Sights and Sounds

 The sights and sounds of the Christmas season have settled in to our home.

Wonder and Joy

What a beautiful holiday season of children's wonder and joy...

 

Christmas Spirit

The past two nights have been so wonderful for putting me in the Christmas spirit.

On Thursday night, Hubby and I went to his school's Christmas party -- which was fun and casual at a local Mexican restaurant.  My parents were baby-sitting Tracey Ann, and Hubby and I were both excited to have a night out together and celebrate the start "Christmas break" from school and my maternity leave, so when the party was over in faster than we anticipated, neither of us were ready to call it a night.

After checking in with my parents and hearing that all was well at home, we decided to go to dinner at a new restaurant in town.  But as soon as we arrived at the restaurant, saw a sign for a Family Movie Night at an old refurbished movie theater a block away showing the movie Elf.  The movie has started five minutes ago and Hubby and I quickly made the decision to postpone dinner and walk over to the theater and catch the rest of the movie.

It was a freezing night with snow on the ground and town Christmas lights everywhere, and it was so much fun to quickly walk that block with Hubby and arrive in the nice warm theater having missed only 10 minutes of the movie.  The family movie was a great deal and so much fun.  This is the first time in my life that when all the characters in the movie sang a song together, the viewers in the theater sang along too.  At the end of Elf, where the people are singing, "Santa Claus is Coming To Town," the whole theater was singing along.

After the movie, we went back the new restaurant and ordered carry out as they were closing.  The restaurant proprietor remembered us from earlier and asked how the movie was and was happy we had returned.  We really love living in a small town and Thursday night was a perfect small town Christmas date night.

 Then, Friday, we watched White Christmas as a family -- Hubby, Tracey Ann, my parents, the unborn twins and myself, all in our beautiful family room with our big beautiful Christmas tree, safe and warm and happy.  Tracey Ann even enjoyed dancing and clapping to some of the songs, which was such fun to see.

My parents and I sang along to many of the songs, and Hubby danced with me to the song, "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," which Tracey Ann loved (and so did I).

One week until Christmas and these are very special moments and memories in our new home, before the twins arrive, with my parents, and as Christmas approaches.  It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

 

Our Easter Weekend

We had such a wonderful Easter weekend celebrating our Savior's resurrection.  It is so beautiful to be a young family working to determine what sort of traditions and lessons we want to incorporate into our family and become our Easter memories and traditions.

We participated in a local Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Rifle Lion's Club.  It was Tracey Ann's first Easter egg hunt, and she gathered four eggs.  It was FREEZING -- 22* when we awoke, and 32* when we registered for the hunt. 

It warmed as the day went on, and we went out to brunch after the egg hunt.  We knew we wouldn't go out for brunch after church because Tracey Ann is always exhausted after church.

Later that day, I was able to do some baking for a church potluck while Tracey Ann played in our Tupperware cabinet.  She had fun stacking and filing the Tupperware with her toys, and I thought her playing there was a great idea... until I realized I would have to wash all the Tupperware with which she was playing.

Sunday we had plans to attend our church's Sunrise service... but then I chickened out taking our toddler to an early morning service in freezing temperatures.  I LOVE sunrise services and hope we can continue this tradition again in the future, but I didn't want our baby to be disruptive.

Instead, we went to our church breakfast potluck and service, and enjoyed fellowship and friends.  After, we took some family pictures and then went home for a nap.  Tracey Ann is always exhausted after church.

After her nap, we saw that the Easter Bunny came, and we had some eggs to find, and we each had an Easter Basket.  Tracey Ann's Easter basket included a little purse, a cup, some bubbles, some spring hair barrettes, some cds of Bible songs and some bunny ears.  While she seemed to like her gifts... the biggest hit was her taking my Easter basket, putting her bubbles in it and walking it around the house.  She would walk, stop, sit, take her bubble out of the basket, put the bubbles back in her basket, stand up and walking around again.

We are so incredibly blessed to be this little girl's parents, and we are so fortunate to live in a country where we can freely teach her the stories of our faith and about our Mighty and Merciful God.

Christmas Movies

I love the Christmas season and the joy and cheer that comes with it.  Sometimes it happens naturally, like when I look at Christmas lights in our small town... and sometimes I have to surround myself with traditions that help me maintain my Christmas joy and cheer.

My sweet husband is not one who has to watch the same movies multiple times... so my desire to watch the same Christmas movies every December is a new concept to him.  He has very lovingly made a specific effort this season to curl up with me to watch Christmas movies that we have both seen before.  He is so wonderful!  He's also making an effort to find some new sappy Christmas movies for us to watch together.

For me, a special part of December and the Christmas spirit involves watching Christmas movies.  I love all kinds of Christmas movies -- old, new, children's, adult's, sappy, serious, and more...

My favorite Christmas movies (and the movies I would recommend) are the following:

• It's a Wonderful Life
• White Christmas
• Holiday Inn
• Miracle on 34th Street (the old version)
• Miracle on 34th Street (the new version)
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Charlie Brown Christmas
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the cartoon)
• Borrowed Hearts
• Muppet Family Christmas
• While You Were Sleeping
• Christmas Even on Sesame Street
• The Best of Andy Williams Christmas Specials
• Elf
• The Nativity Story
• TGIF Christmas Special (from 2000, a VHS taped off of television)
• Twas the Night Before Christmas
• Frosty The Snowman
• Videos of my high school years -- the Mona Shores High School Singing Christmas Tree

Movies that I catch every few years, that fall in my runner-up category:

• Home Alone
• Sleepless in Seattle (although not really a Christmas movie)
• The Santa Clause
•  A Christmas Carol
• The Muppet Christmas Carol
• Random Lifetime Christmas movies that premier in December

What are your favorite Christmas movies?  Any that I missed?

Must Be The Holidays...

 

via

 There are some things, for me, that mean it must be the holidays.

Since today is December 1st, I thought I would write those things that mean December.

• A tree in our family room complete with ornaments that tell so many stories and  hold so many memories
• Dozens (over 150) photo Christmas cards addressed, stamped, a message written inside, and put in the mail
• Christmas cookies -- at least a few (I used to make dozens and dozens until I realized that I was the only one at home to eat them.)  Now, I make a few and give a lot away.
• SNOW!  I don't really have control over that one... but its a necessity
• Christmas Music -- Forbidden until the week of Thanksgiving
• A Christmas ring tone on my phone -- I always use part of "Sing Noel" from New Song's album The Christmas Shoes
• Listening to Jiminie The Christmas Tree -- an audio story about a little tree who learned what Christmas is and then wanted to be a Christmas Tree
• Travel... ever since I left for college, December has meant travel... over ten years now I have had to travel to "Be Home For Christmas" -- or, since getting married... be home close to Christmas
• Christmas movies and Christmas tv specials -- I LOVE Christmas movies -- old and new, and sappy tv specials make me so happy!

via

 I can't wait to share these Christmas traditions with Tracey Ann!

Christmas Party Friday: Christmas Sentences

Today is the last day of Christy's Christmas Party Fridays and I'm excited to complete the sentence prompts she's given us.



My favorite part of December is....
December 1-25!
I LOVE the anticipation of Christmas and the hustle and bustle of preparing for the celebration of Jesus' birth.  The season is so busy and joyful and like no other time of year.

The Christmas song I can listen to over and over is....
"Sing Noel" by NEW SONG on the CD The Christmas Shoes

"Sing Noel to all in heaven, Sing Noel to all the earth, Sing Noel, to Christ our Savior, Sing Noel!"

My favorite Christmas gift when I was a child was....
The American Girl Doll, Samantha Parkington

Samantha

 If traveling anywhere in the world were an option I would spend Christmas....
at my parent's home in Muskegon, Michigan, with my parents -- also, with Chris' family in New Melle, Missouri.  No where in the world compares to being home for Christmas with family.

Christmas movies are....
such a joyful addition to the Christmas season!

My must have Christmas treats include...
Buckeye balls!

Decorating for the season looks like....
A real Christmas tree full of ornaments with memories attached.

When it comes to Christmas gifts I prefer to...
Plan, conspire, shop, find a sale, hide, wrap and surprise my friends and family!  And gifts in our house NEVER appear under the tree before Christmas morning.

The Christmas season makes me feel....
Amazingly blessed for where I am now, and grateful for the past Christmases that have brought me here.  Always breathless and tearful in awe of the Christmas story and God's love for His children.

To me Christmas means....
Jesus' birth on earth in complete conjunction with all prophecies about the coming Messiah.
... To me, Christmas is the celebration of One Solitary Life:

"He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another obscure village, where
He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty.
Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.

He never had a family or owned a home.
He never set foot inside a big city.
He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born.
He never wrote a book, or held an office.
He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.

When He was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him.
His friends deserted Him
He was turned over to His enemies, and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying,
His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had -- His coat.
When He was dead,
He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave.

Two thousand years have come and gone, and today
He is the central figure for much of the human race.

All the Armies that ever marched and
all the Navies that ever sailed and
all the Parliaments that ever sat and
all the Kings that ever reigned,
Put Together,
Have not affected the life of man upon this Earth as powerfully as this
'One Solitary Life.'"
- Adapted from an essay by Dr. James Allan Francis

How would you finish these Christmas sentences?

Christmas Party Friday: Christmas Traditions

 I'm loving Christy's Christmas Blog Fridays and this week we're posting about Christmas Traditions.



To be honest, traditions are one of my favorite parts of the Christmas celebration.  I like consistency and I take comfort in knowing that to expect so Christmas traditions help make Christmas one of my favorite holidays.

I just married a wonderful man (in fact, December 25th will be our six-month anniversary), and so we are definitely in the process of learning and developing our Christmas traditions.  Even in marriage, however, I'm learning that many traditions remain:

I always decorate a REAL Christmas tree in the house.  The size can fluctuate and the amount I pay is a big variable, but I ALWAYS decorate a real Christmas tree.  Furthermore, it doesn't matter how long I am going to be out of town traveling for the holidays.  I always decorate a tree at my house even I am only able to enjoy it for a few weeks before I head home for the holidays.  A real evergreen tree is a must.  I love hanging the same ornaments every year and remembering where they came from.  Several new ornaments adorned our tree this year as Chris and I begin our married ornament collection.

Chris' baseball ornament from my mom and
"1st Christmas Together 2010" after we were engaged

Penguins in love, Santa playing the harp and Our Cat

Michigan "M", and Mr. and Mrs. with chalkboard

Beautiful Lenox Holy Family from my mom

I love our Africa Adoption ornament that helped bring Elijah home,
and a camping tent I gave Chris the Christmas we met

I have many beautiful harp ornaments given to me over the years

Chris and I, always travel for Christmas -- at least, as of now, we always travel Home for Christmas to his parents and my parents.  We alternate each year between which family we visit for Christmas Eve and Christmas and which family we visit for New Years.

On Christmas Eve, with the Sandens, my parents always serve French Onion Soup and we attend a Christmas Eve service at church -- either the evening service or the midnight service depending on the year.

On Christmas Eve, with the Millers, we always gather with the entire extended family at his grandparents' home and the family has a white elephant gift exchange.  There is much laughter, love and chaos.  :-D

I always burn a scented candle at Christmas time; and, I ONLY burn a scented candle at Christmas time.  Generally, I cannot STAND anything scented -- air fresheners, candles, plug-ins, perfumes... I have a very strong aversion to strong scents.  Almost ALL strong scents trigger migraines for me.  The only exception is Balsam & Cedar scent at Christmas time.  I LOVE this Christmas Tree scent and burn it throughout the Christmas season.

I really like this picture

In my family, a picture Christmas card was sent out EVERY YEAR.

Therefore, I always send out Christmas cards.  It does not matter how busy my Christmas season (even my last semester of graduate school), I love to send out Christmas cards!  My cards always include a letter of life's events from the past year... and this year, for the first time, it is a picture Christmas card.

*~Our Picture Christmas Card and our Christmas newsletter will be posted on our blog closer to Christmas~*

I'm so excited about our Christmas cards this year, because it really feels like we're a family, sending cards to OUR family and friends, sending out a picture Christmas card of our year's highlights.  The cards arrived Tuesday afternoon, and I had them in the mail Thursday morning, which tells you how excited I was to send them.

140 Christmas Cards Signed, Sealed, Delivered

This is the first year I printed labels instead of writing all the addresses

Both animals loved to try helping me with Christmas cards

They had a unique way of helping

I guess the cards really are from the whole family

Speaking of Christmas cards, growing up, my family always opened the Christmas cards we received together, read them out loud and passed them around for everyone to see.  This year, Chris and I started this as well.

As Christmas draws nearer, and I am on vacation from work, I always love to watch the movies White Christmas and Its A Wonderful Life with my parents.  I'm not sure how much Chris will enjoy this tradition every year... maybe if I rub his back during the movies?

"Do you think I pay you to be a canary?"

"Miss Haynes, if you're ever under a falling building and someone offers to pick you up and carry you to safety, don't think, don't pause, don't hesitate for a moment, just spit in his eye."

In the past, a tradition of mine was to always enjoy my mom's delicious Christmas cookies!  This year, I made some of those delicious cookies!

Peanut Butter Blossoms and White Chocolate Drops

BUCKEYE BALLS are AMAZING!

Our sun porch is a great place for cookies to cool

Another Christmas tradition, I enjoy is playing my harp in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  Christmas seems to be the only time that I MAKE time to consistently practice my harp.  I LOVE playing Christmas music, playing totally gets me into the Christmas Spirit, and I know my parents enjoying hearing me play when I go home.  This year, things have been a little different because I enjoy playing, and my hubby enjoys listening to me play!  :-D  Below is a video I shot three years ago (notice the very short hair) for my Aunt Marlene for Christmas.  I am playing one of my favorite songs to play on the harp.  I hope you enjoy.



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Here are some pictures that did not make our Christmas card...
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Siblings, Lloyd and Lexie

Siblings, Lloyd and Lexie

Siblings, Lloyd and Lexie

Siblings, Lloyd and Lexie

Siblings, Lloyd and Lexie

What are your Christmas Traditions?