Christmas came to the Gaunch house!

Christmas Eve we piled in the car and headed to Charleston to spend the day with Louie's family. We spent the morning opening gifts with Louie's mom and dad, and Louie's sister and her family. The afternoon is basically an open house- their friends and family come and go which is wild and fun and loud! So in the morning, we did the typical thing... we sat in the living room by the tree and the kids opened gifts. Then Garrett and Hannah got their big, big gift from Santa- CAR KEYS! They received a used car. It is a 2001 PT Cruiser. It has 150,000 miles and a crack in the dashboard... but it's all theirs to drive around town.

Garrett was absolutely speechless and Hannah giggled. Garrett has his licence (Hannah just has her learners) so he got behind the wheel. They checked out every aspect of the car and he drove them around the block, with Becca and my niece Adrianne in the backseat grinning. The rest of the day, Garrett and Hannah would randomly saw, "Oh my gosh! We have a car!"

We made it back in time for the Christmas Eve Service as church- one of my favorite times at church all year- the candlelight, the music, and the message of hope- I can hardly stop smiling! We were actually really tired from our week, but managed to stay up a while; just long enough to see it begin to snow. In the morning, we woke up to a White Christmas. :)

I grabbed the video camera- just like I did when they were toddlers- and filmed them as they came down the hall. They had fun opening their gifts... Garrett loves to sing at church, in plays and in his band, Torn in Two, so he got a new microphone and mike stand that bends down... so he can do 'rock star' moves.

Becca is so 'over' dolls and is so grown up now!!! This year it was clothes, music, shoes and make-up. (sigh)

Hannah finished opening her gifts and wanted to enjoy the gingerbread house she made with her friend Karla. Garrett got his first real tool kit for Christmas, so he loaned Hannah his hammer. Hannah with a hammer... is that a good thing?

And there you go- gingerbread, ready to share! It was soooo good!

Later that day, the kids drove over to my parent's house to show them their car, and then later, my parents stopped by. Then, we spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing in particular... and it was fabulous! I expect the rest of the break to be fun and full of family time which I'm looking forward to.

One more thing before I sign off this blog-

I read a portion of the Christmas narrative last week that practically leapt off the page. It was from Luke 1:49,

"The Mighty One has done great things for me- holy is his name".

All I could think was, 'This could be my verse'. In similar fashion, I could turn my face toward heaven and say, "The Mighty One has done great things for me- holy is his name". He has provided a Godly husband... gave me strength so I can care for three children... gave me an opportunity to serve Him in my church and in my job at Covenant School where I not only get to teach children but affect eternity. But the greatest thing he did for me was that He sent His Son to not only take away the sins of the world, but my sins. And they were many.

It's the time of year when we, like the shepherds kneeling before the manger, sit back in wonder at the love of the Father. I would encourage you to take a moment to dwell on Mary's words sometime this week. What great things have the Father done for you? I hope all of you have experienced his love personally!

Blessings on you all this Christmas and in the New Year!

Christmas Comes Knocking!

This week, Christmas has come close into view!

Last Sunday, we had the opportunity to participate in an outreach project. Our church is establishing a relationship with a nearby lower income housing project. The kids all caroled from apartment to apartment (and it was C.O.L.D.), inviting the kids to come to the community building for games, a story, a snack and a goodie bag. Becca sang, Garrett read the Christmas story aloud, and Hannah planned a game and acted as a shepherd. I was proud of the kids for giving up their afternoon- and they had a great time doing it!

Then, we had the Covenant School Christmas program which was amazing! The children (1st-11th grades) marched in the sanctuary from every direction singing together. Then the senior class walked in singing a song called "Bring a Torch" hand in hand with my Kindergarten class... it was precious... and Garrett led them carrying a light. But every great production has it's "issues". As I was arranging my class on the stage to sing "Go Tell it on the Mountain", I heard someone whisper loudly, "Mrs. Gaunch, Mrs. Gaunch!!!" When I turned around, I saw a 1st grader from my gym class sitting on the risers with his hands full of vomit! Within seconds, the 1st grade teacher was on stage whisking him away and the show went on. My Kindergarteners sang with enthusiasm! Then, Becca played the trumpet in the band and later, Garrett had a solo.

Just as we turned our attention away from the program and toward final exams, we got our first snow of the season!

We missed 3 out of 5 days of school that week... which Becca loved and although Garrett and Hannah loved it, they were nervous because they were supposed to study all week at school. Amazingly, their calculus teacher made a house call Saturday and their classmates came over to get ready for their final! Becca HAD to challenge Garrett to a snowball fight-

Becca won!

The other day, we drove to Charleston to attend the WV Advanced Placement Rising Scholars' Dinner. Garrett was notified several weeks ago that he would be receiving an award, so we all went to celebrate with him. Garrett received the award for getting a certain score on 3 or more AP Tests before his senior year. (Hannah received that certain score already on 2 tests before her junior year) What I think is funny is that Covenant School has chosen not to offer AP classes so that they can teach a Christian curriculum. So actually, Garrett took tests on material he wasn't specifically taught in class. But, he received equivalent knowledge of the material from the Covenant curriculum, which is great! The governor's wife spoke to them, along with a spokesperson from College Board (the people who administer the SAT).

These are the slides they showed...

Showing off his certificate...

To top things off, he got his first college acceptance letter! It was from Marshall University which is my alma mater and the university here in town. He's qualified for and applied for the Yeager Scholarship at Marshall which would pay his entire tuition if he was chosen. We'll see...and he should receive word from Wheaton College, his first choice, by January 1st!

Tonight, as we were getting ready for the excitement of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, there was a pounding on our door.

Some kids from our neighborhood, including a few who attend church with us, came caroling at our door. It was so, so cool. It absolutely made my night! Louie and I listened to them and sent them away with chocolate covered peanut butter balls.

I can't wait for tomorrow!

Thumper!

This is the finished tree. I think it turned out really well. Everyone had a hand in decorating it. I hide the Christmas Pickle first and they hunt for it- which is hard in a real tree! The branches are thick and you have to push them aside to look. Becca won this year by finding the hidden pickle first. It's a goofy tradition. I read it to them from a library book about Christmas traditions in other countries. They were in elementary school at the time and they thought it was a joke. Nope, I said, it's serious stuff! And a tradition was born.Here are a few of my elves...

As the volleyball season wrapped up, Becca came to us and asked if she could play middle school basketball for Covenant School. I was pretty surprised because although she's always been really active, Becca's never played a lot of team sports. We were thrilled for her to have the opportunity for routine exercise over the winter months, so we said Absolutely!

Now, Becca has never played basketball and so Louie took her down the street to see what she could do. After pointers from dad and several weeks of practice, they had their first game- an away game at a Christian school over in Kentucky. We all went to see our sweet little Becca in this new role of "athlete". Hannah even painted her face!

There aren't very many middle school girls, so I knew she'd get to play a lot... and she was a starter. She was the shortest girl on the team (no surprise there) so the girl she blocked was a head taller. Becca loves her coach, Mrs. Taylor, and when she hollered at Becca to get in front of her and be more aggressive, Becca listened! Before long, my sweet little baby daughter earned a foul! They were winning with a minute left when Mrs. Taylor told Becca to wait under the basket. She had an older girl pass the ball to Becca, who laid it up and made her very first basket- 2 points! Woo-Hoo! She scored the last 2 points of the game and Covenant School won their season opener.

She was so excited that she talked non-stop all the way home. Practice was canceled the next day and she was disappointed! So cute. The next morning she was thrilled to discover that she had a huge bruise on her arm from where she was elbowed during the game. I have a feeling that kind of excitement will wear off.

The next day, I spoke to her coach. She said she'd given Becca a nickname. I held my breath. This could be good or this could be bad... Thumper. Thumper? Yep. Like from the movie Bambi. Why? I asked. She said that Becca reminded her of the bunny from the movie because she is constantly running/bouncing up and down the court and the sidelines, eagerly. She always has big eyes and a smile and is super enthusiastic.

Thumper. I like it.