Christmas Day is finally here!

 Merry Christmas friends!  Jesus is born!  Happy birthday, Jesus!!!!!

Christmas morning came and the house was quiet.  The kids slept in and I played Christmas music softly as I began setting the dining room table with our real china dishes!  Mike and I sipped on our coffees as we worked on the puzzle a bit, read our bibles and slowly the kids woke up.  Matthew went with Daisy to her family Christmas brunch and my food preparations began!  I ordered a filet from Keystone Catering and that was heated along with lobster Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, salad, shrimp and desserts!

Arie and Zelta (the puppy) got to come along.

The favorite view!!!!!

We gave each other gifts!  Austin was sure he was getting UGGS and he was right.  Also Crocs and some stocking stuffers!  Ashlyn was with me on Black Friday when I got the UGGS and Crocs so she knew what she was getting but was still excited to open her gift and see a speaker inside.

We gifted the girls a Shark Hair Curler.  The boys got hunting gear and a shop vac!

I was given an Urban Southern Market Tote!  It's a huge beautiful bag!!!!  And Mike gave me this artwork!  I just laughed then moment I saw it!  As we walked through the art gallery in our small town a few weeks ago, I asked the shop owner if he still has that art of a pig jumping off a diving board?  He said he did and I nodded my head and made a comment of how I liked it!  Mike went back later for it and it just makes me laugh!  You don't ever see a pig jumping off of a diving board and into a pond.  They lay around in mud and get fat!  Something Mike and I were asked in a couples Sunday school class this year was, "What is something you would like to see come out of your spouse?"  Mike said he would like me to be more risky!  I'm scared of heights and don't like ledges.  I like normal.  Routine.  The same, same things.  So looking at this art reminds me to be different!  Jump off those diving boards in life and don't take life too serious!  Be free!  Enjoy the moments of laughter and fun!  I love this gift!

Christmas is never complete without and should never be complete without reflecting on the birth of Jesus!  Jesus was born so that we could live!  He was born in a humble stable, miles away from his true home.  Bethlehem was just going to be a place to pay taxes and then head home for a birth.  Instead, Jesus was born in that crowded town where no inn keeper had any room for his parents to rest, give birth in and stay warm.  Later that night, the heavens announced His birth to shepherds and they found baby Jesus and worshipped him!  

At the temple, Jesus was given his name that the angel told Mary to name her son!  Simeon and Anna were blessed to finally see this Messiah that was coming to save the world!!!!  Joseph and Mary stayed in Bethlehem for some time and Wisemen visited them from the East and gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh!  Then they had to flee because the king announced that all the baby boys two years and under must be killed because he heard that a new king was born to the Jews.  An angel spoke to Jospeh in a dream and told them to flee to Egypt so that baby Jesus would be safe!  After this killing king died, the angel of God came again to Jospeh saying it would be safe to go back home!

This is such an incredible true story that changed the world! Jesus grew up in Nazareth and at age 30 began doing miracles and preaching and healing sick people!  He died on the cruel cross for proclaiming he was the Son of God just a few years later.

We are blessed to have a God that really cares for us sinners and sends us His one and only Son to save us from our sins!  Thank you Jesus!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!