Happy Easter!

Just a glimpse of Easter 2010 in our home. We have had a blast in the past week from dying eggs, decorating cookies, egg hunts at school, watching Easter videos, to most importantly walking through the story of Jesus' resurrection through our Resurrection Eggs and celebrating at church this morning. Rylee and Ryan can both tell you the story through these eggs and have asked a ton of questions this week. We pray that they continue to ask these questions in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead and that they will truly understand and appreciate the true gift of Easter!

True Therapy!

I had an opportunity to do some crafting this week and just can't explain how therapeutic it was and always is for me when the paper, glue, and scissors come out ! I get so immersed in what I am doing and it is so easy for me to lose track of time and to put aside all of the nonsense that gets entangled in my daily life. I love it and I got so lost I kept creating - Now, I have an over abundance of these little Valentine creations that originally started out as teacher's gifts! The crew may have to go out on some "Secret Missions" in the next week! My favorites are the little strawberries (can't see them too well in the picture) and the tiny takeout boxes. Aaah!! Who needs a therapist when you've got a large stash of paper and scissors!

Excitement In the Air

There was truly great excitement in the air at our house on Christmas morning. Morgan woke up at 3:45 in the morning and could not get back to sleep while the Littles slept soundly until 6:30 - Our rule: No one out of their rooms until 7:00 (Pending, of course, the "Potty" clause.) So, it was a very long morning of reading and playing the DS for Morgan and not so long of a wait for the Littles. As always, Santa was very good and this year left an individual gift for each child and two family gifts (Netflix subscription for the winter months and Wii Resort). Morgan's top gift was from Santa - an ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia - 2,000 pages of nothing but statistics - no pictures, just a lot of fine print. He has been pouring over this book!! Oh, and we have a new Phillies jersey - Raul Ibanez!! Now, he can wear 2 a week!! :o) Rylee and Ryan are not quite as obsessive and are playing with everything they received. As always we are thankful to generous relatives who always make Christmas so special for us and we always look forward to spending time with them over the holidays either in person or via the phone!

Zhu Zhu update.....The Zhu Zhu hamsters that I searched for were played with slightly on Christmas day, but are beginning to get a little more playtime now. My greatest Christmas wish is that my children will continue to search for the true meaning of Christmas each and every day, the way that I searched for those silly, little hamsters!

Christmas Eve + 8:30 pm + Children in Bed = Aaaah!

Notice, I did not say the children were asleep. One definitely sound asleep, another is on his way, the other is wide awake! We have had our traditional Christmas dinner - prime rib, potatoes supreme, pink stuff - aka jello salad, mouth watering rolls, pie, etc., etc., etc. We have gone to our church's Christmas Eve service, fed the reindeer, set out Santa's cookies and milk (Sorry, Santa - no Pepsi for you this year), read the true Christmas story out of the chapter of Luke, read the "Night Before Christmas", and danced and karate kicked under the glow of the Christmas tree lights. The kids had a blast tracking Santa through NORAD and Go**le Earth. Isn't technology amazing!?!

From our peaceful home to yours...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The church is still in tact!!

Yes, we did light the advent candle at church on Sunday morning and the church is still standing! No need to call in a fire insurance claim. We did the divide and conquer thing - Mike and I each took a Little's hand and let Morgan light the candles. After lighting the candles, Rylee did her little skip/bounce up the aisle - hair bouncing and all - while Ryan was attempting to lead me up the aisle by pulling my hand as if it was a wagon handle. All was good - Candles lit and no major catastrophes!!

Sunday night, we returned for the Christmas music program. Overall, it went great. Ryan's feathers got a little ruffled in the middle of a song as the little boy next to him was talking to him...So, in the middle of one of the songs you heard "STOP!" from Ryan followed by a less than happy face to the child. Rylee was socializing and singing so that we could "see her lungs". For one of the songs, Morgan's group (4th and 5th graders) sang along with the adult choir from the balcony and it sounded so angelic!!

Two more school programs, a Keeping the CHRIST in Christmas workshop/presentation to present to a moms group in our area, school through Tuesday, and a couple of Christmas parties to go...

The Big Guy!!

Today was our annual trip to see Santa! If I haven't told you, we love "our" Santa!!! He is the best! There were no tears from Rylee and Santa even got a big hug from Ryan. "Our" Santa has seen us for years now and I believe there might have been a little relief in his eyes as we did not have another new addition to the family! In 2005, we showed up with a baby girl with hair that stood up on end. In 2007, we arrived with a third one in tow that had been with us for only a few days and spoke no English! In 2009, Santa sighed a sigh of relief!! ;o) The kids had a great time during their visit and gave their simple list: Rylee - a polar bear Ryan - cars and trucks Morgan - a baseball encyclopedia. Aaah... One of the simple pleasures of not having cable tv, the kids always have simple requests and don't want for much!! We did a little shopping and even met a local celebrity!! It was a great day and tomorrow the festivities continue... Lighting the advent candle as a family at church. Don't worry we already checked -They have very good insurance! And, the kids are all singing for the church music program tomorrow night.

See the relief in his eyes?

A little skipping with your little brother through the mall...












The local celebrity - TV News Anchor

















And... The Big Guy!!

A little side note: Due to various circumstances we were a little later arriving to the mall than we anticipated. While walking to Santa's Place, we were stopped by a woman who has a sister that wears a BAHA and was born with bilateral microtia/atresia. Her sister is 30 now and happened to have gone out to a certain doctor out in California to have the surgeries - Hmmm... The same doctor we are consulting with!! Coincidence? NO!! God? YES!! How cool is that!! We are in the process of trying to get some more questions answered and making sure that this is the right decision for Ryan - we have struggled a bit with this. I have been dragging my feet and putting of calling the doctor until after Christmas. And, what does God do... Gives us a little reassurance and peace!! Guess what I will be doing this coming week! :0)

O Christmas Tree

Christmas trees are all up. The outside of the house is decorated. Out of town gifts are in the mail. The Christmas newsletter is in the mail. Christmas shopping is practically done. Ahhh... What a feeling! Now, there are several projects that I wanted to do and have tried to do for the Christmas season (such as this and this and this and this - you get the picture), but I have resigned myself to the fact that they are not going to get done. I refuse to stress about it and am not going to stress about it! Instead, I am going to make a note in July of my 2010 calendar to begin the projects then and I am going to enjoy the little moments around our house! Here are a few snapshots from this past weekend... (First photo is of their pick for their 1st ornament for the tree)

1 Zookeeper, 1 Very Pink Flamingo, and The Youngest Amazing Race Contestant

Those were the costumes for the night!! Our tradition of going to Grams and PaPa's house to trick-or-treat because we don't really live in a neighborhood continued... The kids had a blast seeing Grams' surprises this year - spider webs in the chandelier and candy corn cookies complete with spiders. YUM! Oh, by the way... PaPa, you really need to work on your dusting skills! We quickly realized that Ryan probably didn't remember the trick-or-treat ettiquette. So, a few houses into the night we had a little pit stop and reminded him how to approach the door and what to say after receiving all the yummy treats. True to last year, he then began to announce to us every time he said "thank you" to one of the kind candy givers. I would love to send pictures to his friend in China, but how do you really explain this whole tradition to an outsider!! It is quite bizarre when you really think about it!

Marlo, you won the prize for guessing the costumes from a pile of pink feathers months ago. I about died when you guessed! You are one smart cookie!
We already have next year's costume planned. Sadly, this was Morgan's last year to trick-or-treat! But, we will all dress up next year and plan to do our church's annual Trunk or Treat (weather permitting)!

Treats

Since we don't typically trick-or-treat in our neighborhood, we love to deliver treats prior to the night for our friends in our area. This is what we cooked up this year... You can go here for the witch's brew label. Witch's brew for the big kids and chocolate covered pretzels complete with sprinkles for our little friends!!

Pickin' Pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch!!

A very crisp, fall Sunday afternoon at the pumpkin patch. The kids had a blast running through the field, picking out their prized pumpkins, and talkin' to the animals!

Answer to Pumpkins and Pumpkin Analyses question:
Small Pumpkin Gourd = Ryan. No weighing necessary!

"Princess Pumpkin" (short and squat) = Rylee. It is really a "Cinderella" pumpkin and hers weighed in at 15 lbs.
Larger Pumpkin of the 3 = Morgan. Average run of the mill pumpkin patch pumpkin that weighed in at 5 lbs.

Pumpkins & Personality Analyses

I can't help but wonder if there is not some psychological analysis that can be given based upon the choice of pumpkin that each child selected at the pumpkin patch today! The pumpkins are as diverse as their little personalities... So what do you think? Can you guess who picked out which pumpkin?!? More pictures from "the patch" tomorrow...

Halloween Is Just Around the Corner...

I know, I know... The last child is not even in school yet. But, I must say that this year I am already thinking about costumes. I do not do costumes well and have never really had to because Morgan has always dressed up as a Phillies player. Not too hard to pull the jersey that currently fits out of the closet, pulling out the remaining accessories and possibly picking up a pair of white baseball pants depending on the year. So, I decided that I was not going to be a last minute gal and try to pull it off. I had an idea and was going to run with it before I changed my mind another 100 times. The kids are excited so, I am off and running. I must say that it is coming together. Ryan's costume was found on Eb** - Did I say that I love Eb**? If not, I love Eb**... I got his costume for $3.91 - Let me rephrase, his brand new costume for $3.91. Less than $9 with shipping. Rylee will go with his costume and we could add many more people if we wanted. Morgan is not gung ho on the idea of joining them. So, I am not sure what he will do... He did say that he is tired of being a Phillies player - shocking, I know!! I am going to keep it all under wraps for now, but let me just say that I am in the midst of creating Rylee's costume... Here is a sneak peek....

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy 4th of July! We have had a great day... We got a few chores done in the morning and enjoyed just hanging out the rest of the day. It doesn't really seem like the 4th of July as we have been without the sunshine and hot temperatures. We had a little BBQ with my parents and the boys are now watching the Phillies on t.v . A perfect day even without the sunshine!! We made some fun treats to share and I must say that Mom gets the "Blue Ribbon" this year for the adorable mini hamburger and fries baskets...They are made out of sugar cookies, a cupcake, brownie, and frosting. Two thumbs up, Mom! Hmmm.. This might have to be yearly challenge!!

On a serious note, we are thankful to be living in a free country. We are thankful that our children can experience a country where they can make their own choices regarding religion, politics, and their futures. We are thankful for the ability to worship God without fear. We are thankful for the men and women that have sacrificed their lives and have left their families to fight for our independence and freedom. On this day, we are thankful for so many things that we might have taken for granted if we had not had a small glimpse of another way.

He Finally Got His Stripes!

Happy Father's Day!! We spent our afternoon at Grams and PaPa's house eating Grams' wonderful bbq ribs - It was a combination Father's Day and birthday celebration as we were gone for both my parents' birthdays. It is truly a blessing to have two important men in my life that I can celebrate with on this day! My dad and Mike. I can say that I have been blessed with a great father and my children have a wonderful father. My dad worked hard and made many sacrifices for our family while he was in the military. Although a little more "old school", he and my mom taught Cindy and I to be productive and responsible adults. Very much like my dad, I use humor to get through tough and uncomfortable times and do not like "goodbyes". I love you, Dad!

Now the other man in my life...Mike is very much a hands-on dad and tries his best to be involved in everything they do. Although I know how much he struggles to keep the balance between work and home, he does an awesome job in our eyes!! He is considerate, playful, and patient with the kids. He strives to teach them the values and qualities that will prepare them to be productive, God loving, adults with a strong sense of character and integrity. Although he has a few quirks (as all men do), we love him very much! For Father's Day, he received his stripes and is so anxious to sport them around town - Those would be the decals/stripes for his Herbie. Hopefully, Herbie will be on the road by fall!!

The Gift of Easter

I am a bit behind on the Easter post. After viewing our Easter pictures, we discovered why our pictures have not been coming out very well - Evidently, Mike changed the settings on the camera to compensate for the lighting in the gym at Morgan's school (see 4/3 post). I was bummed that the beach pictures did not come out as bright as I had hoped and figured it was the mist from the rain and ocean. Then, the Easter round of photos were not very good either. Then, the light bulb moment! Oh well... I decided to do a couple of digital scrapbook layouts to compensate for the lack of quality photos.

We love the Easter season and it always seems to sneak up on us! I am not sure if it is because Spring Break usually falls around this time or because of the hustle and bustle of the university at the end of the year. Next year, I am not going to allow all of those things to cloud our celebration. I love to share the Easter story with the kids and although the little ones do not quite understand the full significance they are learning the story. They love to make the resurrection rolls and the anticipation of opening up the resurrection eggs! There continue to be many questions about Jesus and why He died. We have had discussions on sin and God's might power. I don't remember the exact date that I accepted Christ, but I do know that I made more of a public profession on Easter in 1991. So, sharing beyond our daily bible story and studying only the Easter story is especially sweet!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! If it is Valentine's Day, that must mean that spring is almost here! Although we enjoy Valentine's Day here in our house, we do not go all out. I am one of those that believes that every day is Valentine's Day...That you should show those that you love that you love them 365 days of the year! We give the kids a small heart shaped box of candy and decorate sugar cookies, but that is pretty much the extent of it. Mike and I don't typically go out on Valentine's night and usually just spend the evening hanging out with the kids - I guess we are getting old and don't like to have to wait on the waiting list at restaurants over 20 minutes...This year, I got a little creative bug and decided to do something different for Mike and went with my theory that Valentine's Day should be celebrated throughout the year. So, I decorated a little mailbox and filled it with a bunch of numbered disks - 52 to be exact. Each week this year, I am going to do something to show him how much he is loved and adored! We will keep it out so that I can be reminded each week of my commitment...It may be a simple note on the bathroom mirror, a small task that he can mark off his "To Do" list, or it may be something more extravagent like planning a date night down to the babysitter. I am hoping that I might be able to pull together a little scrapbook for him at the end of it. Should be interesting...If you have any fun and creative ideas, please email me!

When I was growing up, it was my Dad who would buy the Valentine's. Every Valentine's Day Cindy and I knew there was going to be a heart shaped box of chocolate and a card at our seats at the kitchen table that morning. It was something we looked forward to and even more special to us to know that it was something he enjoyed doing for us! Dad has continued that tradition by buying and giving the kids Valentine's and candies! He still buys me a valentine, too! Look at that smile on his face! Thanks, Dad!