Best Buddies at Ms. Christy's

Ever since Luke was about 10 months old, he has been going to Ms. Chrity's house a couple of days each week so that I can get some work done for my job at Waterstreet. Her little boy, also named Luke, is one of our Luke's best buddies! They are affectionately known as Big Luke and Lil' Luke.

Now that Luke is in pre-K four days a week, he only gets to see Ms. Christy on Friday. However, she takes care of Noah for me in the mornings M-F. She also watching our dear friends and neighbor's kids from up the street, Emma and Cooper.

All and all it's a great group of kids that have know each other since they were born and have grown up together over these last 4-5 years. We all feel so blessed to have such a loving caregiver and support system in Ms. Christy.

These are a few pics of the "gang" at Ms. Christy's house this week.

Silly Pajamas

I know that Luke is WAY too big to be wearing PJ's with the feet in them, but believe it or not, they do make them in his size. A neighbor gave him a pair last year, but I could never bring myself to make him wear them...I don't know, I just envision that scene from A Christmas Story where messy Marvin comes out dressed in that horrible bunny costume!

Anyway, it's been really cold here and Noah has been wearing his zip up jammies and Luke wanted to wear his. So, I gave in and let him.

I couldn't resist taking some pictures!!

A Train Table from Granny & Gramps

The boys were pleasantly surprised to receive a Step Two train table from Granny and Gramps this week. The boys (and I mean all the boys, i.e., Leo) could hardly wait to put it together and have been having a BLAST playing with it!!!

As soon as it arrived all the boys had to "help" put it together. Then, they all had to take turns playing with it....but, that was only after Leo had to "show them how it works'...(that means playing with it first!) LOL!

Noah's favorite thing is that he can climb up on it and sit...or get to other higher surfaces. (Have I mentioned I have a climber on my hands!) Luke's favorite part is that he can use his existing Thomas the trains on it...and the fact that it has a hard surface table to put on top where he can build his own train track with his Thomas pieces. Hours of fun for everyone!

Thanks so much to Granny and Gramps for alwasy sending the BEST gifts!!!

"O" is for Ocean

Luke is learning about the letter "O" this week at school. Yesterday, he brought home an art project that he was PSYCHED about!

You can see from the pictures that he is holding a bottle with blue water...and, if you look closely, you'll see sand, sea shells, and fish at the bottom. Yes...you guessed it...it's an ocean in a bottle!

Thankfully, the teachers thought to hot glue the lid because both Luke and Noah have been playing with it non-stop. Who would have thought some sand and water would be such a big hit!

Reindeer Evangelists

Luke and I made the cutest little reindeer candy cane crafts to help share the Good News of Jesus with his friends. We used brown pipe cleaners to make the antlers, googly eyes, red pom poms for the noses and green ribbon in a bow around the neck. We're printing the "candy cane story" (see below)and attaching it to the candy canes.

The candy cane has come a long way since its days as a pacifier! It started out as a simple white stick of sugar that parents gave babies to suck on when they got fussy. Hundreds of years later a candy maker in Indiana decided to improve upon the idea by tying the treats to the real meaning of Christmas.

The large red stripe is a symbol of the blood Jesus shed on the cross. The smaller red stripe represents both the lashes from the soldiers whips across Jesus' back and the promise that "by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). The white color reminds us that Jesus lives a life completely without sin. Peppermint flavoring was added to call to mind hyssop, the Old Testament plant used in sacrifices, because Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. The candy's hardness declares that Jesus is the Rock of our salvation. The bent candy cane also reminds us of the shepherds of Judea - the first people to learn that the Savior had been born. And, if you turn the candy cane upside down it forms the letter "J" for Jesus.

What a simple way to share Jesus with our friends!!

Putting up the Christmas Tree

Over Thanksgiving weekend our family put up the Christmas tree. Everyone got involved...even Noah sat right on Leo's back as he crawled under the tree to center it and plug it in. Although it took us two days to actually finish, the final outcome was worth it. Our tree is magnificent...with ornaments all the way through on the inside and out.

Now, the tricky part will be keeping the ornaments on the tree. Noah is 16 months and is SOOOOO tempted to take them off. I can understand why it's so alluring...it's just hard to imagine why we would have something out that is so pretty, but not for play!!

Putting up the Christmas tree gives us the perfect opportunity to remind Luke about the meaning of Christmas. The evergreen tree symbolizes the everlasting life we have in Christ. The bows of the tree represent the outstretched arms of Jesus. The wood of the tree reminds us that Jesus died on a tree to take away our sins. The shape of the tree points us towards heaven. And the triangular shape represents the holy trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Christmastime gives us so many opportunities to teach the boys about Jesus and his sacrifice for our sins. There is nothing I want more in life than for my boys to accept Jesus as their savior at the earliest possible age.

Countdown to Christmas Advent Kiss Calendar

Yesterday Luke and I made a Countdown to Christmas Advent Kiss Calendar. The idea is simple: lay 25 Hershey Kisses on plastic wrap...fold the wrap over...tie with red and green curling ribbon. Each day Luke exhchanges a kiss to me for a Hershey kiss. When the kisses are all gone, it's Christmas!!! What a fun way to countdown to the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I love Christmastime!!!