Counting down....

You ever had one of those days when the old familiar saying of "when it rains, it pours" feels actually on the mild side? It's more like a downpour. And yet, in the midst of it, God puts little reminders in perfect places to remind you just how insignificant those continuous raindrops are and that really, it'll be short-lived. It's all about Him. It's all about remaining Kingdom-minded, no matter how wet we may get. But then again, doesn't a little rain cause things to grow???

As those little reminders were given to me throughout a particular day earlier this week, some of them came in song form...and there is no more appropriate time of year than now to remember that our King came to earth to save us. He was the Messiah in baby form. I was weepy in and out of song as the downpour slowly turned to a steady rain and then lifted to a sprinkle. (A good old-fashioned laugh with the mama, that belly-aching kind, does wonders in drying things up as well.)

ready for school! party day!!

it's Santa! ;)

  









 

Mason's ready to bake some cookies!

Part of reason for those little sprinkles would be the upcoming surgery for our Carson--it's that mama nervousness kicking in and if I dwell on it too much, it tends to go into overdrive. I've been learning, however, that no matter how old you get, when dealing with your children, those mama heartstrings can always be easily tugged. That being said, Monday morning will find us once again sending Carson into surgery to have a prosthetic ear bone put in place, hopefully giving our little man some hearing in that left ear! Prayers please!! ;) We're nervous, but hopeful. A little anxious, but thankful. We know God's got this.

The 4 gentlemen in my life always help me get back to proper perspective; they're electrifying smiles and sheer joy wipe away the leftover rain drops and soon giggles are erupting as we continue on in our Christmasing. ;)

such handsome Santas ;)

The cookie baking marathon has been in full swing....cookie plates ready to be put together and hand delivered!!

Jesus is the BEST GIFT we could ever receive

The boys each did a little shopping for each other and with not so much as a little nudge here and there, I'd say they did pretty well! I guess we'll see on Christmas morning. :) 

Mason doing some wrapping

Austin got all fancy using ribbon ;)

Carson's turn!

those thoughtful presents

The sun has been brightly shining and those temps are up and dare I say, that even though it's been a white-out here the past few weeks, I'm not sure that we'll have a "white Christmas." The boys took advantage of the snow...and by boys, I mean ALL my boys. ;)

sledding....sorta...

Carson taking a break

now THIS is sledding ;) Here goes Mason!

Austin's hanging on tight....

....wipeout!!

Carson's go-around...

...and he's all smiles!

So much fun!!!!

warming up with hot cocoa

a candy-cane always makes it a little bit better

As we continue counting down to Christmas morning, the traditions have continued and one of our favorites is the Anderson cookie plates!! We love being able to share with others and pass along a little of God's goodness.It was priceless to hear their exclamations of "this is so much fun" after nearly every home we visited.

Cookie plate constructing! ;)

Carson helping Mason

ready to go! lots of plates loaded up with goodies!

Let the countdown continue....