Christmas 2009

The celebration of the birth of our Savior was the theme during the month of December in our home.  We love to read Luke's account of Jesus' birth aloud.  Christmas music resounds throughout the house and the aroma of cookies greet loved ones at the door.  Much thought is given to those special gifts selected for family and friends and then lovingly tucked under the tree.

A visit to our State Capitol is an annual event...it just isn't Christmas time until you see the huge tree and the hand-carved, life-size Nativity on the grounds of the State Capitol.  Laughter and delight filled the air as we enjoyed catching up with extended family and friends during the month of December.  One of the sweetest memories will be of a homemade gift package from my niece and her family which consisted of pictures of the kids, stickers, verses, and a donation to a worthy cause in our name!    

Paul and I felt blessed beyond measure to have all of our children, along with our new son-in-law, around the table for our Christmas meal.  We cherish these special times as a family and we look forward to the Lord's plan for the new year!

Window Shopping

The three younger boys and I have enjoyed various outings during the last few weeks and we have had a ball!  They provided me with endless hours of comedy, and they threw in a few thought-provoking questions, just to keep me on my feet.  

Decorations were being donned on the store fronts and my two youngest ones became so excited that they wanted to start shopping...for the name each had drawn...and for themselves!!  I had to take a few minutes to explain the concept of "window shopping".  They both looked very surprised and the older asked, "you mean people really just look at all this stuff but don't buy it?" 

It still brings a smile to my face!!  I did explain that people do indeed go window shopping...and we were going to do just that on this outing so that we could really think about what we wanted to buy that special sibling this year...and just to have fun!!  Samuel expressed consent as long as lunch would actually be enjoyed and not just admired!! :)

We looked at toys, games, electronics, computer games, sports equipment, music, and believe it or not...hamsters and creepy crawly animals (my term) and such...which was the best part of the day according to the boys!!