Christmas 2015

Christmas 2015

 

Christmas 2015 was a wonderful and fun Christmas celebration with both families!  We are blessed with the best families who are the most fun to be around.  I always love the holidays where we can all be together for several days to visit, relax, and catch up! This Christmas did not disappoint.

 

 

First up was a visit to the in-laws.  We were so fortunate that this year we were able to go down a couple of days early and were able to be with them to finish up baking, putting together gifts, and just have fun being together and making memories.  We got there on Tuesday evening and had dinner, ate yummy cookies, and went to the Dollar Tree for some playing cards.  Matt and I love to play Canasta with my family so we decided to try and teach his parents.  Lets just say we were still talking about the game days later, some were fond of it and others were not but laughs and fun were had by all!  Wednesday we had a fun day of baking and putting together a dollhouse that my in-laws were giving our niece.  Later that evening we went to Matt's brothers house for dinner and games with his family.  Christina had prepared a great meal and we all enjoyed playing with our sweet niece.  Thursday was Christmas Eve and we stayed in our PJ's most of the morning and then got ready to go to Mark and Christina's church for their Christmas Eve service.  This was a great way to focus our minds on the true meaning of Christmas and how Christmas is about Jesus coming to earth as flesh to save us from our sins.  I love going to church all year but it is especially great on Christmas Eve, it always helps me prepare my mind and heart as I reflect on how special that gift was over 2,000 years ago and because of Jesus being born and His grace saving me from my sins I can now live for Him! After the Christmas Eve Service Matt's parents and us went to see ChristmasTown USA aka McAdensville.  I had gone there many times growing up and have always wanted to go back, it was just as I remembered it and I hope that maybe just maybe we will have a new tradition around the holidays! :)  When we returned home we had a delicious BBQ dinner and then got comfy and enjoyed my mother in-law, Rachel's favorite Christmas movie, ELF! I would say it is probably one of my top favorites too. Friday morning we woke up and had a fantastic Christmas celebration!  Matt and I did stockings, Facetimed my family, and read the Christmas story before heading downstairs to get the day started. We ate well on Christmas day from a festive breakfast, to the Stone traditional Prime Rib lunch, to munching on goodies throughout the day and for dinner.  We opened presents (were definitely spoiled by all) and enjoyed being together as a family and playing with our gifts for the rest of the day!   Here are a few pictures from our time together:

 

Matt and Jerry putting together our nieces dollhouse:

 I love being an aunt!

 Some of the lights of McAdensville:

 Fun baking with Rachel! Would love to be having some cookies and tea right now :)

 Spreading Christmas Cheer

 Stone Family Christmas 2015: next year we will have at least one more family member when Mark and Christina welcome their second child. Matt and I are praying that we will also be welcoming our little one home in 2016!

 Brothers enjoying their time together

On Saturday, we left our celebration there and continued the Christmas Season with my aunt, uncle, cousin Beth, my Boompa "Jr", and Anne and Bunny.  It was a fun afternoon of eating (lots of good eating around the holidays), football, more presents, and fellowship. We headed home Saturday evening. On Sunday we celebrated Christmas at my parents house with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nieces.  We had a delicious meal of ham and lots of fixings, opened our presents, played with the toys, played hide-and-seek, Canasta, and enjoyed being together as a family! Mom and I came out strong in Canasta and were beating Dad and Matt by a lot but in the end they had to come back and beat us.  REMATCH SOON! Again we were spoiled with all of the gifts that we were given!  Even our precious bundle of joy that we are adopting got presents at both Christmas celebrations.  How fun to think that perhaps they will be enjoying their first Christmas next year?!?

The tree and the family before opening gifts:

 Our nieces opening their Christmas presents:

 Dad got golf shoes from us for Christmas this year, I know the guys are ready to get out there and play!

 Mom and Emily got rainboots:

 Love this picture of us having fun with my new selfie stick

 Isn't she a beauty? Seriously being an aunt is the best thing in life!

 Lovely ladies

 None of us wanted to move after eating dinner so we took a picture using the selfie stick

Playing hide and seek in a box

 Pre-bedtime snuggles

Thankful and blessed for our families! We LOVE spending time together with everyone and look forward to being together again soon.

We're Adopting!

In case you have missed the lastest news in our life, it is quite exciting...WE'RE ADOPTING!! :)

 Matt and I are so excited to announce that we are adopting a baby!!  The Lord had laid adoption on both of our hearts before we ever met one another and knew that one day in life we would adopt a child however we always felt that we would adopt after having biological children.  Back in January I started to feel as if the Lord was saying why not adopt first, so I started praying and thinking about it.  Then on Sanctity of Life Sunday at church it was if I heard God say, "WHY NOT NOW?"  Then we went to service and the guest speaker we had preaching that Sunday was speaking on adoption and telling of how him and his wife had adopted before having biological children.  HELLO, was this not affirmation?  Needless to say when we got home that I talked to Matt about it and we both started praying.  One month later, we went to an informational meeting and left that night ready to move forward.   We feel that the Lord has called us to make adoption a priority and that He desires for us to give a baby a loving, Christian home.  We have both read Russell Moore's book, "Adopted for Life" and agree with what he says, "Adoption is after all, evangelistic to the core.  When a Christian family adopts a child, that family is committing to years of gospel proclamation, of seeking to see this child come to faith in Christ."  

We are adopting because we want to start our family but even more importantly than that we want to raise our son/daughter (and future children) in a family where they know of God's love, grace, and mercy from day one, we want our children to be loved, we want them to know that they are cared for, and we want them to fall in LOVE with God as their Lord and Savior at an early age. 

 We are currently in the Home Study phase and are praying about the God-sized amount of money that we need for the adoption process.  My sister has graciously set up an online account for people who feel led to help support the call that the Lord has given us.  Here is what she has posted on her blog:

"As you know there are some hefty financial costs associated with adoption.  In fact, their upcoming home study is nearly $10,000.00 alone.  Therefore, if you feel led to donate and give a financial gift to support them in this adoption journey, I created a page where you can do so:"

http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/help-matt-allison-bring-home-their-baby-through-adoption/325915

 We ask that you join us in prayer for the birth parents as they entrust us with the precious child that they have created and that they will be comforted as they grieve the loss of being able to raise the child.  Birth mothers do love their children but due to different circumstances may choose to give up their child to help them have a more stable home and family.  We ask that you pray for our future child and for their development both physically, as well as spiritually!  We ask that you pray along side us for the money that we need for the adoption.  Lastly, we ask that you pray for us as we prepare to become parents and as we go along the journey to adoption!

 We can not thank you enough for coming along side of us and giving us your love, encouragement, prayers, and support!

 We CAN NOT WAIT to become parents!

Friday Favorites---Make Up Products

 

Today I am linking up to share some of my favorite things...I have recently started selling Mary Kay as an Independent Beauty Consultant and this is a highlight of my favorite products!

I have been using the Mary Kay-Time Wise Miracle Set for several years which includes cleanser, day/night solutions, and moisturizer.  All of them are amazing products but I LOVE my day and night solution.  11 age fighting minerals! Plus the night solution looks like a party in a jar so it adds to the fun of putting it on! My face feels AMAZING!

                   Night                                          Day

LASH LOVE mascara! It makes my eyelashes look great, gives volume and length! and stays on ALL day!!


      Pink Luster Lip Gloss    and     Beach Bronze Lip Gloss ----great shine and last!
          
I honestly can not think of a product that I use or have tried that I don't like.  I love Mary Kay products as well as the company.  I am so blessed to be an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay and knowing that they support my desire for putting God first, Family second, and Job third!  I also love being a part of a company who gives back and helps women enrich their lives.  Mary Kay gives money each year to help end domestic violence and stop human trafficking.

If you or someone you know is interested in Mary Kay I would love to talk with you!

Updated 30 Before 30 List!

On my 25th birthday I was challenged to create a list of 30 things that I would like to do before I turned 30.  Well this morning I was looking over the list and realized there were MANY things that I still need to accomplish in order to complete it so I decided to revisit the list and maybe change a few things.  Lets see how my 2 lists compare and hope I can complete a good bit in the next 2 1/2 years!

OLD LIST

1. Read the Bible all the way through
2. Share God's love more/Witness to those around me
3. Outreach to our neighbors
4. Visit a state I have never been to
5. Go to a beach in Florida maybe even Disney World again while I am there
6. Go to another Major League Baseball game (the last one I went to got rain delayed and after waiting a long time we decided to leave, of course the game started when we got back to our friends house)
7. Learn to sew
8. Be pregnant/Have a baby
9. Learn a Bible verse/passage each month
10. Print/frame our wedding pictures
11. Plant an herb garden
12. Make a birthday calendar and send birthday cards to people in our life
13. Organize my photos/scrapbook again
14. Update my blog more regularly 3-4 times a week.
15. Spend a day creating memories with my niece (I love my time with her now as a 5 month old but I am thinking of this one day way when she is a little older)
16. Try to wakeboard/water ski again
17. Take a family trip with my family and Matt's family
18. Go spend a weekend with my grandparents and look through old family pictures and hear stories about growing up
19.  Read a book a month
20. Fly on a plane
21. Decorate and sale a cake
22. Grow tomatoes for tomato sandwiches
23. Buy a house
24. Consider getting a dog (love dogs kinda want one)
25. Try a new food
26. Fly on an airplane
27. Go on a mission trip
28. Write more thank you notes
29. Plan a special day with my family
30. Go to NYC 

*New List*
1. Read the Bible all the way through (I started in Jan. 2014 and failed, I started in Jan. 2015 and have so far had success!)
2. Memorize 24 Bible Verses 
3. Become a Mommy
4.Plan an outreach event for our neighbors once a quarter
5.Read a book a month
6.Earn a Car with Mary Kay!
7.Plant an herb garden
8.Grow tomatoes for tomato sandwiches
9.Plan a family fun day for the Hodges/Stone families
10.Create a birthday calendar and send birthday cards to family and friends
11.Try to Wakeboard/Water-ski again
12.Go on a mission trip
13.Spend a day with my 3 nieces making special memories
14.Learn to Sew
15.Go a week without watching TV
16.Decorate and sell a cake
17.Plan/Host a Women's Event at Church
18.Visit a new place that I have never been before
19.Witness More
20.Spend a weekend with my grandparents looking at old pictures and enjoying time with them!
21.Learn to play the piano better
22.Start exercising (2-3 times a week)
23.Go to a Major League baseball game
24.Spend 2 weeks at the beach!
25.Try a new food...sushi
26.Go a week without Social Media
27.Complete a 5K
28.Bake a loaf of Bread from scratch
29.Write more thank you notes/handwritten notes in general
30.Complete 90% of this list!!

Hopefully I will be successful in the next 2 1/2 years! :)