Christmas Eve Day

Our day has been full.

Sean decorated a birthday cake for Jesus.

It has been snowing since 10:00 am!

Sean and Mimi took Lee on in a snowball fight. 

Mimi quickly learned that Lee doesn't respond to "Time...Time....TIME!!!"

Sean keeping at it long after Mimi went inside. 

The grandparents were also snug as a bug inside...looking on from the windows.

Thoughts for Thursday

Numbers 24:17

(photo taken when we visited Bethlehem last week-

more photos on a previous post)

Cool Craft

Sean and I did this easy craft today for friends. 

I found the idea on my friend Jamie's blog.

Use old, broken crayons

Bake for 20 minutes

Freeze and remove - fun and easy!

Wrong Side of the Fence

Lee and Sean spent the weekend at the deer lease

and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. 

Two bucks

Unfortunately this big one was on the wrong side of the fence...so close yet so far.

Our Visit to Bethlehem

Last night, we toured a new place near us. We first walked through a forest decorated with Christmas lights and along the path on the left were signs with prophesies from the Bible. On the right, were signs of prophesies fulfilled in the New Testament. At the end of the trail, we entered Bethlehem. We followed shepherds around the town who were telling everyone they could find about the angels they had just seen. They were looking for the baby.

We went into the home of women preparing for an evening meal.

The inn that was too full for any more visitors.

We saw a man and a woman who were making swords

who did not believe the shepherds.

Roman soldiers told Sean that he had to sign his name for the census. 

They made him nervous - I'm sure it had something to do with the chain wielding Roman to his left.

We followed the shepherds to the manger to see

Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. 

The picture is dark but it had to be shared. 

The Petting Zoo

In addition to touring Bethlehem, we rode a Candycane wagon
ride to learn about the origin of the candycane and then visited a petting zoo.

Lee and the llama

Sean and several rabbits

Sean and the llama

but no Mama and the llama :)

Statue Garden

We finished the evening by walking through the Statue Garden -

starting in the Old Testament and ending at the ascension in the New Testament.

Sean parting the sea with Moses looking on in the background

The sign reads:

Obey God Enter Promise Land

Disobey God Wander in Wilderness

Looking in the face of an angel

Thoughts for Thursday

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 

If you, then, though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father in heaven give
good gifts to those who ask Him!

Matthew 7:9-11

Still Together After All These Years

We attended Lee's grandparents 70th wedding

anniversary this past weekend.  WOW!

There were scrapbooks, slideshows, tons of food,

and lots of friends and family.

Emery is a cutie!

Too much sugar for the cousins...

I asked Sean to make a plate of food for me.  He brought back an entire bunch of grapes, pineapple, strawberries and a pear and skipped all the rest.  Luckily, he left the whole pineapple :)  I was thankful for his thoughtfulness on food choices.  The ladies who organized the food were awesome.

Highlights from the Party

Yesterday we went to a homeschool Christmas party. 

We ate lunch, made crafts, competed in a snowman relay, and recreated the first Christmas.

Breck concentrating very hard in the snowman relay. 

All my pictures of Sean were a blur.

Breck as a shepherd

Braxton as King Herod

The ensemble -

Sean is a shepherd on the right (red sweater). 

This was a third of the group from the party.  We rotated between stations.

One of the moms was real creative with cardboard boxes.

Jaycee, Braxton, Breck and Sean (with the whole top of a candy cane in his mouth)

Thoughts for Thursday

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world,

yet forfeit his soul?

Mark 8:36

(putt-putt golf course at Beavers Bend State Park)
My husband thought this one was too obscure, and he didn't get it. 
I used this picture in light of all the recent coverage of a golfer who seemingly had it all.

Letter to Santa

Next year I will hide the homeschool Christmas catalogs

that come in the mail :)

Thoughts for Thursday

The words of a man's mouth are deep waters,

but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

Proverbs 18:4

Snow Day

What a nice surprise we had today - snow! 

It was all gone by 10:00 am.

Christmas Craft

This is for Christina...

Sean's Christmas gift to grandparents when he was four 

was a handprint wreath with finger tip berries dishtowel.

Field Trip of the Month

We rode the Polar Express out of Fort Worth today with our homeschool group.

We sang Christmas songs and Santa made an appearance.

When it was over, Sean said that he was kind of nervous before he boarded the train because he thought the ride might be like the one on the movie :)  He also said "That wasn't the REAL Santa because his beard wasn't real and it wasn't attached to his face."

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

From the Truck

Sean:  "Mom, how much is a Hummer?"

Me:  "I don't know...maybe $50,000."

Sean:  "Whoa, I'm going to need a LOT more."

Bonfire

On Thanksgiving night, we had a bonfire at Lee's mother's house.  While the fire was burning, we were able to see the International Space Station and the Shuttle fly through the night sky - very cool!  My pictures are blurry so I didn't post.

Flame art - almost looks like fireworks.

All I Want for Christmas...

is my two front teeth! 

Sean lost his first tooth on Friday followed
an hour later by a second tooth.  The teeth were barely hanging on
and Cari, Ardyn, and an apple assisted with the rest.

On Sunday night in front of 250 church members, the Pastor called on those who wanted to share what they were thankful to God for providing over the past year.  Sean ran to the front and was third in line (Lee and I were clueless as to what he was going to share).  He started by saying he was thankful and then whispered the rest in the Pastor's ear.  The Pastor said "Sean is thankful for finally losing his two front teeth" :)

Ashli, Sean, and Ardyn

Thoughts for Thursday

He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,

miracles that cannot be counted.

Job 5:9

With the Greatest of Ease

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day. We were sitting on the back porch enjoying one another’s company when I decided that it was the perfect day to swing. I stepped onto the end of the retaining wall, grabbed the rope swing with both hands, and took the giant leap. Instantly there was a loud crack – imagine the sound of a karate kick through a board or a baseball player hitting a homerun and breaking his bat – that was the sound of my rear breaking the wooden seat in two. Luckily, I was holding on tight with both hands as I swung over the covered pool. Sean looked on in amazement and Lee said he just had a feeling that was going to happen when he saw how high jumped. Thirty minutes later Lee replaced the seat with one that was little bit smaller…not as conducive for adult riders…and maybe for good reason ;)

An Evening at the Deer Lease

Sean and I joined Lee Tuesday afternoon at the Deer Lease. 

We journeyed to our spot to hunt deer.

Lee is sporting his new camouflage...it looks a bit reptilian in this picture.

I thought we might be a dead giveaway to the deer

sitting in an open field in a bold maroon chair.

But, apparently not...

The thoughtful hunter

We enjoyed the sunset and walked back to the road in the dark. 

Thankfully, there were no skunks this time. 

However, we could hear the coyotes calling near by.