Christmas Fun - Part Two

12 hours of driving sounded daunting to us with a pregnant yours truly and a restless pup. So, we decided to break up our trip, stopping just under halfway, in Charleston, WV. *such* a great idea. The driving part of our trip was so much more enjoyable because of this!

I think this captures a typical day in West Virginia - dusty, gray rustic beauty,
brimming over with good ol' fashioned hard work

Just so this picture doesn't seem contradictory:
The second picture is actually in WV, not "Pure Michigan"

 Boy was it good to get all the hugs and kisses 10 excited bodies had to give when we finally made it late Saturday afternoon! We had just enough time to say hello and unload the car, before we headed off to church for the Christmas Eve service. Once home again, Mom whipped up some heavy hor d'oeuvres and the younger ones were granted their wish to open ONE present.

Then we sunk into our beds heavy-eyed and happy, and before we knew it Christmas morning dawned bright and cheerful! We all slept past eight, and the first present wasn't open until almost 10 o'clock. 

even Baby got something!

Daniel and my grandma, Mare, with the afgan she made him

Zoe got to open her "presents" first, and enjoyed the tennis balls, stuffed whale, and bones very much.

But even when Christmas was over our visit wasn't, and that was great. We had 3 days of fun! . . . read Part Three :)

Christmas Fun - Part One

Our weeks before and after Christmas were packed! Here are the highlights in pictures. We're so blessed to be surrounded by great friends and family this time of year.

Mellow Mushroom, Yoforia and Seinfeld with Carolyn and Billy!

Thursday evening we opened our presents, since we traveled to Michigan Friday.

Presents for Baby - team colors from me, ornament from Daddy

Best stocking stuffer ever!! Now we just hope Baby comes in time so that we can actually go! :)

For Baby from Grandma Wells

Zoe promptly went to work on her collection of toys :)

We were PSYCHED to get this from Daniel's Mom!!!
Really couldn't believe it... :P

We crashed Thursday night close to midnight, and after a half-day of work Friday we started our trek up to Michigan . . . see Part Two :)

Christmas Thoughts

Being pregnant at Christmastime, I find the reality of Christ's  birth and humanity incredibly stirring. As I feel this little one inside of me kick and squirm, I think of Mary, who undoubtedly felt the same things. I'm filled with wonder then when I consider that the little one she carried was the Son of God. 

The Christmas story is a startling one. No where in any other religion do we hear about the gods becoming like their subjects. In fact, in most religions, the gods stay completely separate. They keep their distance.

This is only one aspect of Christianity that makes it so totally unique. Our God does not keep his distance. In fact, he gets so incredibly personal that he is carried inside a woman! He goes through those fascinating changes, and develops eyes and ears, a brain, and skin. Our God was at one point the size of a sweet pea, a blueberry, a lemon! Imagine that... the God of the universe - the God who MADE sweet peas.

Talk about vulnerable.

Then this little sweet pea grew. He grew and grew and grew until there was no more room inside of Mary. She was "heavy with child" - basically, she was ready to pop! And so God the Son was born.

Do you know how messy birth is? It's pretty messy. Actually, it's gross. 'Nough said, right?

But God the Son was willing to go through that process so that he could be, in every way, like us. In fact in Hebrews 2, God's Word says "it was necessary."

Why was it necessary? Why did Jesus Christ become so very vulnerable? Because God looks down from heaven and aches to see that things aren't right. Nothing is as it was meant to be.

I already mentioned one on my favorite Christmas songs. Another one is Keith and Kristyn Getty's Joy Has Dawned. "God's salvation now unfurled, hope for every nation. Not with fanfares from above, not with scenes of glory, but a humble gift of love, Jesus born of Mary... Hands that set each star in place, shaped the world in darkness cling now to a mother's breast vulnerable and helpless. Shepherds bow before the Lamb gazing at the glory. Gifts from men of distant lands prophesy the story: Gold, a King is born today. Incense, God is with us. Myrrh, his death will pave a way and with His blood he'll win us."


The Christmas story captures for us a momentous occasion in history where the God who made the universe becomes like us in order to save us.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your heart is full of the joy and wonder of this Christmas story!

Jesus is Alive!

It takes a lot to write decent, Christ-centered Christmas music these days. But this year, my favorite is definitely Josh Wilson's "Jesus is Alive." Love the lyrics.

Wish that I was there,
On that silent night,
When your tiny heart started beating for mine,


I wish I couldv'e seen,
The star in David's town,
When you turned a stable into Holy ground.
I sing along, the angels song.


CHORUS
Noel, Noel, Jesus is alive.
Emanuel, hope is here tonight.
So go, and tell, the world that death has died.
'Cause Jesus is alive. Yea Jesus is alive.


The God who made us all,
With these two little hands,
Is bringing us his kingdom quiet as a lamb.
Oh such Amazing Grace!
A divine conspiracy.
This Savior in a manger changes everything.
That's why we sing.


Noel, Noel, Jesus is alive.
Emanuel, hope is here tonight.
So go, and tell, the world that death has died.
'Cause Jesus is alive. Yea Jesus is alive.

Sin you have no sting.
Hell you have no power. (Jesus is alive)
Curse you are no more.
This is your final hour. (Jesus is alive)
Because the son of God
Has not left us alone. (Jesus is alive)
He'll live and die and rise again, and then he'll bring us home. (Jesus is alive)
The old will pass away
And we will become new. (Jesus is alive)
This baby boy is making all sad things untrue.


Noel, Noel, Jesus is alive.
Emanuel, hope is here tonight.
So go, and tell, the world that death has died.
'Cause Jesus is alive. Yea Jesus is alive.

Our 2nd Christmas Tree

We didn't wait as long this year to get our Christmas Tree. In fact, when we decided we would be staying in Charlotte for Thanksgiving someone (can't remember if it was Daniel, or me) suggested we get our Christmas tree on Friday (a week ago). Score!

It was after 5pm when we finally headed out, so pictures were pretty much pointless with the point and shoot. I didn't even bother. Besides, true confession: We bought it at Wal-mart! Not that exciting, right? It is a locally grown tree, though, so I feel a little better about it. At least it won't die in two weeks. :-P

It's absolutely adorable. We tossed around the idea of a full-sized tree, rather briefly. It was Daniel who actually insisted on a small one, again. We just loved our Christmas tree last year! Plus, they were half the price. More $$ to spend on presents - or dog food.

Ain't it adorable? :-D

Last year Daniel bought some ornaments for me to help cover the branches. This year, I made a few special ones to add to our collection.

I started with these globes from Michael's. I found 3 in the as-is clearance for like $3 total, because one globe was missing.

I knew I wanted to use one for our wedding invitation. I still had not had our invitation framed, and had actually thrown it out, expecting not to use it for anything. I saw a suggestion on Pinterest, though, to stuff a wedding invitation inside one of these globes, and I loved the idea. I'm thinking it will be our "1st Christmas" ornament that we didn't have until our 2nd Christmas. :-P

The possibilities are endless. I might spruce all of these up with some glitter, ribbon and other pretty accessories eventually, but for now, I'm still pretty happy with them. :)

The one below contains roses from our first date, with a slip of paper that has the date of our first date on it.

Finally... :) This one is self-explanatory. This is our "2nd Year" ornament. The papers inside have the due date, and some of our favorite Bible verses about children.

O! And the stockings are up, too. :)

Are you in the Christmas spirit?? I am! So excited to get baking and shopping for the most wonderful time of the year!

Our First Christmas

I can't believe Christmas is over already. Some years it seems like I wait forever and ever for Christmas to come. This year, I feel like it was here before I had hardly waited at all. Nevertheless, Christmas week was special and fun. I've had a blast with my kids, since they've been out of school since the 20th. We built gingerbread houses, went ice skating, watched cartoons (the real ones, like Mickey Mouse and Betty Boop) and the family even had Daniel and I over for dinner one evening. I'll blog about them later, but I am so glad to have such a wonderful family to work with this year.

Tuesday we went to a live nativity with Michael, Maura and their parents, and then came home and watched The Nativity. I love watching that movie, because it realizes the humanity of Christ. It was a good reminder as we prepared for our holiday.

Thursday was our designated "Christmas" day. I woke up and couldn't wait for the end of the day to come, so we could open our presents and enjoy an evening together. After work was done, the house was clean, and the packing finished I lit some candles, spread a blanket on the family room floor, and we nestled down to open our presents.

Stuffed stockings were our first and favorite part!

300+ page encyclopedia to help us solve all the mysteries

 

 

 

He wanted a scarf for Christmas

Most men drink beer in frosted mugs, my man uses his for milk :)

Daniel surprised me with an ESV study Bible-- "So you don't have to ask me so many questions anymore." Psh, yeah right. :)

Tim Keller -- Yes!

Friday morning we got out of the house by 6:00AM, and had a non-stop flight up to Michigan. Before 11:00AM I was covered in hugs and kisses. It was so wonderful to see my family again, after four whole months apart. The little girls have matured so much, and all the boys are growing up. Sunday my mom's mom and her husband, Paul arrived, as well-- and we haven't seen them since the wedding, so the whole weekend was a great reunion!

Making a gingerbread village Friday afternoon

Aliza and Anna working on a puzzle with Danny

pretty girl <3

"Here, let me hold my baby sister."

Christmas Eve my parents hosted a Christmas Eve party for their neighborhood friends. It was quiet a success. The last of the guests left way after bedtime, and by the time we got the house cleaned up we were all more than ready to fall into bed. Aliza, who was my sleeping buddy before the wedding, was so excited to go to bed with me again, and refused to be tucked in by anyone else -- despite drooping, heavy eyes. She snuggled into a nook in the kitchen while I washed dishes, and tried her best to stay awake.

Aliza and I snuggled into a twin bed, with our pillowpets under our heads and fell fast asleep. Around 8AM we both started to stir, and then Aliza sat straight up in bed, "IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!" I scooped her up and we ran downstairs to a lit Christmas tree, and smiling parents.

 

With the scent of hot cinnamon rolls filling the house it didn't take long for the rest of the group to wake up and gather 'round the tree. Then, we began the process of opening presents-- which takes quite a while in our house!

Christmas Morning

The last little detail of our weekend is Angela and Peter's Loxley. Half rottweiler, half coon dog, he is quiet the character. We all love him. 

Our First Christmas Tree

Saturday morning we slept in way late, had homemade waffles, fresh blueberries and oranges. We watched a movie in bed, and simply enjoyed a lazy morning. But! Then we headed out and bought our Christmas tree!

I don't think I've ever bought a Christmas tree in 55 degree weather before, but there is a first time for everything. As far as the weather goes, it has been getting cooler, and even cold the past couple of weeks. Every night it's below freezing, and several days last week it was in the high twenties. No snow yet, though. We'll probably get our inch in January, and the whole city will shut down for 2 days.

I wanted to get a locally grown tree, to support the local farmers, and because I think they're just healthier in the long run. (Two Christmases my family got a tree from Home Depot and it was dead in a couple of weeks.)

I laughed when I read the sign more closely. Charlotte is so not hillbilly territory.

We had already decided we wanted a short, small Christmas tree. We don't have a lot of space for anything else in our apartment, and we didn't want to put a lot of money into anything, especially since we'll be visiting family on Christmas day anyway. This little thing was the first one we saw: it was love at first sight. (My husband would give me a look if he knew I was equating our Christmas tree with love) But it looked so cute in the back of our Hyundai, and Daniel even had fun carrying it into the house. :)

I must confess I did most of the decorating. He helped put the lights on, and then lost interest. We're trying to keep things simple and cheap this year, so I only bought a package of bulbs from the dollar section at Target, and strung some popcorn. Someday I want a big, gorgeous tree with red ribbon and bulbs and a shining star on top. For this year, I am more than delighted with our little tree.

Daniel's parents gave us this ornament last year for Christmas

Simple, traditional stockings.