Catching Up Part 4: Christmas

December was a whirlwind of a month for us chalk full of family gatherings, food, and lots of fun.  As my kids have gotten older I have felt each year more and more the importance of stressing the reason for Christmas.  I want them to fully understand that Jesus is the greatest present of all, and that he came to be a servant and a sacrifice.   This year, I felt there was no better way to express the love of Jesus than by helping out a family in need.  Now please don’t think I’m tooting my own horn.  I say this not because I think I have done something great.  I just wanted you, the reader, to understand that even though the following pictures represent most of what Christmas has become in America and even around the world, I tried hard this year to help Audrey understand the true meaning of Christmas and that we, as the privileged, have a responsibility to help those in need and share the love of Christ.  It also helped her to think about someone else (outside of her family) and consider buying a gift that someone else would enjoy.  Judah will probably join us in the efforts as he gets older, but this year I wanted to focus on Audrey and make this a special thing between the two of us.

And on to the barrage of pictures.

We hosted a Turner Family get-together at our house about a week before Christmas, but for some reason my camera got left in its case and forgotten about.  To see  some pics of that gathering, see here and here. 

Then on to Perryton for a few days to spend some time with Matt’s parents and siblings.

Audrey and Judah sporting their new digs: Judah proudly showing off his new pop gun: And Audrey with her soft and cuddly Webkinz leopard:Aunt Bekah put her awesome art skills to some canvas and painted Audrey and Judah’s names.  Judah’s is in Hebrew (as was their cousins Eden and Salem’s), but poor Audrey is the only grandchild in this family that doesn’t have a Hebrew name.  I think she was born before that trend started! :) Kevin trying out Judah’s new gun, and practicing for a day of hunting.  (To see more about that, check out April’s post.) Be afraid, very afraid!  Haha, this picture is so funny of Bekah and Kevin:

We were back home by Christmas morning, and the kids enjoyed trying their new toys out:

I love this picture of Judah doing his happy dance:And the surprised look on Audrey’s face: