Thursday, December 30, 2010

Simple Game

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve! At our house we are finishing up some baking, reading all our favorite Christmas books, and listening to some festive tunes.

I love the ages the kids are right now. They are so endearing and cute. They are so happy with the simple things. After doing some wrapping (for me and my mom both) I placed a few small presents under the tree and saved the rest for Christmas morning. I think they forgot about more presents coming out last year because they seriously think that the few presents under the tree is all they are getting and they are SO excited.

This past week we have gone to some museums which are free through the local "12 Days of Christmas" program, gone to look at Christmas lights in our PJs, and made homemade marshmallows and hot chocolate for afterward (one of our favorite traditions). Kevin's siblings are all in town, which compounds the fun and makes everything seem like a celebration. And, to top it all off, we are getting more snow. It's a White Christmas!!

Here are some pictures from this month, of a few more things we love to do this time of year:

 

Meredith decorated these all by herself, including the gingerbread Santa she is holding in the next picture:
 

 

We love this "Little People" Nativity Set--it's perfect for telling the Christmas story. The kids love to handle it and play with it:
 
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Birthday Boy

Kevin requested steaks and chocolate chip cookies for his birthday. How we all love this man!!!!! He is our favorite in the whole world!!!!!

 

 

Hearing the "birth story" which involves a blizzard and grandpa walking to the hospital in the snow:
 

 
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11 months!

 

 

 

 
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Saturday, December 18, 2010

"DANton-ten-six. 'Nurse,' he said, 'it's an appendix.'"

The line above is from the book Madeline, which all of us in this household pretty much have memorized. And it's a good thing too because, when Kevin had his appendix removed today, the kids were totally cool with it. After all, if Madeline could go through this surgery and be okay, their dad could too, right? No big deal.

We wouldn't have woken up today and planned this, but we see God's hand in it and are grateful for how he protected Kevin. He had an excellent surgeon. They caught it and performed the appendectomy before it ruptured. It happened now, and not on Christmas Day. Kevin's dad was able to take him to the ER this morning. A good friend watched the kids for me when I found out Kevin would go into surgery. We have a lot to be grateful for!

When I saw him after surgery, Kevin was pretty groggy. When the grogginess wore off, he was in high-spirits and pain free.

The kids can't wait to see his scar when he comes home tomorrow!

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Christmas Tree Farm

I've decided I'm done going to the Lowe's parking lot to get our tree! How (NOT) fun is that?!!

The best part was watching all the families have fun together. There were so many people there, just enjoying the season, and being together. Kids were riding on the carts used to carry the trees. Dads and kids were throwing snowballs and laughing. People were sitting around a bonfire with hot chocolate. The kids enjoyed petting the animals, especially the kitty cats. This year's method of getting our Christmas tree was way better!!! I think I smell a tradition!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Children's Museum Christmas

What would Christmas be without the Children's Museum Yuleslide?!! And this year all three girls sat on Santa's lap too. Meredith told him that she wants to borrow his reindeer for a day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Last Ballet Class

 

 

 

 
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

 


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International Festival

When taking your children on a trip around the world would be a slight strain on the budget, going to the International Festival is the next best thing, right?!

We have our passports and we're ready to go!
 

At a lot of the booths, the kids asked questions about the countries and asked about some basic words and greetings in that country's language. Clara cracked me up because at several of the booths she asked, "How do you say 'chocolate milk' in Spanish?" Here they are getting their names written in Chinese:
 

Checking out Philippine currency:
 

Participating in Italian street painting (they said they painted "fire"):
 

Cruising around Asia:
 

Meredith brought a purse full of change and LOVED purchasing little knick-knacks at the various booths. Here she is buying an Origami Christmas ornament from "Japan."
 

Learning about Brazil:
 

Eating Indian, Egyptian, and Mexican food at lunch, while watching Japanese dancers on the stage. (Yes, I did bring peanut butter for Clara, just as an emergency back-up and I'm GLAD I did!)
 

Getting an Indian jewel to wear on their foreheads:
 

Playing instruments and handling the colorful fabrics from Nigeria:
 

We thought the Swedish folks were the friendliest! Here is Meredith with her purse again, purchasing candy for herself and Clara:
 

Listening to an accordion at the Czech Republic booth:
 

Dolls from various regions in Poland:
 

Proud of their Swiss heritage! (We got some free cookbooks with yummy, authentic dishes--if only I can convert it all from the metric system first!)
 

Swiss chocolate is the best ...
 

One of the most awesome parts of the festival was sitting-in on a Naturalization Ceremony. It was a very proud, very emotional moment. There were 190 applicants from numerous and diverse countries around the globe. I'm really glad I got to see this.
 

Ending the day with gelato, of course.
 

A full passport and a full, happy day. We all definitely want to go again!
 


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