December was one of the busier months of 2015 and the month started off with Evie's 4th birthday, and at her request we went to the zoo!!:) It's crazy how time flies-it seems like it was only yesterday that she was born!:D How glad we are to have our "Chevy-Evie!"
Visiting the petting zoo, which was her favorite place! She had a very wonderful time!
Checking what Dad's "wingspan" is.......;)
A group picture in tree before heading out! You know how it works in a big family, like dominoes!;) One person decides to climb a tree, then the next joins, then another and before you know it, everyone is up in the tree!:)
Since Evie's birthday landed on a Wednesday, we had prayer meeting at church in the evening. Before the service though, we shared a cupcake cake in the lobby to celebrate and even had a few friends join!:)
A few days later, Aunt Drana, Mom, Christina, Caytlin, Evie, Hannah and I went up to Oak Glen to have lunch together and visit! It was a nice opportunity to get up into the mountains, get some fresh air, and enjoy the Lord's creation more.
We had a yummy lunch at a cute little restaurant the. Here was some of their homemade fried chicken:)
Sisters:)
After lunch, we walked down a couple of doors to the old fashioned candy shop. This little is store is where we like to go to get fudge as a special treat whenever we are in the area. Aunt Drana treated us all to something special of our choice, but we ended up all sharing what we got!:)
On the way home, we stopped to visit with Opa, and had a nice time! Evie was a little tired here...;)
With Christmastime approaching, the decorations went up around the house-especially the beautiful homemade stockings the Grandmother made for us all!:)
Another time, we older kids went to help decorate the church for Christmas as well which was a lot of fun but definitely an adventure.
Mr. Scott (music director) and Ryan Cavin (youth pastor) decorating the tree in the main lobby while Ryan vaccums....
Do not be deceived by the beauty of the tree...;) It was quite a challenging project!:)
Dad took the five elest to the Cyprians Christmas Party at their home! We all had a great evening filled with fun and some good fellowship. During the course of the evening, we shared a meal, played some games and were encouraged in our daily walks with the Lord by a devotional that Mr. Cyprian shared on being attentive to the Lord's voice even in the busy or exciting times of life.
One game we played was a gingerbread house contest. At the coffee table one team worked. I have to say they did a very good job on their house and won!
While the other team had the dining room table. It never occurred to some of us up to that point that icing can be a real frustration when it comes to details??:) Sylvia (left) and I, were feeling slightly doubtful here.;) Nonetheless, we had fun, even if it didn't look that grand!:D
Another game we played was quite challenging but afforded much amusement! Everyone was given an envelope on arriving at the party with instructions on how to act during the course of the evening. The goal was to try to get people around you to figure out what your instructions were, by your behavior that night. It was pretty funny, because we didn't know all the personalities of the people playing, in real life, so it was pretty confusing. Here Dad, Ryan, Sylvia and Mr. Cyprian are working to find the others' "identity."
This game was the highlight of the evening and everyone did a good job!
Here Sylvia and I were trying to figure out one of the guys "identity." We had way too much fun and that evening was the beginnings of a wonderful friendship for us!!
Ryan also won this game! He did a really good job evading questions and playing his character well!
Hannah got to visit Daddy one afternoon! At his company they have a game they play, awarding the employee with the best tie, the stuffed monkey beside Hannah. This particular day, Daddy had won!:D
A few weeks later, Dad and some of the boys got to go to Knotts Berry Farm as a friend offered to get them into the park at a discount!:) They had a very fun time!
They enjoyed seeing " A Christmas Carol" and getting picture with some of the cast!
Towards the end of the day, they ran into some familiar faces, the Mcnabb Family and Stephen and Lorna Weston!!:D
Siblings cuddling!:) Hannah was getting bigger.....
This picture was Evie's costume to be "Mary" from the Bible story of Jesus birth during her playtime one day! Very authentic looking!;)
Sunday evenings after church from the end of November till the second week of December were very busy and often late nights. There was much to be prepared for the "Night in Bethlehem" experience-an annual special event the church puts on every year around Christmas. We had visited for this event over the last several years and enjoyed and looked forward to the walk through "Bethlehem" each year! This time around, we were very excited to actually be able to be involved and a part of it all!:D Each Sunday night after a short meeting, the whole church body worked together to prepare all that was needed. Dad and the boys were involved in parking and set-up and Caytlin and I had " Hand Chior" practices.
Our schedule had three nights of performance and the costume corner was the busiest place at the start of each evening!
Working on costumes with Mrs. Martin, not pictured. We had a really big cast of more than 200 people which kept our machines sewing and serging away! It was definitely a busy time, and there was some stress at times, but it was a really good experience, taught me a lot, and gave me and Mrs. Martin many hours of fellowship and service.:)
Our cookie ladies Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Young and Mrs. Grant!:)
Martha and Mrs. Cyprian preparing the unleavened bread for the "bread shop".......These ladies worked hard but knew how to have good fun! Martha has a real servants heart and is constantly serving wherever she can at church. Mrs. Cyprian helps her husband teach Sunday School and the Patch the Pirate Club held on Wednesday evenings.:)
Cast,waiting in line for dinner.........
Our cooks working hard in the kitchen to feed us all.....
Timmy got to try on some armor here, and he was pretty excited!;) His normal costume was a shepherd boy!:)
Taking a break from some sewing with Mrs. Martin, Evie, and Caytlin....
A quick picture with Ellia before starting the evening.....
Visitors walking in the village of Bethlehem past the carpenters shop.....
Dad and the guys were parking lot Shepherds on two different corners.....
They definitely looked out of place to the busy cars racing by and drew much attention.;)
The guys had quite an adventure with the wind, cold and traffic, standing out there for a couple of hours each night. They did a great job and we had a specific family, driving by, stop and go in because they saw some men outside on such a cold night, and "wondered what would be so important as to keep them outside" instead of being at home and enjoying the comforts of home. The family was taken on the tour through Bethlehem, experienced the hand choir's performance, and were warmly exposed to the Gospel by friendly soul winners. God can use anything!!:)
Outside the visitors were welcomed with Christmas Carols....We had more than 200 visitors the first night.
Andy, Mr. Young, and the other gentlemen on the end accompanied the singers.
The hand choir was voted by far as the best part of the evening! After the tour through Bethlehem, the guests were taken into the lobby for this special experience. We ladies-all 15 of us- had the unique privilege of using a black light with white gloves to create pictures in the dark to a song with a gospel message. Below is a video that a friend took for us while we performed one of our many performances. Each night found us going almost nonstop, as the tours came fast and thick, performing anywhere from 10-15 times each evening. We learned a lot about working together, as we were extremely limited in movements and had very little personal space during the picture making moments. We also had a lot of challenges creating the pictures and making them look realistic. It was definitely a fun experience!
2nd Chorus: Do you have room for the Savior? And do you seek Him anew? Have you a place fore the One Who lived and died for you? Are you as humble as a Shepherd boy, or as wise as men of old? Will you come tonight? Will you seek the Light? Do YOU have room?
This year Dad wanted our family picture to be in front of the complimentary backdrop and photo booth that guests are invited to get a group picture of to remember their experience. We had taken in in the past, but this time we were taking it as actual cast.;) Here we all are, 6 handsome shepherds, two hand choir performers in black, Mom, Evie and Hannah!:)
A gift from Daddy to Evie-she plays with it all year round.;)
This year, Opa came to stay the night before Christmas Eve Day! Christmas Eve Morning we had a lovely non-traditional but yummy brunch, complete with Rotisserie Chrickens from Sams Club!;)
Joshua helping bake some cookies to go with the meal....
Hannah staying warm in her pink fluffy suit!:) Gotta love those blue eyes??
How blessed we are to have one another!:)
After our brunch, we all went into the livingroom to open stockings-a long awaited moment for the younger children, especially.;)
Daddy bought all of us matching t-shirts with the logo and name of our homeschool name: Sebo Christian Academy!!
Along with the t-shirts, Daddy gave us Chrsitmas Candy!:)
We gave Daddy a treasure hunt with clues to find his present, again!:D It's always hard to surprise him so we have to keep him guessing.....;)
He found it!
A nice new tie for church with John 3:16 on it!
As we opened our stockings, we each donned our new t-shirts!
A separate gift for the little ones....;)
A recordable storybook with Daddy's voice reading the Three Trees!
Ryan had to work that day, but as soon as he got off, he came home and just in time before Opa had left to open his stocking!:)
Opa with all his grandkids!:D
Later that evening, we went to church for a special Christmas Eve service where all the kids where invited to the front of the auditorium for "Storytime" with dear Mr. and Mrs. Walsh to read about the first Christmas night!:D It was super cute because Evie had fallen asleep when the kids were called up for the story, but halfway through she woke up and was very disappointed to not be up there with her brothers. With Daddy's permission she ran to the front, and though she got a little lost for a minute, Mr. Walsh paused the story while Pastor helped her find her way up the steps, and seated happily beside her brother, Mr. Walsh proceeded the story of the Lord's birth.;)
Christmas Day we had a nice quiet day at home, which are the best, just being together. Here is the "Sebo Nativity!" Aren't they sweet and little Hannah, inside the "manger" was content to let us snap several pictures.;) Our "Mary" is just a little distracted by her new sister...;)
Mom sent us young people out for some exercise as we had been in the house most of the day. We went to the back bay to walk the trail and talk. We had a fun time exploring!:)
Crossing the bridge......
The lovely wetlands.....
Tree climbing....or in the ladies case, tree hugging.;)
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Here we decided to take the dirt trail instead of the asphalt one.
Our group except for Ryan who took the picture!:) We had a fun Christmas day outing!!:D
How good it is to have the blessings of family and friends. The blessings of home and God's creation. The blessings of food and comfort. The blessings of life and a Savior. A Savior who loved so much that He gave His life for us.
While Christmas is a time chosen to celebrate the Lord Jesus birth as a baby into this world, the celebration of His life here on earth ultimately leads to the remembrance of His death and resurrection. The two are inseparably connected. His coming was with one purpose in mind and that was to die on the cross to pay the price for sin. Praise God for His grace to mankind and the work of the Lord Jesus at Calvary.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
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