It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It's that time of year again. And today as I write this the sky is gray and the ground is wet and it's a little cold outside. Not only is it beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my living room but it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas outside too (today, not sure about tomorrow but we'll take it when we can get it.). As is our custom, the day after Thanksgiving we began our festive preparations. We didn't actually finish them until the next day, Saturday, but then it's fun to spread it out. This year, with an extremely active 17 month old in our house we opted for a smaller tree that we could put up out of his reach. The kids actually really enjoyed it because as they decorated the tree they were able to decorate all the way to the top. When they were done we put it up on the table and have been able to enjoy its beauty without little hands always pulling everything off. In fact the first time Isabel came out of her room after resting and seeing the tree completed and up on the table she drew in her breath and said "Mom, it's so beautiful!" I love my childrens' easy ability to appreciate what is beautiful even if it's simple! As she looked at the tree she said "Mom, I'm so excited! We get to celebrate Jesus' birthday!" Again, an appreciation for what is simple and yet true. May she always keep the love of Jesus at Christmas!

One of our favorite family decorations are my Nutcrackers. I have collected nutcrackers since I was in high school. I love their festive, beautiful look and have enjoyed having them as a theme to my holiday decorating. Pulling the Nutcrackers out of their box and newspaper wrapping every year is a highlight. The girls, and this year James helped a little too, enjoy being handed one in it's newspaper and gently unwrapping it and seeing which one they got. Then we line them up on our hall tree and they fit perfectly, surrounded by beautiful lights.
We are now enjoying our Christmas home, spreading cheer throughout the house all the month of December. I hope your holiday decorating has been as fun and memorable as ours has been; and may your holidays be filled with celebrations of the coming of Jesus to save His people from their sins!
Merry Christmas!

Boys and Their Hats

There is something about boys and hats that just go together. And as most men will tell you the attachment that men have with their hats never goes away.

Climbing part 2

How could I possibly forget to add this little shot of my boy climbing up our slide?

For those of you unfamiliar with our backyard; we have a pretty steep hill out past our yard. The people before us built a playhouse on the hill with a slide that comes down to the yard. The kids have to climb a brick wall to get to the playhouse and they love being up there. When I discovered that Brenton could climb the slide he was banned from that portion of the backyard. Recently I tried putting a chair in front of the slide so that he could play out there with his big brother and sisters without being in any danger of falling off the slide. However, with the slide blocked he decided to give the brick wall a try and I found him up on the porch of the playhouse. So...once again, he is banned from that portion of the backyard for now, until he's older and safer or I can be outside with him. Some say that "necessity is the mother of invention", in Brenton's case it's "curiosity is the mother of invention". He will figure it out given enough time. Again, keeping me on my toes and I'm surprised that I haven't been to the doctor or urgent care more often with him.