Worship and Praise Sunday - What Child is This?

If you'd like to join...see here to read the first post and why I started. Also, read the guidelines below to know how to participate!

• Share a favorite worship song by either a video (i.e. youtube, etc) or by sharing the lyrics of the song.
• Share a bit about what the song means to you.
• Whether it be you or someone else, please give credit to the artist who wrote it.
  
• Publish your Worship and Praise Sunday post on your blog.
• Please offer a link back to the main page of my blog, so other readers where know where to join in.
• Grab the button in my sidebar, it will also link back to my blog!
  
• Copy the "permalink" from your Worship and Praise Sunday post and add it to Mr. Linky.

Today I'm sharing "What Child is This?" performed by Mercy Me

*please pause music in my sidebar before playing video*

This song brings back a lot of memories for me as a child. My extended family would walk throughout the neighborhood singing Christmas carols, and this was one of my favorites! It was such a fun, peaceful time for me to sing with my family. Sometimes I wish I could bring back those days as an innocent child. 

I pray you are blessed today! 

We have been experiencing freezing rain the last day or so. It can be pretty scary out on the roads so we're driving very carefully!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting this week. Please be praying as I try to juggle my work, school, home, social life! God has miraculously given me strength and time for each but unfortunately the blogging has been the last on my list!

This next week, I hope to post about our Christmas decorations! 

Have a blessed week! 

Worship and Praise Sunday - I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day

If you'd like to join...see here to read the first post and why I started. Also, read the guidelines below to know how to participate!

• Share a favorite worship song by either a video (i.e. youtube, etc) or by sharing the lyrics of the song.
• Share a bit about what the song means to you.
• Whether it be you or someone else, please give credit to the artist who wrote it.
  
• Publish your Worship and Praise Sunday post on your blog.
• Please offer a link back to the main page of my blog, so other readers where know where to join in.
• Grab the button in my sidebar, it will also link back to my blog!
  
• Copy the "permalink" from your Worship and Praise Sunday post and add it to Mr. Linky.

Today I'm sharing "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day" by Casting Crowns

*please pause music in my sidebar before playing video*

In the spirit of the Christmas season, I'll be sharing Christmas songs for the next few weeks. 

I absolutely love this song by Casting Crowns. As you have probably seen/heard it's the first song on my music playlist! 

It really helps me to remember what Christmas is all about. As we all go about our days these next few weeks. I pray we have the heart of the Lord and share it with everyone we come in contact with. How amazing it is that God sent his only Son to bring peace on Earth. 

I hope you're enjoying this wonderful season! 

Christmas Gatherings

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families and friends.
Just wanted to share a few of our pictures from the festivities.

Here are some of the guys chatting on Christmas Eve. We went to Mackenzie's parents and spent the time with Sharon's side of the family.

Sharon decided to do a baked potato bar and salad. It was such a great idea and soo good!

Everyone filling their plates.

All the toppings....

Family talking and sharing with each other.
Here are Kathi's girls, Victoria and Jessica and her husband Stacey, as well as Grandpa Leonard.

Sharon found out that one of her co-workers is a historian as a hobby and she was able to find all of this ancestry information about Sharon's family. It was so neat.
My husband of course had to wear silly glasses to be funny.

Here are Sharon and Kelly looking at the ancestry.

Handsome.

Kenz and Sharon

Everyone chatting. We had a white elephant gift exchange with some of the funniest gifts!
I got a "Brand New Washer and Dryer!"....towels and sponges. Ha Mackenzie got some funny reindeer antlers. Kathi got really creative though and had different cards for the gifts her family brought. They made it sound like you were in a game show. They said things like "Dinner for Two" - two cans of cat food. It was really creative!

We also played a game that Kelli brought. We had paper with about 24 pictures that were related to Christmas carols and we had to guess which Christmas carol they were.


On Christmas morning, Mackenzie and I were able to have our own special first Christmas together.

I made us both coffee and set our gifts out.

It was kind of a funny year because we both picked out the gifts we wanted from each other. Mackenzie really wanted to get some new music gear so that's why we did it that way.
He got these cords for his studio and a microphone preamp. I got 2 new pairs of jeans, boots, flats and some black slacks from him.

My mom and step-dad sent me this great new peacoat. I love it because it's long! Don't you think it goes great with the pajama pants and my morning look? ha

My mom and step-dad also sent Mackenzie this old fashioned metronome. He absolutely loves it! It was very much a music year for him!

After we had our special time together, we got ready and went down to Sharon and Eric's house to have breakfast and spend the day with Mackenzie's family.

Grayson and Cameron talking, waiting for breakfast.

My sweetie and I

Eric and Sharon made a great french toast breakfast.

All of us at breakfast.
It took about 5 pictures to get this! haha We were figuring out how to use the tripod.

Here are the gifts we brought for Mackenzie's parents and brothers.
Being newlyweds, we had to cut back on the budget this year. It's hard for Mackenzie and I because we truly love to give but we just couldn't give as much as we wanted this year. His family was so great and supportive though.

The two of us waiting for Mackenzie's dad's side to get there. Sharon made a ham, rolls, and mashed potatoes. I made the famous green bean casserole and ambrosia. Eric's mom and sister brought over appetizers and dessert. It was so nice to be around their family. Unfortunately I didn't get any more pictures with everyone there. We had a wonderful time though!

My parents live in two other states than us. So next year, Mackenzie and I will be spending Christmas with my Dad, Step-Mom, Sister and her family in California. We'll be seeing my Mom and Step-Dad in the summer. For the year after that? Well, we'll have to figure that out!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Brittany

Jesus is Born Today!

Merry Christmas to you all!

I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

May it be a time of great Joy and devotion with family and friends!

Have a wonderful day!

Family, Baking, Fun

Sunday after church, Mackenzie's parents and 2 brothers, Cameron and Hayden came over to see our Christmas decorations. Grayson was snowboarding with this sweetie Rachelle, so he wasn't able to join us. First actually, we all went over to Cameron's to see his decorations. I didn't get any pictures. :( However, he did a really nice job decorating!

Everyone hung out for a bit and the guys played the Wii, while I showed Sharon some more updates on our home.

Afterward, Sharon, Eric and I all went back to their house. The other guys would catch up with us later. Sharon and I put on The Christmas Story and got to work baking!

We made 3 types of bark:

The first was a white chocolate with cinnamon candies

Second, was a Rocky Road - chocolate with peanuts, marshmellows, and raisins.

Third was a chocolate with pretzels.

We wrapped them up in cute Christmas plates she found at goodwill and planned on giving them to our friends and neighbors. The plate idea is neat - you buy the plates so cheap at goodwill or some other thrift store and then give them to your friends as gifts in addition to the candy.

It was so fun spending this time with Sharon. She was able to share some of her family traditions, like the bark and next year, I'm going to share some of the cookies my mom and sister and I made growing up! It's neat how we can share that with one another and teach each other new things. Side note: I do not like this picture of me! :) It's the only one that turned out though. I really need to trim those bangs soon! haha

Here's my funny husband trying to sneak just a little....

After the bark, we put together these cookie mixes

They are so fun and easy. You just add all the dry ingredients for the type of cookie you choose and then give the person who is receiving it a little recipe on what to add. It's so nice to have it all ready for them and so simple to put together!

Have a wonderful last few days before Christmas!

What Christmas Is All About

I love love love this movie! It brings back so many good memories. Linus does a great job of sharing the story of our Savior's birth!

Have a wonderful Sunday

"And the angel said to them, fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." -Luke 2:10-14

Brittany

Christmas Decorations

Good Morning! I thought I'd share a few of our Christmas decorations with you!


We went and picked out this tree from a tree farm and Mackenzie cut it down. I love the way it turned out!

Here's another view of our tree. In this picture, you can see the red berries around the candle on the coffee table. I absolutely love red berries!

Here's a little display on our entry table.

We have this cute little octagon window next to our front door that we can never figure out what to do with. This little tree works great there!


Here's our display on the entertainment center. I love the garland. Although I just realized it's sagging a bit more than usual in the center. I'll have to fix that!


Here's our sweet table. I needed a creative idea of how to display our Christmas cards. My mom gave me this idea to fill the blank spot on the wall! I love it! Sorry for all the blank walls, by the way. We're still in the process of decorating! We have a friend that is actually painting us a picture to go on that wall.


Here's a very small display in my kitchen. I love those Santa candle holders. My mom had around when I was younger and then passed them down to me. They bring back great memories.


This is in our guest bathroom. Simple, yet elegant.

And this idea is from my MIL Sharon! She had this cranberry/floating candle display at her house and I just loved it! She was so nice to give me the floating candle. There I go with the red berries again! :)

Well, I hope you enjoyed our Christmas Decorations! We don't have much yet, being our first Christmas together, but it'll do for now! I'm hoping to add a Nativity scene by next year. We'll see what we can find at the after Christmas sales!