Five Months with My Girl

Karissa Hope is five months old today!  Hooray!

Karissa loves her family.  

She giggles and giggles with her brothers, no matter what they do.

She enjoys sucking her fingers.  

She loves to eat; she gets up four or five times a night to see her mommy. 

We are so blessed to have this little girl in our lives!!

Happy Fifth Birthday, JOEL!

 On Joel's birthday, our angel, Joy, brought Joel his gifts and cake!  

I praise God for my amazing little worker and super trooper!

 On Day five, Joy encouraged us to share the love of Christ with others and tell others of the good news.

 Then she tried to make us pancakes, but she ran into trouble and needed help!

 Here's Joel's real birthday cake.  He picked this one out on the Internet.  It was so easy to make!

 Here's pictures from his superhero party.  We had a super hero training camp with games, obstacle course, scavenger hunt, dart throwing, and lots of fun!!!

 We even caught a bad guy who had stolen our cake! 

Advent Has Begun and JOY Is Here!

 

Advent is a new thing for me.  I never really understood it until this year.  I love the idea of taking a moment every day to prepare your heart for the birth of Christ.  Every year, the hustle and bustle take over the real reason for all the lights, gifts, decorations, and holiday festivities.  I want to fight that in our home, and make Christ the center of this Holy Day. 

Here's our Advent candles.  We light a candle each night at dinner and read Scripture.  The kids enjoying watching the flame burn and blowing out the candle after they listen to the Bible lesson.

 The other big thing we are doing this year is having an angel come visit us to help us prepare for Christmas.  I know many people who do Elf on the Shelf.  That's such a cute idea.  But I wanted something that would help us focus on the spiritual aspects, too.  So I came up with a messenger angel.  Her name is Joy, and she comes every morning with a note, gift, or special assignment for the kids.

Day 1: We found Joy under the tree with a letter to the kids.  She also came with Advent Calendar candies and lights and ornaments for the tree.  She was tangled up in the lights and needed our help to finish the job!

Day 2: Joy talked to us about how Jesus washes away our sins.  She brought bubble bath and bath toys.

Day 3: She talked to the boys about the Fruit of the Spirit.  She had a coloring sheet and fruit prepared for our breakfast.

The boys really love Joy.   Clark writes her letters during the day.  And they talk about her like she is one of the family.  I just hope they listen to her words as she guides them to enjoy the real reason for the season.