Christmas!

We were blessed to have a wonderful Christmas this year with our families! Instead of four different posts, I decided to make one gigantic post- four for the price of one! Hope you enjoy and that you had a blessed Christmas also!

Foropoulos Family Christmas
We left for Jackson on the 23rd and shortly after we arrived, we received a call that my Mammaw (my dad's mom) had passed away. She has struggled with Dementia for the past several years, and although we will miss her, we rejoiced to know that she was a Christian, is now in Heaven, and that her suffering is over. I was so blessed by the example of faith and trust in God that my dad set for each of us when he prayed before we had our Christmas dinner that evening, praising God in the midst of losing his mom! Mom made a wonderful dinner and as always made sure that we were all taken care of! Then the kids gathered around for a Grandaddy Williams story from my dad...he's a great story teller!One of my favorite traditions as a child was that each year we would go with my Nana and Pop, cousins, aunt and uncle to eat Christmas Eve breakfast at the Old Country Store. We did this for at least 20 years until both my grandparents had passed away a few years ago. The memories were just too much to return until this year. My mom decided it was time to go again, and then we got a call that my Aunt Carol, Uncle David and Jeremy would be joining us...the only ones missing were going to be my cousin JulieAnn, her husband Jeremy and their daughter, Jayden. As we waited in line, we got a call that they were surprising us! It was such a blessing for all 21 of us to be able to return to this tradition together this year! I was so glad for my boys to get to experience this with their cousins!


Afterward, my dad headed to Memphis to make funeral arrangements, and we had an afternoon at home for the kids to take a nap before a fun evening opening gifts. Before we opened presents mom was sure we heard the Christmas story, and it was so special, because my sister had helped her oldest children memorize Luke 2!!! So, they recited the Christmas story to us all! We received several thoughtful gifts... one of the sweetest things was the candle globe that my brother Zachary bought for me (he also got mom and Wave one) with his own money...he is such a great guy. I'm so proud of him for so many reasons...he is very thoughtful, talented and generous! I love you even though you probably won't read this until the next time I'm home and ask you if you've been checking it ;) Each year my sister, Waverly has asked for the same thing from me...an Ugly Elf. In the 5th grade I made a clay elf ornament...he has been through a lot including lots of breaks and super glue repairs. So this year, I made her a replica! She was so excited and it made me happy...I have the best big sister ever and loved seeing her reaction!
Christmas in Paris
We headed home to Paris Christmas Eve night. Before the boys went to bed, we explained to them that the next morning would be Christmas Day! I told Caleb that when they woke up, we would go to the living room, read the Christmas story and then open presents. He asked if we could reverse the order and open presents first. I explained that Jesus was the reason for Christmas and that the most important thing was worshipping God on Christmas. When he came into our bedroom Christmas morning, he climbed up into the bed with us and said one of the most precious things I've ever heard, "When are we going to go to the living room and worship God?" What a blessing that he got it at least in that moment...Christmas isn't just about presents, family, food and decorations...it's about worshipping Emmanuel~God With Us!
Here are the boys Christmas morning in their new jammies from Nanny...
Opening their beanbags...
And camo overalls...they love camo~we don't understand, but apparently it is necessary for two boys who love getting dirty and hiking in the woods behind our house! We had a wonderful Christmas morning at home! We had planned on spending most of the day at home, but with my grandmother's funeral being Saturday, we wanted to be sure to spend plenty of time with Corey side of the family also, so we loaded up after breakfast and headed to Murfreesboro.

Christmas with the Cains
We had a great time with Corey's dad's family. Grandma Sue cooked a great Christmas dinner, and we enjoyed the time we spent together. I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted, but had to get one of this moment right after Caleb saw their record player...it copies records onto CD...when they pulled a record out to try it, Caleb said, "Oh my word! That is a huge CD!"We weren't able to be there very long because of the change in our plans, but I really appreciate how thoughtful and flexible all of Corey's family was.

Christmas with Nanny and JR
We headed to Nanny's house late Christmas day. The boys were a little wired! JR's son, Sam and his wife, Mary were there...I hope the boys didn't scare you too badly ;) Once we put them in bed, they conked out immediately. The next morning we woke up and opened presents.
The boys with their cool new crash cars from Aunt Michele that go on a race track...
Nanny and JR got us a cool family present this year... a Wii! Thanks so much we're having lots of fun!

Michele know how much Bennett loves music, so she got him this cool keyboard and a drum set. Caleb enjoys taking pictures, so she got him a neat camera...
JR wanted a robe for Christmas, and we all wanted a chance to try it on...the boys both got in after their bath!In their new pjs from Nanny...

What a wonderful Christmas~ God is so good!

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!