christmas

I am finally getting around to my "Christmas recap" post! Since technically tonight is the last night for most people's Christmas vacation, it's not too late, right? :)

Christmas was so much fun - church, family, cousins, "other" family and their cousins, new friends, parties, and my favorite - the Christmas Eve service at 11pm! :)

Mom and Dad, ready for our Christmas morning tradition:

~Christmas story

~Stockings

~Breakfast break

(Daniel and I used to think this part always went sooooo sllooooow as we were always eager to get to the presents! Now we both like making the morning last longer.)

~ Presents

My brother being a goofball. He's gonna die when he sees this pic! Lol!

My mom got a Dyson vacuum cleaner for Christmas from my dad! It was a total surprise to her!! I love total surprises! :) She loves it and has been vigorously vacuuming up a sweat ever since! (Quite literally! lol)

My 93 years young grandmother. :)

My cousins, Benjamin (L) and Jonathan (R). They are both college men right now...so Daniel and I gave them 4 boxes of their favorite "dorm room food" - ramen noodles for Ben and easy mac for Jon. :)

Ok, here I must stop to tell the story from the week before. Benjamin, Jonathan, and my aunt and uncle came from North Carolina and drove straight into snow and ice the weekend before. They were stopped for a couple hours on the road because no one was going anywhere. Long story short, they ended up spending the night at a Red Cross shelter. Which, as it turned out, was completely already in God's plan for the night! Benjamin was outside helping shovel the sidewalk and sat down on a bench. There was a highschool age boy outside also and they started chatting...first about the snow, then moving on to other topics. Eventually the topic turned spiritual, with this boy telling Benjamin that he was raised Catholic, but was obviously searching for something deeper that what he had been taught. Benjamin shared with him how God is more than just a religion - that we must have a personal relationship with Him. This is exactly what the boy was wanting and needing to hear, and Benjamin had the privilege of helping him pray to accept Christ as his Savior! :) So awesome! And so totally in God's plan!

Ok, back to Christmas. :)

All afternoon there was busy preparation in the kitchens both upstairs and downstairs.

That evening, all that preparation came together to form the biggest, most delicious Christmas dinner! Enough for all 24 people who were there. :)

This is just a part of the group that we had for dinner. On the left is Michael and his cousins from New Jersey. This was their third Christmas with us. On the right is the Wilson family. Dr. Wilson used to teach at my college for a few years while I was there. I babysat Mikaela (I hope I spelled that right!!), their oldest in the middle in the pink vest when she was very little. :) My mom has sort of adopted their family...and I approve. :}

After dinner we even got a concert from Emmalyn...

...and Mikaela. They did a great job!

While their little brother, Graham, listened intently.

My dad found a Christmas decoration that needed trying on...which was a dangerous thing to do when I had a camera in my hands and a photo editing software on my computer..........

HA!HA!HA!

He's gonna kill me when he sees this... Heehee!

We talked about all the crazy things we used to do and wear for our piano teacher growing up. We did wear Rudolf antlers and noses one year, but not this particular headband....

Ok, I know that the true meaning of Christmas is Christ being born in a manger...coming in preparation to die on the cross for our sins...a gift I neither deserve, nor can ever EVER fully comprehend! And the Christmas Eve service really is my favorite part of Christmas. I love getting all bundled up and going out so late at night - to sing with other believers all the old familiar carols and hearing the story all over again of how much He loves us.

That being said...

Can you guess what I got for Christmas??

Did you guess?? Some of you already know. If you don't...can you figure out what these pictures have in common? :)

They were all taken with...

A DIGITAL SLR CANON REBEL CAMERA!!!

This was a surprise!! This means that I can now save up to take a photography class! (You have to have an SLR camera to take a photography class...) Michael calls it my "stalker camera". He says it's like a camera that a paparazzi guy would have. Lol...beware! If you hear a clicking sound from the bushes, it might be me and my camera! Ha!

Thanks again, Mom and Dad!! :)

This brings me to my next new project. Lauren, Abby (Michael's niece), Daniel and I have decided to try to each take (at least) one picture a day this entire year...in order to have a year in pictures by the end. So I have started a new blog in addition to this one! I will still write and upload pictures to this one as always. My new blog will be much more simple and will hopefully have one picture added for each day. I will put the link below and will hopefully figure out how to add a bigger link on the side than just in my list of blogs...be watching for "365 in 2010"! :)

http://1heartbeatatatime365in2010.blogspot.com

christmas crafts

Last week we took a break from "regular" school work and I planned a couple very simple crafts for each day (Monday - Wednesday). It was so much fun and so relaxing. We turned on Christmas music and crafted away! I tried very hard to give minimal directions and not stress about each item being "perfect".

Here is a run down of each craft and where I got the idea (I can DO crafts...if I can borrow someone else's idea at least as a spring board.....) :)

1. Snowball Wreath found here.

I modified it and used a foam wreath (found at any craft store), double sided tape (makes it extra toddler-friendly!), several sizes of cotton balls (at the Dollar Tree...cheaper than pompoms!), and red bows (stuck on with double sided tape...and also from the DT!) I covered the wreath in strips of the double sided tape the night before. Then the next morning, all the kids had to do was stick the cotton balls on and add the ribbon! All three loved this...and I made an "example" one...and loved it too! :)

2. Snowflake button ornaments found here.

So simple...and so cute! Popsicle sticks (I think I got these at DT too but I already had them on hand so I don't quite remember.), buttons (a big tub of them from a craft store), craft glue (elmer's would work, but would take a lot longer to dry), and thread. The only trick on these is to be sure that you put one button on the end high up enough so that you can put the thread through to be hung when it's dry (see the close-up pic).

3. Snowmen

Ok, this was a spur of the moment craft. We had a bunch of cotton balls left over so I slapped down a strip of double sided tape (love that stuff! lol), they added a few cotton balls and voila! snowmen! Oh yeah, we added some googly eyes too. (Also had those on hand...but pretty sure I've seen them at DT too.)

4. Felt Birds also found here.

The hardest part about these was tracing and cutting them out the night before. And it wasn't that hard. :) I cut the birds and the wings and let the kids choose how to combine them. Then they chose sequins for each bird and we glued them on (definitely need craft glue here...I even splurged for felt glue...tried both kinds of glue...and the felt glue definitely worked much better...gee, who would have thought??) :} Then I put a strip of glue on a wooden clothespin (Pack of like 20 from...you guessed it! Dollar Tree!! Love that store...) and they stuck the bird onto it. They can easily be clipped to a Christmas tree...but since ours is kind of full...Mommy had the great idea to clip them to the top and bottom of the lamp that sits on our school table - and I think it looks pretty cute! :) Oh yeah, we also added googly eyes to these. The ones the girls made have eyes with eyelashes on them (I think I found these at Hobby Lobby for 50% off a while back...). My baby informed me that his were boy birds and did not need eyelashes. :)

5. Snowflake Quesadillas found here.

THIS was one of those "Oh for pete's sake - why didn't I think of that?!" ideas! The girls remembered making paper snowflakes last year and thought it was rather funny to be making them from FOOD! :) I helped fold them into the right shape - and helped my baby do the cutting. (Ahem. Once again... DT to the rescue! They have the best little-kid scissors I have found yet! I can't explain them...I will have to just take a picture and post it.) The only reason I helped him was that the tortilla was kind of thick once it was folded. Martha Stewart used flour and spinach tortillas so the contrast is better...I just used flour tortillas...and the cheese helps the pattern to be visible. I added refried beans and sour cream (tinted pink...we like to color our food crazy colors sometimes! and why not? It makes it extra fun - and when you have plain white sour cream staring at you...it's just begging to be turned a crazy color! :)

5. Birthday cake for Jesus

I found this (obvious) idea last year, but too late to do it, so I have saved it all year. Now I don't remember where I saw the idea. Anyways, I'm sure lots of people do this. I simply bought a small cake from the grocery store and a tiny tube of red icing for the words and one little pack of those sugar decorations. We already had M&Ms at the house. I was going to let the kids write the words, but that icing is just so hard to write with, even in the little tube! so I held their hand and we did it together. Then they stuck on the decorations and we added candles. After lunch, we lit the candles and they sang Happy Birthday and blew them out. They loved it and I was happy to focus on the reason we celebrate CHRISTmas.

6. This is not a craft, but was the final thing on our to-do list last week. We had a popcorn party! Every day in school, they get a chance to earn a bead to put in our "popcorn party jar". It might be for using their manners without being reminded, being especially kind or helpful to a sibling, sitting quietly during Bible, accomplishing something difficult - willingly and with a joyful heart, etc. I don't always give beads for the same thing or every time. Just when I can see their hearts being genuine. We are often quick to correct and discipline, but I want my kids to know that I see when they are doing their best too. I told them that when they earned 100 beads together, we would have a popcorn party - with a movie and everything (a rare occurrence when Kiki is around). The week before they reached our goal and I promised that we would have our party just before Christmas. I even splurged on the newest Veggie tales for the occasion. (It is the story of St. Nicholas.) They happily settled on the couch with their popcorn bowls while I made lunch (one bag of popcorn split three ways still leaves you hungry for real food...) and my heart melted when I looked over and saw my baby with his hand resting on his sister's head! So sweet! :)

So that was our Christmas Craft Week! We didn't even get to do all the crafts I had planned! I was going to try to do some this week too, but I think I will save them for later. One will come in especially handy in the middle of February when we are sick of winter and wondering if the warm spring weather will ever come! :}

More Christmas recaps to follow...

merry christmas :)

Wow, I have had a busy, fun, worshipful Christmas! How about you? I will be adding all kinds of pics soon, but for now, here are a few from our Christmas "photo shoot". :)

So, literally two minutes before this pic was taken, we were in the entry way where there is a round table with a nativity scene on it. My baby walked over to it and somehow cut his eye on the edge!! Not sure how he managed that! I knew you would be able to see it in the pics but had to try some anyways. :)

This one may not be the best one photography-wise, but I just love the little smile on his face. :)

Those and the one in the banner of my blog were the best ones that day. Then a couple days later I found another outfit I just had to have, so we tried some more...

Pretending about Santa can be so much fun :) , but I hope you had a wonderful Christmas focusing on the TRUE meaning of why we celebrate.

Glory to God in the highest!

aw, come on!

So, evidently, I am talking to myself! Not one single person left a comment on my post below! I know you are out there - my counter tells me so! Let's try this again. Leave me a comment telling me about your favorite Christmas tradition as a child and let me know you're out there! Yes, you...the one lurking in the background, who stops by here often but has never left a comment. And you - the friend I already know reads my blog and has left comments before. :) You can do it! It's not that hard! So, between now and Christmas, how many of you can leave me a comment?? I'm waiting....!

And today is Lauren's 14th birthday! I went to her party last night...with another beautiful cake made by Leah!

Lauren, you are growing WAY TO FAST!! But you are still your joyful, cheerful, fun self that you were back in third grade. ;) I'm glad we could pick each other for sisters! ily!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

what's yours?

Just a few random pics from this past week...and a question at the bottom. :)

Baby Maddox went home on Thursday...and had to turn around and go to Children's Hospital on Friday! He had a little bit of jaundice and needed to be under the bili lights.

:( A little sad to see him with the eye cover on! He didn't really mind though.

To keep the girls from having to focus on their new brother being back in the hospital, I went and grabbed them and we went to the local Christmas Parade, explored downtown with all the cool lights, and went to see a movie. It was freeezing outside, but we had a lot of fun! Reegan even said on the way out of the movie, "For a while I completely forgot that Mommy and Maddox were at the hospital!" Mission accomplished! :)

Saturday evening, Michael and I took dinner to a very bored Catrina and ended up staying for a long time just talking and laughing with Tammy, the nurse. (HA! inside joke...sorry!) :) I got to feed Maddox another bottle and was going to hand him back to Catrina when she asked if Michael wanted to hold him. He pretended to protest and say no but I knew him better than that...

He totally enjoyed holding Maddox! :}

Now Maddox is back at home and hopefully will not need to go back to the hospital again!

This week we have finally had a combination of good weather plus healthy bodies, so we got to be outside for a while Monday afternoon and today.

He looks so old here! We were kinda freezing.

Our Poppy Dip dress arrived!!! And we LOVE it!! I am very excited because it was even a little bit big on my middle child, which means it will also fit on my oldest. Later I will get her one of her own. This little girlie above has enjoyed talking about Darya, the little girl that the money from this dress went to in order to bring her home to TN from an orphanage in Europe. She will tell you that no one gives Darya any hugs or kisses and that she just stays in her crib all the time - but that because we helped just a tiny bit with all the money needed to bring her home (and because God provided all the rest!), Darya will soon get all kinds of hugs and kisses and be held all the time! :)

My oldest, who I somehow do not have a picture of from this week...(hmm...will have to fix that tomorrow!)... asked after we discussed the Poppy Dip dress if she could give some of her quarters from the "Tooth Fairy" to the family who is bringing Darya home. I just love her sweet and tender heart! :)

This is from today. It felt great outside...except for the wind that was blowing soo hard! It was good to be out in the sunshine though. My baby is still figuring out his bike. If he starts on a tiny bit of a slope, he does great. If he has to put much force into the pedaling he gets discouraged and stops. Oh well, he's only two - he'll get the hang of it soon and be riding circles around the girls! :)

So, are you crazy busy getting ready for Christmas? Or are you one of those people who was done preparing back in the fall? I did that. Once. It was GRRREAT! as Tony the Tiger would say! :) Somehow I haven't done it since. Go figure.

Anyways, my friend, Rebekah, mentioned on her blog that her family went for a drive to look at Christmas lights in their pjs the other evening. This is one of my own favorite Christmas traditions from growing up, along with going to the Christmas Eve service at church followed by getting to open one present (usually new pjs!) before going to bed, making and decorating Christmas cookies, and having family, extended family, and might-as-well-be family over for Christmas dinner.

Which brings me to my question. Well, actually, it's two questions.

The first question is...who is reading my blog?? I know a few people who regularly check in...but that cannot add up to all the times my little counter number goes up! I would love to hear from you and what you are thinking after you read one of my posts!

Second, what was your favorite Christmas tradition in your family when you were growing up? Is it something you still do today with your own family now? Or have you started a new tradition that you love?

So leave me a comment and let me know who you are and what your favorite Christmas traditions are! It's not hard! And I would love to hear from you - anytime you have a comment you want to make! So start typing! :}

12-6-85

In the post below, I shared how I recently went to St. Mary's hospital to see Lauren's new baby brother. And that the last time I was at that hospital was to see my own baby brother.

Today is Daniel's 24th birthday so I decided to dig up some pictures from the day we picked him up! These were, of course, before the world of digital cameras, so they are really just pictures of pictures...thus the low quality of them...but you'll get the idea. :)

We went to pick Daniel up one day, but due to his jaundice, we had to wait one more day to bring him home. We did get to see him that first day, but just through the window.

The next day we got to go in the nursery and see him up close and personal. I specifically dressed my teddy bear for the occasion and had a present to give Daniel.

Aw! Wasn't he cute?? :} Wish this pic was bigger!

The Browns put a "Welcome Daniel" sign up outside our house. (Michael, you were right...it was black and white...I must have remembered the blue bows - I knew there was something blue on it! :) Michael says he also remembers us driving down the street where we both lived across from each other and Mom rolling down the window and asking if he (they?) wanted to see her new son! :) He remembers more than I do about a lot of things. :)

My own real live baby doll! I was very annoyed that I was too little to carry him around and hold him as much as I wanted.

My grandfather holding Daniel while I show off the soft baby rattle I got for him.

For our adoption, we had to keep the news a secret until Daniel was home with us. I kept that secret for a Very Long Time for a 5 year old! Then, on top of that, the day he came home, a group of friends from our old church came that evening and surprised Mom and Dad by singing Christmas carols outside our front door and bringing presents for our new baby! I can remember my grandparents filling me in on the secret as they realized I was standing there while they were discussing it. I promised not to tell - and I didn't! It took Mom and Dad a minute or two to figure out where all that Christmas music was coming from - they were definitely properly surprised! They were also eager to show off their little boy - but only one lady came in to see him - the rest thought it would be too much for them all to come in.

I got to open all Daniel's presents since he was too little to do it himself, which I of course loved! I can remember not caring about all those silly cards - I just wanted to see what was in the gift! :) One lady, Mrs. Hurst, even remembered to include me and sent me my own little gift - the dog I am holding up in this picture. I was soo excited and felt so special that she thought about me. That's usually the first thing I remember when I she comes to mind. :)

Just a couple weeks later Daniel celebrated, er, slept through his first Christmas! :)

(That's my cousin, Jonathan, sitting next to me.) Even way back then I loved babies!

Well, he isn't a baby anymore! But he is still my baby brother...and most definitely the baby of the family! Lol!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANIEL!!!