Pop-Pop and Nan Visit

Perfectly Stated...

John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Happy Birthday Jesus!!! And... Merry Christmas to our Friends and Family!!!!

Our day has been filled with many blessings, wonderful gifts and many memorable and funny moments.
Here are some pictures. Our Christmas morning stories will follow.

Christmas Eve ~ Luke found a very creative way of reaching the ornaments that were out of his reach. :-) He was so proud of himself (and then ferious when Mommy claimed them).

Christmas Eve Service ~ Daddy was busy on Christmas Eve. He had to finish his shopping, play both services at church with the band, and then come home to spend time with us before spending the late hours beautifying and preparing our home for Christmas morning. Here are the kids in front of our tree just before we left for the Christmas Eve service. Aren't they cute???
Christmas Morning ~ Emily was the first to wake up. Mommy heard the shuffling of presents for quite a while before she woke up to find Emily sorting the gifts, pulling all of the ones with her name on them out front.
When Luke finally woke up, he quickly noticed the shopping cart and pushed it across the room and over to daddy (who was snoozing on the couch). He then proceeded to scream with delight, trying to wake up his daddy to show him the new shopping cart! Here are pictures of our Nativity... reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas, Jesus' birth.
Here is our tree, filled with gifts under it's canopy on Christmas morning.
And a picture of our stocking, hanging by the fireplace.
Emily was delighted to have been given this doll dress. It matches her very special dress... so now her and her dolls can venture around town in matching outfits.
Luke was so excited to have received this build a bear car. He still does not realize that it's for his furry friends and he climbed right in. He loved honking his horn and for a while refused to get out of the car or open any more gifts. He had received all that he wanted. Then finally he showed interest in opening another gift, from the seat of his car.The kids spent the afternoon doing crafts (another Christmas gift) and playing their new games. They also enjoyed their new videos too.

This evening we will be having our Christmas dinner (grilled steaks with sauteed onions and mushrooms, baked potatoes, corn on the cob)... and will be celebrating Christ's birthday with a homemade Birthday Cake just for Jesus! It's a Christmas tradition we can't live without. (Dinner will be followed with a walk through the neighborhood to look at the Christmas lights and some dancing in our yard with our light show.)

P.S. Our light show is getting a lot of traffic each night. There are times that we notice at least 6-8 cars in the cul de sac trying to get a good view of our show. It's such a blessing to be able to share Christ and the true meaning of Christmas with visitors through our light show.

Just wanted to share...

Our family Christmas photo... we clean up nice, huh? Emily's Christmas Card, made at school.

A quick family photo, planned with matching Mickey Mouse Sweaters. Picture taken at Downtown Disney.
Emily's 2.5 year long wish came true. She was transformed into a real princess at Disney's Bibbidy, Bobbity Boutique! A few hours later, she commented that people really believed she was a true princess because so many smiled, ooh and aahed... and all of the cast members would greet her as Princess Belle. She even had royal announcements on the buses, and other riders were asked to be on their royal behavoir in the company of a true princesses. She LOVED the attention and was on her best behavior as well. Thank you Pop-Pop and Nan for providing this experience for her. ~Happy Birthday Emily!~
Our family took a moment to pose with a Santa Hat wearing Shamu. It was our best family picture of the whole trip. Emily, Luke and Mommy pose for a picture at the North Pole. Across from us was a huge tree that reached to the top of the sky. Behind that was Santa and his sleigh. (Experience compliments of Sea World's Polar Express Exhibit.)
Here's Shamu! He's not a baby anymore and is very talented!

By the way... We won 'Best Overall' for our light show! Keith says we didn't do it for the award, but having the sign in our yard was rewarding to him. He feels appreciated.

Luke's favorite things to do: Sing Jingle Bells (loving the 'hey' part), giving everything (including ornaments) the hammer test, running away from us when we want him, taking toys from other kids while saying, "mine!" and... defending himself quite well when he thinks other kids are being mean. He's quick to give them kisses when I tell him they were not being mean and he cannot hit them. He sure guards his territory!

Emily is quite the artist now and is drawing amazing pictures. She loves to read & write and especially loves playing chase with her friends at school. In a book that she recent made, she said she wants to be a mommy and a teacher when she grows up, so she can be just like her mommy. She also requests the same daily hair style as mommy has and tries to wear matching clothes to mommy whenever she can. She's a terrific big sister as well. She frequently takes care of Luke so that Mommy can tutor, clean house, etc. She's truly a little mommy herself. And... when she's asked what gifts she might want for Christmas, she frequently requests clothes or shoes for her dollies. She even spent some of her birthday money buying an infant size pair of ballet slippers for her doll Cally. She then asked for them to be wrapped for Cally's birthday. She was crushed when mom and dad told her she couldn't invite all of her friends to Cally's birthday party to celebrate with her. She didn't understand why her friends might not come over to celebrate such an occassion.

Christmas Pictures

Enjoy these pictures of the kids...

PS - Luke's new thing is to practice shaving with daddy. Keith gave him a razorless razor to use, and he loves to practice. It's quite the bonding experience.

PPS - Luke is giving the 'hammer' test to everything. He walks around with random objects tapping them on numerous items to see if what sound they make. It's quite funny.

The Kids Enjoy the Lightshow

Enjoy these pictures of the kids playing in the yard while the lights are on. Keith is busy working on the lightshow programming. It's going to be great! We have snowing snowflakes, a dancing mega tree, handmade light balls (made from plastic cups and and staples), and chasing lights outlining our house.


New Developments:

*Emily caught me being teary-eyed during a movie recently and she asked me (with a very concerned voice), "Mommy, are you melting?" It was cute.
*Luke can say, "Ready, Set, Go!!!!" (Usually this is said when he's found sitting in a laudry basket.)
*We frequently find one of the kids in a laundry basket with the other one pulling them around the house (as though carpet sledding). (Soon it will be time for carpet angels too!!!)
*If Luke sees a pair of his shoes, watch out. He just doesn't understand why he can't go outside if he shows us his shoes. He wants them on his little feet so he can go outside to play. Lesson to remember, hide his shoes until we're ready to go outside. (The poor thing is begging at the moment.)
*Luke loves to 'honk' our noses! It's a fun icebreaker for him.
*Luke likes to touch one of our body parts (eyes, ears, mouth, belly button, etc.) and then touch his to show us that we have matching parts.

Emily's 5!!! Moments from her big day (shared with Thanksgiving)

Here are Emily's 5 yr Birthday Pictures!

This was entirely her idea!

Emily had a great day filled with lots of fun and excitement.

First she started the day with the Macy's Thankgiving Day Parade on T.V.

Then, we took her bowling, and she won! She beat Mommy, Daddy and Grandma!

We then enjoyed the afternoon playing in the cul de sac while we waited for our Thanksgiving Dinner... followed by opening gifts and the birthday cake!!!And... Emily's favorite birthday gift, Baby Alive! She first named her Alice, but later at bedtime, changed her name to Sally. (This gift was a group effort between, Mommy, Daddy, Mom-Mom, Bob-Bob, Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks for helping to fill her biggest wish for her birthday.)She was so excited about putting her to bed, and was sure to cuddle with her all night. Her favorite part of being a mommy to baby Sally is when she says, "I love you mommy." It brings a real joy to her face and heart.

So, if anyone is wondering what Emily needs for Christmas (or a belated bday gift), she needs a large package (or two) of preemie size diapers and Baby Alive baby food!!!

It's really cute to hear Emily and Sally talk back and forth. It's sooo sooo cute!

Second favorite gift... her boombox. She's having fun playing her favorite kids' cds and playing games with Luke to the music. It's very cute to watch them. Will Keith get any sleep today? Probably not!!!

Emily Celebrates Her Birthday with Friends

The party started with a little song of "Happy Birthday" sung to Emily by all of her friends. They then picked which bear they wanted to make and lined up to begin their activities. Emily was excited to be the line leader.

Mommy and Luke enjoyed watching Emily and her friends bring their bears to life and creating a new home for their bears.

The kids colored their bears' new home. They each picked two hearts for their bears. One heart went into their own bear and the other went into Emily's bear. Needless to say, Emily's bear has a lot of extra love inside.
While the kids waited for their turn to stuff their bear, we played a little game called, "Emily says." It was a lot of fun with silly times. Emily asked mommy to lead most of it.Each friend took their turn stuffing their bear.And then they each had the opportunity to wash their bear. Emily and Zoe pose for a picture with their new bear friends.Each friend signed their name on Emily's special birthday bear so she would always remember who came to celebrate her birthday with her.Then everyone took turns naming their bear.Here is a picture of the whole gang.
And don't forget little brother, Luke.

Of course, we had some cake. Emily enjoyed handing them out. She decorated them herself.

Gifts - Blessings. Emily was richly blessed by her friends with some very special gifts.Lastly, Emily enjoyed a tea party with her friends. She has been wishing for a new tea set and was blessed with 2!!!