God has been gracious to us and has been with us through our journey of love and life. He has carried us through some of the most difficult times and has given us joy in the midst of sorrow. He has also been loving and given us abundant blessings. Most importantly, He has provided us with faith. May we share that faith with others.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
"God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame".
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Christmas season is here and we have had so much fun getting ready.  

Lilly loves all the decorations and seems very excited to be celebrating her first Christmas.

The corner cabinet is new to our family this year.  Dave found it at the church rummage sale.  We wonder how we managed without it.  It's perfect for storing some of the kids' toys.  It's also been fun to decorate.


front entryway

Dave decorated the outside of the house with cool white lights.

This year instead of using cool white lights, like we normally do, we used colored lights.  The kids approve!

Every night, after dinner, we do Advent devotions together as a family.  Each devotion has a corresponding ornament that we put on our tree.  We also add a new character to our nativity.  We light our Advent wreath and sing an Advent song.  It's a great way to count down to Christmas, but also keeps the focus on the true meaning of Christmas. 
"Come quickly Lord, and prepare our hearts for your coming. Amen"  



Even the kids' play kitchen is decorated for Christmas.

Every member of the family, including Daisy, has a stocking.

Liam made baby Jesus in Preschool.  This will be a decoration we put out from now on.  We are so thankful Liam attends a Lutheran school where he is taught about Jesus.

Our family ornament this year - made with the thumb print of every member of the family.  Liam wanted to have a red nose.  Lilly's thumb is barely bigger than her nose.

And of course, it wouldn't be Christmas until the women in the family have a cookie/candy baking weekend.  It was great to have Grandma Letsch join us this year.  It brought back many great memories!

We still look forward to making a gingerbread house with the kids and attending Liam's Christmas programs.  We have really made an effort to savor all the Christmas moments this year.  We love the old traditions we carry on and the new ones we are making as a family.

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