Tuesday

It's Christmas Time in the City...











Merry Christmas! Well, we have had quite the wonderful time opening presents this morning. The kids seemed to be very happy with their new stuff and mommy and daddy are excited about their gifts as well. But I think that the best present that was opened in our house today was a movie that Brent got. Gridiron Gang. I have to admit that I was not especially excited about watching yet another football movie...but I was so wrong. If you have not seen it then you must. You see, in that movie there are a bunch of kids that are in jail and they get to play football. And the game changes them. It changes who they are on the inside, it makes them want to be better and because of that they become better.
As I sat and watched that movie this morning with my hubby, it made me think about what Jesus did for us. Really that is what Christmas was all about. It is an invitation to the game. But there are no footballs in this game, just the ultimate coach who always has your back. A coach that truly does change who we are on the inside and makes us want to be better. This Christmas, our prayer for you is that you will take Him up on His offer. That you will let him get into your heart and change who you are. That you will be changed forever by an invitation that was made to you...
Merry Christmas.

Thursday

My Man of the Year


Ok~ I will try to make this short and sweet, but I am not sure how short it will end up being, so bear with me... Last night was the Bass Christmas party. At the party they give out two awards, Salesman of the Year and the Mack Bennett Employee of the Year award. Briefly~ salesman of the year is just that, given to the person who makes the most sales. The other one, and much more important one~ is the Employee of the year. It is an award that is given to an employee who is really a man or woman of great character, and it is voted on by all the employees.
Well, we pretty much knew going into last night that Brent would be getting the Salesman of the Year award because he got salesman of the month this year 5 times, and was salesman of the quarter twice. As I sat beside him last night though, and listened to the office manager's assistant rattle off the list of things that people had said about the winner of the Employee of the Year award, I knew that it was Brent. They had talked sbout his work ethic...how he is the first one there and the last one to leave. About how he is always doing things for other people. About what a man of integrity he is, how he is always there for them and listens to them. How he is always trying to put everyone else before himself. What a leader he is and how his heart is bigger than anyone elses. Every single person who voted for him said that they considered him to be a close personal friend.
Tears filled my eyes last night as an overwhelming sense of pride came over me. That man that they were talking about, that man who is so incredible to work with, who puts his heart and soul into everything and everyone..that man was sitting by my side. I have said a lot here, but there are truly not words to explain the pride that I feel in being his wife, and how much it meant to watch him accept these awards last night. I am glad that he can sell~ in this business that is great, but more than that...so much more than that..I am glad that he is a man of strong moral character. I am glad that God has given him the gift to lead others well, at work and in our home. And above all, I am glad that he is mine.

Monday

Thanksgiving & Beyond





We finally did it...we got past Thanksgiving, let the decorating commence!! Yipee. To be fair, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My in law's were here and we had an awesome time together. My turkey was the best, if I do say so myself. If there is one thing that I can do well, it is a nice turkey. We did a little shopping and went on the hunt for the Eckley Christmas Tree. Since we used to live where you could go out into the mountains and seek out the perfect tree and cut it down, living here in the land where you have tree farms or the home depot, it is usually a bummer to have to go to the store to get your tree.
This year was a new day for us though. A first of sorts for the Eckley's. This is the first year that we went to a tree farm, and also the first year that us girls went with the men to get the tree. But it was so great. We travelled about 30 minutes to get there, and found the most awesome tree. As you can see by the pictures...my little tree hugger was in heaven on a "tree farm", and my young man was totally prepared to cut down our tree!!

Wednesday

Life Group & The Anticipation of Christmas

We had our first official Eckley lifegroup (bible study for those who do not know) last night and it was phenomenal! I loved it. It was so awesome to start something fresh and get new ideas from everyone. It was also really great to be able to see the vision that others have for the body of Christ! I found myself in Acts this morning, reading about the early church. I want so much to live like that, 100% sold out for GOD. On fire for him and his purposes for my life and the lives of those around me.

Other than that, we are gearing up for Christmas season around here. I cannot wait for Thanksgiving to come so that I can get my hubby to give the green light to putting up the Christmas decorations!! I love Christmas. I love everything about it, the season...the reality of what happened during this time 2000+ years ago, and I really love the time that I get with my children. The light in their eyes Christmas morning when I get to watch them open presents. I love to get gifts for my family. To get them things that I know they will really love, and then be able to watch them open those gifts...I love that morning, sitting in my jammies with my fuzzy slippers on, sipping hot chocolate, christmas music playing in the background...watching wrapping paper fly here and there. By far one of my favorite mornings of the whole year.

Monday

Off and Running

Well, here we are, blogging... This really does seem like a great way to keep everyone up on what we are doing. With all the grandma's and grandpa's so far away, this will give us all a way to keep up close and personal with eachother. So, welcome to our blog. Feel free to drop by whenever you like. And yes, we will be adding pics of the kids and letting them write their thoughts as well!