Christmas Memories

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do thy light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven" Matthew 5:14-16.

Here are three precious pictures taken from our Christmas Season this year. The first is of Santa Claus
better known as Mr. Johnson who lives in Fountain Inn.

He is a very kind man who absolutely adored our 3 little blessings from Jesus. He even had Natty confused when he told her that his beard was real. He reenacted the Miracle on 34th street number by having her pull his beard
and saying, "Ow!"
The delight on her face was a sight to see.

The second is our attempt at a Christmas Picture to try and send out. The third is the actual picture. It was quite an ordeal getting these three rascals dressed...not to mention trying to all make them smile at the same time. Oh, and by the way, I was alone for this due to Andrew being at work. The final Christmas picture was not my original intention. I had hoped to have their picture taken on the beautiful couch of our State Senator's home as shown in a previous post. He and his wife live just down the road from our house and they go to our church. After the 15 minute photo session, this was the best I was able to get...you can see for yourself...the girls had quite enough of the picture taking!

Of course, I was not satisfied with this "enchanting picture," so we tried again at the airport in Greenville/Spartanburg. We had to pick up Courtney from her flight in from Wisconsin and the girls were still dressed...so here you have it, the photo is taken in front of the Poinsettia Tree at our wonderful airport...truly these are the memories worth remembering!

HAVE A BLESSED NEW YEAR!

A Joyous Christmas

LUKE 2:10-11
"Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people,
For unto you is BORN this day in the city of David,
A SAVIOR, who is Christ the Lord.'"

Happy Birthday to our Precious Jesus!
What a privilege it is for us as believers in Him
to celebrate His birthday.

Our Christmas this year was indeed a FULL one! There were many blessings and adventures along the way, but in the end, we remember the real and true reason for celebrating. On Christmas Day, we began our morning at home. Andrew was up at the crack of dawn very anxious to wake everyone up so we could open presents. He uses the excuse that he wanted to see his girls' excitement, but we KNOW the real reason. You just have to love that precious Andrew of mine! I calmed him down enough to start with opening stockings. Our little 7 month old, Mercy, was wide eyed, being that this was her first Christmas and was not quite sure how to take it all in. She handled herself pretty well though.

While the girls were content with their stocking stuffers, I made a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage links, sliced oranges, cinnamon rolls, egg nog, and apple juice. We then opened the greatest present under the tree which was wrapped in a brown paper bag. Inside Marie found a small figure of Baby Jesus in a manger. We explained to the girls how Jesus did not come wrapped in fancy paper, clothes, etc. He humbled himself, became a man, and was born in a barn...not a hospital or the like. He had no beautiful crib to sleep in only straw from the cow's trough. The Christmas story was then unfolded at the breakfast table as the girls listened intently and Marie held the little Baby Jesus. We thanked our loving Savior for giving His life for us so that we could have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It was then on to the opening of the presents and the getting ready to go over to Papa and Mama's House for our evening Christmas Dinner...and more opening of presents. What a blessing from the Lord to get to open the presents when it is HIS birthday! For those of you who would like to know, the girls received TOYS...and More TOYS!! Andrew got a new pair of shoes...pretty spiffy you ask me...clothes, books, and other little goodies of course. My big present from Andrew was more of a JOINT Family gift. It was most needed and it was a good excuse to purchase it. Our CD/stereo player had practically DIED so he purchased me a new one. This one is really neat because it has a record player as well and looks like an old timey radio set. I just love records and seeing that my Beloved sister, Courtney, has "BORROWED" my record player for about 3 years now, it was time to get another one.


The one special thing I should add about our present giving was that this year we took the girls to the Dollar Tree. They both were given the opportunity to shop without the influence of Mommy and Daddy to pick out things for each other and of course Mommy and Daddy. Andrew and I had to take two separate trips with them in order to do it. Natty picked out a lighter for Andrew because she said that Daddy likes to light the candles at our table...which is very true. She picked out a coffee mug that said, "It's A Girl," on it for myself. She told me that is was supposed to be Mercy in the front in a baby stroller. She also picked out some pink nail polish for me. Marie, on the other hand, is still learning as she goes along. She picked out a teddy bear key chain and a Disney Princess Sticker for me and a toy soccer ball for Andrew. What gifts of love our girls are learning to give. We definitely have to add this to our annual Christmas to do list. It's a KEEPER!

At Papa and Mama's House, Mama prepared a wonderful Christmas meal completely different from what we usually have on Christmas. We found a recipe for Cranberry Glazed Chicken on the internet that is baked and marinated in cloves and spices...mmmmm. It was quite good in fact. She also made Corn Pudding, Broccoli Salad with mandarin oranges, rolls, a beautiful fruit bowl, sumptuous mashed potatoes, and several desserts. Let's just say we were completely stuffed and worn out after it was all said and done.

Yet, in the end, it was a wonderful time of being together and rejoicing in Christ's Birth and Salvation.

Here are a few video clips of our fun times. These are more for Dad, Mom, and Uncle Jesse in Illinois because they were unable to be with us this Christmas. Yet, I'm sure everyone will enjoy Papa's Gift Opening Clip. It brought a smile to my face.

THE RETURN OF COURTNEY

"A joyful heart is good medicine, But a
broken spirit dries up the bones"
Proverbs 17:22

Our dearest Courtney has returned home from Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Wisconsin. It is now Christmas Break, and all the more reason to BREAK from the hardships of life. Sometimes all that is required is a GOOD LAUGH, and we definitely got a GOOD LAUGH this evening. Our GOOD Friends who are now probably our WORST enemies had IT coming.

Awhile back, our somewhat "estranged" friend, Paul Valentine, and his lovely wife, Cheryll, placed a toilet commode in the front yard of my parents' home. They had placed duct tape around the commode with a name written on it and a plant on the inside. It was especially placed there with loving care for my sister, Courtney. Well, Courtney, never lets anything just slide by...and we as her family have to stick together.

It really all started with an EGG, but I will have to save that story for another time. As for tonight, it was a COLD and RAINY night, and Paul was at our Sunday School Class Christmas Party...where we were supposed to be, but this was a VERY GOOD REASON for missing out on such a Joyous occasion! Cheryll was out of town for the time being. We had set up people on watch to let us know when Paul had arrived at the party and so forth. There were actually several people who were in on this, and amazingly enough...NO ONE came to their rescue...HEE HEE! I believe this is the second time. The first time was a toilet papered camp site. If you haven't guessed it by now, this LAUGHING bit has been going on for quite some time. This time it was our turn as we drove up to Paul's thankfully lighted house. We were praying he would leave his porch light on, but he did even better...he left some of his inside lights on...probably to fool people into thinking he was home! We then tied a rope from one pillar on his covered porch to another pillar. After that, underwear...extremely large underwear...were clothes pinned on the rope. Courtney graciously wrote a message on the underwear and large tank undershirts that were purchased at discount price from WAL-MART. Paul's BEST picture was printed out and glued on cardboard to the underwear. Courtney left her award winning photo on the Christmas wreath that hung on the door...it was raining so it smeared some of the picture...but that only made it more artistic! Paul and Cheryll did NOT have any Christmas lights on the outside of their home, so we kindly put some up for them. It worked out so well because there were several people in the neighborhood driving around that night looking at lights...how convenient. Anyway, we thought EVERYONE would enjoy a little piece of the action.

By the way...Paul did call after it was all said and done, and he stated, "Yah, that was pretty good..." We thought so too! Thanks Paul and Cheryll for being such GOOD SPORTS and GREAT COMIC RELIEF!

DECK THE PORCH WITH PICTURES OF PAUL



FA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA

Tis The Season To Say COURTNEY

FA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA

DON WE NOW OUR GAY APPAREL
FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

I'm Sure This House Will Make a SCARE-O
Fa LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA

LOOK AT ALL THE PRETTY CHRISTMAS LIGHTS...OH MY!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND FELIZ NAVIDAD
FROM OUR HOUSE TO PAUL and CHERYLL'S!

THE REPLY OF CHERYLL

THE REPLY OF PAUL

The Laughter of God's Children

Psalm 100:1-3
"Make a JOYFUL SHOUT to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture."

What a Gracious and Loving God we serve! I am reminded every day of His everlasting Goodness. Today it was through the laughter of our little Mercy Rose. How the Lord must smile when He hears the joyous shouts of His little children.

Mercy truly has quite the laugh. I remember when she was born looking forward to the day she would double over with glee. Now that day is finally here, and I cannot get enough of her precious little laugh. What a Gift from Our Almighty Creator!

Mercy is 6 months old and growing bigger everyday. We thought you would enjoy a little tidbit of what Mercy's laugh is like. Forgive the darkness of the camera again. One of these days I will figure out how to get the light working in the background when I am video taping indoors. For now though, all you need is your listening ears.

It's A Home Depot Christmas

For the Beauty of the Earth For the Glory of the Skies, For the Love which from our Birth Over and Around us Lies. Lord of all, to Thee we Raise, This our Hymn of Grateful Praise.

Christmas Time is truly a precious time of joy and praise to our wonderful Creator and Savior. The song, For the Beauty of the Earth, may be thought of as a Thanksgiving Song, but I love to hear it even at Christmas. It is one of those beloved hymns I enjoy over and over again. I especially think of the song every year when our Christmas tree stands tall, shining brightly, and giving the glory of its beauty to Jesus. He is indeed the Reason for the Season.


Our Christmas Tree this year was a special gift from the Lord. We love making our run to Home Depot after Thanksgiving to get our real tree. The blessing is seeing how the Lord provides a tree for a price we can afford. When we walked into Home Depot, the trees standing out for the height range we desired were NOT the price range we could pay. They were approximately $50, and that was more than we wanted to spend. Just when we thought our annual tradition would be heading over to another tree lot, Andrew spotted some trees closer to the back that were still tied up. These were not marked. They were placed in the 6 to 8 foot category. We needed an 8 foot tree and most all the trees were in the 6 foot range which was priced at about $20. There was one, however, that stood 2 heads taller than the other trees and marked with the same blue tag as the rest. It had not been pulled out on the display floor to be fully measured, therefore, the cashier scanned the price ticket...$19.96 with tax. Yes, the Lord even cares about the little things. As for the outcome of the tree, well, you can decide for yourself.

THE GRAND FINALE

Thanksgiving 2007

It is Good To Give Thanks

"O GIVE THANKS to the Lord, for HE is GOOD! For His Mercy Endures Forever" Psalm 118:1

What a Wonderful Thanksgiving From The Lord! Courtney was able to come home from school at Maranatha for a few days...of course we had her do a lot of the cooking! Uncle Duane and Aunt Nella came to Mama's House along with our friend, Nathan, from church.

It truly was a blessing because all 3 of the girls came down with an infection of some kind the previous Sunday and were very sick with a high fever for the first few days. Courtney came home Tuesday night, but we were not able to all be with her until Thanksgiving morning. We took comfort in knowing that God's ways are the best ways; for man plans his ways, but God directs His steps.

We began Thanksgiving morning at our house by making blueberry muffins for breakfast. Andrew and the girls then set to work on making a Thanksgiving Craft, a Thankful Tree. Marie surprised us all when Andrew asked her, "Marie, do you want to put Papa on your leaf? Marie matter of factly stated, "No, Jesus." Of course, we had to put Jesus. He is the one we are most thankful for as Marie clearly reminded us. I made up some Sweet Potato Casserole from one of my Aunt's recipes along with Raspberry Jello (Andrew's Mom's recipe) with the toppings, and we headed off to Papa and Mama's House.

Mama had set the table beautifully with our new Thanksgiving dishes we got off of eBay for an amazing price because we found them from a friend of a friend. We did not have to pay for shipping thanks to our dear friend, Kelly, bringing them all the way from Ohio to us.

Russell read Psalm 100 before the meal and after our Thanksgiving Feast, we had family praise time around the piano. Oh, and I cannot forget that dessert was soon to follow...Mercy had her first taste of Pumpkin Pie and she was hooked.

Andrew, myself, and the girls spent the night at Papa and Mama's house so we could spend more time with Courtney. Courtney and I then woke up at 3:20 AM to head off to Kohl's at 4:00 AM for all the Black Friday specials...50% off all the toys...we are toy fanatics along with just plain fanatic for getting up that early to go shopping. We say we will not do it again, BUT, we probably will...it's THE THRILL of it ALL!! We might even convince Emmy to come next year.

TRUSTS AND JUMPS

God's Words declares, "TRUST in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness...Commit your way to the Lord, TRUST also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass."
PSALM 37: 3, 5

What wonderful WORDS from the Lord to take joy and delight in. I especially love reading "Feed on HIS faithfulness." We all know that we need food in order to physically survive, but oh the more to FEED on the spiritual and to take sustenance in HIS everlasting faithfulness. Yes, we must "Dwell in the Land," and sometimes the "Land" isn't always flowing with the Goodness of the Lord, but oh, to look above the evil and hardships of the world and fix our eyes on our blessed Savior. In this, we will find the little things that the Lord gives to us as constant reminders to continually TRUST in Him. When we COMMIT our life and walk to Him, He will lead us and He will NOT fail us.

We've entitled this entry, Trusts and Jumps, because of the bedtime game Andrew invented. To hear the squeals of excitement from the girls is worth more than a thousand words. Just when you think that the fun of the day is over and everyone is to be tucked neatly inside their beds, Andrew flips on the light for one more cherished memory that will last a lifetime. Tonight Andrew surprised the girls with his Scottish hat and red hair wig that our beloved sister, Courtney, gave. She is so thoughtful, you know. She brought it back all the way from Scotland knowing how Handsome it would become Him!!! With his improv Scottish accent, the bedtime Trusts and Jumps began. The hardships of the day were all forgotten when the Lord reminded me of His faithfulness and goodness through the laughter and smiles of the precious ones God has bestowed on me.

Here is a little video clip of the action...some parts are a little dark, but all our friends and family have good imaginations and can come up with "something" to account for the dark.

Oh, and dearest Courtney, we hope this one brings a smile to your face while you are away at school. Continue standing strong for Jesus. We are counting down the days until you come home. "Trust in the Lord and DO GOOD!"

God Gives Us Richly All Things To Enjoy

Well, I Timothy 6:17 is the verse from which our title is taken from, but this passage of Scripture does not really apply to the story that I am posting. The point that I want to make is that the blessings of the Lord are continual and bountiful, and that we ENJOY His blessings. These words were in this verse of Scripture, so hence we are using it :)).

Mercy Rose is our third little one. She is 5 months old and growing at the speed of light. While we would eat a meal, we would sit her in the excersaucer next to us at the table. Well, she would make quite a commotion and made it appear that she didn't appreciate the fact that we were eating, and she was NOT!! I would sit her in my lap and she would grab frantically for my fork or spoon, so we put two and two together and said to ourselves, "Let's start her on the REAL food." Mercy began her venture into the REAL food world with RICE CEREAL...yum, yum. I know everyone's mouths are watering. You can't get enough of that Rice Cereal...well, Mercy could. She decided that was not good enough, so onto the vegetables. Green Beans were a big hit...Peas...not so good....Applesauce and Bananas are an absolute no, no. She says, "I will eat them, only with a sour look on my face every time I take a bite." Carrots? Now we are talking. Squash is so, so, and Peaches...well, I'll give it a go. So here is where she stands on the food chain. I plan to move Mercy onto Sweet Potatoes next and we shall see how she takes it.

Now that Mercy is eating the real food...and we're smelling it too...another reason to delay REAL food as long as possible for the next child...IF there is a next child...created the dilemma of where this Little Mercy Dear would eat her REAL Food. We had been giving it to her in the excersaucer, but that is a big mess and back breaking work leaning down to feed her when you are trying to eat yourself. We then came to the conclusion that we needed a high chair so she could be at the table with us. We had given our previous high chair away, so now we needed a new one. I had seen the one I wanted in a Babies R Us catalog and was determined to think that the Rainforest Safari Healthy Clean Chair was the "coolest and ultimate" baby high chair. Our family is into frogs lately thanks to Natty...animals too, so this high chair was IT. It was not in our price range at the time, but the Lord used Andrew's parents to help us purchase the chair. It was a real blessing to me because Andrew surprised me by taking me to Target the other day to get the chair. Andrew's family sends us money at times to help out with seminary expenses. Andrew puts the money away and I forget all about it. Well, Andrew had not forgotten and when I was really in need of a special blessing, he pulled out the money and whisked us all off to Target. Andrew said it was a GOOD Seminary Expense :))) I was in agreement because I had a 10% off Coupon for Target that I had been saving for a big purchase.

So thanks to the Lord for my sacrificial husband and thanks to MOM and DAD who had a major part in getting us the "DESIRED" high chair. So far, it has been a wonderful addition to the family :)).

And These Stones Shall Be A Memorial to the Children...

Joshua 4 speaks of the Memorial Stones that the Children of Israel set before as a sign to their children and their children's children to remember the Greatness and Goodness of God. In Joshua 3, the Children of Israel crossed over the Great River Jordan and the waters of Jordan were cut off by the Lord and they crossed on dry ground. The Lord commanded saying, set these stones from the river as a sign so that "when your children ask in time to come, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you shall answer them...And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever" vs 6-7. As a Family in Jesus Christ, we want to REMEMBER the Greatness of our God. I had not intended to ever write a blog, but after reading God's Word and seeing how important it is to continually teach it to our children, I wanted to record the things that God has done...LEST WE FORGET. This way, when our children ask what "OUR MEMORIAL," our lives for HIM mean, we may "ANSWER THEM."

These are our Children, Memorial Stones For HIM,

Natalia Faith,

Marie Hope,

and Mercy Rose