Par-tay

Lots of family members.
Kristie's house.
Lots and lots of yummy food.
Good conversation.
Little ones galore.
Teenagers galore.
White elephant!
Fighting over the good gifts.
Yummy desserts.
Santa Claus visits with gifts!
Steve models his white elephant gift.
Josh sat on Santa's lap.
Did I mention cute little ones to love on?
David's home from college.
B has a crush on L.
Lots of coats on Kristie & Tim's bed.
Candy canes.
Going back for seconds (food).
Josh introducing Krista to everyone,
(as he tries to remember everyones names!)
Johnny ran upstairs when Santa called his name.
The first snowstorm of the season started.

Christmas Cheer

Josh and his girlfriend Krista got all dressed up for the youth group's Christmas party last night. I sent Josh with my camera to make sure pictures were taken. Finally! I have some pictures of them together.

Somewhere in Time

Awwww! I came across this picture the other day. Its when I was at Rachel's preschool helping out. Another mother sent this to me just a few months ago.

Rachel is about 3 1/2 - 4. Cute or what? Seems like a lifetime ago. I so enjoyed those days. I would take Rachel to preschool and then Alec and I would either shop, have lunch and/or visit friends. Alec was just a little guy!

Of course I look very different. Not only younger (by about 8 years) but also thinner.

Makes me wonder what the next eight years will bring....Rachel will be 20 years old!! Ahhhhhhhh! Stop it.

Dry Erase Boards

While erasing the dry erase board at work this afternoon, it made me shudder for a moment.

Made me think back to those not too long ago days when I kept a HUGE dry erase board RIGHT SMACK in front of me at my desk at my old job. It was necessary for awhile to help keep track of who was when and how and where.

Then I laughed. Out loud.

I can hear someones voice, "I don't know what the big deal is, all you need is a calendar."

Ha! Last I heard it didn't go too well for that same person when the processing fell into her lap.

Visions of Sugarplums Danced in Our Heads...

Ta-da! Our fun and crafty gum drop trees that me, Rachel & Alec made. Alec is holding his proudly.

When the kids were younger we made so many crafts together. Gingerbread houses were a favorite around this time of the year. Rachel is still requesting to do them this year. We'll see. These gum drop trees are more my speed now. A project that required just a few items and wrapped up within 30 minutes. And hardly a mess! Love it.

Now if I can just keep my hands off those yummy drops.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving, here and gone.

The next morning I awoke to our new artificial tree waiting for decorations. John had already set it up. We have gotten a real tree for the past thirteen or so years and have been wanting to switch over to an artificial tree for the past couple of years. Just the convenience of getting "it out" when you are ready to decorate versus making time to go out to a tree farm, cut it down, drag it in the house, try and straighten it on the tree stand (while getting sap all over yourself along with the needles stuck into your skin) and then finally stringing the lights. Been there, done that. It was definitely wonderful to smell and see the beautiful fresh tree in our home. But as the kids have gotten older it just has not been the same magical experience. Now we love our prelit tree that comes in three easy to set up sections!

And, for the first time probably ever, I've done most of my shopping online and have it just about done! Wa-hoo!

Enjoy the Christmas season with your family and friends.

The Persecuted

We take for granted just how fortunate we are in this country. We can go to church as often as we want. We can worship our Lord and Savior openly. We can say the name of Jesus. We might even be a little nervous about sharing our faith with someone who does not know Jesus.

There are people. In other countries. They are being tortured. Forced to watch their loved ones tortured. Even killed. For being a Christian. Simply trying to go to church. Trying to read the bible. Trying to tell others about their God. They are willing to give their lives.

They need our prayers.

These are the countries where there are persecuted Christians:

Chiapas (Mexico), Cuba, Columbia, Belarus, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Maurintania, Nigeria, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Gaza strip in Israel, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Eritrea, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kuait, Qatar, Oman, China, Laos, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Maldives, Vietnam, North Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mindanao, Comoro Islands.

Our Sunday night service was to once again make us aware of this (as we do yearly or so) and to pray for them. We heard stories about real people in real situations. Situations that bring you to tears. Break your hearts. Bring you to your knees in prayer for them.

What else can you do? Visit these websites for more information:

www.persecution.com

www.BiblesUnbound.com

www.PrisonerAlert.com

www.VOMBooks.com