Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Posted by Gabrielle

"O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here, 

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!"

"Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And heav'n and nature sing,

And heav'n and nature sing,

And heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing."

"Come, Thou long expected Jesus,

Born to set Thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us;

Let us find our rest in Thee."

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus,

for He will save His people from their sins."  ~Matthew 1: 21

"O little town of Bethlehem, 

How still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth 

The everlasting Light; 

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in thee tonight."

"Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." ~Luke 2: 10-11

"When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." ~Matthew 2: 10

"I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Merry Christmas!

A Sneak Peak of our Christmas Portraits

Posted by Gabrielle

Yesterday morning was warm and cloudy and perfect outside for pictures, so we all dressed up and headed out to the backyard for Christmas pictures. Some like last year, were a little reluctant to smile at first, but some new funny songs we recently listened to did the trick.

Enjoy! The official pictures coming soon...

The Guys

The Gals

Someone was reluctant to smile at first...

Mommy told him to open his eyes nice and wide, and this is what I got!

One of my beautiful, and oh so very photogenic sisters

I Love My Brothers - Part 1!

by Gabrielle

And Now We're Turning Yellow!

Posted by Gabrielle

You may remember that recently I posted how we had gone green. Well, that wasn't the end of the story. After returning home from Tennessee, we decided it was time for another color: Yellow! And this time, it's the Living Room!

Before:

As with the rest of the house, the Living room before was painted in a flat contractor off-white. Not very attractive, especially when it's dirty and can't be washed.

The "during" pictures were taken by Elliot with my camera, for yours truly was painting! Here, I'm mixing up a new can of paint.

Here, I'm using both the rollers, one in each hand. It was a fantastic experience, but I wouldn't recommend trying it yourself.

Getting ready to finish the last part over the mantel - nearly done!

A high-five and a handshake over a job well done!

Tobias, Benaiah, and Christianna examining the freshly-painted and taped-off room.

After:

The walls cured and the room decorated (pardon the laundry on the floor and on chairs...at least you can get an idea of what our living room usually looks like!)

Ah...much better. Lovely, isn't it? We actually hung all the frames and finished the decorating in one evening because...well, you'll just have to wait till the next post!

A Weekend Trip to Tennessee

Posted by Gabrielle

Back in September, (yes, I have quite a bit of catching up to do!), we took a weekend off and went on a lovely little weekend trip to Tennessee. We spent a delightful two days and an evening fellowshiping with friends and enjoying the wonderful rural Tennessee sights. Here are a few pictures from our weekend!

Day 1:

Yours truly, caught in the act of taking pictures at one of our rest stops

My beautiful sister Christianna

Benaiah, 'calling' Timothy at home

Jedidiah

Jedidiah and Tobias, 'hanging out' at another rest stop, earlier in the morning. It really was a little chilly!

I love my brother Elliot - he never ceases to keep us amused!

The Hellwig van, and one of its merry occupants!

Christianna reading stories with Anna C. that evening

Thank you Courters for the wonderful dinner and evening of fellowship!

Day 2:

Christianna baking brownies with Anna

2-month-old Nathan - such a sweetie!

After lunch, our friends took us to visit one of their neighbors who are part of the plain clothes people. They are not Amish, but they lived a lot like the Amish, complete with solar power and an outhouse! I wouldn't want to live that way, but it was interesting learning about it. With all the little boys  young men together, they naturally took to feats of daring do on the swing.

And the little boys enjoyed the river and mud bank while the adults talked

 Yep, a good farmer always has his hat and his gun with him!

Day 3:

Tobias (left), Anna C., and Benaiah, with some other young friends at church, investigating a salamander in a hole.

Thank you Courter family for your hospitality and a wonderful weekend!

The Hellwigs Have Gone Green!

Posted by Gabrielle

And no, we haven't found any more particularly economical ways to do things, but we have gone green with...paint! Last November, we painted the dining room, and the kitchen has needed it badly too, so, a couple weeks ago, while Timothy was on our church's Civil War history tour, we painted the kitchen in three days.

This is the kitchen before,

 and the breakfast nook before. Pretty plain, isn't it?

Painting Day 1

Yours truly, taping the ceiling. Actually, being up on the ladder was my favorite part beside the actual painting. 

Tobias, a happy helper

The kitchen and breakfast nook after the first coat of paint

After the second coat of paint and removal of the tape. The shade of green varies with the lighting at any given time.

Christianna's Creative Creations - a tape ball with the tape removed from the walls and ceiling

 

And...

This may be how the Hellwigs decorate for parties, but it's also a clue to our next big event...more coming soon!