Santa Clause

On Christmas Eve, as we were reading books to the kids to get them down to bed for the night, we heard a bell ringing...first the ring was in the distance and then it got closer and closer and closer. Santa Clause was coming to our house!

Ivy had been talking about Santa coming to her house ever since we went to Santa's Village (an amusement park in New Hampshire with a Christmas theme) over the summer, and now he FINALLY came! At Santa's Village, Ivy got to sit on Santa's lap to tell him what she wanted for Christmas - one thing - a FOX! Can you guess what Santa gave Ivy?

That's right! A FOX!

(Daddy and Mommy did something this Christmas that they said they would NEVER, EVER do - only because our kids have got SO MANY of them, they're rarely used, and it seems like such a waste of money - Daddy and Mommy bought a STUFFED ANIMAL - the FOX!) :-)

As you can see, Owen was NOT a fan of sitting on Santa's lap - even though Santa brought him a monster truck as a gift!

Here's Santa giving his gifts to the kids...



THANK YOU, Santa, for stopping by our house!

By the way, Ivy loves her fox (her name is Betsy), and she sleeps with it every night!

(Actually, Santa Clause was our new neighbor, the local middle school principal - Mr. Richards - who offered to be Santa for us! Thank you, Mr. Richards (and the entire Richards family), for giving of your time and energy, especially when you could have been home with your own family on Christmas Eve! You blessed us with a memory that we can look back on!)

crafty?

NO...I AM NOT!!!

And, that's why I LOVE Oriental Trading! They have the BEST little crafty things that even I can handle, both mentally and financially. You find the craft that you like, order it, and all of the pieces come pre-packaged for each individual craft...pretty much ready to be assembled. It's so easy - even the worst crafter in the world (ME!) can do it!

It is my goal to make one crafty thing (if not more) for every season of the year with Ivy (and our other kids when they are old enough). My hope is that our kids will gain an appreciation and sense of accomplishment in creating and producing something, will learn how to follow instructions, and will work together and help one another. Plus, the crafts make GREAT presents for people!

This year, we made TWO winter crafts...

This cute little snowman pin (which you could turn into an ornament for your Christmas tree or into a magnet for your refrigerator)!

Here's Ivy working on the pin...she did everything except the hot glue part. (Mommy had to help with that.)

AND...we made this SIMPLE snowman card (which we turned into thank you notes to send to everyone who was so generous and giving to us during Christmas)!

This project involved using PAINT which Ivy LOVES! Here is Ivy and Mommy working together on this project...

Happy Crafting!

ugly sweaters

Sunday evening, our small group held its first annual Christmas party where about 20 college and career-aged people joined in the fun. This year's theme - ugly sweaters! Take a look at all of those who participated...

I must say, we had quite the array of creativity and ugliness with these sweaters. As you may or may not be able to tell, one sweater was "missing" sleeves, another the sleeves weren't quite long enough, yet another had shoulder pads, one was creatively decorated with wrapping paper and marker, more had fringe and bells, another looked like an afghan, and others contained "strange" colors especially when considering who was wearing them!

Of course, there were some party poopers (uh-hm, the college students) who refused to participate in the ugly sweater contest (maybe next time), but I think we all had fun laughing with one another.

Our night started with the "usual" menu of hamburgers and hot dogs and all of the goodies that go with them...


There were two in the group who apparently didn't care for the food and decided to "dig in" to a better meal! Yummy!?!

AND, when we have people to our house, Ivy ALWAYS knows that means there will be dessert! And, Ivy will not let you forget about dessert! (She's Papa's girl, what can I say!)


Thanks, Sarah, for the sugar cookies and the great idea of letting Ivy decorate her own cookie! She loved it!

After dinner, the group selected the first and second place winners for the ugliest sweaters for both the ladies and the guys. The winners were...


1st Place (Guys): Justin G. / 2nd Place (Guys): Eric
1st Place (Ladies): Anna / 2nd Place (Ladies): Sarah

Thanks to all of those who participated!

We also had a jar full of lots of yummy chocolate candy to guess how many were in there...of course, one of our college students won - Leah! She guessed the exact amount! Good job, Leah! Nathan B. came in a close second!

Although the food, fellowship, and "mini-contests" are always fun, it was time to bring our focus to the REAL reason we were all gathered together - THE one thing all of us have in common or should have in common - our love, passion, and relationship with Jesus Christ. Without the birth of Jesus, there would be no Christmas. Without the birth of Jesus, there would be no hope for all of us. Without the birth of Jesus, there would be no Savior!



For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ~John 3:16 (NIV)

Justin G. challenged all of us with a short devotional from Romans. He reminded us that no matter how ugly our sins are, God still loves us - so much that He sent Jesus to this earth to die for our ugly sins.



But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is bosasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. ~Romans 3:21-27 (NIV)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ~John 10:10 (NIV)

To finish the evening, more games and fellowship...

While Ivy was playing Jenga, there was only one person who was "strong" enough to turn the big stack of Jenga pieces over to start the game again. This person was called upon every single time a new game of Jenga was to occur. This person was declared by Ivy to have the biggest muscles there. This person was Da - Andy!!!










Merry CHRISTmas!!!!

ultrasound

Today, we had our ultrasound for Baby Z. #3! The baby looks great!

This came as such a relief as, I must say, Nathan and I were a little nervous going in for the ultrasound. Although I had been feeling the little flutters from Baby Z. #3 moving, we still didn't know what we were going to see as it was at this 20-week ultrasound a couple of years ago when we found out that our baby that would have been born between Ivy and Owen was no longer living! It was such a shocking and horrific day that day, and the thought of having to go through another tragic day like that again seems unbearable! All in all, we know that the Lord is in control of all things and that He works all things out for the good! AND, although we still have no idea why tragedies like that happen, we know that God sees the bigger picture and has all things in His hands!

This was the ultrasound where we could have found out whether our baby was a boy or a girl. For both Ivy and Owen, we did not find out! We loved the surprise!

This time, we had no idea whether we should find out or not. SO, we had the radiology technician write down what the sex of the baby is for us to look at when and if we made the decision to find out. (I must say, just knowing that we have the answer to one of the mysteries in our lives right now within our reach, really tempts us to peek to see the answer...BUT, we have been good and have not peeked...I even had to go as far as putting a piece of tape over the envelope flap so it would further prevent me from trying to look! Am I helpless or what?)

Ivy is seriously set on having a baby sister! And, many people have asked her what she wanted...a baby brother or a baby sister (as if she could choose). BUT, if you really think about the question as posed to a 3-year old, they really believe that they do have the option of choosing a baby brother or baby sister. Ivy is a very sensitive little girl full of emotion and passion but yet has the side of being able to explain, reason, and comprehend before the emotion and passion sets in. Ultimately, if we let our 3 (almost 4) year old girl continue with the idea that she is getting a baby sister because she chose to have a baby sister for the entire 9 months of our pregnancy, and God gives us a boy, she would be crushed!

For this reason, we have decided that we ARE going to find out what we are going to have! We decided that this would be a perfect gift for Christmas! Tune in then to see what we are going to have! I know I can't wait! :-)

never a dull moment...

in this house!

Our Christmas tree was thirsty and had no water in its bowl, so Ivy (being my GREAT helper as always) and I decided to give the tree a drink....problem is, we watered the tree when Owen was up and observing. He now knows that there is water under the Christmas tree, and he doesn't quite understand yet that the water is there for the tree only and NOT for his enjoyment! :-)

The other day, he decided that Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, the donkey, and two of the three wise men, needed to go for a swim. Where did he choose to put them? In the Christmas tree water!

Another day, he decided that about 10 of the little plastic farm animals, the farmer, and a couple other people from the Little People toys needed to get a bath. Where did he choose to put them? In the Christmas tree water!

He is soooo sneaky! :-)

With our Christmas tree being up and decorated, it is a fascination to everyone in the house but ESPECIALLY to Owen! It's so hard to tell what and how many things we will find hidden in the Christmas tree. So far, we have found MANY matchbox cars, balls, members (wise men, baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, cow, donkey) from the nativity set, and a little bit bigger cars and trucks.

This time, we caught him red-handed!





A couple of days ago, as I was unloading the dishwasher and thinking that the bathroom door was shut so that Owen could not go in to play in the toilet water (as he has figured out how to lift the toilet seat and lid up now), I turn around to see a toilet paper trail running from the bathroom out to the stove. Apparently, he thought we needed a "white carpet" to walk on to get to the bathroom! :-)