6 Days to Christmas

Just 6 days to Christmas ... today we enjoyed attending a friend's piano recital.

And, lighting the 4th candle on our Advent wreath representing JOY. This week we are working hard on putting Jesus and others first.

7 Days to Christmas

In just one week we will celebrate the birth of our Savior. I decided to prepare our hearts we would focus primarily this coming week on our Advent studies, so this past week the kids doubled up on all of their school assignments. It was a lot to get done but, they finished. So we will look forward to completing a lapbook on Advent, crafting and baking. I am also looking forward to a quiet week with more time free to spend in the Word, preparing my heart as well.

Today, Lexi had a party to attend, one she looks forward to every Christmas. Our good friends host it and all the girls make ornaments and participate in an ornament exchange. Lexi always comes home with the cutest ornaments for our tree. Here is the hostess gift I sent her with today. I just love collecting jars through the year. They provide the perfect packaging for a food gift.
Pictured at the top of this post, the kids with their traditional Santa Claus photograph, taken last weekend.

8 Days to Christmas

Originally, our plans would have had us in Asheville today seeing my sister dance the role of Sugar Plum Fairy for the Asheville Dance Conservatory in their performance of The Nutcracker but, with icy conditions in the mountains it was just not safe for us to travel that way. We were definitely sad but, we will get a DVD of the performance so we will still get to see her perform - just not in person. This change also allows us to travel to Asheville after Christmas instead and that will mean seeing many more of my siblings who will be in for Christmas.

So with a change of plans we were able to add in some fun activities we originally had to bow out of this weekend including a get-together, parties, and a piano recital.

Today, we had a wonderful lunch hosted by one of my very best friends. We are so lucky to have this sweet homeschooling family in our life! We had lots of fun exchanging Christmas gifts and having lunch together.

9 Days to Christmas

Just a little over a week to Christmas Day ... today we finished up the last of our extra-curricular class parties. Lexi had two different ballet class parties and came home with a bit of a stomach ache.

Earlier in the day we enjoyed a fun lunch out with my husband at a restaurant near his office, it has become a holiday tradition for us.

Tonight we babysat our good friends' children while they went out to a Christmas party. While the boys played PS2 the girls enjoyed hot chocolate, popcorn, marshmallows and peppermint bark while watching a movie in front of the Christmas tree. A nice, somewhat "quiet", night at home.

10 Days to Christmas

Today was Ava Mae's Ballet Class Christmas Party ... she was able to do her favorite thing - play dress up in fun ballet costumes and eat junk food and having her best friend in her ballet class well, that just makes it even more fun!

The day did not go exactly as planned - we were going to participate in a service project but, I woke up this morning just not feeling like we needed another morning out of the house this week. I prayed about it last night and this is the response I received in the form of a Dove candy message that Devin gave me first thing this morning (it was in his Advent treat bag).

It was nice to have a slow start to our day and I was finally able to squeeze in a much over due trip to the grocery store. It had been over two weeks since I had a big shop and we were running out of most necessitys.

Tonight we enjoyed family night and watching one of our favorite Christmas movies - "Santa Claus - The Movie". And, let me just say ... I can't believe we have just ten days until Christmas.

11 Days to Christmas

Today in our Advent Study we discussed the difference between Christmas Carols and Christmas Songs. A carol is a song that tells of Jesus' birth - many carols were originally poems, as was the case for the carol "Silent Night".

That beautiful Christmas Carol was originally a poem written by Joseph Mohr. I actually learned how that poem became a carol for the first time several weeks ago during a rehearsal for the Christmas Festival at church. One of the Weather Channel on air personalities attends our church and was one of the hosts for our Christmas Festival. She told the story how her Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Uncle Joseph Mohr wrote the poem "Silent Night" in a little village in Austria and how when the church he was a pastor in lost the ability to use their organ just two days before Christmas (due to some very bad church mice) he had the choir director help him write music to go along with the poem he had written - something he could perform on his guitar. Thus, the birth of "Silent Night" the Christmas carol. Isn't that a beautiful story!

Tonight I enjoyed some "silence" around our home ... my sweet husband took the kids to the movies so that I could spend some time organizing Christmas gifts and wrapping.

12 Days to Christmas

Today our focus was once again on how we can serve others this Christmas season. We adopted a family for Christmas who has a 4 month old baby. Currently, they are living in a homeless shelter and had so many needs for their baby girl. We went out today and bought lots of diapers, wipes, warm clothing, blankets and a few toys. The kids and I had so much fun picking everything out and then getting to wrap it all up. I am hoping by doing these projects together the kids are truly learning the true meaning of Christmas is giving and not receiving.
Tonight we lit the third candle of Advent. Last night we were home too late so we held over our celebration to this evening. Ava Mae lit the candle which represents "Love" and then we all sang "Silent Night".