I forgot to take my camera to the New Year's Eve party that our church put on, and the youth group lock-in that followed. We had a great time ringing in the New Year together. There were board games, dodge ball, and an ugly sweater contest, that Aaron won. I am so proud. LOL! That lasted until midnight, and then Aaron and I went over to Jared and Misty's for the lock-in. We only stayed until 3:00 A.M. because Aaron was on call for ambulance. However, I caught my second wind, and could have stayed awake all night. :) It was fun. We all ended up playing Wii and Xbox 360. Good times. :)

New Years resolutions:

1. Prioritize my life
2. Perfect the oatmeal cookie

Happy New Year to all of my family and friends!

I'll Be Home for Christmas...

We spend Christmas morning with my folks, and then went over to my Grandpa and Grandma Stahly's for lunch and the afternoon. We spent a good part of the afternoon playing pitch, spoons, and a variation of the game, Pit, using regular playing cards. It was a fantastic day!

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with the Greene side this year. Italian food, games, gifts, two Christmas Eve services, and did I mention Italian food? :)

Happy Birthday, Katelyn!

Christmas Traditions

I thought I would ask my fellow bloggers to comment on some of their favorite annual Christmas traditions. What does your family do that is unique or special to you?

On the Greene side of the family: A couple years ago we started cooking a different ethnic meal every year, whether Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We have done German, Hawaiian, Irish, Chinese, and this year: Italian (yummy!). We have really strived to find authentic recipes, and some have turned out to be very good, while others...well...almost unedible in my opinion. :) But it has been fun and creates a memory in the process. All of the grandparents come to Aaron's mom and dad's house, which is very nice!

On the Maris side of the family: There is always a little confusion as to where we are spending the holiday: with my mom's folks, or my dad's folks...but it generally works itself out. :) This year we are trying something a little different Christmas Day ...chili and cinnamon rolls. Can't complain about that! Maybe it will stick as a tradition. :) Also, my mom always does stockings. That is a tradition I hope to continue with my own kids someday.

In our home: Aaron and I have done the stocking thing for each other a couple times. This year we had a $20.00 limit and were not allowed to shop online. Will be fun to see what we come up with. :) There have been some years that I have had the tree up, some that I have not, but I always get out my nativity set that my grandparents brought me back from Columbia when I was a little girl. I love unwrapping each piece and arranging it a little differently each year.

So, those are a few things that make our holidays special. Feel free to share some of your traditions and memories on the comment link!

'Tis the Season

I haven't blogged anything with pictures for awhile. I keep forgetting to take my camera places, and we have been on the go lately. Last weekend was the EMS Christmas party, this weekend was supposed to be the firemen's Christmas party, but it got cancelled due to the weather. We went Christmas shopping in North Platte on Friday, after our eye appointments in Ogallala (I will be posting pics of new glasses in about a week!), baked and decorated Christmas cookies on Saturday, and went to our pastor's open house today. Thanks, Todd, Sonja and family, for a fun afternoon! The next couple weeks will be filled with get-togethers, more shopping, more baking, church events, plus all the normal day to day activities.

It is crazy how the holiday weeks fill up and fly by so fast. It is so important that we remember that the reason we are even having Christmas is because God sent His son to the earth in the form of a helpless baby, to ultimately die on the cross for our sins and give us eternal life if we choose to believe in Him. This has been so much more meaningful to me this holiday season than in the past. Part of me is sad about hearing all about "baby" this and "baby" that this holiday season, in light of our miscarriage. But then I remember: that Jesus was God's first born, and only son. And He knew that He was going to watch Him suffer and die on the cross, even before Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. God knew His baby was going to die before it happened. And He did this for us because He loves us so much! It is hard enough to lose a baby or a child, let alone allowing that child to die for someone else, and all the while, knowing you could stop it! What a sacrifice God made for us! Take a moment to reflect on that fact, and thanking God for what He did this Christmas.

I thought that I might start doing a few short movie reviews on my blog. I preview quite a few movies from work, so will post a few of my favorites as I watch them. Please keep in mind that these are my opinions, and you may not agree with my viewpoints, or might have a different idea of what is acceptable for your family. For detailed opinions on content, I have found this website to be very informative and family friendly: http://www.pluggedinonline.com/. Also, I am not going to be a spoiler. I hate that!
So far this month, one of my favorites has been "The Dark Knight". PG-13 It is a dark and edgy movie...probably not the best for the young crowd, that unfortunately, it targets. Full of on- the- edge of- your- seat action and drama, the acting was superb. The late Heath Ledger plays The Joker, and is very convincing in his role. Had I not known that he was playing the part initially, I would have never figured it out. I guess the one thing that I liked about "The Dark Knight" is the fact that it made me think. I found myself finding spiritual allegory in parts of the movie, questioning human nature in other parts and contemplating all the twists and turns that the plot took...even after the movie was over.