Happy Birthday, N!

This cute little guy is 15 today!!! He has brought us so much joy over the last 15 years and we are proud of the young man he has become.



N. is a history buff and much of his "wish list" for his birthday and Christmas consisted of books on various periods of history, military campaigns, and such. When you see him, ask him any history question and he will be able to answer it...or make you believe he has answered you authoritatively. History professor one day, maybe?



We love you, N!

Later Days!
Kelly

P.S. Sorry that the baby pic is so tiny...I'm not tech-savvy enough to do anything about it :).

Quick Takes 12/2/11

*1*
Our VW Beetle conked out so we're now a one-car family. Silver lining: we're saving money by only insuring one car, buying gas for one car, and paying taxes on one car plus selling the VW will give us a little more money for Christmas :)

*2*
I'm loving doing most of my Christmas shopping on Amazon. It's exciting to see those packages arrive!

*3*
We're slowly getting the halls decked...getting all those empty totes put away is a different matter.

*4*
Lots of strumming going on at our place...N. and hubby are learning to play the banjo and K. is learning guitar! M. is just making noise :).

*5*
Favorite seasonal beverages: Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshakes from Chik-fil-A, Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks, and King's Tavern Ginger Ale shipped from Colonial Williamsburg, courtesy of my sweet hubby.

*6*
Our Christmas tree is gorgeous...my favorite ornaments are the ones chosen to represent our family each year.

*7*
I am unreasonably excited about changing the background on my computer to winter/holiday scenes! "Decking" my computer is so 21st century.

Later Days,
Kelly

It's beginning to look a lot like....

DECEMBER!

It's really too early to say it's beginning to look like Christmas because we still have 3 family birthdays, our 21st anniversary and my parents' anniversary before Christmas Day! Needless to say, this is a crazy busy time of year with all of those celebrations plus special church services and family memory-making.

While our lives have taken some unexpected turns this year, making this holiday season look much different from our usual, we're trying to make it a priority to focus on on the REAL reason for the season...the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Yes, we love decorating a Christmas tree and shopping for presents but we also love to set up all our nativity sets to remind of of the miracle of Emmanuel...God with us.



My youngest set up this special "utility set" and loves to move the pieces around. I love how he did this grouping of EVERYBODY (animals included) gathered around the stable, admiring Baby Jesus.

Later Days!
Kelly