Christmas Homestretch

We celebrated with Matt's family (minus Kerri and Brian) at Mark and Kim's house in Georgia. We had a great time!! Mark and Kim recently had another precious baby boy, Aiden. Needless to say, we were anxious to meet him! We also celebrated Gavin's 2nd Birthday (December 27th) while we were there. There is nothing like a toddlers excitement over his birthday! We were also with Nana Sue on her birthday (December 28th)! We almost had fun and present overload with all of the birthdays and Christmas wrapped up together...almost, but not quite. =)

Come On, Ring Those Bells!

Everybody likes to take a holiday

Everybody likes to take a rest

Spending time together with the family

Sharing lots of love and happiness.

Come on, ring those bells,

Light the Christmas tree,

Jesus is the king

Born for you and me.

Come on, ring those bells,

Every-body say,

Jesus, we remember
This your birthday.

As you can see, we had a great time at Mimi and Papa's, and they spoiled us with great food and gifts! Thank you for your generous hearts, Mimi and Papa.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!! We are so thankful for you, the greatest gift of all!

Do You Think The Guys Had Fun This Christmas?!!!

Here is the video that my cousin, Edward Burton, created. Make sure you scroll down and pause the playlist! The sound effects are the funniest part...


Yes, I think they would say that risking their lives and/or body parts was worth it all! They are so crazy!

Oh What Fun It Is!!!!

A slideshow design by Smilebox

Ready to Wrap it Up....

When I am still and alone, I think about all that we have been through this past year....really this past six months. It's been tough. Really tough. I am super excited about Christmas this year, and I think I may be even more excited about a New Year. If I am brutally honest, my driving force this Christmas and New Year is the fact that I am so ready to be done with 2011.

But, I know that is not how Jesus wants me to feel. I am pretty confident that He would rather me at least try to look at all of the blessings He has so generously given me over this past year. I know that it is ok to grieve, and I know that it is ok to be sad sometimes. But, I don't think I should simply try to move on and not recognize the good in all of our circumstances and experiences this past year....and there really is good in it all.

My prayer is that I truly celebrate Christ and all of His wonderful blessings this past year....not to rush through Christmas so I can move on to 2012. I pray the same for those of you who have had a particularly tough year. I pray that we are calm and bright in the knowledge of Christ's love for us. I also am fervently praying for more growth next year...and if it is His will, maybe less painful growth.

I adopted this favorite verse of this season from my sweet Erin...
"In him was life, and that life was the light of men." -John 1:4

Merry, Merry!

Christmas Cousins

My girls are crazy about their cousins!! Seriously crazy about them.
Here is a few shots of the Oliver granddaughters (in their "Mimi Designs" Christmas outfits) taken by Taylor's talented friend, Lindsey Motley:

So syrupy sweet you could sop it up with a fluffy pancake!!

On that same sweet and precious note, we will be going to meet our brand new, or as Maggie calls him "grand new" cousin, Aiden, next week! Whoo hoo! Let the family time and holding precious little ones begin!

Obsession

Kerri Grace is a huge fan of dressing up and of Strawberry Shortcake. So, when she received the greatest gift of all, the combination of the two, from Aunt Sandra, Uncle Roger, and Juleah Rose, she was ecstatic!! Here is a glimpse into our day yesterday......

Early Morning Strawberry Shortcake (notice the doll in her hand)

Lunch Time Strawberry Shortcake

Early Evening Strawberry Shortcake

Late Evening Strawberry Shortcake

She even wore her "bootiful dress up" to Walmart! I think that our enjoyment and love of Strawberry Shortcake has officially turned into an obsession!!

Anticipation

The week of Christmas has finally arrived! I couldn't be more excited! But, what am I really excited about? Am I excited about the celebration of my Savior making himself low so that I could be elevated? Am I excited that Jesus is the reason for everything...and especially the "Reason for the Season." Or, am I more excited about the getting and giving presents and being with the people I love? I don't know.......

My prayer has been that I put things in their proper place. It's hard. It's really hard. But, I am fervently seeking and praying that this Christmas season, I exhault Jesus as my one true God and put everything else in it's correct spot....blessings from Him!

Here is what my friend, Sabrina, posted on the Grace Church pastors blog, and I thought it was too good not to share:

"It is easy to get caught up in all of the fun “trappings”’ of the season and miss the whole reason for the anticipation. It is the anticipation of the Lord Jesus Himself. He is the whole reason we give gifts. It is all about the greatest gift that has ever been given. But as we think about his first Advent (coming), let us not forget that he is coming again. Live in anticipation."

Oh......the anticipation gives me chills....

I am so very thankful for the precious gift of Jesus!!
Merry Week of Anticipation to You All!

Feeling Smart....

and Loved!

For those of you who know me, this comes as no surprise. I am a gift giver AND a receiver! In fact, that is one of my main love languages...gift receiving. So, when Matt sent me a text the other day that he had bought my big gift, I was super excited! He said he would have to give it to me early which absolutely never happens. My curiousity was at an all time high.

Well..........

We are now....officially..... the last couple on the face of the earth to turn in our "dumb phones" for smart phones! Hip hip hooray! We are going tonight to switch over my contacts, and we will be good to go!

I can not believe it. Seriously. I can not believe it. This is truly a Christmas miracle! I have to confess, I am feeling pretty smart and loved!

Christmas Catch-Up!

Warning: This post is crazy long and full of pictures! Only the strong will survive to the end.....

Due to my recent status of "full-time working mom" over the last couple of weeks, I have neglected updating our blog. One thing we have not neglected, however, is our festive social calendar and family traditions!! Here is a little catch-up of what we have been up to (besides Mommy working and the girls enjoying fun-filled days with their Mimi):

Every day, we run out to the mailbox, shuffle through bills and other boring mail, pick out our beloved Christmas cards, oooh and ahhh over the beautiful smiling faces on each and every one, and display our cards on our sunroom window and door! There really isn't much better than Christmas cards from friends and family, is there?!!

This past week, we celebrated (in style) with "Mama O" at the Gardens!

The Smiths hosted our Community Group Christmas party complete with delicious food, wonderful conversation, and pajamas of every style and variation.....so fun!

The girls and I invited some of our church friends over for a Christmas Movie and Craft party. We all had a great time playing and chatting!

Almost every night, Daddy has read our Jesse tree devotion, the girls have hung the ornaments, and we have anticipated the birthday of our Savior!

I wish I had something to treat you with! After all, you did power through a crazy long blog post. All I have to give is a heartfelt, "Thank you...and Merry, Merry 10 Days Before Christmas!" I hope that you all are enjoying all kinds of fun festivities, too.