Contemplating the New Year...

"Time and tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty!"
Robert Frost
I am thinking of the New Year and what it will bring...and now my head hurts! There are some goals I have in mind...and I need to get them on paper so I can be accountable. The one goal is already on calendar paper...August 29...will bring me to a new decade. As I scrolled through the months of this coming year, that is the one date that "hit me". I wonder what other events will "hit us" this year! What a blessing to see a new year...with no mistakes on it...yet...and know that our Heavenly Father already knows the beginning and the end! I don't have to worry or fret...and I can always claim "39 and holding"!

Playing with my coffee!

This is my new toy from Mari. It frothes up the half and half (or heavy whipping cream which is Mari's choice!) to about triple its volume...

Add the perfect brew of Tim Horton's coffee...

and yummo! Who needs the $3-$4 cup of coffee!? Not me! Thanks, sis! (You are right...just a sprinkle of sugar makes it perfect! Now to experiment with chocolate and carmel and...)

How do you spend the day after staying up till 1 a.m. with friends?

For the first time in their little lives...they slept past 8:00 a.m.! We stayed in pjs all day! We watched assorted movies while roaming through the house with various toys. We also read five chapters in our new book...Hans Brinker. We played with playdough. We just enjoyed being home and on vacation! Poor Daddy still had to work! And so we completed a practice run for New Year's Eve...we'll see who can outlast Daddy! Ha ha ha

Christmas brings out the best in us!

I love this picture of my husband...

it shows his mischievous side that very few have been able to capture on film...he is not always a serious business man!

We believe in the right to bare arms...or was that bear arms!?

Boys will always be boys...even when they are grown men! Thank you, Brad, for the great gift idea! Caden's NERF gun brought so much fun on Tuesday night...that Ted went and got some fun for himself...I mean...for the kids. On Christmas Day, we found that Uncle Kenny bought some fun for himself...I mean...for Teddy too. We now have four guns, about 40+ darts, various targets, and a case of the flinches! Good family fun...you should hear the yelling and laughing...and it hasn't been just the kids!

And we still "like to go to Grandma's (and Grammy's house) for Christmas!"

Thank you to our grandparents/parents for hosting the festivities of Christmas! Each gathering had its special traditions and touches...but the most important part...the people that were there. We missed seeing some of our family...but they were still with us in the memories of years gone by! Today is a day that we are home...doing all the needful things of life (laundry and etc.) and enjoying the nice gifts that were given...thank you for the thoughtful gifts! Our house smells good (Yankee candle), the coffee frothy, and the children are quiet (games and markers on new color books with a movie playing in the background).

The Many Faces of Christmas

Thankful for the fun times with family!

Our shiny, big, red balloon went flying high...full of fun, noise, laughter...and on Saturday it went flying to the ground making the funny sound as all the air rushed out of it...as the van headed for MI...pulled away! I don't know if anyone in the van cried...I didn't see any tears from my crew...but I caught a couple sobs and sniffed my way through dishes with Dad. There was a great quiet that settled over Grammy and Grampy's house...so great that we stayed for a couple hours. Then Mom and Dad came over Saturday night for supper at our house. I don't know if it is old age or what...but this year our time together went sooooo fast! We are grateful for the time together...and had a blast! We will share some of our memories...if you share some of yours!

Making merry...still...

Sending our love to all our family and friends...

"The Shepherds left their sheep and found a Lamb...the precious Prince of Peace...the great I Am...on that long awaited night, down in Bethleham...the Shepherds left their sheep and found a Lamb!" What a precious gift God sent to us! "Halleujah for the Lamb!"
Merry Christmas!

A Sweet Gift...carmel corn for our neighbors.

See the naughty dog contemplating his move?! Or maybe he was just guarding it for me?!

On the Twenty-fourth of December...

lots of gifts to open...well, sort of! Chevy can't read and tried out the lollipop on one of the gifts. If he doesn't die because of the chocolate...the soap may get him! sigh
Happy Christmas EV-E!

They arrived! Safe and Sound! And the fun has begun!

Welcome to Grammy's Craft House! Brad, Mari, the kids, and the dog slid in about 6 p.m. last night safe and sound! The girls are making a nativity scene...cute!

The grown-ups are catching up and dodging darts!

The boy's craft time...coloring with markers (that is a treat for our boy!) and then building with the markers!

The first hour and a half was spent giggling and bouncing around. Our cousins were working off all the energy that was "conserved" during their 9+ hour trek from Michigan...a sleigh might have been a better mode of transportation this year! Our kids were working off their "issues" of waiting! Excitement reigns!

OH BOYS!!!

Snow much fun!

I loved this idea that my cousin shared on her blog! I am kind of nuts about snowmen and snowflakes and this was perfect! I brought out the button jar and the kids went nuts. Teddy found buttons in the shape of bones...so his snowflake is for Chevy.

Which reminds me...the reason for Chevy puking earlier...my "little flakes" gave him hot chocolate!!! Yes, just in time for Christmas...give your beloved pet chocolate...which has the power to "do him in"! I was mean and made them clean it up...it was nasty...maybe, just maybe it grossed them out enough...yeah, probably not!

I now know who is responsible for first "spiking Christmas drinks"...MOTHERS! Yes, I just said that out loud! We are home all day. Together. 24/7 No cousins yet!
Glue...glitter...toothpicks...thank you to The Crafty Crow for some fun (fast) ideas today!

She would have sat for hours...but alas, I just shoved them outside for awhile! Maybe their brains will freeze and not think up such unbelievable things to do to irritate an otherwise festive mother who is really, really trying to make their day special!

It is not going to happen...

Ted told me I needed to get them in the mail by Monday at the latest...and it is now Tuesday...snowing...and it is not going to happen! (I started to feel guilty because I didn't do Christmas cards for everyone at church and didn't have the one ready to send out. My feeling is that Christmas letters and cards are for those who live far away from you...but that is not what everyone around here does. Don't get me wrong...I have never been one to do something because the crowd was doing it!!! I was feeling guilty because "supermom" dropped the ball after making her loving family pose for a picture!)
The Christmas letter is saved in a Word document and done...just not printed off, folded, stuffed, and stamped...and it is not going to happen this year. I am just going to email it and post it here on the blog. I am admitting defeat. I started strong and had things layed out...then got busy doing other things...and I am just not going to stress out to go and get stamps and such. It wouldn't be fair to the kids! As I type, Teddy is yelling down the stairs that Chevy just puked. That is just how it is...I start, I stop, I forget where I was and what I was doing. That is what a Mother's job is! If you follow this blog...the Christmas letter doesn't say anything that you don't already know...except for Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We are so thankful for all our friends and family! And we are thankful for the opportunity to keep in touch with many of you via technology!

On the Twenty-third of December...

... kids art projects all around...with more to come I am sure! I have a couple for them to do and looking for some more to share with our cousins.

QUICK...FAST...WHAT IS YOUR FIRST GUT REACTION TO THIS?!

I am not sure if I should share mine across the miles of this great country and beyond! Let me just say...it wasn't a reaction of thankfulness and pleasantness...however, I kept that inside and asked the offending daughter to remedy the situation as fast as her little hands could move. She did...and now all children are separated and resting comfortably in their beds for awhile! Cousins...come quick!

Thanks, Uncle Kenny!

The kids drove Uncle Kenny nuts...I mean...had fun with Uncle Kenny this afternoon. I appreciated his help! And the guys at the shop enjoyed a yummy lasagne lunch! Thankfully there are some leftovers...should be enough for a supper for us! Ted is keeping track of all the nights I stumble through plans for supper...just hasn't been on the high priority list OR maybe it is all the snacking/tasting we do during the day!? Ted thought he could re-write some words to one of the Christmas songs regarding this...in his spare time of course!

On the Twenty-second of December...

squabbling children...you can't tell by looking at her that it is forty-three thousand below windchill here! Tuesday's forecast...3-5 more inches of snow. Wednesday's forecast...4-6 more inches! We are going to have Mt. T. in our front yard soon!

more Christmas cookies...cause our cousins are coming to town!

**For Kim**I always bake sugar cookies, fudge, Russian teacakes, gingerbread cookies...I am always on the verge of a craving...think I will make some truffles and toffee bars. I need to make another batch of carmel corn for our neighbor gifts...have a couple more to deliver. When Mari gets here, I think we will make krumkakker too!

On the Twenty-first of December...

A Peanut Butter Christmas! Alisa panicked between SS and church and decided she didn't want to "do this"! There were many who came inspite of the weather and Alisa realized they were all going to watch her. I told her it was "too late to not to do her part...and little M's family was there, Aunt Sara, Uncle Kenny, Papa and Grandma...Mommy, Daddy...oh honey, do it for Jesus...that is was counts!" She did a good job for her first time...with the look of fear and no drama/expression...but they all got through it. Pastor wrapped up the morning with the thought..."they were inconvenienced...things didn't go as they planned...but they knew the Lord as their personal Savior...He gives peace and we can praise Him..." It was a good challenge for me...things don't always go as we plan!

All the kids got bags of candy as a Merry Christmas and thank you...it made the fear melt away...quickly! I know this...because it was all over their faces!

Ashlynn was part of the backup singers...I mean the choir. I couldn't get a picture of Teddy's group because I was videotaping and it was too dark. They were up to sing two verses of Away In the Manger and then down...I guess that is all the teachers figure the 2-5 year olds can manage. No one cried or fell off the stairs!

We enjoyed our evening with little M's parents. Due to weather, church was cancelled tonight and then little M's family got stuck in a snowdrift going to Grandma's house. When they got home they called us...we had to get up, put clothes (instead of jammies) on, light some candles, and pick up the Sunday afternoon mess. They brought yummy ham and we enjoyed sandwiches and the big bowl of candy that the kids got. They bought our family the game Pay Day and taught us how to play again. It was a cozy evening!

On the Twentieth of December...

lots of twinkling lights...and another program practice for the kids!

Now...we're waiting for cousins!

Brad and Mari and family come next week...hopefully, between the snowstorms! They are in the last stretch of all the programs and responsibilities they have! We are so excited we can't stand it...it has been a whole year...and the realization of that makes me so very sad...we are "not that far away" in miles/hours...but the schedules of life don't always cooperate. Ah...the joys of being adults with responsibilities!

Ornaments on Parade...handmade by Mom