Dec. 1 - The Light in Creation

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1

What did the world look like in the beginning?

Was God there in the darkness?

Our youngest got to go first, unwrap the first ornament, and hang it. She asked who made it, and I said Mrs. Bush, Amanda's mommy. Then we talked about who made the real world.

A few of our precious ornaments

Aren't they wonderful?? You ALL did an amazing job. This exceeded my expectations by miles. I was in awe of the creativity of this group of women. I can't wait to start this tradition with our family this year.

Angel - Tracey S.

Stump of Jesse - Tracey S.
sheif of wheat - Aleida

Bethlehem scene - Gail S.

Dove and crown - Tammy J.

Bible - Debbie R.

Ark and rainbow - Janell L.

Here's our Jesse Tree waiting for December 1st. Michael's had a sale and we got this perfectly sized tree for our 25 ornaments. I will be posting pictures of some of the ornaments as I get a chance.

Exchange is almost here!

All the ornaments have been taken! Have a wonderful time crafting your ornaments. They will be cherished for years to come. Don't forget to bag your ornaments individually and let us know which one it is and who made it. Also, the book goes along with each ornament and has a daily devotion to read to children and to adults. You can order it from Amazon from the side bar. See you Monday!!

Date and time update

The exchange will be on Monday, November 24th, 2pm @ Lake Seminole. The deadline to sign up is November 17th.

About me

Our 2008 Christmas card photo
courtesy of Loving Legacy Photography

{{the history}}

I started blogging in December 2008 by accident. I was organizing a Jesse Tree ornament exchange and I wanted to have a place to communicate with the ladies that were involved about our exchange. After the exchange, I had a collection of beautiful handmade ornaments. I wanted to share this tradition with others along with how we incorporated the tradition of the Jesse Tree into our Christmas. I posted almost every day in December about Christmas books that we read, crafts and recipes that we made, and devotions that went along with our 25 ornaments.

{{the growth}}

Well I was hooked, because after the new year I moved over to Tie That Binds Us and I continued blogging about our family traditions and our homeschool. Shortly after meeting other homeschool mom bloggers, I saw the need for homeschool moms to be able to connect online and began an online homeschool community, Our Lifestyle of Learning. As of November 2009 we have 800 members and we are still growing strong.

{{the plunge}}

In February, I brought together a group of homeschool moms to write for a homeschool curriculum review blog to better facilitate the need to hear about the pros and cons of curriculum. The focus of the site is to have real moms reviewing curricula that they choose because of their philosophy of homeschooling and how it pans out for them. Curriculum Choice is a group blog with 14 full time writers. The moms are amazing and I am so thankful to be a part of this particular group of outstanding homeschool families.

{{the skinny}}

I do all this in my free time. I have a passion for connecting people together and I just don't quit.

During "business hours" I'm a homeschooling mother to five children. They are my pride and joy.

During "after hours" I am a devoted wife.

My husband is my rock and the Lord is my savior.

Always learning,