December fun!

We've been pretty busy the past few weeks. Here are a few photo highlights from some of our Christmass Happenings!

Here is Gracie in her Dance class. Dancing to the words "Ho, ho, ho, Who would go?"

Gracie getting ready to dance!

Gracie and Aaron talking to Santa! Aaron asked for a White Christmas, and then some Star Wars figures, and Gracie just wants a BIG phone, a BIG sock, and a BIG shirt. Someone thinks they're BIG.

Aaron and our tree

Gracie and our Tree.

Hopefully I'll get more pictures up soon! :)

HP Magic Giveaway

HP has a contest running on 50 different sites and blogs, and some of them ask for me to blog about it, so here goes. The package from HP is huge and no family could use it all, so they ask you to give away the items you wouldn't keep for yourself. It's like this contest was made for me! I love getting people gifts, so I figure all the work going into all the different contests would show the people who I gave the computers to, how much I love them! I also love contests, I'm just a competitive person by nature. So this excites me to think how much I could bless others! I would love to give the TouchSmart to Matt since he won't let us buy a computer that doesn't reboot all by itself whenever it wants, because he wants to make sure all my medical bills and possible surgery is taken care of. Being a person who can fix computers he's just going to keep ours going forever even though he can't do so much on it because it's just too slow. Someday I would love to be able to give him a nice new computer for Christmas!
I would give one of the laptops to our friend Laycie who has been dealt harder cards in life than any of us could ever imagine. She's so strong and wants to be a nurse in a 3rd world country or here, but helping those in need. She's going to nursing school right now and I think a new computer might be able to help her in her schooling so she can go help others.
The rest I would donate to our Community Pregnancy Center and they could use them or sell them for things they need to keep operations running to save the lives of babies every day. I just can't imagine how much they could use any of this let alone 3 new computers!
Thank you HP for the contest, and the opportunity to hopefully be able to give to others. Thank you to all the blogs who are running the contest!

"The Shack" worth reading?

Here is a link to a 7 minute video that is pretty good on "The Shack" I feel so much more about it, but he sums it up pretty well.

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/doctrine/trinity-god-is/the-shack

Walk Thru Bethlehem

I have no pictures but I have a few cute stories from last night. We had our annual visit to Bethlehem. American Lutheran Church has been doing it for the past 12 years and it just seems to be getting better each year. For those of you who have never been, they break you off into groups of 8ish and a guide from Bethlehem takes you through the town while you look for a place to stay for the night. Even getting there early we waited for about an hour before we got called to go to Bethlehem. The first person we came into contact with was a Roman guard who was very rude and made us hurry so we wouldn't be in the way or wasting his time. Then we met our guide, Jacob and he brought us to the census table so we could register for the census. They gave each one of us a coin and then warned us about beggars who would ask for the money. The told us not to give it to them. Then we ran into a few Wise Men and a camel. They showed us the gifts they and brought for a King. We then passed by the jail and there was a beggar in there and Gracie went up to her and shook her hand and was so nice to her. It was pretty cute. Then we went to the leather shop and learned about how they make shoes, and leather whips for the Roman Soldiers. They always comment on how strange our shoes are and that we must be from a land so strange and far away to have such strange shoes and clothes. It's funny and the kids enjoy trying to explain that we're from Prescott. Right next to the leather shop was the meat market. They had a fish for us to see and smell, plus live chickens and goats. They always try to sell those to you, and last night Gracie was sure she was going to buy a baby goat to take home. She went to pick it up as we were leaving, like "Thank you for my new goat!" It was pretty funny. While at the meat market they talk about Passover and the blood of the lamb, it's great how they put those stories in quite a few of the market stalls. We also ask each stall if we can stay with them for the night, but they always turn us down because they have no room. They also all talk about seeing a poor woman who was very big with child riding in on a donkey, and that they were all sure she would be having that baby tonight! After the meat market we went to the Pottery stall and they show us how they make pots and they also talk about God being our potter and how He can mold us and take out the impurities in our lives. Then we were off to the food stand and the kids got to try some unleavened bread, figs, grapes, almonds, and a few other food items from the Bible that we don't eat often here. Then we went to the basket shop and they showed us how they weave. Next off to my favorite stop, the women at the well. They always have the good information on the comings and goings of Bethlehem. Then we went to the woodworking shop and they were working on a wheel for a Roman chariot. Then we went to the weavers stall and saw the rugs and other things they were weaving, and how they take sheep's wool and make yarn out of it. The kids also got to feel some of the wool. During this whole time there would be beggars roaming the street asking for money, and then Roman soldiers coming and making them move along. Then we went to the temple and heard some Rabbi's read to us about the Lord our God. Next we stopped by the spice shop and got to smell frankincense and myrrh. We then headed down the path to the Inn and ran into some Shepherds who said that angels had appeared to them and told them that in this city Jesus, our Christ was born this very night. So then we went to the Inn and paid them our money and they said we could go to the very far corner of the stable as to not disturb this nice young husband and wife who they were sure had just had a baby in their stall. So we headed in and before that we had angels appear to us and tell us about Jesus being born tonight and to tell other about Him. We then went into the stable and saw Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. They told us His name was Jesus. Then we passed the donkeys and left the stable to head home. It's such a great thing they do every year! I remember going when I was little and I remember being so afraid of the Roman guards and beggars, and in years past those characters haven't been as good, but this year they played it up and my kids got into it too! It's such a great little thing to go to every year! I know it takes them so much time and so many people, but I am so thankful to be able to take my kids to Bethlehem every year!! :)