New Year's Eve

“New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights.”

-- Hamilton Wright Mabie

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Happy New Year!! May the Lord richly bless your 2011 in ways you never thought possible.

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Best wishes from the whole family!!

"The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore."
-- Psalm 121:7-8

Christmas Day

Here's the pictures, everyone!! Christmas at the P house. =) Hope you enjoy - and have a fabulous evening!!!!

We started off the morninging with a devotional on Christmas. And of course the traditional reading of Luke 2!

Abby!

Roberta... =)

Hey, there's even a picture of me on here! Uhhhh... that is, my feet!! =) Counts, doesn't it?

Christmas art.

Now wouldn't it be fantastic if that ring actually took pictures?!

It's a... it's a.... oh, my word!
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It's a RAPUNZEL WIG!!
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It's... my... DAD in a Rapunzel wig. Uhhh.... somehow, that looks really weird.
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Gator fan!

And we finished the day with board games - Herd Your Horses, Horseopoly, and the Settlers of Catan, to name a few. =)
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I hope your Christmas was just as fantastic!! Hugs!

Below Zero!

Look what we woke up to this morning!! Brrrr...

I'll be posting Christmas celebration pictures shortly... stay tuned!!!

Do You Speak English?

I don't think it's a commercial, like it says it is.... but it surely is hilarious!

Eight Inches

Soooo.... for all of you who live where there isn't any snow... or not enough... or even for those of you who live where there's plenty of snow... Here's the latest on our snow level!! 24 hours straight snowing, and here's the result.

And the SUN came out today - yipeeeeeee!! You may have guessed it... the first time in many days.

And just because I'm always on the other side of the camera, here's me. Actually, I was still doing my job. Self-portrait is right!

Sarah and Flame.

Winter wonderland!

Absolutely covered!

Now I wonder who that might be...

It's a cow!
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Hi, Millie.

Wide open spaces... =)

Blue and white seem to be the colors of the day. Except when it's cloudy. Then it's white and white.... er... gray.

And that pretty much sums it up for now!! More posts coming later... =) Have a great evening!!

Merry Christmas!!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 6:9
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Merry Christmas from Dave, Leslie, Joe, Roberta, Hannah, Sarah and Abby!! God bless your holiday season - and have an awesome 2011!!

This is Christmas

{repost from my blog.}

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Hundreds of little tiny lights. The tangy taste of peppermint. Sharp pine needles and soft snowflakes. Familiar Christmas songs. Laughter. The rustle of wrapping paper and the giggles that always accompany a whisper or two. This is Christmas.
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And for many people, that's all Christmas is. A bunch of family traditions, a hectic shopping trip or two, a whirlwind of a white Christmas, a tangle of ribbon and tape. In this crazy world, it's a rare person who stops to think about why we're doing this. Why we try share joy this time of year. Why we can go around with smiles on our faces. Why can some people have peace in the middle of an "over-commercialized" holiday season? They don't know.
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But I know.
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It's not solely in the light of the Christmas tree that I find peace. It isn't just the Christmas music. It's not in the decorations that my family pulls out year after year that I see the reason.
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It's in a manger.
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It's in the joy of giving of myself, like God did two thousand years ago, when the greatest Gift was given. He gave us a Savior - the most precious gift ever. No one could give any more than God did - His only Son - or any more than His Son gave for us. His life.
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It's our turn.
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Like the Wise Men who came to honor the birth of our Savior, it's time we gave our whole lives to Christ - surrendered our entire hearts to Him. It's the highest thing on His Christmas wish list. He wants us to return to Him - to the one who made us and gives us the gift our every breath. Every day is a gift. Every smile. Every precious moment.
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He gave it all to us because He loves us. No one can take that away from us. No one can make Him stop loving us - stop caring, trying, knocking on the door of our hearts. The true "magic" of Christmas is revealed when we stop and listen to Him. When we quit worrying about the presents or the traditions. When we turn our gaze away from whatever this crazy world is doing to make this important holiday season "politically correct."

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When we return to the most humblest of beginnings we find nothing but a manger in a stable. The Child. A cold night in Bethlehem. A chorus of angels, a beautiful star. A virgin and a carpenter. Several emotional, enthusiastic shepherds. A weary donkey.

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In other words... we find the greatest Gift ever. The most truly awesome thing ever done for all of us was a Baby. "The Son of the Most High." Jesus.

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It's love.

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Merry Christmas!!!!

Hannah
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Success!!

Woot, woot!! Up and running!! View here.

sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen!! =)

Technical Difficulties...

Hey, all - that video in the post below doesn't show up on my computer. I'm working hard to fix it! Stay tuned...

Sarah Teaches Abby the Fine Art of Marshmellow Cookery

This is epic!!! A definite must-see. It would definitely win the Pulitzer Prize for Sibling Interaction (if there was such a prize... haha!!).
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ps.... it's from Mom, Dad, Sarah and Abby's camping trip in August.

O Christmas Tree

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!"
Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, 1836

I thought ya'll might enjoy the pictures I'm just about to post on my blog of our Christmas Tree decorating party! It's a P family tradition with a long and glorious history. It's one of those traditions that a family has... you know the kind. Where the kids would mutiny if it didn't take place.

Anyway, that's the P family for you! Lots of traditions. It's what makes our house a home.

Christmas love and greetings from our home to yours!!

Aren't these just the cutest ornaments ever? They're called "Shiny Brites," and they're reproductions of vintage ornaments that were really popular in the 1950s, I believe. Anyway... thought I might as well throw a little history lesson out there for ya'll, haha!

Wait... what and who are we decorating here? Sarah or the Christmas tree?

Art...

More art... (you're probably used to this by now!!)

Mom works her magic... =)

You may not know it, but there is a definite art in decorating a tree. Ask Abigail - the professional. I'm sure.

We've collected ornaments from every corner of this world that we've lived. They all mean something different - which is pretty awesome, I think!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good... um... afternoon!!

Florida, Part One

Once again... just some pictures I've posted before on my blog... simply for the enjoyment of all of you who only read this one! Anyway, these are pictures from our Florida trip that we took in October. Yesss... October. Late? Maybe.