Christmas!

The Perry's had a fantastic Christmas this year, spent in the area where I grew up. We arrived at my sister's apartment late Christmas Eve and were greeted by one of my brother's and two of my sisters! Merry Christmas!

Christmas day was a great day. It started a little rough. The kids were tired from traveling so late the night before and there were more than a few tears shed while opening their presents. We made it through though and got ready for the day. We stopped by my step-dad's mom's house to see that side of the family, then made our way to my Grandma and Papa's farm in Clifton, IL. This Christmas all 6 of their grandkids were there for the first time in many years. I could tell they were very pleased to have us all there and it was great to spend time with my siblings! Wish I would've gotten a group picture :(

The kids first thing Christmas morning

I have always loved my Gramma's all white and gold Christmas tree. It's perfect for her old Victorian Country House. Our Little Man loved playing by it.

I loved this one of my sisters laughing at dinner... and Little Man with his tongue out. It's all very typical!

Little Man loves my sister whom he calls 'Cha Chi'!

In the days following Christmas we were able to spend time with family and took our regular trip downtown with my Grandma to see the Christmas windows and lights. We have been doing this since I was a young girl with her and I loved that she came with us again! Little Man and Little Lady were INCREDIBLE! They were so good all day and loved seeing all the sights. We rode the train downtown from the south suburbs and got off at Millennium park. I'm pretty sure that riding the train was the highlight of Little Man's life. He loved every second! We walked north and got a cupcake at Sprinkles then made our way to Navy Pier. By now it was dark and FREEZING. The kids did so great though. Inside Navy Pier Little Man found a smaller train and insisted on riding 'Thomas.' Highlight of his day number 2 :) By then we were starving and I was bound and determined to get some good Chicago deep dish pizza. So we headed toward Giordano's on Michigan Ave, just a few blocks from our train. All I can say is Yummy Goodness. It's my favorite thing to put in my mouth. All in all, FANTASTIC day :)

Pure Excitement on the Train!

Family Pic at Millennium Park

Group shot of Gramma and her grandkids (Sad Brooke couldn't be there that day :( 

My brother was great with the stroller... see Little Man fell asleep :)

By the "Thomas" train at Navy Pier.... again, pure excitement!

It's Christmas Time!

Welcome to Christmas at the Perry House. Yes. I mean you.  :)

Christmas is in full swing around here. The tree is up and decorated, complete with presents! My Nutcracker collection is out and hopes to grow this year. (Chris has been giving me one most every year since we got married... SO sweet. I got to play Clara when I was 11 and have loved it ever since!) My small nativity scene is out and Joseph's head got glued back on after it's unfortunate incident last year. Whoops! The mistletoe is hung and has been put to good use (while the kids were turned the other way of course!)! I made my Pinterest project and turned my summer time tomato cage into a lit up Christmas Tree on our front lawn! We have a beautiful doorway surrounded by the garland we got last year on sale 75% off hung around the door! (LOVE those sales! I've been waiting all year to hang it!) Stockings are up! Oh my... we even made Christmas cookies last week and took them to a few places near where I work. So fun. I love this time of year. I love watching my kids eyes as we go out into the living room every morning and they see the tree all lit up. They get excited EVERY morning! I love driving around looking at Christmas lights and drinking hot cocoa. I turn into a little kid again, all giddy and excited about my presents. Yes. I love presents. Presents are a big deal in my family. They are fun. I like giving them more than receiving. But receiving them is fun too.... I won't deny that. I'm really excited for my present this year.... I'll reveal it after Christmas. Let's just say that I have big plans for my living room.



All of these things are so fun. And I don't want them to be a distraction for my own heart or my kids' hearts... I want them to be a street sign, pointing them to the reason for the season. We've been teaching our Little Man about Jesus this year. I meant to do an Advent calendar, but never got around to making one. I'm putting that on my to do list for early January to prep for next year. I'm serious. I want to be preapred! But for this year (my kids are only 1 and 2) I'm settling for just taking about it. Telling the story, over and over again. That the star represents the star that lit up when Jesus was born. Jesus.... our God who became flesh to save us from our sins. It's created some great conversation opportunities with Landon to tell him the gospel.



The other day I was gently reminding Landon to obey. His response: "I don't want to obey!" Oh my.... so I explained to him that his desire to NOT obey was exactly the reason that Jesus came at Christmas. In our hearts we fight against God, so he had to send Jesus to earth to live a perfect life, and become the perfect sacrifice, dying to pay for our sins. I cried. Little Man looked at me gently and started to obey. I think that maybe, just maybe, he's starting to get it. He's only 2, so he has a ways to go. I hope that we can continue having these conversarions.



Last week at church our pastor was teaching through a Christmas series and was focusing on Joseph but he pointed out Matthew 1:21--where the angel was speaking to Joseph. The angel made it clear who Jesus would be. "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Those words have just been ringing in my mind for the last week and a half. "For he will save his people from their sins". He will save his people form their sins. That was the whole reason Jesus was born as the sweet little baby, to save his people from their sins.



I loved this post I read today on Desiring God by Rachel Jankovic called Of Kids and Christmas. And I so agree with her. ENJOY Christmas and all it's craziness. Stay up late making cookies. Give your kids presents. Decorate. Decorate. Decorate. But let it all point to the reason why we do it all. Let your traditions in your family point your kids to Jesus. He is the one who came to save them from their sins.

Day 22-Today. I. Am. Thankful. For...

Today, I am acutely aware of God's grace. Some days you just feel the weight of your sin more than others and for some reason today is one of those days. It's a day not much different than others, but God's grace is on my mind, and I am so thankful for it.

Day 21-Today. I. Am. Thankful. For...

I am thankful for my education, particularly, my graduate work. When I started out in college as a 17 year girl, bright eyed, with the world at her fingertips, really... I had no idea what I was doing, what I was getting myself into if you will. Looking back, I would have done things differently. However, I say that, knowing full well that I have thus far lived out God's plan for me, in every minute detail. And He had (and has) a plan in mind that is exactly what I need to grow in sanctification. I can clearly see how he has used undergrad to get me to grad school, and grad school caused a dramatic shift in my perspective that I'll always be incredibly thankful for. It was there that I came to understand the full sufficiency of Scripture, that the root of ME is my heart... my desires, longings, dreams, etc. and that my heart dictates how I live the rest of life. I have to continually refocus my heart on Jesus Christ and His gospel, making him my greatest desire. It changed how I relate to people, how my husband and I interact with each other, and really just the foundation of how I think about life and Scripture. For those things I am tremendously thankful. My walk with the Lord and understanding of His word is deeper today than it would have been without those things that I learned.

Day 20-Today. I. Am. Thankful. For...

I am so thankful for family time. Maybe I cherish it more because I'm not with my kids all day every day and my husband seems to have to work a lot lately, but our times together are so sweet and I am so thankful to have them. I pray that our kids remember them well and that as they get older.... and will remember more of their childhood... we can make good use of our times together and make memories that will last a lifetime, and create teaching opportunities that will draw them to the gospel. I love our little family that God has blessed us with and I just want to cherish every minute together!

Day 19-Today. I. Am. Thankful. For...

I am so thankful for some Godly girls who watch my kids while I work. The fact that I work is a whole other conversation.... but since I have to work right now and can't be with my kids 24/7, having someone with them who cares for them the way I want them to be cared for makes working SO much easier for me. God has blessed us with some friends who care for our kids (mainly Kelli but a few others who are 'back ups') and I'm just SO thankful for them. I really can't say it enough. They are a huge blessing. I couldn't do this without them! THANK YOU!

Day 18-Today. I. Am. Thankful. For...

I am thankful for our house. This is the house I've lived in the longest since I moved out and went to college. It's been a good little house for us. And it worked out so well that all my decorations and stuff from our last house worked really well, maybe even better, in it. I'm thankful that it's warm in the winter and cold in the summer. Important stuff :) It's the first house our kids lived in, so it will always be one that we cherish.