snow shoeing

Hartman Reserve had a snow shoe night so Phil and I took Harlie and Wendell snowshoeing for the first time.  We weren't sure how it would go but they did great!  Harlie fell a lot as she was learning how to use them and Wendell was able to handle them quite well.  I didn't think about it being dark and they might get scared but they did pretty well.

I kind of wonder if I could make my own.... kind of like basket weaving?

 There was fun inside as well.

Both kids requested we take their picture.

Nice face Harlie!

We attempted to get a family picture and this is the best we could do.. sorry Wendell!

Wendell and Phil did a second loop but Harlie wanted to be done after the first one.  So we went inside playing games at the tables and ate popcorn.

A fun night!  I hope to snow shoe some more.. and will be more excited when all of us can do it, maybe in a few years.

what happened?

I feel like I need to explain what happened.

Well we'll start with Christmas... then just as I was starting up again our computer crashed.  That took a few weeks to figure out, now I'm back in the swing of life.  Why did it take two months to recover?  I don't know.

I feel like I've been in my own world lately.... the cold and snow maybe?  I don't know.

I haven't really enjoyed being on the computer.  Why?  I don't know.   About the time I check email and facebook I log out, done for the day... well, most days.

But I have a whole new batch of pictures to share with all of you!

Our Christmas 2013

** none of this is in actual chronological order, but it is all Christmas related**

Only 5 Christmas' this year

traveling 6 out of 7 days 

1 Christmas Eve service

1 Christmas party

1 birthday boy

2 birthday parties

this was our vehicle before we left

how did we fit any gifts in on the way back?

                                         

My dad owns a house that my great uncle lived in.  He fixed it up and rents it out.  For the time, no one lives there so we stayed there (at night) the first weekend.  It was like camping indoors as there was no bed, no couch, no dishes, etc.

One of the mornings I woke up to this.  I thought it was a very pretty sunrise with all the snow.








We started the festivities with Harlie's school Christmas program.

 our little performer

 For some reason PK has a program but not the regular school grades... so Wendell did not have one.

 Here they are all dressed up in their Christmas outfits.

We have a funny story with our Christmas.

 Not sure you can tell with this picture but Wendell had set up his train tracks on the table the night before Christmas.  For some reason, Santa thought he'd put all the gifts in a pile in the middle of the table. I suppose he thought the trains could be running when the kids toddled downstairs.

 want

Well, before it all started in the morning.  I went up stairs to check on them and Wendell says in the saddest voice.  Santa didn't come, there are no gifts under the tree.  I gave him a look because I was confused.  He then told me that Harlie had gone downstairs to peak and didn't see any gifts under the tree.  Oh, I had to smile and laugh.  I told Wendell we'd go downstairs and look; immediately, he saw the gifts on the table.  And he was super excited that Santa brought him a DS game.

 need

Our family tradition is to give 3 gifts (an idea from MMO) and they all represent the 3 gifts from the 3 kings that visited baby Jesus in the Christmas story.  [So each child gets three gifts, usually Phil and I do to.  This year Phil and I didn't get much due to some major vehicle repairs, a bike (from this summer) and our Florida trip.]

need 


1. frankincense - symbol of Jesus' priestly role

For us this is something of God/Christian/faith value, usually a book or a necklace or something to help the child to understand God in their life.  For Wendell we bought him a daily devotion this year.

2. gold - symbol of Jesus' kingship

For us this is something they want or of value to them.  For Harlie we bought her a Leapster as a game/educational system.

3. myrrh - preparing for Jesus death and embalming

For us this is something they need.  This also helps us to explain to the kids that there are people that don't get things they want and not even have what they need.  It helps us to remind them and ourselves to be thank for what we have and can give.  For Alveda (who does not really need anything) we bought her diapers and told her that hopefully she won't get that next year (hopefully it'll be underwear instead!)

  want

Santa also comes to visit.  He usually leaves his gifts unwrapped and sitting out, another tradition.

want

(Teddy grahams)       seriously, this girl has enough toys and clothes


The nice thing about this tradition is that it actually limits what we can buy for the kids, gives us direction, and helps them to have gifts but also in moderation.  Phil and I believe that Christmas has become too commercialized and the true gift of Jesus is often put on the back burner.  Hopefully, our family can have a combination of joy, gifts and the true meaning of Christmas.



This is a repeat picture but I also want to point out one more tradition.  The cupcake on the mint green 'thing' in the middle of the table.  That is a cupcake on top of our birthday cake stand that plays Happy Birthday, a real hum dinger.  Anyways, on Christmas morning we like to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and have a small 'cake' to celebrate.  I'd make a full cake for fun but usually we have a cake for Wendell's birthday (the 21st) so we're caked out or have leftover cake.

One more picture to share.  This is a picture of our nursing home friends.  For almost three years, the kids and I have visited Martha (the person in a cream colored shirt) at Country View.  I picked Country View because it is a county home out in the country that houses the poorest of the poor.  It's a government ran facility that is like a three story nurisng home full of some pretty disabled and elderly folks.  It is also in the country (north of Waterloo) so I assume they don't get too many visitors.  I contacted the volunteer coordinator and she paired me up with Martha, as Martha loves kids.  Well, three years later, we are pretty well known there.  Not for our names (although we do have name tags) but for ours faces.  The kids are fairly comfortable going there, love their name tags and are pretty well behaved when we visit.  Our visits are usually 15-20 minutes long (so not long) but long enough to make the people smile.  God loves that we do that and I hope that I can keep up the motivation to go. If the kids can handle it, so can I.

Well, I hope you all had  Merry Christmas!

Wendell's 7 now!

For his birthday Wendell wanted to go to 

the Inflatable Park with some friends.

                      Above is the crew on the airplane. 

                      We were quite the crowd with all

                      the kids and their families there too.  

                      The real crowd was at our house for supper that 

                      night. We had everyone over for some some soup,

                      cake and icecream.  5 adults and 9 kids = a lot of

                      people in our house but we made it work and had fun!

Above is Wendell with his teacher Ms. Bell.  

He enjoys school and loves her as a teacher! 

My parents came up for his birthday (and Harlie's 

Christmas program).  So they visited Wendell's 

classroom when we handed out treats.

7 now!

fun?, fun, brrrr.. fun

Just got some more pictures off my phone and have to say this picture will be etched in my memory forever.  

DOC APPT

This past year I made the kids' physical all at one time and you would have thought it was party time when the nurse told them to strip down.  This picture is only a 'snapshot' of what happened.  If they'd had a disco ball and some music they'd have been in heaven.   In a private setting, I can show you some more humorous pictures.

STEM FESTIVAL

This year the Waterloo schools had a STEM festival.  Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.  It was free so I took the kids and a babysitter.  On a side note, I've found that I like taking the kids to things like this but it's hard to keep track of all of them and to let them all enjoy themselves so I hired a babysitter which worked well.  We teamed up and zoned the defense with Ali wondering and the kids playing.  All three kids seemed to enjoy it so I hope they do it again.



SNOW IS HERE!!  Once the first real snow hit the kids begged to go sledding.  Ali is not such a fan but she will sit and watch.

I made a tunnel this year for the kids to go through.  We need a little more snow on top so I can make the hole bigger.

This is our compost bin full of leaves.  They sat in there and played a bit.

Amazingly our kids love to play outside even when it's cold.  I hope next year Ali is a bit more of an outside person... either way for now she still needs constant supervision so we're not usually out there too long.

beardcicle

   Starting in November....

                                                                        .... still growing it.


BEARDCICLE

more random pictures

Did you know I'm a puzzler?

Kind of like reading.. once in awhile you stumble on one you really like.

Ta da...

okay..now I'm just having fun with our camera

did you know I liked to cook?

 A neighbor friend is from Africa and often gives us 'chapati' as a treat.  So I tried making it myself, she was impressed!  Chapati is kind of like a soft shelled tortilla, only thicker.



I love my helpers.

Random picture of Phil.

The last picture of all the kiddo's.  Mckenzie and Abby have both moved away.  One to New Jersey, one across town.  We will miss these girls.   (Abby's grandpa lives across the alley way so I'm sure we'll still see her, just not as often.)

**Ali's face

** Harlie's face

** the 'good' one

** Wendell's face

 just some kids hanging out, they look like college students

The first snow (that we were in Iowa) we just HAD to go sledding!

This a common hobby at our house.

: )  Some of you may remember that we have had our share of bats at our house.  Well, when this was $ .25 on sale I had to buy it to prank my husband.  He didn't really fall for it though...

Every once in awhile while I cook supper we make recycle creations.  Harlie's idea was hats this time.

Oh this one warms my heart.. and will be with me for eternity.  We read a Bible story that talked about Faithful and True, the rider on the white horse that will help save the world when end times are here.  So complicated yet so simple.  Wendell drew a picture of the earth and then another one on black (that you can't see as well).

It says (now don't tease my boy, he's learning how to write):
Fofl and twoof, god mad or erf for us and gods side, the bad sid its satins sid, do not blef him.

Translation: Faithful and Truth, God made our earth for us and God's side (the white), the bad (or black) side, it's Satan's side, do not believe him.

** side note: what shocked me when we first did this study was that Wendell and Harlie had never heard, nor had a clue who Satan was.  Odd, go to church and talk about God all the time but apparently not Satan.  

Naughty, naughty.. but so proud... not to mention this entertained her for about half an hour.