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Christmas Tree 2013 ~ family traditions

December 7, 2013Written by Joy

We have several family traditions that we like to keep during the Christmas season. One of those traditions that we love to do, is going to pick out our Christmas tree. Every year, usually the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we head out to choose a tree. The past couple of years, our oldest son hasn’t been able to join us, but this year, he made sure that he was off work. We enjoy this time with one another, to bond together as a family and to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus.

Samuel and Claire

I love watching the kids run from tree to tree, checking out the size, if there are any holes in the tree, is the trunk straight. They look at everything! Even the older two kids get into making sure the tree is just the right one.

Michael and Claire

This day was no exception. It had to be just the right one. They looked at almost every single tree in the lot. It was so much fun and a lot of joy, watching the kids. All the laughing, smiling and joking with one another, brings so much happiness to this momma’s heart.

Sarah and Samuel

They did finally all agree on one tree and then we were on our way home with it, tied to the top of the van and joking all the way home, wondering if we would have a tree still attached to the van.

Once we got home, dad put the tree in the stand and then we got the tree set up in the corner of the room. Dad then gets the lights and puts them on the tree. We usually let the tree settle with the lights and then the next day, the kids put the ornaments on the tree.

Kids decorating tree.

I love watching the kids decorate the tree. They look at each ornament and always ask, “who made this ornament?” Or “who gave us this ornament?” I love reminiscing with the kids about Christmas’ of the past.

Some of the ornaments that are our favorites, I am sharing below. The angel topper is 20 years old. We got that angel when our oldest son was 11 months old. It has been with us through our moves to NC and CO. I look forward to seeing my husband put it on the tree, every year.

Angel Topper

Being from Florida, we are huge Florida Gator fans. When we moved to NC, we had a friend who didn’t want us to forget about Florida and he sent us these ornaments. The kids are so careful when they put these on the tree. They make sure they are up at the top, so they don’t get knocked off.

Gator Ornaments

Other than our angel topper, I think my favorite ornament is one that I painted with the kids. It truly summarizes what the who Christmas season is all about. Jesus. All because God sent His precious Son to us, in a Holy Night.

O Holy Night.

My husband and I do our best to teach our children about Jesus and why we celebrate his birth. While we have some amazing traditions, teaching them about Jesus is our most important one.

What Christmas traditions do you have with your family? I would love to hear about them!

2013 Christmas, family, Jesus, traditions, tree

first time sledding this year ~ family traditions

October 20, 2013Written by Joy

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first time sledding this year ~ family traditions

This past week, we got a pretty good snow in our area. While we did get snow in our city, it didn’t stick for long. So we headed off to the mountains to find the perfect sledding place. This is one of my favorite family traditions. I look forward to every snow we get!

We found this great place called Berthoud Pass. There is a trail that you can walk along with this huge hill that you can play in the snow. There were people skiing, snow boarding, hiking, snowshoeing and sledding.

It didn’t take the kids long to get their snow pants, jackets, hats and gloves on. They headed up the hill pulling their sleds behind them.

Claire’s first trip down didn’t go so well, but she laughed, got up and headed back up the hill. The snow was like powder and they had to make a couple of trips in the same place to get the snow packed down.

Samuel was trying to find the best path down. Once he got going, he didn’t want to stop!

What was so wonderful besides watching my children laugh and have a wonderful time? Meeting another homeschooling family playing in the snow! The kids played so well together and shared our sleds with them. They even raced down the hill! There was a lot of good laughs and a friendship made at 11,000ft.

This was our view from Berthoud Pass. I see it as a place we will visit many times a year. We can’t wait to go back to hike the trail!

Once we said our goodbyes, we headed on around Loveland Pass. We had been there about a month ago and couldn’t wait to check it out when it had snowed.

As you can tell, the drive to Loveland Pass, did not disappoint. The view was amazing. The wind was blowing so hard, that the snow was just blowing around and off the tops of the mountains.

Once we got to the Loveland Pass pull-off, some of us (ahem, me and a couple of the kids) sat in the van! It was COLD! the wind was blowing like CRAZY! We saw people being dropped off, so they could ski, snow board and snow show down the mountain. I don’t see how they were staying so warm with the wind blowing like it was.

My husband braved the wind and the cold and ended up with some amazing pictures. The view was a sight to behold. God’s creation is so amazing and wonderful to be in. I am so thankful and blessed that we are able to live in this area.

How has the weather been in your area? Are you taking any fun trips with your family? I would love for you to share your family traditions with me!

2013, family, photography Berthoud Pass, family, Loveland Pass, mountains, photography, sledding, snow, traditions

Rocky Mountain National Park ~ field trip

February 8, 2013Written by Joy

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Rocky Mountain National Park ~ field trip

One of our favorite things to do as a family is to do field trips and go riding around our area to look for new things to do. We love to have our own little adventures. Recently, we rode to Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park. Estes Park was having a winter festival with lots of games, chili and a mac-n-cheese cook-off’s and music. There were also a lot of vendors peddling their homemade wares. We truly had a wonderful time. It was quite cool though, the wind was blowing a lot. We decided that we would leave and ride around a bit before it got too dark.

Rocky Mountains National Park

Once we left the festival, we realized that a Rocky Mountain National Park entrance was right around the corner from where we were at. We decided to buy an annual pass to the park so that we can explore more of it later. I can’t wait until it warms up and we can go hiking on some of the trails.

Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

As we passed through the entrance, the scenery was just beautiful. We even spotted a herd of elk just off the road. Of course it was easy to see considering there were about 10 other vehicles pulled off and stopped in the road. We joined right in to watch the gorgeous creatures.

Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

The elk just stood there and continued to eat. Every now and then, one would look up and around to see if they were still being watched.

Herd of Elk

There were two elk that decided to start head butting each other. Those pictures didn’t turn out well. You could definitely tell one was an older elk putting a younger else in his place!

Elk running down the road

As we left the herd of elk and continued on down the road, we saw an elk running beside the road. God’s creatures are so amazing!

Sun setting on the Rocky Mountain National Park

As we continue on the small loop, the sun was starting to set. The clouds were just gorgeous. God sure does know how to paint the sky!

cool clouds over the Rocky Mountains

We were on just a small loop of the Rocky Mountain National Park. We decided to just take this small loop since it was getting dark.

beautiful sunset over the Rocky Mountains

Riding around on adventures like this is a favorite pastime for our family. It is time we get to explore God’s creations and a time we get to spend with one another.

I am linking up with Tonya over at The Traveling Praters for Best of the USA Blog Hop. I can’t wait to see all the places highlighted in this blog hop! I hope you will go visit the others who have link-up!

2013, family, homeschooling Best of the USA Blog Hop, family, field trips, homeschooling, Rocky Mountain National Park, traditions

over at The Homeschool Village today ~ talking family traditions

December 14, 2012Written by Joy

I am over at The Homeschool Village today talking about Family Traditions. I love the family traditions that we have and we are all the time making new ones. Do you have any family traditions? Are there special places you go or special things you do together? Stop by The Homeschool Village to see what family tradition I am talking about today!

Don’t forget to leave a comment and tell me about what special traditions you have with your family!

2012, homeschooling, The Homeschool Village 2012, family, homeschooling, The Homeschool Village, traditions

making Christmas traditions and memories ~ ornaments

December 9, 2012Written by Joy

I love making memories and traditions with my kids. It is my hope that my children remember these times and pass them on to their families when they are older. One of the traditions that we have is making ornaments and collecting ornaments together. I also love those special ones that have been given to us by people that we love. Every ornament on our tree has a story and our children love reminiscing about the ornament of where it came from and who gave it to us. It makes my heart happy to see my children take such good care of these precious memories.

The angel below, Buddy and I got when our oldest son was 11 months old. It was his very first Christmas. That was 19 years ago.

our angel.

The beaded candy cane ornament was made by my oldest son when he was in elementary school. The Angel is made from my youngest daughter’s footprint and hand prints. The foam star was made by my oldest daughter. The stocking ornament with the little girl on it was given to our youngest daughter by our neighbor in NC. The Santa Clause, I painted when we lived in Florida, 10 years ago. It was our first year of homeschooling and the kids and I painted ornaments.

Angel made from a foot print and hand prints.

This angel was given to our oldest son when he was just 4 years old. His Sunday School preschool teacher, Mrs. Susie Douglas gave it to him. She loves him so much and the feeling was mutual. Michael loved her dearly. She loved the children in her class. Sadly, she passed away several years ago and will always have a special place in our hearts.

an angel given to our oldest son when he was 4.

I saw this ornament and had to buy it and paint it. It is my favorite Christmas song. It reminds me of that special night, so long ago, when God sent his only Son to be born of a virgin.

an ornament I painted with the kids.

The three Gator ornaments are from a very dear friend. He sent these to us when we lived in NC. We are huge Gator fans, since that is where we originally are from. You can also see our sun catcher candles that we made from the very first lesson of the Advent study we are doing.

Gator ornaments given to us by a friend.

The ornaments below were made by all of our children. We have a snowflake by our youngest son, a Christmas tree by our youngest daughter, the bear is painted by my oldest daughter and the CD ornament was made by our oldest son when he was in school.

ornaments kids made.

So many memories on our tree. By looking at this tree, it shows just how blessed that we are. God has been so good to us and has allowed so many special people in our lives. I am so blessed by being able to stay at home with our children and able to make and do so much with them to make those special memories. Yes, I am so thankful and blessed.

Do you make ornaments with your children? What other special traditions do you have?

2012, family 2012, angel, blessings, children, Christmas, family, friends, memories, ornaments, traditions