Zach and Andrea's Christmas Card / CD

Here's a link to Zach and Andrea's blog to see / hear their Christmas CD that Zach made:

Christmas CD

Click on the link above to get to Andrea's blog and once there, scroll down to get to the songs Zach composed and performed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACH!

Singing a song of gratitude today in celebration of Zach's 26th birthday.

Looking over old family photo albums and remembering days gone by...

first baby - only son, early mornings in front of the fireplace, trip to Brazil, play rooms and bunkbeds, traumatic bike accident, scraped knees, bumps and bruises, dinosaurs and Legos, play loft in the garage, first computer, inventions, tree houses and race cars, street hockey and basketball, broken arm, best friends, braces, playing piano, laser tag, learning drums, first job, driver's license, West Coast Revival, college, air traffic control, courtship, engagement, wedding, first apartment.

Sure do love you, Zach! Thanks for 26 years of delight!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

December

Started the season with getting out my favorite books for preparing for Christmas:

• Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case for a More Joyful Christmas

• Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season

• A Simple Christmas: A Faith-filled Guide to a Meaningful and Stress Free Christmas

We made Advent Bags this year by printing out the dates of December 1-25 and gluing them on little white bags tied with ribbon. We have them on a cedar chest in the living room - so it's a visual reminder of the countdown to Christmas.

Inside, we've placed candy for the kids, a Jesse Tree Ornament, a slip of paper with a Christmas Activity and a Christmas Hymn on it.

Each day, we read a devotional from Jesse Tree Journey, do the activity that's written (see a Christmas Movie, go out for hot coco, get a Christmas tree... etc.) and listen to the hymn and learn the words. It's been fun - even though the kids are getting older, they still enjoy the tradition.

To celebrate Advent - the waiting for and anticipation of celebrating the birth of Jesus- we've been using a little devotional from my favorite writer: Ann Voskamp.

Here's the Jesse Tree Journey that we're using. (Click on the purple link).

This has been a great tool to use to direct our attention daily to the reason for Christmas.

We're also listening to Christmas Hymns during the day. What a wonderful treasure trove of biblical truth!