Well this is my sixth post this evening, but probably the first that will be read since it will end up on top. In the posts below, there are a lot of pictures and details of all of the Christmas fun that our family has had this year. We have enjoyed getting to celebrate our Savior's birth this year. But the truth is that this December has been harder. Most of my thinking on Christmas has been done in a different light.
This December, we have seen close, sweet friends going through very difficult times. We have prayed hard for them in these unimaginable situations, and yet God answered no to many of the requests we made of Him. Although these aren't my own personal trials, my heart aches deeply for my friends. Through this, I have been seeing Christmas in a new way. Jesus, the baby we celebrate at Christmas, came to this world that was filled with trials. He came from Heaven, from His Father's side. He endured many terrible situations while he was here. He understands how it feels when God answer's no to prayers. God answered no to one of his own Son's prayers too. The prayer that he may not have to go to the cross to die for my sins. God had a plan for our salvation. And he as a plan now too. Although I will never understand the reason my friends are experiencing such pain, I know that I have an unchanging God who has a plan and a Savior who understands what life on earth is like and who came here so that we have hope. Hope for spending eternity with Him in Heaven, in a place with no pain and sorrow and suffering.
So this Christmas, I hope that everyone has enjoyed celebrating the birth of baby Jesus, and remembering the stories of the donkey ride to Bethlehem, the baby in the manger, the angels appearing to the shepherds, and the wise men following the star. I hope that you will also remember that this is the Savior who understands trials on earth and provides hope for eternity.
Finally, even if you don't know any or all of our friends who are struggling, please say a prayer for them. We love them dearly and we know the power of prayer to comfort in these times.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
We got to spend Christmas at our house this year. My parents and Ben and Marci came on Christmas eve. We spent some time playing and visiting.
Annabel and Grandpa
Annabel was proud that she was wearing her sister's boots.
Grammy and Grandpa having a tea party with the girls.
Later we went to the Christmas Eve service at church. Once we got back home and the girls were in bed, it was time to assemble presents. Madison got a princess castle and Annabel got a kitchen. Marci and Ben put the castle together for us. Thanks!
The girls woke everyone up early for Christmas morning (5:45, that's right, before the coffee was even started). It was worth it though. They were so excited. Below are quite a few pics from morning.
After all the gifts were opened, for breakfast we had a tea ring that mom, Marci and I made the night before.
Jared had also made a french silk pie that we ate after lunch.
For some reason, these pictures ended up at the bottom of the post, but these are from the Christmas Eve service. My friend Courtney brought her camera and got some good pics. First, our girls with their friends, Bryson, Reagan and Sam.
Then a couple attempts at a family photo
Kid's Christmas party at work
Every year, Stata hosts a Christmas party for the kids of all the employees. It is always a great event, complete with a visit from Santa. This year, we started off with snacks and Christmas themed coloring sheets.
When Santa arrived, the girls were excited. Annabel kept saying "tanta".
Madison getting her gift from Santa, a Little Mermaid boat.
Do you see that she is wearing short sleeves and sandals? The weather at Christmas time here still cracks me up.
When it was Annabel's turn to get her gift, she decided that was a little too close to get to that jolly bearded man, so Madison went and picked Annabel's gift up too (a miniture disney princess themed keyboard).
After all the presents were passed out, the kids could take pics with Santa. We got a cute one of Madison. Annabel was still determined not to get within 10 feet of him.
Preschool Christmas
Madison's preschool invites the parents to come to a special Christmas chapel time with the children. First, the kids sang two Christmas songs for us and then one of the pastors from the church told the story of Jesus' birth. After this, we took a couple of pictures for Madison's class by the Christmas tree.
After the chapel time, we went back to Madison's classroom. Earlier in the day, the kids made cookies to share with us. Annabel wanted to be just like the big kids, so Madison's teacher was nice enough to find her a chair so that she could eat her cookie at Maddie's table.
Christmas with friends
For the past few years, we have chosen a night in December to celebrate Christmas with some good friends here in College Station. This year we met at our house. We started with pizza.
Then instead of exchanging presents, this year Stacey did a project with the kids. They made reindeer food. Stacey is amazing. She had all of the kids sitting, listening to the story, and following directions.
Each child took turns adding each of the ingredients to the bowl.
Then they divided it into bags. Madison has two because Annabel was the only kid not interested in helping.
and attached these cute labels that Stacey brought.
We had gotten some Christmas tree shaped cookies for the kids to decorate, but we didn't get around to it that night, so Madison and Annabel each decorated one the next night. I didn't bother to dye the icing green, but they still turned out cute.
Christmas Photo Shoot
I have quite a few Christmas related posts to catch up with. I will try to get to most of them tonight.
One night we decided to put our girls in their Christmas dresses and take a picture for our Christmas card. Just for fun, I thought I would share a few of the 50 pictures we took that night trying to get one good one. Getting two girls with a good expression in a single picture was nearly impossible.
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