Teeth and Tae Kwon Do

Do you see it?

We found Nate's first loose tooth a couple of weeks ago.  Then, last week we saw his first permanent tooth. This boy is growing up way too fast.  :(

Nate has been talking about taking Karate (Tae Kwon Do) for a couple of months.  He really just wants to karate chop and kick stuff. :)  His wish came true last week.  Check it out!

Christmas Fun

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season.  We were not too busy like we seemed to be last year.  Nate had strep throat for the first time and that did eliminate a couple of activities, but I didn't mind. :)

Here are a few highlights.

I was looking for some fun, Christ centered Christmas songs and came across Toby Mac's Christmas album and LOVED it.  I listened to it over and over again.  You should listen to it now, seriously.  Just YouTube it and listen for free. 



We had a fun Christmas party with or small group from church.  Don't you love the photo props?





We also had a fun day with our cousins making Christmas crafts, ornaments, and cookies.  They are sweet girls and we are always thankful when we get to spend time with them.





My niece, Ashlyn, came over and helped make a cake for Christmas Eve. This has become a new tradition for us.  This year we went with Red Velvet Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting.  We always have some sort of cake making drama.  This year, all of our layers (4) were very difficult to remove from the pans. We had one that was totally ruined.  What do you do with a broken cake layer? Make cake pops!  We knew the basics of how they were made so we just went with it. I had some leftover sticks from Nate's birthday cupcake toppers and we dipped them in white chocolate.  They weren't perfectly round and they weren't perfectly smooth, but they were perfectly tasty.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them. :(

We made some chocolate Christmas trees and snowflakes to adorn our cake.  Look out professional cake bakers. ;)




We always spend Christmas Eve with my family.  This year it was a little less festive because my brother-in-law, Chris, was sick and couldn't join us.

My parents got Nate a camo hat and...

a Nook.  He was very excited about this. :)

My sister's birthday is on December 23rd. Happy Birthday Jill!

My mom got my dad an Elvis CD.  The highlight of the evening was Ashlyn and Nate dancing to Elvis songs.  :) 

Nate told me about 10 PM on Christmas eve that he wanted to make Christmas hats for a few of his stuffed animals.  He said we would make them Christmas day.  I always have a stash of fabric scraps and just happened to have some red.  I decided to make the hats that night to surprise him Christmas morning.  At midnight I was putting Christmas hats on stuffed animals.  The things moms do for their children! :)

I put them on his night stand by his bed so he would see them first thing.  The next morning Darren and I were waiting for him to wake up when we heard giggles coming from his room.  That was his first Christmas surprise.

Nate is all about Angry Birds right now.  This was his favorite present.  Now he is also all about Star Wars, which Darren and I know very little about.  We haven't even seen any of the movies.

We always spend Christmas evening with Darren's family.  This year it was cut short due to possible severe weather, but we had a great time.  Nate got more Angry Birds stuff and a really cool telescope from his Aunt Lynn and Uncle Gavan.   

The next morning, we woke up to snow.  The flurries only lasted a few minutes, but it's always exciting to see snow in our neck of the woods.

Finally, have you ever seen so many pine needles?  I am still finding random pine needles. 

Lately

Nate's Christmas tree

Nate had his first deer hunting experience a couple of weeks ago.  He and Darren went with my dad.  They didn't bring home a deer, but they had fun. 

I almost hate to post this because we have horrible luck with pets, but we have a new kitten.  The best thing about this kitten is that she found us.  One morning we woke up to this constant, annoying meowing.  I wanted to get the gun (not really), but then we found this sweet girl.  She actually kind of looks like Bob. 

Nate has participated in two Christmas programs - one at church and one at preschool. 

At the preschool performance, he was a wise man. 

Finally, we are trying our very best to focus on Christ and not let the busyness of the holiday season be a distraction from the true meaning of Christmas.  Here are a few things that are helping us do this.

We did our first Jesse Tree last year.  This year, a friend told me about this devotional. We are loving it. 

I ordered this book through Nate's preschool.  It is fantastic.  Seriously.

I saw this cute nativity on Pinterest.  I knew Nate would not want to color the entire thing at one time.  So yesterday we started with Mary and will add a piece (or 2) each day until Christmas eve.  This gives us another great opportunity each day to talk about the birth of Christ. 

Tree Farm

This year we went back to our local tree farm for a tree.  It was nice and cold the day we were there and actually felt like Christmas.  Since then it has been in the upper 60s and lower 70s almost everyday.  Gotta love Christmas in the South. 

Christmas Shopping

This Christmas (or any time you need to buy a gift) consider making purchases from organizations that give back.  There are a lot of seriously great organizations out there with awesome products.  Thank you, Sandi, for introducing me to so many of these. 

Light Gives Heat

There is a beautiful video demonstrating what they do here.  For all of my friends with magazine beads, you can see how they are made in the video.  :)  Also take a moment to meet the artisans.  I LOVE seeing and reading about the people involved in making the products I purchase.    

Here are a few of their beautiful products.





This pullover is on my Christmas list. :) 


Shona Congo 

The best thing about their products is that they are handmade by women in eastern Congo who are physically handicapped. There would be little or no employment opportunities for these women without this ministry. When you purchase products from Shona Congo you are providing hope, encouragement, and income for these women.  Such beautiful faces!  See them all here. 



There is a lot of unrest going on in Congo right now and the Shona ladies have had to leave their home because it was unsafe.  Please pray for these ladies and all of the other people in Congo.  I know that a lot of people think things are "bad" in our country right now.  Be thankful that our "bad" looks like paradise to Congo residents and lots of other people groups around the world.  We have so very much to be thankful for!



Here are a few of their beautiful products.





I actually purchased this table runner for a birthday gift.  It was beautifully made and great quality.  I would definitely purchase from Shona Congo again!




3 Cords

"3 Cords is a social enterprise founded in September 2010 to train, employ, and empower Haitian women and their families. Our mission is to provide opportunities for physically handicapped women, and to show them that they are both beautiful and valuable. We do this by training the women as artisans in a loving, community oriented environment." Read more about them here.


 

I recently ordered this purse.  It is beautifully made and great quality.  When you receive your order, each item will have a 3 Cords tag including the name of who made your product.  You can go here and see all of the beautiful faces of this ministry.

My purse was made by Gernise.  Another beautiful smile. :)

I am wearing this cord right now. :)  I love it!

Serrv

"For more than 60 years, SERRV has worked to eradicate poverty through our direct connections with low-income artisans and farmers. We market their crafts and foods, find joint solutions to their challenges, and help them grow and embrace the future. One of the first alternative trade organizations in the world, SERRV is a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization (formerly IFAT) and a founding member of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF)."  You can read more about them here.

They have a HUGE variety of products.

I can't wait to try this spicy hot chocolate. They also have milk chocolate and dark chocolate.  Who wouldn't want some yummy hot chocolate this Christmas?


Speaking of chocolate, how about buying a box of these Divine candy bars?  You could make Christmas a little sweeter for each person on your list. 






     
  

         
  

Please also check out these other great organizations. (I wish I had time to write more about them.) I also encourage you to check out my friend's blog, Dancing Upon Injustice.  She highlights organizations like these on a regular basis.  Thanks again Sandi!

Punjammies
Sevenly
Ornaments for Orphans
Story Company
Timbali Crafts