Starting Christmas Break

We have really enjoyed Josh being out of school so far. I still can't believe that we get him home for a whole month, but already the time seems to be flying by! I have started making my bow instructional videos, which have taken a LOT of time, but it's going to turn out great! I went to my first staff meeting at church this past week. I got up with 30 minutes to get myself and the girls ready, and boy did I learn a lot! Gum is not a sufficient snack for an hour! Kids will not sit and just color! And who knew that white out could be used as Mascara (Makayla is so talented)! Let's just say, I didn't stay for the whole meeting, but I am still excited about my new job! Josh's dad came and visited us for a few days, unfortunately I got sick and was locked in the bedroom for most of it. Josh and his dad had some great times playing Wii until the "wee" hours of the morning. The girls also enjoyed a lot of the attention from Grandpa! He took them to Marbles, a kids "museum" but more like a play wonderland. I put some pictures of that adventure below. Other than that we are just gearing up for lots of Christmas parties!

Back to Ministry

Today the elders at Brooks Avenue church of Christ announced that I am going to fill the position of Children's Coordinator. We have been praying about this opportunity for a long time. I've never been more at peace with the future of our family. I can honestly say that no matter the outcome, I knew that God would be taking care of our family. I am so thankful for this opportunity to work with the kids at Brooks and help them to grow in knowledge and spiritually and a little fun too :) Of course, there is always the financial blessing that gives our family great peace as we reach the midpoint of Josh's nursing program. This Tuesday he is done for the semester and does not return to school for over a month! We are so thankful to have this time as a family to gear up for a long stretch until July. We have pretty big plans for his break! Josh's dad is coming to visit us this week. We will celebrate with my family here this year on Christmas day. After Christmas we will travel to Ohio to visit Meemaw and Papa and some of Josh's other Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. And of course, we end his break with my surgery in Colorado. This time will speed by, but were are thankful to get to spend so much time with family and friends.
It was very cute to watch Makayla tonite. She is such a reflection of her parents, it's a good refresher for us. Tonite she proceeded to put her dolls in time out, telling them to be quite and sit down, she even made us turn on the "Time Out Bear" (we have a bear with a timer on it so she knows how long she has to sit in time out, it works GREAT!). Then she put her dolls nite-nite. She does a great impression of us! It's quite humorous, but it also shows us some areas to work on as well. She has no inhibitions in repeating what we say, and sometimes hearing it from her voice lets us know if we need to change some things.
One of the most precious things from this week is a holiday tradition that we are starting. I got together with the ladies and did an ornament exchange, not just any ornament exchange, but a Jesse Tree. Each day there is a different ornament that takes you through the story of Jesus starting at the very beginning with creation. Each night you read a passage in the Bible and hang the ornament. Even though my girls are still too young to understand fully what is going on, it is so sweet to watch Makayla with her "mock" I'm interested face and to hear her sweet prayers. I think that this might become more than a holiday tradition.
On other news, we had our first major Craft Fair this weekend. I hosted 18 vendors at our church. We invited the community and surrounding churches to join us. For our first event like this I think it went well, there is a lot of room for growth and improvement, but a profit is a profit and I am thankful!

Here are some fun pics from our week:
Gotta love those cheeks!
My new sassy hair cut

Believe it or not, our cat voluntarily got in the stroller