Gifts and Fun!

Grandpa bowling with the Wii









As you can tell by my face, I was pretty excited because I got a kitchen scrubbie. Abby crocheted it from tulle and she also crocheted me the beautiful scarf.



We had lots of fun opening gifts and playing games and this is what Dasher did most of the time! It's tough being a dog!

Birthday party

We were invited to our neighbors birthday party on December 23 and this picture was taken before we left. They are from India and they served authentic foods but much milder. It was good and plenty hot enough for me. We watched a magic show and enjoyed some good fellowship with some of our neighbors.

King of Kings!

My daughter is a part of a group of girls who have fun together and also study the Bible together. At their Christmas party their leader shared with us one of the names of Jesus Christ and it was King of Kings.

We went around the room and everyone told a word that described Christ and what kind of King He was.........humble, powerful, serving, forgiving, mighty, etc.

She made each of the girls a crown ornament to remind them that they are the Princess of the King! She told them they could hang it in their room or on the mirror to always remember how special they are. It is really beautiful!



I Timothy 6:11-16

I charge you ¹⁴to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.




Merry Christmas everyone! I will be taking a little break from this blog to spend time with my family.

Christmas in the Kitchen

This little tree sits in the window in front of our sink in the kitchen. It was simple to decorate and fun to look at.

Handmade Ornaments

Several months ago I started working on these red work ornaments. I didn't finish as many as I would have liked but at least got a few made. I had so much fun working on them. It is amazing how much you can get done if you have everything ready in a bag and take it with you wherever you go.




They are very simple and inexpensive to make.

Bob's Sweet Stripes

Every Christmas morning we would drive to my mom's parents house in Savannah, Tennessee. It would take us about two hours to drive. We would get up very early and open our presents and then go to their house. Of course there was always lots of food to eat and we would see many aunts, uncles and cousins who lived in the same town. I always remember eating soft peppermint sticks at their house. Sometimes we would stick them in an orange and try to suck the juice out with the peppermint stick. This year I bought a huge container of Bob's Sweet Stripes. When I see the jar filled with them or suck (I usually just chew them because I am too impatient) them I am reminded of my Mamaw and Papaw and all the wonderful memories we shared together. What Christmas memories/traditions do you have?

Crochet Fleece Blanket

One of my good friends turned 40 and I crocheted around some fleece and made a blanket for her. They are really easy to make and with the help of a skip stitch blade it makes it much faster. This blade goes in my rotary cutter and cuts little holes in the fleece so that I can crochet in them. I enjoy making these because you don't have to concentrate very much and I can do it while watching a movie with the family.

Snowflakes

We hosted the Christmas party for a girls group that Abby is a part of and below is a picture of how we decorated. Saturday night at about 9pm Abby showed me a snowflake she had just made. I couldn't believe that she made it and asked if she could make more and we could use them for decorations. It worked out perfectly. I wasn't able to find any table cloths so I used our Christmas wrapping paper and wrapped the small folding tables with it. It worked perfectly because it was a white background with blue snowflakes. It was all very simple but it looked nice and everyone thought we bought the snowflakes. Abby is so crafty and comes up with some really great ideas.

Another family tradition

I bought this book this year and our 7 yr old reads it every night before we read Jotham's Journey. There are 25 books and each day is a short story leading up to the birth of Christ. She does an excellent job reading and looks forward to it every night!
After she reads the little book we hang it on a little tree.

Our Mary and Joseph

The little girls put on a play about Mary and Joseph for us on Saturday night.

Abby had her Girls Club Christmas party at our house yesterday and the girls acted out the birth of Christ and she was an angel and a wise man.

Sewing Lessons

My 12 yr old daughter has been taking sewing lessons from her Grandma and I wanted to show you a stocking that she made a few days ago without her Grandma's help. I am so proud of her. She made it all by herself. She is so creative and does an excellent job. We are so blessed to have Grandma here to share all of her talents with us. I know the memories that they are making together she will never forget!

Spending time together

Every night we have been reading a book called Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide http://www.jothamsjourney.com/node/39
and lighting our candles while we read by the firelight. This special time together has become the highlight of our night. The story is suspenseful and yet reminds us of what Christ has done for us and how we can show His love, grace and mercy to others. I am thankful for this book and also for the memories we are creating. The author actually lives about 30 minutes from us in Nampa, Idaho. There are two other books in the series and I can't wait to read those too!

We have also been making ornaments for our trees and the girls have been having so much fun creating! Last night we watched Miracle on 34th Street and Santa Clause 1. My family is a huge blessing to me! The picture below shows the girls stringing popcorn. Even though we were using day old popcorn it was a challenge for them to string it and not eat it! After we hung it on their little trees I noticed quite a bit of popcorn on the floor. I thought our dog ate it off the tree but I found out that Amelia ate some and later her little 2 yr old cousin had to try some out too! I think we might need to stick to non-edible garland next year!

First snow yesterday!

We of course were excited to see our first real snow. We are all sick but the little girls just had to go out and play. Dasher had a blast running around as fast as he could and also eating the snow. Last night our temperature got down to 7 degrees so it was pretty cold. It usually doesn't stay that cold for too long and I'm glad!








Snow Angels

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

I just got this Bible and we are absolutely loving it! I bought the cd's so we can listen to it being read.


You can go to this link and listen to some of the book being read:
http://www.christianbook.com/jesus-storybook-bible-every-story-whispers/sally-lloyd-jones/9780310708254/pd/708257?event=AAI#curr






Enjoy!

Mattie Grace is 7!

This year we had a dress up tea party and then we did some crafts.

Red Fish Lake Stanley, Idaho June 2009

Broadsided!

Have you ever been in a car wreck where you were driving along and all of a sudden something hit you and you didn't even know it was coming? I was young and don't remember all the details, but I do remember what a shock it was when the car hit me. I never saw it coming. Well, last week, God reminded me of this accident.

Monty and I are teaching a Precept Upon Precept Bible study on Covenant with some college students. We had just met together for the first meeting and I had just reminded the class to be looking out for the enemy because he would be after them because they were studying the Word. The deceiver doesn't want anyone to know the truth. It was such an awesome time seeing these young people excited and willing to study God's Word. I was really pumped up but also pretty drained from our busy day. The enemy had already been working on me that day so I was watching out and ready for him. Well, I thought I was anyway!

Without going into too many details, within minutes I was broadsided again.......just this time not with a car! The enemy used something that is very near to our hearts, our children, and really tried to bring me down. I have to be honest and say that I really let it get to me. I allowed anger and bitterness to harbor in my heart for the entire night and the next day. Through the help of my family and friends, I was able to overcome and see what the enemy was trying to do. I was really surprised and disappointed in myself that I didn't recognize the enemy immediately and also that I couldn't move beyond my anger.

Have you been broadsided lately? I pray that you can learn from my situation and be ready for any attack that comes your way!

Jesus said in John 10:" I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." The Message

Little is Much

Do you ever feel like you really don't have anything to offer to God? I know I do! I think the song "Little is Much" by the group Downhere is going to be my theme song in life. I just love the wording ....... "little is much when God's in it"! I challenge you today to give what little you have to God and just see what He can do with it! I think you too will be amazed at what God is doing around you. I am seeing more and more how when I surrender what I have and obey Him, He is able to accomplish much!

Here is a link if you want to hear it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC8PupxlEko


Little Is Much

What is the measure of a life well lived
If all I can offer seems too small to give
This is a song for the weaker, the poorer
And so-called failures

Little is much when God's in it
And no one can fathom the plans He holds
Little is much when God's in it
He changes the world with the seeds we sow
Little is much, little is much

Who feels tired and under-qualified
Who feels deserted, and hung out to dry
This is a song for the broken, the beat-up
And so-called losers

Consider a Kingdom in the smallest seed
Consider that giants fall to stones and slings
Consider a child in a manger
Consider the story isn't over
What can be done with what you still have

Artist: Downhere
Album: Wide-Eyed And Mystified
Year: 2006
Title: Little Is Much

Amelia's Birthday

We had a very fun time celebrating Amelia's birthday at a local park. There was a fountain at the park for the kids to play in and they loved it.
I was decorating the cake a few hours before the party was to begin and I accidentally broke the dolls arm off. It was the kind of doll made for doll cakes and was only the top half of the doll. I had just watched a you tube video on how to use a real Barbie doll so we quickly came up with plan B and it worked. God is so good to me! Getting the cake to the park was also a challenge but we made it and all was a success. I made felt crowns for the girls to take home and I think they turned out pretty cute.

I'm finally back!

Red Fish Lake: Stanley, Idaho June 7, 2009



The Sawtooth Mountains......absolutely beautiful!! It takes about 3 1/2 hours to drive from Boise.

You can barely see our trailer way in the back



This is our bathroom, I mean hole in the ground!







It was quite cold and rainy at times, but we had a super fun time. We spent many nights inside playing games and watching movies.