Day 3: Watch your Favorite Christmas Movie

yesterday we did songs, today - movies. :)

so, what is your favorite christmas movie? i know . . . sooo many good ones to choose from. don't worry, i have more than one favorite. anyway, today is a good day to go find your favorite one and watch it. we are suppose to get our first fairly decent snow tonight so it is a perfect moment to bring a little christmas into your life.

here are a few of my favorites:

white christmas: "snow.snow.snow.snow!" i just love all the singing and dancing. nerd alert.

home alone: classic. plus, it is filmed in chicago. one of kyle's favorites, too. "keep the change, you dirty animal"

elf: my favorite "newer" christmas flick. "Santa! I know him!"

christmas vacation: watched this so many times growing up. why? its dano's favorite movie. "clark, i'm gonna get ya somethin' real nice."

its a wonderful life: wanna watch a tear jerker? this ones for you. LOVE this movie, so does my mother. "every time a bell rings an angel gets it's wings."

so, grab some popcorn, or some hot chocoate. stay in your pjs and just start the christmas season off right and watch a good 'ol christmas film.

Day 2: Christmas Music

Fa La La La La, La, La, La, La!

okay - danielle 101: i LOVE christmas music.

well, i am not the type to start listening in september, but i do enjoy turning on the festive tunes right around thanksgiving. however, joseph, uh, not so much. so, that somewhat hinders my time listening to it. good thing i love him more... ;)

not sure what it is about christmas music - lyrics, melodies, it all encompasses pure joy!

so, here it is, a few of my all time favorite christmas albums/songs:

1. silent night - classic for sure. any version. any singer.

2. mariah carey - seriously?! who doesn't love this album. all i want for christmas is you? can i get an amen on this one? ;)

3. amy grant - home for christmas. grew up on this album. breath of heaven? yes, please.

4. instrumental christmas music. no lyrics, just instruments, especially piano. smile.

5. over the rhine christmas music. what i love about them is their christmas music is sooo different, but i am soooo in love with it. check them out. it is worth your time.

what are yours? i am always up for new christmas albums in my library.

need a little christmas boost today? go to pandora and make a christmas station - my recommendation: amy grant or mariah carey. great mixes.

p.s. want to listen to the worst/funniest o holy night?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk4woNRD7NQ

Day 1: Christmas Traditions

do you have a christmas tradition? if so, what is it? i am curious to know! i love traditions and i love christmas so i double love christmas traditions.

my side of the family carries on many traditions - one in fact, is my favorite and i absolutely loved as a kid. simple, but here it is: we would sit on top of the stairs on christmas morning. as a surprise to many, my brothers, sisters, and i were not the kids to run downstairs, peek, and wake everyone up at 5:00 A.M. to open presents. shocking, yes. but it probably was due to the fact that we would have gotten in serious trouble or a spanking or would be threatened that we wouldn't get any of our gifts. (gasp!) Or more than likely, the fact that we would be at our grandma's house until midnight on christmas eve so sleeping in wasn't even a question as little kids.

so yes, every christmas morning, we would get up around 9:00 A.M. and with the sound of the heater and christmas music coming from the basement - the four of us would wait patiently at the top of the stairs until our parents called us down to see what "santa" brought us that christmas.


this probably seems silly to you - but we talk about it all the time. no, we no longer do this ;) but it was such a fun moment. the anticipation, the wondering, the sleepy eyes, the smells and sounds of christmas, the giddy laughter -- this moment will always have a place in my heart and goes down as probably my favorite christmas tradition.

however, since then, i started my own little family. joseph and i. and it is fun to start new traditions. my new favorite tradition with my husband is cutting down our christmas tree. i grew up with a fake tree so when i married into a real tree family. well, the real tree won.

besides the million pine needles i have to so graciously and joyously sweep or vacuum up every day, the smells and experience far outweighs the needles.

this past weekend, joseph and i ventured about an hour and half northwest to a fun christmas tree farm in rockton, il. we got on a tractor ride and took us to find our perfect tree. after searching and searching, we stumbled upon the perfect spruce tree! (well, i think it is a spruce).

we got our handy, dandy hand saw and sawed that tree down. here are some pics:

joseph did most of the work, clearly. after we paid for it and got it in the truck we ventured back home and into the house - and now it stands loud and proud in our living room all lite up and decorated. great tradition and i can't wait to keep it going year after year (hopefully with children one day!)

so, what's your favorite christmas tradition? love to hear about it!

25 Days of Christmas Countdown

well - it is December and it started off right with some snow! hey - oh! and with my love for Christmas, you know I have to do something fun. so, here we go . . .

i normally don't participate in one of those daily advent calendars - the ones you open the door each day to find some type of gross candy to eat. but this year i am . . . with my own little twist. every day, on my blog, i will post something about Christmas. each day with have it's own theme. for example, today will be christmas traditions, one day can be your favorite christmas treat, few weeks it will be a day to blog about the real christmas story, and maybe to throw in somethin' different, i'll post a video while I make my favorite christmas cookie. who knows? you will just have to come back every day to see, huh?

so here goes my advent journey until christmas day! day one, beings...now.

burgers.blankets.bibles

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ - Matthew 25:34-40

take a walk up and down the streets of chicago and look around. did you encounter and come across any homeless people? your answer will probably be, "yes." did you just walk by? did you judge? did you give them the quarter that was in your pocket? did you ignore them and think they would buy alcohol or some type of illegal substance with the money they had?

i am assuming that we can all answer "yes" to these questions. we have all been there, we have all done that. however, i had a different experience this past sunday with about 70 high school students.

it was the annual high school thanksgiving service project and this year we went downtown to hand out burger, blankets, and Bibles to the least of these. we split up in groups, bought some burgers at macdonalds, and started to walk. and oh boy, did these students encounter many individuals that were thankful to see these kids. a simple burger or blanket went a long way with these people.

we didn't just walk by or judge - the students EAGERLY approached every wonderful individual on the street asking them if they would like a burger to eat, or a blanket to keep them warm, or even a Bible to read. they would ask them their name and ask if there was anything they could pray for them about.

one guy's pray request wasn't for himself, but for those people who just walk by, that the Lord would open their hearts to the homeless. ugh - hit in the gut. remember when we said "yes" to just walking by... his prayer request was for me!!

after handing out many, many burgers, a few blankets and Bibles, and walking a few miles - the students were ready to just sit down. it was cool to listen to a few share what they learned or saw while we were waiting for the train and then taking time in small groups to pray for those we encounter. what a blessing those prayers had to be to the Lord!

"Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." the students not only served the homeless on sunday - but also our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. how cool. what an amazing picture.

i feel so honored to serve the Lord in this ministry alongside these students. it was so encouraging to see them so willing to give their time and money to help those who hardly have two pennies to rub together. looking forward to serving alongside these students for many more years.

here are some pictures of the students:

Greatest Small Group Girls :)

our group. about 18 of the 70+ that came!

One of those days...

Today, I get the award for being an idiot. Seriously.

Of course, my Monday morning had to start off right by scraping and denting the entire side of my husband's '05 Dodge Ram Pickup. Your welcome, honey.

I can't explain the feeling when you know you did something completely idiotic. I have been driving the truck for the past week in my work's parking garage with no problem. But this morning, I wasn't thinking and out of no where, a cement pole appeared ;). Now, his beautiful truck has a lovely white scrap/dent.

As I frantically got out of the truck this morning and ran over to the other side to see the damage - I got that awful feeling in my stomach when I saw what I had done plus the uncontrollable sobs that accompanied soon after ... man, did i just start my week off perfect.

On a better note: I am thankful for such a sweet, loving, and understanding husband. As he told me to breath through my sobs and tears, he also let me know it was going to be okay. Yes, it will be. It is just a vehicle and things like this happen. Just like when he scraped the same side six months back on a huge rock. Yes, we are very cautious couple. :) Merry Christmas, Danielle. A new side to our truck. :)

It's been a rough two days, but I can't dwell on the disappointments and anxiousness on how we are going to pay for this or when the Lord will answer my prayers that I thought he answered... He has a plan, in His time, and I know we go through things, even like denting our vehicle, to put us in our right place. God knew I needed that reminder this weekend, and yes, I am thankful.

So what, my week has started off not so well...but as everyone says, It can only get better from here, right? or is it worse? ;)

My Favorite Two-Year-Old

Yes, I am a proud aunt. And it makes my role easier when I have the cutest nephew in the world.

I truly love children and I have zero of my own so who better to spoil than my favorite little two-year-old, Ethan.

It is Ethan's birthday today. He turned two. And what a blessing he is. I am truly thankful for him and cherish the moments I get to spend with him since they are few and far between.

So, Mr. Ethan - Happy, happy birthday from your Auntie Dani and Uncle Joey all the way from Cary, IL to Winston Salem, NC. Praying for you little man.

Enjoy your gift! That was the biggest box I ever shipped in my life!

Here are some cute pictures of him: