Christmas Morning

 O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him born the king of angels:
O come, let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Even though we've hit the stage when none of the kids actually believe in Santa, it's still fun to have all of their gifts out when they wake up on Christmas morning!

Calvin wanted a massage gun and clothes; and Oliver asked for a golf net (the huge 10' x 7' thing you see in the background).

Violet asked for a new cup (wow! what a surprisingly-different request!) and Evelyn wanted a "reading nook" and new whiteboard for her room.

Evelyn requested to be the first one up and she was excited to see her gifts! She got some bonus boots and fuzzy pajama pants.

Violet was up next.  She got some bonus "goober grape" spread and a bean bag chair, which she quickly managed to tip over.

The boys came up last and didn't really get anything bonus other than the usual socks and deodorant.

Checking out and trying out their new goodies!

 After playing with our gifts for a bit, we went to church to once again receive the REAL gift of Christmas -- Jesus! 

With the Advent wreath fully lit including the Christ candle, our sanctuary was ready to receive the Christ child.

During the Nicene Creed, Pastor Wehling had us pause for silent reflection after confessing, "who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man." We repeat these words every week and it can become easy to gloss over them, but on the Christmas Day especially, it's amazing to truly sit in awe of the incarnation.  God was made man. For us.

Pastor gave a wonderful message using a wrapped gift to show us that a thing can only hold what will fit inside. . . yet the infinite God fit himself in a finite human baby so that we can behold him!  In the Old Testament, he put his glory in the Ark of the Covenant, and in these New Testament times, he puts himself in the bread and the wine to come to us bodily. What an amazing gift we get to receive each time we come to the altar! 

"For in Christ, the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily." Colossians 2:9  

After church, we once again delivered meals to homebound families in Douglas County.  The kids made Christmas cards to share the love of Jesus along with the meals.

We had a fantastic Christmas morning, yes, receiving a few wish-list gifts, but most importantly, receiving the gift of Jesus with our church family!

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be glory given!
Word of the Father now in flesh appearing!
O come, let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!