Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.....

"The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.  But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.  To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."  1 Timothy 1:15-17

Friday night ramblings....

 I cannot believe that Christmas is now two days away! I am finished with my shopping and most everything we wanted to do has been done.  Madeline and I went to Aldi this evening to get a bulk of our groceries bought, but tomorrow will probably be a last minute run to grab a few forgotten items!

 

Last week we had our church Christmas lunch after the service.  The kids enjoyed making a gumdrop Christmas tree.

Our pastor's wife made each child an old-fashioned Christmas bag with fruit and a candy cane.  She wanted them to see what she got when she was a child.  My kids were thrilled because they got a treat that their mama actually let them keep! :)

 

Every year we either bake a huge gingerbread man to decorate, or I just buy a house kit.  This year we opted for the house kit. Downside is they don't get to eat it, the upside for me was that it was simple! They had fun putting it together though!

 

Malachi was pretty serious about it this year.  He actually did a pretty good job! :)

Sweet little Elizabeth spent the day with us while her mommy did her last photography shoot of the season!  Her business has boomed this fall!

Marc had to work late last night so the girls and a few church friends went with me to take the boys to see Santa. I wanted to get a cute picture of them with him, and I needed a few more Christmas presents.

Bass Pro has such a cute set up for Christmas.  The kids had fun!

Malachi was tired of me taking pictures.

Macheus told the Santa he saw a few weeks ago all about his "Gap hats".  (He wears baseball caps from the Gap every day!)  Santa was laughing so I'm not sure what all he said, but Malachi heard Santa ask him if he wanted another one. Apparently, Mac told him "no thanks".  The next day I overheard Myles and Mac talking next to the Christmas tree and they must've seen a Gap hat down in one of the gift bags. (Yes, I bought him a new one.)  I heard Macheus say, "I TOLD him I didn't need another one."  Soooo funny!

Thankful for our sweet church friends!

The girls humored me with a picture with Santa too!

Macheus was trying to figure out how the package was moving.

The other evening I took Macheus by one of the big light displays in our town.  At the end of it there is a nativity.  He told me to stop and he started singing "Away in The Manger".  It was precious.

Well, it is very late and I need to go to bed. (Not proofreading... so sorry for typos.)
  When I have a lot going on, it is hard for me to unwind and go to bed. I will regret it in the morning when I need to get up early and go running!  Just a couple more busy days and Christmas will be here! Trying to soak up these moments with these sweet kiddos!

~Good night

Christmas happenings...

Christmas activities are keeping us hopping right now.  Each year I strive to make things simpler, and I still have yet to find the secret to make that happen!

One of the traditions we did growing up was making a Christmas calendar.  I wasn't even thinking about doing one this year.  Madeline came home from work one evening and had all of the stuff to do it!  I love that she enjoys doing things like that with the kids.  She is my "extras" girl!

 

 

The boys had fun doing it.

 

A tradition that we started back in 2009 is taking homemade sweets to the fire/police department in our little town.  In September of that year Marc and two of our children were in a serious car accident.  Some of the firefighters at the scene of the accident really went the extra mile taking care of Malachi (then 3) while waiting for me to come pick him up.  We took cards and cookies that December and just continued it each year since.  Myles' picture that he drew for them cracked me up.

 

One of our local stores  has Santa and his reindeer come each year.  I think my boys enjoyed the free pizza more than they did the reindeer.

 

I think when you have animals in your backyard it ceases to be much of a thrill.  They just reminded me of our goats! :)

 

Another Christmas tradition that I have continued from my childhood is taking each child out by themselves to Christmas shop.  I love that one on one time with them.

 

Of course, we always eat dinner out too!  I love that this kid loves Chipotle!

 

I love that McKenzie and Daniel live close by and we get to see the babies a lot!  They bought land about a year ago and had planned to build on it.  Building costs have skyrocketed, so they recently bought an adorable "fixer upper".  They plan to keep their land and build one day.  I am trying to talk her into blogging their progress with their new house.  I will post a link if she does!  My guys have been helping them some this week knock walls out!  It is going to look like a totally different house! The house is in excellent shape, so everything they are doing is pretty much just cosmetic.  Daniel can build just about anything so that is to their advantage!

 

This is a blurry picture but I sure love this little munchkin.  He is growing so fast and has such a sweet personality.  He smiles all the time and is very content.

                                           He loves his "Uncle Bubbie"!

 

Oh how I love this little girl!  It is almost like living McKenzie's babyhood all over again. She is just like her mama!  She has quite the personality and has stolen this Mimi's heart!  I was babysitting for her the other evening and I didn't have any "big people" at home.  I was swapping out my laundry and I stuck her in this basket.  She thought it was so funny!

Well, I probably should get ready for bed.  It's been a long day!

~Until next time....

Legacy of Lights

This past week was Marc's last business trip for 2017 and it was held at a lodge on a beautiful lake. Madeline had to work and Mariah had violin lessons and an orthodontic appointment, so we took the three little boys with us.  I didn't realize until we were on the road that it appeared Macheus was getting sick. McKenzie's babies had RSV the week before so I knew that was probably what he was coning down with. Thankfully, it isn't as rough on bigger kids.

 

My nights were pretty sleepless because he couldn't breath.  This was what my bed looked like. ;)

During the day he perked up and tried to have fun.  The boys enjoyed the trails and playing around the lake's edge.

The lobby in the lodge was decorated beautifully for Christmas. They had a little "letters to Santa" station set up for the kids.  So cute....

This was a Christmas scene made out of sugar/candy.

Myles was so sweet.  Because we don't really "do" Santa they didn't get the idea of telling Santa what they wanted for Christmas, so he asked him how he was doing in his letter. :)

                                            Boys.... belong outside!!!

Both nights that we were there we drove through the "Legacy of Lights" display.  It was very pretty!

He was a little unsure of being on the dock at first.  They quickly got used to it and started wresting each other.  I decided it was time to get off at that point!

Can you tell the free spirit in the picture? :)

They had "Santa's workshop" set up and the boys got to go see him.  I have no idea what Macheus was saying to him, but Santa kept laughing. Mac tried to leave and he called him back to talk some more.  No telling what he told him!

These boys make my life extremely loud, messy and fun!

                                                   My babes!

 

Myles: "Look, mommy!  I wrote your name!"  (Spelled m-o-m-m-e!)

 

"Take my picture by this light.  That will look good."

It didn't take them long to get dirty...... AND wet!

                                                    King of the mountain!

                                                            "We found a cave!"

                                                 "Look at my artifacts!"  #homeschooled

Myles has always been so sweet with Macheus. I hope they will always be this close!

                                                      Getting a little brave!

 I was so glad to get home and I don't think I will be leaving town again before Christmas!  Hope you all are having a peaceful Christmas season!

~Until next time....