Someone told me my daughter looks like Adele. I'm wondering if Adele is her real mom!
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| Edyn/Adele |
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Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
Christmastime and Gingerbread houses
I can't believe it's already Christmas week. Didn't I just put the tree up yesterday? I really think I just want to keep that bad boy up all year because if you're anything like me, then you put a LOT of blood, sweat, and tears into putting the tree up. I actually splurged and got a new tree this year. I like to use my tree until it's not much more than a base with a limb hanging on with nothing but a hope and a prayer. Last year we swept up more of the tree than we decorated so I knew this year would be the time I had to replace it. I got a nice new tree and got it all decorated with the kids help. It's my favorite so far! I added a lot of decorative mesh and it makes the tree so much fuller!
After the tree is up and we set our little village up, I pretty much give the kids free reign on the rest of the decorating. They like to string lights up all over the house, and I pretty much let them lol. What's Christmas without lights on anything that will sit still? I was raised with no Christmas due to the religion of my family, so I like to make it super special for them. I want them to grow up with memories of family and fun!
After Thanksgiving it's traditional that our little elf Jake comes to stay with us until Christmas Day. We have had him for 4 years and look forward to him every year. He is like part of our family. We've never played into the "Jake is watching you, so you better be good threats", so we just like him to have fun and be silly. Just like our family! This may be the last year for Jake because I think we've held on to the magic as long as we can. I have to say that this makes me sad. Sure we will still make Christmas fun, but we've moved into a new chapter after this year. It's just another thing that seals the deal on the fact that our kids are growing up. It's so bittersweet for me as a mom. Why can't they stay babies forever? On a happier note, it's my sweet granddoll's first Christmas, so I can't wait to start new traditions with her, and keep the magic alive!
After the tree is up and we set our little village up, I pretty much give the kids free reign on the rest of the decorating. They like to string lights up all over the house, and I pretty much let them lol. What's Christmas without lights on anything that will sit still? I was raised with no Christmas due to the religion of my family, so I like to make it super special for them. I want them to grow up with memories of family and fun!
After Thanksgiving it's traditional that our little elf Jake comes to stay with us until Christmas Day. We have had him for 4 years and look forward to him every year. He is like part of our family. We've never played into the "Jake is watching you, so you better be good threats", so we just like him to have fun and be silly. Just like our family! This may be the last year for Jake because I think we've held on to the magic as long as we can. I have to say that this makes me sad. Sure we will still make Christmas fun, but we've moved into a new chapter after this year. It's just another thing that seals the deal on the fact that our kids are growing up. It's so bittersweet for me as a mom. Why can't they stay babies forever? On a happier note, it's my sweet granddoll's first Christmas, so I can't wait to start new traditions with her, and keep the magic alive!
I had all of these Christmas crafts and projects that I wanted to do this year and we didn't do much of anything! We made snowflakes and gingerbread houses and that was about it. Yes I'm a failure at Christmas Crafts. I hope there's a support group for moms like me. Planners who don't always follow through because....Life. Life tends to get in the way all the time. We were out of town, and then sick, and then moving the homeschool room to the loft. We just didn't have as much time for crafts. I hate that, but we did get to make the gingerbread houses. My kids love to decorate, and if it's messy, then that's even better. We bought the pre-made houses because last year we tried to make our own. That ended in crumbles and regret. It was nothing but a mess. I think the pre-made worked much better and lasted so much longer. They can still be creative, and the house is actually standing. It's a win win!
We actually have already had Christmas in our house. Since we've moved away from all of our family, we have to travel back at holidays to see them. Last year we had Christmas right before we left, and the kids had to leave all of their new stuff behind a day later. We wanted them to be able to have time with their things and enjoy them so we did Christmas last weekend. They were all fine with it so it was perfect. Well it was a perfect thought. We decided that Santa was going to come on Saturday night. The Friday before our A/C went out. Now you may not think it's a big deal with it being December and all, but we live in Texas. The state next to the sun. It was 80 degrees outside and this girl likes the thermostat set to nothing above 70 degrees! Well needless to say it was 84 degrees in our house, so it was a very HOT Christmas Eve for us! I think Santa almost melted when he came in! We were very thankful for a cold front that came in in the middle of the night. At least we didn't all melt!
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| Gavin opening his Xbox 1 |
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| Drake opening his Playstation 4 |
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| Edyn with her new Canon Rebel T5
Well we will be headed back home at the end of the week to see the rest of our family for a short trip and then back home. I hope that you all get to spend this time with friends and family. Don't forget what the season is all about!
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
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Monday, December 14, 2015
Book Review - Worship Changes Everything by Darlene Zschech
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
From the Back Cover
An Invitation to Praise and Honor God in Every Area of Life
It can be easy to have a heart filled with worship on a Sunday morning as the church band is playing your favorite song. But then comes Monday morning's commute and Tuesday afternoon's pile of laundry. How do we maintain a heart of worship in the daily grind?
Darlene Zschech has spent her life thinking and teaching about worship. With wisdom and contagious joy, she shares her thoughts on what worship truly is and how it should invade every facet of our being. Everything we do can be an act of worship to the Lord, transforming our work, our friendships, our churches, our families. It's all about living in His presence--being aware of the Lord by our side and at work in our lives.
Learn to live a life of worship. You will be amazed by the purpose and freedom it will bring.
It can be easy to have a heart filled with worship on a Sunday morning as the church band is playing your favorite song. But then comes Monday morning's commute and Tuesday afternoon's pile of laundry. How do we maintain a heart of worship in the daily grind?
Darlene Zschech has spent her life thinking and teaching about worship. With wisdom and contagious joy, she shares her thoughts on what worship truly is and how it should invade every facet of our being. Everything we do can be an act of worship to the Lord, transforming our work, our friendships, our churches, our families. It's all about living in His presence--being aware of the Lord by our side and at work in our lives.
Learn to live a life of worship. You will be amazed by the purpose and freedom it will bring.
Review: What is worship? Darlene explains it well. "Worship is a response to the revelation of just how great God is." Those are powerful words! He deserves our worship in all facets of our lives, not just on Sunday mornings!
I am really glad I got to read Darlene's take on the importance of worship in our day to day lives. I, like others, have been the person that can get so into worship on Sunday that you can literally feel the heartbeat of God, and then forget to worship him in my day to day life. Darlene really breaks it down and explains how important it is to have an intimate time of worship everyday. She divides the book into 2 parts. The first part is basically why we should worship, and the 2nd part is applying worship to different aspects of our lives. The sections that really spoke to me personally were My Service, My Love for Others, and Loving myself.
She has plenty of scriptures, stories, and quotes to reflect on throughout the book. I chose to read this book in small segments rather than a page turner. I think it's easier to sit and reflect on it if you take it in small bites.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a better understanding of worship and wants to apply worship to your day to day life.
"Worship changes everything because it is the reality of His presence that leads us to the heavenly, forever experience of worshiping God for eternity." - Darlene Zschech
**I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review**
Author Bio
Darlene Zschech and her husband, Mark, are copastors of Hope Unlimited Church in Australia. Acclaimed worldwide as a singer, songwriter, worship leader, author, and speaker, Darlene continues to be involved in the music ministry at Hillsong Church, where she served as worship leader for many years. Darlene and her husband live outside Sydney, Australia. Learn more at http://darlenezschech.com/
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Word of the week is....Joy
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Wordless Wednesday...It's all about that Jake
A few things our elf Jake has been up to!
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Monday, December 7, 2015
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
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