Lived to Love for Us

"Can you hear the baby crying? That's the sound of God denying himself taking on the form of man in flesh. Can you see the virgin weeping? Thats the pain required for keeping God's great promise to deliver us from death. Merry Christmas to all mankind. The King is coming just in time. Into the darkness light will shine so bright and beautiful. Merry Christmas to all!"

As this Christmas season came to life around us I couldn't help but remember the life that was brought into this world that is truly the reason for our celebration. God sent his son Jesus so that we could experience true life and in that learn to fully love.

The lights, the music, the gifts and festivities do bring to life so much happiness and giddiness during Christmas but the true joy comes because of the gift of Jesus Christ. 

Even in the darkness of this world His life shines. Today, on Christmas, I received the news that a precious little girl whom I spent many (yet so few) days with in Moldova was in a car wreck and her life was taken. My heart is broken because I know the joy and love that she brought impacted many and will be missed. I am thankful she now is freely dancing with Jesus though. His love and the promise of eternity exceeds the pain and sadness that we experience now.

Again, we live because of love. Jesus' love is more than we deserve but he loved us anyway. He entered into our lives just as we are. 

"God is not offended by our humanity. Instead, He came into our humanity."

 - Louie Giglio (12 Words of Christmas)

So Merry Christmas; may your life be fulfilled through his life and love.

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:10-14

Christmas Festivities

For years Ash and I have wanted to plan a Christmas dinner party. But more specifically a progressive dinner. At least ten New Years Eves ago my parents were a part of a traveling dinner party which sparked the interest in me. It is one of those things that gets talked about but never happens. This year I am set on doing things I have not done over the years to make the most of my last year in high school :) This party was one of them...

We started out with appetizers and mingling at the Sellars... Thank you Aunt Dana for opening up your beautiful home to us :)

We then drove across the street to the Pollocks to enjoy a few bites of salad before continuing onto the Harkins for a delectable main course including pasta and chicken with sauteed veggies plus Holiday Punch!

After a time of spontaneous worship, we left for the final house (our home) for desserts and games.

Altogether it was a lovely night. It was a refreshing night and a wonderful way to enjoy our break and this special season. The memories made so far have been amazing and I know there are so many more to come :)

A Christmas-y Night!

Tonight we finished the Christmas decorating, enjoyed a meal cooked by my dad, then ate homemade banana pudding while watching White Christmas.

I love this season! It is so busy but it is also full of wonderful traditions. Our big Christmas tree is now displaying the multiple collections of ornaments us kids receive over the years. So many of them are from my Nana. Lots are from my Memaw (which we still receive). Then some our from our parents!

Tonight we watched one of many Christmas movies that will be viewed these next few weeks! White Christmas is my favorite holiday movie. We watch it every year... and always sing along :)

I love Christmas. I love the lights and the decorations. I love the traditions and the celebrations. To me, it is all a constant reminder of the birth of our Savior.

{24 Days of Thanksgiving=Day 24}

The end of the Thanksgiving celebrations has come but it has been a wonderful few weeks celebrating this beautiful weather and the abundant blessings in my life. The thankfulness continues even into this Christmas season.

God's Word tells us to give thanks always and I am encouraged to be mindful of the many blessings I have. I absolutely love Thanksgiving. I love the baking and the warmth of a home during the slight chill. I love the reminder to be thankful and to recognize all that we do have.

It's a wonderful transition into the busyness of the Christmas season. Thanksgiving produces gratefulness and causes reflection. This time of year can be so hectic but Thanksgiving slows us down. I really believe God uses this time to prepare us for Christmas if we allow Him. Be thankful always. Don't allow the gifts and the shopping to consume you. Remember why we celebrate this holiday. Be thankful for the gift that God sent us.

That is why I am thankful on this day of Thanksgiving. God sent His Son into the world so that we could have life. Are we making it worthwhile? Are we remembering that every step of the way? He gave us His special and beloved Son because He loved us that much. Remember that during this season which really is all about the gift of Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

Christmas Vacation

Just a little recap from vacation...The night we got there included trying to push the car up the driveway to no avail, resolving in ordered pizza for dinner, and stuffing us 4 kids on one couch under piles of blankets to watch a movie because the heater was not working. A cold yet exciting night. The next few days was a mix between sledding, building a snowman (notice the singular-I was the only one who built one), playing games and reading. On Wednesday was our first day of skiing! It was cold, snowy, and fun. Taking lessons was very helpful and the next two days we were going down all the greens and blues! I think we caught on pretty quickly and all of us can't wait to go again =)

The third day of skiing, also our last, Ash and I wrote this hilarious note and hid it up on top of one of the lifts. We tied it to a branch and covered it with snow. 2 weeks later our friends, Blake and Brandon, went up to ski at Wolf Creek too. We showed them on a map and even talked to them on the phone while they were up on the mountain to guide them to it, but they didn't ever find it. It was a sad treasure hunt!

Here is a compilation of pictures and videos from out trip =)

We definitely had an amazing vacation and made lots of memories. Thanks dad for taking us :)

Different doesn't always mean bad =)

This was a very different Christmas. A good different, but still a little challenging. I have never been away from home on Christmas. I have never been without my big sis on Christmas. I have never went to bed without the excitement of waking up to gifts underneath the tree and knowing the day will be full of festivities.

I experienced all of that not happening this year.

And it was probably the best thing for me. As I laid in bed on Christmas Eve I thought about how much we change and our lives change. I realized that sometimes were going to be away for the holidays (Who knows where each of us will be just 5 years from now-Rachel is already a few states away), sometimes the people we most love are not going to be with us on every special occasion or holiday (especially as we get older), and sometimes a present does not come in the form of a perfectly wrapped gold box with a big red bow. Although I "went without" those things, I still had a lot of my family and made memories for a lifetime up in the mountains of Colorado. God really spoke to my heart that night. My family has always set the focus of Christmas to Jesus. We wouldn't have it if He did not come into this world. So what is the point of celebrating if we don't truly remember why it is such an important date? There isn't one. We still do gifts and in the recent years that has been a little different. Last year I explained what we get and why. It is still gifts we like but they have meaning in one way or another. =)

So even though we had a different Christmas the meaning stays the same and after a little struggling I was able to embrace that.

Truly A White Christmas

We are leaving in 3 hours to go to Colorado! Yes, it is 2 a.m. and we are leaving at 5 a.m. Am I trying to pull an all nighter? Yes. We have had so much to do and I would rather hold out a few hours then try to wake myself up after a short nap.

We will be in the car for about 16 hours (give or take..depends on the weather) in just a little bit. I will probably sleep the first half of the trip and enjoy the scenery the next half. It is going to be snowing when we get there so we are bundling up and praying for a safe trip.

Most of the time we will be playing games, watching movies, and just spending time as a family. 3 of the days we get to go skiing! It's an amazing Christmas present. I will probably fall. Get up. Fall again. Get up. And finally ski! It's my first time so I am a little nervous but it will be fun no matter what. I am sure there will be a lot of hot cocoa and wrapping in blankets once we get back to the cabin. =)

We are still planning on having a huge Christmas feast! Mom and I have been working on pulling together a few ingredients and making a grocery list for when we get there. We have to have at least some of our traditional desserts and of course yummy ham, sweet potato casserole, macaroni, and other fun feasty foods. =)

Praying my mouth will heal up soon so I can eat real food...it's going to be an interesting car trip. Lots of applesauce! :)....:/

We will be gone for 9 days! I am sure the trip home next Sunday will not be as exciting as the trip there, but be looking for some pictures after Christmas. I will start taking those in just a few hours =)

Well I pray everyone has a wonderful Christmas. I'll be missing everyone especially my sister and brother, Rach and Joshua, who will be thought about every day of our trip! It will be good though.

Merry Christmas!

Oh the holidays!

It's Christmas time again. I love the holiday season for many reasons; family time, no school, enjoying friends, and the joy that seems to be so evident during this time. Today began that season for me. School is officially over for a month and I have a busy yet relaxing break to enjoy.

Saturday we depart for Colorado. We will be on vacation for 8 days with no internet or phone service..it's going to be a nice family trip. My dad is taking all of us skiing for Christmas. This is our first time to go so we are all excited!

For one reason I have mixed emotions about this vacation. This is my first Christmas without my big sister, Rachel. Joshua and Rachel are staying in California this year and we are all bummed that we have to be a part. I just keep telling myself God's plans are good and He works all things together for the good of those who love Him. I don't know when the next time I will see her again (it has been 7 months...the longest I have been without seeing her). I am praying God provides a way for us to be together soon. I miss them terribly and look forward to when we can all spend some time together.

It is going to be a great Christmas nonetheless, and I will probably take way too many pictures of the piles of snow and beautiful mountains. I pray this is a blessed Christmas for everyone and that we all remember the reason we celebrate it. =)

For unto us a child is born...

This Christmas was such a blast! Christmas Eve we were with awesome friends we have known along time and have spent the last 4 years or so there. During the day we cooked a TON then we actually opened all of our gifts from our parents. It is something we started doing because mom always put stuff in our stockings that had to do with gifts we got. Like this year my dad got a blu-ray player and mom had blu-ray dvd's in the stockings. After we got home Christmas Eve we opened the sibling gifts. :) Even later that night we decided to go check out the Snow and this is what resulted......

Hunter face planted...then I jumped in...then Ashtyn...then Ethan...I love my family! =)

Our HUGE stockings. My mom made these last year. The kids were so happy because that meant more stocking stuffers. :)

Just Dance.
The game of the century...okay, well not quite, but that's the way it was for my family over the holidays. My mom got Wii fit from all of us kids and she got Just Dance from my dad. We have played Wii so much this Christmas. It has been great family time and laughing time. :)

Rae, Joshua, and I chillin on the couch at our friends on Christmas Eve. :)






One of the many games we played...Mom got the new Cranium on Black Friday and we have played it lots! We played Risk, Settler of Catan (a super, awesome, fun game!...our family neighbors across the street got us the Seafarers one for Christmas so now we have an addition to add on to it...i can't wait to play), Life, cards (every card game there is to play), and Wii!


This was Christmas afternoon...the girls won =)

A Christmas tradition....there are many things we do every year (like watching It's A Wonderful Life) and normally something new too. The biggest thing for us are the gifts we get. We(all the kids and parents) get 3 main gifts. A few years ago my parents knew they wanted to change the way we do Christmas just so that we stay focused on what it's all about. So they decided we would get gifts similar to what Jesus received.

1. Gold. Something big we want or just anything we would really like...Some years it might be big and others it could be small, but it's always fun.
2. Myrrh. Anything having to do with our body (clothes, perfume, jewelry, etc.) Kind of similar to the Myrrh Jesus received which was used for incense, perfume, and medicine.
3. Frankincense. A gift having to do with our relationship with the Lord. This year I got an electronic Bible. Sometimes it is a devotional book, a worship Cd, etc. Frankincense was a resin that was burned in the temple. So these gifts are related to that.

Just thought I would share a family tradition. I would love to hear yours!

Overall, we had a great Christmas...it ended too fast but I am thankful for this break and the reminder, we all need, of why we are here.

My Favorite Gift I Gave

"Chuck Taylor"

As I said in an earlier post, I drew Ashtyn in our sibling drawing. I got her a beta fish and all the housing stuff it needed. She is super easy to shop for, but I didn't want to get her the "usual" stuff. A couple days earlier she had mentioned wanting a fish, so I though "perfect!" I made sure my parents were okay with it and then went with Rae, Joshua, and Hunter to get it on Christmas Eve. Yes, I procrastinated way too long on getting her gift. I knew what to get her, but I waited way too long. I seem to do that...I can be very organized and make plans but following up with them is a little harder. Thankfully, I have an amazing older sister who took me despite my waiting until the last minute. =)

My Gifts!

My first pair of converse. :)

My books...13 of them..all Christmas gifts...my parents didn't know what to get me so this is what I got...almost all from them. =)

"Barber"
My favorite Cowboy's player!!

Family...Friends...Shopping...Sleeping...Wrapping Gifts... Celebrating Jesus= Christmas Break

Christmas break has been amazing! I miss seeing everyone at school, but I am getting together with the people I can as often as possible! I have stayed up super late and slept in way too late but it has been a blast!

My mom finished a lot of Christmas shopping early, so I helped her wrap a few presents this past weekend. Yesterday I went with my dad and Ashtyn to help my dad shop for my mom. He says he would have been gone forever if we didn't help him...we were still gone for 7 hours!

All the kids draw names to see which sibling they are buying for. This year Ashtyn drew Rachel, Rachel drew me, and I drew Ashtyn...Ethan drew Hunter, Hunter drew Joshua, and Joshua drew Ethan. A nice, little circle! Today I am getting Ashtyn's gift and wrapping it then I will be done with her gift! Then tonight I will help my dad wrap my mom's gifts. Rachel picked up mom and dad's gift from all the children and she will wrap it at her apartment so we don't have to worry about them possibly seeing it. =)

Christmas seemed to come so fast this year. As I get older I think life just flies by. That's why we have to learn not to let one moment pass us by and live life to the fullest!

Yesterday as we were shopping everyone would say, "Happy holidays!", "Enjoy the holidays!", or anything avoiding the word "Christmas." Finally this one man who checked us out as we were leaving a store said, "Have a merry merry Christmas!" It made me happy. =)

Christmas Cards

I love receiving Christmas cards in the mail! We already have 6 hanging on the fridge. I can't wait until it's full.

It is so fun to see family pictures and read "newsletters" about the year. It is another awesome way to keep in contact with people and see what's going on in their life.

I'm trying to get mom to start on ours so we can at least send it out for New Years. =)