Our Christmas Program

I was surprised to see a major lack of easy Christmas programs for tonight- so here's the one I put together with only scriptural references- feel free to use it, just change out the names!

The Christmas Story

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold!
"Peace on the earth, good will to men,
From heaven's all gracious King!
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Nancy: 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 in Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of Nazareth, into Judaea, 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.

Away In a Manger

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle til morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And take us to heaven, to live with Thee there.

Brian: 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.

“Lullaby”- Azure

Lullaby, lullaby, my little one.
Lullaby, my child so dear.
Thy precious life has just begun
Thy mother holds thee near.

Cora: 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,

Lily: “ 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 Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. “

Lenore: 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.

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high,
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains. Gloria...

Chorus:
Gloria, In Excelsius Deo

Shepherd why this jubilee,
Why your joyous strains prolong
What the gladsome tidings be,
Which inspire your heavenly song?

Come to Bethlehem and see,
Him whose birth the angels sing
Come adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord the newborn king.

Cordell: 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.

Norman: 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.

Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains

Far, far away on Judea's plains,
Shepherds of old
Heard the joyous strains:
Glory to God, Glory to God,
Glory to God in the highest:
Peace on earth,
Good-will to men;
Peace on earth,
Good-will to men!

Sweet are these strains
Of redeeming love,
Message of mercy from heaven above:
Glory to God, Glory to God,
Glory to God in the highest:
Peace on earth,
Good-will to men;
Peace on earth,

Lord, with the angels
We too would rejoice,
Help us to sing with
The heart and voice:
Glory to God, Glory to God,
Glory to God in the highest:
Peace on earth,
Good-will to men;
Peace on earth,
Good-will to men!

Dave: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. Saying,

Apollo: ” Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him”. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Nancy: And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,” And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. “

Azure: Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

Norman: When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

We Three Kings

We three kings of Orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, morr and mountain,
Following yonder Star.

Chorus

O, star of wonder, star of might,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to the perfect light.

Dave: And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying,

Mirae: “Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. “

Cordell: When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

Joy to The World:

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

Kids are Hilarious!

Here are two weird things the kids have said lately:

#1. Lil said: "Sometimes I feel like my life is a story that a giant is telling an elf somewhere."

Uhhhh.

#2. Today the kids were swinging at the park and Lil said that as she was swinging with her eyes closed she was pretending that there was a big bar in front of her! She would yell out everytime she'd go up as if she were crashing into it. It was pretty fun and I told her that I used to do that, except I'd pretend there was a brick wall in front of me. She thought that was cool.

As I gave a push to E and Norie, E said, "I'm pretending there's a nail with a bomb on it in front of me!"... as if the nail wasn't enough... and then he made a huge explosion sound everytime he swung up! He just took it to the next level of violence. That's my boy. Maybe he should write the 4th "Hunger games" book :).

The Polar Express

My camera is at Nikon getting fixed, so I've been using the ol' Casio. Nice. Ignore the red-eye, etc, but I don't feel like editing pictures. Here is our wonderful little trip on the Polar Express! Liz bought our tickets two months ago because the tickets sell out in the first few hours. I'm glad she did! It was a great little train ride. All of the conductors and train operators were dressed up so nice. The kids all came in their pajamas and there were tap-dancing hot cocoa waitresses, the bum from on top of the train made many many appearances- he was very funny! Everyone got a cookie and hot cocoa (that wasn't exactly like the melted chocolate bars they talk about in the book:). We got to the North Pole and saw Santa and two elves outside of the widow waving, but then we left and Santa disappeared! Lily was heart-broken, she didn't think she's see Santa, but right before we pulled into the Station- Santa came on our car and passed out bells and talked with each of the kids. It was very sweet and special. Santa even whispered to Lily that he thought her bell came off of Rudolph's harness. She was so proud!

Here's the whole gang.

Nora was so precious to watch! She just smiled and looked around and enjoyed everything!

Gma and Gpa with Lil and her cousin Maren

the Lymans

Norie's Best Friend

When E and Lily are at school, 'Tuni comes out to play! Norie sure loves her kitty... and just ignore the huge bruise on her forehead, that's life when you put 27 people (17 of them being under the age of 11) in one snow cabin over Thanksgiving holiday! We've been back for a good week + and it's still going strong.

Arts and Crafts Fair

So many of you know I shared a booth with my friend in the Arts and Crafts Fair here in our historic district. She sells cute hair bows and I thought it might be fun to sell some paintings. This past month I've been painting a lot and trying different styles and things. It's been a lot of fun! My expectations were to sell 2 or 3 paintings and just have a new experience, put my stuff out there and see what would happen. I took over 40 different paintings that were pretty fun (and took some old ones that have been in my garage for years) and ended up selling over 25! It was awesome! My sister-in-law Liz came over the night before and helped me price them out and Dave built two awesome super-sturdy lattice thingys to show off all of the paintings.

We woke up at 6:15 Saturday morning, were out the door by 6:45 and set up. The fair was from 8-4 and there was a really great turn out! It was fun to be a part of everything. I didn't sell anything for the first 2 1/2 hours and so I took my easel out and started painting. Jeff and Steph and Liz and Maren stopped by! I ended up steadily selling paintings the rest of the day! I even had one lady take the two she bought up to her friend who owns one of the stores on the street, "Not Too Shabby" who may want to start buying from me! So, it was a good time, my feet are tired but I now have some fun money to spend on Christmas!

Norie

Here she is having a little picnic with E and two friends last week. She loves to dress up like a princess now every day thanks to Halloween!

Hot dogs, chips, and grapes, lunch of champions.

Here's Norie painting. Just seeing her in her dress and painting made me so happy! I had to take a few pictures!

Thank you Goodwill!

I was at Goodwill today looking for snow pants for the kids (no luck) when I saw this crazy couch! At first I was amused by the round shape, but as a few seconds wore on I started to love it! We've been on the lookout for a couch or loveseat for months to put in our loft that would allow a lot of room to sit and also leave the rest of the space open for the kids to play and run around. I immediately called Dave at work and luckily he was close to leaving. He was not impressed by my phone picture and came very tentatively to Goodwill.

He was actually surprised that he liked it! We weren't sure if it was too wide for the room and so he said that we should measure the room at home first. I was worried that the couch would be gone by the time that we'd go home and back and I was right! I was confronted by 2 other people for the couch ticket while I was waiting for Dave to call from home with the measurements! They both really wanted it! I was like, oh, sorry :). This is just one of those crazy shaped, solidly built, deep, comfy couches that you just can't pass up. Plus I can paint over the wood and will be cleaning the upholstery tonight (it is already very very clean). You can't tell by the pictures, because of the lighting, but it's a nice cream color.


I just love it! It is perfect and huge! My whole family was sitting on it tonight very comfortably and had plenty of room. It is 8 ft long.... and it cost only $49!

"Tuni"

Dave and I love animals- especially baby puppies and kitties. We've been talking about a cat for a while and just went to "Petsmart" on Saturday to "look". They were practically giving them away! They were giving out all of this free cat food, litter, coupons for everything else they need, plus it was buy one cat, get another one free! (weird, I know... only one for us thank you very much) But we just fell in love with this sweet little kitten and named her Petunia, "'Tuni" or "Tutu" for short. She is the cutest little thing and our kids lover her so much!
She got a little too much love on Saturday- the kids all wanted to hold her, feed her, etc. Sunday morning was perfect, Lil and E were trading candy, Norie was playing happily in the doll house with Tuni and they were just buds. I took a few pictures of them together.

This is her little Harry Potter closet under the stairs. She has her litter box (that is pretty awesome, it doesn't track all over the floor because they are clay pellets and you just change out the pee pad every week and the pellets every month... works great so far). Her little bed is a towel rolled up in the dollhouse.

Halloween

Lils was an American girl doll Kitt Kitridge

Here are the kiddos for Halloween! We had a major weekend. Friday was the ward's "Trunk or Treat", Saturday was 2 soccer games and a drive around to friend's houses "Trick or Treat" with cousins, and Sunday was a family party with treats and handing out candy to the neighbors! I seriously think they enjoyed handing the candy out more than getting it! E made up the handing-out-candy method, "Lil, you gib candy to da girls and I gib it to da boys!"

the ghost!

our bumblebee in E's Joy School Halloween party parade

Firepit!

This is as close to a "before" picture as I could get. Friday night after Dave's softball game, Dave was talking about how great it was to sit out in his sister's newly landscaped backyard and roast marshmallows around their firepit when he was out in NC. We've wanted one every since Dave's parents bought one off of craigslist for cheap a year or two ago, but always thought they were way too expensive. But Friday night we walked around the backyard and talked about where it would go- which then lead to Dave kicking down the old rotten fence behind the grill and clearing out the space! So on Saturday after a few hours of digging, 2 soccer games, and a trip to Lowe's- we were enjoying our roasted marshmallow s'mores with Reeses cups. Yum! It was a very magical night! :)


It was super easy to make and cost about $100. We paid more on top of that because we then bought a ton of river rock to cover the area we dug around. You just get the round paver stones (on sale for $1.47 each) and set them up in a round circle that's the right width. Then you buy a metal firepit, don't attach the legs ($59) and place it on top! Super easy! And even if you are renting, you can take it with you, it's totally movable, but those pavers are pretty heavy, so they hold their own and won't fall down easily- there's no need for cementing them together. We discovered a huge redwood root right in the middle of the spot, so it should work perfectly as a bench!

How cute is she?

Norie and her leopard "Waffle"

Ebay and his snow leopard "MarioLuigiBowserYoshi"

Silly Lils

Kitchen Makeover

Last weekend I called Dave as he was driving home from work on Friday and said, "I know what we're doing this weekend!" So between 2 soccer games, a softball game and BYU football- we sanded, cleaned, primed, painted, and put new hardware on our kitchen cabinets! I love the outcome! It was a lot of hard work, but the cabinets had been chippy and messy and dark since we moved in, and it was just time. We started on Friday night, took down the cabinet doors (that took Dave all of 5 minutes), and started sanding. That made a huge mess everywhere and it took a while to get all of the sanded paint and wood off of everything. Then the painting of the primer began. We got the primer on everything before going to bed on Fri at 1 am. Saturday we just painted coats of our beautiful cream color on the cabinets throughout the day. The one thing I wished we hadn't done was use painters tape. It ruined all of our edges. But I always just thought you had to use tape... you just had to, right? No. Our good friend Brad came over and said that you can just use a small brush and paint the edges carefully using a wet paper towel to wipe up the mistakes... GENIUS! :)
The chipping of the cabinets and the greasiness.
All primed up.
This was how it looked after we were finished on Monday night. We waited for the paint to set up nicely for two/three days before putting the doors back on. I noticed that the table didn't go as nicely anymore and that the pantry door needed to be painted as well, it stuck out like a white sore thumb. So, while Dave and Easton have been gone this weekend, I set to work on Thursday painting the door, chairs and table. Here's the final result:


Yay! I love it! We used black/antique bronze hardware to bring in the black surrounding our windows and our appliances. The table and chair legs were already black, do they just needed the tops painted. I still haven't put the glass back on the table, still waiting for it to completely dry. I love my kitchen! The next project is taking down that kitchen florescent light thingy of hugeness and putting in recessed lighting. Thank you google.