Merry Christmas!

When Bennett first noticed the Christmas decorations at the end of November he was so excited! "Mommy, look! Christmas!" he yelled. Corey and I try to use each opportunity we can to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas, so I asked him if he knew why we celebrate Christmas. He said, "Because we like it!" Well, we do like it, but if that is the only reason you celebrate Christmas, the the hope and joy you experience throughout this season will end in an instant once the presents are all open and the family is all gone...Christmas, I reminded him, is when we celebrate Jesus' birth! And then he asked me a precious and thought provoking question..."Will Jesus be at the party?" And so I ask, as you celebrate Christmas, will Jesus be at your party?

Our family wants to wish you all a very merry Christmas, but most of all we pray that this Christmas you will know Christ in all His fullness...the peace, joy, love and hope that He alone can give! God bless you all!

Cain's Christmas Open House

This was the third year for our Christmas Open House...each year at Christmas, Corey, the boys and I do this as our Christmas gift to our church family. When I was a child my family used to do this when we lived in Kentucky...I remember enjoying it so much, so when Corey became the pastor here, we decided to start that tradition. It is so wonderful to have our church family in our home to celebrate Jesus and his birth! We have such a great time making all the goodies and snacks in hopes that in some way we can show our church just how special they are to us and how grateful we are that God has placed us here! We had the best turnout yet this year...around 75 people! It's also fun that some of our family comes for the big event and is able to spend time with our church. After the open house, we had our Christmas cantata at church...it was so worshipful! What an incredible day! We are truly blessed! Here are a few pics of the boys helping make sugar cookies, Bennett mashing the candy canes for the peppermint bark, and a few before and during the party (it got busy and I didn't take many pictures during).

Christmas at Joyland

Caleb had his Christmas program at Joyland Friday. He and the other children did a great job! Caleb got to be a reindeer. We sat in the balcony so that I would be able to get good video, so I don't have any pictures during the program. After the program there was a reception for everyone. I was able to get a picture of Caleb with all five of his precious teachers! They do such a wonderful job!

The Boys' Christmas Play

Each year at our church they have a Christmas play that the children perform. They have done this same play for over 20 years...it is a very simple but sweet presentation of the Christmas story. Itwas really sweet to see the boys up there together! Caleb got to be a shepherd and Bennett was an angel...

Fun with Friends!

Tuesday evening we had the blessing of hosting a party for some of our playgroup friends...just the parents! We had a great time and really enjoyed being able to just talk and visit without interruption. God has been so good in giving us Fred and Jennifer as automatic friends when we moved here, but in addition he has blessed me with this great group of girls, too! A few the girls couldn't be there...we missed you and we'll have to do it again soon! This picture didn't turn out great, but if you knew the trouble we went through to take it, you'd understand why I'm posting it anyhow!

Sounds of Christmas

This weekend I had the blessing of performing in the Sounds of Christmas cantata at West Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson. I consider West Jackson my "home church" and love being able to go back and play in the orchestra each year. Saturday night, Corey, the boys and our sweet friends, the Hutsons and the Presseys were able to come, and tonight, Jennifer and her boys rode with me to give me some company (well and maybe to see her family, too)...thank you! This year was extra special because I was able to play with my "little" brother! (Who by the way I am very proud of...he made 1st chair trombone in All-West this weekend!) One of my favorite songs this year was "The Last Noel." It showed how all the different things about the Christmas story remind us of the time when Christ will come again...it was such a beautiful, powerful song! As I am always reminded through this Christmas program, our purpose is to point people to the true meaning of Christmas and the Savior whom we celebrate. What an amazing God who would come to Earth to dwell among us...Emmanuel, God with Us!Bennett is into making silly faces for pictures now, and I think Caleb was too tired to smile ;)

Party in Princeton

Corey's mom's side of the family lives mostly around the Princeton, KY area, so that is where we gather each year to celebrate Christmas with our extended family. Last weekend we headed there for a fun night with family. We started off by going to the parade and then headed back to enjoy dinner together. Afterward, Santa Claus (played by Corey's cousin Bruce) arrived bearing gifts for all the children! It was so exciting!!! Our boys, never afraid to start a conversation, immediately began dialoguing with Santa! The boys received walkie-talkies and have had a blast with them! Then the adults took turns playing Dirty Santa, where you choose gifts and can steal (I like to say trade ;) them! It was such a fun evening...one of Corey's cousins has twin baby girls. As I've mentioned before, Caleb LOVES babies! Here was a cute sequence of pictures of him playing with Mia! It looks like she was hurting him, but he kept sticking his face up there for her to grab and laughed about it! He'll do anything to make a baby smile!

We're Finished!!!

After a couple of months of hard work, we are finally finished with the hardwood! Corey has done an amazing job cutting and measuring each board (I've just been an assistant ;) We are still working on getting our home back in order, but hopefully it will all be in place by next week!
Here are the pictures!!!

BEFORE...
and AFTER...

Don't Give Up on Us!

We have not disappeared...I know I haven't blogged in a while, but we have been trying to finish up our hardwood floors in the middle of Thanksgiving. Needless to say, things have been a little crazy around here. We only have a little molding left to finish and then I should be back to blogging as usual (very long with lots of pictures). Pictures of the completed floors will be coming soon, too!

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving for so many reasons...mostly because it causes us to pause and remember how much we have to be thankful for, but also because it brings sweet memories of family! We kicked off the Thanksgiving season with Caleb's school program at Joyland...it was so sweet!
Caleb was an Indian, half of the kids were pilgrims and half were Indians. They sang several songs and ended with a Thanksgiving feast where they sat down together. Caleb couldn't stand the fact that Bennett wasn't able to enjoy the feast too, so he shared his corn and other food with him. Eventually Caleb just gave him the corn, hehe!Once we began our Thanksgiving travels, we first headed to Nashville to be with Corey's mom, JR, and Michele. While they were working, we enjoyed a little shopping and then had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner!We next went to Murfreesboro with Corey's dad, Sue, Michele, Grandma, Aunt Sondra and Uncle Pete...it was another wonderful day filled with shopping, food, fun and especially family.
Last but not least, we got together with my clan...we make quite a large group these days! It's always fun to see the boys with their cousins, and I love spending time with my family...God is so good! We enjoyed another wonderful meal, and Mom, Zachary, Corey, Wave, Dave and I had a blast playing cards until after 1AM. We enjoyed every moment we had together...We have so many things to be thankful for, and our families are right there at the top of the list!

Paint and More Paint

My boys LOVE to paint! At Story Hour last week, Bennett got to put paint on his hand to make a turkey! It turned out so cute! He giggled as I painted his hand and fingers and would've played in the paint all morning!

So, a day or two later when the boys got into the tub and remembered that they had bath paint, they were super excited. No other comments necessary; I'll let the strategically taken bath pictures speak for themselves!

Go, VOLS!

You all know that Corey and I are Titans fans, so what on earth are we doing wearing orange?!? Well, two Saturdays ago, we had the privilege of going to Knoxville to see UT play their Homecoming game. We were invited to go with our friends and faithful Vols fans, David John and Gini Roberts. Unfortunately our team lost...to Wisconsin. But we had such a great time visiting and hanging out with our friends that it was a wonderful day despite the loss. David John is the music minister at our church and does such an amazing job...God really blessed Maplewood by sending him to serve. He truly has a heart for worship! Thanks so much DJ and Gini for your generosity and your friendship!

Leader Day!!!

Caleb's preschool has something very exciting called "Leader Day". Each child has a chance to be the leader for the day and it rotates throughout the year. They each get to be the leader a couple of times, but in the world of preschool, this is a HUGE deal...especially the first time! I was made aware of that by our friends, the Shackelfords, whose son Clayton was there last year. "OOH, you'll want to be sure to be there when he is the leader" I was told by many former Joyland moms.

Well, during the second week of school, the boys and I went to Wal-Mart after Caleb had finished school one day, and a friend (familiar with Joyland) asked Caleb, "So, when do you get to be the leader?" I was devastated when he said, "I was the leader today!"...I had missed his first leader day! He hadn't understood what a big deal it was at that point, but I did. I composed myself and held back the tears and made him promise that the next time he was going to be the leader he HAD to let me know ahead of time!Well, good news! Caleb gave me three days notice this time and Corey, Bennett and I were all able to watch him on his second leader day! I mostly video taped it, but did get this cute picture of the boys. Caleb wanted his little brother right beside him in the circle...he is really sweet about including his brother! He did a great job, and we look forward to his next "Leader Day!"

Sooo behind!...Vacation with the Stephans

I am so behind on my blogging! Needless to say, there's a lot of catching up to do. On our final days of vacation, we ran back through Jackson to see my brother Zachary's hockey game. His team was and still is undefeated! I am so proud...Zachary is the goalie and I'm very pleased that he is not only a talented hockey player, but a good sport and sets a positive Christian example for those around him! Love you, buddy! The boys enjoyed watching him play and playing with Ge and Natiley as always!(I needed a pic of my dad, myself and my "little" brother)After the game, we headed to Martin to visit with my Aunt Carol, Uncle David, JulieAnn, her husband Jeremy and Jayden. As a child, I loved spending time with my cousins...sadly, as we've all gotten older and life has gotten busier, we have not been able to spend as much time together. That is why I was so looking forward to this visit. I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures, but got a cute one of the kids! Saturday night, JulieAnn, Jeremy, Corey and I went to a young couples' Sunday School party while Carol and David kept all three children. We had a great time visiting with other adults our age, and the boys had a blast roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in a campfire at Carol and David's home. Sunday morning we all headed to FBC Martin for worship (my uncle is the music minister there). It was a real blessing to be able to worship with them...it's been a long time! As always, Aunt Carol had fixed a wonderful Sunday lunch before we headed home (she is a wonderful cook...yet another reason we looked forward to visiting!). Thanks so much for a wonderful visit...We love you guys!