Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Day

After bedtime, before the chaos.

We had church this morning. Matthew got up at 6:45am, but since we had church, we decided to wait to do presents. Luckily, there was an Aquadoodle left in the tree ready to go to church.

Once Matthew opened his trains, and tracks he was done with Christmas. He didn't care about any of the other gifts. We moved them to his train table. He decided to delay his nap by playing. And playing. And playing.

Even Chloe was happy today.

Christmas Eve

In our home, we read the Christmas story, well, really we read about the first 12 years of Jesus life as told in Luke 2.

Then we open one gift. Matthew opened the gift from his Grammy Sharon. Nick and I opened one from each other.

Advent Day 25

What is another name for Jesus?

Luke 2:11

11 For unto you is ^aborn this day in the city of David a ^bSaviour, which is Christ the ^cLord.


I heard the bells on Christmas
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope that you find peace, and enjoy the season.

Advent Day 24

How should we prepare the way for the Lord?

Mark 1:3

3 The ^avoice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Advent Day 23

What is given to every person who comes into the world?

John 1:9

9 That was the true ^aLight, which ^blighteth ^cevery man that cometh into the world.

Advent Day 22

What are some other names for Jesus?

Isaiah 9:6

6 For unto us a ^achild is ^bborn, unto us a ^cson is given: and the ^dgovernment shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, ^eCounsellor, The ^fmighty ^gGod, The ^heverlasting Father, The Prince of ⁱPeace.

Advent Day 21

Where did they move next?

Matthew 2:19–22

19 ¶But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a ^adream to Joseph in Egypt,

20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the ^aland of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.

21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judæa in the ^aroom of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a ^bdream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

Advent Day 20

How long did Joseph, Mary, and Jesus stay in Egypt?

Matthew 2:14–15

14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of ^aEgypt have I called my son.

Advent Day 19

Who spoke to Joseph in a dream?

Matthew 2:13

13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

Advent Day 18

What gifts did they bring?

Matthew 2:11

11 ¶And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and ^afrankincense, and myrrh.

Advent Day 17

What guided the Wise Men to Jesus?

Matthew 2:9–10

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

Advent Day 16

Whom did the king send to find Jesus?

Matthew 2:7–8

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

Advent Day 15

Who ruled Judea when Jesus was born?

Matthew 2:1

1 Now when Jesus was ^aborn in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Advent Day 14

What did Mary wrap around the baby Jesus?

Luke 2:12

12 And this shall be a ^asign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Advent Day 13

Who did the shepherds see at the stable?

Luke 2:17

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

Advent Day 12

What did the shepherds do when they heard the good news?

Luke 2:15

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

Advent Day 11

What did the angel tell the shepherds?

Luke 2:10–12

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you ^agood tidings of great ^bjoy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is ^aborn this day in the city of David a ^bSaviour, which is Christ the ^cLord.

12 And this shall be a ^asign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Advent Day 10

Where were the shepherds when they heard of Jesus’s birth?

Luke 2:8

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Advent Day 9

Why didn’t Mary and Joseph stay at the inn?

Luke 2:7

7 And she brought forth her ^afirstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the ^binn.

Advent Day 8

What is another name for Bethlehem?

Luke 2:4

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called ^aBethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David)

Advent Day 7

Who gave the decree?

Luke 2:1

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all ^athe world should be ^btaxed.

Advent Day 6

Why did they go there?

Luke 2:3–5

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called ^aBethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his ^aespoused wife, being great with child.

Advent Day 5

Where did Mary and Joseph go on their journey?

Luke 2:4

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called ^aBethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David)

Advent Day 4

What did Elisabeth and Zacharias name their son?

Luke 1:57–63

57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

58 And her neighbours and her ^acousins heard how the Lord had shewed great ^bmercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

59 And it came to pass, that on the ^aeighth day they came to ^bcircumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

Advent Day 3

Where did Mary go for a visit?

Luke 1:39–40

39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and ^asaluted Elisabeth.

Advent Day 2

Where was Mary living?

Luke 1:26–27

26 And in the sixth month the ^aangel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a ^avirgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

Advent Day 1

1. Who told Mary she would have a baby?

Luke 1:26–33

26 And in the sixth month the ^aangel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a ^avirgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among ^awomen.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, ^aFear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name ^aJesus.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the ^aSon of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the ^bthrone of his father ^cDavid:

33 And he shall ^areign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no ^bend.

From the Friend December 2010

The Princess and the Dinosaur AKA Halloween 2

With the great Hallowe'en snowstorm, Hallowe'en was postponed. What this actually means, is that we had 3 bouts of trick or treating: the ward trunk or treat, and two separate towns with friends.


Matthew loved going for a stroller ride with his princess. Until he figured out that he was getting candy at the doors! Then he was off and running from door to door.

Matthew would hurry up to beat the witch to the door. He would knock on the doors, but was so quiet, no one heard him. He preferred the doors where he could just walk up and say please.
Being the first time he 'got' trick or treating, he was cautious with his candy. He would hold onto the candy from the previous house until he got the candy at the next house. He also had a preference for Kit Kats. For the first hour, he picked up Kit Kats whenever he had the option. Luckily, he switched to Milky Ways (moms favorite) and Reese Cups (dads favorite).

Train to Maine

For an adventure, we decided to take a train up to Portland, Maine and explore. Matthew loves trains, and since Amtrak was running a special, it was cheaper than driving.

The leaves and scenery were beautiful.

Nick enjoyed playing with his iPod instead of focusing on driving.

Matthew looked out the window for a bit, but then wanted to see what Daddy was doing.

He loved the freedom of being able to walk (run) up and down the aisles! He did pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised. After all, 2 1/2 hours is a long time for a toddler to be relatively quiet and well behaved. Luckily, the few people around us for the whole trip were amused by Matthew, and the train was empty enough that we could spread out a little.

The ride back was a little rougher for Matthew, but he was pretty well behaved. Luckily, a bunch of freshman college boys were sitting in front of us. They were entertained by Matthew, and he was entertained by them. He stayed awake for most of the trip home, which was surprising because it was way past his bedtime.

Spice Obsession

I have a spice obsession. I blame my friends Amie and Anne for introducing me to

I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but there is a location right in Arlington. They spices and herbs are so fresh and delicious! And the catalog they send usually has a coupon for a free item.

I love to wander around the spice store. I was telling one of my friends that, and she misheard me say "Spies store". Then she wondered why the spy store carried cinnamon.

A Basket is Not a Hat

Or is it?
Matthew thinks so, and was quick to show me it was.

And it's a one size fits all kind.

Pumpkin Picking

It was a lovely, beautiful, fall October day with temps around 80 degrees.

Okay, so it was a hot day and strange to be picking a pumpkin in the heat. But pick we did.

Some needed tasting before he could decide,

Then he saw the big pumpkins! Oh my.

We helped him settle on three, 2 small and 1 big.

Friends

One of the best parts of our ward is all the kids around Matthew's age. Two of his favorites live 10 minutes away, and came to visit the other day.

They love to blow bubbles (using a fan is the best way to cheat)

I love Matthew having someone to amuse him besides me. And their mom is an awesome friend.

Salsa and Other Canned Goods

We have fresh vegetables galore from our CSA. It's that time of year when I put away for winter. I have been busy canning salsa, hot sauce, more salsa, green beans, pickles, and chicken. There's something so satisfying about seeing this:

Become this:

As anyone knows, this is tiring business.

First Train Set

Matthew is all boy. He loves things with wheels. He loves to watch the police cars outside the window. He loves to watch ambulances and firetrucks go by. He loves to walk by the fire station and see the trucks. He loves to play with the Thomas the train set at the library.

One day, while we were downstairs, he stumbled upon the train sets I *had* set aside for Christmas.



At least there is still one left for Christmas.