Christmas with the Kibbie's

Here are some pictures of Christmas at our house. This year we went to Joshua Tree, CA again to celebrate with our friends Liz and Kent. We had a great time and I got to shoot a gun for the first time in my life. Kent took us out to a dried lake bed out in the middle of no where and we got to shoot his 22 rifle he's had since he was a boy. The kids had a great time climbing all over the rocks and Liz and Kent gave Aaron and I a date day where we went into Palm Springs for lunch and had a wonderful time walking and having a uninterrupted conversation. Robyn got to spend an extra week with Liz and Kent in Los Angeles learning to cook and what it is like to be the youngest (they have 3 teenagers). She loved being with them.

Before we left, as a Christmas tradition, we did our weekly Christmas advent for the month of December. For this we have 4 candles (one for each Sunday) and on Sunday evening, before bed, we have the kids sit on the couch, we light a candle, read a Christmas story and have a treat. This was great fun being able to discuss how the story related to Christ and what we can do to become more like Him. We do this weekly when it's not Christmas time, but there is something about the candles that makes it so much more special.

Another tradition we started a few years back, after we had gone through a hard time, is that we try to find a family to help and organize our friends to pitch in or we find another family that is doing this service and help them. This year we found the family and prayed to know who to ask to help out. I was surprised at my answer, but it was amazing how all of the families I had asked to help out our family in need, really wanted to do something of the sort, but "just hadn't gotten to it". It was wonderful to involve the kids and be able to see the gratitude that this sweet amazing family had when we delivered Christmas. It was also amazing to witness the charity of others who gave so freely of their substance.

Robyn, Gwen and Emma (Aiden would not get in the picture)
Gwen, Emma, Robyn and Aiden all snuggled on the couch