Jonah's Happy Day!

My final baby is two years old today. I am filled with a mix of happiness and sadness. Sad about being totally done with the baby days--even though he's not technically been a baby for a year now I've still thought of him as one. A year ago he still relied on me for basically everything and now he can feed himself, clearly state his wants and needs (sometimes with screaming and tantrums!), he can mostly dress himself, he goes potty and brushes his teeth, and walks everywhere instead of being carried. Thankfully he is still full of cuddles and kisses! As much as I miss having a baby in the house (after 7 straight years), I am more excited about entering a new phase as a family. As Jonah grows so do the possibilities of things we can do as a family. I love to watch him learning how to interact with the other three as they all play together. I love hearing new words tumble from his mouth day by day. I love seeing his personality really begin to emerge--he is quite a little ham and so full of expression!

On another note--I have thought about posting on here all month long but seem to have been suffering from "blog block". Hopefully with this post I will have gotten past that and return to regular blogging again.

Have a happy day!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

These pictures are from a few years ago but I couldn't resist sharing them. I only wish that Jonah could be a part of them too--perhaps I could figure out a way to super-impose him as an angel or something! Aidan is 4, Sarah 2, and Katie 3 1/2 months.

I hope you have a very blessed Christmas. Hold your loved ones close today!

Stocking Stuff part 4

Jonah-Joe's turn! It's so weird to look at his pictures since his ages at Christmas are different than the other three.

2007 - 10 1/2 months

2008 - almost 23 months

We had opened presents a few days before these pictures were taken and when I handed Jonah his stocking he was quite disappointed that there wasn't anything in it this time.

Stocking Stuff part 3

Katie's turn - Our smiley girl!

2005 - 3 1/2 months

2006 - 16 months

2007 - 2 years

2008 - 3 years

Stocking Stuff part 2

Here are Sarah's pics--looking at these really makes me miss her curls!

2003 - 3 1/2 months

2004 - 16 months

2005 - 2 years

2006 - 3 years

2007 - 4 years

2008 - 5 years

Stocking Stuff

Each year we have taken pictures of each of the kids with their stockings as a way to mark their growth. I'll be sharing those photos over the next four posts. Here are Aidan's pics - Enjoy!

2001 - 3 1/1 months old

2002 - 16 months old

2003 - 2 years

2004 - 3 years

2005 - 4 years

2006 - 5 years

2007 - 6 years

2008 - 7 years

A Tribute

Sorry for the lack of posting this week...it's not for a lack of wanting to. It has just been crazy busy with trying to get ready for our trip to Houston as well as the sickness that has continued to make a pest of itself in our household.

This will be our first Christmas without my dad (Dec. 26th will be the six month mark of his death) and I've been thinking of him and missing him a lot these past few weeks so I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of him from Christmas past. These are in very random order and I won't put captions on all of them but for reference-I'm the youngest of the three children in our family. I'm sure my sister and brother will not be thanking me for sharing some of these...

My dad and I seemed to have a thing for accessorizing

with the tree decorations as seen in the next three pictures.

This picture was taken last Christmas-one month before

my dad was diagnosed with stage IV Colon Cancer.

(Notice Jonah is chewing on a dog toy--at least he got to it before the dog did!)

Love you Dad!

Wekend Recap

We had a busy and fun weekend! Jeremy and I had a wonderful time shopping on Friday. It was eight blissful hours of just the two of us. I'm very excited that finished all our shopping for the kids and most of the shopping for the rest of our families. We also enjoyed a quiet, leisurely dinner at The Outback-yum!

Saturday evening we went to an event called Bethlehem Journey at the church where our kids go for AWANAS. It is was somewhat of a tour with stops at the Temple where Zechariah went mute, Mary's house where she was visited by the angel Gabriel and Elizabeth's house where the babe within her leaped for joy upon hearing Mary's voice. Following those stops we headed into Bethlehem but not before being stopped by Roman soldiers and paying our taxes to Cesar. We were given plastic coins to drop into a chest and which the kids thought was great fun. We then entered an area that was set up as Bethlehem would have appeared so long ago. Complete with an innkeeper and live sheep, goats and donkey to pet. There was also demonstrations of blacksmithing, pottery spinning and mat weaving where the kids could make their own "pinch pots" and weave a paper mat. There were authentic samples of bread from that time and other items used during that time. Also the kids got to play the game of Dreidel and bring a dreidel home with them. After spending time in the city of Bethlehem we headed outside where we met the shepherds, complete with live, sheep, who had been visited by the host of angels and then finally we entered the "stable" where Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus were found. It was a really neat experience and the kids really enjoyed the hands on part of it and seeing what it was like when Jesus came into our world. The church did a really nice job of making the sets and scenery and costumes to bring the experience alive.

It became extremely cold overnight. Sunday dawned with a couple inches of newly fallen snow and temps in the single digits. Jeremy was working during the morning and I decided not to venture out on my own with the kids to church so we enjoyed a cozy morning at home. Temps continued to drop throughout the day and we were in the negative numbers by evening. We built a fire and continued to cozy up for the rest of the day. I spent the afternoon wrapping presents and and am mostly done with wrapping which is great since it will be a busy week with getting ready to head to Houston on Sunday.

The temperature dipped to -17 during the night---a new record for Denver and it was -10 when we woke this morning. It has not crept above zero all day. Due to the extreme cold Jeremy's car would not start, even after having roadside assistance come out to help. So we've enjoyed having him home with us today. Aidan and Sarah still had school though-thankfully the van started just fine. Jonah began to show signs of being sick yesterday and today woke up with a high fever so I headed to the doctor with him this afternoon to confirm that he now has strep. I'm really praying that Aidan and Sarah won't get it this time around--especially with us heading out of town in a few days.

It is supposed to warm up to 32 tomorrow-which, if it actually happens, will be surprising since it was supposed to get up to 13 today and didn't make it anywhere close to that. We are supposed to get another few inches of snow overnight as well--add that to roads that are still icy from yesterday's snow and things could be pretty treacherous in the morning. (btw-treacherous seems to Aidan's favorite word these days.) Jeremy will likely be taking my van to work tomorrow as his car is unlikely to work until it is well thawed out.

Sorry to be long-winded but I had to make up for missing the previous two days. =) Be looking for funny sayings from Katie and Sarah in tomorrow's post.

The Twelve Days of Christmas like never before

I heard the end of this song on the radio today and knew I needed to hear the rest so Jeremy sweetly searched it out for me and did one step better than the audio version by finding it on youtube. Truly entertaining!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm heading out for Christmas Shopping and dinner with Jeremy and NO kids! It doesn't get much better than that! Jeremy and I love shopping together and it's been quite a while since we've had a date so this will be heavenly!

Easy Recipe

This recipe comes from my dear friend Cristyn. I made it for the first time last year and was instantly hooked. It is super easy (a good thing!) and one of those treats that you just can't stay away from (a bad thing!).

White Christmas Candy

1 pkg. 24 oz. Almond Bark

2 Cups peanut butter Cap'n Crunch cereal

2 Cups rice crispies

2 Cups dry roasted unsalted peanuts

Melt almond bark in microwave. Stir in other ingredients until well coated. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Allow to cool. One batch makes about 40 pieces. Note-don't take too long to spoon out of bowl as the almond bark hardens quickly.

Enjoy!

Good Read

I am always on the look out for great children's Christmas books-especially books that are Christian themed. Last year we purchased this book :

It quickly became a favorite. I love everything about it. From the illustrations to the adventurous story line which weaves together God's amazing creativity in nature with the reason why Jesus needed to come to earth as a baby to save us. It can be purchased in most stores-I'm pretty sure we got ours at Target. For more info you can visit the author's web site: http://www.lisatawnbergren.com/books.html

Christmas Survey Revisited

Since I was so serious with my survey answers I thought I would entertain you with Jeremy's answers to the same questions. One of the things I love most about him is his amusing sense of humor--even though it is a bit whacked..I mean wacky! And while I'm talking about my sweet hubby I just want to say that he's been a gem over the last several days. I have been dealing with the nastiest case of Strep throat that I've ever had and as he put it, it has me "sawing logs like a lumberjack". So he's been sleeping on the couch for four days and will probably be back there tonight-but he hasn't complained a bit and he's been helpful to boot! I'm ready to be done with this horrid stuff and ready to have my hubby back by my side! Unfortunately, also during this time Sarah had a nasty stomach bug that kept her and I up half of one night, and now Katie has strep and it kept her and I up half of last night. I'm ready to have a sick-free home and some good sleep!


And now back to the survey:

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Fried Eggs with Grits, a Side of Bacon, some Buttermilk Biscuits, and a tall glass of Chocolate Milk

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? Santa? Where’s the Jolly Old Elf when the Littlest Pet Shop Pink Puppy Palace needs “some assembly required,” has 9,000,000 tiny parts, and comes with instructions written entirely in Mandarin?

Colored lights on tree or white? Black Lights – Florescent Neon Tree

When do you put your decorations up? December 26 (Boxing Day) – Everything goes back into its box.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Heavy Duty Dixie Plate with 3 compartments.

Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Testing every bulb on the strand to see which one may or may not be the culprit.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? The Enquirer, December 2007. Scandalous!

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Sacrilege! Although we do typically open one on December 23 in honor of the Japanese Emperor’s Birthday.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? By sitting across the room with a sling-shot…

Snow! Love it or Dread it? Snow-shmow… the real excitement of the holiday season comes with black ice!

Can you ice skate? I’ve got a Dorothy Hamill wedge haircut, does that count?

Do you remember your favorite gift? Nope. I forgot after being abducted by the Ghost of Christmas Past.

What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels; Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles; Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings; These are a few of my favorite things…

What is your favorite Holiday Dessert or snack? Peeps

What is your favorite tradition? Petitioning the government to disallow images of Santa in public places.

Which do you prefer, Giving or Receiving? Giving…Receiving… who cares? I just want to dance!

What is your favorite Christmas Song? Perry Homes for Christmas (Anita Kerr Singers)

Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I think a more appropriate question would be: Candy Canes – Fact or Fiction?

Ever recycled a Christmas present? I put a particularly loathsome one in a wood chipper once – does that count?

Christmas Riddles

Here are some riddles to give you a Ho Ho Holiday Chuckle...in honor of Aidan, who is currently really into these type of "play on word" jokes. Enjoy!



Q: What do elves learn in school?

A: The elf-abet

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Q: What is the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the ordinary alphabet?
A: The Christmas alphabet has No L (Noel)

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Q: What Christmas Carol is a favorite of parents?

A: Silent Night

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Q: Why does Santa have three gardens?

A: So he can Hoe Hoe Hoe

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Q: What do Snowmen eat for breakfast?

A: Frosted Flakes

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Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?

A: Frostbite

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Q: What kind of bird can write?

A: A pen-guin

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Q: What did the ghost say to Santa Claus?

A: I’ll have a boo Christmas without you…

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Q: How do sheep in Mexico say Merry Christmas?

A: Fleece Navidad!

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Q: What does a cat on the beach have in common with Christmas?

A: Sandy Claws!

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Q: What do you get if Santa goes down the chimney when a fire is lit?

A: Crisp Cringle

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Q: What kind of candle burns longer, a red candle or a green candle?

A: Neither! Candles always burn shorter!

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Q: Why was Santa’s little helper depressed?

A: He had low elf-esteem

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Q: What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus?

A: Claustrophobic


You can find these jokes and other fun Christmas stuff for kids HERE.

Cakey-cakes

I love to bake and create in the kitchen and in the past few days I've made two cakes that were both a lot of fun to do.

On Friday Aidan finished up a unit on Mexico at school and they had a Mexican Fiesta. When it was time to pick the food item we would contribute I let Aidan take his pick. I should have known he would pick the dessert. I racked my brain and came up with a few ideas but none of them were working out because Mexican food is a little scarce where we live. If we were still living in Houston this wouldn't have been a problem at all. Then I remembered Pastel de Tres Leches-or Cake of Three Milks. I searched on the Internet and found an easy version on foodnetwork.com that seemed perfect for a 1st grade fiesta. You can view the recipe here. I omitted the rum and added a bit of almond extract. It received rave reviews from the kids as well as the moms and Aidan's teacher. Here's my finished product:

Last night we celebrated my sister's birthday and I made a chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Jeremy is really the cheesecake baker extraordinaire in our family but he was unable to do it for this particular event so I stepped in. I had fun making the decorations for the top and it was really quite easy to do.