Since I last blogged our family has:
1.  Attended our church Christmas Dinner and children's program where Maddie and Ty both played accompaniment on piano for the kids.  This was a first for both of them.


2.  Lived through an F2 tornado that hit our county on Thursday evening.  We were blessed to only lose power for 24 hours and sustain no damage at all.


3.  Gone to Atlanta overnight for our annual McElroy Family Christmas Celebration.


4.  Attended Buckhead Church with my SIL and BIL where we heard the gospel message preached and rocked out to the loudest praise music EVER.


5.  Attended our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Service.  Maddie was an acolyte, Wes took part in the processional, Tyler read Scripture, I sang a solo and Tom preached!  Yikes, all of us (but Tom) are looking forward to just soaking in the church service tomorrow at 10 am.


We are so excited about celebrating Jesus' birth.  A birthday cake is all ready and the day is just around the corner.  We pray that however you celebrate this event you remember this:  Light has come into the darkness.  All our sins, all our weaknesses, all our insecurities don't matter to our Father God.  Once we see Jesus as the answer and accept the gift of his death for ours, we are seen as perfect in our God's sight. There will never again be a time when we are isolated, alone, unforgiven. We now have one who is crazy in love with us and passionate on our behalf, who is always there FOR us each moment of the day. That's good news.  That's life and light. That's Jesus. And that's what we celebrate.


Merry Christmas from the McElroys. Through Christ may you experience "exceedingly more than you can ask or imagine." (see Ephesians 3).


Wednesday's workout:  Firm Zero in 10 Legs, Buns and Arms; 10 MS Yoga for Beginners


Thursday's workout:  Ellen Barrett Grace and Gusto (standing pilates blend)


Nothing since then due to having no electricity, traveling out of town, and Christmas.  I'm looking forward to hitting it HARD on Monday.

Merry Christmas from my blog.  Decided to mix things up a bit and use some holiday color.

Today was rainy but we managed to get Tucker out for a quick walk. The kids also went out and jumped on the pogo stick in between showers. And, we used the time to firm up the chore list over the next few days and begin working on some cleaning.  Tomorrow we're planning a trip to the library and then on to the store~gotta get those items to start baking!

Tyler found a few things to record on The History Channel show called Modern Marvels. They were on the history of toys (all boy toys), the history of Christmas technology (trees, lights, etc), and then history of candy making. So I let them watch a show today. Gotta be better than cartoons since they're learning something, right?

Today's workout:  Firm Ultimate Fat Burning Workout(intervals of cardio, cardio with light weights, and kickboxing) and Yoga Journal Yoga For Well Being Restful Sleep Practice. Doesn't put my to sleep but has lovely hip and shoulder openers, twists, and forward bends.

I ended up taking a fruit tray to our breakfast at church yesterday because I thought there would be tons of high fat and goo available.  There was.  I did think the kids would give me grief but they loved it!  You never know, do you?  


The youth party was a blast. We took the kids bowling and then to Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen. They also had a Dirty Santa Gift Exchange with gag gifts.  Some of the "popular" items were a squeaky dog toy and hot sauce!!


Today the kids spent a lot of time with friends in the neighborhood and had a great time. The temps were in the 60s so they could get out and have a blast.  It's supposed to rain possibly through Sunday so I'm glad they got out of the house.  Tomorrow we'll start making a list of cleaning to do this week, start some baking, wrapping, etc.  Christmas is definitely in the air!


Today's workout:  Erin O'Brien's Strong Body, Fit Body.  I did this weight circuit workout every Monday for months in the spring and summer and it was good to get back to it.

I guess I'm being festive with my choice of colors lately.  Friday I overslept and then went to breakfast and to run an errand with Tom.  Thankfully, the kids got up on their own and got some work done.  When I got home we finished our work for the semester, yippee!  That night Tom and I had a fun Sunday School party to attend.


Today Wes and his buddy Josh sold tickets for the NAIA Championship Football game.  Tom got a ticket too and they watched the game.  It's becoming a fun tradition for them.


Tomorrow it's caroling for the shut-ins using a Trolley and then the Youth Christmas party.  Oh, an a Sunday School breakfast at 9am before Sunday School at 10.  Whew, looking forward to having a down day on Monday!


Friday's workout:  Firm Bootcamp Maximum Calorie Burn (intervals of cardio and weights)


Today's workout:  Ramping Creative Choreography; AM Yoga for Your Week, Forward Bends; 1 Mile Dog walk

Fun day here.  I got up early, got my workout and shower in and then it was off to breakfast with the kiddos and Tom. I decided to eat breakfast here because we had coupons to McDonalds and I don't love their breakfast food.  Since I'm trying to watch my cholesterol if I don't love it I'm not eating it.  (P.S.  Not THE most healthy breakfast for me but it sure was tasty~I ate a small piece of homemade banana bread with natural peanut butter and a small piece of fruit).


After Tom left us to go to work, I pulled out my Bible study materials and gave the kids their writing assignments. They had to fill once side of the page with writing without stopping~and didn't have to share it with anyone. It's just a good way to get creative juices flowing. Then we did two more "normal" type activities:  Using Christmas as an acronym and seeing how many words they could spell from Christmas. Even my teens have fun competing, er, working together on this one!


When we got home we had Bible Study and read from A Christmas Carol, which we'll finish tomorrow. Right now Tyler and I are getting ready to sort some clothing out in his room~yep, I can't wait.  Oh~and I ran out about an hour ago and finished stocking purchases for the kids, making my Christmas purchases officially done. (I bet not.  It seems like there's always something that comes up!)  


Tomorrow is our last day of school before the break and Tom and I have a Christmas Party with a Sunday School class to attend. We're looking forward to sleeping in, making cookies, wrapping gifts, and hanging out next week.


Today's workout:  Joanie Greggins' Holiday Workout; AMYFYW, Forward Bends (with Tucker licking my face in savasana, or relaxation pose)!

Typical busy Wednesday here.  We had piano and church and our run to the bread store.  We're trying to get some last minute math and other work done while still having some fun too!  So, we're reading Dickens' A Christmas Carol together as part of school and taking extra time to make sure we don't skip Bible study in the midst of the busyness.


Tomorrow we're going to have our end of semester breakfast out, read together, tie up loose ends in books, and catch up on chores.  We're also going to try to squeeze in a visit to the library.  I pray your final preparations before Christmas are filled with Christ himself.


Today's workout:  LBN Strength; Super Model Series Floor Work for hips and glutes; 1 mile dog walk.

Wow, it's sunny and 60ish degrees out today. Tucker and I enjoyed a longer walk and a nice bit of play time (read Tucker chewing a limb, mom watching) in the front yard this afternoon.  This has been the most up and down fall weather in the last month I've seen in a while.  


The kids and I are enjoying a bit more "fun" work this week. Yesterday we watched a documentary on The History of Christmas and today we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and studied the history of Clement C. Moore. They kids all wrote a story or poem or drew something about the poem to share at dinner tonight~can't wait to read/see what they came up with. We're also getting our math done and doing fun writing this week.


Last night Tyler had a Scout Christmas party and Wes had a board of review for his next Scout Level, Star.  He passed with flying colors and we're very proud.  One more level to achieve in the next 6 months (Life) and then he can begin working on his Eagle Project.


Looking forward to a night at home to hang out, spend more time with our Advent Wreath and devotions, and just share some laughter.



Yesterday's Workout:  Slim Series Shape it Up(high rep/low weight workout)


Today's workout:  Kickboxing CardioPower and a dog walk.