Christmas Day!!

The Richards' Christmas Day was so great!! Our house rule is no one can go downstairs until 7am, so of course that is when Connor and Kara woke up Mom and Dad, and Kaitlin. Downstairs, under the tree, there was a sweatshirt and Dance Mania mat for Kara, a guitar case for Connor, and an iron and ironing board(??:) for Kaitlin. Mom got a sweet digital camera, Dad some athletic wear (for his coaching), Kaitlin an Ipod dock, Connor a guitar effects pedal, and Kara also got an Ipod dock. Mom made a very tasty breakfast- sausage, egg, and spinach casserole and homemade cinnomon rolls:) We first opened stockings, had a devotion to remind us of what we are celebrating on Christmas (the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ), ate our yummy breakfast, and then opened the gifts under the tree. It was a wonderful day to be together as a family. Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10-11

Christmas Eve

The Richards' Christmas Eve was a very relaxing one. We all did some light household chores and cooking for our Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning breakfast, and also just hung around the house together. Connor, Dad, and Kaitlin had a ping pong tournament.....Kaitlin was one point away from beating Dad for the very first time. We had a very yummy dinner that night before church- Christmas Jello mold, roast beef Au Jus sandwhiches with dipping gravy (so good:), and clam chowder. After our very tasty dinner we headed to church for the candlelight service. Once we got home we all opened our one gift....Christmas pj's for everyone, and Connor and Kara set up their mattress in Kaitlin's room (they also brought up the TV, gamecube, and movies, thinking they were going to stay up all night:). Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

The dinner table all decorated.
Our house all decorated for Christmas.

The ping pong games.

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. "He will be great, and will be called the son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end."

Luke 1:30-33

Christmas Decorations

Here are some pictures of the Christmas decorations around our house.

Our Charlie Brown Tree.
Kaitlin's Christmas in the City village- a toy store, church, conservatory, art museum, and a bus station.
Our Christmas tree.
Antique Santa-passed down from our great-great-aunt.

SGC Singles' Christmas Party

Every year Sovereign Grace has a Singles' Christmas party. This year was my first time being able to go to one. I was so excited. The team (Peter, Lizzy, and Jonathan) that thought of all the details for the party did an awesome job. It kind of had a modern flair to it. There were sheets painted with black paint hung from the ceiling, a huge chandelier/sculpture made out of 500 hangers, and glass vases on all the dinner tables filled with goldfish. Everything looked beautiful. The food was also delicious too- baked chicken, "christmas corn", new potatoes, mixed vegetables, turtle cheesecake, and yummy peppermint cheesecake. It was a great night of fellowship, food, and entertainment (some of the singles sang and played guitar for us while we were eating). Our pastor, Eric, also gave a little message reminding us who this season is really about; our Savior and King, Jesus.

The artist of the sheets, Jonathan, said he got inspired by watching the smoke rise from the insense burner in his room. I think that is exactly what it looks like too.
Rach and I. Natasha and I.
My friends Teresa and Preston.
My friend Kevin.
The hanger chandelier.

Gingerbread House Decorating

Some very kind friends of ours from church gave us these gingerbread houses to decorate (along with all the candy and icing too). Connor, Kara, and I had so much fun putting the houses together. Connor's was, "A Thatched Cottage in the Woods", Kara's, "A North Pole Church"(see the cross), and mine, "The Red Roof Inn". There was so much candy, Kara and I had trouble deciding what to do with it all. Somehow we figured out a way to get most of it on the house (some ended up in our tummy too). We all ate a little too much icing and candy, but still had a delicious time. :)

The finished product.......yummy:)

November

November was quite a very busy month for the Richards family. Here are the highlights from the month. I(Kaitlin) finished up my soccer coaching season, we celebrated Connor's 15th birthday, our good friends the Sewards(Aunt Karen, Uncle Dave, Nicole, and Sarah) came all the way from Florida to share Thanksgiving with us, and Connor and Kara had their colonial dance with their school Veritas. We all had so much fun with the Sewards and did a lot of activities with them-Williamsburg, ice skating, volleyball, Thanksgiving feast. Mom made a wonderful, tasty feast for Thanksgiving. Everything tasted sooo good(even the leftovers:) Thank you mom!! Here are the pictures from all of the events.....enjoy!!

The Thanksgiving table.

Our amazing mom made this beautiful dress for Kara in just a couple days.
Connor and his buddies.
All of the students from Veritas.

Colonial Williamsburg visit with the Sewards.

Dancing again in our 80's outfits.

Ice skating outdoors at Macarthur Center.

Our friends the Hunts came over to help celebrate Connor's birthday.

Kaitlin's soccer team, the Legends.