Christmas at Our House…..(Warning Picture Heavy)

With the addition of our new family member back in September (Loki, an African Timneh with a 6′ cage), we had no room for our regular tree. My husband got this tree from Free Cycle. It is the “Space Saver” tree. It is only 2.5′ to 3′ at the bottom. It is 7′ tall. There is just no room at the bottom so we had to use the piano. Here is a lovely picture of our Great Pyrenees, Zeus. Those are his pillows.

The boys asked for new skateboards. They were quite pleased that these had metal “trucks” and not plastic. Hello….I didn’t know there was a difference. I just based my choice on the cool design…LOL.

Don’t notice the mess in the background. They had opened gifts from my husband’s parents on the table and we left that there….not to mention the trash bag for the paper and all the water glasses. Colleen thought she was getting a poster. A poster that we might have purchased from the Smithsonian. We were sorry to disappoint her but it was only a poster showing her how to connect her new computer. A Compaq Presario with a flat screen monitor. She was slightly confused at first. When she realized what the poster meant….the corners of her mouth slowly started to inch their way up to her ears. She was grinning. Teenagers are not supposed to jump for joy or show too much excitement. According to her brothers, when my husband and I walked out of the room…she became quite hysterical. Their description. Not hers…..LOL!

Gift wrapped!! Set up at her desk!! Please do not point out the dirt on the wall….Her room is long overdue for a “fresh” coat of paint. She loves purple….Randy had all ready moved her files onto the new computer. He also added E-Sword (in my links). E-Sword has a neat screen saving function that allows random Bible verses to flit across the screen. It is also programmable. She was sitting at her computer creating her own Bible verse list to have as her screen saver. These are verses that she has been working on memorizing. That was the first thing she did on her computer. Please note…It is NOT on the internet. Nor does her computer have any games. We don’t want her to get in the habit of separating herself from the family. She has her writing software and her novel right now. We also added some programs she will use with schooling. She just keeps trying to wheel my computer chair down the hallway and into her room…..@@

Because my husband has somewhat of a warped sense of humor…..there was at least one obligatory gag gift for Randy and the boys. Yes….it is what you think……

The boys were having a rough time opening their gift. They were having to fight off a little green monster who happens to love crinkling paper….Not really….she was attacking their toes over the paper.

Here is my gift. He is a guard frog and he was watching over the pizza. He is actually a peeper keeper. My daughter received the parrot peeper keeper. (Try saying that quickly if you please….:-) )

I think they were sending me a message about my inability to keep up with my glasses. Which is why I have four pair. Do I know where all four pair are currently…..ummmm….No. I can tell you where at least two are located…..The kids asked Randy if he thought this would help…….? He rather emphatically replied….NO!!

We had pizza for Christmas dinner. Since it is rare for it to just be us….the kids wanted homemade pizza. We called it Christmas pizza since it had all those lovely red and green peppers, onions, pepperoni, mushrooms and bacon. That was the “Mom and Dad” pizza since the kids won’t eat most of that……They had white pizza and pepperoni. I have never had such a no stress cooking Christmas dinner in the 14 years we have been married. Next year we will actually try “turkey tacos” for Thanksgiving.

Everyone slept in this morning. We had a late night visiting with friends. It was almost 10am when everyone got up. We have always fixed a big breakfast/brunch for Christmas morning. Which means there is no opening gifts until after breakfast. When the kids were little, we would give them their stockings while we prepared breakfast. Then of course you have clean up. After eating we would have to clean the kitchen up so it would be ready for me to start cooking Christmas dinner after the opening of the gifts. This year was no different. By the time we finished breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen it was all ready 12:30 pm. We had the kids open his parents gifts first…. They did get to briefly speak to their grandfather on the phone……

Another year has ended…..we must remind ourselves that even though we spend a day of giving gifts to family and friends……the most important gift we can give….is to give Christ our hearts. To humbly come before Him and invite him into our hearts is the greatest gift we can give because He gave the greatest gift of all……His shed blood on Calvary. He doesn’t want our gift but once a year….He wants us to give Him our all everyday……Everyday should be like Christmas in our hearts. Everyday we should remember what His birth means. It is our prayer for you that you have taken that step….to know what Christmas is really all about. The birth of a babe, who was born to die that we might have eternal life.

“Merry Christmas to all my Family and Friends……..“

My Family…….I love you. I am always behind the camera….which is why you don’t see me there next to my husband and children…….Here I am with my new froggie peeper keeper. It’s the only picture of me taken the entire day…….