The first of many Christmas posts I'm sure

It's that time of year!  

So fun.

Christmas has always been a really special time for me and my relationship with the Lord.

When I think of the Christmas story and the truth of what we're celebrating, 

I am humbled, thankful, inspired.

We have two different friends who have recently adopted children from different countries.

Their children are adjusting.

These little ones are in a whole new world.

Everything is so foreign

And so I think of Jesus.

I think of how, on an infinitely larger scale, this world was foreign to him.

He left perfect peace.

He left complete paradise.

All because of love. 

This song on my new WOW Christmas CD (yep, already busted it out) has ministered to my heart greatly.  

It has again reminded me of the great sacrifice that Christ made by coming in the way that he did.  

What a wonderful time of year indeed!  

To remember how God's plan for salvation began!

 

Empty manger, perfect stranger, about to be born.

Into darkness,

 sadness,

 desperate madness,

 creation so torn.

We were so lost on earth,

 no peace,

 no worth,
no way to escape.

In fear,

 no faith, 

no hope, 

no grace ,

and no light.

BUT that was the night before Christmas.

Sweet Family Time

Thanksgiving was great this year.

It was just us and my sister at my mom and dad’s house. 

We played games, went on walks, and went shopping...and we ate too!

Today we had a special outing.

We saw the Grinch at the Old Globe in San Diego.

 My parents live by an amazing lake and walking down there always one of my favorite things to do when we visit.

 Look at my babies all bundled up for the walk.  

Prettiness everywhere

Sister chats are good for the soul.

My picture taking Daddy

We saw the play in Balboa park.  

That place could not be more beautiful.  

 

We collected some souvenirs from our play.

Ava picked a book...no surprise there.  

Judson picked this stuffed animal...also not a surprise.  

He is such a love. 

Our sweetheart slept so well through the performance.  

I love them so much.  

They just make everything so special.

The whole gang.

My kids love their grandparents so much.

We are blessed to have them.

The play was so sweet.  

Oh how we love Dr. Seuss in our house.

We have duplicate copies of at least three of his books.  

Just can't enough.

 It got us all in the Christmas spirit.

It maybe confused Ava a little b/c when we asked her what holiday we just celebrated, she answered, Christmas!

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

The Latest

James has had this entire week off and we are enjoying it greatly.

Lots of fun outings.

Lots of time in.

Let's start with the really important stuff.
Back in August, Disney Channel started advertizing for their new movie called Sophia the first.
Cruel trick b/c it didn't air until the middle of November.
Ava has been waiting a very long time!
It has been fun to have some lazy days and nights with the fam.

We spent some time at the beach on Sunday.  

Ava was completely drenched by the time we left.

That's a sign of a good beach trip.

And we got to meet our friends new little treasure.
Joy, who just arrived home from China two weeks ago.
In fact, we have a few friends who are bringing home children right now. 
So amazing!

Daddy and Ava went on a nature walk while Judson was napping at home.

I have been playing with my new camera and have been trying to find some fun spots near our house.

I took my little animal loving boy to see home horses near our house.  

Of course we took a trip to Disneyland.
I checked online last week to make sure that our passes worked and it showed that they did.
When we checked on  the Disney app it said they were blocked. 
We were already in the parking structure when we got this news.
It was so sad, I almost cried.
BUT, our passes did indeed work...phew.
So festive and fun.
Favorite part of the trip... Mark Twain river boat at sunset.
Least favorite part of the trip...Judson's pooping right as the parade stared (The parade that we had been waiting 45 minutes for)

Yesterday I got my hair cut with some layers.
It was time for a change.

Thanksgiving Tomorrow!  YAY.

Thanks!

You know those days when it seems like NOTHING is going your way?

Everything that can go wrong, does.

Well, today was the opposite of that! 
It was a wonderful day full of sweet blessings at every turn.

A great day to do my 2012 Thankfulness post. 

My buddy boy was just so sweet today while sissy was at school.

He laughed and played and made my heart swell!  

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He loves to eat chalk.

He always has a pencil, straw, or stick in his hand.

He climbs on everything.

He has the sweetest smile on earth.

I am so thankful that I get to be his Mama.

(That is chalk under his mouth,,,argh that boy!)

Later that day we went to Ava's school for a Thanksgiving feast.  

She was so excited and the joy was all over her face.

We got to sit together and eat some yummy food.

I love that she loved to have me there. 

The best part was the amazing report I got from her teacher at the end of the day.

My girl is READING!  She is doing work independently, is actually enjoying writing, and is keeping up well in first grade math! 

"Best day of the school year" were the actual words that Mrs. Rose used! 

She loves angry birds.

She wants to do an art project daily.

She asks LOTS of questions.

She is so loving and kind.

I am so thankful that I get to be her Mama.

 (Ava with her classmates on PJ day) 

Some other wonderful things about this day...

- I took a trip to Hobby Lobby.

- I actually liked cooking dinner tonight.

- I enjoyed watching some comedies with my hubby and getting caught up on some blogging.

- I forgot Judson's shoes when we we went out today and that was totally fine b/c we live in Southern California and shoes are not necessary even on cold days. 

THANKFUL!

My little writer

It is so fun to see Ava blossom as a scholar.

Her spelling words last week included words like queen, quiz and skip!  

What!  Those are hard!  

And my girl totally rocked it.

 She likes to write little letters for her friends at school and for her Mama

I must say that I am looking pretty good in this picture.  

I love love love her love notes.

 I CANNOT believe how her printing has improved since the school year started.  

The bar has been raised for her and she's really responding well.  

We look forward to her taking off in her writing.  

Another outlet for her to communicate and share.

Just Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 



Today I loved being a Mom

Because, even on the hardest days, there is no place I'd rather be than with my crazy kiddos.

 Today I loved being a Mom because...

I blamed my friend's son for putting Judson in this doll highchair only to catch him climbing into it all on his own.

Today I loved being a Mom because...

 of my MAMA FRIENDS who encourage, support, love and affirm.

Today I loved being a Mom because...

my kids have a safe space to run.
They have friends to run with.
They love to laugh.

Today I loved being a Mom because...

No matter how crazy they make us, we wouldn't trade a moment.

What a special love.

Today I loved being a Mom because...

after a crazy election day yesterday, I was reminded that my lovies are God's precious children and he is their King.   

I cannot control who their president is or what their country will look life when I am gone.

But I can give them the truth of the Gospel and the Hope of Christ.