{with friends.}

Last Friday, us girls hosted a Christmas party at our house. We invited some sweet friends and they made it such a wonderful evening! We sat around the table for probably a hour after we had finished eating simply sharing stories, memories, embaressing moments, blessings, and giggles. :)

We are all in such a fun stage of life - our challenges are not that big, and our joys are many. We are learning what it means to trust in Jesus in the little ways...He is preparing us for the challenges ahead. we are so blessed.

Before dinner, we went to a local nursing home and sang just a few carols. We visited with the elderly people for a few minutes ~ someone at the nursing home said, "Oh, this just makes me want to be a little girl again!"

After dinner, we went to a shopping center, divided into two groups & passed out tracks with small packages of homemade chex mix attached. Some of us sang as we went... Some people looked at us with that "Why in the world are they giving me a bag of chex mix?" look on their face. I hope a few of them read the tract & realized that it was because we love them & care about where they spend eternity.

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Once again this year, we went to an Operation Christmas Child packaging center. It was so powerful. We sorted through the shoeboxes, removing the inappropraite items & inserting other items so every box was full. Sadly, some boxes barely had anything in them. Others had enough to fill 2 shoeboxes. As we prayed for the children, I was amazed at the love that grows in your heart for them...this is truly the least we can do for them.

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Our friends, who live south of us, have a "Victorian Christmas" in their town every year. This year, we were so excited that it worked out for us to travel down & attend with them!

Some dressed in victorian attire ~

A highlight for me was the freeze models or live mannicans. They would strike the same pose for what must have seemed like hours to them! It was quite fun to watch. We sipped hot cocoa & apple cider, enjoyed the lights, and checked out the stores and venders. It was wonderful...

The following day, we went shopping. :)


That evening, after almost everyone was already sound asleep, the 4 of us girls were still wide awake. Kay & Joy had just gotten a new bookself for their room, and their dad had not gotten a chance to assemble it. So, we decided to put it together; none of us had ever done anything like it ever before. we were a bit confused as to where to start. :)

Alittle while after midnight, we finished. :) We made so many memories. The weekend passed all to quickly...

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Our "adopted" grandmother (fondly known as grandmary), works at a local post office. This year, the post office sent everyone in the town a invitation to donate toward a special collection. They were asked to donate clothes & toys for defax children, games & health items for those living in nursing homes and a great number of other things. We actually do not live in that town, but since we had connections, (:D) we were allowed to help with the best part; delivering the items.

This is one of the drop-off locations for the children's items. This photo does not fully capture the moment; half the room was full of toys and clothes for the children. It was very neat to see how much an orgainzation could be blessed when a lot of people in one town just donated one or two things...

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this is just a few of the small adventures and experiences that have taken place during our December 2010.

God is sooo very good to us. I love Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!