December 3rd-Nativity Scene

Ryan got to help put out the nativity scene today. It's a very special Nativity scene to me. It was my grandmothers. The story goes that the house caught on fire and one of the things that didn't burn was this nativity scene. It always amazed me, it was something we had in our house as a little girl and i loved it. I loved looking at it all the time. I wanted my son to have those same memories.

This was also the 3rd day of the advent calendar. He received

chocolate coins! He was super excited!

December 2nd-Christmas Program

Ryan has been working on this program for weeks and he has been so excited! About the song, and the cookies and punch afterwards. He got to dress up as a choo-choo train

Isn't he the cutest little train that you ever did see?

Here is a picture with all the boys in his class

can you tell which one Ryan is? He's the short one on the right end second to last.

Here is the big performance

He did very well, I was so proud!

Here's with the cookies and punch

his favorite nanny and papa

an one of his aunt and uncles

This was also the second day of the advent calendar

he got an eraser that looks like a bottle of glue, apparently they are super cool :)

December 1st- Advent Calendar

Today begins our daily December. Ryan received this advent calendar I worked so hard on.

If you would like to make this advent calender you can go here, (I don't recommend it, it was more trouble than its worth)
Ryan's little present today was

Jelly Beans!! (I know Ryan looks just like his dad in this picture)

Here is a few pictures of Ryan helping me decorate the Christmas tree.

Make the most of the season . Cheers!

December!!

It's finally December, I am so excited! This year we are really focusing on starting traditions. I have been following a few blogs that have touched on this and they have had some fabulous ideas. So this year Ryan and I will be doing the following.

1) Elf on the shelf
~he arrived 2 nights ago and Ryan loves him. He named our elf duke and he is constantly telling duke what he wants for Christmas and whispering secrets to him, I even caught him telling him sorry for something he did wrong. It's pretty cute.
2) The key's of Christmas
~ There are 3 key's you place on your Christmas tree. One you place at the bottom of the tree it represents that Jesus was born among the lowly. The second you place towards the top near the star that represents the magi.The third is placed in the middle to represent that Jesus bridges the gap
3) the Advent calender
~ I love advent calendars and I made my own this year out of matchboxes, It was a chore and very hard but Ryan gets it tonight and I am so excited for him to open one up each day.
4) Daily December
~ I am super excited about this one. I have planned some sort of activity every day for Ryan and I that I will take pictures of and make a scrapbook. A lot of these include some other traditions like baking sugar cookies, telling of the story of Jesus birth and much more.

I am really looking forward to this December, I get to share so many memories with Ryan and to teach him about my Saviors birth! So let the Festivities again and check back often I will be trying to post a lot more this month to let you in on our activities through out December.

Conviction

Conviction-The state of being convinced or convicted

So I was a little disappointed in this definition so I thought oh the root word.

convict- 1) To prove guilty or to find guilty 2) To awaken a sense of sin

Ok the second one got me good, you caught me red handed.

It took me a while to come to those terms but I guess that is what you could call what I am getting ready to tell you.

So back in July I went to camp with our church. I don't really follow the camp schedule. But I do try to make it to the evening services, I love the praise and worship time and when my 5 year old lets me I really enjoy the sermon. So on one of the nights the camp pastor starts asking people who has read the bible all the way through. Not many in this crowd. So he goes on to explain as Christians that it is our responsibility, he also gave us a little parable about these guys on the radio station that was asking questions about a biblical question and they wouldn't listen to anyone who hadn't read the bible all the way through, they felt that the person could not speak with authority unless they had read the whole bible finally after many calls they received a phone call from a woman who had read the bible in it's entirety 3 times.

So began my conviction, I haven't read the bible all the way through, I have read books of the bible but not the whole thing. The camp pastor was definitely on to something. So that little tiny seed of conviction was planted and God watered it and it grew.

A few weeks later, I was reading one of my friends blog, this has kind of become my morning routine, drink some caffeinated beverage and scroll through all the blogs that I am following. When the blog came up and I read through it I yet again felt conviction. How would I respond in this situation? Do I truly have enough knowledge in the Bible to make an educated comment about this article.

So I started researching "methods" on reading through the bible. I like to be educated on stuff like that for some sort of reason. I came across a bible that you could read through in 90 days by merely reading 12 pages a day. Sounded easy, right. So I went to Mardel's looked at the book and purchased it. Wham bam thank you mam.

I though hey this will be a breeze, WRONG. You actually have to pick up the book and read it. I kept thinking oh I will start tomorrow. Tomorrow quickly became 6 weeks.

Then I started noticing our worship pastor talking about how he had finished Genesis and then Exodus and last Sunday he was talking about Leviticus. That little voice that we all know so well kept saying, Jessica you have the book, you actually have 3 copies of the book, pick it up read it, You can do it.

So as I began to ponder and kept feeling the urge to read more and more. I was looking at my I touch and as all good Christians do I had downloaded a bible app. So I thought I will just start reading the bible and check it off in my book when I get home. As I looked through this app, it also had reading plans. I should have known since we do live in a technology age, but seriously who da thunk it. It so happens that it has the exact same 90 day reading plan that I wanted to start. So I made me a little account and I began reading. I now have a blackberry application and can view it on my computer and when all else fails I have the Book.

I always hesitate telling people, because what if i fail. What if I don't finish by my deadline. Well I decided OH WELL. My deadline for 90 days is December 27, I am trying to read ahead and finish by December 25. But if for some reason I get behind January1 works for me as well.

Now some of you might say that is pretty fast to read through the bible, I agree. My goal right now is just to read through it. I am taking notes on what I don't get and notes on what speaks to me and I will go back and do a more in depth study on them later.

My challenge to you is try it if you haven't already :) Make Satan mad, stir it up and see where it takes you.

Click here to see the book I am refering to

Click here to visit the website and see the phone apps available-there is multiple plans you can choose from, pick one that works for you

Happy Fall Ya"ll

Well it's my favorite time of the year yet again! It put a smile to my face to see the temperatures dropping, being able to put back on my jeans and cowboy boots and most importantly being able to decorate for fall. So here are some pictures of my decorating. My favorite part is the window, I bought a year or more ago and it has set in my floor ever since, I couldn't figure out how to hang it and I thought I would put it in the kitchen and then inspiration hit me and I am in love!

So there you have it folks, I know I am amazing and I know you just rolled your eyes. Have a happy day, do something productive and remember Never say Never

Or you will have to answer to him!

Choo-Choo!

We spent labor day at the spring. Ryan and I went down early to spend some time with my mom. We did some antique shopping and then we decided to go up to the state park. It's a beautiful drive and we haven't done it in forever. When you get to the state park they have a little choo choo train that takes you on a 2 mile train ride through the state park. It's fun and Ryan loves that sort of stuff

Here are some pics