Some Christmas Pictures :) *Part 3*

Christmas with the Lamberts.




Let the madness begin...PRESENTS!



We had a great time together!

Some Christmas Pictures :) *Part 2*

I didn't take nearly as many pictures from our time in Illinois as I would have liked, but here are some that I was able to capture.


My little brother and his family:
(I didn't get any pictures of Cade. I think he and Jake were way too busy playing.)Little Joel always made me feel so good with his huge smiles. What a sweetie!
Curtis did us the honor of making the Christmas turkey with his famous brine. Thanks Curtie! It was delicious.
Jessica and Joel.

Our Christmas table.And this is as close as I got to getting a picture of Mom. But, now that I got a new camera, watch out, Mom! I'll be snapping lots of pictures of you.
Grandma's little helper.

Caleb teaching Pop how to golf...Wii style.

Some Christmas Pictures :)

Since my good intentions to send out Christmas Cards never materialized, I thought I'd better post some pictures here instead.










THANK YOU, Jodi and Jenn for the wonderful pictures.

Merry Christmas, Grandmas and Grandpas!

This post is mainly for my parents and Chuck's parents to get to see their grandchildren's performance tonight at church. I don't mind if you watch if you are not our parents, but you do have to promise not to laugh too hard. :) Our church doesn't do a formal program or play for Christmas, they just give all the kids a chance to preform a special of their choice. Aly has been begging to get to sing a solo in church, so I thought this was the perfect occasion for her to try a song by herself. Since the others begged to do something too, we all learned a small portion of the Christmas story from Luke 2 and they said it together before Aly's solo debut. I was a little nervous that a fight might break out between our youngest and the rest because of her intense desire to be in charge of the microphone. On our trial run this afternoon, there was a bit of a scufuffle. So after a lot of practice when we got home, a lot of prompting and scolding, I still sat on the edge of my seat tonight anxiously awaiting the part where Caleb hands the microphone down and Jake and Anna are supposed to say "Christ the Lord." I was so anxious in fact, that I missed the best part. They didn't have a fight in front of the whole church, but as Jake was handing back the microphone, his foot got tangled in the cord and he almost went down (remind you of anyone, Dennis?). That's when the video pans to a man's shoe and I try to think how fast I can get up to the stage, but, he made the save and they continued on.

From December 09

I think my favorite part is right after the almost-incident. Jake very sweetly leans over to Anna and says "good job" in his sweet big brother voice. And she raises her shoulders and smiles with her head tilted as if to say "thanks!!"

Now for the big solo. Aly did a great job, she just had a hard time with the accompaniment. I'm not sure she could hear it well enough, and I should have been in front helping her with timing. All things considered, she did a beautiful job..

From Dec 09

I was very proud of all four of them, even if we did provide some unintended comic relief.

*Sorry the videos aren't very good! You should be able to view them by clicking on the picture. If not, let me know.*

Our "Little" Family Christmas

Aren't Christmas traditions the best? I look with such fond memories on the traditions my parents started and continued with my brother and I. From how we decorated our Christmas Tree, to the food we ate, to the scripture Dad read (still reads), It all goes together to form the many sweet memories and even the special times we now have with our family. Even though Chuck and I have yet to be alone together for Christmas Day, we have tried to develop our own family traditions that we usually complete a week before Christmas.
We had a great time worshiping the Lord together for His precious gift of Jesus and then sharing our love with each other through a few gifts.
All snug by the fire anxiously awaiting the evening's events (try to look past the remains of our special Christmas meatballs and cheesy potatoes on the smiling faces).

We always enjoy opening our last "gift" and then reading the story of Jesus's birth from Luke 2 (something both of our extended families enjoy still today).
The piles of gifts they were ready to give.
Our princesses. I guess I got caught up in the excitement too - this was the only picture I got after we opened presents!

I wrote last year about a Christmas tradition Chuck and I have enjoyed doing with our kids. We call them our gifts. I ask the kids what they are thankful for that God has already given us. I type them up, wrap them up and we open one each night in December to remind us that "Every good and perfect gift comes from above." Then we spend time thanking God for the gift. Since the things they come up with always touch my heart, I thought I'd share their list from this year (in their words). We have already received so many precious gifts.

JESUS!!! The greatest gift of all!
People to take care of us, who
bring us food when Mommy is sick
or sad
People who help us
Our nice house
Warm clothes and blankets
Food and Drinks
Good books
Music
Parents who take care of us
The Bible ~ God’s Holy Word
Friends
Our Church
Mommy
Daddy
Jake
Caleb
Aly
Anna
Grandma and Pop Odell
Uncle Curtis, Aunt Jessica, Cade, Joel
Grandma and Papa Lambert
Uncle John
Uncle Tim, Aunt Roxie, Ashlynn, Katie, Maggie, Timmy, Gracie
Uncle Andy, Aunt Betsy, Hannah, Lydia, Emma, Sylvia
Uncle Brian, Aunt Jodi, Culley
Nana ~ That she loved Jesus and that we knew her and that she’s in Heaven

Catch Up

I'm playing catch up once again! Just so you know, I will be posting some long overdue pictures from Thanksgiving and the beginning of December and will date them way back when they happened. :)

Let it Snow!

A Gentle Reminder

It was one of those days. The kind of day when I didn't get anything done except pick up. I amused myself by trying to guess how many times during the day I did the same thing more than once. How many times did I sweep the floor, how many times did I fix the couch cover and replace the throw pillows? How many times did I put a tractor back in the playroom (after tripping over it)? How many times did I wipe noses (or other body parts)? I was going around the house quickly repeating tasks when I came to the little manger I keep down on the kids level for them to look at. I don't mind them playing with it, but I try to keep all the pieces together, which takes some picking up once in a while. I glanced at the little table and noticed the figurines were not how they were "supposed" to be. I let out a small sigh and bent down to return things to their "proper" places when I was stopped in my tracks.
Those sweet, messy little ones had everything in its perfect place! Right where I should have been. Focused on the cross.
In my busyness, I almost missed a sweet reminder that even in my repetitive, seemingly unimportant day, my focus should be on the cross.