Give-a-way Coming Up

For those who do not know, I make and sell jewelry among the other things I do at home. I don't have as much as I would like to have for making jewelry,but I love to do it. I love to do give-a-ways on my Facebook page, From the Heart Jewelry by Heather. I have done some for other ladies on their blogs also and I love doing that!

A friend of mine is doing a 12 days of Christmas this month and is giving away things each day. The blog is Life Unabridged. Today is the 3rd day,so you haven't missed too much. I will be participating in the give-a-way on this blog. I was so excited when Chelsey asked me to participate.

I will be giving away a chain necklace with a charm and birthstones like this one below.

 

This is the birthstones of my children. If they do not have children,then grandchildren,or something similar. I have made several of these for friends and family. I love them! I have made a few that were just for children that had different charms on it. They are a big hit. I have myself two. I made one with my last name initial,month I was married,and an I Do charm. I can do most anything one wants.

Alabama football charm necklace.

Girl's necklace with guitar pick,May birthstone,cross,guitar charm,Believe charm,and soccer ball.

I made myself this one. Spring colors with cross and Hope charm.

Remember to check out Chelsey's blog, Life Unabridged, from now till November 23rd (she won't be doing give-a-ways on Saturday or Sunday) for great things she is giving away!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends!!! I pray you have a blessed day. Remember, today is about Jesus and giving. We are all here because of Jesus and his sacrifice. God has been so gracious to us.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good 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 2:7-14


                     Our Precious babies on Christmas Eve 2012.
 

 

 

My guys. Love them so much!!

 

My babies and me. They are my everything!

 

 

 

 

Singing happy birthday to Jesus! They were so excited!

 

 

Merry Christmas!!!!!

What Child Is This?

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
  Luke 2:6-7

I'm a Mother to 3, so I know how the anticipation builds as you await for your little one to arrive, but I wonder what Mary felt. She had the Messiah in her womb and she would soon raise the Savior of the world. She literally had the Savior living inside her. Wow. That just blows my mind when I sit and think about it. I imagine she was nervous, scared, excited, and a little worried. More than anything, I know she was humbled and willing. May I be that way when He calls me to do His will, whatever it may be. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Here are some pictures from the boys Children's Church class.

Aaron's footprint as the manger for baby Jesus.

 

My sweet Aaron. He is the middle child, 3 years old.

 

 

Daniel's footprint as the manger for baby Jesus.

 

My handsome Daniel. He is the oldest, 4 1/2 years old.

Preparing For Christmas

It's 3 days till Christmas! This is my favorite time of the year. I love the cold weather (when we get it ha!), celebrating the birth of Christ, and to give. I've been doing an online study with She Reads Truth blog. It's an Advent study and it has been very humbling. I love looking over the Word and seeing all the things that led up to the birth of Christ.

Here in our home I've been trying to make some of our own traditions for Christmas with our boys, along with my husband. My boys are getting old enough to enjoy and participate too, which makes it more fun! Daniel is almost 5 (will be in a month), Aaron just turned 3 in October, and Johnathan, well, he is still small, only 17 months. So here are some of our traditions:

We started our Jesse Tree at the end of November and will do it until Christmas Day. It's really good to do with the boys and they love it.

 

 

We also like to bake cookies. Who doesn't like to bake cookies anytime of the year, but especially when they have delicious seasonal ones. These are Peppermint Sugar Cookies. It's our chubby Gingerbread man.

 

 

I love to do crafts with the boys. I try to do them throughout the year, not just during the holidays. They decorated their own paper Christmas trees and we hung them on their door.

 

 

We also send out Christmas cards, the traditional ones. I love a card! So we stick with the traditional paper cards.

 

 

The boys have gained my love of Christmas. We decorated their door and they love it!

 

 

They helped a lot with decorating the Christmas tree too. I am usually OCD with that thing! I like it just right, but I put that aside and let them put the ornaments on or tell me where to put them. It's pretty!

 

 

They love the star and call it the Star of Bethlehem. We had a bow first because our original star broke, so we had a bow on there until I bought another start.

 

 

Something new I did this year were making ornaments. I found a foam ornament kit at Target and we did 3 a piece. It was fun and they are cute, aren't they?

 

 

Something I have always had at this time of the year, is a candy dish. It is a must! Mine beloved one broke, but I found this cute Christmas tree dish at Ross. Love it!

 

 

 

We also did shoe boxes with our church. They send them to Mexico with a dear Pastor friend of ours. We took the boys to Dollar Tree and let them pick out a lot with our guidance. They loved doing that. It was our second year to do so. We do a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve and open one gift that night. We want to teach them that Christmas is about giving, not getting, but it is okay to get. I think we are doing a good job. Share some of your traditions or way you prepare your heart for the birth of our Savior.

 

Something to leave you guys with. My oldest came to me earlier and said, Mama, I don't think I deserve any presents. I asked him why not son? He replied, because of all the days I have been bad ( he meant by disobeying us and being mean to his brothers). I was pretty shocked. We have talked to him about all that and how we don't deserve to live, but because of Christ we can. We are very blunt and open with him and the 3 year old, though they are young. I told him he was right, but that I didn't deserve Jesus, but God sent him anyways because He loves us. I told him our love for him is not on his performance and we love him no matter what, but when he does disobey it upsets us. Love isn't based on performance, but love will compel you to perform. By that I mean, when you love the Lord you will obey Him. If Daniel loves us, he will obey us. Pretty deep stuff. I hope you all have a lovely Sunday!

 

 

 



 

 

 

Keeping Christ in Christmas

Sadly this will be one of my last entries. We are cutting off our internet and t.v. It is the best way to cut down on costs. It is just something we have to do right now. I will miss all of you dearly. You can find me on twitter (HeatherKae27) or email me the_stricklands@yahoo.com . I love writing,but right now I cannot do it as I wish and the internet just sits being unused. I will have internet service on my phone and can email and twitter there. I can comment from my husband's lap top,but I can't write an entry,not sure why. So you may hear from me through comments.

I wanted to share how we keep Christ in Christmas and link up with At the Well.

This week we are going to share a way that we keep CHRIST in Christmas. How does this look in your life? Do you do something with your church? Do you do something as a family? This week will truly be special, because we will get ideas of how to keep the true meaning of Christmas in our communities, homes, and hearts!


We always watch a movie about the birth of Jesus. It is something we love to do. We also read the story of his birth Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. We have wanted to do shoe boxes,but haven't yet. When our kids came in the picture I wanted them to know Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ and it's not about presents. So I found a Jesse Tree. I printed out the ornaments and have been doing that with Daniel. It has scripture and the meaning of the ornament for each day. He really has learned a lot for an almost 3 year old. He loves doing it too. I have been receiving Advent emails from Bible Gateway and it's been very awesome. Next year I plan for us to do it as a family more. I want to find an Advent Calender and do candles. I love reading and gleaning on the coming of the Messiah. We are also going to do a birthday cake for Jesus,which Daniel is so excited about! That is what we have been doing so far. We also go to church and they do Advent candles and scripture every Sunday night. I love it! 


Next year, I would like too do some shoe boxes and an angel tree. I want my boys(and the baby when he/she is older) to see it is more important to give. Yes, we bought them presents,but I haven't been centering Christmas Day around that. I have been telling Daniel on Christmas Day we will sing to Jesus and have him a cake. I keep telling him we celebrated and give because we have been given much. He has the same love for Christmas as I did growing up and still do. It's amazing watching things through my children's eyes. 


So what do you do? Share with us! Have a Merry Christ filled Christmas!!