You Don't See That Every Day

I know it has been awhile since Christmas, but this is the first chance I have had to write. We spent the Christmas day up at my brother's house with most of my family. 7 out of 10 siblings and their offspring were able to make it. We had the young -- the "old" -- and the "in-between" -- We ate tons of food and goodies, played some fun new games. New games at Christmas seems to be a tradition here. Speaking of new games ... an earlier post of mine alluded to a present we were getting our kids. Most years, well every year actually, we buy a few presents for each child, plus a book and a little toy and something sweet to put in their stocking. This year we decided to do it differently. We didn't buy individual gifts for each child; so my holiday shopping was quick and easy since my husband picked up this sweet little number at the store:  and I didn't have to do anything but find the books for the stocking stuffers. The looks on their faces...

This is what I get for leaving my camera around and letting small hands use it: Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!

  The kids mentioned s o many times this previous week how much they would like it to snow on Christmas. In our part of the world, this is a rare - very rare - happening. Just because it snowed the past two years, they think it will all the time. But I'm pretty sure not this year. During the week my husband and son went up to Washington to work on some hardware that needed attention. And there was a lot of snow where they went. They had a great time throwing snowballs at each other. So great of a time, that they decided to bring some snow home for the girls! They loaded up the back of the pickup and brought it home last night. So we had a mini-white Christmas today. Snowballs were whizzing. A mini snowman was built; the neighbors came out to play with us. It was a great way to start the Christmas celebrations!

The gauntlet has been thrown. The challenge has been issued. My niece has dared me to a half-marathon! Me, the one who hasn't run more than 2 miles in over a year; who ran 10 miles over 20 years ago; who hasn't ever run 13 miles. She thinks I'm fat. I just know it. She states it so clearly in her challenge, and I'll show you -- she writes: "I just signed up for a half marathon on April 10th in Corvallis. Check out [the link] if you want to do it too!" So there it is.  A blatant duel for all to see. She must have known I can pinch an inch. Do you recall the Special K cereal ad about pinching an inch? Last night I sat on the couch feeding the baby and realized that, yes indeed, I can pinch an inch. But then, if I stand up, oh it's not quite so bad. Oh and then if I reach my hands up in the air, I can't pinch an inch at all! So if I just go around with my hands up in the air all the time, I won't have a muffin top; I might be mistaken for a semaph...

The menehunes are out and about.

It's been awhile since I've had a word of the week to post. And so *Bonus* you get more than one, and they are words relating to the holiday. 1. " shephen " The 5 year old here sings with gusto. Loud and proud. But not always the "correct" words. In a song they learned in church most sing, "The shepherds came to worship" but she sings "the shephens came..." and so now we all sing that way. 2. Activity Scene; "Mom, we saw an Activity scene at church tonight!" - Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus must have been moving around a lot. 3. round of suplause - Grammy likes to ask for a round of applause. Little girl has her own take on it. 4. Jackpot vs plain pot. When we go out looking at Christmas lights, the houses with a ton of lights get the honor of being called a Jackpot. Any house with just a simple string along the gutter was called a Plain-pot. 5. "hervahim"; And finally, the beautiful carol, Silent Night. Most of us k...

I've been away. And business around the funny farm here have been crazy. Here are just a few thoughts I wanted to take time to write down. **Ballet has overtaken our life for the past 2 weeks. Our daughter has now had 3 of her four performances, and they were really good. ** I recently watched the first disc in a series titled "Made in America" which chronicles various products made in ... America. Highly recommend it for all ages. ** Our 5 year old came home from Awana ans told us, "We saw an Activity scene tonight." ( ie. Nativity scene) ** I am having a low-stress holiday this year. We decided to do presents for our kids differently this year - more on that after Christmas because I don't want to spoil the surprise! ** That being said, I told my husband I changed my mind about Christmas gifts this year. Usually we say to each other, "Don't buy me anything," and we end up getting each other some thing. This year, all I want is for those...

A rare sighting of the Ambulatorus Coniferis

There's a saying about clouds and silver linings. It came to me this morning that there is a benefit to having the hives like I do.  Yep, you read that right, there is actually something good about these hives! I don't get the sicknesses that my kids and husband get. My immune system is so weirded out and hyperactive that I might get a tickle in the throat, and have a few sneezes, but this 3 week cyclical cold didn't really touch me like it has the rest of the family! So thanks God for that little blessing. In other news, S is teaching baby K to carpet surf. You may have heard of mattress surfing (eg. Princess Diaries 2) and the famous Hawaiian surfing. But here in Oregon when it rains so much, we have to find other ways to do things. So big brother is teaching little sis to carpet surf. She'll catch on to it eventually.

The girls have been begging me for weeks to bring out "Christmas decorates". So today I pulled out the boxes from the garage labeled Dec. 25. Boxes and boxes and boxes. And inside those were more boxes. And inside those - delightful treasures that we see one month out of the year - our Christmas decorations! I set up the Nativity scenes that I have. I really, really, really like Nativity sets/scenes. As of now we have 5. Is it wrong for me to want more of those? village my mom made I set out all the Christmas candles; hung up the wall hanging and snowflakes; found an arrangement for the stockings; set out the holiday books. Ah, the books. I only bring these special children's books out in December.We have been slowly building our holiday library over the years. Included in it are these titles "The Night Before Christmas" (of course!); "How God Decorated Heaven for Christmas"; "Who Is Coming To Our House?"; Norman Rockwell's Chris...

In my corner of the world this past week I watched my girl dance her ballet in front of a large crowd. It was beautiful. I stayed up way too late, too much. I celebrated my son's birthday. I made cookies and pie, and gave some away. I endured hearing baby cry as she got a chest x-ray. I visited my mom. I ate a great tasting baked blueberry french toast. I ran with my kids again. I learned I need to listen to that little voice inside.

I waited all week. Friday night was going to be great! I was so looking forward to it. Not only was I going out with my husband (and baby K, since she is pretty much attached if I am gone more than an hour) but the other 4 children would be out of the house. For. The. Whole. Night.! Now, I love my kids, and the house is not the same when they are gone. But, oh, we were sure looking forward to some time to relax and talk without interruptions. So I dropped the kids off at my brother and sister in-laws house, and came home to an empty house. Baby was napping and I just did not know what to do with myself. I didn't have a whole lot of time to tackle any projects. And I sure didn't want to do any chores! So I read. Oh so nice! We made it to the company Christmas dinner/ party just as the food was arriving. (good timing!) We were able to eat in peace - a friend held and played with baby while we ate. Well, baby K has had cough and runny nose all week. We figured she had a cold and...

Our son turned 12 yesterday. (what?!how?! yikes!) and we had a great time finding him a gift. He is at the age where 'toys' are more sophisticated, sometimes. He did receive a slingshot and a harmonica from his grandparents - which are not high tech items. But he is at the age where his toys can be enjoyed by his parents too. So, I was quite excited when i saw a local store had remote control vehicles on sale for a fraction - a serious fraction - of the regular price. My husband took on the task of purchasing the item and we presented it to S. at his 'birthday' dinner right before he had to go to youth group. So he didn't get to play with until 9:30 last night. And no, G did not play with it before his son got to. We were good and didn't touch it at all. But we all enjoyed figuring it out last night.