Happy Birthday, Jesus and Merry Christmas, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Jesus! In order for the real meaning of Christmas to not be lost in the shuffle of presents, we have decided to make a cake for Jesus each year and sing Him Happy Birthday.

Jesus' Cake

We have been keeping the Post Office, UPS, and FedEx delivery folks busy the last couple weeks with all the presents coming in from you all. Thank you so much!

Putting cookies and milk out for Santa

Christmas morning started dark and early at 5:30. We got the girls up early hoping that Ellie would take an early nap prior to Christmas dinner with some friends. Thankfully she did nap so it was worth it.

Here is the big reveal...Santa brought Gracie a bike and skates, while Ellie got a tricycle and popcorn.

Santa might bring popcorn again next year...it was cheap and she loved it. Between that and her "lips" (chapstick) she was very satisfied with Christmas.


The bikes were a hit! Gracie has been asking for a princess bike for months and never once changed her mind. She immediately wanted her helmet aka "seatbelt for her head" and pads on so she could look like a pro.


It rained all night last night and when we got up this morning the snow was gone! That allowed us to get out of the house and ride in the driveway, which was a rutted ice sheet yesterday. The girls had a blast and Gracie even started getting the hang of pedalling herself.






Mamaw and Granddad sent some blocks which only took Santa about 3.5 hours to put together. However, they have been a big hit! The girls have been building roads, towers, castles, and houses down in the basement. Ellie has also been enjoying the new-to-us furniture we got for the study.

Is she a boy? Caught in mid-launch...

Crash!

Though we were not able to celebrate Christmas with our family in California, we had a great day and great evening with friends. We were also able to drop some goodies off at the local Fire station here too. We wanted to thank them for allowing us to feel safe in our homes with our families while they spent the day protecting us while being away from their families. It was the first time we did that and I think it will become something we do every Christmas.

Merry Christmas, everyone and may the New Year encourage you to live more, love harder, and laugh often. God Bless you and yours!