A month in pictures- Blizzard/Christmas 2009

We were hoping for a white Christmas. Guess we got our wish. We didn't get a "dusting" as some weathermen first mentioned. We got a blizzard! The snow was blowing around so hard that visibility was terrible. We never lost electricity so it was wonderful to be inside in the warm house. We ate like Kings for Christmas eve. We had bacon and toast for breakfast, homemade pizza's for lunch, and taco salad for dinner.

I think the total reported for our area was 14.1 inches. That is a record for Oklahoma! It's weird to not be with my immediate family for Christmas. It really doesn't feel like Christmas at all. But, we are all safe and that's the good thing. We are planning another time to get together and celebrate Jesus' birth! Here are some pics from today. Merry Christmas!

This is a lot of snow!

Sitting on the snow drift

We are watching a friends' dog and him and Lincoln are having fun together

Making snow angels

The finished "Angel"

A month in pictures-cookies w/the Stewards

(the kids watching "I want a dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown)

We had Tony and Mandy and the kids over to make some sugar cookies. Funny thing happened too...I had bought the pre-made packaged dough but when we took it out, it was too moist to really cut out any shapes. We knew we needed some flour. I didn't have just plain white flour. I had whole wheat flour and then some white self-rising flour. We thought the wheat would make the cookies taste funny so we went with the self-rising, knowing that we would just need "a little" of it.

The kids cut their shapes out, we had trees, elves and stockings. We put them in the oven and when they came out, they were one big puffy cookie! Apparently, the "little bit" of self-rising flour made a big difference :) They decorated them with many colors and they tasted great!

A month in pictures- Progressive Dinner

(Back row from left: Amy, Cindy, Deleise, Robin M, me and Kim. Front row from left: Elizabeth, Robin S. Nicole, Natalie, and Janna)

This group pictured above is one of the biggest blessings I have received this year. I love all of them so much. We have grown really close. It's amazing to have a group of friends that you can laugh with and also cry with. (There are 2 who couldn't make it to the dinner-Dusty and Jennifer, we missed you!)

We had appetizers at Kims, main course at Robin S's, and dessert at Deleise's. The food was delicious!

Brandon and Josh hanging out before we started eating.

Robin, Elizabeth, Nicole, Natalie, and Janna

We also had an ornament exchange. It was so much fun. I had a great time!

A month in pictures- Edmond Christmas parade

We went to the Edmond Christmas parade for the 1st time. We've lived in Edmond for many years but never seemed to be able to catch the parade. It was SOOO cold! We were not dressed warm enough (so good thing it was fast). One of the things I love about Edmond is although it's considered a big town, they make it feel like a small town by having many community events.

Christmas Invitation Sent - What's Your Response?

To be honest, I always thought Jesus birth was in complete obscurity.  I know about the manger in Bethlehem, the angel choir, the shepherds, and the wise men, but I did not realize all of Jerusalem got the news.  Herod the king heard the news; the religious leaders of the Jews heard the news; All of Jerusalem heard about it.  

Matthew 2:3-4

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

Every religious leader and every Jew knew the prophecy of the coming Messiah.  They knew Bethlehem was the birthplace in the prophecy, and God had sent the message from these three wise men straight to the center of the Jews...Jerusalem!  What was their response?

• People of Jerusalem:  They were disturbed.  They knew the prophecy, but expectations kept them from going to check it out themselves.  They did nothing!
  
• Religious Leaders:  Discussed among themselves; Had all the knowledge; Told King Herod the details; Feared their political standing more than trusted in God's plan.  They did nothing!
  
• King Herod:  Feared a rebellion because of this news.  Believed it enough to do something; But fear of losing control made his actions evil.
  
• Three wise men:  Went to search carefully, found Jesus and bowed down to worship Him, Gave Him gifts.

God sends us the message - the invitation.  It might come different than expected. It might sounds different than expected, but it will come.  Are you open to hear from God?  Are you open to see God working however He chooses?  Whose response do you relate to in the story? Do you feel threatened by the message, or do you feel excited that truth is a choice away?  The good news is God is near and he is always speaking.  Listen carefully.  The rest of the story is yours to write.  Your response is completely your response.  

I think I will go see Jesus for myself.  Merry Christmas!

-Brandon

Christmas Lights

We went on our annual drive around town last night to view Christmas lights. We always load up in the car and stop for some hot chocolate on the way and then enjoy the drive. You will hear lots of "ooh" and "ah" and "wow" if you are nearby. It's become one of our favorite traditions.

I took some more pics but they are on Brandon's phone so we will have to try and upload them later. People seemed to go all out this year. It's amazing to me how much people spend on lights! We didn't hang any. We just drive around and enjoy yours- ha ha!

What are some Christmas traditions you have as a family? Do you hang lights like the Griswalds or do you just put something simple up for decorations? I'm curious, for international readers, what is the custom on decorating from where you are from? Or even state to state? Oklahoman's really decorate their houses and they look gorgeous!! I'd love to hear about how you "experience" Christmas each year!!

Our Christmas "star"

Merrick had a Christmas program last week. It was so fun seeing him and his friends up there on stage! I can't believe how big he's getting. We were so proud of him up there:)

The Digerati Christmas Party

We feel so blessed that Brandon gets to work on such a great team! We had a Christmas party a little over a week ago with them. What a fun bunch. We ate some delicious food and then played "dirty Santa" with things from around our house. It was a blast. Here is a pic of the team.(not pictured is John Otjen)

One of the most important things in life is who you surround yourself with!

Our new Christmas Tree

(Whew! Sorry we have been neglecting to post. It's not because we haven't had stuff going on- just haven't posted about it.)

Here is the Christmas tree we got this year. It's a 6 1/2 ft. Virginia Pine. I took a pic of it all lit up at home but none of them came out very good:) This is our 2nd year to have a real tree and we love it. I love the smell of pine in our home.


Christmas is just a bit over a week away!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Hey! I hopped on for a bit to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! We are about to head over to my sisters house for some bunco, yummy lunch, and great quality family time. Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas too!!

BTW......Elf and the Original Grinch won for favorite Christmas movie on our quiz.

It really is better to give than receive......right?

I'm a gift giver. I love trying to find the perfect gift. Something that is sentimental but maybe didn't cost a pretty penny. I love planning in my head how I will wrap it up with ribbons and bows. I love making gifts as well. I love thinking that I have found the "perfect" gift for someone. I enjoy the "hunt". I enjoy seeing their face when they open it. I just love giving gifts!

One story I remember was from my first year of marriage. Brandon's family drew names for the first time. I was so nervous being new into the family. I ended up drawing Brandon's mom's name to buy for. I thought long and hard about what to get. What would make her love her daughter in law even more? I ended up buying her the Tombstone DVD because I had heard her mention it before. She opened it up and teared up. I was so surprised. It was just a movie, right?She said that it meant a lot to her that I had really listened to her. I felt like a million bucks and needless to say, the family accepted me as their own because I made Mama bear happy:) I remember that day so clearly because I felt so proud and happy. I know I had made her day.

Another story I have is of a girl who received a wonderful purse one year. It was expensive and leather. She had mentioned she wanted a "Coach" purse and that's what it was. She opened it up wondering what it was and exclaimed "Thank you!.....but that's not the one I wanted". She crushed the person who gave it to her. They felt hurt and wished they had not wasted time and money on something not appreciated. I know that story because (and I hate to say) that girl is me and I still remember that from 18 yrs ago. Granted, I was in high school, but what a brat I was! I was not a good gift receiver at all!

I LOVE to give, but when I receive I tend to put expectations on it and it make it no fun for the giver. This is something I am working on. Brandon has such a hard time buying for me because I am picky. I can make him a list but I tell him exactly what I want without any room for surprises. Maybe it's the control freak in me. With the Christmas "gift" season next week, I just wanted to reflect on how you should not act when you open a gift:( I need to work on my expression and what I say (seriously).

Do you love to give gifts? Is it hard for you to buy for people? Do you like surprises? What's on your wish list this year? Would you say you are a better giver or receiver?

Christmas Traditions?

I was talking with a friend the other day about what we always did for Christmas when I was growing up. It's amazing how we think the way our family did things is the way it should be for everyone or it's just not Christmas!

With our family changing and growing each year, we decided we want to start some family traditions of our own to share with the boys. Things that they can talk about when they are older and telling people about what they always did.

So far, this is year 1 for a real tree (see previous post on this), year 2 for making sugar cookies and decorating them, and year 3 for getting hot chocolate and going to look at lights. They may not seem like a big deal to you but to a 5 and 8 yr.old, the lights thing has been huge! In fact, Ethan thinks we should only get hot chocolate when we look at lights- no other time of year!! (what a sacrifice for me:)

One tradition we have and ALWAYS WILL have is teaching them that Christmas is celebrated to honor Christ's birth! It's not about the presents or even the fun things I mentioned above but it's about our savior.

Did you do some fun things growing up? My mom bought us one ornament a year and put our names on it with the year. When we got married, we got all of our ornaments to start our tree with. I still use them and am carrying this tradition on with my kids.

So- what traditions does your family partake in? Any ones you are wanting to start? What makes Christmas special for you? Please share!

Merry Christmas?!

Drummer boy RETURNS

LifeChurch.tv does a few things well. One thing you cannot miss this Christmas season is the song drummer boy. Trent Austin, the worship pastor at the LifeChurch.tv Edmond Campus, brings this song every Christmas season. Well, it is back. You can catch it on the Edmond Campus or on the Internet Campus (Channel 2). Here is just a little taste!