I wanted to write an update about our December so far because it has been a fun and busy one. We kicked it off with the kids first parade in downtown Americus. Above, you'll see our church's float showing that Jesus is the light of the world! Zeke and Adalynn had so much fun watching the floats go by with our neighbors, the Blanchards, and especially seeing Sheeba and Nikita walk by with the church float!
This year, I decided to do a Jessie Tree with Zeke. It follows specific portions of scripture each day of the month that takes us through the whole Bible and always brings us to why Jesus was born. You'll see the tree Zeke and I made below and our paper ornaments. I may make it fancier someday, but for now, this is perfect!
Zeke has continued to enjoy being a "super hero," while of course, Jesus is his superhero! Adalynn's little personality shines through more and more each day. She loves to wear hats now and generally loves to do what Zeke does!
Our church put on a Christmas tour of homes this year. That was a fun way to get to see Christmas decorations and learn about different family's traditions. The kids had a blast!
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| Blanchards Gator tree! |
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| He enjoyed playing with Bowden at the Theiss' house |
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| When Nikita arrived at the house we were touring! |
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| Anita Theiss places Mary and Joseph all over the house as they travel to Bethlehem (instead of the elf on the shelf!) |
You know I love my collages! Here is one of Zeke growing next to our toy soldier! I'll add one from this year, so you can see him up close.
We were thrilled to get to go to Gregg's work Christmas party again this year. He was almost not able to go because of another work responsibility, but God worked it out! Zeke decided he did not want to pose for pictures this night, as you'll see below!
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| She was enthralled with the fans! |
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| Crafts for the kids...brilliant! |
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| Children singing Jingle Bells (ours were not up there!) |
Please do not share or copy the following photos. Thank you!
I want to share how incredibly grateful I am to be a part of the body of Christ. Our friends, Cherian and Sheeba, have constantly showed us His love since the moment we met them. It's humbling. They model a servant's heart. As believers, we are called to serve. Jesus showed us the way..."For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).
Today, Gregg called me from work to tell me he was coming down with something, felt awful, but had to stay there because there was nobody to replace him. I prayed...he prayed...Zeke prayed. They were able to work it out so he could come home at 12:30.
Then, as the kids and I were headed to church (late), I heard a LOUD noise and knew something had hit the car. The signal showed me that my tire was low, and it was...flat! I made it to O'Reilly Auto Parts, but as I mentioned, Gregg couldn't get away. Zeke and I prayed before we went into the store. The young man working there came out to help us in the cold. He laid on the ground under our car to get our spare out. He served us and he didn't even know us! Then, Cherian arrived to help too! I had texted him and he left church to help...no questions asked. Wow! I tear up just thinking about it. My God loves us SO much that He provides...ALWAYS. The circumstances aren't what we would have chosen, but isn't that usually where we see the most fruit? If I choose to focus on the difficult parts of this, I miss out on seeing God. I want to position my heart to be available to serve just as we were served today. We are choosing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control!
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| The kids in Cherian and Sheeba's van while the guys changed our tire! |
Lastly, we had some fun trying to get some pictures in their Christmas PJs from last year (Adalynn is wearing Harper's! Zeke wanted to try to re-create the photo of them looking at each other, so here was our best attempt:
...and here are the other photos we snapped. They were having a wonderful time!
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| Wearing brother's shoes amidst many toys! |
We look forward to the coming celebration of Jesus' birth and pray you all have a blessed time with family and friends!
