Christmas Gifts

So, tonight, our little family celebrated our own Christmas together before everyone else arrives tonight and tomorrow. Of course, before opening gifts, I wanted to talk about JESUS and make Him the focus. So I launched into a teaching time with the question, "What are some things you guys think of when you think of Christmastime?" Only our Biggest Boy answered at first, and he immediately said, "Jesus. " I said, "What else?" Then he went on to say, "Mary. Joseph. Herod. The Wise Men." Then the Redhead chimed in with a smile and a loud voice, "JESUS!"

So, all that to say, obviously, my teaching time was not nearly as needed as I thought. I did go on to affirm them for their answers and then to explain that sometimes it's easy to forget that those things really are what Christmas is about, and not the presents and family and food, etc. But what a gift that was to me, as their mommy, and to Jim, as their daddy, to hear them voice from their hearts that when they think of Christmas, they think of Jesus. Hallelujah! That was about the greatest gift I could have received tonight! I would love to think it would always stay this way, but of course, I know that our great enemy is always working to blind and deceive, and one day, just as it is for us, they will struggle with keeping Christ the focus. How I praise God for their sweet and tender and truth-knowing hearts right now that have not yet been too heavily influenced by the world around us.

Biggest Boy's 6th Birthday

As Jim says, "We had a big time!"  :)  The kiddos had a blast playing with their light sabers made from pool noodles and duct tape. And when Darth entered the scene...well, that was just plain awesome! The kids went nuts, and it was way fun to watch!  :)

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The Rip Rider

For Christmas, my boys were given a Razor Rip Rider 360. They got it early because we did gift with my parents at Thanksgiving, since we were together. My punkin heads love this thing. We have had many outings already to the driveway and the nearby cul-de-sac to spin out on this fun and crazy vehicle!!!! Littlest is on his tricycle at the end here, too. Didn't want to leave him out of the pics!

My Big, Bad "Big Boys"

We recently went to a birthday party where we brought Nerf guns and they shot targets and each other all night! They dressed in camo and were given bandanas to wear. Very fun! Very boy!

 

Pictures at the Park

I had fun altering the color of some of these photos (not the last one). I think the effect turned out nice. What do you think?

These were taken at a beautiful park here last weekend. We were seizing upon the unusually warm weather we've had the last couple of weeks. It was delightful to be out and walking around and exploring and following trails....great boy time!!! By the way, I highly recommend this park in Anchorage to anyone who loves the outdoors!

Our clothesless boys

The other morning, I went to get our Littlest out of his crib, and this is how he looked when I got him:



That's right. No clothes except the diaper. Now, I am grateful for that diaper, because I've heard some yucky stories about babies stripping all the way down and removing diaper also. I hope that day is not coming!!!!

And, while we're on the subject of no clothes, I had to post about our Biggest as well. He is his father's son, I tell you. This boy loves reading more than anything else. And rather than take the time to get pajamas on last night after the bath, he ran into our bed, got warm under the covers, and picked up in his book where he had left off fifteen minutes prior. Last night, he had read two 50-page books between the time we got them at the library at about 4 pm and when he went to bed at 7:30 pm. He's a maniac!!!!!!   :)

We love Halloween!

Now, before you judge me for the title of this blog, let me explain. Many Christians oppose any participation in Halloween. Our family, however, has decided that more goodness lies in participation rather than abstinence. We love to be out in the neighborhood, walking amongst all the other families, interacting with children and adults, and greeting people on their doorstep. Last night I met a neighbor for the first time, and I caught up with another that I hadn't seen in a while. It was delightful! And on top of that I got to see not only my own little cuties dressed up in fun costumes, but also the other munchkins of the neighborhood roaming around in the same way. The little babies dressed like flowers, and the big boys dressed like storm troopers--it's just plain fun! Our biggest was seen by a neighbor to be skipping along energetically and joyfully, and she commented, "It looks like he's already eaten some of his candy!" to which I said, "No, actually he hasn't had any! He's just excited!" The joy of children is so sweet. And the look on our second-born's face was priceless yesterday when he realized we were not just dressing up for ourselves and staying at home, but we were going to go visit people and get candy!!!!! Boy, that was music to his ears!  :)