Taking the Narrow Road: Christmas part 1!!!

Oh wow I have been blog lazy lately!!!

This year we celebrated the birth of our dear Lord and Savior several times!!!

One of the first was in fellowship at our "Ugly sweater" party with our bible study. As a family in general we don't have ugly sweaters. (probably bc any clothes I think are ugly immediately get put in the donation bag!) However we went and had a wonderful time. We are so blessed to be surrounded by the body of believer at the DTC and I love spending time with them!

We had a Christmas celebration with my mom and her husband at our apartment this year. I cooked a deeeelish pork loin! I was so happy the way it turned out because I'd never cooked one before. Our meal was great and we got to spend some quality time together. We also celebrated Josh's 31st birthday that day. I got him a french silk pie for his birthday cake but we were all so stuffed from the meal, he blew out his candles and put it back in the fridge for later.

A few weeks before the 25th we spent a day at my Uncle Denny's for the Backous Christmas. I love this celebration. Its been such a tradition in my upbringing and really is one of the only times I get to see all my dad's side of the extended family. Usually we celebrate on Christmas eve by eating great "snacks" and soups, attending church, singing carols and playing WHITE ELEPHANT!!!
This year was a bit different and therefor I was a little sad when I left. It was not Christmas eve, which meant no church service and to be honest I think as a family we got a little crazy with our white elephant gift exchange this year, me included. So my prayer for next year is that as a family we would be more focused on Jesus and sharing His love for one another. I know there are members of this family that are not believers and I would be overjoyed to hear salvation stories next year!
That being said we did enjoy spending time with the family and must give a big thanks to my Aunt LeAnn and Uncle Denny for hosting the gathering!

We spent Christmas weekend in Rockwell Iowa with Josh's family. It was so nice to get away (though not far) and spending time in a different environment. Josh's parents were so kind to put us up in a super sweet cozy hotel! I love hotels. We spent time with his parents, brothers+wife, and his aunt and two girl cousins! The girls are in their late teens and Kiara can't get enough of them! I always feel so encouraged while at my in-laws. The Spirit dwells in their lives and it makes for such a wonderful Christmas celebration. Its also fun to see my husband in his original element! He and his brothers are such goof balls, I love seeing them interact! Were were so blessed by his family with gifts this year as well. It was a wonderful visit and we loved getting to celebrate with them.

I just have to say... I think this is my all time favorite photo of her ever! There is just some thing about the composition of this picture that I love + there's a adorable sleeping baby