Mommy Guilt & Blog Envy: Focusing on YOUR God-given Abilities January 18, 2014

Hello dear ones! I wanted  to send out a short encouragement to moms. Thriving magazine (a Christian magazine for families) had a great article about Pinterest and Mommy Blog envy.It got me thinking. It’s easy in this world of Facebook and Pinterest, to compare ourselves to others. We envy what we believe to be the picture perfect family. We want OUR husbands to act like THOSE husbands. We want OUR children to behave like THOSE kids. We WISH our home looked like THOSE pictures. If only WE could cook like that or craft that way. Friend, don’t do it! Turn back now! Turn off the computer for a month if you need to. There is a much better way to live, I assure you!

Alexey Tyranov [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

One of my favorite verses is 1 Timothy 6:6

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (KJV)

                 Contentment is something our society desperately lacks. We’ve got godliness to an extent. There are some wonderful faith filled people out there. But contentment is really hard to find. Media and advertisers capitalize on envy. You see it in the ads. You see it on social media. Our society’s thirst for more…for better. This is old news. So what?

                   Allow me to put words in your mouth one sec please ;). So, Amber, you say, what do we do about this conundrum? Well, dear ones (in my super voice)… Okay…sorry. I’ll quit with that. Seriously, cultivating thankfulness and thanking God for what you DO have is the first step. Then ask the Lord what He wants you to do with what you have. I’m not saying, don’t push yourself or learn from others. Sometimes God asks us to change. What I AM saying, is please don’t trap yourself and your family by trying to be someone you’re not and were never made to be.

                  I am not against social media. You know I love Mommy blogs and Pinterest. Here’s a suggestion that has helped me and maybe it will help you. I like to pin things that I want to actually try and have hopes of doing. I like pictures and sometimes I pin things just for the fun of looking at them. But I caution you and myself about pinning a bunch of things that just make you drool. If you look at those pins and regret the life God gave you, if you wish you were THAT person, or had THAT life…then slowly back away. If that Mommy blog makes you feel like crap about your own parenting then either unsubscribe or ask God to show you your strengths. It is possible to appreciate another Mom’s strengths and NOT want to BE her.

                  I get  a lot of people who compliment my crafting and I often hear “I wish I was crafty”. Please don’t put yourself and your kids through that. If you hate crafting and have no crafty bone in your body, please don’t stress yourself and others by trying to be a crafty Mom. What is your strength? What are your abilities? If God wants you to branch out in something new, then great. If it’s from God then HE will provide what you need and it won’t be based in envy.

                  Maybe you are great at cooking and eating healthy. If you’re a homeschooler then use your strength and bake bread with your kids to teach math etc. Or if you’re sporty then use that in your school. You don’t have to know it all. There is nothing wrong with hiring tutors. If your kid loves something that you’re not good at, then get them a class to go to or the stuff they need to teach themselves.  Whether a kid homeschools, private schools, or public schools there will be gaps in their education. No one kid can know it all or be taught everything. Kids will naturally do better in some areas and worse in others. If God has called you to homeschool then he will equip you. He doesn’t expect you to change personalities. I will never be sporty. So Michael has been in different programs etc…My gym, karate, flag football…etc. I don’t ride bikes with him. He does that with my Mom and step Dad who are much healthier than me.

                           Back to Mommy guilt & envy in a sec…I want to touch on spouse envy real quick. When I was newly married, we had close friends that were pregnant the same time we were (I was…lol Chris wasn’t pregnant). Every year they seemed to pop out another kiddo and well, we  became infertile. The wife was married to a Pastor’s son that I grew up with. Her hubby was super attentive and planned romantic dates. My husband is a loner and super redneck. He’d rather watch youtube videos and get his Jeep dirty. They stayed with us one weekend and I took the wife out for a pedicure. I was amazed that she had never had one before. She told me that her hubby didn’t like them to be apart for long and she rarely had time to herself. She told me how lucky I was that Chris let me have girl time so much. I was shocked. I realized that day, that the grass isn’t greener on the other side. I happen to love my alone time. I couldn’t stand it if Chris was super clingy. I love romance….but only when I want it lol….not every second. A girl’s gotta have time to think :).  Anywho, we parted ways, both being thankful to have the husband God had given us.  Over the years as I’ve seen the differences in our family, I’ve learned to be thankful.

                       Now…Mommy envy. A good bit of my friends are “crunchy” and super healthy. Many have bigger houses and more kids. I admire them for who they are. Sometimes I wish I was Michelle Duggar. I wish I had more patience and was barefoot and always pregnant. The truth is that my only lil girl will probably be my french bulldog Annabelle. Michael may be our only natural child. And though I want to better myself, I really enjoy junk food and video games. There I said it! I like being a night owl. I enjoy having just one kid to chase around and I enjoy how close I am to my son. I like being able to have a flexible lifestyle. I LOVE how my kid can make his own breakfast and let me sleep in a bit. Does that make me a bad mommy? No, I’m just a different Mommy. I blog about crafts and take a million pictures because I love it! It’s not because I want to be famous or make other moms feel insecure. I do this blog thing because I want to and it’s a ministry. I get bored quickly and I can’t stand the monotonous. I love homeschool because it changes each year.

                                       I love this life God has given me. Sometimes I complain and I wish but at the end of the day I wouldn’t want to be you or anyone else. I love my lil house and how the counters are short enough for me. I like the clutter and the art supplies everywhere. People ask how I do it all. Well, I don’t. No Mom does it all. You pick and choose what is important to you. My house is cluttered and honestly it only gets major cleanings before guests visit. Our carpet has paint on it and dog fur. My “office” is a mess. My grandma visited once and made the comment that she always heard that kids with messy houses are happier. Yeah, I felt dandy after that lol.

                              The truth is, if I tried to have a spotless house, woke up at 5 am, and cooked gourmet dinners every night, then what I am good at, would fall behind. If I had a dozen kids, I probably wouldn’t have time to write a book. I probably wouldn’t bother with intricate crafts. I’d probably be terrified of painting in the house. Sure, if we didn’t have an ark, we wouldn’t have so much animal fur and smells…..but then we also wouldn’t have so many crazy awesome pet personalities to keep us entertained. If we had a bigger house then there would be more to clean…ugg, no thank you!

                               Okay, so this was my “short” post…..another Amber thing. Hey, I’m a writer :). So I plead with you, be YOU…not me…not the other Mommy bloggers…not the fictional Pinterest Mommy that does everything. What does God want you to do today? You will always fall short in some areas because you are human. You will never be the perfect Mom, wife, or teacher. You can seem to be perfect and completely lack love. Whatever your parenting style is…run with it :). Love God with all your heart and love your family as yourself. At the end of the day, your kids will care more about your love than your superb craft or lesson plan. I’m here with you…learning. I know at the end of my life I won’t say “Oh I wish I had done more crafts.”

                      I love you dear ones and I pray for you. God made you unique and there are so many beautiful ways you can shine his light in this world. Trying to be someone else is not that way. It’s fun to learn new things, challenge yourself, and heck…even try a celebrity hairstyle. You know your motives….is it fun and to better yourself or is it envy? I challenge you to ask God to try your heart today. What are you thankful for? In what ways are you content? How can you practice contentment and mirror that to your family?

    Please leave me some comment love if you will. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

PS: This was directed towards mommies but others can definitely apply the same principles. Everyone deals with envy sometime in their lives.

The Wreck: Selah January 15, 2014

Hello dear ones, if it seems I dropped off the planet for a bit, well, I did. I’ve felt like a ghost since last Wednesday. Michael and I got in a very bad wreck yet miraculously no one was hurt but us and our injuries were minor. The van is totaled but I’m amazed that it’s not in worse condition.

It started as a stressful day with school and our puppy Annabelle but I wanted to make things better. So I packed up the kiddos (Michael and the 2 dogs, Annabelle & Tessa). We went to a park in another town and played and walked around everywhere. It was fun. I came close to leaving my phone. It fell out into the dirt by the van but thankfully I looked for it before we drove off (one of many of the God things that day).

I talked to my Mom and she told me to be careful because of rush hour traffic. I wasn’t in a big rush but we needed to get home so Michael could go to Awanas and see his Daddy. Chris was on his way home and had planned to go to his parents that day and stay thru the weekend. His Mom was having surgery Thursday morning and he was going to take care of her.

I put Annabelle in her basket with the seat belt around it. While driving I thought about how we needed to get her an actual car seat for dogs especially when we  traveled to Washington D.C. The sun was bright and it was hard to see but I was doing good. Michael almost spilled something and I  fussed at him for almost causing a wreck (I regretted saying that later).

Michael was reading his book and looking down. I was in the right lane of the Hwy behind a slow truck with a trailor. Everyone was passing him. So I looked over to pass as well. Traffic was moving nice and I had plenty of space. So I started getting in the left fast lane. But as I was getting in that lane the Camaro in front of me (in the left lane) slammed dead on brakes. I was shocked and could do nothing but slam on brakes and swerve to the left…then watch in horror as we hit them and went off into the median area into the bulrushes (Chris says it’s pompous grass). I didn’t have time to think about dying or any possibilities. I just had the feeling of shock that this was happening to us.

I was going 50 or so miles per hour. The jolt from it all was enough to throw my glasses off into the floor. I can shake my head violently and these glasses wouldn’t move….so yeah…it was pretty rough. My cell phone was between my legs (bad idea) and flew into the floor…thankfully neither got lodged under the brake (another God thing). I hit my knee very hard on the dash. Annabelle was violently thrown from her basket into the floor. Michael was looking down so he hit his head on the seat in front of him and the seat belt hurt his chest.

When we stopped, my next feeling was shock that the glass didn’t break and that we weren’t all bloody. Michael cried out that he hurt and I couldn’t see him because of my glasses. I was scared about him but figured if I wasn’t bloody then surely he couldn’t be too bad. I frantically searched for my glasses and found them. I lifted up his shirt and didn’t see any bruising etc. We were both crying hysterically.

The lady that was behind me didn’t hit us but she pulled over and ran to check on us. I asked her to call 9-1-1. I kept saying I needed my phone and then I remembered that it had been between my legs and was probably in the floor. I was thankful to find it intact. The lady called 9-1-1 and went to check on the two other vehicles in the wreck (the people who suddenly stopped in front of me). I tried to call Chris but couldn’t get a hold of him so I called my mom and told her to call him.

The lady came back and said no one else was hurt. I wasn’t sure who I had hit but I found out later that it was a young man in a Camaro. I had spun him into traffic and by God’s grace no one hit him. He had barely nicked the lady in front of him. She claimed that someone had suddenly stopped in front of her but that that person had driven off.

Chris called and said he was on the Hwy too and traffic was backed up. The lady was trying to calm us both down. The front was steaming and I kept asking if we should get out of the van. I didn’t know if it would explode or something. I was scared to move. I looked at the puppy in the floor and expected to see her smooshed but she seemed okay except she was drooling everywhere like she could throw up. Tessa had slid around in the back but seemed fine.

I texted my best bud Hannah to say I wouldn’t be at the homeschool group the next day. Yeah, weird but that came to my mind. I wanted to hold Michael but I felt frozen. I didn’t feel like I could do anything. Michael was scared and angry. He and I both were surprised that we weren’t dead. I praise God that we are alive and that we landed in the bulrushes/ pompous grass and not in the opposite lane (a God thing). We were both thankful and praising God for our lives but we also both felt survivors guilt. We didn’t understand how something so traumatic and horrible didn’t take our lives or even mangle us. We felt that we should be dead. Michael even said to my Mom that he wished he’d died instead of living through that. I don’t understand it but we both felt this way for a bit.

Chris arrived before the police did (it was a long evening and wait). It was getting dark and cold. My husband seemed like super man. He had the lady help him get Michael and the dogs in his Jeep. I couldn’t open my door and I thought it was stuck in the grass but there was a piece of my fender holding it shut. So Chris snatched the door and got me out. He wanted me to sit in the Jeep but I was too much of a mess to sit down. My knee hurt bad but the shock kept me from thinking about it. Michael sat in the Jeep comforting the dogs and crying his eyes out.

I kept thinking about how Chris was supposed to be driving home to take care of his mother and I remember telling the lady that. I felt guilty for keeping him away. The day of the wreck was a day of guilt. I felt guilty for telling my best bud about my stress when she was having blood pressure issues during her pregnancy.  But I did not feel guilty at first about hitting the other car because I knew that it wasn’t morally my fault. That changed however when I found out the insurance was putting it as my fault since I was in the rear.

The guy’s parents came right away and was with him. I eventually walked over to the two people in the wreck and asked how they were. They weren’t hurt at all thankfully. The first car told me about the person in front of her who had supposedly caused it all and driven off.  I saw the van all smashed up and that the Camaro’s tail pipe was stuck in my van. The guy’s mom laughed about that since he loved his vehicle so much. I wasn’t in a laughing mood…my kid just experienced the most traumatic event of his life and we thought we were dead. I talked to the mom for a bit but nothing she said was helpful…it was in fact irritating.

I was in too much shock to be much help to the police. Chris talked to them the most. They called the ambulance to check out Michael. Michael was taken to the back of the ambulance and they checked out his lungs. He was fine thankfully. We found out later that he had a knot on his head when we got home but some ice fixed it. Since I was walking and babbling from shock I guess, they didn’t check out my knee but the policeman noted I had hurt it.

In the middle of everything, my Mom and stepdad drove up on the other side of the road and walked across. I was surprised and very happy to see them. They talked to Michael. By that time the tow truck was about to take the van and I was putting all our stuff in  Annabelle’s basket. There wasn’t room in the Jeep for it all so my parents took it. They loaded up Michael and Tessa and drove them home. Chris and I had to wait a bit to finish with the police. I asked the policeman to tell Chris everything because I would forget.

I was just ready to get off that Hwy. The ambulance was blocking the lane and a lady had to swerve to keep from hitting it. I was terrified that another wreck would happen and we’d get hit while standing by the road. I was thankful when we left and very paranoid while Chris drove. Chris has a stick shift and I can’t drive that but I had no desire to drive anyways.

When we got home my knee started hurting worse and began to bruise bad. I told Michael that school was cancelled for the week and that he could play video games and sleep wherever he wanted that night. He was thrilled and lost himself in a movie. I on the other hand didn’t try to escape the pain. Instead I was the opposite. All I could do was think about the wreck and those traumatic images. I talked to people on the phone and then later ate a bit.

After calming down, Chris took me to the ER so they could check my knee. The doc moved my leg a bit and then said it was just bruised…no x-rays or nothing. He was in and out in 5 minutes. Well, it’s been a week and the last couple days I’ve had a hard time walking on my left leg because it feels like it’s on fire it hurts so bad. I really think it’s more than bruised.  Had I came in an ambulance, maybe the doc would’ve given me more than 5 minutes but I was in too much shock to think about me. I was more concerned with Michael.

I talked to the insurance for a moment but she talked mainly to Chris. She told him I was too shaken up to talk. Chris has been handling most of this for me. I was so angry when I found out that they were pinning this on me as my fault…and that we’d have to pay for everyone’s vehicles including  losing ours that’s probably totaled. I am thankful though that the damage to the Camaro wasn’t that expensive. I was so worried about that. It looks like our van is totaled but we’re waiting to hear more details. We were given a rental but I didn’t want to drive. We’ve been avoiding the Hwy but Chris drove us the long way to a movie. It was stressful for Michael and me. Traffic was scary.

I finally drove that Sunday and then yesterday but just down the road. I’d rather not drive for awhile. Monday this week was strange. Chris started class and was gone all day and some of the night. Homeschool started back and once again I was the main caregiver for all our animals. I had to walk up the hill and feed the chickens, walk the dog, stay up late making stuff for school, and stay on my feet helping Michael. Then there was housework and supper. I was on my feet all day and night Monday. Tuesday was somewhat better. I got a small break. So my leg has been hurting pretty bad since my venture back to the real world. I don’t feel as much like a ghost as I did last week. I haven’t had as much time to think about what happened. Still, it feels strange and too soon to be jumping into real life.

Yesterday was the first time I had driven with Michael in the car. It was nerve wracking for us both. We almost witnessed a wreck in front of us at a four way stop. The world just seems crazy and chaotic. I was limping and walking slow in Walmart and this elderly lady almost ran over us with her buggy. I had to turn around and ask her to go around because I have a hurt leg. That felt backwards. So I called this post “Selah” which means to pause. I feel like I’ve had to be slow. I’ve had to pause and I’ve had to rely a lot on my husband which I know is stressful for him. Money and physical disabilities are hard on a marriage and we’ve already had our share of these types of issues before the wreck.

I had a lot of dreams before the wreck…plans to travel etc. But now I’m scared of the Hwy and we only have one vehicle to our name. Maybe all that will change and things will get back to normal in time for us to take a trip. I don’t know. But for a moment it seemed everything was unraveling, time stopped, and I was dead inside.  I felt guilty for living. I felt mad that something so bad could happen and then the next day be regarded like a walk in the park.  I was also grateful to be alive and amazed the next morning to be eating Wafflehouse. I was amazed to still be alive and it all felt so surreal. I’ve got family and friends who have went through bad wrecks and they confirmed my feelings were normal….the grieving…the twilight zone.

So it’s been a week. I’m still shaken up a bit. I feel worn out emotionally and physically. I feel like a burden. I feel empty like I have little to offer the world right now. But I also feel entitled to rest in my time of hardship. Maybe it’s prideful but I feel like I’ve given a lot to others and right now I want to to be able to lean on someone. I’m homeschooling and doing housework so obviously I’m still giving.  I did cancel my social duties. Thankfully Hannah’s baby shower was the weekend before the wreck and I had already thrown it. I couldn’t imagine doing all that after the wreck. So I’m thankful that I only had to cancel one major commitment. I took a break from social media and now you understand why. We’re still waiting to see what we’re going to do about the vehicle situation. I’m glad the van is totaled though. I don’t think I could ever drive it again. I’m glad the rental is a car and not a van.

Please keep us in your prayers as we sort through all this. Chris is still planning on helping his Mom sometime but it all depends on money etc. I feel bad he couldn’t help her during the surgery. Thankfully she has his Dad and other family members.

God bless and love. Remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Question: God Seems A Little Crazy In The Old Testament — A Mega-Post on the OT January 8, 2014

Just had to share.
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

J.S. Park: Hospital Chaplain, Skeptical Christian

Anonymous asked:

Hi, I really love your blog and I love your take on different issues. I’m wondering if you can help me. I have a very intelligent, seeking friend who spends his time learning about different cultures, demographics and religions. He just sent me Genesis 11 and pointed out that God brings division to humanity, and through it war, racism, and other kinds of oppression. I really don’t know what to say because that’s a really valid point, and I’ve always been huge on God bringing justice and love…

Thank you for your kind words and for trusting me with this issue.  It’s a tough one — and you’re not the only one who thinks so.

I think deep inside, every single Christian in the world has an unresolved tension with the Old Testament.  If the OT were a dinner guest, we’d all be staring at her from…

View original post 1,888 more words

Rome Week 3: Chariots, Pompeii, and the End

Hello dear ones! I’ve finally got week 3 of Rome together. Sorry it took so long. I can’t wait to show you the Middle Ages next Monday. Yes, I hope to be back on schedule then.  We began our study with finishing The Story of the World Book 1. We read chapters 39-42 and covered Nero, Christian persecution, the catacombs, the British rebellion, the Huns, the Visigoths, and the fall of Rome.

We had a small feast of chicken, cheese, deviled eggs, and bread while we watched Ben Hur. Wow! What a long movie! Then we made a chariot out of a laundry scoop. Our lil soldier and horse fit perfectly with it.

We learned a bit about Pompeii and it’s destruction. We took an online tour of Pompeii. We read an eye witness account of what happened (the man was in a city nearby).

Found here: http://rome.mrdonn.org/pompeii.html

And then we made a pop up picture of a villa in Pompeii before the eruption. You can find that link in my Pinterest at the end of this post.

Rome week 1

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/crafty-monday-our-julius-caesar-party-rome-week-1/

Rome week 2

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/rome-week-2/

Pinterest link

Well, God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

*Join us January-February for our study of the Middle Ages, Lord willing. It’s going to be fun and there will be lots of food!

The Middle Ages Week 1:

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/middle-ages-week-1-celts-anglo-saxons-king-arthur/

Epiphany Celebrations January 7, 2014

Hello dear ones! This was our first year celebrating Epiphany. I have a knack for picking up holidays. My mom says that every day is a holiday for me. Our Epiphany journey started with learning that the 12 days of Christmas song has a deeper Christian meaning. I was intrigued. So I put together a 12 days of Christmas lapbook from In the  Hands of a Child.  Each day we learned about the Christian and secular meaning of the song. Then on Epiphany itself (yesterday) we had a King cake. I just bought a cake from the bakery and added gumdrops to the top.

Below the picture I’ll list the Christian meaning of the 12 days of Christmas. I also have a link with craft ideas. We did not do any crafts but maybe next time. Michael has however been writing the Apostle’s Creed in cursive.

• The gift giver is our Heavenly Father.
• Partridge in a pear tree~ Jesus Christ, our Lord
• 2 turtle Doves~ the Old and New Testament
• 3 French hens~ the 3 virtues (faith, hope, and love)
• 4 calling (callie) birds~ the 4 gospels
• 5 golden rings~ the first five books of the Old testament (Torah)
• 6 geese a laying~ the 6 days of creation
• 7 swans a swimming~ 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit
• 8 maids a milking~ the 8 beatitudes
• 9 ladies dancing~ 9 fruits of the Spirit
• 10 lords a leaping~ the 10 commandments
• 11 pipers piping~ the 11 faithful apostles
• 12 drummers drumming~ the 12 points in the apostle’s creed

http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/the-12-days-of-christmas-epiphany/

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

PS: The word “catholic” in the Apostle’s creed is not referring to the Catholic religion but actually means “universal”. Spurgeon.org has a good article explaining the purpose of the creed.

http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/apostles.htm

New Year’s Eve Party! January 2, 2014

In this post: Join us as we count down to 2014. See our french bulldog, Annabelle in her new dress. We’ve got food, fun, and some sweet decor!

Hello dear ones! We did a countdown by the hour with some nifty New Year’s bags. They were filled with noise makers, silly string, resolution questionnaires, the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, and more. We also had shrimp cocktail, sparkling grape juice, and other goodies. We ended the night with fireworks and we took the ornaments off the tree.  My Mom and stepdad partied with us. We’ve got some great family pictures and even Annabelle Antoinette (our new pup) and Tessa (older dog) got into the festivities. We also watched Man of Steel. Enjoy the pics and I’ll put links at the end where you can find the neat printables.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

PS: at the end I have a pic of Annabelle in her new raincoat :).

http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/winter-crafts/

http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/winter-cooking/

Advent Week 4 January 1, 2014

Hello dear ones! It’s time to wrap up the Advent series. Christmas has come and gone again. Here’s how we finished Advent :).

• Sunday we lit the last Advent candle for Peace. We enjoyed a Christmas service. On the top right is a pic of a man with a newborn baby. He sang “Joseph’s song“. It was very sweet.
• Watched a funny Christmas movie & wrapped each other up. You can see in the pic that Chris is a Christmas tree, I’m a snowman, and Michael is a Christmas present.  The pets even got wrapped up a bit (this was before Annabelle). We had a wrapping paper fight.  We also finished reading our Christmas books. You can see them on the right.
• Christmas Eve we read the Christmas story in our Advent devotional.  We watched The Nativity and It’s a Wonderful Life.  We usually watch these movies every year. We also each opened one present (a tradition). We all slept in the living room.

More after the pictures…

• Christmas day we woke up and read our last devotional. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast then we dug into our presents and stockings. I put some of our gifts in the picture. Even the pets had stockings. You can see the guinea pig in the wrapping paper.  Michael was thrilled to get his big Hobbit set.  Chris helped him put it together. It’s really neat so I included pictures. We had a simple and delicious Christmas meal (ham, mashed potatoes, biscuits, beans, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie).  Our last advent activity was to adopt a star @ http://whitedwarf.org/palebluedot/index.html . We also watched Precious Moments’ Timmy’s Gift and put a star on the Jesse tree.

Well, God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Previous Advent posts and Pinterest link

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/advent-week-1/

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/12/24/advent-week-2/

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/12/24/advent-week-3/

http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/christmas-traditions/