"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delievered And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger: because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them." Luke 2:1-12

He's Makin' a List and Checkin' It Twice

Last Friday night we had a visitor at our house. We were sitting around in the living room and there was a pounding on the front door. I sent Emily to answer the door and would you believe that Santa was in our front yard! When she saw him I heard her make a slight gasp under her breath. After Santa came inside and passed out chocolate and candy canes, he had Emily write down her Christmas list on a piece of paper for him. She was so surprised and excited that she couldn't even think of what she had said she wanted. When I told her some of the things she had told me she was asking Santa for she said, "Yeah, right." When Santa asked Emily if she did a good job keeping her room cleaned up, she was honest and said, "not so much" but she promised Santa that she would keep working on it. Eli would not sit on Santa's lap at the mall the other day, but he wasn't scared at all when Santa was at our house. When Santa asked him what his name was he answered, "Eli Christian Adams". I guess he didn't want Santa confusing him with any other Eli. Well, tonight is Christmas Eve, so we will be getting Santa's milk and cookies ready (Emily has already baked them) and getting the reindeer's oats ready. Then we will hang our Santa key on the front door before we go to sleep. (Emily says she staying up all night, but she says that every year). Everyone have a Merry Christmas tomorrow!

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful...

The best thing about the snow and ice is seeing how excited the kids get over it. Tuesday Eli and I watched it snow huge flakes all morning. The last time it snowed it was only a little bit and it didn't last very long. When it melted away Eli was mad. ha-ha! So he kept asking me if the snow was melting and I had to tell him we had too much snow this time to melt away for awhile. We had to get out in it at noon to pick up the kids from school due to their early out. Of course Eli had to walk through the deepest drifts from the van to the school doors. That was the only logical thing to do. Then Wednesday night Michael, Emily, and I went caroling with our chruch. It was a little cold, but the response we got from those we caroled warmed our hearts. Then we had hot chocolate and donuts at the church afterwards, so I stopped by home and got Matt and Eli so they could go with us to that part. When we got home that night I took these pictures of the kids on our deck before we came inside. I only wish the temperature would warm up a bit because it's just been too cold to let them play in it for very long. Hopefully this weekend, we can get the sleds out!

The Missing Blankey

When Eli was a baby he never took a pacifier and as he's gotten older he's never become attached to any stuffed animal. It's just his blankey that he can't live without. When I was weaning Eli, Matt found this soft, fleece-like "Lightning McQueen" blanket and Eli instantly took to it. When he sleeps he has to have the two silk tags in his hand. When he was younger, he would wake up in the middle of the night saying, "Where's my tags?" and I'd have to go into his room and give him his tags. He has slept with his blankey every night for the past two years...until last Saturday.

While Emily and I were at Monkey Cove with Girl Scouts, Matt, Alyssa, Michael, and Eli went to visit at Grandpa Calvin's house. Saturday night when we were putting Eli to bed, it was discovered that his blankey was missing. You guessed it...it was left at Grandpa's house which is an hour drive one-way. Eli didn't understand that part...he wanted to go to Grandpa's and get it right then. I told Eli we would find him something else to sleep with for one night and I took him into his closet. I got down some of his blankets from when he was born. Each one I showed him I got the same response, "That's for babies." Next I moved on to his pile of stuffed animals that he ignores. Each one of those I showed him I got the same response, "That's for girls." Finally I found the stuffed brown bear that he got on his first visit to the Omaha Zoo. He actually took it and hugged it. I thought, "Hmm, this might work." I covered him up, gave him his bear and as I turned out his light and walked out of his room I heard him say, "I don't want this" and then I heard "plop" and the bear hit the ground. The only thing that saved us that night was that Eli had a head cold and I had just given him medicine right before we discovered the missing blankey. If it hadn't been for his drug-induced sleep, we may have been up for a long night. On Sunday after church Matt went to his Dad's and retrieved the lost friend. When Matt returned with it, the look on Eli's face was pure happiness as he gave blankey a huge hug.