Merry Christmas!

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting." Micah 5:2


Merry Christmas!

Milk & Cookies

Aren't Christmas cookies just scrumptious?

And baking them with 4 enthusiastic helpers is a blast!!

Though the boys tired of our Christmas baking, the girls were in it for the long haul...

Mixing the icing and cutting out the shapes.

Noah's patented, "Is this going on your blog?" face. :P

And I can say with all honesty, that these cookies were delicious!

Silver & Gold... & Blue?

Here at the Powell home, we go a little crazy with Christmas decorations...
and therefore, several years ago, I started putting up a blue and silver tree.

But, if you have WVU ornaments, it has to be a Silver, Gold, and Blue tree. Right?

So, with flowers,

Snowmen,

and gold icicles, my tree is complete.

Gifts for Madge and Guy

Tea and Presents. Mmm. Good day.

"I never thought it was such a bad little tree."

One tree down... and one to go. :)

Only at the Powell Family Christmas Party

Does Sandy Claus choose to make an appearance.

We all sit on his lap and receive our presents.

And I do mean *all* of us!

Success!

Mrs. Semel's Shredded Potato Casserole was a huge hit! Even though I put in WAY too much pepper... Mm, spicy!! Mental note for next time: 1/3 - 1/2 tsp pepper. :) Definitely give this recipe a try -- your family will love it!

A Fabulous Christmas Day

A Christmas day filled with the nativity story, singing, presents, food, fellowship, and games is wonderful. I hope you all had a very merry -- like I did!

Merry Christmas!!

My prayer for my blog is that it helps and builds each of you up according to your needs. Merry Christmas to my dear readers and all who stumble upon this blog. May God bless you and help you to remember the reason for the season!

Christmas Eve Service

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and lineage of David.

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ~Taken from Luke 2

A Few More Sleeps Til' Christmas

Santa's Cookies

Yum Yum, er... Ho ho ho?

It is that time of year again, and what would Christmas be without cookies?! Well, I'll confess that the past few years have been light on the baking end for me. Between finals and other craziness, I've been lax.

But -- This year is going to be different... Starting with Beth's Gingerbread, this year's cookies are off to a great start. Today's cookie of choice was chocolate pretzels, if they can be called cookies. :)

Hersey Kisses, Pretzels, and M&M's. Tasty!

Daniel was nice enough to unwrap the kisses for me

All I Want for Christmas

Packages are again collecting under our tree. Giving gifts is a special part of the Christmas season - Especially as we remember the gift of God's Son.

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

End of Semester Finals

This is what the end of Christmastime finals looks like to me...

Got the Studyin' Blues?

Yep, it's finals week once again... Gingerbread and Coffee are the cure. Kiri posted Beth's excellent recipe on her blog a couple of years ago. And I finally got the chance to try it! Yummy. :)

Treasured Christmas Song

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S
When I was but a youngster,
Christmas meant one thing,
That I'd be getting lots of toys that day.
I learned a whole lot different,
When my Mother sat me down,
And taught me to spell Christmas this way:
"C" is for the Christ child, born upon this day,
"H" for herald angels in the night,
"R" means our Redeemer,
"I" means Israel,
"S" is for the star that shone so bright,
"T" is for three wise men, they who traveled far,
"M" is for the manger where he lay,
"A"'s for all He stands for,
"S" means shepherds came,
And that's why there's a Christmas day,
And that's why there's a Christmas day.

Faux Antique

A peek of things to come...

Christmas Eve Hymn

Behold, a Branch is growing
Of loveliest form and grace,
As prophets sung, foreknowing;
It springs from Jesse's race
And bears one little Flow'r
In midst of coldest winter,
At deepest midnight hour.

O Saviour, Child of Mary,
Who felt our human woe;
O Saviour, King of Glory,
Who dost our weakness know,
Bring us at length, we pray,
To the bright courts of heaven
And to the endless day.

I do believe in... Finals?!

Two finals taken, two finals proctored, one to go. I do believe in Christmas break, I do! I do!

I celebrate the day...

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know
how much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me,
in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes
did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might really live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes
did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day [Thank you Lord you saved] my life
-RelientK