Toy Soldiers, Telescope and Nose Hair

It seems like the more frugal we are at Christmas, the more God blesses us! When people ask Josiah if got what he wanted for Christmas, his reply has been "Yes, everything I wanted!". We had drilled into him all month that Christmas is about giving not receiving and there wasn't going to be many presents this year. Not only did I received a very generous bonus from my boss (I do 6 to 8 hours of soil database work from home each week), but our friends and family also blessed the kids with much. The above picture is of Josiah playing with the bucket of WWII soldiers and pillbox he got from his Nana and Papa. He plays with these just about every day. He uses his Jenga blocks to build more pillboxes and bunkers. 

Josiah really wanted a telescope. I was able to purchase a small cheap one at a yard sale last summer and I saved it for Christmas. I should have checked it before I gave it to him, but I forgot. He opened it up, so excited, but we soon realized it was broken. Although disappointed, he did really well when we told him that we would buy him a different one (thanks to my Christmas bonus) when we went out of town to visit family. He waited patiently for a week. My husband found a much better telescope and we gave it to him when we got home. He loved it! 

Hailey is trying to focus in on her daddy's nose hairs in this picture! Sorry, I know that is gross, but that's the way we roll around here. 

We haven't had a clear night sky up until a few days ago, so Josiah has been trying to focus in on the neighbors instead, LOL. We told our next door neighbor and she wrote him a little note to find in her window. I love our neighbors! Very supportive of us homeschoolers, LOL. The sky finally cleared up on the night there was a full moon. So cool! 

Hope you are all enjoying your Christmas blessings both large and small, material and eternal. God wants to bless us so much! What are we doing with those blessings? Are we satisfied or are we longing for more? God, examine our hearts and minds and help us to be oh so grateful for all You have given us!

God Bless,

Jackie