On the first day of Christmas, we went to the Warm Beach Lights of Christmas with our friends the Schmalz family. I have wanted to go for some time and it is a distance from our house. But it is just ten minutes from the new Schmalz home, so it was a perfect time to head up north and visit. It was cold and rainy but we stayed cozy warm in our jackets and hats, and enjoyed the beautiful lights.

We spent the night at the Schmalz house and left around lunch time. So on the second day of Christmas, we drove directly to Grandpa and Grandma Cole’s house to enjoy some more Christmas fun. When we arrived, Grandpa Cole had an activity planned. He and JT have been working on building and understanding circuits. JT proved that he remembered lesson #1 by drawing a complete circuit on his own. Then Grandpa gave him supplies and he built his own circuit to light a bulb. It was pretty awesome!

Haley learns how to use a volt meter

Finished circuit

It works!

Then we started on the Christmas cookies. Grandma had sugar and gingerbread dough all ready to go. My little bakers stuck it out and made about a hundred cookies. We didn’t frost them all because Grandma said they were easier to stack up plain, but we frosted and ate more than I’d like to admit!

Then after dinner we went for a one-mile walk around their neighborhood (walking off our cookies) and looked at Christmas lights.

On the third day of Christmas, we woke up at Grandpa and Grandma’s house to a yummy breakfast and presents! Jim had requested Grandma’s cinnamon rolls and they were awesome. The kids were thrilled to open gifts.

Haley got a dress-up closet made by Grandpa. She understood its purpose and said at breakfast, “I can’t wait to hang my clothes in my dress-up closet, Grandpa.” Sweet. It is being put to excellent use in her room now, full of sparkly dresses, tutus, princess shoes, purses, and jewelry on hooks. She also has a shelf on top for her new dolls, like the Pippi Longstocking doll from Aunt Gena.

JT’s big gift was a guitar so he can play with Jim. He is also looking forward to playing with his cousin Preston. He got a learn-to-play DVD from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Gena that he has already started watching. I love listening to him “play” with Jim when we sing worship songs together before bedtime. The other night Jim was at work, and JT offered to play for us anyway. Haley requested “Away in a Manger” and so JT strummed along while we sang. It was completely precious. Meanwhile, Haley now really, really wants a pink guitar.

Later that day, Jim and I had a date to see Catching Fire. Then we all went together to visit Great Grandma Christensen and bring her some Christmas treats. We saw Uncle Jim and Aunt Sara there too, while they were visiting from Idaho, which was perfect timing. 

We woke up at home Christmas Eve, the fourth day of Christmas. We completed our 24th advent ornament for the tree. Here’s the finished tree, stocked with feathers, glitter, fabrics, and all sorts of crafty things. I was tempted to read the Christmas story to my children, until I remembered that we’ve been reading it every day for a month and they practically have it memorized. We are pretty focused on the meaning of Christmas, and although our children were downright spoiled with gifts, I hope they best remember the memories of family and Jesus.

Then the kids and I read Christmas books for almost an hour. I hadn’t had a chance to read them some of my favorites: Christmas in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck, The Spirit of Christmas by Nancy Tillman, Santa, Are You For Real? by Harold Myra, How God Decorates Heaven for Christmas by Ron Mehl, and A Visit from Saint Nicolas by Clement C. Moore.

Jim and JT went to do a little errand and, when they got back, I noticed a little something under the tree. JT took his very own allowance money to the store and bought me a present!

Christmas Eve we went to a local church service before dinner. I just love Christmas Eve service. The service was nice and we lit candles, which I love.

We came home and had roast, risotto, orange green beans, french bread, and apple pie before tucking the children into bed for the night. Then Jim and I stayed up getting ready for morning, and watching “A Christmas Story.”

On the fifth day of Christmas, the fun started around 8 AM. After much deliberation, Jim and I had left the biggest gifts out under the tree for the kids to find in the morning: a PowerWheels F150 truck for JT and a Land of Nod wood dollhouse for Haley. I think the adults were more excited than the children, especially after you see what happened when they came downstairs in the morning.

The night before

Staring at the big surprise gifts

Did you catch that? That’s right: they stared. And then they shuffled over to their stockings and wanted their new books. JT commented that “We open our stocking first. Then we eat breakfast, then we open presents.” Clearly we have instilled a firm sense of routine, because they just couldn’t break it. So we sighed, put on our adult pants, and let them open their stockings and look at books, ignoring the large beautiful gifts in the middle of the room.

Then we opened gifts, and they did finally sit in the truck. After JT warmed up to the idea, he made sure to be touching it at all times.  They did start to touch the dollhouse as well, that Haley proclaimed “not very pretty” when asked what she thought of it. She didn’t say it rudely; she was just being honest (and we did ask her opinion after all) but we did explain the value of wood products versus plastic… to which JT pointed out we could certainly paint the dollhouse pink. Sigh.

We had time while breakfast was baking to paint Haley’s toes a new color from her stocking. 🙂

Breakfast!

After some clean up, we took the kids outside. Finally – some smiles!

Ignore me loudly asking the kids to wave in this video and just enjoy their little happy faces. 🙂

Haley got to drive too!

After all of that, Haley was so hungry that she asked for tea, vegetables, and hummus. Really, it’s tough to argue with that.

And finally, enjoying the dollhouse.

After lunch we headed down to Grandpa and Grandma Keene’s house for more gifts and dinner. Travis did not want to sit on the rocking horse for this picture!

The kids got gifts from Oregon, Alabama, and grandparents and aunts and uncles during this opening. I would say the highlights (although there are many) for Haley were princess dolls and dresses, and for JT new Legos and Lincoln Logs. Dinner was fabulous, and Grandpa and Grandma Cole came over to eat with us. By the time all that was done, we were ready for a nap. 🙂

It might seem like a lot, but maybe we were making up a little for last year, when Jim and JT were out for a week with rotavirus and pneumonia. Remember that?

This morning we woke up to just over an inch of snow. Okay, so that’s not much, but in this area sometimes that’s all we get. We have to capitalize on the moment. We pushed back our shopping trip plans to the afternoon and got ready for fun in the snow!

My kids were so excited. We ate a quick oatmeal breakfast and got ready…

Then out we went.

I ziptied the outdoor ski handle (the one we leave on the deck for playing with) to one of the sleds, and that kept us busy for quite awhile. Let me tell you that pulling both kids two full blocks, running, got my heart rate up!

Then we built a snowman. Right before the picture, the head fell off. I said, “Haley, look surprised!” and this is what I got. I’m cracking up!

We fixed it, and then my nice neighbor came home from some errands and saw us working. She came over and offered to take our picture as a group because, as she said, you just never know if this will be the only snowman this winter. Such a fun morning with my favorite little two!

This season’s show at Seattle Children’s Theater is James and the Giant Peach. JT and I went to see the show last night and had a great time on our date. We were late to the show due to the NCAA women’s volleyball championships at Key Arena and the crazy traffic in the area – along with lack of parking and closed streets. Lots of families were late to the show as well. JT was super easy going about it. We talked about how there was nothing to do and so it isn’t worth getting upset about. A good life lesson for all!

Also this week, JT had a playdate followed by a birthday party. His social calendar is really filling up. 🙂 So Haley and I had a date night for pizza at home, followed by frozen yogurt out. I have such a great time with my sweet girl.

This week, our senior pastor at Antioch Bible Church passed away after a long battle with cancer. We have been so blessed to have his leadership at our church. We are thankful that he is now rejoicing with the angels at the feet of his savior, and look forward to seeing him again someday in heaven.

Click here for a biography and service information.

Finally, finally, a gymnastics class fit my requirements: 1) fits our schedule, 2) close in proximity, 3) reasonable cost. By close in proximity, I mean within twenty minutes’ drive. I don’t think I’m being unreasonable here… but it has been really tough to find a class for Haley. She has asked to join a gymnastics class and we would love to let her. Finally, one worked. It is five minutes away Tuesday mornings. It is really Toddler Tumbling more than fully gymnastics, so I was a little disappointed at first.

But – and here is the most important thing at age three – Haley was NOT. She beamed at the teacher, Mrs. Courtney, the entire time. She bounced and twirled and did forward rolls and backward rolls. She learned throwing a frisbee and how to move her body and balance. JT and I were there for support, and it was really fun to watch her. There are only other little boys in her class, and I have to brag for a moment to say that Haley was the only child who could do all of the tasks. I am sure she could handle a higher level class but this is perfect for her right now. We have plenty of time to do something more rigorous. 🙂 So, for the next seven weeks, you can find Haley bouncing along through her gymnastics class and having a wonderful time in her very first “just for Haley” activity.

Haley and Mrs. Courtney

On the way out, there was a beautiful huge Christmas tree right next to the wall of windows. The lighting was nice and I had my camera, so… my wonderful children humored me with a quick photo shoot. I got this winner of my precious two.

Our annual women’s Christmas dinner was this weekend at our church. For the past few years, I have hosted a table. It is a lot of fun. There is great food, beautiful table decorations, a fabulous speaker, good music, and yummy dessert. This year, for the first time, Jim was my table server! The men of our church volunteer to serve the tables and they do a great job. It was really fun to have my man there to serve our table. My mom and mother-in-law usually attend as well. They help me set up the table and my mom brings lots of dishes for the table. It is so fun to have this annual tradition to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

That night, we celebrated a rite of passage as we signed JT up for Little League T-Ball starting this spring. Since Jim’s parents were there, we had them join us. It’s the beginning of an era!

We also got to go to Portland last weekend and celebrate Grandma Hall turning 85.

Most of the cousins were there, with their children, and it was a full house.

Giggly Violet

Sweet sleeping Nora

Because we came home after Thanksgiving so Jim could go to work the next day, the kids and I spent Black Friday at home. It was perfect. We started with cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

The we started decorating the tree and the house.

On December 1st, we started our Advent calendar. This year I am using The Truth in the Tinsel and I just love it. For $7.99, I got a day-by-day guide for scripture reading, discussion questions, and a craft project for an ornament. For an additional $3.99, I got printable ornaments for the days we are crazy busy or I just don’t have the supplies for the craft. The book comes with printable templates for the crafts, a shopping list, a day-by-day supply list, and printable cards for an advent calendar or chain. My kind of project.

We start each day after breakfast by drawing a card from the calendar. The kids take turns. 

Then we read the clue word on the card. JT has been trying to read them and between basic phonics and the picture he does a pretty good job.

I read the scripture and they listen for the clue word. When they hear the clue, they raise their hand. This is met with great enthusiasm by Haley. 🙂 Then we make the ornaments that go with the clue and talk about the discussion topics while we work.

The kids hang them on the tree in our front room when they’re done. This is just day one… I am tempted to take pictures every day because I love this process and I love the ornaments and I love my kids. But really, one day is plenty.

Finally, we end by opening the day on the Nativity advent calendar from Aunt Gena. We read the verse inside (which has been amazingly the same as the verses above, almost every day).

We have been enjoying starting our days like this. It is a great way to make sure we’re focused on the right things this season. Tonight we’re headed to a living nativity. I am super bummed they are also offering Santa pictures, but it gives us a good chance to talk (again) about what other people do for Christmas and why we don’t choose to follow that tradition.

It was a very relaxing Thanksgiving day this year, with a little healthy twist. We started by doing the Issaquah Turkey Trot 5K fun run with our friends. It was cold and crowded but we had a great time.

Then we took our green beans, maple yams, cheesecake, and cranberry relish to my parents’ house for dinner. Some of my mom’s family was there for the feast.

Thanksgiving 2013 family photo on our way out the door

We had planned to spend the night and sleep in and relax with my parents the next day, but Jim got called in to work so we headed home.

p.s. The night before Thanksgiving, Jim, JT, and I watched Star Wars Episode 4 (the original first one) and JT just loved it. He has been asking to watch it because other kids at school talk about the characters and he had no idea what it was all about. Haley laid in bed upstairs sad that she missed it, but we had a great time eating popcorn and watching it together.

p.p.s. Haley promised “I am not scared of movies” and got to watch The Empire Strikes Back with us a week later. True to her word, she was not scared once. 😉

We went to high school with a man who now works as a firefighter at the station near our house. Jim connected with him on Facebook and we got to go for a tour on Sunday evening! The kids had such a great time crawling through the engine, aid car, and whole station. They got to ask lots of questions and see all there was to see. They were very impressed with the recliners and large television. 🙂 It was really fun to get to spend all of the time we wanted and not wait in a line to see the fire trucks. I didn’t take any photos inside (shocker) because there just didn’t seem to be a good time or the right spot. So I just snapped this one on my phone on our way out the door. Good night, fire house!

Sometimes life is a little busy. I know everybody feels that way sometimes. Yesterday was one of those days that went completely off my morning plan – but it was still a great day because I was busy doing what God had planned instead of what I had planned.

Haley ended up sitting through a two-plus hour meeting with me. And not once did I have to correct her or interrupt the meeting to talk to her. I brought her coloring book and crayons because I expected to be there for 45 minutes, max. Two hours later, she was playing with my phone (which I don’t normally let her do, but I was out of available activities other than “sit and listen”) and she took about a bazillion videos and photos of herself… which I didn’t know about until I got home and saw them on my phone. Too cute.