Finally time to post

Here is a pic of some of the moms.
Lynn, Natalie, Yonea, Roan, Ginger, Melanie and Amy
Here are some of the girls - I never take enough pictures! And I still don't know how to move them where I want them to be in my post.

Just a quick rundown of the week. Monday we did school and cleaned house. Tuesday we did school again and then I tutored a friend of mine's daughter while Anna started her carmel cake baking. She did not have enough eggs, so after tutoring and supper we headed out to shop. I had several places to go and finished up my Kroger shopping for all our Christmas cooking and we did not get home until 10:30! We stayed up until 12 finishing the carmel cakes. They looked fabulous :)
That was only the first of my nights of staying up 'til 12!!
Wed. , I cooked all morning for my dinner party on the 18th, and we enjoyed an ornament swap Wed. afternoon! The pics above are from the swap.

Wed. night was church and on Thurs. I cleaned again and headed out to Lori's for some wreath decorating and to Anita's for some cooking.
Then about 6 our first guests arrived. We had about 20 people total. It was a fun evening of sharing old memories and catching up with each other's present day lives. All of Scott's college roommates and their wives and families were able to attend. I did not have time to take pics :(
Then on Friday, we did some more baking and had the Parks over for dinner. It was good to visit with them also.
Scott and Ben have gone with my brother Julian and Jim to Russell Cave over in North Alabama today to take my sweet Dwa Van (my dad) for his Christmas present. I am praying they have a safe trip and enjoy fellowship with each other. Daddy is almost 80 and I am glad he is well enough to travel.
Mom's BIG Christmas is tomorrow where everyone in my family will be there with the exception of Sarah(27) and Julianne(22) who have to work. (They live in SC)
Mom has been cooking for days and I am supposed to go up there today and help, but Claire is throwing up - I hope she is better by tomorrow. Anyway, we have a huge Christmas dinner around 1 and then spend the afternoon visiting and catching up and then that night we open gifts and have a finger food type party afterward. It is always so much fun. One of the most meaningful things we do each year is gather aroung before we open gifts and read the Christmas story (sometimes we even act it out, all my babies have portrayed the Holy Child at one time or another) and then someone has a devotion or we go around the room sharing what God has done in our lives in the past year. It is really a great time of focusing on Him. I am very thankful to have godly family members who inspire me to walk closer to our Lord.
My sister and I were talking last night, and I told her that I was really enjoying the Christmas season this year, especially our Jesse tree devotions.
God has taught me through the preaching of God's word and through reading His Word what a truly special event it was for Jesus to come down to earth and take on our flesh and live a perfectly spotless life where all the commandments were kept perfectly, and how His righteous life is credited to a vile, low down, filthy sinner such as I. What love! What Mercy and Grace!

I hope you all have a Blessed Christmas and I pray the baby born in an animal stable will be real to you this season!