Thankful Tuesday

1. I'm eternally grateful that Jesus loved us enough to humble himself as a baby so that 30+  years later he could die on the cross to pay the price of our sins. It's so easy to get distracted by the shopping lists, wrapping paper, decorations, food, music, etc. and forget the reason for the season!

2. We had a wonderful day last Tuesday with Grandma and Pop Pop celebrating Ian and Pop Pop's birthdays! We have gone to Lancaster several times in June to celebrate Nadia's birthday, but it was our first time going in December for Ian's birthday. It was also our first time at the Turkey Hill Experience, and we ended the day with dinner at Applebee's.

3. Part of my choir rehearsal on Wednesday night was a Christmas party. We had a white elephant gift exchange. I brought some of our excess Halloween candy (because I never got around to exchanging it for money at the dentist, oops!), and the gift I received was a mostly used scented candle. The kids enjoyed their Christmas festivities at

AWANA that night including shopping for gifts for friends and family. Oliver gave me a Christmas throw (blanket) and gave Paul a fishing rod (which cracked him up as he's not into fishing). Nadia gave me a Christmas decoration and Paul a measuring tape. Ian gave Oliver a Lego set for beginners.

4. I hadn't used Coke caps for a few months but then I used them quite a bit over the past month for things such as $10 at Amazon, $5 at Target, 2 movie tickets, 2 large popcorns at the movie theater, 1 drink at the movie theater, and an ornament on Shutterfly. I didn't play their (free) instant win game the first four days it was available, but I started playing it on Dec 20 and thus far have won $25 off Shutterfly, 2 free drinks at the movie theater, 1 free movie ticket, and a small plush polar bear. I also played the Kellogg's instant win game. Last year I won one of the big prizes (7,500 points) the first day I played. This year I only won 50-100 points a day, but eventually I'll use those points toward something at Shutterfly.

Oliver was thrilled he got cds of Music from the times of the Crusades!

5. I placed two big orders with Shutterfly last week that would have totaled over $500 between the two orders, and yet I only paid less than $2 total between the two. Coupons are a wonderful thing!

6. On Saturday the kids and I enjoyed seeing Ferdinand at the theater, eating lots of popcorn, and drinking strawberry lemonade and fruit punch for less than $5 total.

7. On our way to the movie we stopped at Sears for possibly the last time, as it's closing next month. Boo hoo. I used a $15 off coupon to get Nadia a winter coat for $20 that was originally $70.

8. Since we ate so much popcorn, we didn't want to eat a big dinner. I used a $10 coupon for Dunkin Donut, which meant our dinner cost me less than $4. Since then I got another $10 coupon for Dunkin Donuts. Yay!

9. On Friday night there was a Christmas program at church. The Soul Patrol kids' choir sang three songs. We only

stayed for half of the program because it didn't end until 9pm. Nadia left her basketball practice for a few minutes to sing and then went back to her practice. It was convenient that her practice is held in one of our church's gyms.

10. On Sunday we enjoyed the Candlelight Service in the morning. Two years ago I remember it was very nerve wracking for me as Paul didn't come with us and I was nervous about my 3, 6, and 7 year olds each holding a candle during several verses of Silent Night and Joy to the World. Last year it was much less stressful because Paul and my Dad were with us, and this Sunday I was only responsible for Oliver as Paul had his eye on Nadia and Ian. I always love singing Christmas carols, especially O Holy Night.

11. Yesterday we had a wonderful time with Paul's family. The kids are still enjoying their new toys today, the boys are wearing new clothes from Grandma, and Oliver has already worn his new gloves. The food was also delicious! I received a gift of a win by the Steelers (12-3 record at the moment). Today we were able to FaceTime with the Towfighis, which was wonderful as we won't be seeing them in person this month.

12. Paul had a three day weekend as he gave his employees off today. It was nice to have three days in a row with him.