Merry Christmas!

I'm all about coupons and discounts these days, so when shutterfly.com offered me $10 credit to post our card to my blog...I jumped all over that. I'm so behind in printing pictures, so this will come in handy :o).  So...from our home to yours...Merry Christmas!

Photo Card

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Our "Christmas Countdown" Verses

I contributed to another post for Mommy and Me Fitness...this time sharing our idea for an Advent Calendar. We call it our Christmas Countdown. If you've been reading this blog for a while, it probably seems like this countdown gets posted about every year...and I think maybe it has been. Recently, I've had a few people ask for the list of verses that we use, and Julie created a google page of them for her post so people could have a printable version, but I'm not sure everyone will be able to open it. So...I thought I'd just post them here for easy access. I've interwined the accounts from Matthew and Luke, so we could include as many details of the story as possible.

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


In the sixth month, God sent an angel to Nazareth . . .The angel went to Mary and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  Luke 1:26,28


The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus . . .”  Luke 1:30,31


“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of his Father David, and he will reign forever; his kingdom will never end.”  Luke 1:32,33


The angel said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”  Luke 1:35


“For nothing is impossible with God,” said the angel. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered.”May it be as you have said.”  Luke 1:37.38


An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife . . .She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.”  Matthew 1:20,21


All of this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Mary will give birth to a son, and they will call him 'Immanuel', which means, 'God with us'.”Matthew 1:22,23


When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  Matthew 1:24


In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken . . . So Joseph also went up from Nazareth to Bethlehem the town of David.  Luke 2:4


Joseph went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  Luke 2:5


While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room in the inn.
Luke 2:6,7


And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.     Luke 2:8,9


But the angel said to them, ”Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.”  Luke 2:10


“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. . . You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger,” said the angel.  Luke 2:11,12


Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”  Luke 2:13,14


When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”  Luke 2:15


So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.         Luke 2:17


When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  Luke 2:17,18


Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God . . .  Luke 2:19,20


After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1,2


. . .They went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  Matthew 2:9


When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. . .and presented him with gifts of gold, incense, and of myrrh.  Matthew 2:10,11


For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  Isaiah 9:6,7 
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8

I only put the Revelation 1 verse on our #24 card, because the Isaiah verse is obviously way too long...but I love reading both of them on Christmas Eve.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I contributed to a blog post on homemade Christmas gifts for Mommy and Me Fitness (a company owned and run by several friends of mine). If you're looking for some fun, creative, homemade gifts check it out. We've done the cinnamon ornaments in years past and LOVE them. In fact, I realized the other night that we need some new ones...so it might be a project for this weekend!

Any ideas for homemade gifts you'd like to share??

Anticipating Easter

I always dislike taking down my winter mantle decorations. Not that we have a ton of people over that would see that there is nothing on our mantle, but I just like to have it decorated {because, basically, our fireplace is huge and ugly}. I have some cozy Fall and Christmas decorations that I've accumulated over the years thanks to my mom, MIL, and little bit of clearance shopping, and I keep my snowmen up until the end of February. Even though I usually complain that I don't have anything to replace them, I very rarely find myself able to justify spending money on decorating.

A few weeks ago my friend Laura posted a link on Facebook showing this cute little Spring mantle decoration, and I finally convinced myself that I just needed to quit my gripin' and put one together. My mom was here for a couple days and {since she has much better decorating sense than I do} helped with some ideas {and moola :O)}

My mom and I were talking while she was here and discussing the fact that there doesn't seem to be much in the Protestant church about anticipating Easter Sunday like there is with Advent for Christmas. Catholics, of course do Lent, but we don't really have anything. {Although, I must insert here that we've witnessed our wonderful children's pastor has really been emphasizing this the past several weeks on Wednesday nights...asking the kids to "ponder their ways" each week in anticipation of the sacrifice that Christ made to forgive their wrongs...and we have greatly appreciated that.} Anyway, I added in an Easter "countdown" similar to the one I made for Christmas a few years ago. Each card has a several verses for us to read for the 28 days prior to Easter Sunday. My thought is that we'll read the verses and do some reflection on what Easter means for us as Believers.  Some nights we'll just have individual quiet time {at least the big kids will}, some nights we'll pray together, and some nights I'd like for us to pray for those friends and family that don't yet know Christ as Savior or have fallen away. The cards get flipped after the reading is complete and I put the words "He is Risen!" on the back.

So, pretty much mine ended up looking nothing like the inspiration {except for the birdhouses, I guess}, but I like it. A lot. We're not really finished, since the kids are helping paint the birdhouses and we haven't had enough time {nor have I had an abundance of patience} to get them done. I'd also like to get something to fill it out a bit more...some grapevine or something...so if you have any hanging out in your {local} backyard that you'd be willing to part with, I'd be forever grateful.  Here are some {not so great because the lighting in that corner stinks and I still don't know the best settings to use for our camera} pictures.

       

A Fous Fete!

For Valentine's Day my friend Julie shared an idea about doing a mystery dinner. She got her idea here. Fun stuff. So, of course, I had to steal the idea, but I didn't want to wait till next February! I decided to do mine for April Fool's Day, since I never think any good jokes to play. I'm just not a funny person...I'm horrible at lying...a little silly is about as good as it gets from me. Silly on April Fool's Day is good, too, right? This might actually be the most elaborate silly thing I've ever pulled off {I know...I'm pathetic.}

Anyway, here's how it went down:  I put the menu in French {A "Fous Fete" is French for A Fool's Feast} and had the everyone choose what they wanted for each of four courses. They even had to order their utensils. I told them they should choose at least two items for each course, and could order something more than once...or not at all....whatever they wanted.

I worried a bit about how the kids {mostly Ethan} would do with this, and prayed throughout the day that it would just be a fun experience. They are very particular about how they like their food and "hiccups" in the routine don't typically go over so well {and I fully admit I'm the one who has made them that way}. Everyone did great...except Ethan. He was a turd about not knowing what he was picking...and trying to guess what everything was and write down his choices in English. He finally gave in and filled out a menu the way he was supposed to, but wasn't thrilled about the whole thing. Karis had fun choosing her items and helping Levi with his menu, too. 

The laughter and fun overshadowed the few complaints. Everything went really fast {you were so right, Julie!}, so it was hard to get good pictures. Karis ended up ordering soda, cool whip with sprinkles and cookie for her first course...she had to lick her cool whip off the plate since she didn't order a fork or spoon! Levi had noodles, but nothing to eat those with either. We were especially proud of Natalie, who watched all her siblings get Sprite at some point throughout the meal {a special treat in our house}, but didn't once ask where hers was...and of course I rewarded her patience before she left the table. We'll definitely do it again...Lord knows our kids need pushed out of their comfort zones more often.   

    

Which is Your Favorite?

So, {for the sake of doing a seasonal post when I'm not feeling extraordinarily creative when it comes to blogging lately} I'm wondering what your favorite Christmas season tradition is? 

Cutting down your tree?  A cookie exchange?  The Christmas Eve service?  Maybe carolling?  Is it a tradition from your childhood or your spouse's that you've decided to carry on?  Is it one that you and your spouse have started for your family?

I think I've mentioned before that my favorite tradition has become our Christmas Story Advent Calendar.  Ethan and Karis love this one, too, and Natalie is growing to enjoy it.  Niether Mark or I really did the "Advent thing" growing up, so this is one that we've started for our family.  Granted, there are some nights that we forget and have to do two {or even three!} the next day, but I so look forward to hearing the kids take turns reading the verses {minus the times they fight over who's turn it is}. I like that this spreads the Christmas story out over the course of the month because the Christmas story didn't all happen on Christmas Eve...it was centuries in the making.  I pray that in the coming years our children will grow to understand {and that I will renew my understanding again and again} that what Christmas gave us isn't a one day a year thing...that Christ came for everyday that we live and breath...and for our eternity.   

Well, I'm kind of hoping I'm not just talking to myself with this post...that my "peeps" will humor me and comment...and that you lurkers might come out of the shadows on this one :O).

That first Christmas

I love hearing stories that tell the first Christmas story from the different perspectives of those who experienced it.  Obviously, we're limited in what we really know about what the innkeeper, or Mary, or even the sheep in the manger felt and saw that night.  It's something fascinating to imagine about, though, and I love when word artists paint the picture for us through song or story. 
One perspective that I wish I would hear more about is that of Heaven's {actually, I've been really interested, lately, in looking at more things from that "heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12) viewpoint}.  Maybe because it's more difficult for our human minds to grasp what Christmas was like in the spiritual realm, we hear less about it?  I'm not sure, but I did actually blog about it two years ago here (scroll down to the "on another note..."section).  I'm not sure if my thoughts are theologically sound, but I believe there's a good chance that they're not completely off-base. 

One of our pastors taught on this topic yesterday morning {you can imagine my excitement as I read the sermon title on the bulletin} and I learned there is more to the Heavenly story than what I imagined...

That first Christmas was a declaration of war.  A declaration of war. I guess it's possible that this sounds morbid, but I love that statement.  Read Revelation 12 and work your way through the symbolism.  When Jesus Christ was born to Mary on earth, Satan set out to destroy.  The battle between God's angelic and Satan's demonic forces was taken to the next level.  I picture a scene resembling one out of Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia.  An embrace between a Father and Son.  The Son walking a path to earth, lined with angels, swords raised in reverence and awe.  Angels turning to take their place in the ranks.  On the other side of the battlefield are the demons jeering and scoffing with an "enormous red dragon" poised to sound the battle cry.  Not the typical peaceful Christmas Eve we often picture, is it? 
While we must come to grips with the fact that this war will have casualties, we can rest assured that the victory is, without a doubt, the Lord's.  Because I know this battle is still waging around me everyday {and, I believe, becoming more deadly by the day...as we near the war's end}, this is where I'm choosing to focus this Advent season.      

Scrooge...or Excessive Christmasness?

Is anyone else annoyed with Christmas?  I should rephrase that.  Is anyone else annoyed with what the world is doing to Christmas?  I love Christmas, but I also love Thanksgiving. So, I love Christmas starting December 1st.  I'm a huge fan of celebrating Advent more so than Christmas, I guess.  I know I should be used to the fact that the world takes everything overboard, and, for the most, part I am...and I just ignore it.  Excessive Christmasness {yah, totally made that word up} is kinda hard to ignore, though.

I mean, really, do we need to put up Christmas decorations the day after Halloween?  Do we need to send out the Black Friday ads three weeks early?  As if they don't bombard us enough with all the things we should be doing and buying for each other to make Christmas magic and memorable, they've got to start doing it a month earlier?  How are Mark and I supposed to teach our kids to find the magic in the ultimate gift that was given to them in this environment?  Seriously, I'm asking. 

I feel like maybe if we took the time to focus more on Thanksgiving and how much we really have, then maybe we wouldn't feel such a need to be so excessively materialistic at Christmas. I keep hearing people {including myself} say they're going simple, but it sure doesn't look like it.  I feel the pressure to have gifts for teachers {school and church}, busdrivers, mail carriers, neighbors, etc.  Am I scrooge for opting out {cuz I feel like one sometimes}? Is a kid-made card and a couple homemade cookies enough to spread the joy of Christmas?  Again...seriously, I'm asking.

I do love to give at Christmas.  I just love to give to people who aren't getting.  I love taking the $100 we could have spent on gift cards for the above mentioned people in our lives and putting it into 4 Operation Christmas Child boxes instead.  I love that mine and Mark's siblings are all either in situations where they can't or don't want to exchange gifts, and we can put that money towards buying goats and chickens for a starving family in another country or to buying some gifts for a child in our own town whose family needs help.

Reading over this, I feel like it sounds prideful.  I'm not trying to toot my horn about how much we're giving, or say that if you give gifts to your kids' teachers you've got it all wrong...or even that if you break out the Christmas lights and music pre-Thanksgiving your messing with the meaning of Christmas. 

I guess I'm just venting about what feelings the season stirs up in me, and, once again, trying to find that balance between scroogeyness {how in the world should I spell that?} and excessiveness.  Have you found it?    

Our Pumpkins

I just had to post these pictures of our "pumpkins" carving their pumpkins Sunday.  We had a beautiful day, and for the first time ever in my life {at least that I remember}, we carved our pumpkins out on the driveway. You'll note Natalie's {fancy} shoes in the one picture and understand why she spent about 12 seconds participating in the carving process.   

I look at these pictures of these beautiful kids and know, without a doubt, that God is in the business of creating masterpieces.  We know that we are blessed every day that He gives us glimpses of the destiny He has for them and allows us to partner with Him in the process of fulfilling it.

I am Redeemed

I am redeemed. The sinful life I was destined to lead was bought for the ultimate price and exchanged for freedom. As a mother, I do not even want to think about sacrificing the life of one of my children to save the life of another, let alone all of mankind - especially when it breaks my heart just to see them in pain. How is it possible that God loves me so much that He would give up His perfect son to be beaten and crucified . . . and how could Christ agree to leave heaven for this earth . . . for me? I cannot comprehend this love, yet I am convicted to respond to it. There is a hymn that proclaims a love as divine as this demands my soul, my life, my all. Since I am redeemed by Him, I must live my life for him.

Holiday Pictures

We had a wonderful break for Christmas and New Year's. Of course, it went way too fast, but I was thankful that we made it through healthy and not ready to ship the kids off somewhere else! In fact, I'm really not ready for anyone to go back to school. We love staying home in pj's all day long, playing video games, reading books, cuddling, drinking hot chocolate, sledding, playing board games, spending time with family, and sitting by the fire. I'm kind of convinced we would be perfectly happy as hermits :O).

Here are some picture highlights of our "life" the past couple of weeks:

Christmas Cookies

We've been doing a lot of baking here in the Hunter house. I LOVE Christmas cookies, and unfortunately for my waistline, I have a really hard time keeping my hand out of the cookie jar these days. Here are the ones that have become our "must have" Christmas cookies:

Frosted Orange Drop Cookies, Sugar and Spice Cookies (a chewy gingersnap-type cookie), Peanut Butter Reindeers, Chocolate Crinkles, Butterballs, and Vanilla Cookie Cut-Outs.

What cookies do you make every year??

We're Lookin' Good...

This post is for mom and dad, who have so kindly taken on the tradition of buying the kids their Easter outfits. Easter Sunday was a beautiful end to Spring Break...a little cold, but still beautiful. I had a hard time putting Ethan on the bus this morning after having him home all last week. Actually, I almost didn't send him to school becuase I thought he had today off, too. Thankfully Mark called and said he saw the buses on his way to school! Since Karis doesn't go back till Wednesday I was thinking he had Monday off, too...I'm such an airhead sometimes!

Anyway, here are some pictures of us Sunday after church:

A Laundry List

Okay, so I have a laundry list of things that I've wanted to blog about, but of course haven't had a chance to do so.

1. Thanks to all of you who prayed while we were sick. I think it's safe to say we are done with the flu and that I was spared...I put a lot of stock in the fact that that is because you prayed. Know that I am praying for all of you, as I know that there are several of you dealing with your own health, sleeping, baby issues, too.

2. I wanted to post a few pictures of Christmas. We really enjoyed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day before Mark got sick. Mark and I got everything wrapped and were in bed by 11:30 and the kids actually slept until about 8!

The kids before Christmas Eve service.

Ethan asked for three things: a Bible, an alarm clock, and Warioland for the Wii. Here he is opening his Bible.

Karis with her hairdresser set. We've had some fun giving each other some new "do's".

Natalie with her new baby. She loves to play "mommy".

Natalie helping Levi open his present.

3. Our Natalie girl turned 2 on Monday. I can hardly believe this. I remember Christmas two years ago wondering when the baby would come. We didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl, although I had a very strong feeling that she was a girl. Mark and I spent many long nights playing Tetris while sitting on exercise balls trying to bring on labor! I remember saying to him before bed on the 28th, "Don't get your hopes up, but I think my water is leaking". A few hours later we were on the way to the hospital. My actual labor was slow to get started, but it ended up that the doctor barely got there in time to catch her! She has been a bundle of sweetness and silliness from early on. I just love watching her personality develop. Her name means (born at) Christmas, and I pray that her personality will continue to grow into one that makes people want more of Christ in their lives.

4. I have this really amazing friend named Mandy who I have gotten know better through the blogging and Facebook world. She is a wonderfully creative and Godly mom of 4 who is on a journey similar to that of myself and many of you. God has inspired her to gather a community of moms to share in an online Lifegroup about how we can be more of what God wants us to be. Here is your invitation to join if you're interested. I'm excited about how this will help me as I seek to obey God in all things.

I guess that's all I have for tonight. So much more is milling around in my head as we start this new year, but my pillow is calling my name!