Prayer For Stellan

McKMama and her family once again need to be bathed in our prayers as Stellan has become sick and his heart has started to give him problems....we have seen God show up in big ways in this little guys life....now let's wait in EXPECTATION for Him to make Himself very real to us again through Stellan! Also pray for his family as they endure this....pray for His peace to be on them at this time... Please click on the link above to recieve updates and to send your prayers and thoughts to this family.....And let us remember that none of this is a surprise to the One that made him!

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb." Psalm 139:13

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Defying Myself....

Why is it that as the richest nation in the world, with all of our wealth, possesions, and gadgets, we as Americans are among the highest to battle depression and anxiety?

I was immediately convicted intrigued by this question posed by our Pastor this week. Why is it that even with Jesus permeating my heart, my love for Him greater than it has ever been, my family perfectly healthy and whole, my house overflowing with food and "stuff"...I still find myself at times, unhappy...unsettled...anxious...worried...irritable...joy"less"??? You know, like obsessing over the size 8 body that I seriously Talysa get over it because that was like 1998! used to have, or the Pottery Barn'esque rooms that I shamelessly slobber drool over but don't have, or the lady in my church...you know the one...that seems to just have it all together while you walk around like an unraveling hem line...yep, we all know her don't we? And probably waste beautiful time trying to be more like her... Or maybe it's fretting over how to make my marriage "fall apart proof", or what in the world to have for dinner tonight , or baking goodies for all my kids Sunday school teachers, or how I'm gonna make up the 2 weeks worth of school we are behind in right now, did I talk wayyyy too much in small group last night?...I am ashamed to admit that this list could go on and on....my name is Talysa and I am a habitual worrier....ahhh that feels better already! But this is also sinful....it is not what was intended for me...it is killing my joy.

What is Joy??? Joy:When we have a heart for God more than the world or it's circumstances

The same way that we are commanded to LOVE our neighbor as we love ourselves, we are also commanded to be Joyful! Pslam 40:16 & Phil 4:4 Which led to this wonderful beating over the head to get my attention discovery yesterday....Joy, just like love, is too often mistaken as an emotion....something you should feel or you must not have it right?? WRONG! JOY is a choice in the same way that LOVING my husband is a choice....not always a feeling!

And no, it is not always easy....but it is not impossible with the power of His Holy Spirit in us...Galatians 5:22

So when I've gained 10 pounds, I can choose to panic...or pray!....when my marriage hits a rough patch I can choose to worry....or worship! Regardless of my circumstance, He is still who He says He is! He is still worthy of my praise! My hope in who I am because of Him has not changed...so why should my JOY in Him change? We may not live problem FREE lives but through the Holy Spirits power within us, we have the choice to live JoyFILLED lives!!! It's a promise...and He always delivers on His promises!

Here are just a few ways we can have JOYFUL hearts this season...

1.Worship (Pslam 100:1-5 & Pslam 95:1-7)

2.Read the word...this is the number one reason we sometimes become Spiritually Depressed

3.Prayer...it is the ultimate expression of dependence...

I know this post is quite possibly hitting novel status but please do read on a bit further...Martyn Lloyd Jones may have just hit the nail on the head better than anyone in History! LOVE THIS!

Sidenote: The "man" he is referring to in this passage would be the author of Psalm 42:5-6

“Preach to yourself” by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc.

Somebody is talking. Who is talking? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s (Psalmist in 42:5-6) treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.’…

The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’– what business have you to be disquieted?
You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God’– instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do.

Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: ‘I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God.’”

–D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965/2002), 20-1.

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Not Me! Monday...

I could not give you a better "gift that keeps on giving" than to tell you to check out McKMama and her Not Me Monday musings...so click here and Merry Christmas!

• I did not wear completely non matching socks to church yesterday out of sheer laziness...that would be a bit risky if you were a person that had to stand in front of hundreds of people for a good 30 minutes out of the morning....sheesh!
• While running out to my car early this morning to get gifts out before my husband could see them, I did NOT try to slip my foot into my 12 year olds slippers by the backdoor only to find that they actually FIT!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
• I did not freak my poor cyber friend out by making her think that I was questioning if the Angel of the Lord had visited her! (thats what I get for asking vague questions!) Not sure which she would have been more freaked out about....being pregnant, or the mere fact that it would have meant that I seriously thought she had a "Mary" experience!
• I have NOT told numerous fibs to my husband, who can't take a surprise obviously, to try to keep his presents a secret...Lord forgive me!
• I have NOT become a blubbering sap over the least little thing this past week...worship yesterday...Christmas songs...reading scripture...Christmas movies...Christmas lights...Maggie's drawing of the Nativity story...my kids singing in Christmas program...leaf blowing across my yard...nope, I am a woman of composure!
• I did not eat more haystacks and peanut butter fudge than I gave away.
• I am NOT seriously about to regift for the first time in my life!!!!! You know, cause I swore I'd never be one of those people!
• After vowing to not send Christmas cards out this year, I did not in fact do it anyway....and the only reason I went against my prior ruling was NOT just because I took the most fabulous pics of my kids and wanted to show them off.... my beautiful kids of course!
• And I most certainly did NOT puff up with pride when someone asked "Where did you get the kids pictures made this year?"....nope, I am totally humble and it would not have flattered me in the least that they thought a pro took them!
• While watching the Charlie Brown Christmas movie last night with my family, I did not spend the last half of the show trying to make sense of why Peppermint Patty looks like a girl, has a girl's name, but gets called "sir" by the little girl in glasses that seems to just follow her/him around.
• This can NOT my last Not Me! Monday posting before Christmas!

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Santa Inspector....

Last night we stood in line for just about an hour to see Santa in our town's square....it is a nice little set up where the kids get their one on one time with him in his "house"....and for $5 get their picture made of course....


During our 12year old whining that he's hungry, 8 year old whining that she's freezing, my ankle throbbing lengthy little wait in line we asked Maggie and Aidan (the only two who still believe) if they thought he was the "real" Santa....they are smart kids and have figured out on their own, just by seeing so many in so many different places, that he obviously has "fill ins" from time to time....


They peered from the line into his little window and both agreed that yes, he did in fact look to be the real thing.....all was well.


Later once we had heard the man behind us telling the whole story of his four divorces, as we moved closer in the line (and had a better view) Adam was commenting on how he thought they were right ....he did in fact look to be the real Santa....


Adam:"Don't you think so Aidan?"


Aidan:(without even lifting his gaze off of Santa)....."No...he's got a watch on...."




"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Christmas Tour of Homes

Somewhere along the rabbit trails that I go down in this never ending world of blogs...I stumbled upon this little jewel....a Blogging Tour of Homes....Fabulous! I just love this idea....especially as a girl that was raised in the south...you know, where we take our "open houses" super serious! I can remember my Aunt Glo taking me to the Christmas Open Houses when I was a young girl...probably about my Maggie's age now...and how I thought I was so "mature" to be able to have my own cup of Spiced Tea... I so should have done that with Mag this year...Next year for sure!

I can't offer you Spiced Tea...or the Peppermint Egg Nog that's in my fridge....but I can take you on a visual tour so to speak of our home and how we "do" Christmas McManus Party of Five style....hope you enjoy...and hope you will follow the link above and play along.

This would simply be "the tree".....it is a special tree for me this year because it is "The Year We Ditched the Pre-Lit" at our house. We had a stayed lit properly for one year hard as heck to put together and take apart prelit for the past 5 years...real trees were super cheap in the Northeast....we were used to paying like $45 for an 8-9 ft Frasier Fir.....then we moved back to TN 5 years ago and holy smokes....the same size and type tree was like $100!!! So we bought a really cheap real one our first year here...which looked like Charlie Browns cause our living room had a vaulted ceiling and I believe the tree was seriously like 5ft tall! My dear husband went the day after Christmas that year and bought me a gorgeous $400 prelit for $75 and Lowes!!!! Whoo Hoo! And it has served us well over the years....but when I found myself dreading Adam getting it out this year because of the stress it induced to put it together, connect lights, see which branch was not gonna work this year, and of course bend the little branches to make it look "natural"...I said "that's it!" Goodwill here we come! Not for one second have I regretted it....especially when I walk into our living room and I smell that smell....ahhhhh....evergreen! And also as a first this year, I did not put one "decorative" ornament on it...it is simply covered in things the kids have made over the years and the ornaments we always get every place we travel to as a souvenier! And I do believe I love it best of all this way!

This is our new addition this year....our "Jesus Tree"....every day our kids take turns placing a heart ornament on it with 25 of the many different names of Jesus...this has by far been one of the best things we have ever done....it only took us 10 years ya know! :-) I had always wanted to do an Advent Calendar with my kids but the perfectionist in me would never consider making one...you know, cause it wouldn't look "right"....and the tight wad in me wouldn't buy one cause they were always pretty costly in my book.....so the best of both worlds collided when I found this one.....ON CLEARANCE....at Target!!! This too has really brought us closer as a family....our kids look forward to seeing what that day holds for us as a family....also one of the best things we have ever incorporated into this Season!
We have a tradition in our house that goes a little like this....Nativity Set...minus Jesus....where is baby Jesus you ask? Well, he isn't born yet of course! We meet him every Christmas morning and place Him with His mom and dad and all of His peeps at the manger! Our kids fight over love placing Him out on Christmas morning! :-)

We have had the same ratty special stockings for 10 years....Adam and I made ours the year we met...and each of the kids...and dogs...have the year they came to be with us on theirs. I have been so tempted to replace them with some beautifully monogramed ones from Lands End....but just can't bring myself to do it....they are special and they will forever adorn my mantle....even when they are grown....there they will hang... waiting. Ok, I'm tearing up...let's move on....onto the fabulous Stocking Hangers I snagged on Clearance at Hobby Lobby....this is my first year to ever have holders so I almost peed my pants when I saw how nice they were made and that "peace" held each one of our family members and "joy" could hold our pooches...AND that they were 50% off!!!...they are indeed heavy enough to kill a small bear I think.

I used to really go all out with the Christmas decorations....not sure what has happened to me...either I'm letting go slightly of the I'm talking must have coordinating Christmas soap dispensers in the bathrooms perfectionism that grips me so tightly at times, or I'm becoming lazy, or maybe a touch of both! I think in all honesty after raising and homeschooling 3 kids under one roof for the last 4 years, I have had to lay a lot of things at the altar....kept like a cover of Southern Living magazine just incase someone were to pop in clean house being on the top of the list! I just simply think the Lord has answered a lot of my prayers in that area and I see things through more perspective eyes now...especially at Christmas. In fact most of the decorations Adam brought down from the attic this year went right back up in the boxes they came down in cause I didn't even want to mess with putting them out....just the basics and the essentials....maybe that's it!... I'm getting back to basics!
So what would be the basics by way of decorations in our house?

My cranberry wreath on the front door...and our wreaths on all of our windows out front...but it's sleeting here in TN and I wasn't about to take my precious new friend camera out into that mess!

A table of Christmas Past

This precious little display putting things into perspective...

My poor uneven, nailed into the frame, Mistletoe

My kids beautiful Christmas artwork all over my kitchen cabinets....yes, I really have come a long way! :-)

Boomama also asked us to leave a recipe on here so here goes....this is from an elderly lady in our old church and she says it was over 100 years old ....and I believe her! :-)

Christmas Wassail:

1 Can Pineapple Juice

1 Gallon Apple Cider

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

zests of 1 lemon rind

Mix all together in large pot on the oven and heat....and enjoy the smell your house will have all day long!!!

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Not Me! Monday!

As always, be sure to read about McKMama and her Charming Kids with the link above...it is her idea after all! :-)

• I did not get out of the shower, and halfway dressed before realizing there was conditioner in my hair still!
• Just because I am still afraid to leave my 12 year old son unattended in a department store, does not mean that I would make him come into the dressing room with me while getting down to my undies....because I am sure that might scar him for life!
• I did not step on the scale and see the digits 169 yesterday!!! Because 2 and 1/2 months ago before the foot injury, it said 158....and if it did in fact say 169, that would mean I would be hauling my big rear to WW tomorrow night like it or not!
• And I am sure that those digits would not have a thing to do with my new obsession with Peanut Butter Pie! Nope, not possible!
• I do not have a clever 12 year old that thought he was cute by doing this while I'm trying to get my settings right on my camera....and he most certainly did not think I was quick enough to catch him obviously!


• I am not in fact so distractable the past 2 weeks that I have only managed to get in a few full days of school! That would make me a horrible homeschool mom....(or completely normal...not sure which)
• I did not have a FABULOUS lunch with our dear Missionary friends, the Coopers, in from Mexico for Christmas....that would be have been too good to be true and couldn't have possibly happened! ;-)
• I did not manage to invite my family to my dear friends house for New Years...that would have been supremely rude and rude I am NOT!
• I did not have these conversations this week:

When asked to name the landmark on the screen during Trivial Pursuit, Tyler did not blurt out, "OOOhhh Ohhh I know!!! Big Henry!".......(it was Big Ben)

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ME: Aidan, how many seasons do we have?"

Aidan:"Four....Spring is cool....Summer is Hot....Fall is ummmmm...Leafy!...and Winter is cold"

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Aidan (while looking at a bag of Baked Scoops): "Mom, how do they make these so easy?"

Me: "What?" (completely clueless as to what he was talking about)

Aidan: "These chips, how do they make them so easy?"

Me: "Honey, what in the world are you talking about?"

Aidan: "It says here on the bag, Good Choices....Made Easy!"

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

How on Earth?!?!?!?

DOES THIS HAPPEN?!?!?!

Our first Christmas together as a family....Lee, Massachusetts 1998

1999....Ravena, NY

2000...along comes a sister...and a really cheesy grin!

2001...wow, look at Maggie's strawberry hair!..wonder where that went? ...Forty-Fort, PA

2002...along comes a brother

Don't laugh...you know you have your "do" that you wish you "didn't"

2003 ...we arrive back in Tennessee...some of these were obviously photographed in their frames with my new camera cause I didn't always have a digital ya know!

2004...awww...

2005....

2006..GO PREDS!!! Can you tell we went to Playoffs that year?!?!

2007....so tell me....HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!?!

How do they seem to look the same across the dinner table...till you pull out a picture and see just how God is constantly growing, molding, and shaping them into His creations....not mine.

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2008?????

Well, don't hold your breath, but they are in fact coming....I found a location to shoot their pics this year but of course it's outdoors and of course Tennessee is making up for 5 years of rain lost this week!

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Speaking of precipitation...guess what we walked through...tongues out like stretchers for the wounded... tonight???? SNOW....GLORIOUS BIG FAT HEAVY SNOW!!!

It was snowing as we walked into Kohls....and doing nada when we walked out! That's snow in TN for ya! Such a tease! I miss the snow from PA.... (reminiscing)

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And speaking of not holding your breath.....If you are reading this and you are my family or friend....you are not getting a Christmas Card this year.....I made a motion to ban the 213 hours of writing them out and addressing them this morning....and the hubby seconded my motion and you weren't there to object so (pounding gavel) case closed! :-)

I am so stinkin stressed for some reason this year and truth be told, need medication to help me to focus and not be such a worry wart....so it was just an added stresser that I finally realized..."Hey, there is no rule...(other than my book of Perfectionism) that says you must send out Christmas cards or be sent straight to the fiery pits of Hell! Ahhh...I feel free"er" already!.....(taking off the chains of perfectionism and taking on His yoke)

I will however post the kids pics on this site of course!

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And speaking of KOHLS....tonight while shopping, my 12 year old son had a few admirers following him all around the store giggling and running off when he would look at them....Are you kiddin me?!?!? Am I seriously about to have to put a stick on my front porch?!?!? And what did he say when asked about his swarm of giggling fans??? "I don't blame them"....what? What kinda vain little snot am I raising here anyway?... :-) He was joking by the way....or at least I will choose to believe he was since it's my blog and I can get away with denial here!

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Maggie: "Are we gonna do that thing this year that we always do where we dress up like elves and hold garbage bags for families to get toys for their kids?"

Aidan: "Oh Mag, you mean Toys For Todd's?"

So if your name is Todd...you are probably wishing Aidan was in charge of the rule making in this country!

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The Crippled Lamb is one of my absolute favorite Christmas books...check it out!

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"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Wordless Wednesday

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Not Me! Monday

• I did not go through the drive thru at Taco Bell to order a "Fresco" Gordita....and say Baja (where did that come from?!?!) instead...and then realize I had said the wrong word and quickly try to recover by saying "I'm sorry I meant Fresca" Only a scatterbrain would do that....and yes, of course my order was wrong after confusing the snot out of the poor Taco Bell guy.

• I did not keep putting off calling my mom on her birthday till "a better time" until she ended up calling me for something unrelated.....sorry again Mom!

• I did not lose the tape and/or scissors every 5 seconds while wrapping gifts.....ERGHHH!!! would someone puh lease invent something for people such as myself...maybe a Velcro shirt to wear just when you are gift wrapping so you can just stick it to yourself instead of laying it down???? Just a thought. :-)

• I did not attempt to clean my face with toner only to mindlessly grab fingernail polish remover instead! OUCH!

• While wrapping gifts at 2am with the hubby, in complete delirium, I did not say " I don't want to "chimp" on their gift....ya know meaning to say "skimp"

• And he did not relentlessly tease me about it.

• I did not hide the shirt I wanted at Belk, because it was the last Medium in that color, just in case I didn't find one better and wanted to come back for it later that day.

• I did not have my coffee Sunday morning (6:30am) jacuzzi-side...oh wait I did do that...and it was fabulous!

• My daughter did NOT ask for an American Girl Doll from Santa....and then change her mind 2 weeks later...and I of course had NOT already ordered one....

• I do not feel the compulsion need to do strikethrough's now that McKMama ,my blog bestie, let the cat out of the bag!

• I did not plan to watch "A Christmas Story" with my sweet little family for Advent, only to have to turn it off 7 minutes into it due to hearing "SOB" said by the dad.....seriously??? Is this necessary movie making people???? It's Christmas for gosh sakes!

• I do not NOT know when I last washed my hair....ewww!

• I do not already have my eye on some snazzy gear for my new camera....that would be so ridiculously greedy of me.

• I DID NOT JUST CHECK MY EMAIL AND FIND ONE FROM NONE OTHER THAT MCKMAMA HERSELF! SUH-WEET! :-)

• I am not shamelessly fond of her and her cute as bunnies kids and big as Texas heart!...Oh darn, wait...I am!

• I have NOT....no matter what you may have heard (or seen if you were on Hwy, 31)....cried while listening to "The Christmas Shoes" song this week....because I have heard it 100 times and you know....am sick of it of course!

• I am not sitting here at almost midnight, half asleep, waiting for Not Me! Monday to officially begin so I can post this....that would be a red flag that a person has issues I believe.

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

CHRISTmas...

Is anyone else scrambling to get their Christmas "stuff" in order? You know, the tree, the decorations, the schedule for parties and special events at church? Does anyone else suffer from "perfectionism" (it is a disease you know!) like I do and make yourself miserable trying to make sure everything is "so so?"....you know, PERFECT! Seriously, I could (if not very careful) take something like decorating the tree and turn it into a very non enjoyable event because the ornaments are not spaced out enough...you know, for the slew of official tree Judges that will be coming through my house and all! Good Grief! I have no idea why I do this (and probably need medication for it!) So my prayers lately have been prayers of changing all that...trying this year to get back to basics...feeling the release from perfectionism bondage...to remember what this is all about anyway....not decorations...not the tree and it's symmetrical ornaments...and especially not finding "the perfect gift"...ooohh,I can really drive myself bonkers with this one! I want more for my kids....more than just the traditions.... I want them to grow closer to Christ throughout this month...in a real and authentic way...I want to shift their focus from Christmas wish lists to the Christmas Story...His story...His purpose...our purpose.

Our Jesus Tree has already been a huge help on our quest this year to "knowing Him" a little better...We read off lists of 100+ names for Jesus and the kids were supposed to tell us when one of the names I said made them think of who Jesus was to them....I loved that Aidan immediately said "Light" before I even started to read the list...Maggie tried correcting him suggesting he meant to say "Life"...but nope, he meant "Light!"...so we found that scripture...and maybe he had heard it before...maybe not...but I love that my little man had his mind made up about who Jesus was to him....names on it so far? Anointed, Light, Almighty, Prince of Peace, and Christ!

And the advent calendar....ahhh the advent calendar....I only wrote out our activities for one week since Adam works a crazy schedule....but I was overly ambitious I'm thinking! I know, shocking isn't it? :-) I never give my word unless I can keep it to them so I have been to the library twice hunting down "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" movie...I'm still not sure why they wouldn't just give me the number of the bozo that checked it out and never brought it back! :-) We settled for the book as a family read aloud...And then there's "A Christmas Story"...found that at Blockbuster....and the book "The Crippled Lamb" (one of my absolute favs!)...had to hunt it down like a rabid dog!...why pray tell, did I commit to watching movies and reading books that we do not own?!?! So, moral of the story? Go light with your advent...don't be an overachiever...it could very well ruin your happy little advent festivities when you can't actually accomplish your plans....We did however have a great time decorating our Jesus Tree, reading our books over hot cocoa (Mary's Treasure Box is good as well), playing a game of Monopoly for five minutes before switching to Uno Attack,and watching "The Littlest Angel"...tonight? Sleeping bags in the living room floor, popcorn, and "A Christmas Story" for McManus, Party of Five...hmmm, well look at that....

........PERFECTION! :-)

So what do you and your family do to stay Christ focused during this season?


"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Not Exactly ....Wordless Wednesday

Hey you guys....wanna help donate money to three wonderful charities this Christmas Season....yep, not one....three! Wanna chance to win a Canon Rebel Xsi, just like the one I just got (yep, opened mine same day this started...maybe I shoulda waited a bit huh?) and used in these shots below???? (Don't judge me too harsh...no editing software yet remember? This camera can do mad crazy things that I have not dared tap into yet!) Well, click the "Rebel For a Cause" link on my sidebar and donate as little as $10 for a chance!!! And get this....McKMama...you know, Miracle Stellan's mom and I dare say my new blogging world "bestie"....is donating 100% of your money to wonderful charities!!! She has already raised THOUSANDS in just 24 hours!!! You can check out all the details (camera package...it's HUGE!...and all the extra snappy things she is throwing in....and of course you can read about the three wonderful charities you would be helping out! So go on....click that link....give a little this Season...but, don't say I didn't warn you!....You will become another "wolverine" like the rest of us! :-)

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And now, without further ado....Wordless Wednesday

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Advent, Jesus Tree, and the Rebel

Yesterday was our first day of "Advent", we were to find 25 different names for Jesus in the Bible and put the names on ornaments along with the scripture....we will place one name for each day this month on our "Jesus Tree"...and read that scripture. We had lots of fun making it....and dad loved finding the tree at Goodwill for $2!

Maggie did the honors of placing our first ornament...
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Our real tree? Well, I happen to think it looks and smells fabulous! We finally had enough ornaments this year to use just our family (kid made or from places we have visited...that's our tradition) ornaments...it only took us 10 years!!! It's my favorite way to trim the tree....We had such a good time decorating...listening to Christmas music....drinking hot wassail...it still amazes me that we have passed the stages of hanging the ornaments on the upper half of the tree....or keeping ornaments from being eaten....now they are all pitching in with their own opinions of where the ornaments should hang....and they each have their favorite....Maggie's is the hideous Grinch ornament that came in a kids meal from McDonald's I believe....see it in the front? I just love how she thinks it must be the front and center focal point of our tree....

Obviously Maggie thinks our tree is fabulous too! Don't ask because I have no idea!

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Here are a few pics of the trimming festivities!

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I'm hoping by now that you have noticed the ridiculously improved photos on my blog today...where are they coming from you ask???? Meet my new obsession..."the Rebel"...Xsi to be exact!....well, this is actually just one of the lenses of my new obsession... :-) Adam was so good to me...splurging even more to get me a Telephoto Zoom Lens...and even letting me open it early to get "practiced up" by Christmas....it simply cannot put it down! I have already learned so much from my crazy talented friend McKMama, who takes quite possibly the cutest pics ever, and will continue to sponge up her tidbits as she gives them....but I have also signed up for a Photography class....eeehhh! I'm a bit nervous but super excited to learn all about this phenomenal camera! So be warned my insanely adorable children....I am watching you! :-)

Who wouldn't be excited about opening the box, putting on the lens, pointing to the closest thing to me, and coming out with this kind of detail! And look MckMama!!! NO FLASH!!! :-)

OR THIS!!! MY WORD!!! I could just pee my pants with excitement!!!

What I have not however managed to do yet, is understand one blasted iota of the software to edit my pics so all of these pics are as taken...and that's all you may get...for a while because of course I have NOT yet signed up for he computer class it may very well take!

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No snow here...just a few flurries...and I did in fact find milk at the best grocery store in the world Publix....and speaking of best in the world, have I mentioned lately that Gevalia happens to brew the BEST cup of coffee your little caffeine addicted lips could taste??? This morning? Blueberry Creme! Yummers!
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Tonights advent activity? Playing Monopoly as a family! I completely lose interest in this game after about 10 minutes...hmmm....hope I don't accidentally go bankrupt!

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"