Christmas 2010

Joe's new toy...the Kindle

The girls' toys...digital cameras

the boys' toys...playmobil and megabloks!

Favorite Things--Day 25

the Word made flesh.

"In the beginning was thw Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made throiugh him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:1-5 (ESV)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Favorite Things--Day 24

my husband. I married Joseph Horn on June 1, 1996...about 14 1/2 years ago. Aside from accepting Christ's sacrifice for my sins, this was the best and most important decision I've ever made.

Favorite Things--Day 23

Friends. Between college and four moves and living in four states we have friends scattered across the country and the world. We love getting simple cards from them saying Merry Christmas. We love watching their kids grow up through pictures. We love being reminded of sweet memories of people who dearly love us and we dearly love. And we love that these reminders come at a time when we are celebrating the birth of a Savior who makes it possible for us to one day see all these friends again in person and fellowship for eternity.

Favorite Things--Day 22

Christmas lights. We love Christmas lights. Our house is a clear Christmas light house, but we enjoy all kinds. We try to keep the "looking at Christmas lights" tradition within a few days of Christmas. So last night we drove through our first neighborhood of the year. Unfortunately, the kids had been celebrating Christmas pretty hard at school and at a friend's house that we had visited for dinner, so I think by the fourth block most of them were either asleep or in a deeply groggy state. We have it on the schedule tonight to go see the BIG display in a park in a local town. And, after our brief views last night, I'm tempted to buy some colored lights on after-Christmas clearance. I've got my eye on a lighted tree for our front porch.

Favorite Things--Day 21

Nathan! Nathan pretty much embodies the joy of Christmas. He lives life at the fullest and has a policy that if you don't ask big, you won't receive big. Daddy is his favorite person and his goal everyday is to look like Daddy and act like Daddy. He loves vacuuming, cleaning windows and helping out with laundry. I'm really going to miss him next year and not just because he helps me get my housework next year.

Favorite Things--Day 20

Sara. Even though she is almost into double digits, this is how I always see her. I cherish some one on one moments we get when she gets home from school. (She gets out an hour before the other kids). She has such a giving attitude. Art and polly pockets are two of her other favorite pasttimes. I'm excited for her to see her new camera that she is getting on Saturday. I think she will become a great photographer. Her eyes light up when I let her help me out in the kitchen. She is a strong girl who stands her ground on issues that matter and at the same time has a compassionate heart for those around her who struggle. I'm so looking forward to having my eldest home for 2 1/2 weeks this Christmas!

Favorite Things--Day 19

white elephant gift exchanges. I think I've done 3 white elephant gift exchanges this year. I've kind of lost track. My favorite white elephant gifts are ones that people put a lot of effort into. They have climbed into the attic or crawled through the junk in the basement or sorted through all that stuff in the laundry room or cleaned out the kitchen cabinets.... Some of the classic gifts that we've gotten in past are: a frog skinned purse, a handmade turtle footstool and a multiply pot (this one is on a rotating basis at an exchange I do annually in Iowa).

Favorite Things--Day 18

movies! We really like movies at our house...especially around Christmas. Yesterday was a "day of rest" at our house. (One of the movies Joe & I watched yesterday was Murder on the Orient Express..Agatha Christie is a master mystery writer!) We try to have at least a half day of one of these once a week. It doesn't always happen and is rarely on Sunday when everyone else takes theirs. This time of year (after the pre-Christmas craziness) we sometime get a couple of these in a row. And we have some favorites that we like to pull out in between playing games and eating junk food. Here are some of them:

White Christmas...we haven't watched this one yet this year, but we will before Saturday. The kids don't know that they like it yet. We'll see if they make it through the whole thing this year.

The Sound of Music...I need to get an actual DVD of this. Right now it is on our DVR and I'm kind of paranoid that it is going to get erased.

All of The Santa Clause movies...the ones with Tim Allen as Santa. We really like these. We own one and three so if anyone is looking for a Christmas gift for us...

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas and Twice Upon a Christmas...My kids used to love, love these. They still enjoy them, but, alas, not near us much. It's all a part of that getting older stuff, I guess.

The Lord of the Rings series...I know these technically aren't Christmas movies. I think we've made them Christmas movies because they originally came out around Christmas. I'm sure the Narnia movies will become a similar phenomenon at our house. Yesterday Joe & I watched The Fellowship of the Ring. Some of the greatest movie moments ever...Gandalf telling the Balrog "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" And the white horses in the water overtaking the 9 riders.