Advancing in rank!

The boys tested in Tae Kwon Doe on December 14th for their Advanced Blue belt.  Both did well.  Oldest managed to land wrong during the "three step flying side kick" and twisted his ankle.  Ankle brace and crutches for a few days.  He's better now.

Anyway, they got their new belts today.  With the Christmas Holiday and TKD schedule, they were delayed a bit.  No sweat, they still got them.

We are proud of them!

Merry Christmas!

 

The boys woke to their doors being "tp'ed" in red crepe paper!

 Stockings first!

 One seemed more happy than the other!

 Yummy breakfast.  Home made cinnamon rolls!!

 Quiet kid because of fake mustaches and new books!

Another kid busy with 100 feet of para cord!

Our version of "Elf on the Shelf"!

Advent ~ Day 24

John 1:14

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

When we study the book of John, we learn that "the Word" is another name for Jesus.  He left the heavens to walk among us, to fully experience what life as a human is like.  Being a part of the Trinity, He knew what it was like, but in order to have men trust in Him, He came to earth to experience what we experience.  In doing so, it becomes easier, for some to trust in Him.

Merry Christmas!

Santa Claus from Lego City and Jengo Fett Santa Clause from Star Wars

Advent ~ Day 23

As promised ~ yesterday's photo has been posted, should you be interested.

Today we read from Matthew 2:9 - 12, which reads:

⁹ After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

Did you catch that word phrase in verse 11?  "After they came into the house, they saw the Child. . ."  When the Magi did not see Jesus as an infant or in a cave/barn.  He was in a house and was a child.  During the Christmas season, we tend to tell all portions of the birth of Christ as one story and in has become understood to be all at one time, at His birth.

The Magi also experienced great joy at seeing the Christ.  In Greek, it is called Megas and Chara.  Megas means great and Chara means joy.  

Behind door 22 held the following Legos:

Geonosian Sleigh and a sleigh.

 

Advent ~ Day 22

Matthew 2:7&8

 ⁷ Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”

If you know the story of Jesus' birth, you'll know that Herod has no desire  worship Him.  Herod feels threatened and wants to destroy this young child.  If you've been reading each day, as I blog and don't know the whole story, I just ruined the plot for you.  I'm sorry for giving to much of the ending.   Or you can go finish reading chapter 2 now and glean something new on your own!!

Normally, a photo would be inserted here, but . . . . .

. . . the last couple days we've been visiting family, taking loads of photos and the battery to the camera died.  Yup, got it on the charger, just before devotions, so the picture for today will be delayed.  Hope to get it on here tomorrow (check back late morning, early afternoon if you remember)!  Yes, we should own two, but just have not gotten to a spare yet.  Maybe we learned our lesson.

Any hoots, boys received, from behind door 22, a mini crane and Boba Fett.

{photo to come, I promise!!}

Advent ~ Day 21

Matthew 2:3 - 6
 ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

Interesting facts:

• Herod knew he wasn't from Bethlehem and that worried him
• Matthew 2:6 is a prophecy fulfilled from Micah 5:2&4
• We know Jesus to be the good shepherd

Behind door 21, in the Lego Advent Calendars, brings a slave ship and a train.

Advent ~ Day 20

Matthew 2:1-2

 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ² “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Interesting facts (some obvious, some not):

• no where in the Bible does it say there were 3 wisemen or magi; they brought three gifts, which many have inferred to be three men
• the word Magi is Greek and the plural form of magos which translates to wisemen, astrologer, magicians
• they traveled from the east
• they followed a star
• vs 1 says, "after Jesus was born" he was visited by the Magi.  This doesn't actually occur until in is between 18 and 24 months.  The account in Matthew does not place the Magi at the stable when Jesus was born.  

I know, makes for a non-traditional Christmas story when you look at the facts as they really are.  We'll look into more of these in the coming few days.

Onto the Legos for today:

Some sort of Star Wars flying vessel and a boat!

Advent ~ Day 19

Boys are loving doing the readings for our Advent devotions.  They are playing nice and sharing the responsibilities.  Here is what was read:

Micah 5:2 - 5

² “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.

His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
³ Therefore He will give them up until the time
When she who is in labor has borne a child.
Then the remainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel.
⁴ And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.
⁵ This One will be our peace.
When the Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.

This passage is a prophecy about Jesus and who he will be.  Always a good idea to see how prophecies from the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New Testament.

And today's Legos are:

A Seperatist Cruiser and a couple mini planes.

Advent ~ Day 18

Today's reading came from Luke 2:19 - 20 ~
 
¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Mary treasured, remembered, dwelt on, pondered.  She wanted to be able to remember these things in the times to come.  She was making mental notes of all that had transpired that came to pass as the Angles had foretold.   Even the shepherds believed, glorified and praised God.  They trusted what had been told them and went back to their jobs in the fields.

Advent ~ Day 17

Today's reading is Luke 2:15-18, which reads:

¹⁵ When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

The various translations describe how the shepherds moved to Bethlehem.  All basically saying that they went straight there, did not waste time, got there as quickly as they could!  They wanted to witness this child the Angels had proclaimed.  They were eager!

Our boys are just as eager to see their Legos:

A Naboo Royal Cruiser and a Go Cart (the wheels came yesterday!)

 

Advent ~ Day 16

Today's reading came from Luke 2:13&14, just two verses:

¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Can you imagine what the multitude would have sounded like?  Bet it would have been the best choir ever heard!  Out in the fields, not much distraction.  

Would you have been able to just listened and absorbed the sounds?  Or would you have be analyzing the words of verse 14, wondering if He was pleased with you?  As shepherds, these gentlemen may not have thought there was much to be pleased with in their lives.  Thank goodness, God sees it all and knows it all.  He sees the true nature of our hearts.  

May we be able pause in the business of life to hear "the multitudes of heavenly host praising God" and join in with them.

Here is what day 16 brought our boys.  May try to take another photo tomorrow and get a less blurry one.  This was the best out of the 5 I took.

Another Star Wars tool rack and an oil can & tires to go with the Pit Crew Mini Fig from yesterday!

 

Advent ~ Day 15

Luke 2:8-12

⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Have you ever wondered why the shepherds were told of the birth of the messiah?  Why them?  They were outcasts, the low, probably smelled bad, not regarded well by the Pharisees or other religious folks.  However, the more certain social classes were excluded, the more Jesus would include them.  Jesus embraced the low and meek.  He dined and socialized with the outcast, the tax collector, the prostitute, the shepherd.  These folk's hearts were better prepared to receive the blessings the messiah brought!

Day 15 brought the two following mini fig's.  I need to remember to not buy any mini figures as they are getting enough through their individual calendars!  :) 

A Geonosian and a mechanic

Advent ~ Day 14

We read from Luke 2:6-7 which reads ~

⁶ While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

No special place to deliver her firstborn child.  No new clothes, no diapers, no bassinet, nothing!  Savior came as a newborn, with nothing to give but His all!  We should be so humble.

Boys tore threw door 14 and here's what they found:

Count Dooku's space ship and two presents for under the tree.

Advent ~ Day 13

Today, our oldest read from Luke 2:1-5, which reads:

2 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. ² This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

Interesting things to know, when cross referencing the above scriptures with other documentation:

• Mary did not have to go with Joseph to Bethlehem, for the census, because she was pregnant.  She choose to go and be with her husband, anyway, and in doing so, fulfilled the profecy that the messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
• When looking at the lineage of Jesus, it says that both Joseph and Mary are from the line of David.  There is no clear documentation stating if it was Mary's mother or father that came from the line of David, so we don't know for certain why they did not travel for the census.  We can speculate that her father was from Galilee and that is why her parents stayed during the census.
• Did you notice the word "up" in verse 4?  Did you know that Bethlehem is actually south of Galilee?  The word choice of up may have been because they had to travel through many hills and mountains to get to Bethlehem.  What a difficult journey to take, while that far along in a pregnancy.  Not sure I'd want to do that.  

Anyway, boys opened up door 13 today and here is what they found:

A droid and an astronaut with stars!

Advent ~ Day 12

Luke 1:46 - 56

The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul exalts the Lord,
⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
⁴⁸ “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
⁴⁹ “For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
⁵⁰ “And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
⁵¹ “He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
⁵² “He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
⁵³ “He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
⁵⁴ “He has given help to Israel His servant,

In remembrance of His mercy,
⁵⁵ As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

⁵⁶ And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

A Transport Ship and a Christmas tree were found behind door 12

Advent ~ Day 11

Today, oldest read for us from Luke 1:39 - 45:

³⁹ Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

When one just trusts the bible to be true, the above scripture is amazing.  The Holy Spirit is moving, in a big way, in these seven versus.  The coolest thing, is that Elizabeth and her unborn child (who later becomes John the Baptist, the fore runner of Jesus), were both excited by Mary & baby's entrance.  It's interesting, because I seriously doubt, at this point Mary had told anyone she'd been visited by the Angle Gabriel and became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  Yet the Holy Spirit gave Elizabeth an understanding of what was going on. 

Scripture is amazing.

Wouldn't be Advent without the chocolate and calendar.  Today, we opted for mint brownies and the boys got onto their door 11.  Here's what was built at our house:

An AT walker of some sort and a grill with another hot dog!

Gee, if I move the grill just so, the walker can light the grill!  lol Creative staging!!!

Merry Christmas and may the Holy Spirit remind you of the season's hope.

Advent ~ Day 10

<sup>Today's reading came from Matthew 1:22 - 25


22</sup> Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” ²⁴ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, ²⁵ but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

It was a Lego jackpot from the Lego City Advent door 10.  Star Wars door 10 contained only one minifigure - a Clone Trooper.  Both kids were happy though.

A Clone Trooper and A Fire woman, two fire extinguishers, a spare hat, 3 hotdogs & holders!

Advent ~ Day 9

I'll admit it ~ this post is back dated.  Yes, written on the 10th of December because we lost power yesterday and did not feel like dealing with a computer while we had no wifi, electricity, or anything along those lines.

Advent continued as usual; folks plugged along in life with out electricity and we managed for the partial day as well.

The reading for "today" comes from Matthew 1:18-21,

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. ²⁰ But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

The boys were still able to put today's Legos together, just fine, with candle and flashlight help.

A Bench and A Republic Attack Cruser

Advent ~ Day 8

Today we read from Luke 1:26-38

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

What a bewildering time to be a young teen.  Having an angel appear, being told you'd found favor with the Lord, and that you'll bear a child without knowing man.  And even Mary's relative, Elizabeth, had conceived a child in her old age.  God was beginning an amazing work through these women. 



Our two young men were, again, quite happy to open the next door and to get their 2 pieces of candy.  Today brought the following:

2 Goblets, 2 bottles, 2 turkey legs, 2 sets of cherries, and 1 pizza pie

A Gun Ship

Happy Advent!

Advent ~ Day 7

Today's Advent reading:

Luke 1:18-25

¹⁸ Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
²¹ The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. ²² But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute. ²³ When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.
²⁴ After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵ “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.”

How often do we question God?  How often do we ask for a sign or a way to be sure?  Do we just trust and walk in faith?  Could you imagine being mute for 8 to 9 months because you asked a question?   I pray we are able to just trust and walk in what we the truth.

To the boys favorite part of the Advent time, opening the next door and today's brought the following:

A table from the City Collection and a weapons tool chest from Star Wars.

Advent ~ Day 6

On the 6th day we read from Luke 1:11-17:

¹¹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. ¹⁴ You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

We learned more of the coming of John today!

Both boys received mini figs from behind door 6.  Both were happy!  Here they are:

A Rebel Soldier and A Burgler

 

Advent ~ Day 5

Today we read from Luke 1:5-10:

⁵ In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
⁸ Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.

We begin to see that John will come into being.  Love to hear how our boys are remembering their bible stories and tieing them all together.  It was discussed how, when Mary came to see Elizabeth, John jumped for joy at the Messiah's presence.  Amazing thing is that neither child had been born.  Our Savior had that kind of presence, even before birth.

DAY FIVE TREASURES:

A tool kit

A cloud racer

Advent ~ Day 4

We began with reading Jeremiah 33: 14 - 16 this evening.

 The word advent is a noun and is commonly defined as anticipating the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.  In Christian context, during the Advent Season, we are anticipating the birth or arrival of Jesus.  Not often do we consider advent to also refer to the second coming of Christ as this passage references.   But we can rest assured that Jesus will come again, as promised and written, He will judge and rule, and will do so fairly.

Our young Lego boys were having a difficult time with the anticipation of what was behind number 4.  One wanted a mini figure, the other really didn't care.  Both just wanted to build something.  The arrival of something new was hard to wait for.  Here is what they recieved.

A Snowman

A Space Speeder

May this season of anticipation bring you peace and joy as you wait upon the Lord.

Advent ~ Day 3

Day three of reading about the coming of Jesus, His birth, and the reason for the season.  Today's passage came from Isaiah, chapter 11, versus 1 through 10:

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
³ And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
⁴ But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
⁵ Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And faithfulness the belt about His waist.

⁶ And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
⁷ Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
⁹ They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ Then in that day
The nations will resort to the root of Jesse,
Who will stand as a signal for the peoples;
And His resting place will be glorious.

In these versus we begin to see the lineage of Jesus, through Jesse!  We begin to see the hope in the one that is to come, the Messiah, and how He'll make things right.

Also noteworthy, at least to the two young gentlemen in our house, were the Legos behind door 3.

Building a driod!

The Christmas scene taking shape!

A dog, his bowl, and his bones.

Unnamed droid, at least as of this posting.

Merry Christmas readers!

Advent ~ Day 2

Today's reading was from Isaiah 9:2-7:

² The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
³ You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
⁴ For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
⁵ For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
⁶ For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Our oldest read tonight, good to hear speaking more.  It's been a hard thing for him to do, so we encourage where ever possible. 

We decided to buy candy this year, that we actually enjoy, instead of the generic, no name advent calendars you can pick up cheap almost anywhere.  For now, we're working through Hershey's Dark Kisses and Caramel Kisses.
 

Yummy!!

Today's treasures included a fireplace and a cruiser!  Boys are enjoying this and it has been hard to wait.  So here they are:

Merry Christmas and enjoy this season of Advent!

Advent ~ Day 1

About 9 days ago or so, I came to the sudden realization that I'd waited to long to buy the boys Lego Advent calendars.  After some time on the phone, located the desired sets, and spending a couple hours on the road driving from home, to Woodbridge, to Arlington, and home again, we had the Lego City Advent Calendar and Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar.

Today we began with reading John 1:1-5,

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. ⁵ The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 

A few questions about what was read and the boys opened day one of their calendar.  Here is what was behind door 1:

R5F7 (from Star Wars) & a police officer

 Merry Christmas!