Beginning to look like Christmas...

Since Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Christmas is fast approaching, we decided to break out the fake Christmas tree that we got last year for $5 on clearance and spruce up the place a bit. It actually turned out pretty nice! Murray's going to have fun playing with it, we're sure...









Speaking of Murray, we just got him back today from the vet. He was declawed and became an "it" :) He's been pretty mellow today, and his meows are pretty pathetic. He sure was happy to be home, though.

Dylan and Forrest finally got to try out their home-brewed beer last night! It was a success!! AND it will probably get even better because the beer is supposed to be at its best 21 days after the initial two-weak fermentation.





I've been spending extra time studying this weekend for finals that are coming up in a couple weeks. I have 5 of them spread among 3 days, but I don't think it'll be all that bad. Hopefully I'll be motivated this week to do some works/studying so that I won't feel overloaded during finals week.

Yesterday we finally got our Christmas shopping done... it was an expensive day! Christmas time brings about such a mix of feelings... happiness and joy for the family, warmth, good food, and the celebration of our Savior's birth mixed with perplexity and frustration at the consumerism of America. Been thinking about it too, I suppose? We've found a challenging video on adventconspiracy.org. Check it out if you haven't already.

We hope and pray that, amidst the busyness and shopping and stress of the days, you are still finding grace and peace to lead you through moment by moment. Don't forget what Christmas is really about.