God's gifts from celebrating the birth of Christ

What a joy to celebrate Christmas with family, friends, and our church body.

From our week of anticipating and celebrating Christmas...

- More snow and Adrianna's second snow day
- Adrianna and Abel working together to make a peg board picture


- Rusty cuddling with the kids' toys
- The evidence of Adrianna and Abel playing so nicely together while I showered
- Adrianna having a grand time cutting apart the grocery bags
- Abel's tow truck rides
- More fun playing in the snow



- Greeting the kids with gluten-free pumpkin doughnut when they came in from the cold 




- Adrianna making her own "I Spy" page
 - Getting to watch Adrianna present her "Christmas in Ethiopia" poster to her class
- Adrianna wrapping Christmas presents for the first time
- Adrianna decorating Ruthie

- Making snow flakes with Adrianna
- Abel and Scott playing soccer ball catch
- Acting out the Christmas story with our nativity set


- Abel playing with the little boy I will be watching a few hours a day and showing him how to use his play mat
- Abel making his food into a train
- Finishing the Christmas story the next night, and Abel understanding what to do better the second time

- Adrianna helping in so many ways and being so excited about playing with the baby

 - Having a craft morning with the kids while the baby slept


- The kids using the nativity set with our "church"
- Making masking tape Christmas pictures (as seen on Play at home mom)
- Scott's "sleeping Abel" picture
- Running errands with my mother-in-law

- "More tickles, Dad?"
- Sharing the Jesse Tree Journey (www.aholyexperience.com) with Grandma
- "Count down to Jesus' birthday?"
- The entertainment of an empty laundry basket
- Playing with the word tiles with Adrianna, and realizing that she can read most of them now
- Making coconut milk ice cream with the kids
- Adrianna playing "fishing," and her preparing the fish for us to eat
- Heading for a concert with my in-laws, and finding out it was canceled as we arrived there
... And driving around to see Christmas lights, instead

- Waking to hearing the Adrianna and Abel singing Christmas carols together through the monitor

- Adrianna dressing up for Christmas Eve
- Experiencing a local Christmas Eve tradition
... And being so cold

- Remembering again a Christmas Eve
... And thinking on the sacrificial gift of one earthly father and one Heavenly Father

 - Sharing Christmas with the kids
... And thinking how much Abel has changed since last Christmas







- "Mommy, where's my phone??"




 - Scott surprising me with some much-needed sun glasses
- Having Scott's parents over for our traditional Christmas breakfast

- Attending church on the day we celebrate Jesus's earth coming

- Opening presents with Scott's parents










- Adrianna giving scratches while listening to her stories
- The day after Christmas breakfast: pumpkin pie and craft project
- Scott, Adrianna, and Abel staying all day in pajamas

- Adrianna and Abel making a "take it to the dump" game with Abel's new tractor from his great-grandparents
- Adrianna and Scott doing Wii bowling
- Adrianna coming up with her own plan for how to use craft foam
- Finding Adrianna's picture on the bathroom wall

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