Christmas Eve began with baking and basketball. We also got JT a littlebits Gizmos & Gadgets set, and graduated Haley into Snap Circuits, so there was lots of time building and designing during the afternoon as well.

We also went to visit my grandma. The kids both picked out a Christmas book to read to her. We took her fudge and Christmas art for her fridge decorations as well.

We sat down to dinner right on time! We had roast, our favorite potatoes au gratin, roasted broccoli, and homemade dinner rolls.

After dinner, we got dressed and headed to candlelight service at our church.

The kids always come home from church to new pajamas, mysteriously delivered to their stockings while we are away!

We had homemade apple pie and ice cream while we watched the original Grinch, another tradition, and then Haley put out Oreos and milk for Dad before she went upstairs to bed.

Christmas morning, we had fun opening gifts and watching the kids squeal with delight. Isn’t that the best part? They each got something they really wanted, something to wear, something to read, and a learning game or toy.

JT couldn’t wait to try out his new spy video walkie talkie set. We are surprised how well it works!

Jim and I forgot to set out their new bean bag chairs under their stockings on Christmas Eve. And then we forgot to get them out Christmas morning. So after our light breakfast (yogurt and ham, cheese, and egg breakfast sandwiches) we finally remembered to get them out. The kids had fun reading their new books while relaxing on their chairs. The beanbags are replacing the brown recliner I recovered for JT years and years ago. We were ready for more portable chairs that could seat two. JT thought his new book Dog Man was hilarious!

We headed to Grandpa and Grandma Cole’s house for Christmas brunch at 11 AM. The cinnamon rolls and Swedish pancakes and breakfast pizza and bacon and sausage and fruit and fudge were all amazing. There were more smiles and laughter opening gifts, and some of the group played Pictionary while some played basketball.

In the afternoon, we got ready for Christmas Part 3 at Grandpa and Grandma Keene’s house! We got there about 4 PM for dinner and more gifts. Dinner included a perfectly cooked prime rib, our favorite mashed potatoes, green beans, Hawaiian rolls, and orange salad. We had seconds on everything.

For dessert, we had the special birthday cakes and cupcakes that JT and Haley had baked with Grandma Keene two days before… and a cheesecake I brought, and more fudge. We sang happy birthday to Jesus before we dug in!

Let’s see. Monday, Jim and I had a date night after basketball practice to see Rogue One. We lovvvved it and we would love to see it again! We saw it with friends, and we all went out to frozen yogurt afterward.

Tuesday we made Christmas cookies with my side of the family. We brought home a lot of cookies and ate quite a few while we were there as well.

On Wednesday the kids had Christmas sweater day at school. JT still (barely) fits his sweater from last year, and Haley wore a cute sweatshirt from her closet.

I volunteered to help with Haley’s waffle breakfast and book exchange, which was really fun!

The kids had a half day of school, and in the evening we invited my niece, Ali, to join us for dinner and Snowflake Lane.

Because we know some people, we had a special sky-high view of Snowflake Lane this year. It was so fun to be able to see everything and not be so crowded. It was the best one I’ve ever been to!

On Thursday, I worked from home and did some planning and we saw some family from out of town for dessert at my parents’ house in the evening.

Friday, JT and Haley had a special day with Grandma Keene. They made birthday cakes and cupcakes for Jesus (to eat on Christmas) and saw the movie Sing, which they loved. Afterward, we all walked through a local Christmas house with snow on the ground. It was very festive!

What a weekend! We started Saturday morning with baseball camp for JT. Then we got ready for Singing Christmas Tree with friends.

Afterward, we all met for dinner at a restaurant. We had one table of 8 adults and one table of 10 kids!

Jim and I left from there (our friends delivered our children to my parents’ house for the night) and went to his work group Christmas party.

Sunday, the kids were featured in a Christmas video at church! Then we went to Jim’s parents’ house for his dad’s birthday brunch.

On Monday, we woke up to snow! The kids had a two hour delay. Jim spent the day working on installing our new basketball hoop. It looks awesome. We can’t wait for a patch of dry weather so we can have the sport court poured underneath. For now, it’s dirt court basketball.

Monday night, Jim and I had a date after basketball practice to see Rogue One with friends. We went out for froyo after. We wrapped up a busy, fun weekend ready for the week before Christmas.

Haley is continuing to enjoy gymnastics. In fact, she chose to stay in gymnastics for winter season instead of doing Upward Basketball. She has two goals:

1. Make it to Level Two
2. Join Splits Club

We are full of Christmas fun around here. I don’t put activities in the Advent Calendar because I want Advent to be about JESUS not about treats and fun activities. But we still do the fun activities, of course.

Last Friday, the kids and I attended the opening night of Stellaluna at Seattle Children’s Theater. It was a lovely production and Haley said she liked it much better than the book because it included a lot more dialogue, and she also liked that it was a musical.

Tree of Lights on top of the Space Needle

On Saturday, JT had his first session of winter baseball camp (indoor). It’s never too early to be warming up for spring ball. Then we headed over to my parents’ house for a family brunch to hear about Madi’s semester in Israel. We had four generations in the cozy house, eating very yummy food and asking lots of questions about her trip. We looked through only half her photos and need a follow-up session to finish it all.

We made gingerbread houses this year for the first time (well, my first time with my children). We bought a kit from Joann Fabrics and it went really well. Thank goodness JT read the instructions and gave me a heads up that it would take 3-4 hours for the assembly to dry before decoration. Geesh! So we made it a two-day project, and that was just fine.

Jim is JT’s basketball coach this year, and they have matching shoes. I’m not sure I can handle all this cuteness. It’s like its own Christmas gift. Off they go to practice!

JT is really enjoying making dinner once a week. Really. He plans it all out and we spend about an hour in the kitchen together. I am the sous chef. He reads the recipe and shouts out what he needs chopped: “This onion, chopped, and that bell pepper, diced!” Then he works the oven and the range all by himself. But I told him if he had to chop everything, we’d be there all night. 😉 This week he wore his Christmas sweater – which he LOVES – into the kitchen, along with camo pajama shorts. When he saw my Look, he said, “I knew we weren’t going anywhere tonight.” Then we staged this photo of him pulling his dish out of the oven, and oh my, doesn’t he look adorable? Baking in a Christmas sweater. Seriously.

The kids and I did a Christmas Lights scavenger hunt the other night. It’s so easy. Just look for it online, click print, and get in the car. We hit over half of the list in our neighborhood alone!

This week, our church had its annual women’s Christmas dinner. I invited my mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-laws, and two nieces to join me. We had a nice evening and it’s always good to be surrounded by some of my very favorite people.

We got snow! It was so fun to see it start falling Thursday night, and wake up to a few inches of thick, wet snow… which is perfect for snowmen and snowballs. Since Jim didn’t have to leave quite so early for work, I made blueberry pancakes so our tummies would be extra full before heading outside.

Jim was able to build a snowman with the kids before he went to work. This view while I was cleaning up from breakfast about burst my heart. 🙂

Then I walked with the kids to our neighborhood park, where there is acres of flat land and a place for sledding. First, we had an epic snowball fight. Then I replaced LOTS of mittens. Then the kids decided to build snow forts. Our friends were cold and wet by then, so another mom walked them home while I stayed to finish the forts.

Walking home, I captured this gem and posted it on social media. The moment lasted less than one second and I’m glad I captured it. You can see Haley’s head ducking away… and what I did not post was the picture I took one second later, after Haley said “Get off, JT,” while pushing him away. This is life, people. Ha!

It was so fun to have Aunt Gena, my sister-in-law, come to the kids’ school to teach their classes about Saint Lucia, a Swedish traditional holiday on December 13th that brings light to the darkest day of the year. Haley practiced in advance so she would be prepared to wear the costume and pass out cookies. She did a great job walking slowly to the “Santa Lucia” song and her classmates complimented her gown and sash.

In JT’s class,  Aunt Gena played Lucia since it is always done by a girl. The kids in JT’s class had an amazing amount of “wishes granted” as they broke their cookies into thirds.

We are so thankful to live near family, in which these things are possible!

Christmas! Over the weekend, we went to the Living Nativity. We highly recommend it and have been going for years because my aunt and uncle are involved. We had invited some friends who had to cancel at the last minute, so we invited our neighbor friends at the last minute too. Sawyer and Jozie were a great addition to our group and we had a wonderful time.

Sunday, Haley and I went to The Nutcracker at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, presented by Evergreen City Ballet. It was a matinee 1-hour show that really lasted 1.5 hours and, to quote Haley, there were “lots of moms and daughters in pretty dresses” in attendance.

After the ballet, we went Christmas shopping in Bellevue and got a lot purchased, which was really fun. We didn’t to worry about dinner because JT made dinner while we were out… and had it ready when we got home. Breakfast for dinner is always a favorite, and his waffles were scrumptious.

Monday morning, we woke up to SNOW. JT and Haley were so excited (me too!) and we walked to the bus stop with big smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts.

Nothing like Jesus, ballet, and snow to get your heart ready for Christmas. 😉

We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend enjoying some family time, starting with our neighborhood Turkey Trot. This year, a neighbor kid had a coffee and hot chocolate stand set up, so we were all treated to hot drinks after our run. Both our kids did a great job finishing a full mile in the pouring down rain.

Then we had a nice extended family dinner at the Coles’ house. On Friday, we hosted a small group for watching Apple Cup. And we were happy with the results. After the game, Jim went to work and the kids and I put up the big Christmas tree.

On Saturday, we hosted a very similar looking group for Iron Bowl. And we were happy with the results. After the game, Jim went to work and the kids and I put up the small Christmas tree.

Today we heard the news that Slider had died. Slider joined our family after Jim and I picked her out at the breeder’s house when she was just six weeks old. She moved home with us at 10 weeks, on Memorial Day weekend, in May 2005. She was so cute! We taped her ears like good German Shepherd owners, but they never stayed up on their own.

When JT was born, Slider was amazing with him. She was protective right away, and took her place as number four. She was so calm with him crawling and grabbing and poking. When Haley was born, she fell to number five but maintained her cool. When the kids were babies, she would lie as close to them as possible. When we were at a park, she would whine if they were too far away from her perceived realm of protection.

We took Slider camping with us… a few times. She hated going to the bathroom away from home, so that was a struggle. And then there was the water, which she hated even more. And then there were people – and dogs – and children running through our campsite. She was so stressed and confused. We let her sleep in the tent with us, which she loved because she never got to sleep in our bedroom at home, and certainly not on the bed next to Jim. She edged me out a couple of times! Then we would wake up with dog hair on our faces and wonder what we were thinking.

We still lived on tiny property, and it was getting harder to make sure she had exercise and attention. She started acting out to get attention (cubes of butter, right off the counter!) but she never chewed anything that wasn’t hers to chew. We also had a neighbor dog who would pester her through the fence, but it was a little dog and so, when the fence boards broke and Slider got through, she was not very welcome on the other side. She never hurt another animal or person, but her size and bark made some people nervous. Of course, we loved that around the house when I was home alone! So in 2011, we made the tough decision to have Slider live at my uncle’s house. It was so hard to leave her.

She did so well there. Slider got so much more attention, so much more room to run, and people who could make her a priority. My uncle’s family were so incredibly kind to take her in, love on her, and make her their dog. We called it her retirement home. Like an open adoption, my cousins would take pictures of her and send them my way, just to keep us updated from time to time. It was the perfect situation.

Jim went and visited her about a month ago, when we heard she was declining, to say goodbye. Everyone thought it would be too hard for the kids and me, so we have the blessing of only healthy memories of Slider. And we have lots.