dd- december 7

Why Jesus is better than Santa
Santa lives at the North Pole ...
JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh ...
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year.
JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies ...
JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited ...
JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and enters your heart.

You have to wait in line to see Santa ...
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap ...
JESUS lets you rest in His Arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is
"Hi little boy or girl, what's your name?" ...
JESUS knew our name before we did.
Not only does He know our name,
He knows our history and future, and
He even knows our hearts & how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly ...
JESUS has a heart full of love, grace, mercy & forgiveness.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO ...
JESUS says "Cast your cares on me for I care for you."
Santa's little helpers make toys ...
JESUS makes a new life, mends wounded hearts,
repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but ...
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree ...
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree,
For you & for me.

Yes, JESUS is better,
He is even better than Santa Claus.

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i didn't get a picture taken  today.

fail.

it was a busy day, coffee/playdate with some great friends (i truly love these dates).

school, work.

could have something to do with me being exhausted all day because i stayed up until 12:30 am reading "the hunger games."

i got it in the mail yesterday, i have been waiting to get it used cheap, but decided to just spend the $5.

so yes, i read it in one day.

it is THAT good.

ok, rambling over.

dd- december 6

we received our "elf on the shelf" today from santa!

addox has named him "jack the noodle jack."

i think we will just call him jack.

he comes with a story book, all about what his purpose is & rules.

the illustrations are fabulous, which is my favorite part of childrens books!!

 

does anyone have good hiding places for jack?

what are your kids favorites?

dd- december 5

addox was chosen as the star student in his class!

this is big for pre-k little people.

we have a poster we have to fill out, pictures to put on it...

when asked how he became star student he replied

"you have to stay still and keep a bubble in your mouth."

both things he has had to work on.

yay for you, little man!!

he's pretty proud of his ribbon

nova is a bit worried

addox is celebratory. and now nova is... stoned?

dd- december 4 (christmas tree!!)

addox wanted to color by the tree today.

<3 him so incredibly much....

nova put on her ornament. doesn't she looked thrilled?

MOM'S christmas tree rule: eat lots of cookies while decorating tree.

this side of the tree has 3/4 of our supply...  :)))

from my childhood

we got a REAL tree this year!

the first of my adult life.

i grew up with real ones every year, this tree could be my christmas present & i'd be happy.

my house smells LOVELY, and i asked to keep the trimmings & they are spread out all over my house.

trimmings in old vases and jars tied with fabric scraps are so pretty.

(go ask your lowes guy for branches, they're free.)

addox has more fun every year & it is so fun to be a part of...

he kept wanting to turn off the lights after every ornament, and he LOVED all the ornaments especially for him from his grammie/grandad, great gram from topeka. 

he also got out his charlie brown snow globe from gramma, it is sitting under the tree.

he's still deciding where the "perfect" spot should be. 

i love the holidays so much.

dd- december 3

today was a rainy day, perfect for working on christmas sewing.

i love rainy days, and i think i have passed it on to addox because he was thrilled when he saw it was pouring.

"can we stay home all day? and not go out for a YEAR?!"

oh, how i wish sweet one.... homebodies we are!!

here are some bonus pics. <3

dd - dec 2

my mom made hobo bread this week... and she shared.

it is my late gram's recipe, & for some reason it seems we make it more around the holidays.

hobo bread is made in metal coffee cans & i've loved it my whole life.

slathered with butter.

so. good.

someday i will get addox to try some... he says no because it has raisins in it.

i'm not real fond of raisins myself, but it is deliscious in the bread!

i just know he'd love it.

<3

december daily-- D1

i started december daily last year, both on our blog & in an album.

the way it is SUPPOSED to work is the album is made  out of what you have on hand.

for example last year i used cardboard for cover/back, paint, metal rings, and cardstock i already had.

 also it is *supposed* to be made before december ... you just add a picture a day of something special or just a part of your day & journal it.

easy peasy, no stress during a hectic christmas month.

um.

didn't happen this year.

sad face.

so, i will be trying to make our album & be a bit behind.

or a lot.

we shall see.

but i LOVED ours last year, and it is such a great way to remember little and big things.

 ****************

here are our pictures & journal for today--

"king of kings"

i know, blurry.... but so cute...

day 1 masterpeice

25 names of Jesus

i saw this post/idea & immediately loved it.

the short description is each day we read one verse in the bible with a name Jesus is called by.

then addox decorates an ornament & i write the name we learned about on that ornament.

we did it tonight & he LOVED it. 

want to do it with us?

"These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.

our "name" was king of kings, and the bolded part was what we really concentrated on. 

it was already pretty simplified, but i simplified it a couple different ways anyway, and addox grabbed right on. 

a wonderful way to explore the bible & easy project.

(and cheap project! i bought 3 packages of plastic ornaments from walmart, $.99 a box.)

there is even the list you can go by (we are!) w/ coordinating verse, and site for the verses if you don't want to pull our your bible.

  go here to do it with your family!

p.s. did anyone notice how my pictures do NOT have a yellow tint in them anymore? why, you ask? WELLLLL i figured out how to switch my indoor pics to a manual white balance. FINALLY! thanks to THIS post! you have no idea how much this makes me happy. i've literally cried over this issue, my family does not have jaundice and i was tired of us looking like we did!

ok. that is all.

happy friday!