One Thousand Gifts (continued)

 "When the angels had left them and gone into heave, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the LORD has told us about.'" (Luke 2:15)

The shepherds ran to celebrate the Messiah's birth!  They didn't want to miss it!  They were so excited about celebrating Jesus' birth that they quickly spread the great news and "praised God for all the things they had heard and seen which were just as they had been told" (Luke 2:20).

In the month of December, we celebrated 4 birthdays, including baby Jesus'.  It was a busy month, to say the least.  I confess that I don't celebrate Jesus' birth like the shepherds did.  More than often, the other birthday celebrations and the busyness of the season overshadow the great news of Jesus' birth.  I pray that God will help me be more like the shepherds and excitedly spread the great news of Messiah's coming and praise God.  

I am so thankful for the birthdays that we celebrate in December, especially the birth (even if I don't show it) of Jesus Christ, my personal Saviour!

Continuing to give thanks...

So much to be thankful for...

-another year older and the privilege of celebrating each day and year with my precious family

-how she loves to open everyone else's gifts!

-birthday lunch tradition with my sister (and including my hubby, Mom, and brother this year)

-welcoming another teenager into the family

-celebrating another year of our darling, tender-hearted, fun-loving daughter

-grandparents who adore all of their grandchildren

-grandparents that live next door and down the road

 -everyone enjoying gift giving time

-celebrating the birthday of my sweet mother-in-law

-enjoying the packing snow while it lasted

-how he challenged Curtis to game of Chess
-how he feels so at home with us
-how he loves to play games with the children

 -beautiful artwork at the Christmas program

 -how he doesn't show his nervousness as he confidently plays his piano in front of a large audience

 -how the band has improved so much in the last year

 -how they all sang so beautifully

 -the creative shadow play and how she was so excited to be part of that

 -how she sang her little heart out, inspire of the distractions all around her!

 -enjoying a Christmas concert at the Christian high school for the first time
-how he so beautifully played his red clarinet

 -our Home Alone party
-his party spirit with the yummy sundaes and speculaas flavoured ice cream!

 -his party spirit, wearing his Home Alone shirt

-how she loves to organize games/trivia, etc.

-how he is so gifted at memorization (knows every line from every movie that he watches, hence the winner of the trivia game)

 -best buddies

-another fun, family gathering with lots of laughs

 -two lovely ladies who are so gifted at organizing games

-our fun group of reindeer

-enjoying fun, competitive, team games

 -good sports

-mingling with the relatives

-our team, winning the games!

-how they got along so splendidly

 -how he dazzled everyone with his magic tricks

 -enjoying Christmas gifts

 -one happy rubik's cuber

 -enjoying his new kitchen gadget

 -our crafter
-how she made gifts for all the widow ladies in the church

 -snuggling in the closet, watching movies
-how she loves her new fuzzy blanket

 -my hard-working husband and how he willingly painted the TV room

 -how running across bubble wrap can be so entertaining!

-finally enjoying the ice rink

 -having so much fun before she tipped over

 -one happy skater!

 -a timeless card game
-how everyone takes turns playing games with her
-her love for games

 -a fun, loud, exciting evening of family feud

 -how she's so proud of her grandchildren

 -our entertainment for the night (which I'm sure the neighbours were entertained by also)!

-how she loves and is proud of not only her grandchildren, but her children as well

 -her weekend getaway with her dad, celebrating her 13th birthday

 -how they love to do lots of activities

-including pottery (he wins Dad of the year award for that)!  

 -how he has such fun with all of his children