10 Things

Ten Things God Wants You to Remember...

 

I am for you.
I love you.
I believe in you.
I will not fail you.
I will be with you.
I will provide for you.
I will bless you.
I will give you rest.
I will strengthen you.
I will answer you.

 

Taken from the DaySpring Website - What my heart needs to remember today... and always!

The Best Gifts...

This year my favorite gifts didn't come from a store... or in big, pretty packages. 

This year my favorite gifts looked like this....

and this....

and this....

Little gifts, made by little hands, with so much love, tucked quietly under our tree weeks ago...

waiting ever so patiently to be opened at Christmas. 

 

This was the first year Liam and Ainsley wanted to give gifts to the others in our family. 

It was so precious to see how they thought out each one,

and made sure it was perfect for the person receiving it. 

 

For Kallan... Ainsley made a green (his favorite color)

 three car garage (out of toilet paper tubes) for all his cars.

(Because we all know that is all he plays with!) 

This one she couldn't wait to give him... so he opened it a few days early.

Then we also found a little matchbox car for him to open on Christmas... He loved it!

 

For Liam... Ainsley made a whole bunch of pictures for him (that he also got "early"),

and then she wrapped up a pack of his favorite kind of gum for him to open that morning.

For Mama and Papa... Ainsley made a scroll (complete with a paper clip lock on it!) that we opened up to discover a picture of our family, a Christmas tree, flowers, and a present. 

We could see the time and work she put into it, and it was so precious!

Liam worked super hard on his gifts... thinking each one through and wrapping them himself.

 

For Kallan... Liam drew a picture of a car transporter (his favorite vehicle) and then framed it (with a green background of course!)  Kallan loved it and found a special place in his room for it.

(Setting on top of a little basket... just at his eye level!)  Too cute!

 

For Ainsley... Liam made a necklace and two bracelets.  He worked an entire afternoon on these making sure the patterns and colors were perfect for her.  So sweet and so special!

For Mama... Liam wrote a book about why he loves me.  It had a picture for each page and a sentence describing a reason for his love.  Yes... I was crying by the end of it!

And for Papa... Liam drew and framed a picture of a Royals game and his favorite player, Billy Buttler, hitting a home run.  What was special about this picture was that it was the game Tim and Liam went to this summer... and Liam had even included the score of the game after the run was hit.  (Tim ended up looking it up to see if he was right on the score.... and of course he was!) 

It has now found a new home in Tim's office at Gallup. 

These were by far the best gifts we opened this Christmas. 

So thoughtful, so precious, and more special than anything they could have bought for each other. 

It was the perfect way to begin our Christmas morning!

Christmas Eve

 We were excited..

 Our stocking were all hung...

 And we dressed in our best and headed to church to worship Him... our newborn King!

 When we got home... our tradition is one present for everyone.

 A new Christmas book,

 A new ornament for their tree,

 and new jammies for all!

 Chili and cinnamon rolls for supper... which also became our Happy Birthday Jesus cake!

(a mama has to love when it just works out like that!)

 And then a new Christmas movie to watch before we were all tucked into our beds.

 Good Night... and Merry Christmas!

Our Favorite Little Men

I don't do much holiday baking... not because I don't love most holiday treats (because I do!) but the fact is I love them all too much!  So I've cut it down to two things I make every year for my family.  Frosted sugar cookies (a tradition from my childhood) and gingerbread men. 

The first time I had one of these little guys, I was in love.  I was teaching preschool, and my dear friend that I taught along side with brought me a plate.  Oh my!  They were so soft and packed full of flavor.  I had never made gingerbread cookies before, and when my friend told me they were super easy, I had to get the recipe!

I think it took a few years for me to actually make them myself, but once I did, I knew they would become a tradition at our house!  Every year they look a little different, but every year we have so much fun making our little men.  I decided that next year I'm looking for a little gingerbread girl cookie cutter to introduce to our little boy one!

Easy Gingerbread Men

1 - 18 oz Spice Cake Mix
1 cup flour
2 tsp Ground Ginger
2 Eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup molasses

Place cake mix, flour, and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Stir with a fork until well blended. Mix in remaining ingredients and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.  
Scoop dough in bowl into ball. Cover dough and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Divide dough into 4 sections. Place one section on a floured surface and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out gingerbread people and place on greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes (I usually end up baking for 6-7 minutes).

Let cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

Frost the edges and add details with buttercream frosting

Buttercream Frosting
8 Tablespoon Butter at room temp
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons milk

Beat butter until fluffy, then add powdered sugar and vanilla. Add milk by tablespoons until desired spreading consistency.

If you decide to invite these little men into your life, we hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
  

Preschool Christmas Program

Ainsley was excited to sing at her preschool Christmas program. 

 She had been "secretly" practicing, and the only song I knew she was going to sing was the "Little Drummer Boy" song.  It was fun to see how much she had "grown up" since her last program. 

 I could tell she felt a bit more comfortable on stage.

 

Here she is... ready to go!

 

Ainsley, and her best friend... Carter.

 

Getting all lined up on the risers.  She was so excited... can you tell? 

And yes... she is really that much taller than everyone else in her class. 

Ainsley and Carter are about the same size (and they are both two of the oldest in their class), but she is on the top row with the "tall" kids. 

Singing "Give Thanks"!

This is where we had a minor crisis...

 Ainsley and the other little girl in the red dress accidentally didn't get sticks for the Drummer Boy song.... the teacher started telling everyone to "hold up their sticks" so they could start the song, and these two little girls didn't have sticks.  They both about lost it!

(I had no idea until after I snapped the picture!)

Crisis adverted! 

Thankfully they got sticks, Ainsley's teacher was able to calm her down

and give her a little assurance before all the tears came, and they started the song. 

So thankful for a caring teacher who took a few moments to make sure Ainsley

was all right and kept her from losing it.

(Although this mama bear in the audience almost lost it seeing her little girl about to cry on stage.)

 

Singing Little Drummer Boy... (Her favorite song!)

 

Saying the Poem, "Three Great Kings"

 

After this they sang, "Go Tell it on the Mountain".  It was awesome!  I love these little programs!  I love these little voices celebrating the Jesus they love... the Jesus whose birthday they celebrate!

 

 

 



Surprise!

This is what I discovered when checking in on the kids the other night before going to bed...

 

I couldn't help but giggle... and then get my camera!

Moments like these melt my heart!

 

A Date with Daddy

She got her very best dress on... 

 And was delighted to have a date with her daddy.

She plans things for them to do out on dates all the time... but this one was a surprise...

Her favorite boy in the world took her out to see...

Madeline's Christmas at the Rose Children's Theater in Omaha.

He even spoiled her by buying his date a few little Chirstmas toys at the show. 

But isn't that what dads are supposed to do.

They had a wonderful time, and they said the show was great!

And afterwards, a trip to Red Mango.  Ainsley was most impressed with the chocolate rocks she got to put on the top of her yogurt!  "Mom... they really did look like rocks!"



There's nothing more sweet than a daddy with his little girl! 

Praying today for the young man who will one day take his place... oh my heart!



Things that bring me JOY...

...making her own doll

 ...seeing God in the sky

 ...my boys

 ...catching them doing this

 ...seeing her in awe over the nativity set, making stories in her mind, just like I used to do

 ...the older teaching the younger where everything should go

 ...making pretend pizzas at the Children's Museum

 ...how he loves GREEN

 ...how we couldn't leave the ball area until he had collected EVERY green ball

 ... do you see ANY green balls left? 

(OK there is one... but I promise we had to collect that one too!)

 

 ...him playing with friends and showing off the "stick" they found on their walk.

(after this they found another one the same size... and they have both found a home on our porch for now...)

I love boys!

Can you just picture them carrying this through the neighborhood back to our house?

 

Oh the JOY life brings!  My heart is overflowing and smiling! 

Thank you Father for this season of JOY!