Christmas

I must confess that this Christmas was not one of my favorites.  I had zero "Christmas spirit."  I just kind of put on a happy face so Nate wouldn't think his momma was a big ole Scrooge.  Of course, we still had lots of fun and made lots of great memories.

We continued our tradition of visiting the local Christmas tree farm.  I love doing this, it reminds me of my childhood.

This was the day of the 2013 Iron Bowl.  Auburn was the underdog, but they pulled off an epic win.  I know the whole world knows this and is sick of hearing about it, but it's a good memory for the blog.

We got to spend time with these pretty girls.  :)

We made our first gingerbread house.  It was so much fun!  Nate was very particular about the decorating.  He picked out an example from the directions and we had to follow every single step.

We enjoyed another Christmas Eve with my family.  This year my dad read the Christmas story from my mom's grandfather's bible.

One of Nate's gifts from my parents was a box of change.  Nate loves to raid my dad's change when he's at their house.

My parents also gave Nate a Ninjago lego set.  Ashlyn was very sweet and kind to help Nate put it together.  She is such a blessing to our family and we are very thankful for her. :)

This year Nate asked for a star wars lego set, angry birds go telepods, and star wars telepods.

Nate also got a four wheeler.

Now to my favorite part.  Darren asked Nate what he wanted to get me for Christmas.  Nate said a broom.  Darren told Nate that was a good idea, but brooms aren't really appropriate gifts.  Then Nate suggested a dress.  Darren told him that was also a good idea, but buying clothes for girls is not always easy.  Darren told him to think on it a few more days and let him know when he had some other ideas.

A few days later, Darren asked Nate again what he wanted to get me for Christmas.  This time Nate told Darren that he wanted to go to Kay and buy me every diamond in the store.  How sweet is that?  Seriously.  A few days later they went to a local jewelry store to buy my gift.  Darren totally let Nate take the lead and pick out whatever he wanted.  Darren said he was very thoughtful and took his time making his selection.   There were several things he liked, but he finally decided on these amethyst heart earrings.

He told Darren that he chose the heart earrings because hearts represent love and "we love mommy."  These earrings are my very favorite Christmas present...ever.  I will cherish them and this sweet memory forever. 

Co-op Christmas Program

This is Nate's sweet class from our home school co-op.  They performed a song based on Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

My "Black" Friday

While lots of other people were shopping on Black Friday, I was trying to put out a fire I accidentally started in the pasture behind our house.  I burned a few boxes in our burn area and it quickly got out of control.  Oops. 

Several family members live nearby, but no one was home to help me. It ended up burning about five acres of pasture and a little section of my sister-in-law's yard.  It was very scary dealing with something like this alone.  I was very thankful when the fire department arrived. 

This is only about half of the final damage.  Thankfully, my in-laws and the fire department showed me lots of grace and mercy.  At least this part of the pasture will be nice and green this spring. :)