Christmas Fun

Christmas Day at our house went like this.
We opened one gift each.  The kids also dug into their stockings, and then we had breakfast and went to church. 

Upon our return from church, we finished opening gifts.  Andy worked on a feast, and I napped for an embarrassingly long time.

I enjoyed playing with a new camera lens and learning to work it. I'm sure there will be more pictures to come on that as I drive my kids crazy to get those pictures.

Even Shiloh can't escape the mamarrazi.

Savannah received a digital picture frame from her aunts, uncles, and Grandpa.  She played with my memory cards selecting pictures and editing them on Picnik.  I like the result so much that I am sharing some of her work here.

We had an interesting conversation with Wyatt.
Wyatt: I know why they made Santa.  It's so parents can get the kids to bed and sneak candy into their stockings. Very sneaky. I know because I saw candy wrappers in the trash, and we have candy.
Andy: So they made Santa so that parents can sneak candy to their kids?
Wyatt:  No, it's because of the spirit of Christmas.
Wyatt: I know you all are Santa, so BRING IT ON!
Wyatt is so stinking cute that these types of conversations are always fun, fun, fun.  He just grins, and I wish I had the way he said, "very sneaky" and "bring it on" on video.  Super cuteness.

Julia logged some new Amazing hamsters and a new webkin this Christmas season and was thrilled to find that longed for Fijit Friend under the tree. 

Zach worked out with his new NFL fitness training for the Wii.

Some of us took a walk while I slept.  Julia took her skateboard along and enjoyed it in her fashion boots.

We enjoyed a great meal.

Shiloh enjoyed the day with a walk, some table scraps and her new Everlast ball which happens to be the best. dog toy. ever.  It holds up under a strong chewer. Fill it with treats, and challenge your dog to get them out. Again, I think it is the best. dog toy. ever.

Then I took Zach out for a drive and allowed him to actually practice on the main roads to get home.  The main road leading to our neighborhood is full of hills and curves, so I insisted that he drive well below the speed limit.  Unfortunately, a car behind us could not take that and passed us on a hill narrowly avoiding a head on collision with another car.  I estimate that passing us saved this person a mere 30 seconds and almost caused a major and painful delay.  Is it worth that?  So when you are on the road, and the car in front of you is much too slow, just remember that an inexperienced driver may be manning that vehicle, and they do have to learn sometime, and at some time, they have to try the real roads.

And Mom was never far from my mind.  I missed the call I would have made to her or that she would have made to me so that we could share this day.  Even so, I did enjoy this day with my family.

We didn't get to the gingerbread house because we have had too much fun challenging each other on the Wii.  We've had a great family day, and we plan to tackle that gingerbread house tomorrow.

Good night!

Merry Christmas!

Yes, we sent two cards this year.  Our local friends got the card with just the kids while our out of state friends got the whole family (for the most part).  This is not the way I wanted it.  I picked out a great card and planned on a single picture of the whole family.  I had the theme worked out, and the whole nine yards.  I just didn't count on rain and more rain and well, more rain, and the fast passing of time. So, God willing, my idea will work for next year.

I read somewhere this season that if I am overwhelmed and stressed with preparations for Christmas, then my focus is in the wrong place. Hmm, thought provoking.  I am hoping to focus on the right things today.

Merry Christmas!

We are ready

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus with the traditional cake to celebrate.

The white frosting represents cleansing our sins.

The chocolate cake represents our dark sin.

The red candles represent Christ's birth to shed His blood shed for our sins.

The evergreen represents eternal life.

The angel represents angels proclaiming the birth of Christ.

The star represents the 3 wise men following the star to worship baby Jesus.

Julia and Wyatt read the story of Jesus' birth, Luke 2:1-20

A few gifts have been opened.

family celebrating together
We even had a doggy gift exchange.  Tiffany, who swore off pets for many years, got a dog this year and decided the dogs should draw names and exchange names.  Between my siblings and myself, we own eight dogs, so we all obliged. 

Reindeer food adorns the lawn.

Cookies and milk await Santa's visit. (homemade gingerbread cookies, yum)

Mary and Joseph have arrived at the manger.

Julia has said to Savannah, "I have been good at believing this year, so I trust Santa to be extra good to me."

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

HO, HO, HO, Santa Claus is Coming to Town

When I was growing up, piles of presents from Santa could be found under our tree.  Santa did not wrap the gifts.  Shortly after I stopped believing, my parents quit Santa.  Fearing we would love Santa more than Jesus, they told all of us he did not exist, and honestly I remember wondering if I would soon learn that Jesus is a mere myth as well. Of course, a very big book detailing the work of God in the lives of his people, and the very fact that even adults worshipped him seemed less like an act than the whole Santa gig.


Andy and I became parents and had to settle the Santa thing for our own kids.  I firmly held to not starting the whole charade.  Andy disagreed.  With Zach and Savannah, we decided to play Santa.  We told them that Santa is pretend, and pretending is fun.  


I relaxed when Julia came along, and we left the pretend part out of the Santa act.  Then came Wyatt.  We still wanted some more fun on the Santa front with Julia, but Wyatt was almost six when he landed in our family.  He had five Christmases behind him with no Santa.  Wyatt believed in Santa.  I think this was because we didn't make a big deal out of the whole world piece.  I also think this is because Wyatt's love language is gifts, so that boy has no intention of blowing an opportunity to receive gifts.  In fact, he still believes.


That said, Santa is a small part of our Christmas celebration.  He stuffs the stockings and brings each child one gift.  That gift is usually not the most longed for thing on their wish lists.  Santa's gifts are the only ones under the tree wrapped in Santa paper which we try to keep hidden from the kids.  I remember being disappointed when I was a kid because when Santa started wrapping our gifts (he didn't wrap them for many years), his paper was exactly like Mom's. At our house Santa uses simple stick on bows, and writes the child's name on the gift in red Sharpie.  The gifts from us, on the other hand, have the curling ribbon that nobody seems to be able to remove and black Sharpie labels.


In addition to the gifts from Santa, each child gets two gifts from Mom and Dad. Christmas gifts here are fun rather than practical.  They get the toys on their lists.  We keep a tight budget all year, and the kids only get their desires for useless stuff met on their birthdays and Christmas.  Any other time they are pining for a toy or game, we remind them that they have an allowance.  It is small, but I have to say that allowances are one of the best things we have ever done.  I rarely hear over and over in a store about something desired because I simply remind the child that the allowance is for that even if the item would require years of saving.  


The Santa discussion has come up in several places lately, so I thought I would share our Santa tradition.  This year I picked up a book from the library on the real St. Nicholas and Christmas traditions around the world.  I don't know much about St. Nick and felt that his way of sharing Christmas love is worth sharing with the kids this Christmas season.


Tomorrow morning we will find Santa gifts under the tree and enough candy in the stockings to cause some more dental bills.  However, we will also find the baby Jesus has arrived in the manger overnight.  After journeying through the house, Mary and Joseph will arrive there today.  We will definitely read the account of Jesus' birth from Luke.  Since Christmas falls on a Sunday, we may even go to a simple church service before digging into the goods under the tree, and lovable Wyatt may spontaneously combust with all the waiting! 


Merry Christmas!!

Kisses from Katie

When reading the Bible, sometimes I want more.  I want the details, what were they thinking? how did they feel? what was the journey like?  Sometimes I am struck by the fact that while scholars have determined the books that make up the Bible, and they tell the history of the Israelites and the early church, there is so much more to God's story.  His story is written on the lives of his followers, and sometimes reading a modern God story can be just what one needs to do.


I waited my turn on the library list and finally got to read Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis.  If you have read Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman, then Katie's story is a great follow up.  Katie embodies what it means to be a follower of Christ.  Having followed her blog (www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com) for some time, I was not sure if the book would offer any new information for me to digest.  I did know that Katie's eloquent style and amazing story would not disappoint.  I could not put the book down.  I was inspired, uncomfortable and amazed at her story, and yes, some of it rang familiar from reading the blog.  This read has proven to be the best part of my Christmas break so far.  It will make you want to catch a plane to Uganda and love on the poor there.  At the same time, you will see the reality of what a difficult life that is.  Katie lives as Jesus did: willing to entertain sinners, love those "beneath" her "station" in life, care for the most contagious.  She breathes love into broken lives and gives God all the glory.  


Katie gives the details; the times she was awed, bursting with joy, and heart-broken beyond belief.  Did I mention that she is 22 years old?  22 and wise beyond her years, a completely committed follower.


If you are looking for a good read, don't miss this one.  While I have the library copy, I may actually purchase my own just so I can lend it to my friends.  It's that good.


Click here To purchase from Amazon.

Our new Christmas decor addition

This cute little fiber optic tree was $13 at Walmart.  It was supposed to be 50% off which would have been $6.50, but it didnt' ring up that way, and that is right on par with most of my shopping this year.  However, the price is not the point of this post.  I have been scratching my head trying to come up with a fun way to display our Christmas cards, and I actually like this better than I thought I would.  I will seek a good bow for the top on my next outing, but I am happy so far with the look.

Mission Accomplished

In a rite of passage for both Zach and me, Zach obtained his learner's permit today.  This is the story of our day.

It started with oral surgery for Savannah which went very well until they told me the price which was twice the amount listed on the Internet for this type of procedure. gulp. The Internet always tells the truth, right? So much for avoiding the use of credit cards. sigh. She still has several days of recovery ahead, and we hope this procedure does not have to be repeated, but she is doing very well at this point.

After Savannah's ordeal, I immediately went to pick Zach up from a sleepover and then proceeded to Kroger to drop off Savannah's prescription and pick up the cold, soft food required for her today.  I did not want to await the prescription, so I headed home to drop off the kids.  Unfortunately, before we reached the house, Savannah needed her pain medication. I left the kids at home and headed back to the pharmacy.

We knew it would be tight getting in that permit test, so I decided our best bet was to take Zach and get him started, leave him and take Wyatt to his 2:00 appointment with the pediatrician.  We arrived at the government center and learned that Zach's social security card must be presented.  The number was not enough.  Zach lashed out at me in his frustration.  I had no idea where the card was, and quite frankly, I was over his attitude and figured he could wait another week.  I ended up caving and going to the social security office for a printout of his number. 

We then returned to the government center where Zach passed his test and then asked to drive home.  In my wisdom, I denied him the drive home in rush hour.  However, I did let him drive in our neighborhood. Oh my! We almost nailed a couple of mailboxes.  We almost landed in a yard.  We jerked a lot.  Slamming on the breaks and a heavy foot on the gas need some work.  I let him pull in the driveway.  Wow!  He headed straight for the truck.  "STOP!" I yelled, and he stopped. hard.  We were so close to the truck that Zach couldn't open his door.  "Let me just back up some," he suggested.  My frazzled nerves took over.  "Just stop", I said.  He pointed out that we were stopped, and I pointed out that I meant that I wanted the vehicle in park.  Zach reminded me that he could not get out of the van.  I told him to climb over the passenger seat and that we would let his dad move the van.  So, climbing ensued but not before I had to teach Zach how to remove the key from the ignition.  Having never driven at all before, Zach also learned that the car has to be in "drive" to go today.

I then marched into the house and announced, "I am still alive, and that is all that matters." I was a little shaky, so I didn't have to act too much.  Andy asked if the social security office was that bad.  I indicated that it was the beginning of my ordeal and waited for Zach to enter the house and follow my lead.  The social security office was not so bad as riding home from the government center with Zach in the driver seat, I pointed out.  Andy's reaction was just classic.

"WHAT?!!"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Zach whipped out his permit and showed it to Andy.  I then suggested that Andy check out the parking job in the driveway which prompted all the kids to join him.  We did reveal the truth.

I hurried to make a dessert for a great time of fun and games with three other families this evening.  While it baked Andy and Zach drove around the block several times. Julia watched from the doorway and kept us posted on how Zach was doing as I forbid the kids to go outside while Zach was manning a vehicle in the vicinity of our home. As for me, I think Zach needs 10 to 20 hours of experience before I try riding with him again unless we are in a big, empty parking lot.  Did I say a BIG parking lot?  Did I say an EMPTY parking lot?  I mean it. Thus far, I have been fortunate in that I have very few gray hairs.  I am afraid I will find that situation to be very different come tomorrow morning.