Merry CHRISTmas from the Garms Family!

What a beautiful Christmas Eve the Lord has given! The sun is making the fresh snow sparkle and the crisp air has a joyous atmosphere. Tonight we are singing the 5:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service at our home church, and then let the Christmas festivities begin!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours. May you have a wonderful, blessed, safe, joyous, and peaceful Christmas! Remember the true meaning of Christmas, the reason for the season-Jesus Christ, our Wonderful, Precious Savior Who came for us at the right time, Who left it all for a sinful, sick, and dying people, to give hope and peace to all who believe.

"Glory divine He left behind, to save this selfish heart of mine. So lost was I, I could not see, He did all this for me." -"He Took My Cross" (Copyright Taylor Garms)

Blessings and Joy in the Journey!

Taylor for the Garms Family

Happy 9th Birthday, Jayme!

It was dark when I woke up, but I knew something important was going on. I jumped out of bed and Leesha quickly followed. We snuck out of their room and found Mom getting ready to go, and we suddenly knew...the new baby was coming! Nine years ago, God gave us a special Christmas gift when Jayme Katherine joined our family on December 22nd.

Little did we know that our chubby little baby girl would grow into an amazingly talented young girl who loves music almost as much as horses. :) Her maturing voice has a strong bluegrass influence, her fiddle playing and enthusiasm for other instruments is a blessing, and her interest in sign language is neat to watch grow. Though she was late to get her teeth and late to lose them, that has not hindered her talking! Jayme loves to tell stories to anyone who listens...or isn't listening, in that case. :) God continues to mold this young lady's life; she has a loving heart and loves to give "gifts" to us. Many nights she will place one of her favorite stuffed animals on our beds for us to sleep with, and she enjoys giving little notes to us.

We love you, Jaym-Jaym! You are so precious and beautiful to our family. Continue to follow the Lord, and love Him with all your heart.

"All the days planned for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:16.

-Taylor for the Garms

The New Christmas Tree

Mom is going to be so happy (she's been reminding me that I have to get this done): I'm finally posting a picture of our new gigantic Christmas tree!

Isn't it beautiful? Compared to our former tree, this is huge! It's given us lots of laughs.

-Taylor for the Garms Elves

A Bit of Encouragement

Jayme left this note on kitchen cupboard, and I thought I would share it with you as a bit of encouragement...

Family,
'In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.' -Albert Einstein.
Jayme

What a sweet little reminder from our little eight-soon-to-be-nine year old!

Joy in the Journey!
Taylor for the Garms Family

Update on Mal

Mal and one of our kittens, September 2010

Many of you have heard about the 86-year old man who lives with us: our friend Mal. (To read the amazing story of how he came to live with us, click here.) Here's an update on him:

Mal continues to age and is more unstable than ever before. We recently watched a tape recording from 2003 when we were in Arizona fishing with Mal, and it was shocking to see how fast he moved and how agile he was. His steps are slower, and he tries not to go anywhere without his cane. In fact, this fall, he asked for a wheelchair, as he wanted to use it for work outside (walking tires him out fast). Dad and Mom found an used wheelchair at a local thrift store, and he loves it!


Sam, Jayme, Caleb, and he named it "Green-boy" (it was Caleb's idea) and he lets the kids ride around in it. In fact, yesterday he asked me to make drivers licenses for them when they use the "wheelie"! :)

Mal, enjoying the winter sunshine from his room-November 2010.

Mal loves nature and is always giving us the weather and animal report. The highlights of his day include: birds, our cats, talking, and visits from Sam, Jayme, and Caleb. He and Caleb are always sharing the latest on what birds they saw during the day! Mal is often concerned about us traveling in the winter time and hopes we come home safe from long concert trips.

Every once in a while, Mal will listen to a few songs while we practice, especially enjoying the Lil' Adventurers. He joined us for a meal the other day (which is a rariety ever since he once spilled a glass of water; he had been very embarrassed and didn't want to eat with us again) and sat several hours telling stories. Mal also loves it when birthdays come around!

Mal at Caleb's birthday - August 2010

Mal loves to gift us with hot chocolate! I think about every week he comes in and asks if we're good on hot chocolate. The answer is always yes, as he has given us almost a year's supply, but he still gives us more. :)

Sam, Jayme, and Caleb transferring boxes and boxes of hot chocolate into one big container.

Mal brings joy into our lives by his pleasure in the "little things"; he has a way of seeing things we often miss. His laughter and smiles are contagious and we consider it a honor to share this part of his life. We have learned a lot with him over the years he has been with us.

Continue to pray for him and the softening of his heart. We have seen evidence of God's hand in his life so many times; he is a living testimony of God's gracious provision.

One final picture: this captures Mal perfectly...

We love you, Mal!

Blessings and Joy in the Journey!

Taylor for the Garms Family

"O Christmas Tree!"

Tis the season for decorating!

We almost always set up our Christmas tree and decorations the day after Thanksgiving, but since we had an extremely busy Thanksgiving week, we did not accomplish it according to tradition! Rather, we decorated the tree in stages.

First, Captain Taylor, Sergeant Sam, Corporal Jayme, and Private Caleb began the process last Wednesday by actually setting-up the tree.

Don't we look determined?

We haven't had a "real" Christmas tree for years; it is much less of a hassle to take care of a "fake" one! :)

Then, on Saturday, we lighted the tree and put on decorations. Here Ben tries to string lights around the tree, but he eventually gave up and let Dad do it his special way.

Going through ornaments.

Mom laughing over an pathetic pine-cone ornament I made for her years ago. (Early stages of graphic designing, I guess!) :)

Sam, Jayme, and Caleb recreating the Nativity scene.

Leesha and I decorating a little tree for the girls' room.

Then the best part-putting the ornaments on the tree! Caleb stretches to put one in the perfect spot.

Jayme was all smiles! By the way, this little girl is so excited today, because she pulled out a tooth all by herself (she's been terrified to do it, but finally overcame her fear)!

Peek-a-boo! Ben and I hanging up ornaments.

Just having fun.

Caleb decided a tub which held some of the ornaments was more fun than decorating. Isn't he creative?

Mom, adding her tender touch to the tree.

The finished product.

Okay, are you ready to laugh now? This decorating process took up Saturday afternoon and evening. The next morning at church, one of our friends announced they had an eight-foot Christmas tree to give away. Well, as you can see, our tree is tiny and becomes laden with more and more ornaments each year. Mom was curious about the larger tree, and...we ended up taking it home. Guess what? The process was reversed and then it started all over again! We had to de-decorate the tree, and then set-up the new tree and re-decorate it. Ha-ha! The tree is huge!! We call it "Samson" (or "Mammoth"; it depends on who you talk to). It is beautiful, and the former tree now resides on our deck for now. :) It was exactly what we needed for our growing ornament crisis, and we love it (though we do miss the little tree sometimes).

Merry Christmas!

Blessings and Joy in the Journey! Taylor for the Garms

A Few Updates

You may notice the new page on the blog: Friends and Favorites. You'll find a bunch of links to our friends and favorites. Check it out today!

In family news: Ben and Mom just returned home from Ben's driver's test. HE PASSED! Good for him; we're excited! (I just heard Ben say from the kitchen, "Now Taylor will be up next." Oh boy!)

Blessings and Joy in the Journey!
Taylor for the Garms Family

Joy at Joy Lutheran Church

At 5:30 AM on December 4th, Leesha's alarm went off. Shortly after, I heard Dad's voice say, "Good morning, girls, time to get up." Whew, were we tired! Believe me, that is not our normal time to rise for the day!

We were invited to sing at Joy Lutheran Church in Cambridge, MN for a ladies advent brunch. They scheduled us for 9:30 AM, and because we have so much equipment and set-up, the van rolled into the parking lot about two hours before-hand, filled with the slightly tired Great Adventure Gospel Band.

Beginning the unloading process.

Sam and I discovered a leak in the ceiling; here Sam and Jayme try to catch the drips.

The snow plows were busy at work! We received about 5 inches during the night and it sure looked mighty pretty!

The Lil Adventurers loved to watch the plows.

Before the concert: Sam, Jayme, and Caleb like to view hymnals of different churches we go to and search for their favorite hymns.

Mom's ingenius idea for decorating her bass. :)

I quickly snapped this picture of the band on stage during the concert.

Sam and Jayme reciting their Christmas poem (you have to hear it to find out what it is about!).

We had a wonderful time with the ladies (and some men as well!) at Joy Lutheran and were very blessed by their presence and love for us. We also shared a special moment when some ladies asked us to play with them while they sang "Silent Night" in German. That was so cool!

Merry Christmas!

-Taylor for the crew

Happy Birthday Leesha!

Happy 16th Birthday Leesha!

Leesha means "happy", and that's exactly what she is! With a cute giggle and a knack for making crazy imprompto songs and stories, she brings much laughter and joy into our home. Her beautiful lead voice is so important to our group, and her dobro playing and sign-language brings a new aspect to our music.

Without Leesha, games would be boring without her fun commentary; traveling wouldn't be complete without a visit from her "therapy" Booth bunnies. Her ability to express herself through poetry is amazing, and her kind spirit to children and nature is sweet in our home.

It has been a blessing as a big sister to watch my best friend grow into a beautiful young lady. We have grown from dolls, sidewalk chalk, Matchbox cars, and hair bows to taking care of the home, guns and swords (no, really!), making meals on our own, and layered hair. It is stunning to look over at my little sister and see her wearing her new glasses and new hair-cut, and think, "When did we get older?" One thing has not changed, though, we're still best friends!

Blessings on your new year of life. Sweet Sixteen! Wow. You are a blessing to us. Continue to mature in the Lord and draw closer to your Heavenly Father. Never forget to praise Him. God has brought you to and through so much.

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" Psalm 150:6

BTW: Do you know how Leesha got her name? Years ago, Contemporary Christian artist Michael W. Smith recorded a song called, "I Hear Leesha" in tribute to a young lady who was killed in a car accident. Dad and Mom heard the song and name Leesha, liked it, and then named their fourth child, born December 3rd, 1994, Leesha. What a story!