Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Saturday, we went to Hobbsville Baptist Church for a beautiful candlelit service, then headed over to Barry and Marcia's for a Christmas Eve Party.  We celebrated Advent together and then enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Marcia, Rebecca and Jared.  Yummy!  It was a lovely evening.

Grandma, Abigail and Daddy at the piano

The cousins around the Advent wreath.

Sunday morning, the boys woke up excited to see Santa had left presents, and had eaten his cookies. :)

Josiah and Benji Christmas morning.

Abigail playing with her new tea set.

After our breakfast of cheese biscuits, we dressed the children in their Sunday best and went to celebrate Jesus' birth at church.  Logan's cousin Bryant was preaching, so that was a treat.

Our little angels. :)

After lunch, the kids took a nap while Logan and I got things ready for the family Christmas dinner.

The cousins, anxious to exchange gifts.

Abigail cuddling with Uncle Barry.

 We had a lot of fun exchanging gifts with the family and enjoyed a delicious turkey and ham dinner together.   The biggest surprise of the day came when Abigail took off walking at the end of the night!  No more holding hands or surfing around the furniture for this little lady!

Walking on her own!  So proud!!!

 We had a lovely Christmas!  More pictures from our trip are coming. :)

Our Carolina Christmas

We left for NC last Friday night at 6:40 p.m. and arrived Saturday morning at 9:10.  Our plan was to drive through the night so the kids would pass out and wouldn't require so many pit stops.  In usual fashion, they foiled our plans and stayed awake until 2 a.m.!  We had to stop 6 or 7 times along the way.  Little boogers!

Grandma was so happy to see her grandchildren!

 Papa Claus, a.k.a. Saint Curtis, had bicycles waiting for the boys!  They've been having fun in the mild weather here.  Today it is 68 degrees already, at 9:30 a.m.!

Thank you, Papa!

 While we were celebrating Advent together one night, the boys created a "Garden of Eden" and acted out The Fall for us.  They're learning a lot this Advent!

Abbey loves her Papa!  

 The kids have a lot of fun with their Papa Perry!  He seems to have a little fun too. :)

I'll keep posting pictures as our vacation goes on.  This past week I haven't taken too many.  I'll blame it on the nasty cold we've all been blessed with.  Logan and I have been working remotely this week but will have next week off.

As you can imagine, the boys are counting down the days 'til Christmas, although they're not that much more excited than I am!  I love Christmas.  I'm excited to see the kids' faces when they open their gifts from "Santa." :)

Some Good Reads

Here are some links to interesting articles I've read recently.  Enjoy!

How December 25 Became Christmas
The "X" in "Xmas"
Hell-in-a-Handbasket?
In the Bible, "all" doesn't always mean "all"
Cussing Christians
Why is Military Active Duty, but Parenting is Opting Out?
How Doctors Die

The Meaning of "12 Days of Christmas"

Josiah's favorite song to sing this Christmas season is "The Twelve Days of Christmas," and also it's mischeivious cousin, "The Twelve Pains of Christmas." Logan found some info on the meaning of this "silly" song.

The twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days between Christmas Day, the birth of Jesus, and the Epiphany, the day Christians celebrate the arrival of the Magi and the revelation of Christ as the light of the world. The origins of the song are in religious symbolism, dating from a time of religious persecution. It was written as a secret catechism that could be sung in public without fear of arrest - a memory aid for Christians.

Each element is a code word for a religious truth:
1. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus.

2. The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments.

3. Three French hens stand for faith, hope and love.

4. The four calling birds are the four Gospels.

5. The five gold rings recall the Hebrew Torah (Law), or the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament.

6. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation.

7. The seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

8. The eight maids a-milking are the eight Beatitudes.

9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.

10. The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments.

11. Eleven pipers piping represent the eleven faithful Apostles.

12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles Creed.

Jesus being symbolized as a partridge comes from the verse, "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but thou wouldst not have it so." (Luke 13:34 and Matthew 23:34)

The "true love" in the song refers to God.

The "me" receiving the gifts is every Christian.

So Josiah has fallen for a very meaningful song! :)

Christmas at Danny & April's

This past Saturday, we headed up to Danny and April's in Portland to celebrate Christmas with my family. Because of my long-ago broken flash, my crop of pictures was very blurry. These are the least blurry for memory's sake.

We gave the boys their Christmas stockings, and then Uncle Johnny and Uncle Danny both gave them remote-controlled toys. The helicopter was a big hit:

After nearly taking out Abigail, the boys took the helicopter outside where they soon had the fun task of fishing it out of a gutter. I think it was when Jonathan picked Josiah up that the problem was solved.

Danny and April have an adorable new puppy, Willy. He's a tiny little thing, so Danny kept putting him away for safe keeping. But he was a big hit with everyone!

April prepared a seafood feast for us: bacon wrapped scallops, seafood stew, baked stuffed haddock and shrimp pasta. It was AMAZING!!!

It was a nice evening with my family. I'm thankful that we had that time together since we'll be with Logan's family this Christmas. A big thank you to Danny and April for hosting!

Bringing the Boys to Church

Every Sunday morning, Josiah protests when he finds out we're going to church that day. We've been attending our church for eight months, and I've just recently discovered why Josiah has been disappointed when "Church Day" rolls around each week. I switched from, "We're going to church, so behave yourself," to, "Why is it that you don't want to go to church?" "Because there aren't any toys at our new church!"

Practically speaking, other churches we've attended have been easier for us. The services last an hour and our kids are shuffled off pretty early on to the nursery, where they play with toys for 45 minutes and hate to leave when it's time to go. Logan and I could sit and enjoy the peacefulness of free childcare. Josiah and Benjamin are 'wiggle bums' and it's hard to take them anywhere, much more so a quiet service where everyone is sitting still for long periods of time.

Philosophically speaking, I believe that families should worship together, that children should remain with their parents so that they can learn the tenets and traditions of our faith. While corporate worship is the reason we gather together, another primary purpose of the church is to educate its people. A good deal of this occurs during the service itself.

Something I realized after this short exchange with Josiah was that he was getting an inappropriate message about church when we let him refer to Sunday as "Church Day." Sunday is The Lord's Day. The boys know the 10 Commandments, so we've been reminding them that we are remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy when we go to church. We've also been pointing out to them that just like their mommy and daddy delight in their songs and affection here at home, God delights in our worship of Him.

The church we attend now is a great place for the education of our children. The service lasts from 2 up to 2 1/2 hours. Families worship together and go forward together to give tithes and alms. During the sermon itself, which can last up to an hour sometimes, the kids go downstairs for a Bible lesson and craft. It is hard and often stressful for us to keep the boys quiet and still for an hour to an hour and a half upstairs, but I am grateful that we found a place where the kids are learning that church is about God, not just another playdate with friends.

Making Merry

'Tis the season to be jolly! The day after Thansgiving, we whipped out the Christmas decorations and ever since, we've been doing our best to enjoy the Christmas season. Some of our fun so far has included:

Making cookies

Celebrating Advent each night

Visiting Santa, first at the Railway Village...

...Then on the North Pole Express...

...And again at Gimbel's in the Harbor:

This was the first time we tried to put Abbey on Santa's lap, and she wasn't having it!

We went on a horse-drawn wagon ride:

(Benji plugged his nose the entire time!)

And we visited LL Bean together to see the beautiful lights:

This weekend we have even more fun things planned, so check in for more pictures later. :)

Body Building Program for the Inner Man

Last night, I told Logan that I didn't feel very strong, spiritually speaking. I think I neglect my inner man just as much as I neglect my outward person in my busy, hectic routine as a mother with small children. I'm feeling like I need to make a fresh commitment to my spiritual health. In God's providence, I turned the radio on this morning just in time to hear Dr. David Jeremiah share this five-step "Body Building Program for the Inner Man." I jotted down these notes and thought they were worth sharing with you.

Body Building Program for the Inner Man
1. Feeding upon God's Word
Food for the inner man, just as we need to feed the outer man.
Navigator's 5-fold approach to the Word of God:
1. Hearing
2. Reading
3. Studying
4. Memorizing
5. Meditating

2. Fellowshiping with God in prayer
A helpful acrostic for prayer: ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication

3. Fasting for spiritual reasons
Dr. Jeremiah has discovered that every Christian who's life he has admired has set aside time for fasting to hear from God: Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Moody and others
As you shut out the outward person, your mind is immediately centered on the inward man.

4. Finding time to be alone
Find SILENCE before God - time to think deeply

5. Fight against the enemies of the soul
We all know what our personal enemies are
We are meant to be instruments unto Him -- He wants us to be finely tuned.

Proverbs 4:23 - "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the streams of life."

An impromptu update

I don't really have time for blogging right now. Logan will be home in a little while, and I have a cookie-making-session to clean up from, dinner to make, and the house to pick up. All in 80 minutes. But the boys just went outside to play with their neighbor friend, I have lovely Christmas music playing, a somewhat tepid cup of coffee waiting for me, and I've had some little things on my mind this week that I want to put to 'paper'. It's been too long since I've journaled any family updates here.

Let's start at the top. Logan loves his job! What a truly amazing blessing from God! The accounting/IT firm he works for will be branching out to do taxes for the first time this winter, so Logan will be getting certified for that. Should make for a very busy winter. Logan is also excited to be going home for Christmas. Two weeks from tomorrow! Where did the time go?

Josiah and Benjamin were in an amazing phase of good behavior that lasted about two weeks. We should have knocked on some wood quick when we started to mention to others how good they'd been! The past couple of weeks we've been dealing with some real mischievious rascals! I'm thinking they're jacked up from the holidays, and so we're probably stuck in this behavior pattern for another month, at least. Lord help us!!! We've been getting sass, temper tantrums, whining, deliberate defiance, etc. etc. etc. Good times. An example from yesterday: I leave the boys alone for three minutes and return to find them "making brownies" in the kitchen. They had pulled a chair to the pantry, got a chocolate pudding mix out, poured about four cups of water over it in a mixing bowl, and poured the mixture into a funny brownie pan that I have in which the bottom just happens to lift out of it...so the watery mess had poured out all over my kitchen table and floor. And sitting in the middle of the chocolate puddle was Abigail. That's what I get for trying to take a potty break!

---Phone call from dear Bree, boys return too soon, time to make dinner, get Abbey to bed, feed the three men, celebrate Advent together, shower the boys, bedtime stories, dishes...and back to the blog.---

Abigail still practices taking a few steps between adults every day, but she's not brave enough to strike out on her own and risk getting hurt. We decorated our fake tree Sunday night, and Monday morning she pulled it over one herself! Unlike her brothers at her age, she seems to have learned her lesson and is leaving the tree alone now. She has started to call out "Josiah" when she wants her brothers. She is jabbering more and more in her soft little voice, but not adding too many words yet.

We hosted Thanksgiving last week and infected half our family with the flu. Oops! Now I'm in Christmas-mode. We've decorated the house, I've bought 90% of my gift list, made my calendars, and the boys and I made some sugar cookies today. Josiah was so eager to begin our Advent tradition that Friday afternoon, he stuck last year's candles into our harvest flower arrangement, jutting out in all kinds of directions. We're singing carols, working through the Shorter Catechism, reading a chapter in their Bible, and praying "Advent" prayers -- thanking God for sending His Son to rescue us and for forgiving our sins. We're slowly beginning to teach them the Apostle's Creed. On Saturday, we took the boys to the Railway Village to see Santa. Benjamin kept telling us, with his adorable lisp, "This is the bestest night ever!!! I'm so excited!"

That gives a very minimal update for posterity's sake--I'm looking forward to ordering my blog book for 2011! Must capture the memories! :) I'll have more holiday photos to share after this weekend, when Santa comes to the Harbor. 'Tis the season to be jolly--I hope you are all enjoying your family and remembering the Reason for the season.

Josiah's Drawings

Here are some of Josiah's recent drawings. He spends quite a bit of time each day working on artwork. Benjamin doesn't have the same attention span yet. After dinner last night, Logan and I posed for this portrait. I love the details! I had some sunglasses on my head, Logan's got a bald spot, and he's even got my earrings. :)

We went to hear Uncle Jim do pulpit supply at a local church a week and a half ago, and Josiah drew this in the pew. It's Jesus and the two thieves on their crosses.

Josiah is in a big fire engine/fireman phase these days. He spends a lot of time dressed as a fireman each day, playing on his new bunk bed like a fire engine. And he loves to watch fire engine movies and of course, draw fire engine pictures. :)

Going Mobile

Here are some cute pictures of the kids from last week. This first one of Abbey was taken by Ben! All smiles:

Here are the kids going mobile at the Catholic Church--home to the largest empty parking lot in our area. :) Abigail was pretty proud of herself with her little walker/buggy.

Benjamin's 4th Birthday Party

We had Benjamin's birthday party this past Saturday! It was a blast. I have a "Bigger is Better" mentality when it comes to parties...to Logan's deep despair. So if you include the 2 and under crowd, we had 19 kids here for the festivities. We braved the cold and stayed outside for most of it, since the boys' parties last winter were headache-inducing nightmares. The kids were all happy to jump in a leaf pile. Talk about an inexpensive party! :)

Casey, Josiah and Zaid were pretty competitive with their leaf throwing!

In the midst of the leaf war, Benjamin exclaimed to me, "Mommy, this is the best birthday party ever!"

The moms and dads tried to stay warm with hot chocolate and hot apple cider...

...and our outdoor "fireplace."

At the tail end of the party, we came inside for cake and presents.

"Let's see who can give me the prettiest smile!" Benji won by a landslide. :)

Finally, it was "present time" (watch the first video in my previous post to see how eager Ben was for this moment).

Thank you, friends, for your very generous gifts! Benjamin was thrilled.

As Ben's friends were leaving, round two arrived - the "adult" party with my family and close friends the Townsends. After the protests over last year's noisy parties, I thought it would be more enjoyable to have dinner with the family after the kids left. And it was very nice! Josiah, Benjamin and Abigail always love spending time with their Papa, Grandma, Uncle Jim and Auntie Linda, and Benjamin had especially requested that the Townsends come.

I don't have too many pictures that aren't blurry from the evening, since my flash is not working. My previous post has a couple cute videos.

When all was said and done, we were all exhausted. But I was pleased that everything worked out and everyone had a good time -- especially the Birthday Boy.