snow..

we ended up getting about 12/15 inches. church was canceled but our friends, the hurlberts, came for lunch anyway. there's an awesome sledding hill behind our development that the kids have enjoyed going to. karis was supposed to go to work at qvc (christmas rush you know) but robin got the car stuck just past our driveway (they hadn't plowed our street yet).

at one point, it was windy and the snow was really coming down, and mike looked at me with his big smile and said, "mom! blizzards are SO MUCH BETTER than hurricanes!" and went on his merry way. gotta love those southern born boys...

all in all, we are so thankful for snow. it's wonderful, quiet, pure, miraculous joy. thanks Lord!

guest post: mike

all i want for christmas......

is my two front teeth!

more catching up

last month when we had nick's birthday party, karis, her friend brittany from church and olivia went on an impromptu photo shoot around the corner. it's so fun to see what pictures end up on my camera....

karis bought her first car with a little help from grandpa craven.
it's a honda accord 4 dr that "drives like a dream" and has the dings to prove it.

colorable alphabet

i first saw this idea here and even though we've had these pans a while, and have made chocolates in them, i hadn't made crayons until now. they'll make great gifts for my 3yo sunday school class.

one starry night

this year our church put on an awesome christmas dinner, complete with various entertainment and concluding with a children's play, "one starry night." mike was a shepherd and jack was a speaker. they did a really good job, and we were very proud.

mike, a shepherd


jack, the speaker

the group, including friends denae and mikayla

poor baby boy

is on day four of a fever, and just doesn't feel well. at least he looks comfy (barb--that's the new duvet cover/pillowcase from ikea. the cheapest one there--$9 for the set) and he has his faithful panda to keep him company.

catching up....before the new year

olivia had her first of many concerts with clchm (see collage for what that stands for). she has enjoyed this chorus made up entirely of homeschoolers. you can see where the orchestra (also made up entirely of homeschoolers) joined them later. mrs. lasala, the director, has very high standards, and the results show it. we really enjoyed the concert, and are glad olivia enjoys it as well.

advent (mops talk)

how many of you have had a great couple of weeks since we last met? i can say that i had one day that stood out to me as being a really great day. everything went well, it was great weather, i got everything on my list done and i got to thinking wouldn't it be great if every day was like today? but then i thought some more and decided that if everyday went so smoothly, then i wouldn't appreciate it. Christmas is like that for me. and until i realized what advent was all about, i didn't know how to fully appreciate it.

here's the power point presentation that went with my talk:

Advent

View more presentations from rufam.

i have a confession to make, for about 20 years, i didn't like Christmas. the memories of one Christmas while in my teens held back the joy i saw so many others experience. and even after i had kids, i felt i couldn't fully participate even in their joy. until. i changed my view of anticipating Christ's birth at Christmas to anticipating seeing Him in His fullness in heaven.

**we can only joyfully, expectantly look forward to Christ's return if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.****
the way we do this is to

Acknowledge you are a sinner in need of a Savior
Believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
Confess your sin and repent (turn from sin)

There is no greater gift. Please talk to me, or Beth, or Ruth or someone on the steering committee if you have questions or want to know more.

Merry Christmas!

discussion questions:
1.) is there anything else you'd like to discuss this morning?
2.) if you already celebrate advent, what one idea would you like to add?
3.) share some ways you keep the focus on Christ at Christmas.
4.) what is one Christmas tradition you've kept from your childhood? on you've started new with your children?
5.) share a prayer request if you feel comfortable doing so.