A Christmas Heartwarmer....No Room in the Inn

Merry Christmas from the Fox Family!

Here is a video of Allyson singing in her pre-school Christmas program. She is growing up way too fast.

Incapacitated Mommy

For those of you that don't know, I enjoy watching "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" on TLC. It chronicles the lives of a family with twins (8 years old) and sextuplets (4 years old). They're real. They say what they have to say, even when the cameras are on. I can appreciate that kind of "reality show." Anyway, something that Kate has mentioned at least a few times is that her biggest fear is somehow becoming incapacitated, so that she is unable to do the hundreds of things that her 8 children require each day. Although I hadn't thought of it too many times since, I did get a pretty real picture of that this weekend.

You see, I'm not a lay-in-bed-when-I'm-sick kind of person. I have sung on the worship team with bronchitus, I led a children's event with sinusitus and pinkeye...you name it. My life just goes on with the illness. Having said that, I don't often get the flu. I usually just get stuck with cold viruses of varying severity. Sunday, at 5:30 AM, I awoke with the strange urge to...well...expunge things. I cannot remember being so sick that it is an effort to walk across the room. And it was a SUNDAY! Remember? That's the most important work day for pastors. Good grief. I stayed home, of course, and the kiddos at church survived without me.

I had very little energy the entire day. My body just closed up shop. At one point, Ally says, "I've never seen you sick before." In the afternoon I told Ally I'd play a game with her (just a touch reluctantly). Let me tell you, when she said she was ready to be done, I nearly sang the "Hallelujah" chorus; I couldn't get to the couch fast enough.

My poor, sweet, fabulous husband was all things on Sunday. Music Pastor, Daddy, Mommy, chef, game player, obnoxious-kids'-shows watcher, bottle-preparer, diaper changer, errand-runner, dish-washer....seriously folks, he is SO COOL.

We celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary on Friday and I was amazingly reminded of why I chose him.

For Your Enjoyment.....An Allyson Original

Perhaps we have the next great pop song writer on our hands!

Allyson Singing in Church

Yesterday, the children of our church presented their annual Christmas musical under the direction of the beautiful and talented Kristen Fox.

Allyson's class was not in the actual musical, but they started things off by singing a few songs. Here is the video from the event.

Natalie's New Skill

It seems that Natalie is constantly learning something new. She has been anxious to walk for a long time now. In the last week or two, she has finally been getting all of her coordination together enough to accomplish her goal. Every day she is walking a little further.

Enjoy this clip that shows off her new walking skills. Sorry about the poor lighting and all the noise in the background. Grandma Webb is here and we were watching "Frosty the Snowman" when Kristen captured this moment!

Sad, But Accurate

Ronnie is a satirical glimpse inside the mind of an average church member/attendee in America.

The Best Christmas Card Ever!!!!

 

A few weeks ago, we found these cards laying around the church building! My only response to them was, where can I go to buy these?!!!!

As most of you know by now, I (David) am a fan of tacky Christmas items! This card definitely fits into the tacky category!

So, what do you think? Would you like to receive a poodle Christmas card from the Fox's this year?!!!!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Can you spot the character that doesn't belong in the manger scene?!

I am pretty sure that Patrick Star wasn't there at the manger when Jesus was born!

Lately, SpongeBob and Patrick are pretty popular around our house. Nickelodeon plays that show incessantly, and Allyson has developed an affinity for it! (Like father, like daughter...)

This picture is a great example of something that I have been thinking a lot about lately. If you are like me, much of your fondness for Christmas is in relation to the warm and fuzzy memories you have of the Christmas traditions of your family. For me, it was was watching shows like "Rudolph" and "A Christmas Story" and decorating our house for Christmas. Then there are the great Christmas songs like "Sleigh Ride" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas". I catch myself whistling "Sleigh Ride" all year round!!! Every time I hear Elvis singing "Blue Christmas" I can't help but smile as I picture my grandma Fox singing along with him and talking about how handsome Elvis was. All of these things tend to stir up pleasant thoughts and nostalgic feelings that make this one of the happiest times of the year.

But, here is my dilemma. How does a Christian strike a balance between the joy of the "Holiday Season" and celebrating the birth of Christ? Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the World is THE reason a Christian should celebrate Christmas! Unfortunately, I fear we may lose sight of Him in the rush of holiday parties, Christmas specials, gift buying, and decorating.

These next 4 weeks mark the Christian season of Advent. It is a time of symbolically waiting/anticipating the arrival of the Messiah! I have been challenged to make sure that I spend time during this Advent season waiting on God. We have also been making sure that we are talking about it a lot to Allyson also (Helping her to develop a Christian Worldview may be the reason I have been so concerned about this!) Don't forget to slow down and spend some time thinking about the greatest miracle that ever happened during this season. That will definitely stir up warm feelings and probably put a few tears in your eyes! Jesus' coming to earth was the greatest thing that could have ever happened for any of us.

I'll stop preaching now.

Decking the Halls!!!

We had a great time decorating our tree and our home on Sunday afternoon. Allyson is definitely loving all of the Christmas/Holiday preparations this year! She was beyond excited to get the tree decorated and to rediscover all of our decorations.

As you can see from the pictures, Natalie wanted to be right in the mix of things also! We started around her nap time, but she decided that she didn't need a nap. So, she "helped" also! Decorating with a curious 10-month-old is like trying to decorate with a bunch of kittens in the room.

All in all, it was fun getting everything decorated and making our house feel a little more festive! How do you like the new light up star on top of our tree?!!!! After many years of begging, Kristen finally made my dreams come true by allowing me to have a "tacky" light up star on top of our tree!

The girls have not been able to take their eyes off of the tree since we lit it up. It is quite sweet!