Just in time for Christmas!!!

So much has been going on the past two weeks and I hate when I get to posting things late.  I have a really good excuse this time though!!!  With it being the most busiest time of the year, we moved right in the midst of all the parties, family gatherings and Christmas fun! 

Our Christmas seemed much different than other years.  Usually, we have the house smelling like fresh pines and a real tree decorated in the corner of the living room.  Normally, we bake cookies and have wrapped gifts under the tree.  Other years, we set up the nativity scene by the large picture window.  BUT ... everything was different this year.  We lived in the basement since August and even though it took a lot of holding back on my part, we did not decorate the basement for Christmas.  We hoped to move right before this special holiday and so why try to move those pretty greens and keep the presents looking good through all the hustle and bustle???

In a perfect little world, we would move and then go for a Christmas tree and quick put up some holiday decor and lite the candles and play the Christmas music loudly and softly!  :)  But my world is not always so perfect!  But it is wonderful!!!!!!!!  We moved on Monday, December 21!!!  I woke up that morning thinking that we would clean out the kitchen cabinets and move in some kitchen gear.  But when the inspector said that afternoon that we could move in and because my whole family was available to help move the bigger, heavier things ... we moved!!!  The closet organizers got put in place just in time!!! 

LaVern and Fannie Lynn brought us pizzas and wings and we had a big pizza party in our kitchen that night before we split the men and boys into groups.  Some went to the neighbors to load up our things that were in storage there.  Some went to the basement to bring home our beds and clothes.  The ladies and little children all stayed here while we tried to put things into place.  It was a blast!  Stuff seemed to arrive all at once.  Guys carried in the furniture while I tried to tell them where to go with it.  John Mike put our beds together at 9 PM.  It couldn't have gone better!!!  Things were everywhere but we got all our belongings moved back home in a few short hours.  Many thanks to my family and Mike's parents!!!  Also, many thanks to Martha Rose for caring for Austin most of the day!!!

Packing up in the basement.  Matthew sweeping up the carpet crews mess.

 Jody finishing up this beautiful piece of furniture she painted for me!!!  Morgan and Matthew put all the bar stools together!

 More basement packing!

 We got the first cups of coffee made on Monday!  The first load of laundry was completed!

 Hadassah and Morgan washed all the dirty Tupperware and dishes that were brought back upstairs.  The little girls played some music when the piano was brought in.  :)

 Our moving crew on Monday night!

 Our moving helpers on Tuesday night!  Austin rolling around on the living room floor!

 New furniture!  New gym set for Austin from Adrian!  :)

The house was still dirty except for the bedroom walls and flooring.  Cleaners showed up early Tuesday morning.  I made the kids some simple breakfast and then Mom drove them to school.  We need to make arrangements for the bus to pick up the kids here now again!  Three ladies cleaned the walls and floors and all the windows.  They cleaned the bathrooms and wiped down all the kitchen cabinets outside.  (We did the inside of the cabinets on Monday when we moved some things in.)  Our closets got things hung up but now I need to put them where we want things to be.  So much needs done yet but one box at a time!!!  Mom and Jody cleaned up the basement a little so that the children can now go downstairs without coming back up all dusty and dirty.  The window blinds got all hung!  The plumber came to do a quick adjustment to the kitchen sink.  Many thanks to Marlene for loving and caring for Austin today!!!  I have the best friends!!!  The new couches arrived late that afternoon!  They look great!

Wednesday, the kids had Christmas parties and caroling to do at school.  Mike took them to school and I picked them up.  It was wonderful to drop by and wish everyone Merry Christmas!  Mike's mom came over and helped with some more unpacking!  The day went so fast!!!  It's great to be home!  It was so thoughtful for Sherry to bring us a warm, cooked supper!  Thanks Sherry!

First night in her new room!  And us out grabbing a few things at Target before Christmas Eve!

Thursday, Christmas Eve, we got more things organized and put in place.  We even did a little decorating for Christmas!!!  We went out to get a few house items like a shower curtain, containers, waste can, etc..  The crowds were crazy and it was great to be back home!  I hadn't thought much about our supper plans.  Most people have a nice dinner on Christmas Eve but we went to the cellar for some soup!  :)  I'm so happy to be back home and use our canning goods!!!  I did get some shrimp earlier that day that we cooked up!  We had lots of sweets to enjoy and the night was relaxing and wonderful in our new home!  Mike said no to getting a Christmas tree.  That was sad but we still had a wonderful, beautiful Christmas Eve!!!  We sat around the living room and read about the birth of Jesus!  We exchanged gifts with the children!!!  How exciting!  While Ashlyn was napping that afternoon, Mike brought her gift home.  She was blind folded and taken outside before it got dark to see her gift!!!!  She loves it!!!

Mike and his brother Ervin made this adorable little garden shed/playhouse for Ashlyn!!!  She will spend hours playing in this little house!!!

 "Thank you, Daddy!!!"  ~ Ashlyn

Mom, Dad & Ritchie dropped by for a cup of coffee and to say hello.  We called Matt and Lena and told them to bring the boys over for a few small gifts we got for them.  It was late till we all got to bed but what a great time we had!!!

 This was cute ... Hadassah got Ashlyn a peppa pig family and the same day, Matthew bought her a peppa pig stuffed animal when he was out with Mike.  She loved both gifts and does really like watching peppa pig!  :)

 Hadassah gave me a new requested Christmas CD!!!  We love it!!!

 Matthew's gift to me ... chocolates and a art piece he made!

 Our Christmas Eve dinner at home!!!!

Friday ... CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!  It was so exciting to finally have Christmas Day arrive!  We ate some breakfast and watched a video clip on the nativity scene.  Then, we packed up some clothes and headed for the cabin!!!  Who would want to leave when we just moved but my family was having Christmas up at Dad's cabin and we were not missing out!!!  We arrived in time for supper and a fun night of games and laughter!  Saturday, we exchanged gifts with the children!  We always have huge breakfasts and lots of food!  The kids played while we adults played lots of games!  Sunday we had devotions and another yummy breakfast and then we headed back home.  It was nice to be home before dark. 

(I'll post pictures of our family gatherings on another post!!!)

It was so nice to be able to pull into our new garage and unload our things right outside the house door!  We are now spoiled and very blessed!  :)

We've been doing lots of laundry, unpacking boxes, cleaning, organizing, and getting used to having much more space!!!  Our family is really enjoying our new home!!!  You should stop by to visit us!  :)  We really hope to bless others with our home by serving and hosting!  The first night we slept here, we went from room to room and prayed a blessing over the whole house!  We know that things here on earth are temporary.  We know that God has blessed us!  May to God be all the glory given!

    

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to you all!!!  Today is Jesus' birthday!!!!  Lets celebrate!!!!

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Holiday Greetings to you!!!  This truly is the best time of the year!!!

 

It’s also the busiest time of year but that’s because we get together with family & friends to

celebrate the birth of Christ!!!  It is by far our favorite holiday!  Christmas brings many festivities! 

Family gatherings!  The smells of warm cookies.  I love the smells of fresh cut pines that get cut and placed

around the house for décor.  Gifts get purchased and wrapped.  Lights get strung.  We drive down the road admiring

 the Christmas lights and efforts that people do to make the season sparkle!  Christmas music gets played in our home daily. 

Christmas carols are sung.  It’s like a huge celebration going on all season long!!!  At school.  At church.  In town. 

In the malls.  Everywhere!!!  We LOVE to celebrate the birth of Christ!!! 

For it is because of His life that we can have eternal life in heaven!

 

Our year has been a year of changes, challenges, plus much excitement!!!  I’ll share some of our highlights.

 

Michael:  Loves his Savior.  Employer at Lapps Structures.  Best daddy to our four adorable children.  Still plays baseball.  Loves golf, strong coffee, thin crust pizza, chips and coke!  Loves to be with people!  Enjoys date nights with his wife!  Mike also loves to learn about investing and got to do some traveling while getting more educated.  We took a family trip to Ohio in September for Mike to play in a ball tournament and he was finally, after many years, able to help bring home the first place trophy!  He also played for the Titans this summer and they won the town league championship!  His baseball season went well!  J  One of his dreams in life was to build a nice home for our family.  That is in process right now!!!  Mike has worked countless evenings and spent abundance of hours working to get this project finished before Christmas.  We are counting down the days for our ‘move in’ date!!!  The kids really can’t get enough of their daddy’s time and attention!!!  They love him so much!  He takes seriously the blessings God gives to us and raising our children for the Lord is his upmost life time goal!!!  I think he is the best daddy our children could ever have!!!

 

Lori:  Mother of four children.  Loves her wonderful husband.  Loves Jesus!  Loves to still go on dates with our children’s daddy!!!  Likes to shop.  I like and try to be organized.  Likes to blog on our family blog page.  (Reallife-lori.blogspot.com)  Coffee with cream, please.  I like to listen to music!  I love, love a routine.  And, boy, was that a challenge for me this year!!!  I wouldn’t mind if my schedule would mostly be the same week after week.  But I was challenged because we had some really big changes take place over the past year.  One, we now attend Honeybrook Community Church and loving it!  Two, had baby number 4!!  Three, moved out of our home and into a basement for remodeling to take place!!!  I did not have a choice but to adjust and embrace the changes.  On July 1, we could not wait for our baby number four to be delivered!  Austin Kendrick came into our lives as a healthy baby boy!  Mike, the kids and family helped me out like crazy with the house work while I was recovering from a C-section.  And when Austin was only four weeks old, I know … call us crazy, we moved out of our home and into dad-in-laws basement.  After living in the same old house for fourteen years and everything, everything needed to be packed up, moved to the basement, or be put into storage … made lots of extra work for us.  It was one of the biggest jobs I ever had!  We packed and went through so many things before baby arrived to help keep it simpler when we did actually move out.  Many thanks to family and friends who helped us through all this and blessed us with baby gifts and meals during this time!!!  We adjusted well to living in the basement but we are all very, very ready to move back home!  Our family became very familiar with the word “temporary”!!!  I can’t wait to live in our new home and be settled in for the New Year!!!  I know it will take me all winter to put everything in place and have a more organized home but that’s ok!  That will be the fun part … moving back home!!!  With a teenager, and ten year old son, a toddler and a six month old baby boy … this momma is lovingly busy!!!  J  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, supportive husband and children!  My goal still remains that even though we will move into a bigger and new home to remember things here on earth are temporary!  I strive to set my eyes on eternal goals while living with God’s blessings here on earth!

 

Hadassah:  Volleyball player.  Serves hard and spikes down a good set.  Does very well in school.  “A” student.  Works hard for her good grades!  Loves to be with friends!  Loves to pin on Pinterest.  Has self-discipline.  Has a contagious laugh!  Cares for her house dog Ginger.  Loves to shop.  Hadassah has been such a blessing to our family this year and extra much when Austin was born!  She was my ‘in home’ maid.  J  She helped me with so much around the house while I recovered from my C-section.  I was so grateful!  She also helped pack up box after box when it was time to move out of our home so the remodeling could begin.  I was not ready for the school term to begin because then there would go my biggest helper back to the classrooms.  But Hadassah loves school and she was ready to see her friends and get back to school life.  She is now taller than her mom.  She wears a bigger shoe size than her mom.  J  She’s growing up to be a young lady and we appreciate her great attitude in life!  She cares about people and has a personal relationship with Jesus.  Hadassah is really enjoying her 8^th grade year.  She just came through a wonderful volleyball season at school and starred in the sport!  She was happy to receive the MVP player trophy!  She is excited and a bit nervous when it comes to thinking about high school.  Moving back home and having her own room and bathroom is something Hadassah is really looking forward to!!!  She is also anticipating a class mission’s trip in the spring.  It is so neat to see her grow and blossom for the Lord!

 

 

Matthew:  Family boy.  Loves to play baseball.  Likes routines and a schedule too!  Made lots of new friends at church this year.  Loves to be with his dad!!!  Matthew is growing taller and is doing great in school.  He is really enjoying Mrs. Felter as his new 5^th grade teacher.  I am very impressed at how he has learned to take responsibility for his homework.  Matthew loves family time.  He teases his sisters (especially Ashlyn) more than his mom can take at times but loves them with deep affection!  J  Matthew played baseball this past summer again and did wonderful on his team!!!  He is a key player and is really good!  He has talent and ball skills like his daddy and throws catch every night with him during the summer months.  He was also extremely grateful for another brother!!!  Austin loves when Matthew fusses to him!  I’m sure they will become best friends!  Matthew likes going to the cabin with family and makes it a highlight!  He spent many nights helping Mike work at the house and cannot wait to move back home and get back “to normal” living conditions.  However, he does like having Mommy Lapp’s cereal selections right upstairs and has enjoyed having a creek right nearby.  Lots of crawfish were caught here this summer!  We love Matthew’s calmness in life and the charm that he adds to our family!

 

Ashlyn:  A sweet four year old girl.  Loves to play doll house.  Gardener.  Is such a great big sister and entertainer to Austin. Still plays with “Baby Kate”.  J  Likes to watch Peppa Pig.  Paints her finger nails often.  Loves her cousins!  Ashlyn is our long, blond hair girl!  She adds much spice to our lives!  She was very excited to have Austin join our family this summer and is very helpful with caring for him.  She loves to help me with gardening.  We only have a small family garden but we hope to make a small garden just for her.  She absolutely loves to plant seeds and see them grow!  She is also the one who eats the most vegetables!  Her favorite combination is cooked corn, sautéed mushrooms and cold black olives.  J  I love that she likes healthy foods!  Ashlyn can’t wait to move back home and play with her kitties.  She likes to color, play with play doe, make Austin laugh and loves to receive mail.  She always looks to see if there is something in the mail for her.  J  I know she will be delighted to open up all the Christmas cards we will receive this season!  She’s so cute and adorable!  She prays.  She sings.  She is such a blessing to our family!

 

Austin:  Six months old.  Smiles often.  Loves to be entertained.  Adores his daddy and siblings!  Is a happy baby.  His mom is his favorite care taker!  J  He was born with blond hair and blue eyes.  Austin arrived in our arms on July 1^st!  We were all excited to have another healthy baby boy join our family!  He loves to be held.  Loves to be kissed and cuddled.  Likes to be fussed to and coos.  His favorite is to lay on his back on the living room floor and watch his toys.  Everything that he grabs goes into his mouth.  He jumps and fusses in his Johnny jump.  He can sit in the saucer and play with the toys.  He can now roll from belly to back and back to belly.  He is the happiest in the morning and loves to wake up early.  Austin is such a blessing to us and we are so grateful God put him into our lives!  What a privilege it is to be his parents and it is so much fun to watch him grow and move into new stages.  Austin is a gift from the Lord!

 

With the Christmas season now upon us, let’s remember to celebrate the birth of Christ!  To wrap Jesus around our lives just as Mary and Joseph “wrapped him in swaddling clothes”.  To sing with the angels “glory to God in the highest”.  Let’s rejoice with the shepherds as they went with haste to see baby Jesus and “glorified and praised God for all the things that they had heard and seen”.  To worship like the wise men did “when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.  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 frankincense, and myrrh.” 

The whole earth rejoiced when Jesus was born!!!  The whole earth was saved when Jesus died for our sins! 

As a believer, let’s thank Jesus for the gift of eternal life with him!!!

 

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  Isaiah 9:6

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

 

Love,

The Lapp Family

          

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We moved into our new home just in time to enjoy the holidays and celebrate Christ's birth!!!  I feel like I've been going 100 miles an hour ever since Monday!!!  It's all exciting and we are so blessed to be moved back home!!!  (More on the whole moving thing later!!!  Now, I must go and do some packing so we can have Christmas with my family!)

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas times a comin'!!!!

Christmas time really is a comin'!!!!  We can't wait to spend our first Christmas in our new, cozy home!!!  But first we need to keep working hard to complete this project!

 

Here JR Jay is hanging the wallpaper in our bedroom.  Only one wall ... it looks great!!!

 

The kitchen back splash is on!  It is looking so beautiful!  I am so looking forwards to spending lots of time in my roomy kitchen cooking and baking for my family and friends!

Mom Lapp and I went shopping for poinsettia's to give to our employee's wives.  They are so gorgeous!  We were blessed to have another successful year at Lapp Structures!

Mike, Austin and I went out shopping for lights on Monday.  We thought we had all we needed but not after all.  Ashlyn, Austin and I made another trip to Lowe's to grab one more and a dryer cord.  We can't wait to use light switches again!  :) 

When we stopped in today and this is what's happening today!  Carpet!!!  Finishing touches to the cabinets and tile shower.  The house looks like a total mess but hopefully after Saturday, it will be ready for a good cleaning and move in days!!!

 

 

 

I told Ashlyn this morning that we are having Christmas with the Lapps on Sunday and she got all excited!  How many night's do we have to sleep yet?  Three!!!  I love to see the children get all giddy about Christmas.  Hadassah was disappointed to have their field trip canceled today but I'm sure they will be a blessing with plan number 2.  Christmas caroling for one of their teachers!  Mrs. Donaldson's husband just past away!  I hope they can spread some Christmas joy to her today!!!

 

When I look at our next week, it is super exciting!!!  How blessed to be able to move into a new house right before Christmas!!! 

 

How wonderful to celebrate Jesus' birthday!!!

 

Busy week ...

Here we go ... take a deep breath ... we have a lot going on this week!!!

Every year we seem to have a crazy busy week right before Christmas.  Things just get all piled up the last full week before Christmas but we would not want to miss any of these events!!!

The only night we have open this week is tonight and just yesterday I got a text that Rosa is around and she planned a quick night out for some friends to gather for coffee.  I did hesitate for a minute before responding but Mike said to go!  I love these fun night outings with just moms and so I'm looking forward to it girls!!!

Tomorrow, mom and I are going to set up for the employee banquet and prepare some snacks.  This is usually a fun time too and we appreciate our employees and hard workers so much!!!  I also need to pick up more Christmas cards because I just can't ever seem to order enough!  It's a good thing to have many friends and we are so blessed!  I was reminded of this again yesterday.  Our church had their walk through nativity this past weekend and it was so neat!  Mike and Matthew were shepherds on Saturday night and didn't get to bed till after midnight.  Over 1,000 people walked through each scene just in one night.  I took Hadassah, Ashlyn and Austin and we walked through it and waved to the boys in the shepherd scene.  Matthew loved it!  We saw many friends!  It was a great reminder of how the birth of Jesus may have all taken place.  Great job actors!!!

Here we are on our way to see the Christmas play.  Then enjoying some snack afterwards. 

We had our first Christmas dinner with the Dienners yesterday after church.  We all crowded in Alvin's basement.  The unusual warm temperatures let the kids run around outside even without jackets.  Mike and I and Dave and Suz got to sneak out and go through the nativity together.  With leaving Ashlyn and Austin with my mom, it was such a quick, fun few hours of hanging out with my hubby!  Thanks mom!!!  Mike and Dave even set up Acquire in the parking lot while we waited for our bus to take us to the nativity.  :)  We got back to Alvin's with everyone clearing out.  The Dienner Clan does not usually hang out late.  We said thanks and good bye and came home.  We love Daudy and Mommy D.!!!  Family is special!

Now looking ahead at the rest of the week, we have lots going on.  Lots happening at the house too.  Paint touch ups.  Wallpaper put in the master bedroom.  Carpet.  Shower tile finishing up.  More counter tops and cabinets put in place.  We worked at the house on Saturday and I got the front porch looking a little like Christmas time! 

We made a quick trip out to Target on Saturday and Austin slept the entire time.

 Hunter and Ashlyn eating lunch at the house with a card board box for their table.  :)

 Lunch time for Matthew too.  Ashlyn was in the mud.

 Front porch ...

 Awake and in the stroller watching mom!

 Mike tried to move the barn a little closer to the house so we could get the things from there moved into the new garage.  Ashlyn is opening up our mail in the garage barefoot.  Yes, it was a warm day in December.

 Nap time again ...

Now, I should get started on packing up some of the basement things.  We hope to move next week!!!  And my laundry is waiting for me too!!!  Mike and I are going out this afternoon to pick out light fixtures.  Another thing to cross off the list!!!   

Through the busy schedules, I wish you all health and peace this week!!!

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year!!!