Christmas Eve with the Friesen's....

So, it's Christmas Day, in the afternoon. Luke is napping in his bed. Marc is napping on the couch. I napped for a bit, and then, I got up to do some blogging. I am listening to my new Newsboys CD that Marc gave me for Christmas. They're one of my favorite groups....

I want to tell everybody about our Christmas Eve....

We got up yesterday morning and headed to our little local donut shop -- Druber's. As you can tell from this photo, the weather was a bit frightful -- cold and very windy...it started to snow just as we arrived at the donut shop.



Many of you locals know about Druber's on Christmas Eve. Everybody who comes in gets one complimentary donut and one complimentary drink. Also, Santa is there for the kids. Last year, Luke wasn't feeling real well on Christmas Eve, and so, Marc just went and got some donuts for us. This year, we were all healthy.

To start off, here's a photo of Marc -- eating a donut.



Luke too ate a little bit of his donut. The donut shop was busy. Therefore, Luke was definitely enthralled with watching everybody.



An added bonus -- we saw the Smith Family and the Kirtley Family there. We also saw our neighbors, Willis and Joan.

Those of you who know Luke even a little know that Luke doesn't go to new people real well -- let alone to a man dressed in a Santa costume. So, needless to say, Luke didn't go on Santa's lap real well. In fact, we didn't even get a photo...Oh well -- Luke's certainly not the only child who wouldn't sit on Santa's lap. Perhaps next year?????

But, he did get his goody bag. Here are the goodies we found once we got home.



After we had been back home for an hour or so, we got a surprise phone call from friends Russell and Camille. Russell used to run cross-country for Marc when Marc was coaching cross-country at Bethel College. Russell and Camille were in town for Christmas (they live in Oregon now). They wondered if they could stop by. ABSOLUTELY -- anytime guys!

They stopped by for a bit. As they were leaving, I asked for a photo....Luke actually let Russell hold him for the photo -- even though he doesn't know them. Go Luke!



Russell and Camille, later in 2010, will be moving to the midwest somewhere. Perhaps we'll get to see them more????

After Luke's nap in the afternoon, we headed toward the town my parents live in -- normally about 40 minutes away or so. However, because of the interesting weather, it took a little bit longer.

We first went to church with them at their church. This is the church I attended from early on in college until Marc and I were married. It's also the church where Marc and I were married. So, it is special for me to go there for a Christmas Eve service.

Luke did absolutely FABULOUS during the Christmas Eve service (no childcare available) until he turned around and saw his Grandpa (my dad was on the lights for the service and was back in the tech booth). Then, Luke proceeded to talk out loud to my dad. So, I ended up in the hallway with him for a bit. It ended up being a neat thing in the hallway because I ended up seeing an elderly gentleman who I've known since very early childhood. It was nice to talk to him.

After church, we all headed over to my parents (our family, my brother's family, and my parents). It's always fairly wild over there (in a good way) because of three small children.

Because we all filled up on appetizers right away, we ended up opening presents before supper. Let the choas go!



Luke spent quite a bit of the evening on his Grandpa's lap (and I don't think Grandpa minded). I think he feels secure on his lap amongst everything going on. Luke's pretty used to quietness here at home with me during the week. I think the loudness sometimes intimidates him a bit.



My mom gave our two nieces some new sheets for their beds -- they're soon going to be in bunkbeds. Our oldest niece, Grace, absolutely LOVED her new Cinderella sheets. She pretty much carried them around most of the evening.



Luke received some very nice gifts from the my family, and for that, we're very grateful. He received a new wooden train (don't have a photo yet), a gift card for some new shoes (much needed), a new outfit, a pull toy (again, don't have a photo yet), etc.....We feel very blessed for what Luke received as well as what we received.

Marc received some nice stocking stuffers. Here's Marc in classic "Marc Mode" -- modeling with some of his goodies.



After presents, we sat down and had dinner together. We don't do a classic Christmas dinner...instead, this year, we had chili. The kids had mac and cheese and chicken nuggets.



After dinner, we did play a game as a family (the adults did). But, I'll make a separate post on that at another time because I won!

After dessert and more family fun, Marc and I decided we should head on out. Luke was getting tired, as you can see by this photo -- again on Grandpa's lap....



And, the weather was NOT getting any better. We knew we had a longer trip home than the usual 40 minutes. So, my dad and Marc spent some time outside in the cold, scraping the vehicle windows and shoveling. I changed Luke into his jammies and got his coat on...We ventured out.

I have to say that it truly was not the most fun drive home. However, my awesome protector and provider husband is such a "safety man." He drives very carefully and slowly through bad weather. I am sooooo very grateful for the way Marc takes care of Luke and me. I was also sooooo very grateful when we pulled safely into our garage last night. I immediately carried Luke into his bedroom and rocked him a bit before bed (it was most definitely past his bedtime). As I was rocking him, I felt so very safe inside our warm home.

I truly have so much to be thankful for....

With that being said, my sister-in-law, Amber, gave me this book last night....



It's 1001 Things to be Thankful For. It's one of those Hallmark Gift Books. Some of the things in the book are things you wouldn't even really think to be thankful for, but as I was looking through it, I was reminded that we really should be thankful for everything -- no matter how trivial. God provided everything for us....AND, it's all His.

So, I want to begin something new on this blog -- I want to list out, on each post, something in this book that I have been reminded to be thankful for.

For starters -- #8 -- Love Notes.



Here's a photo of a love note that Marc wrote to me early in 2008 -- at a Weekend to Remember marriage conference. I intentionally took a distant photo of it because I really don't want everybody else reading it. He wrote it "for my eyes only." But, that's what I love about it. It is for my eyes only. It's from my husband. It was ONE way that he has expressed his love for me -- ONE of just many ways.

I am very grateful for my husband and his love notes.

I'm also grateful for this book, reminding me of the notes to be thankful for.

Until the next post when I talk about Christmas Day and Christ's glorious birth.