Beginning of January

Preparations for our upcoming trip are already underway!! Music practice is a daily (sometimes twice a day) occurrence right now. It is a huge blessing to have more time to prepare than we did last year. 

One evening we took some time to go ice skating with some friends. It was only the 2nd or 3rd time we'd ever been ice skating, but there weren't too many falls and the fresh air, exercise and time together was so wonderful!

Andrew and Kori flew back to Florida on January 6th which meant Christmas was officially over and the Christmas decorations started coming down. So grateful for intentional time with family!

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17

New Bedroom

The last couple of months Elizabeth and I decided it was time to do a whole facelift in our bedroom. It hadn't been painted since right after Bethany got married back in 2009 and had just been changing out a few decor pieces since then. 

We tried to get a few "before" pictures, but forgot to until we had taken some things down already. So here is a rough draft of what it looked like.

We got new paint, updated some pieces of furniture that we previously had and some new, old ones from our Grandparents' farm and added some new elements to our room. The chest in this picture was an odd green color with cream accents. All of the painting was done in-between our travels and other projects so it took a little bit of time to get everything done. It was fun to see it all come together little by little.

Since our room turns into the guest room when we have overnight guests, our desire was to create a space that was welcoming, open and refreshing! We aren't quite done with it yet... but it has been a fun project to work on together.

For a Christmas present Nathanael made this gorgeous desk for our room!! He designed it, welded together the metal frame, and then put it all together. Not only that, but he put a wireless charger in it, so when you set your phone on a certain part of the desk it charges it!

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;

behold, all things have become new."

2 Corinthians 5:17

Joy to the World

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King

Let every heart

Prepare Him room

And heaven and heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ

While fields and floods

Rocks, hills and plains

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love

And wonders, wonders of His love

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King

Let every heart
Prepare Him room

And heaven and heaven and nature sing

~~~

"Glory to God I the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Luke 2:14

1+1=5

Congratulations Alan & Rachel, Kendrick and Autumn!!!

We are so very excited for you and can't wait to meet the newest little Busenitz in July!

"Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever!

Blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise!"

Nehemiah 9:5

Family Christmas

I don’t remember the last time we had sickness in the house for Christmas... until last year!! Right before Matthias and Michelle’s wedding all of us were wiped out with “the plague.” It was not fun at all!! This year it seems we decided to make it a tradition. The day before we were going to have our family celebration, several of us ended up getting hit with some sort of stomach bug. So we spent the evening curled up by the fireplace and praying that everyone would feel well enough to celebrate Christmas the next day.

The next morning started slow, but most everyone was up and moving and ready for a big Saturday morning breakfast!

At some point during the Christmas season the guys get out their instruments to serenade us.

Our ever creative mom asked a friend of ours that owns a furniture store if she could save their huge storage boxes for us. We unloaded them in one of the rooms in our shop and the kids had so much fun with them!! They made their own little town called "Cardboard City"! While they played, we fit in a few quick games of volleyball.

Then it was back to the house to get food ready!!! It was so fun to have so many little babies around our place. There were so many willing hands to hold them that this was a rare sight!

Making pie crusts with the little guys.

All hands on deck to get everything ready!

Supper time!! We still were able to fit everyone upstairs in our house! I don't know how many more years we are going to be able to do that.

The view out of our front window.

Then it was time for the gifts!

Watching the littles open gifts first...

Everyone who has experienced a big family Christmas knows there aren't really enough words or pictures to describe the atmosphere. 

It's so special!! 

"For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

From Our Family To Yours...

We wish you a Blessed 2019!

"The Lord lives!

Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted."

Psalms 18:46

Christmas Eve

This year since all of the married siblings had other plans during Christmas, we had a small family celebration with those of us that are still living at home.  We looked forward to time with all our married families right after Christmas, so we traveled to Iowa to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our Grandma!!  

  Caroling several nursing homes where we have dear friends,  attending two church services with Grandma, playing games, taking naps, eating food and enjoying time together in her new apartment made the days fly past. On Christmas Eve we enjoyed the time with Grandma, had supper, went to  the children's program/candlelight service, and then had a small gift exchange full of smiles and laughter.

As is tradition in our house, we recited Luke 2, sang a Christmas carol and then the youngest passed out the gifts. 

Guess who was naughty and who was nice this year?! ;)

(Actually, they both were nice!)

I think one of the favorite gifts was a squawking, glow in the dark rubber chicken for Stephen and Nathanael from their sisters for when the house gets too quiet. I think two days later some people were ready to butcher the chicken! But it made it's way safely home and has made for a lot of laughs in the process. 

Isn't it wonderful to be able to set aside time to celebrate LIFE and GIFTS and FAMILY?! 

Both spiritual and physical!

He is the Way, Truth and LIFE. He is the ultimate GIFT, and because of His redeeming work in our lives we are a part of the dearest FAMILY, the body of Christ. What an incredible blessing.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." 

John 1:1-4

A glimpse into our Winter

The last couple of weeks we have thoroughly enjoyed a little bit more of a relaxing winter. Mealtime conversations, curling up by the fire in the evenings with a good book or games and of course the seasonal baking. During the day we tackle a variety of projects!

Stephen and Nathanael have been busy in the shop trying to get some amazing wood projects done before Christmas. (more pictures coming later)

Elizabeth and I have been redecorating our bedroom which has been a fun project that includes a lot of painting!

Time with family on the weekends...

...And a lot of adventures trying to get all of the Christmas shopping done!! There are other projects going on as well, but taking time to celebrate Christ's coming is such a special part of the year.

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11