For unto us a Child is Born

We rejoice this day for the Savior born. He was sent for us! He came to die. That we may be set free. To give us hope.

"I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. "

Luke 2:10-11

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well."

1 John 5:1

Come, thou long expected Jesus,

born to set thy people free;

from our fears and sins release us,

let us find our rest in thee.

Israel's strength and consolation,

hope of all the earth thou art;

dear desire of every nation,

joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,

born a child and yet a King,

born to reign in us forever,

now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thine own eternal spirit

rule in all our hearts alone;

by thine all sufficient merit,

raise us to thy glorious throne.

Charles Wesley, 1744

Family Christmas Pic

"He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth." Luke 1:14

Merry Christmas! From our (growing) family to yours!

Date Night

These two just had date night!

And were off to see High School Musical 3!

I don't know who enjoyed it more, Alisia or Angel...haha!

Tis' the Season...

Deck the halls with boughs of holly....




Decorating for Christmas is so much fun! Fa la la la la, la la la la.



Tis the season to be jolly


Fa la la la la, la la la la.


Strike the harp and join the chorus.

Go see SVCC Christmas Concert! Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Don't forget the flowers for after the performance! Fa la la la la, la la la la.

(This was as all I could see of him giving them to her. When the concert was over, he ran up and gave them to her as quick as he could since he didn't like carrying them around.)

Only 14 more days 'til Christmas! Fa la la la la, la la la la!

My So Called Family

Time for the Christmas spirit
This weekend was busy with Christmas activities!

But before we get into Christmas, let me catch up on a few fall pics that I never got around to posting:

The Challenge of being Thankful

This was the first year the family gathered at our house for Thanksgiving. We didn't take many pictures, but here are a few.
After we enjoyed a great meal together, we enjoyed playing a card game.
These were some special decorations the kids made. Caleb memorized Psalm 100 and made a coloring book of the Thanksgiving Story. Alisia made the Turkey-pinecone and wrote us a thank-you note for being her parents.

I'm so thankful for the relaxing time we had as a family!

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

Psalm100:4

Why is it that we have to be reminded to be thankful? Why do we have to set aside a day for thanksgiving? Why does scripture remind us of this over and over again?

The truth is, our hearts are full of greed, discontent and complaining. We are not easily pleased and are always looking for more, bigger, and better. It's easier to think about what we want, rather than to be grateful for what we already have. It is our nature, especially in this culture to accumulate, dream, and admire what others have. It makes us feel like we need more, more will make us happy, we deserve more. If this is our true reason for living, we will never reach the end. We will never be able to say, "Enough."

I find myself falling into this trap all too often. I recently re-read these words Jesus said:

"Beware and be on your guard against every form of greed; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Luke 12:15

We were built for so much more than earthly posessions. In reality, earthly posessions are only temporary. We must realize that it all belongs to God. This will make us greatful and more responsible for what he has entrusted to us. This change in our heart will make being thankful a way of life instead of one day a year. I need this reminder:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:19-21

Busyness

Well, I'm way behind in updates compared to usual. As we have been going through life these past few months, it seems that we have to force ourselves to slow down a bit and make time for each other. With the holidays getting closer, I'm worried about getting busier instead of being able to make extra time for family and friends. We've learned recently that God has given our family something to make us slow our lives down a bit. And hopefully as we look toward the future and anticipate this change, we will be able to cherish the moments we have.

More on this to come!

For now, I just wanna brag on my wonderful husband, cause he deserves it! The other day he came home from work with these with a beautiful note. The story behind these also kindof goes along with this anticipated change.


Thankyou Angel! I love you too!

New Tatic to Stall Bedtime

The other night I was trying to get the kids to bed early to have so I could have some quite time before bed. I think Caleb figured out what I was trying to do and he had his own idea: try anything to NOT go to bed! He asked me, "Can I check my e-mail first?"

After I finally got them upstairs and into bed I asked him what book he would like to read. His answer was "THIS one!" And with a big smile he handed me the biggest book on his shelf, the Bible! Yes, I did read him a story from it-just not the whole thing! That boy is good at trying to beat me at my own game!

Music Station

I hope these precious videos are downloaded right. Let me know?

Corn Maze

The other weekend, we went to a local corn maze. There was so much for us to do there and we were glad to have such a beautiful day for it! They had so much to do outside besides just the corn maze and we spent most of the day there. Take a look at these pictures and see who the biggest kid is!

Putt-Putt

At the end of the putt-putt course was this outhouse. Angel was excited to show the kids what they'd have to use when we go visit his pueblito in Mexico. Alisia wasn't too amused.

After you played putt-putt and other games on the upper level, you could go down to the bottom level through this underground slide. This ended up being their favorite thing! They even hit it up several more times before we left!

Petting Zoo:

Funny Scare Crows!

Games:

Angel and Caleb really got into the "Make your own Music" Station!

The corn maze took a long time and we were all very tired after it was all over. This little ride took you back up to the start.