Saturday, December 27, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So 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. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15When 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."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So 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. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15When 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."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Presents Poll
I would have to select all four answers for this poll since it changes every year and we have several celebrations. This year, we will open some presents at home on Sunday before we leave for Stephen's parents. We will open some at Stephen's parents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, some at my parents on Christmas Day and some at my grandparents on Friday. Christmas is a very crazy travel time for us but we love to be with family for the holidays so it is worth it!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Play Time
Joshua is learning to sit up so we had some play time between the couch cushions. He loves those teething toys!
What a happy boy!
And, of course, big brother wants to play too!
Whisper Tube
Jeremiah made a "whisper tube" to tell the good news about Jesus's birth.
He colored it and put stickers all over it. I have never seen him spend so much time on coloring or crafts of any sort - he loved it!
He went around shouting "Jesus loves me!" and "Merry Christmas!" into the tube :)
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Christmas
I LOVE CHRISTMAS!
Ok, I just wanted to make that clear from the beginning.
I love that Jeremiah is old enough to appreciate more about Christmas this year. We've started some new traditions around the house. I'm sure I will add more throughout the month because I love doing anything and everything associated with Christmas but here's what we're starting with...
1. Christmas Countdown Chain (or Advent Chain) - Everyday we take off a loop, read the Bible verse on it and do the activity it suggests. So far we have read most of the first chapter of Luke, set up our nativity and made an angel. Jeremiah likes to point to Baby Jesus and his mommy and daddy in the nativity. We are also working on our numbers with the chain (once a teacher, always a teacher)!
2. Christmas music - lots and lots of Christmas music! I try to add a new one every day. So far, Jeremiah's favorites are "Crib Song" (Away in the Manger), "Snowman Song" (Frosty the Snowman) and Jingle Bells. We always start listening to Christmas music on our way back from Thanksgiving, but since we didn't go anywhere this year, we started that night at home!
3. Christmas books - We have checked out several Christmas books from the library and try to read one every day. Thank goodness for the library!
4. Happy Birthday Jesus! - As part of our chain activities, we will be baking a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve. Stephen and I want to make sure that the boys always remember the real reason for Christmas and I think this such a fun way to do that!
5. Decorating the tree - Ok, Stephen puts it up and I decorate it but Jeremiah did "help" put it together and put the angel on top of the tree so he is getting more involved. Very sadly, our tree broke last year but we have wonderful friends who are letting us borrow theirs this year!
Like I said, I'm always looking for more ideas! So, what special things does your family do for Christmas?
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Guy Time
The boys (and I) were so happy to have Stephen home for four days over the weekend. I think they got in some good "guy time" :) Less than three weeks to Christmas break! I love being with my guys!
Joshua discovered his toes!
Joshua discovered his toes!
Family time
We've had some great time with family lately so I thought I would share a few pictures...
Joshua and Grandma Mac
Jeremiah and Marshall
Grandma Mo helps Joshua pet Marshall
Wesley and Jeremiah
Grandpa Mac and Jeremiah
Joshua and Grandma Mac
Jeremiah and Marshall
Grandma Mo helps Joshua pet Marshall
Wesley and Jeremiah
Welcome to our Thanksgiving!
I know this is super late but between company, shopping, runny noses and laundry, this is the first chance I have had to write about our Thanksgiving!
Thanks to my wonderful friend Christine, I had everything except the sweet potatoes chopped and ready to go the day before. I made the jello salad ahead of time as well (which didn't end up helping me since I read the recipe wrong!). I also made my napkin rings and wreath Wednesday, so all I had to do on Thursday was put the food together.
I had a stressful Thanksgiving morning - dealing with the turkey, the jello wasn't setting - until my wonderful husband surprised me with a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks and everything was right with the world :) He also took Jeremiah with him for the morning and Joshua took a nap so getting ready was a lot easier.
The side dishes were so easy to put together in the crock pots. The turkey was quite an adventure - I'm just glad nobody has any film of me dealing with that thing. By 10:30, the table was set and everything was cooking and I was feeling pretty good - except about the jello. Always make sure you check the number of ounces the recipe calls for - 1 3-0z. package of gelatin does not work the same as 1 6-oz. package! And adding more the next day is not the same :)
Stephen's parents arrived around 11:30 and we had pumpkin smoothies and a veggie tray while we waited for the turkey to be done.
Despite the stress of the morning, everything turned out delicious - even the recipes I had never tried! The sweet potatoes were so yummy...
and the stuffing had just enough spice and crunchiness (is that a word?) for me. 
The jello tasted great after a while in the freezer (that will make it set!). Stephen's parents brought delicious rolls and the yummiest Caramel Apple Pie.And the turkey...I actually roasted a wild turkey and it turned out well!
We had plenty of meat and it was moist and delicious. 
It was my first time roasting one and Stephen's first time carving one and I am pretty darn proud of us! 
A big thanks again to Darcy and Donna for the turkey and recipe!I would call our first Thanksgiving at home a big success. I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving as well! Let me know how your holiday went!
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