Christmas week

I trust you all had a wonderful Christmas remembering the true meaning. The last two weeks, I have been teaching here at home, and talking about the Christmas story. I have been impacted in a new way of what Jesus went through because of His love for me. God Himself loved me so much that He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, here. He didn't come down as a king, but humbled Himself to be born of a woman, in a messy way. He was not only born as a human, but was born in a cold, damp stable. I was even given better conditions then that. The thing that gets me the most though is that He knew His life was not going to be glorious, He knew from the start that His purpose in life was to die. He died for me, because He loved me--Wow! I encourage you to think through that.

Daniel picked me up from school on Friday and we started our long trip home. I am so thankful for the clear weather we had. The worst roads we had were in town before we left. We got in about 12:30 am. We had a lovely week together relaxing. We baked several cookies, and helped mom make other Christmas goodies. We were also able to make it to three of Sarah basketball games, which was especially nice for me! He surprised me with a Cricut! I have had lots of fun playing with that and trying to learn all of the amazing things it can do :) Sadly, I had to allow Daniel to go back to his family early Christmas Eve. After an eventful (no one was hurt) morning, he was getting on the road shortly after 7am. I so enjoyed his visit!

Mom and I had fun spending the day together on Christmas eve baking up a storm. I so miss the time in the kitchen while at college, so I enjoyed making a strawberry pie, homemade cranberry sauce, and a breakfast casserole.

We kept out Christmas day traditions by going to Grandpa and Grandma Hewitt's for breakfast. We had a very yummy breakfast and then a wonderful time of visiting with them. Thankful they are still here to celebrate Christmas with! About 1:30ish, we drove the quarter mile to go to Grandpa and Grandma Meigs'! We enjoyed opening gifts together, and I was excited to add to my teacher supply collection! We had an absolutely delicious lunch/dinner. After dinner we did stockings, watched Mom open her mother-daughter box (one of our favorite traditions as we try to guess each gift). We had dessert (my family loves to bake a little too much...we had five pies for seven people), and then headed for home. What a wonderful Christmas Day we had!

The 26th has always been our family day that we celebrate Christmas as an immediate family! For several years now, us kids have made breakfast for Mom and Dad. This Christmas was not an exception. We had a yummy breakfast, and then headed off to church. After church we enjoyed the lasagna Dad had made and opened gifts as a family. I would have to say the highlight of our family Christmas was the lap quilt my mom made me! It is a bright purple and teal with flannel! After evening service we watched The Ultimate Gift and opened stockings. We had an awesome day as a family!

Last night we got about 12 inches of snow, and the wind has been blowing like crazy. It has been fun to be home with Sarah and Mom and just enjoy being inside. Sarah and I carried firewood in this morning, so I expect to be inside the remainder of the day warm and cozy. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas remembering the true meaning of why we celebrate. I am home for roughly another two weeks before I go meet my niece. Have a wonderful day!