Christmas 2009

So I know it is been a Looong time since I have posted anything that has gone on in my life! And believe me it's not because nothing is going on....on the contrary it seems like way too much is going on. But I am loving it! We have been spending sooooo much time at the Eagle's Nest with jumps and baking and pizza night and baking and family fun night and baking so on and so forth. I think you may get the picture by now. But in all honesty it has been such a fun and rewarding experience!

As you know we have just got done with the most crazy, exciting, stressful, busiest time of the year! CHRISTMAS!!!! I love this time of year....buying presents for others, listening to music you only get to listen to once a year, having family and friends around. Wrapping paper, decorating, lots of goodies to eat (that you will be working off until next Christmas comes around)! Isn't it the greatest! :) But I must admit I am one of those people that once Christmas is over I am ready for summer! lol

We had such an awesome Christmas this year! I was a little sad at times because we didn't get to go home (Texas) for Christmas and visit with family...but thankfully my father in law got to come and spend it with us...so we weren't all alone! And it was a fun experience because this is the first Christmas we have actually been in our own home. So we got to do the presents Christmas morning with Ian and then the stockings and all that fun traditional stuff! This year we decided to start a new tradition for our family and we made a gingerbread house. It was kind of a pathetic looking one...but it was our first and I'm sure years to come there will be some improvement. Ian even helped...although I think he ate more of the decorations for the house than he put on! And most of the ones that he did put on he took back off and ate. LoL Christmas morning was so much fun! This whole time we had no presents under the tree because the dogs like to open them....so we waited until Christmas Eve after Ian went to bed and then we put them under the tree. It was so fun to watch Ian when he woke up and saw the tree with all the presents underneath. We honestly couldn't get to our cameras fast enough. He immediately grabbed a present and started unwrapping it. lol Thankfully it was one of his presents! Once again he got extremely spoiled by everyone around him...and he loved each and every one of his presents! He had such great reactions to all of them! His BIG present from us was a Lightening McQueen 4 wheel quad! It goes an amazing speed of 2 mph! At least I know I can run that fast. LoL We took him outside today and he got to ride it outdoors. He had been riding it in the living room and as you can imagine it was very limited space. His Poppy (my father in law) bought him the helicopters that you can fly by remote. Today me and Wes sat there forever trying to get that thing in the air (obviously you need skill and neither of us had it. LoL) Ian kept asking to do it so after about 20 minutes of no success I told Wes to just give it to Ian...within 2 seconds Ian had that thing up in the air. LoL As for me...Wes got me exactly what I've been asking for all year! He did very good this year! I got him a new laptop which came in 2 days before Christmas. He LOVES it :) Funny thing Wes got was a key chain from his Grandma Carey! How it works is if you loose your keys you whistle and your key chain beeps back at you. The only problem...Wesley does not know how to whistle. LoL Funny thing is today Ian was crying and the thing kept going off! :) Fun times!

This Christmas is bittersweet for us at the Eagle's Nest! This coming new year holds lots of deployments! The first of our guys start leaving in January (Wesley is in that bunch) and I believe the last group of guys head out in April. That will leave us with 2 regulars...one who is getting out in May and the other who is retiring in October! Please pray for our soldiers as they are away...and that we will be able to be an encouragement to them while they are gone! We still have plenty to keep us busy during this coming year! One of my goals is to reach out to the wives of those that are gone! This can be such a lonely and stressful and scary time for them! Please pray that we can lift them up when they need it!

I do hope though that we all took the time to stop and actually remember what Christmas is about! I know I just sounded so cliche, but it's so important that we remember this. It's Jesus' Birthday! And yes I realize we do not know the exact date...but this is when we choose to celebrate....and celebrate I think we should! I must admit that I was getting so caught up in all that needed to be done that I hadn't really stopped and focused on Jesus. But my sister Julie did help me out with this problem...although I'm sure she has no idea that she did. When she sent us our Christmas box this year she included Casting Crowns new Christmas CD! If you haven't had a chance to listen to this CD you really need to (although I understand if you wait until next year lol). Listening to the songs made me stop and realize that I just need to slow down and adore my Jesus! We all know the song "O Come all Ye Faithful"...well the Sunday before Christmas we were at church singing it and we get to the last part "O come let us adore Him" and I literally stopped singing and wondered when was the last time I actually adored Jesus. I mean....sure I say my prayers....I'm one of those crazy people that actually carry on a conversation pretty much all day with Jesus. Isn't that what we are supposed to do? I talk to him just like I was talking to my husband or sisters. Although I'm sure some people just think I'm talking to myself half the time. :) But I stood there and wondered...why don't we as Christians....let me just bring that thought down more personal...why don't I just take the time more often to actually adore Him. Not to sit there and ask for stuff or be with a certain situation or be with whoever is needing prayer at the time, but really sat down and adore Him! Because if you think about it He is so worthy and deserves our adoration! He came down from Heaven to be born in a manger among barn animals! Can you imagine that? I don't know about you, but if my son had been born in a cave among farm animals I wouldn't have really been to happy about it. Jesus who is God...who is King...left his home which is in Heaven to come down to this wicked, sinful earth! Are you even starting to see the awesomeness of this? But it didn't just stop there. His whole purpose in coming was to die on a cross. He left his home in Heaven, to come to earth, to live among sinful men...whom He created and who rejected Him, to die upon an awful cross, to save us!!!! I think sometimes if I could just grasp this a little bit more each and every day I could then start adoring Him the way He needs to be adored! I know I have rambled a lot here and this may not make sense to anyone and I also realize that Christmas has past, but that still doesn't mean we can't come and adore Him. After all He is Christ the Lord!