It is a Holy Night...

Oh Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices! O night divine, the night when Christ was born; O night, O Holy Night, O night divine! O night divine, the night when Christ was born; O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, with glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming, now come the wisemen from out of the orient land. The King of kings lay thus lowly manger; In all our trials born to be our friends. He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger, Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend! Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother. And in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, with all our hearts we praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, His power and glory ever more proclaim! His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Jeremiah

Jeremiah turned three in November. How about a top three list for my favorite three year old?

Three things Jeremiah is good at:
1. Smiling--probably because he gets so much practice, the kid is ALWAYS smiling, practically since he was born!
2. Making people laugh--he is our class clown and will do anything for a laugh!
3. Being a boy--boy noises, trucks, legos, cars, tractors, Lightning McQueen, guns, swords, fighting, he does it all and loves it all!

Three things I love about Jeremiah:
1. His smile, his laugh and his jovial attitude. They are all part of such a sweet package, and things I hope he carries with him his whole life.
2. He pays attention to details. Have you ever met a three year old that reminds you to buckle your seat belt or to grab your purse or not to leave the house without diapers for Ella? He notices the funniest little things.
3. He never complains about dinner, just eats it all up with a happy heart!

Three of Jeremiah's funnies:
1. As we speak he is in his room trying on women's shoes instead of taking a nap.
2. Sometimes he complains of headeggs, translated, that means headache.
3. He calls Papa's hot rod "spicy" instead of shiny.

Three big things in Jeremiah's world this year:
1. He got potty trained...that was big in both our worlds.
2. Daddy made him give up his blue blanket, the boy used to suck on it as he fell asleep, and was VERY attached, but happily traded it for a stuffed dog named Paul.
3. He decided not to be afraid of bugs, this came after a hilarious incident with roly-polys, now he is my fearless, shoe-grabbin', spider-killin' machine when daddy isn't home!

Three prayers I have for Jeremiah:
1. That his heart stays happy, and that it would eventually flow from the joy of having Jesus as his Savior.
2. Sometimes his attention to detail comes from fear, I pray that God would replace that spirit of fear with boldness for the Gospel and bravery based in the security that God provides His children.
3. That he would obey his parents in the Lord, because it is right! That he and his brother and sisters would be the best of friends, especially where Haley-pie is concerned, they have the hardest time getting along between all of them.

Oh that boy and the twinkle in his eye have captured my heart in so many ways, it would take a "Top Three-million List" to name them all, but this is the short version just to give you a glimpse of my dear, sweet boy.

How clever is this?

What a genius idea, put these cutouts on top of Lego wheels for hours of fun!

• Put a small object inside a brown paper lunch sack and have the kids guess what it is. To give a clue write the first letter of the object on the outside of the bag.
• Hide jelly beans around one room of the house, but hide the jelly beans close to objects of the same color so that they are camouflaged.
• Make smiley face pancakes.
• Make sack lunches for another family and deliver them to their doorstep.
  
• Have a big-water, big-bubble, bath in the middle of the day.
• Prank call the grandparents, let the kids disguise their voices.
• Next time you go to Starbucks, leave the cashier an extra $5 to pay for the next person's drink, then you and the kids sit in the corner and watch the reaction.
• Answer your phone like Buddy the Elf. (This is Buddy, what's your favorite color?)
• Take some cookies to the librarians.
• Do a scavenger hunt at the library with a list of books, or other things you see when you are there.