MINUTE TO WIN IT-- Christmas style!

Our countdown activity today was to play Minute To Win It games!  We love the show and have enjoyed playing the games before, but we had some new games that had a Christmas twist!  Below are some pictures from the games.  The only game we did not take pictures of was the grand finale SNOWBALL FIGHT!  We had a huge snowball fight with marshmellows!  It was a blast!  I will probably be finding marshmellows for weeks!

"Gingerbread" houses

Today our countdown calendar had us making Gingerbread houses!  I normally buy the kits after Christmas and save them but I didn't do this last year since we were moving.  The kids also are always disappointed because I won't let them eat them!  So this year we decided to make graham cracker gingerbread houses!  They are smaller and they can be consumed after building!  It was messy but so much fun!

Camaron decorating his house!

Colt's bunker

Lots of candy!

Colt is ready to build

More and more candy!

Colt's finished bunker



Cam's finished house



A fun weekend with family!

This past weekend Troye's brother and his family came over. We had a great time hanging out. We cooked good food, shot the BB guns, went exploring, had a huge campfire and stayed up way too late! It was a super fun weekend!

Deer!

I forgot to post our pictures of the first deer we have harvested on the property! We have tons of deer but they can be difficult to see during the day! Troye set up a tree stand and was able to see several. He shot a very large doe. So excited to fill the freezer with deer meat! We are processing our own meat too!

Carl the Christmas Cowboy

Our Christmas tree didn't make the storage and move! I want a nice tree but always have a hard time paying the money for one before Christmas, you can get a much better deal afterwards! So for this year we decided to do something different and next year when we have a normal tree this one will go in the media room! Troye and I put it up after the boys went to bed. At 4 am we heard a very loud "OH WOW" from Camaron! He thought it was so cool!! Colt likes it as well!
I am loving it too! So fun!!

Our Jesse Tree

We are starting a new tradition this year!  It is called the Jesse Tree!  I ran across the idea earlier this year and though it was an awesome idea!  We have always done a countdown to Christmas but this just seemed more meaningful.  The idea comes from Isaiah 11:1

 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

This gives us the promise that another King will come from Jesse's family again.  We see that fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  The Jesse Tree works by each day taking an ornament with a symbol and reading Bible verses to go along with it.  The ornament symbols represent different times through out the Bible, going back all the way to Creation.  The idea is to remember important people in the Old Testament and ancestors of Jesus Christ.  Our goal in doing this is to not only focus on the true meaning of Christmas but to learn more as we read about each person.  Each night we will read bible verses and open an ornament to hang on our Jesse Tree.  We will finish the Tree on Christmas Day as we celebrate Christmas.  My prayer is that we can not only enjoy all of the fun of this time of year but also to celebrate the birth of our Lord!

There are lots of ideas and ways to do the Jesse Tree.  If you want to learn more or see more examples go here or here.  I am very excited and hope that the boys enjoy it this year! 

Below you will find some pictures of our Jesse Tree.  Again, you can do it lots of way!  I just found materials we had on hand (I am impatient like that!).  I used old plywood, fabric, mod podge, and salt dough. 

The start of the Jesse Tree.... fabric was mod podged onto the board.



Letters added and 25 nails put in the board.



Salt Dough ornaments ready to paint

Ornaments painted, I am not an artist but was pretty happy with them!

The Tree is ready and the ornaments are in the bags, numbered 1-25

We have our first ornament!