Christmas Movies

I love Christmas movies!  I love curling up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and picking out just the right movie to watch.   I love old ones and new ones alike.  However, my favorite Christmas movie of all times has to be "Christmas Vacation!" 

I also love to introduce my son to some of my favorite Christmas movies I enjoyed as a child..."Frosty the Snowman" "The Grinch who Stole Christmas" and "Home Alone".  

 

and of course LOVE Lifetime and Hallmark Christmas movies!

You can never watch too many Christmas movies!  Every year I look forward to finding a new Christmas movie to love.  Last year my husband and I went to see Four Christmases with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon.

  I haven't seen a new one this year that 

I am just dying to see. 

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Merry Christmas!

Amy

Events to come!

We attend Bogata Missionary Baptist Church, and there are several events coming up that I am really excited about.  On Sunday December the 14th, I will be directing our Children's Christmas Play "The Plane Truth".  It is about a family that is stuck in an airport on Christmas and they find out the "true meaning of Christmas".   We are going to have a lot of kids participating in the play this year.  My son is 5 and I did not give him a speaking part this year for several reasons, one being he can't stand still for 2 minutes in a row, the other being I wasn't sure if he could remember lines... (We had several small parts with only one or two lines).  Anyway, we were practicing the other night and I had several kids missing that particular night, so I was saying their lines for them... little did I know that GAVIN knew all the lines, when to come in and everything.  I was shocked!  Hopefully he will be a little more setteled next year  so he can have a part in the play.

The next event that is coming up is our Parade of Homes... it is actually the Thurs. before the play.  Our teens will be serving a dinner at our church.  Then there will be groups touring some of the new homes in our area all decorated for Christmas!  That should be fun!  This is the first year I am planning on going.  I can't wait!

I have been working with our teens for a few months now, and one more event that I am especially excited is about is we are taking them to deliver donated toys to the Children's Hospital in Dallas.  I think it is important to realize how lucky we are to have our health, as there are so many kids and teens, and adults alike who are not so fortunate!  I wanted our teens to know that there are so many sick kids out there that we could help.  Even if it is in a small way.  Learning to be humble and a servant is one way we can serve God, by helping others!  I can't wait to get to go.  I know it will be touching for me as well. 

I am also a first grade teacher and we are having several exciting things coming up at school as well.  Next Wednesday we are having "Polar Express" Day.  The kids get to come in their pj's and we have an entire day filled with various Polar Express activities.  We will also be having our Christmas Party and our Music Program the following week. 

I just love the whole Christmas season!  I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas!

Here are a few pictures from Christmas past...

   
Want a free Christmas design click on the link above by midnight on Dec. 4th!

Christmas Trees, Christmas Trees

Kelly is hosting "Show us your Christmas tree" this week. Here are the two that I have in my house this year. The first one is in our living room, it is filled with the ornaments we have gotten each other in the almost nine years we have been married. Each year we get each other an ornament that reflects something that happened that year. Every ornament has a special memory attached and it is fun to relive those times each Christmas.

One of my favorite ornaments I got from an exchange we had at church several years ago.

Gavin's first ornament

The ornament I gave Shawn a few years back when he had done a lot of renovations to our house that year.

Part of our "Santa's clothes" garland. I have Santa, Mrs. Claus and the

elves all bought over the past few years.

Also the picture of Gavin from his first Christmas!

The second tree is in my sons room. He decorated it himself, (with the exception of the lights and ribbon.) He is 5 and I thought he did a great job!

Next year, hopefully we will be moved into our new house (well our newly remodeled home) and I hope to have more trees throughout the house. I have always wanted a "FORMAL TREE" you know the ones that are perfectly decorated with all matching bows, ribbon, glass ornaments, etc. I hope to have that next year in my living room window, but for now these are the 2 I have.

I love Christmas and I enjoy looking at all the trees in this blog hop!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Amy

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Parade

Today we took Gavin to the Christmas Parade in our town. We ended up watching the parade with friends from our church, Freda, Sarah, her friend, baby Anna and Gavin's new best friend, Maggie. They play so well together. We went over to her grandparents house the other night after church with her parents, and they had such a great time playing together.

It was cold, and Shawn gave Gavin his hoodie. (notice the rather large John Deer shirt on Gavin.) They really enjoyed watching the parade, especially gathering the candy that was thrown out! Here are a couple of pictures I took at the parade...

Maggie & Gavin

Anna & I (and Shawn in the background)

Family Pictures

Last Saturday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with my side of the family. We had Jill Ross come over and take some family pictures while everyone was together. All of these photos were taken at my parents house. Who knew an old barn door would be a great back drop for the pictures. I was so pleased at how they turned out. I thought I would share a few.

My immediate family


My sister's family
Jerry, Julie & Nathan



My family
Shawn, Amy & Gavin


My brother and sister-in-law
Clayton & Jodi


Grandparents and Grandsons
Tony, Terry, Gavin & Nathan

Nathan & Gavin


My mom, me and my sister and brother


My moms side of the family
All 16 of us
and Jade (my parents dog)


My family!


Here are some of Gavin...


and a couple of Shawn and I...


There were 170 pictures in all, so those are only a "FEW".
Thank you Jill!

Congratulations!!!

.

I would like to say Congrats to my best friend Mandy who had her second little bundle of joy Jacob Austin on Tuesday. She is currently living in Pennsylvania and I am in Texas, so needless to say, I don't get to see her as much as I would like! She also has a little girl Breanna who just turned 2 on the 15th. I am so excited for her and her husband Jake. I wish them nothing but the best! I know this will make their holiday season a lot better.

The reason they are in PA is because her husband is interning at a church there... http://bethelbc.org/ You can read some great blog entries from him if you click on the blogs.



Here is a picture of Mandy and I from this past summer, we took our kids to the zoo in Tyler.

Mandy and I have been friends since we were toddlers. I miss her being close, but I know they are doing what God had planned for them.



and here is a picture of her precious little girl, Breanna.

Sorry the only picture I have of Austin, her newest addition, is on my cell.

Congrats Mandy and Jake!

Christmas Traditions

This week I am participating in Kelly's bloghop www.kellyskornerblog.com Show us your Christmas Traditions.

Shawn and I have been married for almost 9 years. We began our own traditions for Christmas when we married, but since we had our son Gavin, we have added even more traditions.

#1- We always buy each other and our son an ornament each year that
represents something special that happened that year.


#2- We always decorate the tree the week of Thanksgiving.
(see pictures below of the tree decorating this year)


#3- Making Christmas cookies



#4- Leaving milk and cookies for Santa and food for the reindeer outside
(reindeer food is made of oats and glitter so they can see it!)




#5- We always go with my family to look at Christmas lights
and to go out to eat. (This is a tradition I have done every year
since I was a child)



#6- On Christmas Eve night we always open one gift each
(new pajamas for us to wear for Christmas morning)


We have many more traditions that we have started these are just a few.

Thanksgiving week...

I was fortunate enough to be off work the entire week of Thanksgiving. It was a much needed break! My goal was to get my house cleaned and decorated for Christmas, as well as rest. We also had Thanksgiving with my family the Saturday before, and on Thanksgiving day with Shawn's family. I am thankful for our families. Although the holidays have not been the same since the loss of my grandparents. I miss them all very much!

Yesterday, Shawn was off too so we decided to go to Longview and do a little shopping. I got a few gifts, and we bought 3 doors for the house that we are remodeling. We went to Olive Garden for lunch, which I LOVE! It was nice to spend the entire day together! Something we don't get to do often because of work and because of Shawn working on the house every weekend. I did take Gavin to get his picture made with Santa in the mall. That has become a yearly tradition. I would love to share a picture, but my scanner is broken at the moment. So unfortunately, this post will not have any pictures... I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Traditions!

As a child we always had traditions when it came to putting up our tree. We ALWAYS had a real tree, my dad would go cut one down and bring it home. My grandparents who lived next door would come over and we would decorate it that night. My dad would always put the lights on, and then my sister, brother and I along with our parents and grandparents would decorate. I remember this always being such an exciting time of year! Another tradition that we had as kids and still continue today is the family would pick a night close to Christmas and go out to eat and then drive around looking at the Christmas lights! I love traditions and was so excited to start our own when I got married in 2001. One of our traditions is we buy each other an ornament every year that represents something that happened that year. Since our son was born we do the same with him. I love getting all the ornaments out and remembering all the great times we have had in the past.


This season to me is always fun. I love the lights, the music, the excitement of the children (and adults). I love directing the Christmas play at my church. More than anything it is a reminder of a baby sent to this world, born in a stable, laid in a manger. A baby who was sent to save the world. I know him as my savior Jesus Christ. There is no greater gift that the gift that Jesus gave us when he died on the Cross. I hope that Christmas has that special meaning for you as well. After all Jesus is the reason for the Season.

What are your favorite Holiday Traditions???

Thanksgiving Cupcakes!

I bought this book a few weeks ago. I thought it would be fun to make Thanksgiving cupcakes with my son and nephew and my sister. We went over to my moms house this morning. We gave the boys several tasks to do...

The first thing they had to do was mix the batter for the cupcakes...

Then they separated the candies for decorating.

Then they put the peas (green skittles) and the carrots (orange starbust cut up) on.

Here is what they should look like...

...and here is what ours look like! I though they did a pretty good job! The pumpkin pie was my idea, it was not in the book, but I thought it turned out pretty good!

We had a great time doing this with our kids! They enjoyed eating them best of all!!! (as any kid would!)