Ugly Christmas Sweaters

This year we went to an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party - we didn't get a chance to go anywhere to find the usual type sweaters so we got inventive - mine was a tree skirt and Dean's was my nice sweater plus a bit of jewelry to dress it up a bit. Well guess what! Dean took home the Ugliest prize for the year. Pretty Funny!

Trimming the Tree

We had lots of fun setting up the tree this year as Zach was very interested and enjoyed putting up the decorations.

Pets and Patience

Got this in an email - I thought it was so cute. I can't believe that someone could get all those dogs to behave like that. Especially labs! They are not typically the type of bred that sits still for long.
As our celebration of Christmas comes to an end, sending out one last Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas

Christmas 09

Some of our Christmas Fun - so glad we got to see all of my family on Christmas Eve. The Ski side has yet to get together since we got all the stormy weather Christmas Day and on through the weekend.

Grin Christmas 08

We had a wonderful get together at the Grin farm on Christmas day. And Zach got to meet Uncle Ross for the first time. We were so glad to Ross and Sheila again! We stayed at the farm and visited with them for a couple days. And as you can see we had fun Celebrating!

Celebrate St. Nick!

This weekend we got our Christmas tree up and decorated. We usually wear our Santa hats to get in the spirit and this year Zach joined in the fun! Saturday, December 6th, was St. Nicholas Day so the hats were a rather fitting celebration. As you can see from the slide show we had a lot of fun with it!

Christmas Lights!

Merry 7th day of Christmas! This is a video that is being passed around by email. This year there was a house in town that did this same thing, not quite as extravagant, but cool. You tune your radio to a certain station and the music goes along with the lights! Enjoy!

PS You may want to mute the slideshow below so songs don't play together. (You do that by clicking on the little noise lines on the speaker sign in white box, where the song is listed.)

Christmas Celebrations

Our Christmas Celebrations were packed into 2 days this year. Christmas eve with the Ski's and Christmas day with the Grin's. We had fun but it sure went quickly! As I look through all these pictures and see all our family I am in awe of the great blessing God has given us. We are so thankful for "Your Love, O Lord", the gift of Jesus Christ, and for all our family. It was great to be able to see all of them this Christmas!

Merry Christmas 2007

Some links to Christmas readings/songs;
The First Christmas Gift
Angel story~Max Lucado
The Birth of Jesus; Luke 2:1-20
The Estrogen Files: A Baby's Hug
The Nativity Story Clips

Holiday Quiz

Take the Quiz.
This is what the Christmas Holiday is for me.

What The Holidays Mean to You

For you, the holidays are about emotional connections and bonds. You are happiest being around those you love. You celebrate the holidays in a minimalist style. You are likely to only give one great present and decorate your house with a few special items. During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in. You think the holidays should be nostalgic and sweet. The holidays bring out your inner child. Your best holiday memories are of childhood foods and traditions. You secretly still wish you believed in Santa Claus.

What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

What would Jesus want for Christmas?

I recently heard Mother Angelica and she said: "We give gifts to everybody on Christmas, everyone we love - we do that in the imitation of the Father who gave us Jesus." She went on to describe how she was talking to some children about Jesus birthday and she said to a little boy, "Let's pretend it's your birthday, and I give a gift to her(as she pointed to a little girl next to him). Would that be right?" "Oh no." the boy replied.
Yet that is what we do with Jesus.
I found this neat video called:What would Jesus want for Christmas? check it out.
This Advent as we are preparing for our Christmas celebrations, let us remember the reason for the season - JESUS!
What are you going to give Christ this Christmas?

Advent: Christmas Preparation

The first week of Advent has been busy. Sunday we hung our outdoor Christmas lights. Monday night I went to the Bethany Christmas Tea, it was a lot of fun. Women from the many area churches performed Christmas music and sing carols. It was so fun to have a church full of singers singing Christmas carols!Then last night we got our tree out and decorated it. Hard to believe this is our 3rd Christmas together!
We have also been lighting our Advent wreath- my Dad help me make it last year by cutting the wood base for me. I always have enjoyed lighting the Advent candles as we did with my family growing up. So now Dean and I can carry on the tradition.

Prayer for lighting the Advent candles everyday:

O God,
as light comes from this candle,
may the blessing of Jesus Christ come to us,
warming our hearts and
brightening our way.
May Christ our Savior bring life
into the darkness of this world,
and to us, as we wait for his coming.

For additional prayers and info. Here are some links: Prayers and Customs, Blessing and Prayers, Advent Wreath Prayers.

Santa's Helpers!

This will put you in the Christmas spirit!
Check us out at: The Elfski's
Dean's neice Jena found this and sent one of her and her fiance Curt. It was Hilarious!!! Click on names to see others:Jena & Curt, Joee, Wanda & family, & James & Berni (Hee Hee!). I couldn't resist trying our own. It is from Office Max called "Elf Yourself" You may want to try it!