It's the Most Wonderful Time!

The decorations came out right after Thanksgiving this year and it wasn't a day too soon for our eager little ones. They couldn't wait to get the tree out of the box! Once it was out, they enjoyed playing IN the box until Marc and I had all the branches ready to decorate. Pictures were few and far between because we had to keep the pace up with their excitement. I quickly threw up the mesh and then they started hanging ornaments. They loved seeing ornaments they had made from years past and finding the perfect spots for their favorite ones, which was usually the front bottom branch!

We are slowly figuring out some of our Christmas traditions. Last year, the season passed and I was bummed that we hadn't found any structured Advent time together as a family. The kids were still quite little so I knew we had some time to create something. Then for Christmas last year, my mom gave us a nice wooden advent calendar box. It had more pieces than the felt one I had been using and seemed like a great start! From there, I found a scripture reading schedule that I liked, along with an advent story book, and then we were set! The kids LOVED our family time each night through the month of December. Marc is such a great story teller. It was more involved than what we typically do at night throughout the year, but the kids really stuck with it for the whole month (I think the piece of candy in the box each night may have helped motivate them just slightly!). I am continually blown away by how much knowledge and understanding a child even as young as three can have. It was the most amazing thing to watch and be a part of. This was my favorite memory from our Christmas.

I had hoped to do a few crafts with the kids this year along with some Christmas cookies. What happened was ONE craft and then we ran out of time to even make cookies. We did Mod Podge with scraps of paper on some ornaments and added glitter sequins to the outside when we finished. It was a huge mess! The kids had a great time but I'm thinking I might just stick with cookies for next year. At least you have something to eat while cleaning up that mess. :)

We still travel to see both of our families around Christmas so we're never in our own home during Christmas. We just pick a free day to open up our gifts in between trips seeing family. Our kids get three gifts from us which keeps it simple. This year, I got a teepee for them as a collective gift. Eli and Hailey spend their entire day in imaginary play. They are always camping, traveling, or off on some adventure so I thought the teepee would be lots of fun (and it has been!). I really appreciated this article (and video) "Rethinking Santa" put out by John Piper this year. It explains well why we have chosen to skip the Santa stuff (though we teach them about the real life of Saint Nicholas of Myra) I know there are tons of people who love this tradition with their kids and I'm not trying to step on those toes. However, I think this article is very thought provoking and worth the read.

Our "Christmas morning" this year!

A few other favorite moments of the season included hosting our Sunday School class for a Christmas party and attending the Christmas performance at church with some new missionary friends home on furlough and a Chinese family we have gotten to know. We have felt so blessed by the way many friendships have opened up to us in this past year! Lots of great memories. Stay tuned for all the fun memories we made with our families this year!

Winter Fun

Eli loves a good snow. I hold in my secret despite of cold weather as he could play outside in snow in ANY degree weather. I don't want to rain on his parade. :) The weather prediction turned out to be accurate the second week of December and we had a beautiful five inches of snow, perfect for sledding. Most of the kids' snow gear from last year still fit and Marc had thought to buy us some plastic sleds a few days before the snow. We were all set for a day of sledding!

 Up the hill they go

 And back down they came!

Eli wiped out pretty hard a few times but kept at it for quite awhile!

Marc ended up carrying Hailey up and down the hill for most of the morning because she was so slow. He was quite sore the next day! She of course loved the extra pampering. :)

We were so glad some of our friends joined us at the park. After the kids were finished sledding, we played in the snow and made a big snowman.

We didn't bring any supplies to decorate him, so we just used leaves and sticks on the ground. He looked a little plain so I decided to add some leaves for hair. :)

 Our beautiful snow angel!

We all stayed pretty warm but were happy to enjoy some hot chocolate on the ride home. Then, while the kids napped I made us some chicken and dumplings just like Memaw's. This was my first time to make my own broth from cooking the whole raw chicken. It was really rich and yummy. Comfort food is an essential for me after braving a cold day in the snow!

Memaw's Chicken and Dumplings

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbs. Crisco shortening

1 egg

5 Tbs. water

2 Tbs. chicken broth

1 whole chicken or hen, boiled until tender, remove from broth.and debone. Reserve chicken meat and broth. (can substitute meat with a cooked rotisserie chicken and 2 qts. canned chicken broth)

Stir flour and salt. Cut in Crisco with a fork and add egg, water, and broth. Mix together. Place dough on floured surface and roll out using a rolling pin. May add flour as needed to roll smoothly without sticking. Cut in strips and let dry for 10-15 min. Have broth boiling. Pat strips slightly as you pull them apart, one at a time dropping them in the broth. Add chicken pieces back to the pot. Stir, cover, and reduce heat. Cook slowly for 30 min. Serves 4-6.

Thanksgiving 2013

This was our year to be in Arkansas for Thanksgiving. We were happy that it worked out for my mom's side of the family to come to my parents house, too! Now that everyone is married, there are lots of schedules with parents and in-laws that get juggled around. But we made it happen this year! And the result was lots of fun for the kids and adults.

Before any trip, I make sure and get caught up on all our laundry so we come home to empty baskets. Isaac is not so helpful with this part of the packing. :)

Now that we have conquered Hailey's car sickness, our road trips aren't so bad. The kids do amazingly well on this 8-9 hr. journey and Marc and I enjoy the break in the car.

Though we are always ready to get out of the car by the end!

Watch out! Bailey's in the mix now!

Pictures from Thanksgiving Day...

 Isaac loved his first taste of turkey. He gobbled it up!

After Thanksgiving, we headed to Fayetteville to look at the lights on the square. There was fun music, fresh popcorn, and the kids even took a carriage ride with Nana and Papa D. Papa D got suckered into buying light-up swords for all the kids. :) They loved them!

Isaac was worn out and fast asleep by the time we got home.

Enjoying some last bit of loving before our van headed home to Illinois.

Bailey's sweet little arm was tucked around her cuz. Too cute.

How old am I??

I can't keep track of my age these days. It must be a sign I am getting older. For the past few years as my birthday approaches, I have had to ask Marc to confirm my age. I think because Marc is nine months older than me, I am always thinking I am a year older than I am. This year I turned 32 (and yes, I had to just ask Marc how old I am before I could type that. I am not even kidding about this problem! You would think I could just do the math.). Our kids love birthdays! The birthdays in our little family are evenly spaced out so there is always a birthday on the horizon to keep them anticipating.

The kids were very excited for a flower delivery sent from my parents

Marc wanted to bake something with the kids this year for my birthday. He took them to the store and let them pick out what they were going to make. Then they went to work in the kitchen and I was NOT allowed in. At times, it sounded as though Marc could use some help, but he managed to pull it off! The kids had a blast and I was elated to find out I was getting to eat green and purple rainbow sprinkle cupcakes for my birthday, Eli and Hailey's favorite colors. :) Haha!

 And of course they picked out the white icing with rainbow sprinkles mixed in! Love these little ones. :)

After dinner and dessert, Marc sent me to the couch to relax while he cleaned up the kitchen and the cupcake mess. I think I understand now why El's preschool teacher requested any baked goods OTHER than cupcakes for the children's birthdays. :)

What a fun birthday! What will year 33 bring???