One of the things on my mind today....

Underneath the stars

Just a simple man and wife

Somewhere in the dark

His words cut the silent night

Take my hand, for the child

That you carry is God's own

And though it may seem the road is long

We're not that far from Bethlehem

Where all our hope and joy began

For in our arms, we'll cherish Him

We're not that far, from Bethlehem

Let us celebrate

As the Christmas's go by

Learn to live our days

With our hearts near to the child

Ever drawn, ever close

To the only love that lasts

And though 2000 years have past

We're not that far from Bethlehem

Where all our hope and joy began

For in our arms, we'll cherish Him

We're not that far, from Bethlehem

Winter 2010

I am sure you can all relate to the hectic nature of the Christmas season. So, I apologize in advance for the lack of any quirky humor or irony in this post. It is going to be just a run-of-the-mill-how-the-millers-are-doing kind of post.

I do have to start by saying how much I LOVE the Christmas season. I love the baking, the shopping, the wrapping, the parties, the food, the friends, the decorations, and most of all the wonder of it all as we celebrate the CHRIST in Christmas. The thought of Him becoming man and living a sinless life to die on a cross for me (stupid, sinful, has-to-learn-the-hard-way me) still just baffles me. May we never lose the wonder and amazement of what Christmas is all about.

I think the best part of celebrating the season is watching Jo experience the excitement and wonder. Watching her learn about Jesus everyday as we do our advent calendar is amazing. They retain and understand so much more than we give them credit for. She also TOTALLY believes in Santa, which I love (and I don't care about any comments from those of you who disagree with this). This leads me to my post about what we've been up too:

Johanna had her first dance recital the other night. Her class danced to "All I Want For Christmas is You." Is was absolutely adorable. Of course, I may be biased, but other parents whose child wasn't in her class seemed to agree, so maybe it's not just me.

Jo ready to leave for her recital

Santa came to the recital and gave everyone candy canes. She was so excited!

The next night we went to an event at a local club called Spindle Top It was beautiful outside on the veranda with fires, hot chocolate, and cookies! They had a special visit with Santa (only 25 people total) where he came, read the Night Before Christmas, and then each child got to sit and talk with him. It was GREAT because there were only about 10 kids and most of them were friends of ours. Plus, the Santa was the type of Santa that just naturally looks like Santa. No fake beard. It just makes it seem so much more real!

Getting ready...it was cold out so we all had to bundle!

Dancing by the fire (do not try this at home)

Jo (and friends) REALLY enjoyed the hot chocolate and marshmallows...can you tell?

Santa reading The Night Before Christmas

Jo and friends listening to Santa

Jo and Santa...she just loved him!

After the Santa visit, we all loaded up into a shuttle and went to see the Southern Lights display which was cool (minus the hour+ wait to get in....yeah, not kidding. I would have left and gone home if I could have).

Regardless of any drama, I still LOVE this time of year. I can't wait for Saturday morning!

Paper cuts and Three Year Olds

Let me begin by saying that I will keep this short. The last two days have very possibly been some of the LOOOOOOONNNNNNGest days of my life. No major catastrophes, just annoyances repeated throughout the entire day....for two days straight. I know it could be worse, so I don't need anyone reminding me of that (even though I appreciate the sentiment....sort of). I know I should focus on my blessing and blah blah blah. But, ya know what, sometimes life just sucks. Yup. I said it. That doesn't mean I'm not grateful for the good things. What it does mean is that the only thing that would have made yesterday even more complete is paper cuts on my eyeballs. So, here's to tomorrow being another day and to a better attitude for me (or the annoying people).