Merry CHRISTmas !

Merry CHRISTmas everyone !  And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because (he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (Luke 2:1-20)

The Miracle Theater , Free For Sevier County Residents

Hello everyone ! I hope that all is well in your household this week . We have been very busy here . Last Thursday we had such a great time with the Youth Group . They did an amazing job caroling . We had many of our adults join us too . If you have never done this before , I suggest you try it . It was such a blessing . My Mother & Father - in law came to visit Friday so that we could have CHRISTmas together . A great time was had by all . Todd, the kids and I spent all day Saturday running around shopping and just being together . Sunday was amazing also ! Our Service was awesome and afterwards we went to Knoxville to tour the "Walk Through Bethlehem" exhibit . It was great ! Also big news for Sevier County Residents : the Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge is hosting Sevier County Days til Saturday . You get in free with a SC ID . Just call ahead to reserve your tickets . We went last night and it was very impressive .They use live animals for the Nativity and it was wonderful .

Well here are a few more sites for CHRISTmas freebies .

All Free Printables   - Free gift tags , cards and worksheets

Mint Printables - free stationary and planners , etc.

Presents and singing and parties , oh my ! Free CHRISTmas printables too !

Today begins a special little celebration for our family . We have our "12 days of CHRISTmas" celebration . We started several years ago giving the kids a little present on the 12 days leading up to CHRISTmas . It's nothing expensive ,  just things from the $ Tree or a pack of gum , a pencil or candy . It helps us all get a little more excited about our day and the kids really enjoy it . Tonight our Youth Group is going caroling to some of our shut ins from our church and community . Afterward we will have our Youth CHRISTmas party . We kinda have a full plate today but it will all be fun . I have found some great printables for CHRISTmas that you could use for lapbooking or notebooking . There is stuff just for fun too . I'll share the links below . Everyone have a great day !

Activity Village    - They have tons of great printables . They have templates galore that would be great for notebooking , lapbooking or making paper ornaments . The mini CHRISTmas cards would be great for making booklets in lapbooks . Plus - IT'S FREE !

papersnowflakes.com - lots of great patterns for making snowflakes and some other interesting stuff too . FREE !

Dave's Paper Snowflakes - He has some free sample patterns . We used them in my Sunday School Class and they loved them . They are really intricate and lacy . Beautiful ! This would probably be better for your older kids to try .

DLTK  - This link will take you to the printable cards and envelopes but be sure to check out the whole site . There are tons of neat stuff there especially for younger kids .

printactivities.com - lots of coloring pages and stuff .

I will post more later .

A grand adventure ... or not

Well , Gin from Doe Hill Homeschool wanted me to share my story about the alligator bite . I wish I could say it was a grand adventure worthy of Steve Irwin or Jeff Corwin but alas it was not . I wasn't dredging muddy swamps for gators or gator wrestling or anything like that . Actually what happened was this ... Long , long ago in a time before I had crow's feet and silver streaks in my hair , I was a teenager . An adventurous , carefree 15 year old was I ! Oh well , moving on ... my Uncle Rick had a visit from an old Army budddy who for some reason brought a baby gator with him . I'm sure there was a reason , I just can't remember it . Well anyway , he wanted Uncle Rick to watch it for him while he was out and about enjoying the many fine attractions , that Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg had to offer . It was in an aquarium on the coffee table for all of us to enjoy , which we thought was great , having never seen a real live gator before . Well the buddy's enjoyment apparently was going to last the entire weekend because he didn't come back that night as I recall so it was up to Uncle Rick to feed the gator which of course meant my cousin and I would have to do it . Well grand adventurer I was , I volunteered , the gator wasn't quite as enthusiastic as I was about it though . Everytime I would get near the lid to the aquarium he would hiss and snap at me . Well , of course I was upset because he didn't act that way toward everyone else . My Uncle had even picked it up and held it for a long time without any problems . Everyone laughed at me and said the gator just didn't like me . To prove it they all put their hand in the aquarium and started petting it . Well , that of course kicked off my temper so I was bound and determined to show that gator who was boss . I picked him up (hissing back at him the whole time of course) and tucked his legs up under my arm so he wouldn't rip my arm open with his claws . I thought I had him pretty well subdued so I laughed at him and said a few smarty pants comments to him and low and behold  it jumped at my other hand and latched on to my finger . OOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW !!!!!!!! Everyone laughing at me didn't help matters much . I 'm positive that gator was grinning and smirking when he finally let go . I put him back in his tank and gave him the "look" for several hours and reminded him how some people think gator is a delicacy . He and I just couldn't get along , all weekend long I tried to play nice and get near him but every time he would snap at me and sometimes even get close enough to bite again . I wasn't sorry to see that gator go . Sorry I could't offer up a mind blowing , swashbuckling adventure for you all . Hey wait a minute , there was that time I was bitten by that horse ...

Hello again !

Well after another round of sickness and computer problems ... I have returned ! I was tagged while I was away so here are the rules and my answers . Enjoy ! I was tagged by Squeeli and Gin .

I have to write seven weird things about myself.  The rules are as follows:

Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.

Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.

Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here we go.

1. I have been bitten by an alligator . (o.k. it was only 1 1/2 feet long but it was still an alligator .)

2. I like to walk in the rain .

3. I can turn my eyelids inside out .

4. I like to put vinegar in my pinto beans . (Really , its not gross , it gives it a little twang :)

5. I enjoy watching meteor showers and other celestial events (even at 4 a.m. with the kids in tow of course)

6. My big toes look real funny . They are long and chubby but yet flat looking . EEEEWWWW

7. My eyes actually change color when I cry . They go from a deep blue to an aquamarine .

O.K. there is my wierd stuff. Now I tag :

TnBabyGirl

Hobitt's Tale

melissal89

momof3kids

westward

Melissa's Idea Garden

AmyD