Merry Christmas! ( a little late)

We just got back into town yesterday from our road trip to Pittsburgh for Christmas. It was so nice to be with Matt's family for a few days and spend this very special time with them. Isabella is starting to really understand what Christmas is about. She talks about baby Jesus and where he was born. Don't get me wrong..she was looking for her presents while others were opening theirs. Whenever she opened a present she said "Oh my goodness!!" followed by "thank you." This put a smile on my face as I realized she was thankful even if she then asked me where her next present was.

I am thankful for Christ's birth!

I wanted to say this on Christmas but wasn't able to but it reminds me that I need to be thankful for this everyday.  This year Matt and I have heard a lot of sermons and talks that convicted us that we were not taking time daily to remember what this time is really about. So, we decided to do something different this year and try to make it special. We decided for us it meant no TV watching until after Christmas. I thought it was going to be very hard with Isabella to go cold turkey but to my surprise she did very well. So, instead of turning on the TV when we needed to clean or get something done in peace she found something else to do.

I feel this guilt that I do not remember the significance of this time more often. Jesus came down to earth while he could have stayed in Heaven where it is perfect and glorious to come here where there is pain, suffering, and death. He did this for us and to save us from eternal separation from God. If I just stop to think about it..it is incredible!!

she looks a little drugged but she loves her dr. kit!

She was pretending to be Mary. 

Here are her cousins: Charlie and Jack. She had so much fun running and playing with Jack; it was so nice to have them together.