Gifting

 Gifting others is so much fun!  Receiving them isn't so bad either!

I have pictures of my grandchildren and had a # 5 alongside them.  I received a     # 6  since we now have six grandchildren! 

One yet to be born, but she is still considered our grandchild!!  And her picture is up too!

Psalm 139:13-16  The Message

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

We received homemade gifts from the grandchildren.  They are all artists!  

Al received a seedling from the Redwood forest!  We will  never live to see it grow to full height!  The oldest is said to be 3,266 years old!!

When the kids went to the Redwood National Forest, Al mentioned that they should pick a seedling up for him.  I wonder if it can even grow in Kansas?

When I wrap myself in this blanket, it will be like getting a hug from the family!

I got Al an updated phone - much needed!

I'm excited to get up-close pictures of birds that come to this feeder!

I had made a photo book for the kids of pictures taken around our lake the past 15 years. 

It was so fun to see the children's excitement at opening gifts!

Kobi was not so excited.

Most of the time, he slept, while the rest of us were having a blast!

We went together with Adam and Jill to get Hannah a guitar.  

Adam had hidden it inside his old guitar case so she wouldn't know as they smuggled it down from Wisconsin.

The older kids each bought gifts for a gift exchange game.  They drew numbers.  #1 got to pick the first gift.  After opening it, #2 could open another one or steal the one that had been opened.  So on and so forth.  Mindy and Jason participated via phone.  We will take their gifts to them - so will plan a trip to Colorado soon!

This was one of the clever gifts that Jill made using the game Guess Who, only she glued in family photos including pets and grandparents.

As I thought about the fun of gifting, I thought of the many gifts God has given us.

His peace.  I can trust Him.                                                                                       "If you are in the hands of Him Who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, there are no legitimate reasons to worry." Elisabeth Elliot

His listening ear.  He hears me when I call to Him.

His Word, the Bible.  How I LOVE the Words of God!!  He speaks to me each day!!

The family He gave me!

And my church family!   What dear friends!!

The beautiful sky, trees, birds.  The beauty of nature!  Sunsets and sunrises.

Most of all, Himself!  He gives me life everlasting!  But this is a gift I choose to accept.  Can you imagine if one of the grandchildren would have said, "No thank you, I don't want that gift."??  Yet so many people choose not to accept the gift He has freely offered.

"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on Him and to our God, for He will freely pardon."     Isaiah 55:6,7

Stockings

 It is so sweet to have a tea party with my granddaughter and daughter!

Shortly after we had our tea party, our son and his family arrived, bearing gifts and luggage!

We chatted awhile, then excused ourselves for just a bit to attend a wedding reception at church for a young friend, Drew and his new bride.

I used to be his Sunday School teacher years ago! And he helped me with        DVBS (daily vacation Bible school) when he was older.

After a good visit and before going home, Al put on his Santa suit.  Every year, Santa shows up at the house to pass out stockings.  We decided Al would dress into the suit here and we'd go home and surprise the family.

Did anyone happen to see Santa driving I wonder?

When we got home, instead of surprising the family, they surprised Santa!  Someone must have snitched about our plan!

Santa went in and with some help, handed out all the Christmas stockings.

That was fun!  Do you know the real story of Santa?  Voice of the Martyrs had an article about him.  You can read it here.  "Santa" loved the Lord Jesus!  He would not be silenced about Him.

We always love filling stockings.  People have asked "What do you put in them?"  Here are some things we have done in the past years (each year they are different, except that we always put in a pair of socks and a chocolate Santa.):

Scissors, nail file, sharpie pens, nice flair or ink pen, colored pencils or crayons, teas, post-it notes, binder clips, cherry mash, highlighters, bandages, flyswatters, furikake (Japanese sprinkles to go on rice), book markers, candies, Kind bars, lip gloss, chapstick, slinky, bath toys, gum, hair ties, barretts, toothbrush, fast food gift card, nail polish, bath bombs, espresso beans, egg slicer, orange peeler, nuts, paper clips, shoe horn, jewelry, stationery, pocket knife.