Yea!

I found it.

Thank goodness you all will not have to give up your semi-daily dose of my humor and wit. Close call, right?

So here is the first installment of "A Very Bricker Christmas"

Part One: Christmas Eve.

by Jessie.

A long time ago, well 3 years to be precise, after hurrying around on Christmas day- from our house to my dad's house, to my mom's house, to the Brickers' and back to my dad's and back to the Brickers' we decided that from then on, we would only go to my parents' houses on Christmas Eve, and only spend Christmas day with Jeremiah's family. So this is what our Christmas Eve 2009 looked like:

At my mom's:

What do you get when you mix sprinkles, icing, and elves of various sizes?

This. Yum.

Not to brag but mine's the green snowman/zombie thing with the teddy bear.
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After a very good dinner(chili, not cookies), it was time to open presents.

Kitchen.

Princess apparel and banana.


Bouncy ball balloon things.

At my dad's:

They all waited so patiently and quietly while the presents were passed out. No tearing,no peeking, no fighting. It was freakishly weird, but in a good way.

Phew, it's ok- they are normal after all. No worries.

Next up: Part 2: Christmas Day and Our Weekend at the Bricker's

If you were my camera, where would you be?

I hope everyone had a great Chritmas!I know we did. As soon as I find my camera I will have the pictures to prove it.

Stay tuned!

Merry Christmas!!

"Rejoice, Rejoice Immanuel has come to thee O Israel!"

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Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope each of you knows how special you are to us, and how much we love you and are thankful to the Lord to have you in our lives.

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Today I feel like a little kid- its a White Christmas! I haven't seen a really truly White Christmas in I don't know how long. But even as we were driving home last night in the sleet and snow and slippery roads, I couldn't help but feel giddy inside that on Christmas morning it would be a real Winter Wonderland. And it's beautiful!

But that's not why it's my favorite holiday. Of couse it's because I get to celebrate the birth of my Savior. Even though I'm a Christian all year long, it's today that I can just bask in the miracle of his birth ( which by the way, blows my mind) and rejoice in the fact that I am no longer lost and wandering like the Israelites so long ago. I have hope and a home in Christ Jesus and am no longer a slave to sin, but a slave to His love and righteousness. Hallelujah!

I don't care a bit if this is his actual day or even month of birth. He still left his Heavenly throne to be born a human baby in a dirty barn and lived a humble life all to die a horrible, undeserved, and humiliating death so that I -(me :wow!) and you would have hope and a chance to come to Him and be saved from our sins. He showed us what love is in that while we were still sinners, He died for us. And then, as the icing on that sweet sweet cake, he was resurrected and conquered death to bring us everlasting life.

I totally don't deserve him, but I love him and I praise his high and holy name.

That is what I really love about Christmas. The snow is nice, but it will soon just be wet muddy patches, the presents are fun for awhile until they wear out, and the company of friends and family is wonderful, but then everyone goes home and you are just left with a mess.

But Christ is eternal. He lives now and someday, he will return and then, so will we live forever who believe and accept what he did for us on the Cross. He died for all of us-past, present, and future; White, Black, Asian, Eskimo, Muslim, Hindu, Catholic, Americans, Midddle-Eaterners, Canadians, Pacific-Islanders, Nuns, Children, Old people, Bank Robbers, Psychopaths, Housewives, Mailmen,Junkies, and Schoolteachers. He died for each and everyone of us. That gift is one that can never be returned or broken,and one size fits all.

I hope that everyone reading this accepts that gift and cherishes as much as I do. Because like Santa, he is making a list. And He will be back in the blink of an eye. And I want all of you in Heaven with me someday making a big old glorius mess.

~Merry Christmas!~

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

Guess what I'm doing right now...

Besides typing this...

I'm eating one of these.

Made by "Bonnie" at Jeremiah's work, whom I now love. I love you Bonnie. Could you make me some more of these? I think you should get a raise.

That's what I said to Jeremiah when he brought me home the very generously packed tin of these the other night, and had my first one. I said "Give that woman a raise!" Then I ate another one.

I especially love the oreo ones. It's like an oreo cookie all smashed up and rolled in a ball and somehow made magically fluffy and soft, then dipped in chocolate. It's a marvelous magical mystery.

That's what I love about Christmas. The generosity and love of people you don't even know giving you yummy sweet things like homemade oreo truffles.

God bless us everyone, especially Bonnie.

~Merry Christmas!~

I can hardly take it.

Oh my achin' heart. Look at this kid.

There's alot of love in that pudgy baby body.

Alot of love and a little stink.

But mostly love.

~Merry Christmas!~

It's Hard Work Being A Superhero

Superheroes can run really fast with their jetpacks on.

They can ice skate on the kitchen floor and not fall down.

They can attack bad guys with their muscles and are almost immune to tickling.

They eat all their chicken strips to make them strong.

And they have supercool stick up hair.

But even superheroes need someone to turn on the light for them so they can go to the bathroom.

And they usually like a warm lap to sit on when they get tired of fighting crime.

And super powers don't seem to work at bedtime.

Even with your glow-in-the-dark SuperDog jammies, it helps to keep a night light on, and the living room light... and the light in your parents' bedroom.

You know just in case you accidentally maybe might possibly get tired. Even though that really doesn't happen to you.

You don't get tired. Ever.

~Merry Christmas!~

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

Can anyone else believe that Christmas is next week? How can that possibly be? Caden is 4 months old. Where does the time go?

Here's the little bugger. He's laughing and rolling over and growing like a weed. Isn't he handsome?

He's the cat's meow.

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We've got a lot to look forward to in the next week. Like Jeremiah's work party on Saturday. I've never been to a work function with him since we've been together, which could have one of two explanations:

1. It's me

2. It's them

But now he's the boss and he has to go, and I get to go too. Its at a bar.

Nothin says "Happy Birthday Jesus" like taking shots and playing pool.

Just kiddin though. I haven't played pool in years.

*

~Merry Christmas!~

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

We are back home at last. This weekend we finally got heat in our house. Jeremiah, my dad, and Caleb worked so very hard for the last week and a half that we have not been living at home. I really, really, REALLY appreciate their dedication and manly know-it-all-ness. And thank you also to my mom and the Brickers (especially Rebekah-sorry you didn't get any sleep that one night), for letting us stay with them. I think the word Blessing doesn't even do you all justice.

With the lack of housekeeping and cooking, and all that other stuff I sporadically do, I had a lot of time to think this last week or so about how wonderful it is to have family that will take in me and my 3 lovely children under 4 for days at a time. The Lord has certainly shown favor on us when it comes to our parents. I really sorta felt homeless, and that is a scary feeling, especially when you have kids, even if it is just temporary. So thank you to mom and Liz and Kevin and Dad and Caleb who housed, fed, comforted, and warmed us. We really appreciate you.

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To celebrate moving back in, and because we hadn't had a chance to do it yet, yesterday we set up our Christmas decorations. I always loved doing this as a kid, and I think Ethan and Charlotte enoyed it too. And for the record, only one ornament was broken. And it was one I didn't really like anyway.

Tonight, we made Christmas cookies. This is one of my absolute favorite memories of Christmas from when I was growing up.

I don't remember eating as much of the dough as Charlotte did though. Poor Gingerbread men.

Ah, the Christmas Worm. A very popular tradition in... Krzystan you know.

Aunt Becky called in the middle of all this mess, and Charlotte for once was very chatty, telilng here all about the "Kissum tooties, and our kissum tee."

Ethan dancing to Feliz Navidad. Or as he calls it, "Granny Mommy Hop." He and Charlotte both love this song and get so excited when they hear it. Too bad you really can't see his moves in this picture. They were pretty awesome. And the intermittent winking, I don't know what was up with that.

~Merry Christmas!~

Well if you are wondering if we've dropped off the face of the earth this last week: no, not exactly.
We are not at home though, since jeremiah and my dad are putting in central heat. And since the house is cold and a wreck and full of holes, we figured we'd get on outta there and go someplace warm. So we have been staying with my mom and the Brickers. Once we get back home, I will start posting regularly.
Hope everyone is warm and will not have to get out to much if it snows tomorrow like they say.

It's Official

That

A) Charlotte is Two

and

B) Christmas is just around the corner.

This weekend was full of parties for us. Saturday, we decorated the tree at Liz's for Abigail's birthday. I can't believe she can drive now. When I met her she was 9. NINE. Wow.

Sunday, we celebrated the birthdays of Charlotte, Sarah, Terri, and Dave.

To her dismay, her jedi mind powers have not yet come in. Someone else had to finally blow out the candle before the cake was ruined.