Easter

I know that Easter is over, but my crazy self can not blog out of chronological order. And, we had such a great little Easter that I can't entertain the thought of leaving it out.

To start the morning off, the Farmer family attended our first ever Sunrise Service. It was a lovely little service where we were privileged to get to see several people baptized. And, can I just say that being baptized on Easter Sunday at Sunrise is such a wonderful and memorable sentiment. How very special for them.

Brad said that when he was growing up, the boy scouts always helped with the sunrise services for their church; but I had never been to one, and neither had our kids. So, it was a neat experience. I think next year, (providing this feeble mind can remember) we might do our own "family sunrise service" at our house followed by a breakfast. I think that would be a cool tradition for a family to do together to really celebrate the meaning of Easter. However, I must say, our church really does have a wonderful place to watch the sunrise. Don't you agree?

And speaking of traditions, this year the ladies of the church "resurrected" one that they have enjoyed in the past. [and if you did not enjoy that lovely segue and holiday inspired pun, then you do not appreciate writing at it's finest......or corniest] And, while I did not participate because it meant having to be at church even earlier than just before sunrise, I still thought it was a sweet idea and the finished product was beautiful. Here is what the EMC ladies were doing way before sunrise.

After the sunrise service, the church gathered in the parish hall for breakfast together. We ended up being finished with breakfast WAY before time for regular church to start. So, several of us ended up sitting around the table playing rummy. Somewhere in the middle of our card game I commented that I could honestly say I had never played Rummy at church on Easter Sunday. We all got a kick out of it, but had a great time playing.

During the regular service, the Elementary Choir sang a song, and Bryce had a part in a "trio". This was the first time that he has had any sort of part and he was really excited. Honestly, I was shocked at him. During the weeks leading up to Easter, he would ask me to help him practice. He sang that song over and over. He did a fabulous job (all 3 of the boys did). I don't really have good pictures of that......my camera stinketh, and they turned out dark and too far away. But, they were so cute and did a great job.

After church, we went to mom & dad's to spend the day. Brad & I got to nap, while the kids hung out with their grandparents; and trust me when I say that fact alone was enough to make it the best day ever!! Sara Kate and GDaddy were getting some swing time in while mom & dad were catching some zzzzz's.

After we woke up, we let the kids dye eggs. Can I just say that there are a LOT more egg dying options around now than when I was a kid. Good grief, we had glitter and crayons and shrinky things with sports stuff on them and stickers. If I didn't get to participate, I might just be a little bitter.
After egg dying we had the proverbial egg hunt. This year, we decided to have the Hildebrand's and Godwin's over for a cook out, and they had gotten there just in time for the egg hunt. Just so you know, all of the kids have actual Easter baskets but at the time of the hunt they were filled with their Easter morning bounty.....otherwise known as enough sugar to give them enough energy to power the neighborhood. But, since their baskets were otherwise disposed, we made do with plastic bags. Here's a few pics of the kids on the hunt.

One of the reasons mom wanted the Godwin's and Hildebrand's to come is she had recently learned a new game while away on a fun retreat with my sister, and she viewed their coming as a prime opportunity to smoke them in a friendly game of spoons. Oh, yes, she secretly thought she would be crowned The Spoon Queen. However, little did she know that quiet little Gail had some mad spoon skills of her own. And, in fact, Gail was the spoon champion of the evening. Our kudos to you Gail. I would love to post of picture of our spoons game, but the game is rather cut throat and I wasn't about to try to get a picture of the madness....even after I was eliminated, I feared my picture taking might mess with someone's mojo and I would not be able to bear the responsibility of causing anyone to lose.....especially my mother, who would gladly beat me with a wet noodle for punishment.

See why I couldn't leave this one out? It was a picture perfect day. We got to celebrate the love of our Risen Lord with a SONrise service and a great church service, and we got to spend the rest of the day with loved ones. In my estimation, there is nothing greater in this world than those two things. The knowledge of a Saviour who is ALIVE and WITH US after loving us enough to offer himself up as an ultimate sacrifice to death. And, the love and blessing of friends and family. Nope, it don't get no better than that!!

Advent at the Farmer's

Brad & I try to be very intentional on how we raise the kids. To be honest, more often than not we fail miserably. I could make a list a mile long of all the things that we need to improve on as parents. (Please don't ask me to do that 'cause I'll be buried in a mountain of guilt that will take me until this time next year to dig out of). Just trust me when I say that this is not a false humility.

But, during Advent/Christmas we have tried extra, extra hard to keep the focus on Christ. My parents did a great job of teaching us what the real meaning of Christmas is, but we were Baptists and the word advent was not in our vocabulary. When Brad & I started going to our current church (some 10-11 years ago) we began to learn that Advent just means waiting. And when we celebrate advent we are waiting for our Saviour, just like thousands of years ago, the world waited for Him.

I mentioned last year, that our church hosts an Advent festival each year, where families come an make their own advent wreath together as a church. Then, in our homes each night, we light the candle/candles and read a devotion that corresponds with the day. My children just absolutely fell in love with this. So, it became a tradition in our family too (and luckily at church too). I love how lighting the candles helps them count down and anticipate getting to finally light the white candle in the middle on Christmas. And, how our waiting on Christmas represents the world awaiting a Savior so many years ago.

But, I wanted to share something new that we started this year as well. I got the idea from a blog that I read quite a bit, but several of you may already know about it. This year, we started our own Jesse Tree. You start the First Day of Advent, and each night you read a devotion. The devotions are meant to sort of take you through the Old Testament and lead up to or end with The Savior's birth on Christmas Day. Several of the devotions are from Old Testament prophecies predicting Christ's birth. But they all kind of show God's ultimate plan and provision for us through Christ. In fact, the first devotion is about the stump of Jesse (hence the name Jesse Tree), and the first sentence of our particular devotions is, "God has a plan for everything."

The element that I like the most about the Jesse tree concept is that you get a small tree (it can be cut out of felt or paper, or an actual small Christmas tree or whatever) and each day of devotion has a corresponding ornament to represent the lesson of the day. So, for instance, the devotion that teaches about creation has an ornament of the world (or something representative). Again, the kids love this. And, I love that they are getting such a great foundation of the Old Testament and eventually (maybe their too young right now) getting that the events of the Old Testament happened exactly the way they did to provide the world with a Savior.

This was not a hard tradition to start. I used these devotions and used the symbols as guides when looking for ornaments. If I couldn't find one that was exactly like what was listed, I improvised. Or, I actually enlarged what was shown, printed it, cut it out and then colored it. Easy Peasy!! If you google Jesse Tree, you will find other books or resources, but I've been really happy with the content of the devotions that I'm using.

If you are interested, and have an questions, give me a holler and I'll send you some links that will help get you started. Or, start here

But, along these same lines, I must share with you what was said during our Jesse Tree/Advent devotion tonight. It is just too priceless not to.

Our devotion tonight was about Joseph, and how God sent an angel to talk to Joseph in a dream and tell him that Mary was going to have Jesus. At the end of each short devotion it has a 'talk about' section. Tonight's 'talk about' section said, "Name some ways that God speaks to us.". So, I asked the kids to tell us some ways that God speaks to us. Bryce immediately popped in and said this:

"The other night, when Daddy sent me to my room, when I really didn't do anything [mom interjects that he obviously DID do something]..... God told me that I was right."

Now tell me, how are we supposed to argue with God???? I have a smart, smart boy on my hands. But that's not all, when Sara Kate heard this she said (and I quote) "Wait a minute, my brain is telling me something here." - It was like she was processing the fact that what she just heard might help her get out of some things in the future. However, she's pretty good at dodging the bullet, she just blames her brain on everything, especially when she is getting in trouble.

We really do wish you all a very blessed Christmas! Celebrate guys, Christ's coming means Hope for the Nations. Take hold of it today!

Much love to all!

It's better late than Never, and I totally made up for my tardiness.

Brace yourself folks, this is gonna be one heckuva catch up post. So much has gone on since my last post, but I haven't been able to blog about it. The Thanksgiving/Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year, but it is also, by far the busiest. In case you're wondering, the formula for a non-updated blog is: Busy season + little one with pneumonia and a then a stomach bug + babysitting a toddler. I can think of a few other variables that will give you the same result; but don't worry, I'm throwing in another one that will give us the desired outcome. It is called shear determination.

Ok, enough with the math analogy, I've just exhausted all my knowledge in that department. So let's see, where did I leave off. Oh, yes, just before Sara Kate turned 4. I guess I'll start with her fourth birthday party. It had to be a little smaller this year, because we had it at the Creative Discovery Museum.

Here, Sara Kate is taking her place of honor as her party guests sing Happy Birthday.

And, here she is about to dive in to that yummy birthday cake.

Here's what it looked like before.

After that celebration, it was time for Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. But, every year, without fail, I am most thankful for family. One of our Thanksgiving traditions is a massive leaf jumping extravaganza. Every year, G-Daddy blows up a ginormous pile of leaves and the kids go wild jumping in them. This year, I actually got pictures of the leaf pile assembly and Bryce & Sara Kate got in on the action too. I don't know exact measurements, but let me stress, this thing is huge. And the kids LOVE it! Check 'em out.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Now, on to cookie weekend 2008. Every year my sister and I get to bake cookies with my mom, 2 aunts, and 2 cousins. It is probably ranks up there in the top 5 traditions. We start on a Friday morning, and work until supper time. Then we break and go out to eat and shop. Most of us spend the night at mom's house and we get started early Saturday morning. We always have the most fun, cutting up and being crazy. And, I must say we have a mac-daddy set up. Mom & Dad broke the glass top on their stove a few years ago, and they got a new oven/stove. But the old oven still works (they just can't use the glass top), so daddy always brings it in too. So, we have 2 ovens and 2 mixers. Not to mention, my dad always gets wrangled, wrestled, or sweet talked into helping us. This year he made an appearance in the accounting room, but we mostly used him for his chocolate melting skills and his mixing abilities. We won't mention the great "ball drop of '08) because he is just too valuable of a member to hold that against him. (see daddy, I told you your secret was safe with me). I can't tell you how much I love this weekend. This year we made over 2,716 cookies; all equally divided among the 7 of us. Most people don't believe me when I say we bake that many cookies, so here's proof.






That is my moms entry hallway, lined with bags and tins and tubs of cookies.....and that's not all.

I would have included some pictures of the actual bakers, but I have a large love of life and I fear that said life would be snuffed right out of me if my relatives pulled up the blog and found a picture of themselves [on the internet].

One last thing, the Farmer's have been helping a family friend out by babysitting a few times. And, I would just be remiss if I didn't show you this cut-E-pie. He & SK are kindred spirits in their love of dance

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I think that pretty much gets us into the Christmas season. I have a couple of thoughts about Advent I want to share, but my compartmentalizing brain wouldn't let me post about advent before catching up Thanksgiving. And, you just can't put two major holidays in the same post......just wouldn't be right. So, when I get the next free minute, be watching for another post soon.

What a Weekend

This past weekend my sister and nieces came in town for a visit. They haven't been up since July so we had a lot of family fun to accomplish. It worked out perfectly, because it was also Fall Break, so we had a little extra time to cram everything in.



Friday we loaded the kids up and went to the pumpkin patch in Dawsonville. The ride to get there was almost as fun as the patch itself. I won't explain why, there are no words; although I bet mom could think of several. Anyway, after we got finished with the obligatory photo shoot, we picked out pumpkins and took the hay ride. We went back home through Ellijay where we stopped and got some fried apple pies and apple fritters because you can never have too much sugar when you've got 3 kids in the back of a van.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Saturday my sister and the kids took Katie Bell to get her ears pierced. It was all her idea and I tried explaining to her that it would hurt a little bit, but she could not be deterred. I knew in my chicken-ness that I could not take her and my sister jumped at the chance. So, while Brad & I went to a wedding, Shelley went to have metal things pierced through my childs ears. On purpose. Apparently, she did okay. Although there were waterworks despite her promise that there wouldn't be.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Saturday night the kids painted pumpkins and everyone spent the night at Granda & G Daddy's in anticipation of Sunday morning waffles and fried eggs & gravy. Also, on Sunday the kids drove the golf cart, went on a motorcycle ride compliments of Uncle Scott, and made and decorated fall-themed cupcakes.



Sunday night we had a hayride, bonfire, and marshmallow roast.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Shelley did an awesome post as well and it includes more pictures. If you want to check out her post. Go here. Her's is a lot more creative and funny, but I am weary and the creative juices have run dry this morning.

Christmas in July?

I think that I've mentioned a few times how we do Christmas presents in our immediate family. And, I always hesitate to mention it at all, because I don't want anyone to think that I feel that every family should adopt this method. That couldn't be further from the truth, and I can't stand the thought of people thinking (even for a minute) that I'm trying to persuade any of my readers (friends) in to doing anything. The only thing that would be worse would be to have people thinking that I'm judging them on what they do or do not do. I'm the last one in the world that could judge anybody. My family doesn't have ANYTHING figured out, so please know that I don't do that.

Ok, with that disclaimer, I can proceed with the reason behind the post. But first, some background:

We give our kids 3 gifts for Christmas, each representing (in a fairly adapted way) the Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh that Jesus received at his birth. We got the idea from this article and then we tweaked it to meet our family's specific needs.

The Gold gift represents the thing that they really want or requested; their big item. The Frankincense gift represents something that will foster or further their relationship with God. We adapted the Myrrh gift to represent something our child actually needs. In other words, it is designed to meet a need for our child. Then, we went a step further than the article suggested and decided that we would also include a Family gift, which represents something that we can all do together or enjoy together as a family. This could be a trip or a tent (for family camping) or a box of board games or a new video game or whatever, as long as it is something that fosters family time.

This is a tradition that we've really grown to love. I love the symbolism and the meaning behind it. And, we love explaining it to the kids as they open their 3 presents. And we don't get real legalistic about it. But, it sometimes is a challenge. It does require you to think a little bit (or a lot) about what you purchase.

I try to start thinking about it early, usually around July and August; because, if I can decide on what to get, I can purchase one item for each child in the months of September, October, and November. Doing that makes the rest of the Christmas shopping a breeze!! And, I love more than anything the thought of being able to really focus on the reason for the season and not being overwhelmed with the malls and the traffic and the chaos. However, as much as I love that thought, the down side of thinking ahead is that you don't have the luxury of always knowing what your kids want.

And, now for the real reason behind the post. This is where I need help. Everyone knows that I lack in creativity. Plus, I love gathering information from friends that have kids in all ages. If my kids aren't old enough yet, they will be one day.

So, what is your child's most valued or prized possession. And, I'm speaking of the purely materialistic here. They may love that family heirloom jewelry box passed down from their great grandmother, but that will not serve the purpose I'm looking for. I'm asking, what is their favorite toy/gadget/game/etc. Or, what is that something that you've invested in for your children, that you've thanked-God-a-million-times-that-He-gave-you-the-sense-and-financial ability-to-get-it-because-it-has-singlehandedly-kept-you-sane? Not that it has to be expensive mind you. Do me a favor, and just ask your kids what they love. Tell them that your insanely, high strung, freak of a friend who is already worrying about Christmas, needs them to help her with some research.

No matter what age, no matter what price-both cheap and expensive, no matter what gender (I've got one of both) I would love to hear you chime in on this. I'll take all the ideas I can get. Not to mention, that mine still have birthdays this year. So, if I don't use it for one, I might use it for the other.


Okay, one last thing. I would be remiss if I didn't share this too. Last year, as Christmas was approaching, you know last September (ha ha) I was starting to think about it and talk about it with friends (didn't I Tammy?) and for whatever reason, I decided to start praying about it too. I really think God honored me bringing such a strange and simple request to him. I felt like He provided us with really great ideas, and then followed through with our ability to get them. It really was an extra little Christmas blessing in my heart and mind. I had started blogging by then, so if you want to look back and remember with me, go here and here.

Okay y'all, I'm all ears.

A Family Tradition

Ever since I can remember my parents have always had a big celebration for the Fourth of July. There is just something about celebrating freedom isn't there? As kids, we always loved having friends (the children of my parents best friends) over to play with, eating homemade ice cream, swimming, and watching fireworks. It is such a blessing to me to be able to continue keeping that same tradition in the same place (my parents house) that I grew up in, and to see my children making the very same memories that I am so fond of.

By my estimation, it has only gotten better. The food seems to multiply each year. And we've fallen head over heels in love with the "piece de resistance" of every fourth of July meal: the homemade yoohoo icecream (thanks for the recipe Randall-even though I never can remember it). My word in heaven y'all, that ice cream will make your lips draw right up and smack your eyeballs! It is sooo, and I do mean sooo, good!

The food is great, but my favorite part is always the fireworks. Now, don't get me wrong, it's certainly not "Pops in the Park" or anything, but there is just something about sitting on the hill at the top of Mom & Dad's driveway and watching your own fireworks display. The fireworks have certainly improved over the years as well. When I was a kid it was just sparklers, bottle rockets, and firecrackers (and Scott got most of those to blow up frogs or half kill somebody). Nowadays, the kids still get the sparklers, and the big kids (Brad/Scott) still get the bottle rockets, but we've added some of the fancy stuff too. We're certainly amateurs, but for amateurs, I'd say we hold our own. This is the only time I really justify letting hard earned money go up in smoke (literally). To me, it's worth it.

My whole family is always there. But we always share the evening with friends too. Our close friends, Eric & Tammy and their girls along with Tammy's parents and sister always come. And this year, Scott's college roommate, Bruce and his family got to come up from Florida. Again, this kind of just continues the tradition that mom & dad started. It just wouldn't be the same without friends.

So, in case you didn't pick up on everything. Let me just say it this way:

Family + Friends + Food + Fireworks + Freedom = A FULL HEART and a lot of FUN!

As always, enjoy the pictures.
Here are all the kids
.

and here is what they are watching.

This was, by no means, the finale; but as you can imagine taking a picture of fireworks with a digital camera that has a slight delay is a little tricky, so I switched to video. I especially like this one because you can hear laughing in the background. The laughing you hear is my sister. She was behind her digital camera and daddy was trying to time the fireworks to her "pushing the button". Apparently, from the laughing and her blog posts, it worked. So, at the end, I was saying I wanted to try it next. I ended up just giving him the camera. All he got was pictures of a black night.

Valentine's Banquet

On Valentine's Day, our church sponsored a banquet. The idea was to have ladies "host" a table. As a host, you were responsible for having your table filled with guests, decorating your table, and helping to serve your table guests. The dinner was catered and the entertainment of the evening was Nichol Sponberg who was formerly with the group Selah. She and her husband shared the coolest story of how they met. She (and her family) were performing at Moody Bible Institute where He (Greg) was completing his Masters. He somehow met her dad and also got to meet her for like 5 minutes. Later that week, he actually emailed her dad to ask for her contact information. Long story short, they began corresponding, met and eloped in something like 10 weeks. Wow!! That story really appealed to the "hopeless romantic" side of me. So, that was fun to hear and her music was incredible!! I really loved Resurrection, check it out if you haven't heard it. Anyway, it was a really fun event. One that will hopefully become an annual occasion.



Now, I'm no decorator, but I have fun trying ...and I have some creative friends that can take my ideas (read nonsense) and make sense out of them decoratively and/or creatively. Plus, Brad & I have been married for almost 8 years, and I have never used my fine china; so I was happy to have an excuse to get to use it. My table didn't really have a theme. I used silver table accents because my china has a platinum edge and I had a big, white cross in the center of the table. I also made Almond Joy Balls for favors. I won't go into depths describing it, because you will be able to see it for yourself, right here.







The cross that is in the centerpiece was something that I purchased as a decoration for my home when we moved in this past April. When I saw it at TJ Maxx,(don't you love the Maxx) I was drawn to it, I just really thought it was pretty, and when I turned it over to see how much......BONUS. It was on clearance. It was like $5. And, it has come to be very special to me because I also used it for the first Tres Dias weekend that I worked. Tres Dias is a great ministry that I'm involved with. If this piques your interest, please email me or comment, I would love to tell you about it. Maybe I'll have to post about it next.....oooh, do I feel a Fun Fact Friday coming on????




Anyway, here is my friend, Tammy's. She had a theme, which was a stroke of genius. Her centerpiece was gift wrapped packages. And the verse, was from James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift is from above." She had handmade some goodies too, and the gift boxes had that verse stamped on it. Very clever!!





Here are a couple of other tables that friends hosted. They are gorgeous! It was really fun to see all the tables and how they were so different, and all so pretty.








And now a little business..... please, let me apologize for the absence that was Fun Fact Friday. Thursday night after the lovely banquet you just read about, and in the middle of a lovely REM cycle, Sara Kate woke up with a fever. So, she joined us in our bed, and we medicated, and then....she promptly threw up; which for some reason got her in to a talkative state and we had to turn on Noggin at 5 am. So, on Friday morning I had to get Bryce off to school, wash 8 place settings of my china and make an appointment for Katie-Bell. The Diagnosis? Strep. But, we must have caught it kind of early and the antibiotics worked quickly. But, needless to say I was busy. So, my Fun Fact is again, not-so-fun. But, it must live up to at least one requirement, and Strep is not Fun and That's a Fact. However, in the interest of equality; amoxicillin is the berries!!

Ya'll have a Fabulous week!!

Valentine's

The kids and I have been busy this week making their Valentine's, and I thought we would show you a little glimpse of our craftiness........ We used store bought pixy stick valentine's for church because there were so many (my craftiness & patience only go so far), and we hand made the valentine's for Bryce's pre-k class (cause he only needed 12).

Punching out the hearts for our Pixy stick Valentines...

Bryce filling bags with candy

Katie Bell stamping

The Finished Product.....I know you can't make it out very well. I tried several picture attempts, but the flash kept making it one big shiny blob, and my technical skills go the way of patience and craftiness........they have their limits. So, alas, you'll just have to imagine what they look like, but let me just say, "they're stinkin' cute".

Happy Valentine's Day everybody!!

Santa Visits the Farmer kids...apparently they were nice this year

In a previous post (I've been tagged.....too) I explained how our family does Christmas gifts. So I won't take the time to explain again, except to give the short version: Santa gives gold, frankincense, and myrrh (representations with specific meanings); Mommy and Daddy give a family gift. I thought ya'll might want to see pictures of the kids playing with their new things (I sure want to see pictures of ya'll)

This year the gold gift (something they really, really want) was a new dog. We had to find a home for Abby (our old dog) when we moved because the new neighborhood had restrictions against unfenced dogs (or so we were told, once we got here dogs were loose everywhere....but I digress). Anyway, Abby, a Great Dane was much too big to be an indoor dog (for us), so we found her a new family. Both of the kids really missed having a dog, and asked about her a lot. When it became clear to us that they really wanted a dog, we decided to adopt one. So, I got on petfinders.com and we found a family that was in a similiar situation as ours with Abby; they had moved and had no yard for their beagle, Gigi. It was a perfect fit because she is small, still in the owners home (not in a sheltar), she had been fixed, up to date on shots, and was in a home with small children. So, in November we went to see her, and decided she would be a good fit for the family. She is not going to win any 'doggy beauty contests' but she is cute and is laid back; and the kids LOVE LOVE LOVE her. Today, I told the kids we were going to take her to the pet store and they both started crying, they thought we were taking her back or something. I didn't even have time to explain to them that we were just getting her a bed. It took a while to sink in for Sara Kate, partly because she wouldn't stop crying long enough to listen. Here are some pictures of Gigi and the kids. Santa really outdid himself.










The Family gift (something we can all do together) this year was 4 wheelers. Brad & Bryce go on an annual father/son camping trip every year in October. This year, one of the other kids had a small 4 wheeler and Bryce (and Brad) fell in love. Head over heels in love with a machine. Brad took pictures of Bryce driving it all by himself, and he sure was cute. Sara Kate, got a smaller battery powered version of Bryce's 110 (engine size or speed or something girls...I really don't know). Bryce was very excited, and on Christmas morning about 8:30 he promptly drove it in to the mailbox :) No, he wasn't hurt.












Both sets of grandparents outdid themselves too, as always. Now the kids have a trampoline....I'll be adding prayers of protection against physical injury way up on my priority list. I can't wait to see them jumping on it, maybe they'll jump off some energy and I'll jump off some pounds (one can dream can't she.....although, to my 2 birth-bladder the prospect of jumping anywhere on anything is not a great idea). They (and Brad) also have a Wii. Who knew video games could be so much fun?? This ain't your granny's video game system, it is really cool. Bryce also got a remote control hummer and Sara Kate got a pink Nintendo DS. Can we say spoiled??? But isn't that the right and roll of grandparents? They take their job very seriously! :)


We also kept up with our traditions. We had the pleasure of hosting Brad's family's Christmas Eve oyster stew & fried oyster dinner. This year, Grandma Sheryl & Papa Tom spent the night here and they got do our Christmas devotion with us and they got to see the kids open their presents, Bryce & KatieBell thought that was the berries. Here is Grandma Sheryl with the kids. Then, we went to my parents on Christmas Day for lunch. Mom always gets the kids to help her with the yeast rolls (which is probably why they don't rise as much as my mammaw's did...but who cares, I'd rather then have the memory of cooking with her.) Here are a few pictures of the annual roll-rolling.


As you can see, the Farmer family was blessed with a great Christmas. We celebrated our savior's birth, we spent time with family, and ate some great food, and we got some new stuff. No complaints here. Thank you God for giving us all the best gift ever........Jesus!

I've Been Tagged....too

Tammy tagged me to share 12 random things about myself that are Christmas related.
Here are the rules:
1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas
2. Please refer to it as a 'hoopla' and not the dreaded 'm'-word
3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this "if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this 'hoopla' circulating through the blogosphere.
4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.

12 Random Christmas Related things about Shana:

1. Every year right before Christmas, I get together with my mom, sister, aunts, and cousins to bake lots and lots of cookies to be given to friends and family (and ourselves). YUMMY

2. I'm thankful for those folks that spend 3 months putting up a massive (and maybe even tacky) Christmas light display......because our kids love seeing them and I sure won't do it. I like the more reserved 'pretty' lights. By the way, if you live around Dalton there is a HUGE, MASSIVE display right across from the entrance of Westside Elementary on Crider Rd. Its worth a drive by, the kids will love it.

3. I'm not like Tammy, I don't necessarily LOVE decorating, but I do LOVE it when everything is up, and I too, love staring at a lighted, decorated Christmas Tree.

4. My favorite decoration is the nativity set, and sadly, I don't have one yet. I've got my eye on the Willow Tree Nativity....who knows maybe Santa will bring it.

5. I love giving gifts, but each year, I try to be really thoughtful and I always have the lofty goal of giving that perfect gift that I know the recipient will love. I probably don't always succeed, but its not for lack of thought (if you don't believe me ask Tammy). This year, I might add, that I began to pray about what our gifts would be, and I must say, especially in regard to the kids, I am SUPER excited!!

6. I am wild about Christmas music. My favorite Christmas CDs are Amy Grant's "Home for Christmas" (old) and Mariah Carrey's "Merry Christmas" (also pretty old). But close behind are Point of Grace's (but I can't think of the name of it)

7. I am steeped in tradition, and I am insanely sentimental. I love doing the same things every year. We also read the Christmas story each year, and that has been done by my dad too, since I was very, very little. We will add the advent wreath to the traditions each year as well.

8. I really like the method my family has adopted for Christmas gift giving. We do Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh gifts (representations, not actual Myrrh and Frankinsense) and we do a family gift (something that we can all do together as a family). This has also helped us to keep perspective during the year.

9. I love receiving (and sending too, I guess) Christmas cards. Each day I go to the mailbox with much anticipation and I must admit, I'm bummed if we don't happen to get a card or too. Of course, my favorite's are picture cards.

10. My family, especially my family growing up could get in to some very rousing renditions of Christmas songs in the car.......especially The 12 Days of Christmas. I just taught that to Bryce & Sara Kate, it is now a most requested hit.

11. I collect snowmen....all kinds, I just think they're cute.

12. Brad's family does an annual "oyster stew" and fried oyster dinner each year for Christmas Eve, it's a tradition his side of the family loves. I don't like oysters, and neither do the kids, so we usually have shrimp; but I had never heard of that before I met him....and I think its kind of cool. Too bad I don't eat oysters.

All of my blogging friends were already tagged, I don't have any more bloggers to tag. So, does that make me "it"??

And by the way, I too wondered what the dreaded *m word was? If it was so dreaded, you'd think we would all have it figured out.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

OK, OK, I've already admitted that I'm behind. But, as stated in my first post, I wanted to catch up on Fall first. I think I'm finally ready to move on now; I would've hated for ya'll to miss those cute soccer and gymnastics pictures. Anyway, we started decorating sometime the week after Thanksgiving and Sara Kate's birthday. The decorating was kind of a gradual process, since we're in a new home this year we (or I) was kind of lost for a couple of days trying to figure out what to put where. My poor husband moved the tree at least 3 times; and by moving the tree I mean the tree and ALL of the living room furniture. (Thanks Brad) But, we finally got it where we (I) wanted it. And, it's kind of a bonus, because we can see the tree from the living room and from the kitchen; so it's been a joy to have out and all lit up. The kids enjoyed decorating it, and it was fun to explain where all the ornaments came from since both Brad & I have some from our childhoods. Here are some pictures of the kids getting in on the decorating.

I decided to take some pictures from the outside too, since a lot of my friends and family don't live near us; and many haven't seen our home.

Above you have daylight..........Below you have dark..........

And now for my almanac entry.....

FUN FACT #4: Advent wreath and advent devotions are a great benefit to family time.

Let me give you a little background here. Our children's minister at church did one of the coolest Christmas activities for families that I've ever seen. All of the families that participated got together one Sunday night for a soup & sandwich supper and family craft time. The craft was for each family to make an advent wreath. She had little kits with the foam wreath base, garland, candles, candle holders, and wire. She gave us directions on what to do, and we all set out to make our wreaths together. The kids also got little Christmas goody bags, with stickers and all that fun stuff. Before we left, she passed out a devotion booklet that was made from devotions that she asked each family to write. So now, as we are anticipating the celebration of our savior's birth, we are learning all about advent and what it means to wait! The kids absolutely love lighting the candles. I light a birthday cake candle that they hold and use to light the advent candles. They look forward to lighting them and then blowing them out each night at the end of our prayer time. It is a GREAT way to keep the real meaning of the season in the forefront of our hearts and minds. And, I can brag on it all I want to because unfortunately, it was not my brilliant idea :) Here is a picture of our 'home-made' advent wreath. If I had half a brain, I would have taken some pictures of us making it.

Thanksgiving: I'm thankful for family fun!

This Thanksgiving was all about family fun. Now, we didn't plan it that way or anything. We set out to do our very normal thanksgiving routines; but all of our activities somehow morphed into family fun. And, the highlight was that we kind of celebrated Thanksgiving week instead of thanksgiving day; and the fun was had by the entire family, kids and adults alike.

For starters, my sister and nieces came in the Monday before thanksgiving. Anytime they are here it is a party; especially in the eyes of Bryce & Sara Kate. So, the fun started that Monday when all the cookie club girls went out for a girls night. For those of you who don't know, the cookie club is composed of me, my mom and sister, two aunts, and two cousins; we get together every year for the entire weekend and bake cookies....thousands (literally) of cookies. We always have a great time when we go out together and this time was certainly no exception. Our cookie weekend starts today (12/7) so be sure to watch for a post about that.

On Tuesday, the girls came to our house so mom & Shelley could shop; and again, it should suffice to say that when the girls are here it's party time. But, that afternoon, the party really got started when Brad and I, along with G-Daddy took the kids bowling. Bryce & Sara Kate have never been before so it was a lot of fun. Daddy & Brad had to get there own lane because their pride and competitiveness wouldn't let them bowl on a lane with bumpers. Daddy used to bowl a good bit in his younger years, but he hadn't bowled in years. He still broke 100; but Brad beat him; which give Brad bragging rights until next time. I won't even mention my score, except to say that Bryce even did better than me; but in my defense, I let Sara Kate bowl some of my rounds. Check out big kid's form.....

We ate all our meals together at moms house; and that means cooking and cleaning together. There is something about preparing a meal for the family "with" the family. Shelley and I kind of do whatever mom tells us. Brad ALWAYS carves the turkey. Scott & Dad usually clear the table with us. Daddy usually does the dishes, but for some reason, we beat him to it this year. I think Daddy "conveniently" went to show Paul something in the basement. That's okay daddy, we've got your number next year. :)

But my favorite part of Thanksgiving this year was the revival of 'game time'. It was so much fun!! Mom, dad, Shelley, and I played taboo and pictionary and laughed our heads off. Brad played uno with the kids a couple of times, and Shelley and I played pictionary with the girls Thanksgiving Day which also proved to be fun and interesting. Every time we got in the car with the kids, we played some traditional 'car' games that we tweeked and modified to make them about Thanksgiving. Like, "On Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for......" where we take turns adding to the list and everyone has to remember the entire list from top to bottom. On Friday night, Brad decided he wanted to play Mil Bournes. Mil Bournes or "Couf" is a game my parents have played for years. So, all the adults (minus Scott) played 'couf. In our family, there is no shortage of sarcasm and 'couf is a game where it can really shine. That in itself, was fun to watch....I think the kids thought we had lost our minds.

We didn't forget we were celebrating Thanksgiving; and I wanted to try to really explain to the kids what this Holiday means. Maci & Bayley already know of course, but Bryce & Sara Kate are still young and I wanted to teach them about the pilgrims and the Mayflower, and being truly grateful. So, we had a little Mayflower lesson and a couple of crafts that we did with the kids. We made the most darling edible pilgrim hats out of cookies, marshmallows, and melted chocolate. And, we also made Thumb-print Turkey place cards for our Thanksgiving table. Three years ago, my mom started a tradition of writing something we are thankful for on our Thanksgiving tablecloth; so it was cool to see how the list grows each year, and it was fun to see the little turkeys all over the table.

On Saturday, we went to Marietta to celebrate with Brad's family. By then, Bryce was really into Uno so even Grandma Sheryl, Aunt Laura and Suzy got into the gaming action. Plus, it is a tradition to watch the Georgia/ Georgia Tech game and of course, that's always fun (especially when Georgia wins).

This Thanksgiving was the absolute best of my whole life, and more than anything this year, I am thankful for family.