I think I surprised him...

Today is Dave's birthday. It is a monumental year... he is entering into a new decade. In order to properly celebrate, I thought it would be fun to have a lifelong friend of his from California come visit. I spoke with Darin and his wife Janie about it this summer when we saw them and they seemed interested. Earlier in the fall, Darin let me know the flight was booked. I kept the secret for months. That was hard to do. It became really difficult the last few days. Fortunately we had an appraisal set the day before Darin and Janie showed up, so getting the house ready for company was easy enough to do. The closer it got to their arrival though, the more excited I was, and the harder it was to not tell Dave. But I managed to keep quiet and he was very shocked when he opened the front door yesterday and there stood Darin and Janie! He was in shock for a long time. It has been fun having them here. I am so thankful they could make it out here and celebrate Dave's big day. I am sure it is a birthday surprise Dave will not soon forget. :-)

The Advent Season...

We are well into our Advent season anxiously awaiting Christmas. The girls are excited. Emma stated the other day, "Christmas isn't about the gifts. It is about Jesus who was born on Christmas Day." She is right. It isn't about the presents. It's not about how many we get, how much we spend, who got more, did we buy enough... It's about remembering and celebrating the most precious gift of all... the day Jesus was born, the day He took on human form, the day He graced this world with Himself.
We have tried to teach this to our girls. When they look back and remember Christmas as a child, I want them to have happy memories of giving. Memories of fun together as a family. Memories of celebrating Jesus's birth.

We have this great advent calendar that I was able to copy from a friend of mine (Thanks, Jen). I filled each pocket not with candy, but with activities. We started by making gifts to give to someone else. Other days, we have driven to look at Christmas lights, had hot chocolate to drink, read Christmas stories, watched Christmas videos (The First Noel is a great children's video!). Yet to come is acting out the Christmas story from the Bible, and lastly, a slumber party in the living room on Christmas Eve.
After putting up a new ornament on the advent tree, we read from The ADVENTure of Christmas - Helping Children Find Jesus in our Holiday Traditions (by Lisa Whelchel). The kids are having a great time and it has become a nightly event to to do the advent calendar.
This Christmas has seemed less stressful and much more JOYFUL which is what it is all about! I am thankful for the gift of joy that I have this season!

How are you finding joy this holiday season?