Can you believe that Christmas has already come and gone? My desire to make Christmas more and more about Christ and less about stuff, busyness, and to-do's gets stronger and stronger the more I think upon the reason for our celebration. I long to have God honoring traditions and purposeful meaning in my life- even more so around Christmas- in order to grow and nurture a grateful heart full of praise and love to our God in me as well as my family. Feel free to share in the comment area any family traditions you have that centers your family on the Lord, I would love to learn from you! Here are some of my thoughts thus far:
* Continue adopting & delivering gifts and food to a needy family in our neighborhood.
* Continue to make gifts for others, spending less & giving more of ourselves.
* Continue to make goodies to deliver and visit with our neighbors.
* Read the story "Three Trees" on Christmas Eve.
* Read the story of Jesus' birth out of one of the gospels on Christmas morning as a family.
* Spend time praying, giving thanks, worshiping on Christmas as a family.
*Making dinner (homemade pizza, soup???) as a family on Christmas day.
For now, here's some pictures from our Christmas this year....
'Twas the night before Christmas... and we were heading to Bubba's parents house... we had our little one in her Christmas finest, all ready for the evening...
My parents came all the way down for Christmas in Bakersfield, what could be finer??? We were glad to have Papa and Grammie here to join us...
All the tiny ones squished on one chair, Bubba's cousin's daughters (Peyton & Devin) and Emery with her littlest cousin, Griffin.... or Big Guy as we like to call him.
The pretty little princesses trying on their poofy princess skirts that I made them!
CHRISTMAS MORNING! Emery was hesitant at first, not knowing what to expect....
but then her sass came out and she went wild with the wrapping paper of course!
Emery waited patiently while Papa put together the shopping cart him and Grammie gave her.
And here she is again waiting for Papa to assemble her other toy- a ball blowing jalopy if you ask me- this bad boy got the boot and headed back to Target.
Then we headed over to Bubba's parents house for breakfast and more hang out time with family, and a few more presents, like this carriage- a Radio Flyer Wagon for Grammie Jackie and Papa Mike's house... they've already taken it for a spin!
Uncle Buddy got the babies matching Cal Poly tractor shirts, too cute!
My mom and Gelayol with baby Griffin on Christmas morning, how cute are his jammies??? They just say Christmas all over them :)
Jackie sporting the apron I made her, she's only been asking me for one for 2 years! It's about time!!!
My silly girl all decked out in her Christmas gear thanks to Uncle Buddy and Auntie Gelayol! We headed back to our house for Christmas Day dinner- thanks mom and dad for all your help, I couldn't have done it without you!
Emery grubbing on her Christmas dinner, raspberries and avocados, which she ate without clothing due to her messiness. 
And of course, what Christmas dinner would be complete without a child in the kitchen sink rinsing off after her meal...
A shot of the Christmas day gang! (Left to right in a loop: Feri (Gelayol's mom), Billie (Bubba's grandma), Jackie and Mike (Bubba's mom & dad), Nader (Gelayol's dad), Buddy and Griffin (Bubba's brother & his son), Debbie and Emery and Resti (Andrea's parents), Bubba & I, Kassara, Noah, Evan, and Jessica (Gelayol's brother, wife, and boys), and last but not least Gelayol.
10 comments:
So cute! I love it! Your family is precious.
You didn't like the ball popper? Micah is a big fan of it. I like it more now that he's older and will go get the balls and put them back in.
It sounds like you all had a fabulous holiday. Emery is just a doll! I love her little fuzzy slippers with her Christmas outfit... I wouldn't mind having a pair of cozy slippers myself!
hey andrea, I found you through the nemetz.=)
The skirts you made turned out AWESOME! good job! hope all your other projects worked out as well. It was nice bumping into you and darling Emery!
emery is so cute! when did she start to look so grown up?!? looks like you guys had a fun time, scott and i loved all the pics...i kept showing him while we were watching seinfeld that we eventually had to pause it because they were so fun to look at! talk to you guys soon! xoxo
S&L
Great post. I love the idea of continually thinking about how to infuse our traditions with ways to focus on Christ. It was SO good to see you last weekend, thanks for a yummy dinner!
Hey again :) It's been fun popping in on you from time to time! I just thought I would share because we just adopted a tradition from a family we respect in our church who have just a tad older kiddos than us...it was a blast this year! We have a wood 'manger' that Ryan built set up by our tree all month. We talk (tied with advent) all month about Jesus and the difference he makes in our lives, what it would be like if he hadn't come and spot ways he shines through others... anyway, then on Christmas morning instead of seeing if 'santa' came, we run out to see that Baby Jesus came (a little baby is now in the manger). The kids were super excited about it and then we sang Happy Birthday to him and proceeded with the rest of the days celebration in honor of Jesus' 'birthday party'. The kids are at a super fun age for all of it and loved it! Anyway, just thought I'd share cuz I loved your heart in this post. I think I will adopt your 'make gifts' to give more of ourselves' thoughts as well. Happy New year :)
Hey! What's Three Trees? Do I need it? :) My sister took her older step boys to feed the homeless this year. She said it was the best thing to get them to realize how blessed they are to have food on their table and a warm bed to sleep in much less an XBOX, Ipod etc.
Love ya~
1) Get the book: St. Nicholas, The RealStory of the Christmas Legend. Our pastor talked about celebrating St. Nicholas' Day on Dec 6th and really focusing on how he pastored his town and gave to those around him. Start the tradition of your children leaving shoes outside their door, receiving $ and then using it to give to someone else. We referred to St. Nick instead of Santa all year.
2) Pray for the families whose Christmas cards you receive each day
3) Have a Jesse tree (research online)
4) Give 3 gifts (Gold= something your child needs, Francincense=something for spiritual growth, Myrrh= some article of clothing)
5) We made cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus as well
Looks like you are doing well! XOXO
I just love all these pictures!!! I want to see MORE!!!
Try and put the "Rasberry" video on, that's hilarious!!!
Love, MOM
Your little family is so cute. And your large family reminds me of ours. Difficult getting everyone in the camera frame. I enjoyed seeing how your family is lovin' all over each other.
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