Month: December 2018

The last day of 2018! We made it through and made lots of memories along the way.

JANUARY: I started working out and kept it up all year long. Praise the Lord!, All three kids and I survived the flu, We watched UGA win The Rose Bowl and then lose the National Championship to Alabama, Rolo experienced snow for the first time and loved it, Josh and I celebrated 17 years of marital bliss.

 

FEBRUARY: Mack tried out basketball, Josh went to Africa, Valentine’s Day was fun, we participated in a co-op on Thursday afternoons, and friends visited us.

 

MARCH: Mack started tackle football, we did lots with the youth group, Jud and KB visited us with Sweety and Cacy, Mack turned 11 and we visited Augusta and saw Marcy’s new house.

 

APRIL:  Eye appointment for Ruby while the other two napped, Jason&Merrilee and Deacon visited, the girls sang in their spring choir performance, Molly sang at a youth event, Mack kept playing football and loving it!

 

MAY: We wrapped up football season, Rolo had her first daycare stay, Josh and I went to the Kentucky Derby, PawPaw visited, and Ruby turned 14!

 

 

JUNE: We finished up our school year, the cousins visited and Dingle bit Josh, we went to the beach and had a blast, Publix opened!, and the girls and I visited Woodstock.

 

 

JULY: Uptown Showdown happened, we had our kitchen painted, got new bedroom furniture,  Rolo got spayed,  I kept working out, Josh got his deer for his office, we got a new downstairs A/C unit, Mack went to his first week long camp, and we sadly lost GG to heaven.

 

AUGUST: I started my tenth year as a home school teacher/mom, we celebrated Molly’s 13th birthday with Noah’s 20th, the girls got new laptops for school, Paige and her family visited us, we went to the laundromat for the first time, had fun at a football game with the Dawson kids, Josh turned 41, and Josh and I started teaching an adult Sunday school class.

 

 

SEPTEMBER: We started watching UGA football again, got new furniture for the living room, Mack started flag football, Molly dyed her hair red, had a night out with the Dawsons before a hurricane arrived, and Rolo celebrated her first birthday!.

 

OCTOBER: We met Bob Goff at a With Open Eyes event, we hosted a four week discipleship time on Friday nights for the young girls in the youth group, Ruby got her braces off, the girls and I went to IF Gathering, we got a new pastor, Mack was Kirby Smart for Halloween at church, and kids went trick or treating with the Dawson kiddos and Noah.

 

NOVEMBER: I pulled up the carpet in our sitting room, we went to Fall Retreat in Virginia, Molly and Josh went to a running coach, they went to a Hornets game, had Thanksgiving with Sweety and PawPaw, and we Decked the Halls with the youth group.

 

DECEMBER: Lots of shopping, lighting of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Christmas tree, ice skating with the youth group, Billy Graham Library church Christmas party, ladies party with my girls, Augusta trip before Christmas and home for Christmas Eve and Day, another Hornets game, I finished a year of working out!, and we helped with Room In the Inn at our church. Bringing in the New Year with some lazy kiddos that aren’t feeling 100% and chicken&rice soup on the stove.

What a full year! These are just a few highlights. It’s been a great 2018 with lots of growth and encouragement and accomplishments. I am excited for 2019. God is so faithful and true to His Word, and I look forward to walking with Him in the coming days. After all, every single one of the days make up the year!

Christmas 2018 was awesome. I loved time with extended family the weekend before Christmas. We enjoyed our Christmas Eve service and time with friends afterwards. And Christmas Day was a laid-back day of gifts and naps and time with just us five. I was actually sad to take the tree down and have to think about getting back to a normal routine. Thankful for this season to focus on Jesus. He has been so good to me.

I don’t fully understand why Christmas comes around more quickly the older I get, but it truly does seem that way. All of us middle-aged folks say to each other, “I can’t believe it’s this time of year already!” And for whatever reason, this particular Christmas season seems busier than any of the previous ones! I glanced at our calendar that the kids have used since they were toddlers to count down the days until Christmas, and I cannot believe we’ve almost got a full nativity scene.

And while I have read my Bible daily and prayed, gone to church and listened to worshipful Christmas music, I still sensed that my heart was distracted. Maybe it’s the noise of the shopping mall or the clicking of the keys as I add more and more to my calendar. Or maybe it’s the wrapping paper being cut and the tape being pulled from the roll or the kids clarifying their Christmas List. I find it ironic that there is always plenty to keep our minds on anything but Jesus at Christmas time.

But, thankfully, with taking a break from school work, came a less-hurried Monday morning when I found myself in Hebrews 1.

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets to many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son,…”

Indeed, God has spoken to us through Jesus. Jesus in the exact representation of God!

As the verses go on, they tell us why Jesus is better than angels.

Chapter 2, verse 1 says, “For this reason, we must pay closer attention….”

As it transitions from the topic of angels into Jesus being the only priest we need forever and ever, 3:1 says, “Therefore, consider Jesus,…”

Pay closer attention.

Consider Jesus.

Now, of course, we should pay close attention to and consider Jesus every day of our lives, but Christmas is a specific time to double-down on turning away from distractions and devoting time to consider Jesus.

Have you had time to pull away from the every day responsibilities and to-do lists to consider Jesus? It is HIM we are celebrating after all.

“And He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the Word of His power.” (Hebrews 1:3)

He is worthy of our time, our attention, our consideration, and our worship.

Merry Christmas!

Wow! Time is a flying. I have random thoughts about blog topics and even funny illustrations to go along with them. I make lists of these blog ideas, and I pray there will be time to focus more on writing one of these days.

For now, I am afraid a photo-dump of sorts is about as good as it is going to get because, well, December.

We took some family photos with our iPhone for our Christmas cards this year. I even made a spreadsheet for keeping up with people’s addresses, so that I can stop texting friends at Christmas time asking for their addresses! It is time to be a grown-up.

The kids helped deck the halls of the youth rooms at church one Sunday and had a great time.

We went Christmas shopping and then to Josh’s work one evening for the lighting of the Christmas tree they have on the lawn. Fun times!

Around the house we have been enjoying the twinkling lights of the tree, wrapping Rolo up like a present and finishing a couple more books with Molly and Mack. School has gone fairly well this first semester, though I did have to enlist Josh to help with Ruby’s Algebra test. I probably haven’t shared this before, but I failed Algebra 2 and got switched over to a remedial general math class, where I made a 100 for the second semester of my Junior year. I didn’t do great in higher math–obviously. But I survived.  I went to college and got a tutor for College Algebra and for Statistics and all was well. I do quite well as an adult in ways that matter, so I am ok with all of my math struggles. I suppose it made me a more compassionate person, I don’t know. But this is not about me, it is about our homeschool. We’ve been reading, writing, doing math, learning our science and spending time together. And now it is time for a Christmas break! Tomorrow is baking day, so that will be fun.

Our church had a beautiful Christmas singing service, which we all enjoyed very much.

I am trying to meal plan and have better choices on hand, so that’s been fun!

The youth group had their annual H2O at the Rink for ice skating. Ruby learned last year that ice skating was not her thing, but Mack tried and hated it. Molly survived several falls and had fun. I enjoyed watching everyone, safely on the sideline.

These are a few more little shots from around the house this season. Fires, naps, presents, and a sweet puppy.

We went to the church Christmas party at The Billy Graham Library. It was gorgeous out there!!! I am so glad we were able to make it. We have been at the church a year and a half or so and it feels more and more like home, and there are no words to express what this means to me. Grateful and Blessed!

Finally, we spotted Santa at Chick fil A looking over his list…he is more high-tech than I knew! Clicking away through his list while enjoying his chicken sandwich and waffle fries. I figured we shouldn’t interrupt him, so we just weirdly snap a few pictures and whisper to one another about him.

Alrighty, I think that covers it. Or at least these are the photos I have taken over the past few weeks that I thought I would share here. Josh and I finished our Christmas shopping yesterday, so we are set to just enjoy these days leading up to the big day! I am hoping for some quiet in this coming week to focus more on Jesus. To reflect on His coming to earth. It is worth the time and effort, so I hope you get quiet time to reflect during these days leading up to Christmas. It’s easy to be distracted and it’s normal to have lots of things to do, but what a sad thing to miss out on Jesus–the One all this celebration is about!