Joy! Joy! Joy!

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10 and 11

Joy does not come from having a holiday celebration with family that resembles a hallmark tv special.


I should know, my Christmas Eve was nothing like I pictured it. Audrey kept me awake from midnight to five am, and then Kristen was roaring to go at 7 am. A stupid misunderstanding with my husband that led to an hour-long argument put me in a bad mood. A tantruming three year old tested me and Phil throughout the day. Target DID NOT have any cameras in my price range left, so we had to use a 5-year-old camera that shoots really grainy pictures. (Our good camera sort of got, um, dropped a few days ago and has not yet been replaced.) And even with our old camera, I did not get the perfect family picture. Kristen didn't want to cooperate at first... even with the promise of gummy bears, and then when Kristen was ready to pose for the camera, Audrey was tired and cranky. Drool, milk and who knows what else was spilled, wiped and dropped on my sweater (and yes, I CAN see it in the pictures, and I can see the dark circles under my eyes from the lack of sleep, too.)


But in spite of the less than perfect day, my family and I were filled with joy. Because joy does not come from perfect days or perfect pictures. And joy can not be taken from us no matter how bad the circumstances.


The joy that is for all people comes from the fact that our God became flesh and dwelled among us. Joy comes from the Savior! I am loved unconditionally by the Creator of the universe. He is what brings me true joy. Thank you God for saving me from my selfishness, bad attitude, thoughtlessness, impatience, and unforgiveness. Thank you for not counting these sins I committed today, or any others,against me. Thank you for taking on my punishment at Calvary. Thank you for joy, love and peace that cannot be taken away. That is the reason we celebrate this Christmas. Not Santa, parties, presents or even family and friends. We celebrate that Holy Night when our God and Savior left His place in Heaven and came to earth as a baby to allow us a way to have a relationship with Him again. JOY! JOY! JOY!




Oh and we did get a couple of pictures that weren't terrible. Some were kind of cute.





And our Christmas day was much, much better:)

Happy 1st Birthday, Audrey!

Our cute little one-year-old:)



Kristen and I had fun decorating the kitchen for Audrey's big day.








Audrey really liked the decorations...liked wearing them, that is!







Decorating the cake with sprinkles was a task Kristen looked forward to the whole day.



Audrey didn't care what it looked liked, it tasted good to her.












Audrey enjoyed celebrating her birthday with Nanna and Debbie.




Thanks, everyone, for the great gifts (even the ones not pictured here ;)










Here is a link to Kristen's first birthday celebrations:

Garage Sale

Phil and I decided it was about time to get rid of a few things. As we sorted through the clothes, blankets, toys and household junk, Kristen and Audrey made it known that a couple of their special toys had better not be up for sale.













Kristen enjoyed helping organize and label the items for sale.







As you can see, throwing Nanna's books on the tarp was one of her favorite chores.







After watching Kristen run back and forth from the trash can full of books to the tarp, Phil decided there was a more efficient way of doing things.




On Thursday, Kristen's friend, Cormac, came over to play.
His mother helped me watch the kids, filled in for me while I took bathroom breaks, nursed Audrey and ate lunch.
The kids enjoyed playing together with the "not for sale" items and of course some of the "for sale" items. I believe Lindsey bought three toys and at least that many came back into our house.




Grandma Debbie came over to play with the kids and help out for part of Friday and most of Saturday.



















After three days of getting up early to set up, entertaining the kids outside all day, missing naps, sitting on a folding chair for hours, pacing with Audrey, counting out change, bagging up items, being polite to some rather odd characters, and tearing down every night, we were all beat.





But thankfully we survived and made some extra money. Hopefully we won't spend it all in Branson next week ;)