These made my day last week....

I love prizes... but with a tight budget, I request that prizes from my husband remain thoughtful, yet inexpensive... I don't ask much, do I?! Anyway, Eric came across a deal this week, and it made me smile! :) I was pretty surprised...

Preparing for the Coming of the King...

Sadie's prayer last week...
"God thank you for our beds. Thank you for my family. Thank you for our church. And most of all, thank you for Santa Clause. Amen."

When your child begins praying at night thanking God for Santa Clause and not Jesus, it's a good time to refocus the reason for this beautiful season! We began an ABC advent on December 1st, but it's never too late to start now and count down the days to the coming of our King!

I found the ABC advent idea online, but have rewritten it and added scriptures to fit our family's needs. Thought I would post it for those of you who are interested...

Eric made this awesome advent candle holder for our kitchen table!!! I love it... someone from our small group said that it looks like a menorah on steroids. Couldn't help but laugh....


Anyway...
Before we start Advent at night Sadie and Cole have to pick up their toys. Sadie will quickly pick up her toys to do Advent! I LOVE THAT! There's something about children and the idea that we are going to light candles for them to blow out that is incredibly exciting. After toys are picked up, we turn off the lights and light a new candle and the previous candles that have already been lit. As we light the candles, we review what we have learned so far and what each candle stands for. I am amazed at what Sadie is remembering and how well she is telling the story of Christmas herself. Last night we tried something new and sang Silent Night before we blew out the candles. Short and simple, but teaching the truth of this season.

Here's what we are learning as we worship together and scriptures to go with each letter:
A- Angel came to visit Mary (Luke 1:26-31)
B- Baby Jesus (Luke 1:31)
C- City of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:6)
D- Donkey (The Bible does not state exactly how Mary got to Bethlehem, just that she went with Joseph - Luke 2:1-5. It is possible that they used a donkey as a mode of transportation. Good opportunity to talk about the distance they traveled and the possibilities of how they might have gotten there.)
E- Everlasting - Share about God's power and relate it to the season. (Psalm 90:2)
F- Family - As your family we want to teach you about the truth of Jesus. (Deut. 6:5-9)
G- Gift (John 3:16)
H- Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35-37)
I- Inn (Luke 2:7)
J- Joy ( Luke 1:39-45)
K- King (John 18:37)
L- Lamb (John 1:29)
M- Multitude of Angels (Luke 2:13)
N- Name of Jesus (Matthew 1:23 & Phil. 2:9)
O- Obey - Mary and Joseph obeyed Jesus (Matthew 1:24-25)
P- Perfect - Jesus is without flaw.
Q- Quiet time (Psalm 46:10)
R- Rejoice (Luke 1:14)
S- Sins - Jesus was born to save us from our sins. (Matthew 1:21)
T- Twinkling Star (Matthew 2:2)
U- Unto Us a Child is Born (Luke 2:11)
V and W - Visit from Worshiping Wise Men (Matthew 2:7-12)
X - is for Christ (2 Peter 3:18)
Y- Jesus will be a blessing to YOU! (Ephesians 1:3-14)
Z- ZZZZZ - We can rest in knowing that Jesus is Alive! (Psalm 91:1)

Happy Adventing and Merry Christmas!

Cover your sneeze!

While Sadie is eating a carrot for lunch, she sneezes... little orange bits are flying everywhere... mainly all over Eric.

Eric: SADIE... ugh, that is so gross!
Sadie: Sorry
Eric: You need to cover your mouth when you sneeze.
Sadie: But I have a new shirt on.

We've taught Sadie to sneeze into her sleeve... but apparently if you're wearing new clothing it's better for the person you're eating with to wear your lunch than to have it on your own shirt.

Sonic Drink and Moz. Sticks, Anyone???

I HATE paying bills. It is perhaps the most mundane and depressing household responsibility I have come in contact with thus far.

When I was teaching, bill pay was Eric's job... then I started staying home with the children and it became my duty... I try to balance the checkbook and pay the bills weekly BUT it is the job I put off until the latest possible minute. The house has to be quiet. I have to pray that the process does not make me incredibly grouchy (which it normally does). And, I have to put on some tunes to try to make the process go by quickly.

Well, since this is a job I desperately despise... and I complain about it every week, Eric has agreed to start helping me with the process. We are trying to think of a way to make this job incredibly fun instead of dreadful... our conversation before he left for a meeting tonight...

E: Tonight's gonna be so fun!!!
Me: Why??? Because we're having nachos??? (We're trying out this seasons batch of salsa tonight.)
E: Noooo... because we're paying bills!!! We have to make this fun so we look forward to it every week!
Me: What can we do???
E: Maybe we should buy ourselves a really big Sonic drink and an order of Mozzarella Sticks to split every week.
Me: LOL... what if we don't have the extra money to buy a drink and Mozzarella Sticks?
E: Well, at least we won't know until we are done balancing the checkbook and paying the bills!!!

Seriously??? It looks like bill pay is going to take us to the poor house and make us fat!!! Looking forward to our first bill pay party tonight... if you want to join in, come on over... the entry fee is $25/head. We'll share our drink and Moz. Sticks with anyone who is interested!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Six year ago today I said, "I do" to my man. How does time go so quickly???

We've lived.
Grown.
Added to our number.
Served.
Laughed.
Played.
Been real.

Eric - I'm thrilled to call you my own! I love you... Happy Anniversary... here's to forever.

Sweet Caroline in the 8th!

Yep, it's official!!! Eric and I booked our flight and hotel tonight for our trip to Boston! I will miss my sweet children terribly (actually, I pretty much feel like crying every time I think about it!), BUT.... I'm so excited to get away with hubby for a few days A-L-O-N-E! I will eat my dinner in peace, will only need to carry MY purse and will get to hold hubby's hand!!! It will be amazing!

Hubby Did What I Asked

I have been crazy busy the last couple weeks... just a few extra things on my plate that I don't normally do. Hubby has been stepping up and helping out... last night he even went to the Wal-mart to get some groceries. Did you see what he brought home??? ELEVEN tomatoes! What on earth??? I had to check my list... yep, I wrote ELEVEN tomatoes... I think I need more sleep because we really only need one!

I got tomatoes, I got tomatoes, I got tomatoes, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!!!

Oh... and PS... do you like how hubby color coordinates the grocery list??? Pink items in the front of the store, blue items in the middle and green at the back... I think I may be rubbing off on him! :)