Sleigh Bells Ring

My friend Teresa gave us this amazing sleigh ride and dinner at Bogus Basin for Christmas this year! You drive up to the top of Bogus Basin Road and board a sleigh with 25 of your closest friends and head off into the winter wonderland. Craig so thoughtfully brought hand warmers, so I warmed my hands and enjoyed the delightful smell coming from the horses. We arrived at a temporary dinner cabin, which was heated and sat down at a long table. At the end of our table was a country singer that played for us throughout dinner. He was amazing, along with the food and the poetry. Yes, the old man that owns the company and his son, drive you, serve you and entertain you. We saw two couples get engaged right after our steak and prawns dinner. It was a truly unique experience, which I would love to do again with my hubby. We had a really fun time chatting and relaxing in God's cold creation!!!

The Three Days of Christmas

Merry Christmas! Today is the first day for us this week that hasn't been Christmas! We had such a fun week with our families remembering Christ's birth, eating, and opening a lot of presents!!!! Some of the highlights were listening to Rylie recite her verse about Mary giving birth to her firstborn son (Luke 2:7) and wrapping him in "swaddly" clothes. Also listening to Rylie wish everyone a Merry Prismas and telling us about visiting Santa at the North Pole ( a friend dressed up like Santa in his neighborhood-Thanks Rick!) So we started our Christmas tour on Christmas Eve and went to Grandma and Grandpa Skinner's house. My 6 year old nephew sang a solo at Eagle Nazarene, so we went and cheered him on and sang some praise songs. We are so thankful for Christ's birth and all that he has done in our lives! I got my Photoshop Elements 7 Program, so now I can start working with my pictures and doing some digital scrap booking! Thank you Dorothy and my hubby! Then it was on to Nana and Papa's house Christmas morning for turkey, laughter and a mountain of presents!!! We received the game Cities and Knights and it goes with our Settlers of Catan game. If any of you know us, you know Craig and I are both competitive and we love this game!!!! Thanks Randy and Chris- We are ready to take you on at the cabin. Then the last stop on our tour was my parents house on the 26th. I felt bad because I think Rylie was beyond tired and almost seemed tired of opening gifts! But don't worry Santa delivered to my parent's house this year and she got her bike that she asked for!!!! Thanks Mom and dad for helping Santa. So you ask what we are up to today. Absolutely nothing! We are sitting in piles of gifts and thanking God for all that He has provided for us this last year! Beyond the gifts and material things God has taught us that He will provide for us no matter what by bringing people into our lives and joy in hard situations. Also, that he asks us to be faithful to Him just by sharing with others! If you stop in all the Christmas Craze and think about Christ coming to earth just like us and then sacrificing himself for our sin, how could we trust anything else?

Frosty The Snowman and Santa Claus

Rylie's new favorite movie is Frosty The Snowman and her new favorite person is Santa Claus! Rylie and I stopped by Barnes and Noble yesterday afternoon. We were looking at books when suddenly from across the store we heard a loud "HO HO HO". Rylie could barely contain herself and she started jumping up and down yelling and pointing "It's Santa, It's Santa!" We have talked a lot about Santa this year and I told her that he wasn't real. She said, "I know mom, he isn't real until he comes to life and brings us presents." So I am pretty convinced she thought it was Christmas! We walked over and she sat on his lap and told him she wanted a new bike. Later as we were getting ready to leave the store she ran over to the window and said "Hey, where is Santa's car?" I told her that his sleigh and reindeer were probably out front, or that Santa had already taken off on his sleigh! We continue to talk about the real meaning of Christmas, but I think it is still ok to enjoy a little bit of the fantasy as well.

Today, I woke up to a light dusting of snow, roads made of ice and to my wonderful husband who turned 33 today! Happy Birthday Baby! Rylie loved sledding with our neighbors, but Craig was not thrilled about being outside in the cold-can you tell???

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Ok, so there is no snow and it is only the 2nd of December, but we decorated our tree today and put out a few Christmas decorations. I love putting out our nativity set every year (our friends Brenda and Amy gave it to us for our wedding), because it always reminds me of why we celebrate Christmas. Last year I don't think we took it down until June (I was very pregnant and working). It is very easy to forget that Christmas is all about Christ, with all the shopping, presents and Santa Claus mayhem. Rylie was very sweet today and we had a lot of fun decorating. She started off the morning by trying to wrap some sidewalk chalk in a scrap of wrapping paper. She said, "This is a present for baby Jesus to open on Christmas!" Then she went on to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus 5 or 6 times. As we decorated she kept asking me if it is "Prismas" yet and told me that she really wanted a Candyland to eat (candycane)! Ella is also into all the presents and decorating, but they end up in her mouth instead of on the tree! One more thing I have done to get into the Christmas spirit is I have been reading Karen Kingsbury's Christmas collection about giving back to others at Christmastime (The Red Glove Series). I am praying that someone that has never experienced Christ in their life will somehow see there need for Him this Christmas!