Bernhardt Family Christmas

We were very excited to welcome my parents here for a couple of days to celebrate Christmas. They were planning a vacation during the holidays, so we weren't sure if they would make it our way, but they did! YA! A quick trip, but it was really good to see them.

We had a great time opening their gifts. Their big gift will come in the form of a family trip (our family, my sister, her husband and my parents) in March. We can't wait!She brought some fun things for the kids. They brought ornaments or each of the kids' trees from their recent trip to Chicago. Xander got some new books (which he is continually asking if we can read) and cool race cars that can fit on his train tracks. The girls got a CD that reads "Where the Sidewalk Ends" (I love Shel Silverstein books) some new notebooks. They also recieved these very cool tune tubes. Each tube is a different note, so playing them (and watching the kids play them) is very entertaining!!

Craig was given some wonderful warm items - a hat, a neck warmer and thick socks. I received a beautiful necklace that I know will get lots of wear!

They also brought gifts from my sister and brother in law. They sent some classic cartoons DVDs. We can't wait to break them out - we're not sure if they were really for the kids or more for us (specifically, Craig). They also sent a fun face matching memory game. Each child pictured is from a different country, so it's fun to try and not only match the faces, but try and remember the country the child represents. Craig received some wonderful workout socks and a gift card to Blockbuster. I got a wonderfully cozy matching set of pants and jacket. Thank you so much for all the perfect gifts!!! We love them all.

I love giving gifts. I enjoy trying to find things that I think people would truly like and enjoy. I loved the gifts that we gave my parents, Craig's parents and Ashley and Jeff. I loved the gift we gave my parents so much that I decided we need to get one for our own house. I had looked at having a picture painted for them of the kids, but the cost was just a tad over my budget. So I went online and came across http://www.photosprintedoncanvas.com/. Here's the final product:

(This picture doesn't really does it justice. I loved it!!)

We also gave Jeff and Ashley pictures of the kids. They had requested close-ups of the kids for their wall and I had fun picking out just the rights poses.

It was a short trip, but we are so thankful that my parents were able to come down. We look forward to our next visit with them!!

YEC 2009

Thanks to Craig's parents being willing to watch the kids for an few extra days, we were able to help chaperone the youth's trip to the Youth Evangelism Conference in Macon. We were really excited about being a part of it. We found out that one of the speakers, Anson McMahon, spoke at a youth event our church held about 12 years ago. It was fun to hear him speak after such a long time.

We headed out right after lunch on Monday and sat in traffic for a while on the way down. Once we got down there we had just a little bit of time to check in to the hotel and grab some dinner before the conference began. The center was filled with 7000 people. It was an amazing excitement filling the arena. The two days were filled with some amazing worship led by Todd Agnew and the David Crowder Band. Our speakers, Anson and Ed Newton, really brought the Word in a great way.

A center filled with eager students and chaperones

Some of our group

Todd Agnew leads worship

David Crowder leads another set of worship

Craig and I were blessed with the spare hotel room. We got to have a room all to ourselves. Now this is the way I like to chaperone trips!!

It was a great trip away. It was very quick, but well worth it!

Return to Stone Mountain

The day after Christmas, Craig and I left the kids with Craig's parents. We were looking forward to a couple of days on our own before we left for a youth conference on Monday. When we were at Stone Mountain for their Christmas event, we decided to make the purchase of season tickets for the family. It was only the addition of one more day and we would still be able to come back for next year's Christmas event so we decided it would pay for itself in that alone. So, we decided to head down to Stone Mountain with our new passes on our free day. We had planned to try out Snow Mountain, but tickets for that were all sold out. So, we just decided to hit some of the spots that the kids wouldn't enjoy that much.

We viewed the Rock Quarry. It was interesting to read about the history and quarry stories behind Stone Mountain.

We also experience the Carillon concert. I wasn't sure what a Carillon was, but we had free time so we decided to check it out. On one of the signs, it made a reference to 75 bells and being a bell player, I was interested in it. Plus the concert was about 5 minutes from when we arrived, so we decided to stay around. In my feeble attempt to explain, it looked like an organ which connects to a set of bells below the organ. The bells are then projected out the speakers in a large tower a little distance away. It was very interesting and beautiful to listen to. Apparently the Carillonned, Ms. Mable Florence has been playing for about 38 years, 34 of that at Stone Mountain. It was quite a treat.

We ended our time at Stone Mountain with a trip to the glass blowing exhibit. It was very informational and entertaining. Then we caught viewing of A Crossroads Christmas Carol. A hilarious remix of the Dickens tale. It was a great combination of practiced and ad lib. We laughed quite a bit. We were very blessed with very good timing on all the events. It was a relaxing day for the two of us.

Christmas Fireworks

It is a little Christmas tradition for Craig. Each year, after the presents have been opened and the food has been eaten he takes a trip across the border into Alabama to purchase some fireworks. This year was not any different. Craig and I got the special treat of borrowing his aunt's new Mustang to a little fireworks store about 15 minutes away. We had fun picking out just the right fireworks for later.

By the time the sun went down and it was time for the show it was so cold. We wrapped the kids up and kid a bit of running around between each explosion to stay a little warmer.

It was quite a show! Some were greater than others, but it was fun to watch then all. We even pulled out the sparklers for the kids. Once they got the hang of them and remembered to not put them in each other faces, it was lots of fun!!

A cold night, but a great wind up to our Christmas day.

Baughn Family Christmas

We arrived at Craig's parents' house mid morning Christmas day. We like to get there before the rest of the family to have some time with just Craig's parents. The kids had so much fun opening their gifts.

The girls got new shoes, two Build A Bear kits, cozy pajamas and lots of toys. They also received handheld games called Diji that they have really enjoyed learning to play. Xander received a great batch of dinosaurs, a herd of horses, warm pajamas, his very own Reader Storybook as well as other toys. Together they received lots of yummy goodies and movies. They had so much fun playing with their new toys all afternoon. Craig's mom wanted new pictures for her frames. So, she gave us two of her multi-opening frames and we filled one up with pictures from our trip to the beach and the other with family pictures that we had taken in November. She loved them and they look really good hanging up on her wall.

The rest of the family arrived just in time for lunch and what a lunch it was. It was really nice to see all the family that we haven't seen in a while.

We even got to meet the newest member, little Kinsley. Kinsley, Kalyn and Kinsley's mom, Amberly all share the same birthday, November 16th. Isn't she adorable?

We took the time to do a big family picture. This was the first time we've done it and I am really glad that we did. I am sorry that one of the cousins left before we took it, but almost everyone else was there. It was quite a treat for all of Craig's dad's brothers and sisters to be together.

And when it was all said and done, what was the favorite gift? Bubble wrap, of course.

Christmas Morning

YA!!! The excitement of Christmas morning finally arrived. For weeks, ever since we've begun seeing Christmas decorations up, Xander has asked, "Mommy, is it Christmas day today?" (which sounds very cute in his little boy voice). I could finally say, "Yes, today is Christmas day." We begun by gathering in the family room for a reading of the Christmas story from the book of Luke. It's fun (sometimes) to hear the kids add their input of what they've learned from church.

Then, we headed into the front room where all the presents were. We've started something new where we wrap each person's gifts in a different wrapping paper. That way, we just have to look at the paper to know who's gift it is. We also gave each child a clothes basket to put their gifts in as they open them. That way their gifts are all together in one spot when they want to play with them afterwards.

Two special gifts that were given this year were ones that Trinity picked out herself. She receives points at Awana each week and can trade those points in for goodies at the end of each semester. This year (as in years pasts), she wanted to be sure to "buy" a present for both Kalyn and Xander. She did some great choosing - a pack of 5 monster trucks for Xander and a velvet coloring page for Kalyn. They both loved their gifts. I am so glad that this came out of her own sweet heart!!

Trinity's big present was a new camera. She loves to take pictures so this was just perfect for her. To be completely honest, Trinity was given Craig's old digital camera and Craig picked out a new one. It was just very hard to find a reasonably-priced camera that wasn't cheaply made. She loves it!!

Kalyn also received a new camera. While Trinity's was more "grown-up", Kalyn's is perfect for her - a bit more durable and come packed with fun games to play.

Can you tell that Xander was so excited about his new tool bench? He is all about tools - hammers, nails, saws, whatever. He is 100% boy. He could not wait to get this box opened up.

Craig got to add another fun ornament to the Christmas tree - our tree is loaded with fun noise making ornaments. This one is the Galaga game, complete with sounds. One of his all-time favorite arcade games, so I had to get the ornament when I saw it, back in September.

Trinity also made a very special gift for me in her art class. I was so impressed with her drawing of me. Such talent!

Following a yummy breakfast, we packed up the last few things in the car and headed to Craig's parents' home for Christmas with his family.

Merry Christmas

Our family would love to extend a very merry Christmas this year. Here are some of our family pictures in front of the Christmas tree.

However, I hope that we don't forget the true meaning of the season - to celebrate the birth of God here on earth in the body of Jesus ~

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:1-7

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve. The day was spent wrapping last minutes gifts and packing to head out to Craig's parents' the next day. That night, we attended our church Christmas Eve service which was great. Our associate pastor spoke and did a wonderful job!! He can always bring the Word in such an amazing way! However, the kids were in a crazy, slightly hyped up mood. Even though we brought quiet activities to keep them quiet (and still) they couldn't sit down for very long.

Our service brought with it communion. We feel that our kids should not take communion until they understand the meaning behind it. This time, that meant that Trinity could take communion, but Kalyn and Xander could not. I should have talked it out with Kalyn beforehand, but I didn't. Therefore, we had some drama within our family as they were passed along our row. Unfortunately, Craig was helping in serve communion, so I was left to console Kalyn because she wasn't being able to have the crackers and juice and keep Xander from taking and eating mine. Quite a juggling act. After the communion passed by and Kalyn still did not receive any of the juice, she cried out, "I'm a Christian too and nobody cares." Poor thing. Our music minster's daughter and son-in-law sang a beautiful song during communion called, "A Baby Changes Everything." It was so beautiful, Xander decided to keep singing the chorus after they finished. It was great!!

Following our service, we joined our music minister and his family at his house. We've been joining them for Christmas Eve dinner for a number of years. The first invitation was actually to Trinity. Craig and I were kind of an afterthought - well, I guess Mom and Dad have to come to get Trinity there. We are so blessed to have been welcomed into their family dinner. This year was special since it was the first Christmas for their adorable little grandson, Wyatt. They got some wonderful gifts for our children and the kids had a blast opening them.

Xander was so excited about his motorcycle and his bag of mints.

Kalyn has barely put her make-up down since she got them.

Trinity loves the matching pajamas that she received for her and her American Girl Doll.

We are truly blessed to have such good friends in the Hayeses. We headed home and the kids openned their Christmas Eve gifts - which Trinity has now picked up on is a new pair of warm pajamas.

Cozy, cozy and off to bed!!