Christmas Eve At The Thompson's

 Every year, on Christmas Eve, all my siblings, their spouses and children, gather together for our annual Christmas celebration. We have dinner together, read the Christmas story, and open presents.

  There are 11 of us kids, 3 boys and 8 girls. Two of my brothers are married, and I have 5 nieces and 3 nephews. We draw names amongst ourselves so the gift-giving doesn't bankrupt us. :) We get together on Christmas Eve so that my siblings that have their own families can have their own Christmas Day with their children. 

 This year I drew My sister Charity's name. She is 14 years old, and lots of fun to shop for. She wanted boots, cute shoes, a fun purse, bath and body works stuff...basically anything girly! :) So, I had a good time shopping for her.

 My sister Hannah(16) had my name, and got me......

  Hurray!! I am super excited about it! I had asked for it, but wasn't sure if I would get it or not, as it was a bit more than we usually spend on each other.

 I hope that all of you are having a Very Merry Christmas! I know I am! :)
 

The Christmas Story

¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.  ²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
 ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
 ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
 ⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
 ⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
 ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
 ⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
 ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
 ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
 ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
 ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
 ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
 ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
 ¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
 ¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
 ¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
 ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
 ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
 ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Boy, am I glad that Christmas is about Jesus! Are there any greater words than the ones spoken by the angel? For unto you is born, this day, in the city of David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord! Praise the Lord, a Saviour was born!!!

Mary Did You Know?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.

I am singing this song at my church on Christmas morning. It's one of my favorite Christmas songs. :) I always wonder if Mary did know all about what her little child would do. Probably not everything! I think it would have been a little overwhelming to her, had she known everything at the very beginning. But what an amazing testimony Mary was to us ladies. She had such a sweet, submissive spirit. - "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her." Luke 1:38

More Hairstyles

 Today I practiced more hairstyles on my two nieces who are visiting for Christmas! They were very patient with me, and let me stick pins all over their little heads. :) Here are some pictures of what I did.

 This is such a cute hairstyle for little girls. I french braided all around her head so it looks like she has a braided crown on. :) Little princess! She has naturally curly hair, so I pinned up the curls and voila!

 This hair style was mainly so I could practice for wedding updos. First I sectioned off some hair from the bottom, and did 5 upside down french braids.Then I put all her hair in a high ponytail. Next, I divided her ponytail in 5 sections, and rolled each one to make sort of a big, elegant bun. Lastly, I curled the little wisps of hair around her face. How lovely!This is how it turned out.

Hairstyles for the Wedding!

I have been commissioned to do hair for my friend Jessica's wedding! She is getting married in about two weeks! As I love doing hair, naturally I am excited about this undertaking. But, I also feel a bit of pressure. After all, it's a wedding! Everyone wants to look beautiful!

The Bride is having her hair done by a friend who is a professional hair stylist. I am going to be doing some of the bridesmaids' hair. It's interesting when you start working with different people's hair. My sisters and I all have long, straight hair, so I am very accustomed to working with that kind. One of the bridesmaids has shoulder length, fine, layered hair, and another has rather unruly, curly hair. :) So, this will be a little bit different for me. I think I have pretty much figured out what I'm doing with the former, but have yet to determine what to do with the latter. :) Everything I tried, in the practice session,seemed to fall out. Her hair has a mind of it's own. :)

 I think I am going to do sort of a messy, curly, bun updo on the lass with the shoulder length, layered hair. The curls will add volume, and elegance, and the messy bun should work well with the layers.

Something like this, except a bit higher up, and with a part. She doesn't want it brushed back off her face. 

 

I still don't know what to do with the curly hair. :) If anyone has any inspiration for me, feel free to comment!

I have also been thinking about how I'm going to do my own hair for the wedding. I like these hairstyles! What do you think?

Inspired by the newest version of Emma, done by Masterpiece theatre. Not my favorite version, but I like her hair. :)

All these styles came from the amazing Rapunzel's Resource! Anyone with long hair, who likes to do lovely styles, should definitely check her site out!

I'm Famous!! :)

Well, not quite, but I have been interviewed by my dear friend Rachel, for the Feminine Fashion week she is doing on her blog. For those of you who haven't not checked it out, you should do so, at once. :) 

http://lassofalltrades.blogspot.com/2011/12/day-one-of-feminine-fashion-week.html

Christmas Cards: To send or not to send?

 For the past couple of years, we have not sent out Christmas cards due to the expense of stamps. I always thought it was rather grinchy of us, but what could I do! :) But this year, I decided that we should send out cards. So, my sisters and I had cards made, and are sending some to our friends. We did try to keep the list from getting too long. We're not sending them to all those people you never see, but who are somehow still in your address book. :)

 So what do you think? Are you or your family sending out Christmas cards? I am just curious about it. I know that stamps are rather expensive these days. Sending Christmas cards seems to be something of an old family tradition though. I'm cool with getting an e-card, but there's just something about getting an good old fashioned piece of mail. :)