I know that Christmas is not about the gifts that are given or received. But I was to tell you about a few of the gifts that the girls received.
The girls enjoyed an amazing Christmas this year. And it was so much fun watching them. This was the first time that they were able to have fun with the wrapping paper and the toys and all that good stuff. It was awesome. They got all things Dora, a doll house, new tricylcles, and helmets. Brian and I made out pretty good also! But of all the gifts that they were given on Christmas day, the most perfect gift came a few days later in the mail.
Each daughter received a card in the mail from Ft. Davis. Little did I know that when I opened the card I would be nearly brought to tears by what was inside it. My brother Cleat and his family made a gift in honor of each girl to Heifer International. This gift is literally a gift that will keep on giving for a struggling family. What an amazing opportunity to change a family for generations to come. If you dont know anything about Heifer International-google them.
We so greatly appreciate all the gifts the girls received this year. And they have enjoyed playing with them.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Christmas 2010
The Aftermath
This was approximately 10 minutes after the girls realized that those gifts were for them and they could tear the paper to shreds.
Fellowship Team
Brian and I have been hosting a fellowship team at our house on Tuesday Nights for the last 11 months. This has been a rewarding and challenging experience all at the same time. Rewarding because we have grown closer to the people that you see in this picture and we have had the privilege of watching them grow closer to God and deeper in their Faith. Which is amazing!! Challenging because we have times were we wonder if we are the right people for this job. If God was sure what he was doing when he entrusted us with the group of people. At the end of the day we are reminded that this and everything we do is in His divine plan.
This was our White Elephant Christmas party. We ate a Riley's BBQ in Blanco and then drove on to Johnson City to see Christmas lights. This group of people are the ones that we do life together with. We are there for each other, we have honest, loving relationships, even when the truth is not what we always want to hear. This is our family and we look forward to another great year of spiritual growth, deeper relationships with each other and LOTS of fun in 2011
Thursday, December 2, 2010
This Year Will Be Different
Nearly every Christmas in the past has followed us around for several months after December and not in a good way... This year we resolved to pay for Christmas gifts in December, not in January through June like we have nearly every year we have been married. For me this was just standard, buy a bunch of things and then pay them off later. This year I want the good parts of Christmas to follow us around like memories, celebrations, etc, but not the bills LOL.
Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, not to celebrate Santa and making the credit cards work double overtime. So this year for the first time Kristi and I actually made a budget for what we can spend for each of our family members and are sticking to it. In the past we just went to Target, Malls, Etc and just spent until the day was over without really thinking about what the balance would be. We were just plain irresponsible with what God had provided us. We always have given to others especially through things like giving trees, and other charities, but we always spent money we didn't really have a the time, mostly because we weren't paying attention.
So this year we are doing a few gifts for family and some friends and giving to others, but mostly we are just going to make memories with our friends and family. We are going to have a great Christmas dinner, go see the lights at Johnson City and do little things with friends and family. The gifts fade, break, etc, but the memories will last forever. For instance one of my favorite memories from last Christmas was going to Johnson City with our friends and just hanging out looking at Christmas lights. Sure we exchanged gifts afterward, but the best part was just spending time with our friends and kids.
