ever this year.  They don't believe in Santa, but i think they want to.....they put cookies and notes out for him.  Clay's preschool sent home round peppermint candy, that you are supposed to "plant" outside and on christmas morning, they will sprout into candy canes (a.k.a. someone sneaks out and replaces the seeds with candy canes).  Clay planted them last week and the older boys and i planted the candy canes on Christmas eve, for Clay to discover Christmas morning.  Their fun and innocence won't be around forever, so i want to enjoy these opportunities.

I only had my camera for a couple of our gatherings but that's better than nothing!

The boys loved the Christmas Eve service, the pastor reads the scripture as the characters act out what he reads.  It's all spontaneous, no rehersal or planning ahead.  When you walk in to the church you can pick who you want to be and dress the part.  It's mostly funny but also great for the kids to participate and maybe learn something new.  Several times throughout the reading we'd stop the acting and sing a song pertaining to the place we were at in the text.  We brought our Shofar from home and Brad chose to be Gabriel, blowing the horn several times throughout his parts for entertainment purposes!

Gabriel approaching Mary

Gabriel startled Joseph!  

Calming down poor Joseph

Clay in the barn

Kings come in all sizes :)

Christmas Morning...

This drum set is a hand-me-down that we used for their big gift.  They are having a lot of noisy fun with it

Boxing gloves

Homemade punching bag.  It's strung from the upstairs railing.  A sleeping bag with (2)-15lb weights!

Clay enjoys his weedwacker.  He also has a chain saw with very realistic sounds!  (there was a leaf blower and push mower in the set too, that we'll give him for his birthday)

Some intense BINGO playing happening at the Smoker gathering.  A benefit to having your dinner at an old people's home :)  

Grandma with her 24 great-grand kids.  It's very rare for them all to be together.  We missed Grandpa.

We have this week off of school, a couple get together's, and next week back to a school routine and a new year!  looking forward to 2015.  It's been a blessed year for sure.  New Years eve we will open our "2014 praises and blessings" jar and read all that God has done for us over the past year.  May we never become too busy to stop and reflect on God's goodness to us.  Have a blessed new year.