What's Missing?

This is just a head's up that if you are browsing around my blog and come across big white empty spaces, that is where I used to have slide shows. The program I used to make them gave me a warning 6 months ago that they were shutting down, but I thought I had plenty of time to transfer all of the pictures to something else. The other day I went on there to start that process only to discover that my 6 month time frame was up and they are all gone! Apparently 6 months is plenty of time for the average person, but for someone like me with 3 kids, a part time job, and a bad habit of watching too much tv and spending too much time on facebook, with a side of procrastination, 6 months was not enough. So sorry about the white spaces. I will somehow go back through 5 years of blogs and try to fix the issues. Some day.

Its the Little Things

As a way of trying to get myself out of the funk I've been in since the holidays, I've begun to treat myself in little ways. As a mom, I get worn out taking care of everyone else, and forget about myself. I don't do much, but sometimes its the little things that make me smile that can give me a burst of energy to get me through the day. Some examples...
Drinking a glass of ice water out of my Winnie the Pooh cup
Drinking Tea out of my grandmother's ceramic mugs

Painting my toe nails
Baking
Eating soup out of my blue and white ceramic bowls
Changing the smell in my Scentsy pot
Decorating this small table in the dining room for the month

Drinking an afternoon cup of coffee and reading the Word
Hugging one of my boys (sometimes against their will)
Vacuuming my den ;)
Reading a quick chapter from a book (or two or three)

What little things get you through the day?

Prayer Request

I had so intended on blogging a lot more this week. Those few I did in a row did indeed get my creative juices flowing. But I've been really busy this week getting the house ready for guests. All the Gadman clan came in yesterday for the week. Please be in prayer tomorrow for Jason's dad who is having open heart surgery at 8 in the morning. He could be in the hospital for 5-10 days, so we are praying for a quick 5 day recovery. I'm enjoying rocking my sweet niece Elizabeth asleep and the boys are loving playing with their cousin Luke. Hopefully the rain clears away so I can take the kids to the park tomorrow while everyone else is the hospital. Thanks for the prayers and I'll keep you posted.

Please Leave a Comment... Or Don't

I have gotten in a really bad habit of reading stories on the internet and then scrolling down to read people's comments underneath. I'm always disappointed that I did. There are so many that are mean, hateful and ugly. I'm shocked sometimes that people have a strong enough opinion about something insignificant that they feel the need to make a comment at all. Didn't everyone at one point in their lives hear "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" or was that just me? Some of the worst I read were when the Duggars had their miscarriage a few months ago. Oh my goodness, how can people be that hateful to say such horrible things when someone has lost a baby. Even if you don't agree with their lifestyle, why do you feel the need to be hateful? It was also bad last month when Paula Dean announced she had diabetes. Would people say those mean things to her face or only on the back pages of the web. I hope she doesn't read the internet. It made me realize though the sinful nature of people. Its not that I'm unaware of it, but when I live and work in a church environment, sometimes the true sinful nature of people doesn't come out so broadly, in your face. I forget. It makes me sad. Yes, Christians can be just as hateful, but most try to hide it.
Oh Lord, that your grace and mercy would come down and shine on those whose hearts are hurting so badly that they feel the need to share hate instead of love. Help me to show love to people. Help me to see people the way you see them, and to pray for those who are struggling instead of being judgmental. Forgive me when I gossip and pass judgement instead of showing love and grace. In Jesus' Name, Amen

Lent

I have never really celebrated Lent, never thought or felt led to sacrifice anything. But this year I did, so I have given up chocolate (and for those of you who know me, that's huge). I know Biblically I am not supposed to make a big deal about it and tell people, but I wanted to share my journey, because, well, that's just me to talk about it. I also decided to not completely give up facebook, but to sacrifice a lot of it by only checking it once or twice a day instead of once or twice an hour. That only lasted a day. I'm doing better on the chocolate. We have some valentine's candy left and I haven't touched it. But there was the hot chocolate I drank at a baseball game last weekend because I was freezing, and it didn't even dawn on me until the next day that it was chocolate. (The name should have given me a clue.) So it wasn't that I chose to ignore my sacrifice, I just didn't think about it. And then there was the delicious red velvet cupcake I ate on Tuesday, forgetting that there is chocolate in it. The red coloring threw me. But I do get the point. There have been moments that I have craved it majorly! But at those moments I remembered the sacrifice I was making and how small in comparison it is to the sacrifice that Christ made for me. I read somewhere that giving up something for Lent leaves space for God to come in and speak to you, and I like that. I have looked at THIS LINK a few times and read some inspiring things that God has used to speak to me. I'm really liking some quotes from St. Augustine of Hippo and want to do some more research on him. Maybe another blog post coming on that. I have also been reading through the New Testament in 40 days with our church. I'm only a day behind. Its giving me a new perspective to read it all so fast, I'm seeing the big picture and can really tell the differences in the writers when I'm reading them back to back. Some big things have jumped out at me and maybe that will be another blog too!

Some of my favorite things this week

Oh, its been so long! I've been in a funk. Maybe if I force myself to blog some, it will get my creative juices flowing and that will bleed over into the rest of my life and get me moving? We'll see.

I have some new fun things I am loving. Nothing big, but still fun. And you can go get them too!

These are some awesome storage bowls I got at Walmart for $4.50! This is my second set actually. They are great for mixing and storing. They are very durable, unless you let your nephew play drums on one of them. Hence, the second set today.

These are some storage bins I got at CVS this week, 2 for $10. They are so sturdy, with lock on lids with handles. I'm using the smaller one for my coupons and the larger ones for filing. It will be great to keep it downstairs for daily filing instead of the system I was using (or lack there of) otherwise known as piling.

This is a mini strainer spoon that my momma bought for me a while back at Bed Bath and Beyond. Its great for straining the water out of mac and cheese so I don't have to get out the big strainer.

Do you notice what my favorite color must be right now?

Campbell bought these today because he's really into blowing bubbles right now, and these are great because they have a sturdy bottom on them so they won't tip over. He can leave them on the table to dip into and no mess! They were only 97 cents at Walmart.

In action!

Randomness

Haven't given any random updates lately, so I thought I would share where we are in our lives at this point. We had great holidays. J's family came to our house for Thanksgiving and my family came for Christmas. It was the first year we didn't travel anywhere and I loved it! Even the cooking and cleaning on my part. We'll have to arrange that more often.

We finished up football. Cade's team was undefeated, but no playoffs for flag. He can't wait to tackle next year. Coop's team lost in the semi-finals to a team that had the worst sportsmanship I have ever seen. They have actually been kicked out of our league so we won't have to play them next year. Nice. Both big boys are on select baseball teams, so we had baseball tournaments mixed in with football, but we are on a break now. On to basketball. Coop's team, coached by the best coach ever, is 2-1. Cade is playing probably his last year of Upward and in my humble opinion, is the best player on the team. He pouts when its his turn to sit out. Loves it! And although the actual baseball season hasn't started yet, we are in full swing at our house since J is on the Little League board and will be managing both boys' teams. I used to wish that they would take a break in the winter from sports, but was reminded by a fellow baseball mom that if they weren't playing an organized sport, their never ending energy would be running all over my house. Point taken. I'd much rather they take it out on the court or field! Campbell has one more year to sit out, and I'm trying to enjoy that because it will only get crazier!

I'm teaching 2 days a week in the infant class in our MDO. It was supposed to be temporary but I wouldn't want to leave now, I'm quite attached. And it gives me my baby fix! Campbell goes to preschool 4 days a week, and is sad every Friday when he has to stay home with me. He is the youngest in his class since he has an Aug. birth date, but his teachers say you would never know it, except for the potty training issue. Yes, we are still not potty trained. This kid just doesn't care! We are probably at 75% on #1 but no where close on #2. At least he's pretty regular so I know when to put a diaper on him. I'm sure somewhere in this process I have not parented correctly, but he's my third, and I'm tired and have run out of ideas. I am hoping one day he will wake up and be ready to be a big boy. One day. Hopefully soon. Before college.

A little bragging here. I don't do it often because most of the time we just expect our kids to do these things, so I don't want to be one of those moms that constantly brags on her kids. So here is one paragraph and then I'll be done. Straight A's all around. Cooper received another Character Award a few weeks ago. I love those. And he was in the school spelling bee. Out of 20 4th and 5th graders, he was the 14th out. He was the last 4th grader left. He was mad because he got out on "flannel", a fairly easy word. He'll never misspell that word again. I was so proud of him because I am not a speller. I had my first "C" ever in 3rd grade spelling.

I am loving "American Idol", "Once Upon a Time," "Last Man Standing" and "NCIS" of course. But I have really cut down on my tv. Of course I've replaced it with Facebook, Pinterest and reading my Nook. I love Spotify! I'm finding music I listened to in high school and college and it brings such good memories. Today I got the new Kari Jobe CD. AMAZING!

I am trying to get back into eating better and exercising. I found this 15 minute work out on On Demand and did it Monday and today. I couldn't make it through the whole thing. I figure I burned more calories in 15 minutes then I do walking for 30 when I don't even run out of breath usually. I've cut down my sugar and upped my fiber. So we will see what happens.

I will be starting leading a new Bible Study on Feb. 12th on Sunday nights, What Happens when Women Say Yes to God, by Lysa Terkeurst. I'm excited to start something. If anyone local is interested, I can get you a book. Or if you aren't locally, I would love to have you read it with us and we can somehow hold each other accountable long distance. And of course, the VBS discussions are beginning. I've got to buckle my seat belt!

If you've made it to the bottom of this, you are a special person! I owe you one!

Book Review of "Beyond Molasses Creek"

Beyond Molasses Creek by Nicole Seitz is an amazing novel that brings together the life stories of three individuals into a touching, emotional story of finding peace in the world around you, even when circumstances say otherwise. Ally Green has to come back home after her father dies, and takes the opportunity to reconnect with a childhood friend. But she has a past that has kept her on the run searching for peace, and has a hard time trying to settle down. At the same time, a young lady across the world in Nepal is also trying to find peace as she escapes a hard life and searches for truth. Do these ladies' stories connect? The results are surprising and amazing.
I have not read a novel in a while that touched me as this one did. Beautifully written, with a poetic style that drew me in, this story left me satisfied and at peace with my own story. I loved the back and forth of the characters' stories, both in the present day and the past. I understood where their hearts were and I wanted them to find the peace they were looking for. My only complaint about the book was it was not as Christian based as I thought it would be. There was a lot more room to have God intervene in the story. But I would highly recommend it. A great read!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

A few of my favorite things...

Some of my new favorite things!

I'm back trying to lose a few more pounds, but its much harder to get started again. Per Lysa Terkeurst, I'm upping my fiber and these are my favorite fiber things.

Chocolate Mocha granola bars! Really yummy if you like coffee and chocolate together!

90 calorie brownies, with fiber! When I'm having a chocolate craving, (which is all day, everyday) it hits the spot!

Todd English Green+Life Thermolon Pots and Pans
I have been needing some new pots and pans because after 15 years of marriage things start falling apart (not my marriage, but all the things we received as wedding gifts. I think you should be able to have a shower every 10 years that you stay married to get new things). I didn't want to get regular non-stick pans because I've heard things about the chemicals they put off, so when I saw these on HSN one night, I ordered them! I got a 10 piece set for around $100, and they are the best pans ever! They say they are dishwasher safe, but I have yet to have to put them in there because everything just wipes right off. And they are PFOA and PTFE free for those of you who are concerned about that kind of thing. I think they are sold out of the set right now on HSN, but if you can find these anywhere with a good deal, grab them!

BISSELL Rewind SmartClean Vacuum
I know this isn't a new favorite for those of you reading about my obsession with this vacuum. But FYI, they have it on sale this week at Target for $89! You won't regret it!

I think I'm Back

You may have noticed my lack of spiritual blog posts in the past few months until this week. The Lord and I were the best of friends for a long time, as I was digging deeper into His Word over the past year or so. But then He did something that I didn't like. See Waiting Part 2 to get more reference to that. And even though I knew that it was all for the best in my head and my heart because He told me so, I still got mad and left Him waiting for me. Thank goodness He's so patient with me. I was thinking of my kids again, how they react when I tell them "no". Luckily I have good kids who don't normally pitch fits, but it has happened. They fall on the floor kicking and screaming. I'm not a kicker and a screamer. But when I do get mad at someone, I give them the silent treatment. (Ask my husband.) Of course, that's only in my most immature stages of life, HA! So it finally dawned on me that I was giving the Lord the silent treatment. As if it hurts Him terribly. I'm sure He is disappointed that I'm not talking to Him, but He can go on with His plans without me no problem. I'm the only one missing out on the relationship. So we had a good heart to heart last week and I think I'm back. I'm back in His Word and can feel my thirst for it coming back, slowly.
When I left off my Bible reading plan months ago, I was in Isaiah, and that's not the best place to restart my love for the Word, so I just started in Matthew, Chapter 1 today, thinking I would breeze through it and move on to chapter 2, but I got so much out of it that I wanted to share the biggest things.
* The genealogy from vs 2-16 shows so many different types of people, men & women, good & evil, righteous & unrighteous. A good reminder that He can use anyone, no matter what your background.
* I was so inspired by Joseph's obedience to ignore what the world told him was right and acceptable and marry Mary even though she was pregnant with someone else's child. And he was obviously a Godly man because he recognized that his dream was real and set out to obey it immediately.
* I looked up the word "Messiah" from verse 16 and saw that part of the definition was "the expected king and deliverer of the Jews," and that word "expected" got me. The Jews were expecting a Messiah but He didn't meet their expectations so many didn't accept the very thing they had been waiting for. How many times do I ask God for something and then really wait and expect Him to answer? And when He does, if its not up to my expectations, do I discount it or accept it and praise Him for His answer. It reminded me of this verse.
"In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." Psalm 5:3
O Lord, may I truly be waiting for you, expecting you to answer, expecting miracles, expecting to see you working around me. And may I not ignore you when you do answer prayers! Thank you for not just meeting our expectations, but far surpassing them, exceedingly and abundantly more! Amen.

My Cool Christmas Present

My momma got me two great gifts for Christmas. One was a new scale (not sure what that says about me). My old scale was a rotary dial, not accurate at all. The scale I weigh on at work that is my official weigh in is digital to the half pound. But this baby is digital to the tenth of a pound. Ouch! But its cool.
My other cool gift is a Nook Simple Touch. She offered to get me a higher model, but I'm just beginning to consider using a tablet to read books as opposed to the real thing. I love books, the smell of them, the feeling of the pages as I turn them, being able to underline things and dog ear pages. So I wasn't sure I wanted to spend too much money on something that I might not use much. But I really like it. Not enough to go all in, but the pages look amazing, its so light weight, and its awesome to be able to download a book from my library website and begin reading it immediately. I wanted to get a cover for it, so I took a quick trip to my local Barnes and Noble and was disappointed to see now not attractive yet expensive their covers were. So I came home and used good old Amazon and ordered THIS. It came today and it is beautiful! Love it! Just wanted to give a suggestion to anyone else who may have gotten one for Christmas. Don't cave to the pressure of buying a genuine Nook cover. Not necessary. Happy Reading!

King of Kings

God showed me something about Himself over the holidays. I was reading off and on a book He Shall be Called, by Robert J. Morgan. Its a devotional book with 150 names of Jesus. One of his names is "King". Morgan reminds us that there are two types of kings in the world. There are kings that are parliamentary monarchs, those that are really there for show. They are surrounded by respect and grandeur but really have no power, like the Queen of England. (I personally think she has more power than the rest of the world gives her credit for.) And then there are those that are absolute monarchs, they run their country, their authority is supreme. Morgan points out that most Christians treat Jesus as a parliamentary monarch. He looks nice, we respect him, go to worship him once a week, but we don't give him authority in our lives. OUCH! He really is our absolute monarch, has ultimate authority whether we acknowledge it everyday or not.

Christmas Eve, our pastor Steve preached about almost the same thing. He pointed out that many people are fine with making Jesus their Savior, but not so game about making him their King. To follow a king, we have to be a servant, obedient, submissive, humble, be willing to sacrifice if the king asks you to. We want him to save us from hell and the struggles of this earth, but not if it calls us to be a servant.

I know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but there is conviction of sin, and I have been convicted for weeks about this issue. It all came back today again. I am a control freak. I don't think about that side of me as a bad thing many times, but today it hit me in the face. If I am honest, I want to control everything around me, and when I can't or people don't cooperate, I get really upset and frustrated and my pride gets hurt. And when it comes to the King, I have good days and bad days of letting him be in control. I have had more bad days than good over the last few months, but its time to make a change. May you reign in my life Lord as King, on your throne. Forgive me for moving you off of it. Convict me this week when I try to take that place back. Thank you for not giving up on me. May I truly be a daughter of a King by the way I live my life, not just a title I give myself.

Book Review of "Bittersweet Surrender" by Diann Hunt

Over the holiday break, I was looking for a light, fun read to fill some empty hours, and Bittersweet Surrender by Diann Hunt fit the bill perfectly. Carly Westlake owns a chocolate spa, is recovering from breast cancer, adjusting her to step-mother moving in with her, struggling with losing weight and juggling her lack of love life. She does it all with humor, sarcasm and a realization that she really needs to depend on God as she comes through her issues. As the story unfolds, there is also a mystery going on around her with her friends and family that might end a blossoming romance before it even starts.

This story was a lot of fun, went fast, but was very in depth with character and set descriptions. My only complaint was that I felt like I was reading a book in a sequel, that I was picking up in the middle of a story. But it was a stand alone book, not part of a series. Hunt did a great job of catching me up on where these characters were in the story. I look forward to reading more of her books when I need a light escape.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Double Digit Birthday!

It has arrived! The day my first baby Benjamin Cooper turns double digits. I asked him this morning if he felt older and he said no, but he wasn't born until 10:39 p.m. so I think he thinks he'll feel older when that minute arrives. Its obvious he's older because he got money and clothes from us and was completely happy about it. We've avoided birthday parties since he was 5, but you can read the previous post about his sleepover. He's my introverted child, so I'm not sure he had a great time because we kept finding him by himself away from his friends. He said he'll only invite 4 next time. He's going on a "man" trip with his daddy. J and I made a list of things for them to talk about. It really hit me hard how grown up he is and is becoming daily. I can only continue to pray for God's protection over him, and that he would grow up with wisdom, knowledge and joy as he makes decisions each day. I am so proud to be his momma. And I'm so thankful for the man he is becoming.

Happy Birthday Super Cooper! We are proud of you!

Surviving the Sleepover

We are wrapping up our first sleepover, celebrating Coop's 10th birthday. Many of you know I avoid birthday parties at all costs, but since it was the double digit birthday, I suggested he have a sleepover. (Yes, it was my idea. I kept asking last night "Whose idea was this?) So I thought I would do a public service blog giving you the things I have learned from this experience to help all of you parents who have not yet braved the sleepover. Let me prefice this by saying all of the boys are very polite, kind to each other and did their parents proud. But they are 4th grade boys. So here are the lessons I have learned.
1. Don't over invite thinking they probably won't all come. They will ALL come. With my 3, we had 11 total.
2. Get a babysitter for the 3 year old. I spent most of the night trying to keep him out of the fray. He actually got hurt, but it had nothing to do with the boys, just his excitement of the whole night messing with his balance.
3. Get a babysitter for the 7 year old. I spent most of the night comforting him when he couldn't keep up them. He did really well until bedtime. Devastating to make him go to bed 2 hours earlier then the big boys, but Dad was wise and knew we would not survive Saturday if he didn't go to bed at a decent time.
4. Have lots of things planned. I didn't have much and they didn't like any of my ideas. I'm still at a loss of what to do with boys at a party. They don't want to do a craft or bake. The Wii didn't even take up much time. All they wanted to do was play basketball, inside or out. They didn't care. Our poor neighbors.
5. Have the party be over at 9. I said 10, thinking I would get up, take a shower, make breakfast and at 9 walk around with my sweet, calming voice "Good morning boys. Rise and shine." Ha! They were up at 7:45. Breakfast was done by 8:30. Back to basketball in the foyer.
6. Do not interrupt if you are having a moment of silence. Even if the birthday boy asks, do not offer hot chocolate in the middle of the movie when they are actually quiet.
7. Divide them up when its time to sleep. I finally took a few out of the playroom and moved them to the den. I should have had them in 8 different rooms.
8. Have an AMAZING husband! I could not have survived this without him. As I'm blogging, he's refereeing the basketball tournament on the nerf goal in the foyer. Whistle and everything.
9. Wear ear plugs. Even though I am certain that its still quieter than screaming, giggling girls, its amazing the noise level out of boys. Plus there is the added bonus of bodily sounds.
10. Something will get spilled. My great idea was as a party favor to have sports bottles with their names to drink out of. Great idea! But then the hot chocolate came in a different cup with a lid, but a large hole to drink out of. I'm waiting until they leave to see the damage of the hot chocolate. At least I have brown carpet.
Again, over all it wasn't too bad. My tree was unharmed. No major injuries. No fights. Lots of good manners. I think the birthday boy had a good time. And all of these boys are welcome in my home again, just one at a time.

Potato Chowder Recipe

Quick, yummy recipe for you!

3 cups fat free milk (I use 2% because that's what we usually have)
1 can cream of potato soup
2 cups old fashioned frozen hash browns
salt to taste

That's it! Mix the milk and soup together in a pot, and then add the hash browns. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Tonight I cut up two potatoes into small chunks and boiled them in a separate pot while putting together the soup. When they were tender I added them in. Serve with shredded cheese and cut up cooked bacon or bacon bits as toppings. Yummy with warm crusty bread. Enjoy!

Keeping Christ in Your Child's Christmas, Part 3

Last day of ideas. Hope something has jumped out at you as something to try this year.

·Make a Jesse Tree:
Origin:
The Jesse tree represents Jesus' family tree. The name is taken from Isaiah 11:1, in which Jesus is referred to as a shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse, the father of David. The ornaments on the Jesse tree tell of Jesus' ancestors, and of the events leading to Jesus' birth.
Symbols
Adam and Eve Apple (Genesis 2:4-3:24)
Noah Ark or rainbow (Genesis 6:11-22, 7:17-8:12, 20-9:17)
Abraham Knife (Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6)
Isaac Ram (Genesis 22:1-19)
Jacob Ladder (Genesis 27:41-28:22)
Joseph Colorful coat (Genesis 37, 39:1-50:21)
Moses Tablets of the law (Exodus 2:1-4:20)
David Harp (1 Samuel 16:17-23)
Isaiah Lion and lamb (Isaiah 1:10-20, 6:1-13, 8:11-9:7)
Mary Lily (Luke 1:26-38)
Elizabeth Small home (Luke 1:39-55)
Joseph Hammer or saw (Matthew 1:18-25)
Make a Jesse tree for your home. First, take a large, bare branch and secure it in a pot of sand or rocks. (You can also use a large potted plant or evergreen.) Create ornaments that trace Jesus' royal line by making symbols for some of the people found in the Hebrew testament. Make the ornaments out of cardboard or construction paper and decorate as you like. Instead of hanging all the ornaments on the tree at one time, you may want to hang one on every other day of Advent. Read the Scripture citation given here as you hang each ornament on the tree. Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2000/12/The-Jesse-Tree.aspx#ixzz1erlEaIcI

· Make a Chrismon Tree, a tree with ornaments that reflect the real meaning of Christmas.
A chrismon, a combination of the words "Christ" and "monogram," is a symbol that represents Jesus. The very first chrismon was the Chi Rho, a combination of the first two Greek letters of "Cristos," or Christ.
A Chrismon Tree is a tree decorated with such common chrismons as crosses, stars, angels, doves, fish ("icthus"), and triangles representing the Holy Trinity. Chrismon ornaments can be made from any type of material, whether paper, cloth, Styrofoam. The chrismons are often white and gold--white to represent Jesus' purity, gold to represent his sovereignty.
Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2004/11/How-To-Make-A-Chrismon-Tree.aspx#ixzz1erlaVhZ1

Great websites with lots of ideas!
· http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/Christmas/21-Ways-to-Keep-Christ-in-Christmas.aspx

· http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/nativity_printables.htm

· http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/p/keepchristmas.htm

Keeping Christ in Your Child's Christmas, Part 2

More ideas!

· Keep a basket of Christmas books around for children to always have access to.
· Have a child friendly nativity set that children can play with. Buy one for new babies as a sweet first Christmas gift.
· Use an advent calendar to count off the days. UBC has a great preschool calendar with activities you can use. Other ideas include ones with Bible verses for each day, or symbols for each day of the Christmas story, a paper chain where a chain is taken off each day.
http://www.tipjunkie.com/christmas-advent-calendar/
http://www.allcrafts.net/xmas/advent-calendars.htm
http://budgetwisehome.com/tag/advent-calendar-ideas/
· Do something good for others: sing at a nursing home, buy gifts for a family in need, make cookies for a neighbor. Talk to your kids about how helping others is pleasing in God’s sight.
· Have your children reinact the Christmas story, dressing up like shepherds, Mary and Joseph, or the angels. Great way to help them remember the story.
· At dinner, read Christmas cards that are received each day. Pray for those that sent the card.
· Give a gift of service to family members. Jesus taught us that it is "more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35. Giving an unexpected gift of service will demonstrate Christ-like love. Make it personal and meaningful. Remember the homemade coupon books that you may have given your mom or dad?
· Write a Christmas letter to a missionary. Many missionaries are unable to travel home for the holidays, so it can be a very lonely time for them. Write a special Christmas letter to a missionary of your choice, thanking them for giving their life in service to the Lord.
· Hang a Christmas stocking for Christ. Most families have a Christmas stocking for every member of the family to be filled with gifts from Santa. In addition, parents could hang up a white stocking for Christ, and on Christmas Eve every member of the family could insert a piece of paper listing their gift to Christ this year. Examples: being nicer to others, praying more often, etc. (This is my favorite new idea that I think we are going to try this year! Here is a link to a fun stocking my friend Terri found we might get. Or we may just do a simple white one.

Stay tuned for more!

Keeping Christ in Your Child's Christmas, Part 1

We had a great parent coffee last Thursday, and shared lots of ideas. I'll share some with you over the next few days. One of our weekday teachers shared an article with me that said that you really can't take Christ out of Christmas. He loved to party and fellowship, so anytime you get together with believers, he is there having fun with you! I liked that! Takes some of the pressure off. But here are a few ideas for you. Sorry I didn't get them up last week so you could start them on the 1st. Better late than never!

To start, this is my favorite site It has 25 days of ideas! Love it!

Here are ideas gathered from our weekday teachers, preschool director and myself.
· Buy or kids can make something as a birthday/Christmas gift for Jesus. Wrap it and put it under the tree for Jesus. Unwrap it on Christmas morning, and then over the years you can look at His gifts and talk about them together.
· Invite Jesus to Christmas celebrations by setting out an extra place setting for Him. It would be cute to have a dress up gold crown and set it on His plate!!
· Give your children 3 gifts from Santa because Jesus received 3 gifts.
· Make a birthday cake for baby Jesus and sing Happy Birthday to Him.
· Wait to put baby Jesus in the nativity scenes until Christmas Eve. You can have the baby Jesus wrapped up in a gift box, and let that be the first gift that they open on Christmas Eve night or Christmas morning.
· Go with your extended family to a candlelight service on Christmas Eve
· Read the Christmas story from Luke before you open presents.
· Play 'I spy baby Jesus' all season long. It helps to focus their eyes on Christ instead of other things as they actually searched for him everywhere.
· Display a manger scene in your front yard. You can make the manger yourself and use hay from your garden to fill it. Use a doll as baby Jesus. Swaddle him and wrap a beautiful bow around him. Highlight him with a yard spot light.
· Allow your children to choose from the World Vision catalog a special extra gift to buy and pray a blessing over. You can get things like mosquito netting or goats.
· This is my idea. We put a manger scene on our fireplace, but take Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus out. We take Mary and Joseph as far away from the manger as you can, usually upstairs, and each day of December move them closer and closer until Christmas Eve they arrive at the manger! And then baby Jesus joins them Christmas morning! Cade pointed out that the shepherds and wise men weren't there either, so our shepherd and his sheep are on a table in the den and the wise men are under the boys' tree in the other room. I think we may wrap baby Jesus up and put him under the tree.

More ideas tomorrow!

Silver Spoons

Quick story to see if anyone agrees with me. I went to get a spoon the other day out of the silverware drawer and there were none. No problem, I'll look in the dishwasher. It was almost empty, only 2 in there. Where are the spoons? I went all over the house and found 6 total. Well, that's just not enough. Yes, I could go to Walmart and buy a few that don't match. But just the thought of that makes my skin crawl. Not the Walmart part, I love Walmart, the non matching spoon part. So I went online and looked for my silverware only to find that it has been discontinued. Nor surprising, we've had it 15 years. Now what? I found it on a discontinued website for $8 a spoon. I'm not that much attached to having them match. That's ridiculous! I then discovered a wonderful thing, restaurant warehouse websites! You can buy silverware a dozen at a time. The first few I found only had them by 2 or 3 dozen. I don't think I need that many! Then Ebay led me to this site, and I got a dozen of my spoons from 15 years ago for only $29 with shipping! I was so excited today when they arrived! When I informed my husband of my purchase, he wondered why I didn't go to Walmart and buy random spoons. Who is going to notice that our spoons don't match? I would! And it would bug me every time I opened the drawer. Aren't they beautiful? Its the little things in life!