Not my gum drop buttons....

The boys and I spent most of the day together today as James was tutoring all morning and afternoon. We first went down to church and delivered the gifts from our giving tree. It was so cute to watch the boys load the presents into the car and sort them at the community center. I'm so proud of them for doing God's work. We then made a quick stop to help some friends from our small group move. After some chicken nugget action, we headed to walmart to battle to crowds all for a loaf of bread and a gingerbread house kit. I must say that it was worth the hussle and bussle though. The boys did a great job building their gingerbread house and it turned out great. Here are a few pics.

A Time To Remember

Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14).

Behold...I bring you good tidings of great joy. Luke 2:10

For unto us a child is born...Isaiah 9:6

All kings shall pay Him homage, all nations shall serve Him. Psalm 72:11

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord.Luke 2:11

And there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Luke 2:8:9

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

And suddenly there was the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest." Luke 2:13

She shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

We have seen His star in the East, and have come to worship Him." Matthew 2:2

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. Philippians 2:9

All kings shall pay Him homage, all nations shall serve Him Psalm 72:11

The Song of the Angels: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, Peace." Luke 2:14

They lifted up their voices with ...instruments of music, and praised the LORD. 2 Chronicles 5:13

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy...Hebrews 4:16

He put a new song in mouth... Psalm 40:3

Thy face, Lord, do I seek: I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living! Psalm: 27:8, 13

Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among the peoples. -Psalm 96:3

The Book of Love

Yesterday was quite an eventful evening for the Gilbert family. We started the night at church where we enjoyed a Christmas play put on by the elementary students, followed by a cookie reception with a few of our close friends. We then began our 45 minute journey home which would include a brief detour to the Frankfort Park for their annual Christmas Light Display and Santa's House. I must say that the conversation that took place during our car ride home was even more eventful then the actual events themselves that night. Let me explain....I'm not even sure as to how the conversation came about but we somehow arrived on the subject of love. We were discussing how you were suppose to treat someone that you love and in what ways you could show someone that you love them. Our 5 yr old then proceeds to tell us that he knows all about it and that he wrote a book about love. "It's called the book of love" he said "and its for kids my age". Oh how we could not wait to hear the details. "The first thing that I would do is take her to eat dinner in one of those long black taxis" We can only assume that he is referring to a limousine which is a nice start, lucky girl. "Then I would give her flowers and a ring" Well what can I say, he's a quick mover but then again ....he is his father's son:) Our 3 yr old then decides that he would like to share his opinion of the perfect date...again our 3 yr old! "I would like for her to have pink hair and blue eyes and I would take her to the beach and I would buy her candy and she would love it" The boys then continued to talk amongst themselves about what the perfect scenario would be as James and I listened from the front seat. We treasured this precious moment of the little voices in the back, knowing we would someday watch them pull away in that long black taxi with the girls they described by their side. Hopefully without the pink hair of course. We are realizing that time goes by so quickly. Each day a new word is added to their vocabulary and each day they are one step further from needing us to wipe their nose, wash their hands or tuck them into bed. I've been trying my best this month to make the most of every possible second that I have with my children, knowing that each day with them has been a gift ; a gift that cannot be purchased by standing in a bustling line of grumpy people, maxing out their plastic and expending all of their energy on ribbons and bows, but a gift that has been given by the Lord and one that should be irreplaceable and indescribably of value and of worth. A gift that is an opportunity to make memories. I encourage all of you to make your own memories with your children this Christmas. Teach them the reason for the season and savor the flavor of every precious moment that will soon be gone; from changing a dirty diaper to having snot stains and boogers on the shoulder of your favorite sweater. Read stories, bake cookies, live, laugh and love them....and they will in return forever love you and their memories . "To be in your children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today"....Barbara Johnson

Frosty with a little Fruit Loop Fun

Well, today started with snowy surprise! James and I had no idea that it was even in the forecast. Who has time to watch the weather with two rugrats and their father competing for attention right? As soon as the boys, and I do mean all three of them, were awake, they were bundled up and out the door! Frosty only lasted for few short hours but he sure was fun to make!

Then we came inside to warm up and decorate our tree. Our living room is so bright that we need to wear shades:)

Jalen and Jameson had fun stringing fruit loops for the tree. Unfortunately, more ended up in Jameson's mouth then on the string.

Tis the Season

Yesterday we decided to kick off the Christmas season with a full day of fun. First, we made a quick visit to the library to get some holiday books. Then it was off to the tree farm! On the way, I read the boys "A Trip To The Tree Farm" so that they would know just what to expect when we arrived. We started with a hayride back to the field. Then we searched for the perfect tree. James was your modern day Clark Griswald let me tell ya. "Ahhhh...as the beaming rays shined down on the tree of his choice". I decided to keep searching as his tree was only 4 feet tall! After finding the perfect one, we cut it down and threw it on the cart. The farmer then loaded it on the wagon and drove us back to the shop.

Once we made it home we watched a holiday movie and enjoyed a cup of home made hot chocolate. Yum!

Good Times with Good Friends

Tonight was a great night! James and I took the kiddos over to Jen and Shelby's for game night. The kids had a great time playing Xbox and Leapster while the rest of us tried our luck at Taboo and Racko, which if I may add is my new favorite game. Unfortunately, the girls were defeated in both:( Hardly fair with all of the distractions that the men provide though. I'm convinced that their only strategy to winning is by making us lose through loss of concentration. There's always next time I guess. It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you valued the time with great friends. Thanks guys!

Oldies but Goodies

Okay, so I've been horrible lately about blogging. I mean really, this is only my second post this month! Things have obviously been busy with the holidays and I still do not have a camera! As I mentioned earlier, ours stopped working after our honeymoon. Hopefully Santa will bring me a new Canon for Christmas as I have been such a good girl this year:) Then I'll be on top of my game. Until then I thought that I would post a few of my favs, oldies but goodies. Boys will be boys:P

Like...Yikes Scooby

Trick-or-Treat! The Gilbert's decided to be the scooby doo gang for Halloween this year. Jalen was scooby, Jameson was scrappy, James was Shaggy and how would we be complete without yours truly...Daphne. James and I felt ridiculous as the only 2 adults on the block who participated but the kids had a great time and that's really all that matters. I can say however that I won't be dying my hair orange any time soon!

The Search Is Over

Well, the search is over.....at least for one that is. We finally were able to find a car that will fit our needs and our budget. Our garage is now home to a 2006 Buick Rendezvous. The boys love it! It has third row seating which is great and our favorite feature so far has got to be the Onstar package. I'm not sure who likes it more, the boys for the "our car talks" feature or James for the "woody" interior as he would call it and the great gas mileage. As for me...I'm happy; 4 doors?..check...Radio?....check ...Room for groceries? check...and oh yeah...cheap full tank of gas? check...We're good to go. One down...one to go.

Mummy Love

Last weekend a few of our close friends and family members gathered for a fall frenzy. The kids had a mummy race, played with spaghetti brains and painted pumpkins. Unfortunately, my camera is still down so I had to steal a few pics from you Jen :P Jalen was so excited to see the picture of him and Logan. He printed it off to hang in his room. "Yep, that's my bud Loag" he said. So cute!

A little on the salty side

Wow! Where do I begin? The recent times at the Gilbert's have been a little on the salty side. 2 kidney infections, a torn ACL which will lead to a knee surgery in a few weeks and one of the cars giving out on life....you would think that things could only go up from here right? Well, James hit a deer on the way to work this week and totaled our other car. Now we are car shopping for two!
Fortunately, he wasn't hurt. Poor guy, it was only his second day driving since his knee injury. Our insurance was gracious enough to provide us with a rental car for the next 30 days. Yep, if you see an electric blue Austin Power's PT Cruiser on the road...that would be us:P Ah...all you can do is laugh really.
It's amazing at how small the big things seem in life when you give it all to God.
I must say though...I'm so looking forward to the revealing of His plan.

Recruitment

So I was thinking, I'm a blogger now..great! There's only one problem. The only friend that I have that blogs is you Jen. Therefore, I am recruiting others that I know this week to start blogging! My goal this week is to get at least 3 other friends to join the fun. Hopefully I will be successful. Otherwise, it looks like it's just you and me kid. It's also sad times that my camera broke a couple of weeks ago and I cannot add any pictures until I get it fixed. I think that I got sand in it on our honeymoon. Oh well, what do you do? Last night James and I went to Mason's championship football game. It was so cute watching 2nd and 3rd graders run the field. Mason's team won which put them undefeated for the whole season. Way to go Mace! After the game, we all went to DQ for dinner. Let me just tell ya, I have a new weakness. During this time of year, I normally go for the oh so favorite pumpkin pie blizzard. However, last night my heart found something new. The Georgia Mud Fudge. Oh my goodness, chunks of brownies, chopped pecans and cocoa fudge. It is definitely a must try. As for today, I have two classes to teach and then I'm test driving a new vehicle! Wish me luck. We are looking at an explorer and an expedition. We may also consider a van although I swore that I would not make that move until I was at least 40! I know that you love it Jen but I just can't bring myself to do it. Unfortunately, I may have to in order to have the room that we want without the gas mileage. We'll see. Hopefully something will be in the driveway by Sunday morning. Fingers crossed!

First Day On The Job

Well, today is my first official day on the job as a blogger. How exciting!
I'm quite the talker for those of you who know me so I shouldn't have any problem finding something to say on a daily basis. Today has not been all that exciting though. I did make sock puppets with the boys this morning and I've completed 3 loads of laundry. Now that's what I call progress! The rest of afternoon looks like more of the same. Cleaning, cleaning, and oh yeah.. cleaning. Then it's dinner and the oh so awaited new episode of Prison Break!
I'll continue to work on my layout this week to hopefully make my page a little more exciting. Happy Monday!