Christmas Presents

Hey All! Here are the pictures from Christmas Day that I promised. They are of the kids with their presents and the last one is at our friends house that we went to that evening for dinner. We had a great time!
Well, not going to write much because the kids are asleep early and we're going to watch a movie.
Talk more later. :)

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family.
We miss you all so much!
God Bless,
Amy, Bob, Mason and Mackenzie

P.S. I'll be sure to post pictures of our days events. We celebrate a few hours later than most of you! :)

Deep thoughts on Christmas.....

Caution: These are much deeper thoughts than my usual blogs! :) I am just so grateful for my Jesus that I had to post these thoughts that are running around inside my head.

I've been reminded many times this past few weeks about the true meaning of Christmas. It's really about going beyond the manger and thinking about the cross. Christmas is about God's redemption for a lost and dying world that He loves with all his heart. It's really about John 3:16 and my need for a savior. As this song by Aaron Shust puts it, I can't even begin to understand why God does what He does, but I have a Savior who gave His life so that I could have eternity with God. The day little baby Jesus was born was the day that the God of the universe said,"Amy, I love you so much that I want to spend eternity with you. I know that you will disappoint me, deny me, brush me off and doubt me at times but despite all of that I love you enough to sacrifice my only son for you." That tiny baby that was born in a stable took on all of my sins. I am so unworthy of His sacrifice but I accept it with a grateful heart and pray that I can make His sacrifice worth it by letting Jesus light and His love shine through my life all year long.
Here are the words to my "Christmas song" for this year:

"My Savior, My God" by Aaron Shust
I am not skilled to understand What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at his right hand Stands one who is my Savior
I take him at his word and deed, Christ died to save me this I read
And in my heart I find a need For him to be my Savior
That he would leave his place on high, And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I Before I knew my savior
My savior loves, my savior lives My savior's always there for me
My God he was, my God he is My God he's always gonna be
Yes, living, dying; let me bring My strength, my solace from this spring
That he who lives to be my king Once died to be my savior
That he would leave his place on high And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I Before I knew my savior

The first two days of Christmas break

Yesterday was craft day and today was baking day! The kids have decorated aprons, made Christmas pins and baked/decorated cookes.
Isn't it amazing how much you learn about yourself when you have kids? I realize that I am not very patient in the kitchen. When I do bake (which is a rare occasion) I like to just get it done without a lot of time and effort. I guess that applies not just to baking but also to cooking as far as I'm concerned. If it's fast and easy count me in! Well, you just can't do sugar cookies fast and simple with a 6 year old and a 3 year old. It takes patience and a willingness to end up with a mess. (another part I don't like about being in the kitchen) Actually the kids did really well and once I "let go" and decided that the cookies didn't have to come out perfect it was ok. Mason was a big help with putting candy canes on the cupcakes.
Later we're going to take some goodies to our neighbors and then tonight we're going out for dinner with friends and going downtown to see the "Honolulu City Lights". We all went together last year and had such a good time.
I hope those of you in the midwest aren't in a blizzard. We'll be praying for safe conditions. :)

Christmas Programs-Part II, Saturday Morning

As promised here is partII. Saturday morning was Kenzie's preschool program. Our preschool director felt led to incorporate their program this year with the church's monthly "Food for Friends" food distribution for needy families. So, we had the program followed by a luncheon outside and then carnival games and craft booths for the kids. It was a fun time. The preschoolers had made gift boxes to give to the needy families. I am so happy that my kids were able to participate in an activity in which they were giving instead of just receiving. Mason, Kenzie and I were able to pass out several boxes to some older women. They were so sweet and you could tell they were enjoying all of the little keiki (children) . They hugged the kids and had such joy on their faces. I can only imagine that they might be a bit lonely this time of year. It was a blessing for us to be involved in that. At Christmas we have to remind our kids that it's not just about getting presents but about sharing God's love.
The last picture is all the preschoolers singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. After that Bob and I worked at the Musical Chairs booth. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining with just enough breeze to be comfortable.
Oh, by the way, in the program the younger preschoolers represented the nations worshipping Christ. They had to wear a traditional costume from any country. We chose Germany and I ordered that little dirdl dress from a shop in New York. It actually shipped in 3 days. I was so excited about the fit and how cute she looked in it. They were all so cute representing different cultures and backgrounds. You can't really tell in the pictures but the boy on her right was crying the whole time. :( I think her friend Jonathan (on her left) and her were competing to see who could be the loudest and most animated! It was very cute!!
Anyway, we start Christmas break in two more days. YEA!!! Just pray that I can survive 23 wound up third graders for that long. :)

Christmas Programs - Part I, Friday night

We have had a busy weekend with back to back programs. I used to think life was busy with babies but I think it's actually busier with them in school! (Just wait those of you with little ones!) Mason (and mine) was Friday night. The kids in yellow are of course Mason's first grade class. The class in blue are my third graders. The program also included the middle and high school bands and chorus. It was really good! In the second tolast picture notice the boy by the microphone. He was so funny. He kept leaning into the mic and he was the only one you could hear. (They sang Silent Night) By the way, can you tell which one is Mason?? :)
I'll post Kenzie's Saturday program tomorrow.

Miscellaneous Pics

Hey there. Just thought I'd post a couple of pictures. Yes, the kids are playing poker in the first picture. The neighbor girl brought that set over and the kids were pretending to play. :)
The second one is hard to see but I actually found ornaments with the kids' names on them. In 6 years I have never found anything personalized with the name Mason. I was so excited!
Not too much going on here. Talk to you later!