Christmas Eve

 I love our Christmas Eve each year.

This year the kids got sleeping bags from Gram and Pop.

HOW FUN!  Such a fun brother-sister thing.  I am as excited as they are!

 We love spending the morning at Kathy and Ski's... so simple and relaxing.  After a busy fall, we loved being able to spend the morning with them and just be.  Kathy has spent a lot of time this fall taking care of her amazing mother so we haven't seen her as much.  How nice to reconnect and even better that's possible b/c Grandma Kain is healthy again.  Thank you, Lord.  We are so thankful.

 I love these people... my family.  I couldn't be more thankful and love my husband more than after the year we've had... highs and lows, hard times and great times, scary times, crazy times.  He is a rock and I wouldn't be sane without him.  I feel like the Lord is giving us good closure to this year and I am thankful.  Father, we want to hear from you.  We want your grace and your hand over our lives to give us perspective and endurance and purpose.

We go to our 4pm Family Service together with Mike's parents.  We love it!  One of my favorite services of the year... simple... songs and verses to hear of and sing of our Savior's birth.  As our pastor said tonight, we get to join with the angels in declaring, "Glory to God in the highest".  Without Him, it would only be pain and anxiety.

After the service, we come back here with Mike's parents for a simple dinner.  This year our Moroccan friends joined us.  It was fun and crazy too... what an honor to have them with us.

 Mike took the kids out individually last weekend to shop for each other and for me.  He helped them wrap their gifts on Friday.  Such a sweet new tradition.

 "Santa" has come!  Here are our gifts for the kids.  After hearing what one of our pastors did with his kids when they were younger, we did an "in between" and mentioned to the kids that we pretend Santa comes, the jolly ole fellow ;), and leaves gifts... it doesn't seems to occupy their mind that much, the "Santa" part, so I am thankful.  Gifts definitely occupy their mind!

 And our living room this year...

 And this man, I adore him.  

Mike and I were talking recently and I really feel like we have switched roles/personalities a little (or a lot) recently.  And in a great way for him (and hard way for me).  It makes me happy though, because it shows me God's sanctification of us (he cares for us) and the way HE controls things, even tho I really think I do.  I used to think I had it together and Mike didn't really. (truthfully, I did... he knows I thought it.)  The man totally has it going on and I am losing it 90% of the time.  He keeps me sane in the most loving and calm way.  I absolutely love it about him.  This year has been so full of things out of my control, things that wreck havoc on me and make my anxiety go thru roof (like not fun anxiety, debilitating anxiety) and it doesn't phase him, he just walks me thru it and keeps on keeping on.  He doesn't complain.  (I certainly would!)  He doesn't give me a hard time about it or give me a list of "to-do's" or rules of what could make it better.  There is so much freedom there with him for me.  I have the freedom to be honest b/c I know that he is straight.  Its not gonna rock him and I am just so thankful for that steady grace that he is in my life.  It has such a calming effect on me, exactly what I need.  I love him.