Looking for something different this holiday season?  Wanting to get down to business about Christmas instead of all the fluff?  Expecting some fun, too? Well, you're in the right place!  We do Christmas quite differently at our house, we focus on the real meaning of Christmas, and we have a blast for a whole month of celebrations!!! I've shared our Christmas traditions before, and wanted to highlight the series that I wrote last year.  I'll likely write more about it this year, but all the basics are included in the Christmas-time at Our House series.  It's definitely not your NORMAL Christmas at our house!

None of this is my real information.  I saw this the other day and thought it was really cute... at first.    1. Your SPY name (middle name and current street name): Sweet Tulip 2. Your MOVIE STAR name (grandmother on your dad's side and your favourite candy): Jane Aero 3. Your RAP name (first initial of first name and first three or four letters of your last name): B-Mum 4. Your GAMER TAG (a favourite colour, a favourite animal): Purple Unicorn

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you."  Hebrews 13:7a Pastors work pretty hard this time of year.  Special services, extra services, special events, extra events... there's lots to do.  They have to come up with a way to tell the same story, the Christmas story, that is new and different EVERY year.  They prepare 1, 2 or 3 extra sermons or messages for the season. 

Christmas-time at our House: part 8 Some people hear 'family devotions' and say to themselves "B-O-R-ing".  And trying to keep up with a devotion a day during one of the busiest times of the year might just be pushing the limits of sanity for some families. In our house we've tried several different things, in the effort of keeping our focus on Christ's birth during the holiday season.  We have had varying degrees of success.  I think we've got one that works pretty well now, finally.

Christmas-time at our House: part 7 Only 2 sleeps until Christmas Day.  My kids are terribly excited! We already started talking about how we're going to decorate - streamers, balloons, a nice party table cloth. The menu for the day is pretty standard (we do the same thing each year), and we still need to get more hot dogs and probably some hamburger buns before then.