Merry Christmas!

I wrote this post Christmas day but just managed to get the photos uploaded. Yikes!

Things have been so crazy around here trying to find and purchase a house and pack, etc., that I haven't recorded all our Advent doings. This year we read through A Family Advent: Keeping the Savior in the Season each night as well as watching Advent Calendar on DVD 2.

We also gave our traditional family gifts each Sunday in Advent. The first Sunday's gift was Tim Hawkins' new DVD, Insanitized. The second Sunday's gift was the new Veggie Tales DVD It's a Meaningful Life. The third Sunday's gift was a 15-in-1 Family Pack for the Wii. Finally, for the 4th Sunday in Advent, the kids received the Wii Party game. They've had a blast playing with this game.

The girls made a gingerbread house again this year. Can you tell that Carys really helped this time?


On Christmas Eve, we went to candlelight service on the square in Ocala hosted by our church, Cross Pointe Ocala. Afterwards, we had Chinese, as usual. Sometimes we have take-out, but this year we ate at the buffet in Ocala as it would have been too late to have take-out at home. We had our devotion, then the kids opened their Christmas Eve gift, which was two long-sleeved shirts each.

On Christmas morning, Greg had to wake everyone up at 9:11a.m. when the cinnamon rolls came out of the oven since they were all still sleeping.


Finally, we had Christmas morning devotions, took the annual picture in front of the tree, and opened gifts.


The kids drew names again this year. Gerren got Chase the Pride and Prejudice DVD.


Landon got Carys a Furr Friends puppy.


Chase got Landon a new wallet.


Carys got Gerren a thermal shirt.


Since this blog is a family record, I like to list everyone's gifts so we can check back if we need to. So, skip this part if it bores you. The following gifts were all from Mom and Dad.

Landon: luggage set, My Utmost for His Highest leather bound book, shaving kit, jacket, watch





Gerren: CAP boots, Diary of a Wimpy Kid (5-book set), Mustang calendar, $50 iTunes gift card, Axe gift set


Chase: arrows, black purse, leather gloves, Nancy Drew book The Twin Dilemma, the new Tinkerbell DVD, a dress for Liberty, a skin for her iTouch (which doesn't fit and has to be returned)


Carys: easel, beads, string and pattern cards set, Toy Story 3 DVD, Tiana costume from Princess and the Frog, bath robe




Greg: 2 new belts (from the kids), TNIV Study Bible, John Grisham's new book The Confession, 300-lb Olympic weight set (hidden in Landon's closet all month)




Linda: Presto popcorn popper (from the kids), toaster, gold watch (mine died), gold earrings (I lost one gold hoop of the set I wore constantly!), Yoshi knife (I've been wanting one of these!)

We went to Greg's brother's family's house for dinner which was a fabulous prime rib, baked potatoes, Caesar salad, and crescent rolls followed by my famous chocolate cheesecake and Kay's chocolate chip pecan pie. After dinner, we headed to the movies to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Our niece/cousin Rebekah hadn't seen it, so she went with us. We loved it.

After we got home around 6:30pm, we opened our stockings. This has become a tradition by default even though it's probably backwards from the way most people do it. It makes for a nice evening, though.

Landon said that the stocking stuffers just keep getting better and better.


Gerren wasn't too thrilled with his stocking stuffers.


Chase put in specific requests for her stocking (lotion, body spray, perfume, etc.)


Carys' stocking is harder to stuff for me. The big kids always get gum and a $10 iTunes gift card. So, I have to think of other things for Carys. She liked this Little Mermaid polly-pocket-type doll.


Even Dad got a stocking filled with goodies.


As you can see, I wasn't even home that day. Just kidding! I guess I was the one taking all the pictures!

The day after Christmas, Chase and Landon headed to Tyndall AFB in Panama City for Winter Encampment. I told them that this is the last year any Meahls are going to Winter Encampment. It just cuts our vacation too short!

Thanksgiving Pictures at Last!

The Miskiewicz family hosted Thanksgiving this year at their home in Raleigh, NC. They have this fabulous enclosed back porch with a gas fireplace where we spent a lot of time.

There's a great table to eat at...


...and a lot of other cozy seating.


I perused the Black Friday ads first thing Thanksgiving morning.


While we sat on the porch, Carys played with Abby in the back yard.


Little did we know that she was systematically destroying some of Kim's garden (pulling up little stakes that said what was planted where, etc.)!


The kids played tons of games over the three days we were there.


Risk and Apples to Apples and games I'd never seen or heard of before!


Everyone had to have a ride in Matt's new Miata.


Kim's nephew (son of her twin sister) Jeremiah, his wife Meredith, and his dad Tom joined us for dinner. Jeremiah did a lot of the dishes before we even ate.


Why is there always a picture of Greg filling his plate?


Some pictures around the table. "Uncle" Tom, Landon, and Gerren


Jeremiah and Meredith


Erin Miskiewicz and her boyfriend Jeremy Phillips


Greg and me


Kim and Carys


At lot of time was spent on the various laptops...



...and jamming upstairs as well.


Dave plays the guitar as does Chase.


Jeremy is studying at Liberty and hopes to be a worship leader someday. He plays many instruments.


The adults went out to eat by themselves Saturday night to The Mellow Mushroom (we'd never been there before).


Carys ADORED Abby and was so sad to leave her.


These are the beautiful faces of the people I love most in the world!

Carys:


Chase:


Gerren:




Landon:


Greg:


Thanks for the great time, Kim, Dave, Matt and Erin. But all good things come to end, so we headed home on Sunday morning.

The Opposition of the Natural

December 9th's reading in My Utmost for His Highest was based on Galatians 5:24. I always begin reading the section the verse is in wherever it starts, so I was reading Galatians 5:19-21 which says:

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (NLT)

I found it SO interesting that "the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group" was included in that list! I'm not sure I ever "saw" that before. In the NIV, this phrase is replaced by the word "factions". That's probably why I'd skipped over it before. I have certainly had experience with this kind of legalism lately. Why do people think that just because they are convicted of something that everyone else should be as well? Someone I love very much is under the influence of a person/group like this.

Chambers writes:

The things that are right, noble, and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that keep us from being God's best. Once we come to understand that natural moral excellence opposes or counteracts surrender to God, we bring our soul into the center of its greatest battle. Very few of us would debate over what is filthy, evil, and wrong, but we do debate over what is good. It is the good that opposes the best. The higher up the scale of moral excellence a person goes, the more intense the opposition to Jesus Christ. 'Those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh...' [Gal. 5:24a]

I just love that! Dear God, keep me from imposing my idea of natural moral excellence on myself or anyone else.

Poor Neglected Blog

I really needed to change the background of this poor blog from the fall motif to Christmas! Lots has been happening here. Things are always busy in December.

We went to Raleigh, NC, for Thanksgiving with our friends the Miskiewicz's. I didn't take many pictures. Kim did, and I'll get them from her eventually. But Dave's dad passed away last Monday, so life has been more hectic than usual for them.

Also last Monday, we found out that the house we've been living in has sold. Cloosing will be January 28, so we have to be out by then. We've been looking at houses in Ocala. However, Greg has a very slight possibility of a job in Illinois. We are praying that we don't buy a house in Ocala just to find out he has a job in Illinois. He also has a job possibility in Ocala. Although I have really wanted to move closer to my parents, if Landon ends up going to school at UCF, I'd prefer to stay in Florida. I just don't want him to live 1000 miles away from home.

We'd appreciate any prayers you can send up on our behalf, for direction and wisdom and clarity of God's perfect plan for us.