A Tropical Christmas

As my American friends and family begin posting their complaints about the freezing weather on facebook, we are sitting here sweating with temperatures hitting over 100F (40C+) and 80% humidity every. single. day.  I hear them say, at least you have air conditioning (for which I am VERY thankful) or go swimming (although the water is warm and not really refreshing at the moment), and I reply, yes, but you can sit by the fire and wrap up in a warm, snuggly blanket.  The grass is always greener, right?!

Right now it is currently 103F outside, and I am sitting in our air conditioned homeschool room finishing up Christmas shopping online for our family and friends in America.  I have so much I can complain about, but I have so much for which to be thankful.  I am trying hard to dwell on the positives, and ignore the negatives.

We are doing our yearly traditions of decorating the outside and inside of the house.  Making our tropical snowman (out of boxes) and baking Christmas cookies.  Last week our town had a fun Christmas street parade and markets, although it rained for most of it, we had a great time.  Last week our town also held a Carols by Candlelight.  My friend helped organise it and over 1500 people attended.  It was amazing.  I even heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.  God is good.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas season!

The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio Collection {TOS Review}

Christmas is right around the corner!  We recently had the opportunity to review the digital downloads of  The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio collection by Todd Wilson.

I first heard of The Familyman when I went to a homeschool convention many years ago.  I purchased several of his books, so I was excited to do a review for The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio Collection.
We have added read alouds to our homeschool day, and it was fun to change it up a bit and add these "books on tape" as I kept referring to them and my kids had no clue what I was talking about!  There is just something fun about listening to audios.  I downloaded these to my phone so we could listen to them in the house or in the car.

Colouring while listening to audios.

The Familyman's Christmas Treasury - Audio Collection includes these stories:

• Captain Chaos and the Manger Blaster
• Cootie McKay's Nativity
• Gladys Remembers Christmas
• Harold Grubbs and the Christmas Vest
• The Bishop's dream
• The Stranger

We were also given two bonus ones to listen to - It's Called Christmas and The Secret of Snow Village.

I'll give you a brief description below of each of the stories in the collection:

Captain Chaos and the Manger Blaster - 10 year old Jason is a tired of hearing of hearing the manger story over and over and pretends to blast it to pieces.  He is sent to bed early where he meets Captain Chaos and sees what would happen if there was no manger.

Cootie McKay's Nativity - The year was 1956 and they almost didn't have Christmas, but Cootie McKay, who didn't know much about Christmas but along with his new Bible he saved the day and it was the best Christmas they ever had.  (This is probably my favourite.)

Gladys Remembers Christmas - Such a sad but lovely story.  Gladys lost her mum when she was young, and was raised by a strict father who provided for them, but never showed love.  Gladys wasn't a fan of Christmas, but one day a visit to an old house changed everything for her.

Harold Grubbs and the Christmas Vest - Every year after Thanksgiving, Harold's father pulls out an ugly vest and wears it to church.  Find out why that vest is so important to Harold's father.

The Bishop's Dream - Where did the myth of Santa Claus come from?  This delightful audio will explain how Santa Claus came about.

The Stranger - How often do we turn our nose up to someone who is dirty and smells funny?  What if someone like that shows up at your church or your door asking for help?  Do you let them in?  Do you help?  This was a lovely story, and something we encounter on a regular basis here.  My kids enjoyed this one.

The Familyman's Christmas Treasury is a wonderful collection of stories that point people to Christ.  Christmas is our favourite time of the year and what an amazing opportunity to speak to others about Christ when they are in the "Christmas Spirit".  As we celebrate Christmas we keep our focus on Him, and incorporate that in everything we do during the Holiday Season.  This Christmas Treasury will definitely be something we listen to again.

The Familyman's Todd Wilson said about his audio collection,  “As the father of eight children, I wanted Christmas stories that took longer than 5 minutes to read, didn’t confuse the truth with a tale, and above all, pointed my children to the Savior. I couldn’t find any, so I wrote my own. My hope is that Cootie McKay”s Nativity will give you gobs of snuggling time, Christmas enchantment, and will point your children to the manger year after year. ”

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For more reviews of The Familyman's Christmas Treasury click below...

Our Gingerbread House

We made a little snowman there and a candyman.  You may also see the red legs/black boots sticking out of the chimney.  That was Cody's idea.  :)

If You Give a Fireman a Cookie...

...chance are he will give you a ride in his firetruck.

The kids and I baked lots of cookies and took some to our local police station, fire station, and ambulance station.  The cookies were happily received (except from the police, apparently they're not allowed to accept gifts).  Fireman Chris and Fireman Bernie gave the kids a tour of the firetrucks and then gave us a ride!  What a fun adventure!!

Our Christmas Service

We have been planning, preparing, and praying for our Christmas service and I am so excited to share these photos with you.  It was a wonderful evening.I have also posted a video of our Christmas play.  Click here to see it.

Waiting for everyone to arrive.

Someone graciously donated 50 coloring books for us to give to the kids,

so we wrapped them and added a pencil and candy cane.

People started arriving an hour early!

Meisha the angel 

Paddy the shepherd

Shanton the shepherd

Jai was Caesar Augustus and again Meisha the angel

We had lots of adorable sheep!

More angels

Did I mention we had some adorable sheep?

My view from the piano.

Jocelyn and Anita sang a beautiful song in Kriol called Immanuel

Anxiously waiting for the play

My handsome pastor

Chadwick read the Scripture reading in Kriol.

They were so excited about the presents.

I couldn't be more proud of our kids and the job well done they did.  We had many first time visitors come just to see the kids in their play.  What an amazing opportunity to share the love of God at Christmas time!

Barunga Community Church Children's Christmas Play

I am so excited to share our Christmas Play with you.  Our kids worked hard on this since mid-November.  We had over 60 people in church for our Christmas service.  It is so exciting looking back at this past year and all that God has done in Barunga.  We are currently working on a Year in Review Video that we are hoping to share next week at our church, and then I will post on here for you all to see.  

Merry Christmas!

The mess is one of my favourite parts of Christmas morning.

I made turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, stuffing, and rolls for lunch.

One of my Christmas gifts from my husband!

We had a wonderful Christmas.  Although we were away from our family, we had a nice day at home, and were able to call them all in our evening/their morning to wish them a Merry Christmas.

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

...the children and dog were all asleep on the couch.

Christmas Around our House

Welcome to our home.

Our dog is always here to greet you!

Our little snowman says "Let it Snow".

One can only dream!

The living room area is just about finished.

I love my Willow Tree Nativity.

We found these Christmas tree decals and the kids decorated their doors.

Cody has a little tree in his room.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas Around our Town

Our little town had a fun Street Christmas Party,

which included a parade!

We had such a fun evening!

Our town also put on a Carols by Candlelight.

So thankful for the churches that joined in and brought us actual Christmas carols!

I can't get over some of these new Christmas songs!

Another church in town had a Carols in the Garden.

The had tons of costumes for the kids to dress up in to participate in the Christmas story.

It was another lovely evening listening and singing Christmas carols.

This is how we do Christmas parties in Australia!

This was for Autumn's Scouts.

Another Christmas party was for my volunteers at work.

Cody and I made gingerbread cookies and we made these cute gifts for the volunteers.

We have a few more Christmas things going on this week and next, then our town will empty out.  I'm looking forward to a bit of calmness and just relaxing.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

The time from Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day is my favorite time of the year.  It seems that people in general are just more happy.  Happiness and kindness is all around!  Here is what Christmas looks like in our home right now.  Our focus is on Christ and celebrating His coming to earth to live a humble life and later die on the cross for my sins.  

Have a seat on our lounge, Piano Guys' Christmas cd is playing through the tv.  

It's hard to see, but we have our Little People nativity under the tree.  

Buddy the Elf comes and visits us each Christmas.

We don't use him as Santa's eyes, 

we just have fun with him.

Cody joined a baking/decorating class in town.

He has so much fun.

We love making our tropical snowman!

I have more photos I'll share tomorrow and throughout the month.

I've done more decorating in the house, and need to take more photos!

Merry Christmas!

If He Had Not Come ~ David Nicholson {TOS Review}

 

 

This is my last review for the TOS Crew this year.  I will take next year off as we are embarking on new ministry and I want to give it all I have!  I hope to join the crew the following  year.  But for now, I am excited to end the year with this wonderful Christmas book!  I was given a physical hardcover copy of If He Had Not Come from David Nicholson.

 



 

If He Had Not Come was originally written by Nan F. Weeks,

and for the first time in 55 years it is updated and in print

thanks to David Nicholson.

Recommended for ages 6 and up.

 

Who doesn't love a good Christmas book?  Christmas is my favourite holiday, and in our family it is all centered around Christ.  We read through the Scripture passages of Christ's birth throughout December.  Most of our holiday decorations are focused on Christ.  I have a beautiful nativity that sits as a focal point during the holidays, because I want my children (and others who enter our home) to know that Christ is the reason we celebrate. 

"If He Had Not Come" is a beautiful story that follows a little boy named Bobby who goes to sleep on Christmas Eve anxiously anticipating Christmas morning.  That night he dreams of what it would be like if He {Jesus} had not come.  Bobby learns that the best Gift ever given wasn't under his Christmas tree, but in his heart.

My children enjoyed reading this book together.  I have it on our coffee table, and I've seen them looking through it several times.  It's brought up many good discussions, and often in our prayers we thank God for sending His Son to come.  There is a section in the back of the book that gives discussion questions.  This is a wonderful addend to the book.

 

I loved this book not only because of the beautiful illustrations, but helping put life into perspective.  Have you ever thought about what it would be like if Jesus Christ had not come.  Take a moment and just ponder that.  I am so thankful that God loves us and chose to send His only Son into this sinful world to live as a perfect example for me and then die on the cross for me.  What amazing love!

I love that David shares on his website the free gift of salvation that is offered to all.  I hope you will take the time to read it, and if you haven't already, receive this free gift of salvation.  (I always have it at the bottom of my blog as well.)  Your life will never be the same!

David Nicholson came across this book many years ago, and it made such an impact in his life that he reintroduced it to today's generation.  It was written by Nan F. Weeks, which not much is none about her except that she was a teacher and wrote stories.  "If He Had Not Come" was originally published in 1938.  To read more behind the story and to read why David reintroduced this book in print check out the FAQ on his website.

 



 

You can purchase a copy for yourself here for $18.95.

 

If He Had Not Come on Facebook.

 For more reviews of the book, please click the link below...