Advent Season!

I love decorating for Christmas! We moved into our apartment in December 2oo8, so as we were settling in and setting up our home, we were also decorating for Christmas. So much so, that our entertainment center (and the pictures that are hung above it) is always slightly off center on the wall, due to our need to make room for the Christmas tree. I guess that's why our home seems more proportionate, er, I mean a little cozier and more homey with all the decorations up (at least this is what I try to convince Wes of when I want to start decorating for Christmas . . . before Thanksgiving, Ha!)

I am working on transitioning our Christmas tree into a cross-themed Christmas tree. My mom and mother-in-law have already given me a few cross ornaments to help with the transition. I am really excited about having a Christmas tree that will remind us that during the Christmas season we are not only celebrating Christ's birth,the 1st advent, but also rejoicing in His work on the cross and longing for the day when He will fulfill the promise of his return, the 2nd advent!

About the time Wes and I got married, 7 years ago, I began collecting different creches. We buy a new one together each year. It is a fun little tradition.
This one is one of my favorite. Wes bought it for me when he was in Bethlehem. I love having a nativity that is from Christ's birthplace.

My mom started piecing this Willow Tree creche together for me as gifts over the years for different holidays: birthdays, mother's day, Christmas, etc. It is another one of my favorites!

Wes bought me this one last Christmas. I love it.
Each figure has a scripture etched in it.
I love Mary's verse, it says "My soul magnifies the Lord. Luke 1:46"

This is a little countdown to Christmas calender that I made at MOPS. It is made from a small pizza pan, cardstock, ribbon, and sparkly glue. The star is made of foam and has a magnet on the back. Super simple, but so cute! Aubri loves moving the star all around.

Our Advent calender.
I found the idea on pinterest. I modified it a little to make it our own.
Each day we light the corresponding advent candle(s) and Aubri pulls the card out of the day's pocket that consists of the daily scripture reading and a family activity. The family activities include different things like reading the Christmas story from Bri's bible, playing with her Little People Nativity set, drinking hot chocolate, calling grandparents to sing Christmas carols, etc.

I'm so excited about our Christmas wrapping paper this year!
It has a nativity scene on it! I found it at Hobby Lobby if you are interested...

This is Aubri's tree that is in her room. She LOVES it!
The first few nights she would take the ornaments off the tree because she said she wanted to sleep with them. Some of them are glass, so we had to put a stop to that! :)

Aubri's creche. It lights up so it serves as a little nightlight, too.

Her Mickey Mouse snowglobe. Our sweet friend, Jenny, gave this to Bri because she knows how much Bri loves Mickey Mouse. It sits on her nightstand but usually ends up in her bed... with the ornaments. Crazy girl! :)

The purpose for celebrating Advent is to quicken our hearts with anticipation for the Lord's arrival into the world through the birth of God's Son, Jesus Christ. Advent is a time to celebrate light in the midst of darkness. It is also a time to look forward to Christ's second coming.
A friend of mine on facebook, wrote a quote from Ann Voskamp's blog,
"Whenever Christmas begins to burden, it's a sign that I've taken on something of the world and not of Christ. Any weight in Christmas has to be of this world... Christ came into this world as grace to lift all the weighty burdens."
May this be our prayer for one another as we fight against this world, striving to rejoice and celebrate Christ's birth, and await the second coming of our Lord and Savior with eager anticipation!

SUCCESS!

We went to see Bri's urologist last Thursday to get the results from her tests that would let us know if her surgery had been successful.
We were absolutely thrilled when the doctor came into our exam room,
shot his arms up in the air, and said "NO MORE REFLUX!"
Thank you, LORD! We are SO HAPPY!
And it makes all those doctors and hospital bills a little more tolerable! ha!
We stopped by Starbucks and then headed home to watch Bambi (the current favorite!) to celebrate!

WA's 1st birthday.

Last Tuesday, Nov. 22, was Wesley Adam's 1st birthday. We were overwhelmed by friends and family who remembered and encouraged us through cards, phone calls, emails, etc., during this time. Thank you. God truly used you as a means of His grace to our family.
My sweet sisters in my Bible study made a book for me. They each had written several pages and compiled them all together. It included many scriptures, prayers, and words of encouragement. It was a timely keepsake that I will treasure forever and glean on often.

While Wes was at work on Monday, a few of his close friends came filing in. One right after another were men that have walked this road with him and have been a stay of encouragement and accountability. They gathered around and each prayed over him. We are so blessed by saints the Lord has embraced us with and their faithfulness to bear our burdens so graciously.

Wes took off work on Tuesday, so we planned to go out to the cemetery. We knew we wanted to make WA's birthday special but having never been through anything like this before, we didn't have many ideas on what to do. Some sweet friends from our church lost their son in a car accident last year. They have mentored us through much of this grieving time and were able to give us a few ideas and ways to incorporate Aubri. So we took their wisdom and bought a few balloons to take out to the cemetery with us.

Wes brought his Bible and read several texts aloud.
We also spent some time in prayer together as a family.

We wrote on his birthday balloon and had Aubri let it go. We watched as the balloon floated towards the heavens. Aubri really enjoyed that part of it!

"Happy 1st birthday, Wesley Adam! We can only imagine the celebration in Heaven! We love miss you and love you! Love, Dada, Momma, and Aubri"

To be expected, it was a difficult day as we miss our little boy so much. We reflected back on the events from last year and how our arms ache to hold and love on our sweet son. However, the Lord was so gracious to recall to our minds and encourage our hearts of how His matchless grace has been very real and sustaining this past year. We were joyous as we gleaned on how the Lord has shaped us and how differently and more intimately we know Him. Even though we miss WA so incredibly much, we are thankful that we know he is abiding with Christ and someday we'll join him. Together, then, we will worship our great God forevermore!