Family Vacation December 2021

A cheery hello to you!

Our family was blessed to enjoy a vacation together over Christmas, and this post is chronicling our travels. Enjoy! 

December 21st-29th, Our family took a vacation to Missouri.  Along the way we drove through several new states, Arkansas, Illinois, and Indiana, as well as through the Ozark mountains. The handiwork of God is so magnificent! I never get tired of seeing the beautiful mountains and scenery. 

On Wednesday (the 22nd), we arrived in Branson, Missouri, met our friends, and saw the show JESUS at the Sight and Sound Theater. It was a phenomenal production, and if  you ever get a chance to see one of their plays, I would highly recommend it.

After the show, we joined our friends and ate at a family-owned restaurant called Local Flavor. If you are ever in Branson and looking for great food, check this place out! 

 On Thursday we planned to spend the day at Silver Dollar City. Before the park opened, we ate a yummy lunch at Ozark Mountain Pizza.

At Silver Dollar City...

You can see Sarah and my mom in this picture sitting on the right end in the third row. :) 

 

A lady was playing Christmas carols on the piano and we stopped for a bit to enjoy the music. If you’re viewing this post on email, click on this link and scroll down to listen to the video. 

 

A train ride around the park was the perfect activity for an afternoon break. The train paused for a few minutes as the gentleman in the rocker told the story of Jesus’ birth and the reason for celebrating Christmas.

At night all the lights beautifully illuminated the park.

After leaving the park at closing, we stopped for a sweet snack at Andy’s Frozen Custard.

For the time we spent in Branson, we stayed at a condo. In the picture below, the condos are barely visible on the right side of the sidewalk. A golf course was right behind the condos with a beautiful creek running through it.

 

 

 

  

 

 Friday (Dec. 24th) found us enjoying lunch and a show at the Dixie Stampede. 

 

 

 Saturday was Christmas Day, so we took the opportunity to drive around and explore. We came across Table Rock Dam and just below it is Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery. The day was beautiful so we enjoyed walking along the trails and viewing the amazing riverscape.

There were several men fly fishing for trout.

 

Majestic skies and views from our drive.

 

 

You can see a glimpse of the dam here.

 

 

A breathtaking overlook scene...

 

After the drive, we girls made and decorated gingerbread houses, as is our yearly tradition. :) 

If you are ever in Branson on a Sunday or Wednesday and looking for a church, I’d recommend Calvary Baptist Church of Branson. We attended the Sunday morning and evening services and enjoyed it very much.

Please excuse the bad lighting of this picture, but here is the kitchen/dining/family room of the condo we stayed at. We left on Monday and headed toward Kentucky.

The St. Louis arch in passing. 

Monday evening we stayed in the small, quaint town of La Grange and enjoyed a delicious supper at this restaurant. This town is pretty neat with a train that runs right through the downtown on the main highway where shops are set up along the street.

Tuesday we arrived at our destination: the Ark Encounter. We girls and our mom visited a few years ago, but this was the first time our dad had been there, and it was a pleasure to see it again.  Since I shared a lot of photos in this post from the first time, here’s just a few from this visit. And of course to enlarge any photo, just click on it.

 

 

 

 

 

A new Answers Center has been added since the last time we were there, and it was great to hear Ken Ham speak on the topic of Divided Nation: Culture in Chaos and a Conflicted Church. We also saw an animal show, and a Christmas concert ended our day at the Ark.

This is the view from the porch of Emzara’s Kitchen, the restaurant on site at the Ark.

 

At the zoo...

 

Thus ended a wonderful and relaxing vacation. I am so grateful to the Lord for this trip we got to enjoy as a family.   

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." 

~John 10:9-10

The Story of Christmas

 Hello and happy new year! 

     I think this every year, but I cannot believe a whole year has gone by. It feels like the beginning of 2021 was not that long ago, and here we are starting the new year of 2022. I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas holiday. You might be a little confused by the title of this post. Maybe you’re wondering why I’m still writing about Christmas. Well, I didn’t get a chance to post this last month, and the song below has stayed in my mind for a long while. One of my favorite hymns is “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” and I realized last year just just how beautifully it highlights the life of Christ and the story of Christmas. It starts with Jesus’ birth, mentions his life on earth, talks about his death, and ends with his resurrection. The celebration of Christmas focuses on the coming of Jesus to earth as a baby, and the reason he did so was to become sin for man so man could become sons of God. Perhaps as you read the words, your heart will be filled with thankfulness to God for his extreme love in sending his Son to pay for sins. 

Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word;
Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. 
Tell how the angels in chorus, sang as they welcomed his birth,
"Glory to God in the highest! Peace and good tidings to earth."

Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart ev’ry word; tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. 

Fasting alone in the desert, tell of the days that are past,
How for our sins he was tempted, yet was triumphant at last. 
Tell of the years of his labor, tell of the sorrow he bore,
He was despised and afflicted, homeless, rejected, and poor.

Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart ev’ry word; tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. 

Tell of the cross where they nailed him, writhing in anguish and pain;
Tell of the grave where they laid him, tell how he liveth again. 
Love in that story so tender, clearer than ever I see:
Stay, let me weep while you whisper, love paid the ransom for me.

Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart ev’ry word; tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. 

Hebrews 5:8-9 says "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"

Ring the bells, ring the bells, let the whole world know,
Christ was born in Bethlehem many years ago.
Born to die that man might live, came to earth new life to give,
Born of Mary, born so low, many years ago.
God the Father gave His Son, gave His own beloved One,
To the wicked sinful earth, to bring mankind His love, new birth.

Ring the bells, ring the bells, what a glorious morn!
Men and angels worship Him, singing, Christ is born!
Born to die on Calvary, born to set His people free,
God Himself in human form, tell it! Christ is born.
He has left His royal throne, He has come to claim His own,
Christ the Lord has come to earth, go spread the news of Jesus' birth.

Ring the bells, ring the bells,
Let the whole world know.
Christ the Savior lives today
As He did so long ago!

Just because the season of Christmas is over doesn’t mean we have to stop talking about Christ’s birth, so find someone to share it with!   :)    It is the sweetest story ever told. 

May your day be Christ-centered and filled with joy. ❤️

Love,

Ashley

1 Peter 1:18-19  “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”