Christmas MeMe- come play!

1. Egg nog or Hot Chocolate- Hot Chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or put them under the tree- He brings our stockings
3. Colored lights on house or white- no lights on house but our tree outside has colored
4. Do you hang mistletoe- no
5. When do you put decorations up- the day after Thanksgiving
6. What is your favorite holiday dish- caramal dipped marshmallows
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child- the year I got a toy (I don't even remember what toy) and it needed batteries and we couldn't find any so my brother Duane quick ran to the store with me and bought me batteries so I could play with it. In fact the store was closing and the doors were locked but someone came out and as they did we ran in!
8. Do you open gifts on Christmas eve- we always did as kids but now we usually open them on Christmas morning- depending on when we have church
9. Snow- love it or dread it- I love it for the first couple of months then I dread it
10. Can you ice skate- no
11. What's the most important thing about the Holidays- celebrating Jesus' birth and spending time with family
12. What's your favorite Christmas song- religious song would be
"O Holy Night" non religious would be "Sleigh Ride"

I'd love to hear some of your answers too!!

Mark did some more raking on Saturday and this time Arianna got in on the fun. Look at her in the leaf pile- she is straight up and down! I'm glad she didn't break her neck doing that flip!
I'm glad they had nice weather for doing this- it sounds like today will be the end of that. I am ready for snow though- It's not Christmas without snow! When February comes along I'll be ready for it to be gone though.
This was not how I downloaded the pictures so I apologize- you'll have to look from the bottom picture up!

My little elves

We always put up our decorations the day after Thanksgiving. This year Laura came over to help. We had so much fun!
Here are the girls trying to get the tree skirt around the bottom of the tree. We had a lot of fun and I think the tree turned out beautiful and the girls are very excited about the tree this year because we decided that it was a Russian tree since some of the ornaments looked Russian to them. I guess it was the color red and a couple of them had gold swirls on them. I'll post more pictures later at the Holiday Tour of Homes that is being put on by another blogger.

The long awaited gift!

Halle has been wanting an American Girl doll for quite awhile now. It's been an issue between her and Arianna since Arianna got one for Christmas last year. Grandma told her she would get her one for her birthday this year- she told her that about 2 1/2 months ago so the wait has been on.
Finally on Sunday we had her birthday party on that side of the family. She didn't forget so she knew what she was getting and she couldn't wait.
When she opened up the package she said" this is exactly the one that I wanted!"
I'm so glad it lived up to her expectation!
Now the girls are spending lots of time combing the hair- dressing them etc...
It was worth the wait!

 

Day after Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving day. My sister had the flu the night before and I was worried she wouldn't be able to be there but she was feeling much better so she could come. The whole family was together and we had a great time.
After the dinner we had a birthday party for Halle, Shaelyn, Mark, Mari and Laura. I forgot the present for Halle from Grandpa that I had at my house so Mark ran back home to get it.
She was very excited with her presents and Laura got a beautiful card with this on it.





I Didn't want to pass up the opportunity to thank her for that beautiful gift that she gave me at the shack.
Today we are putting up the Christmas decorations and lights. The kids are very excited and I will love it when it's completed and I can see everything shining at night. I love Christmas lights!

Thankful

OK- I was looking for a Thanksgiving poem and couldn't find any I liked so I'm doing my own Thankful list:

T- Turkey
H- Halle
A- Arianna
N- Nick
K- Kids
F- Family
U- Umbrellas- (sorry I was desperate!)
L- Love

OK- this was harder than I thought it would be. You take a shot at it- I'm sure yours will be better than mine.
Tomorrow we're off to celebrate Thanksgiving at my dads house. The whole family will be there this year so that will be great.
Truly, I am very thankful for all the love I have in my life. I'm surrounded by great friends and a wonderful family. I love you all!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Are you a good driver?

Go to this site to see if you're a good driver. I got 9/10 right.
Terri- Chelsea should take this and see how she does!!!

Nick's big day

Nick made his public profession of faith on Sunday. What a special day! He wasn't nervous and he did really well. What a great feeling as a parent watching your child make this important step in their lives.
Afterward we had a lunch for our family and friends. It went really well- we had it at church which worked out great since I don't have room for 60 people in my house! I was trying to figure out how much food to have and I think we figured pretty good- we have some leftover bbq which we will have for supper tonight and some leftover cake - which I wasn't too upset about because it was awesome cake! Thanks to everyone who helped me so much- I really appreciate all the willing hands! 

Do you think it's a sign?!?

The other night at supper, Arianna was praying- it went something like this:
Dear God,
Thank you for this day, thank you for this supper. Please be with Nick and me while we go to school tomorrow. Please keep us safe.
Please be with mommy tommorrow also while she stays at home and plays the computer!
Amen



What!!!!!!!! You would think she see's me on the computer or something!!
I'm going to have to have a talk with her about not giving me up in front of her father!

Sunrises

I was getting ready Friday morning and glanced out the window and this was what I saw. I had Mark quick snap some pictures- I just love sunrises like this! What a great way to start your day.
 

Halle and her leaf pile

On Friday while we were out doing our Christmas shopping, Mark took the day off to watch Halle. They ended up raking leaves together. Halle had so much fun playing with her leaf pile. I think Mark had about as much fun watching her!

The Birthday Party

Last night we went to Chuckee Cheese for Halle's birthday. Monday's are great nights to go there- it wasn't busy at all. The kids had a lot of fun and then we came home to open presents and have cake.
She really liked her presents and was very happy with her cake. I thought it turned out really cute too! Now we just have to wait about 5 weeks and there will be more presents**sigh**.
 
 
  

Prayer request

I went to the Dr. today and had the most disturbing experience there. I was early and while I was in the waiting room there was a mother and about a 5 year old girl in the play area by themselves. The mother was just being terrible to the little girl. The little girls wasn't doing anything wrong and the mother kept yelling at her. I heard the mother ask the little girl why she was such a brat, tell her she didn't want to hear 1 more word from her, tell her to just shut up. They got called in then and shortly after I got called in. Much to my dismay I ended up in the room next to them and I could hear her through the walls. She continued telling her to get her butt over here and sit down and so on.
On my way home I just couldn't get her out of my mind. This poor little innocent child. I thought on the way home that I should have done something, but what do you do? I almost went over and offered to read her a book just to get her out of her mothers hair, but I chickened out.
Now maybe this mother was just having a very very very bad day, but I highly doubt it. The words just seemed to roll off her tongue.
I prayed for her on the way home and if you think of it today and in the future please lift up this little girl- her name is Desiree (I think) and I really feel that she has a really rough home life. Please also pray for the mom- God can change her heart and I pray that He touches both of their lives.

Happy Birthday Halle!

Happy Birthday sweetheart- You aren't my little baby anymore. You have suddenly turned into a little girl with a very fun personality and so so much energy!
You are such a blessing in our lives and we love you so very much. You add so much laughter and fun to our lives- not to mention hugs and kisses. I love that you always shower us with hugs and kisses without us asking for them.
You are in school now and I know that before I know it you will be starting college- it is going so fast watching you kids grow up.
I hope you have a very special birthday and we love you very much!
Mom and Dad

pulling at my heartstrings

Right before Arianna went to bed tonight, she came and handed me an envelope. When I opened it I found this sweet letter. What a precious girl!
 
Here's what she wrote in case you can't read it:
I love my mom so much. She helps me with my homework. She is a wonderful mom to me. Love, Arianna 

ham sandwich recipe

I had some friends over yesterday and I served these Hot Ham and Cheese Sanwiches.
The girls all loved them and wanted the recipe so here you go:

1 stick margarine, soft
1 tsp. chopped onion
2 tsp mustard
ham slices
swiss cheese slices

Mix together margarine, onion and mustard. Spread this mixture on both halves of the bun. Top with ham slices and cheese slices. Wrap in foil- 3-4 buns per pack. Bake at 325 for 1/2 hour. Let set 10 minutes before opening foil.
Enjoy!

On a different note- if you think of it please lift Mark up in prayer today. He is having to deal with some difficult situations at work today and could benefit from some prayers today.

Tomorrow I go Christmas shopping with my sisters all day long and then we stay at a hotel at night. We always have a great time and I can't wait!!
Have a great weekend!

Cousins

Shaelyn ended up spending the night after we did applesauce last week. The girls were very excited to come off the bus and find her here. It's so fun to watch them play together.
Yes my ears were tired by the next morning- she obviously has learned the art of talking from her mother!
Here they are all snuggled up together on the couch in the morning. They were awake a little before 7:00! Good thing they're cute!
  

Jacob and Jordan's Story

In reading one of the daily blogs that I keep up with, I was reminded that since a big reason I do this blog is so that my kids can look back at this and have information for themselves on our family.
I have posted many times about my kids, but I have never shared the story of my other kids- Jacob and Jordan.
Mark and I wanted to have kids soon after getting married because I just had this nagging feeling that I would have problems getting pregnant. To my delight, I got pregnant very quickly about 6 months after we got married. The pregnancy was a delight- I never felt better in my life and I loved being pregnant! Nick was born without incident and our lives went on. When he was about 20 months we decided to try again. Well we tried but no success. After 1 year of trying we ended up going through the whole infertility process. They had no reasons for our difficulty and we went through some of the processess they recommended. I ended up getting pregnant twice and both of those pregnancies I miscarried soon into the pregnancy.
We both decided to take a break from the fertility treatments and just not do anything for awhile. To our delight we got pregnant on our own. We were so very excited. I was considered high risk due to my history so they kept a close eye on this pregnancy. They did an ultrasound to check the pregnancy and while we were sitting in the room, The tech just showed us the heartbeat and Mark looked at the screen and said but what's that then? The tech said "oh" and went to get the Dr. The Dr. came in and informed us we were having twins! Well, I had kind of expected that when we were on fertility treatments but this was all on our own. I was shocked to say the least! About 10 weeks into the pregnancy Mark was on a fishing tournament with work and my parents took Me and Nick to a chicken bbq for supper. I went to the bathroom there and found out I was bleeding. I pretty much lost it and my parents quickly drove home and I went to my sisters house. She was gone but I knew she would be back soon. I called the Dr. and they had me come to the emergency room. I was in a panic- I couldn't get ahold of Mark-thank goodness a good friend came with me to the hospital. We got there and they told me they thought I had a bladder infection and the babies were ok, but they wanted me to go on bedrest.
Well I did, but that was very difficult with a little boy at home. The pregnancy was very difficult. The funny thing was I would get sick every other day- it was like 1 baby was making me sick and the other wasn't! Even after the morning sickness passed, I just wasn't feeling well. I couldn't explain it- I just didn't feel good!
At 20 weeks Mark had to go away for the night on a Friday night so the plan was for me to spend the night at my sisters house. I didn't make it that far. My water broke that morning. I called Mari in a panic again and we called the ambulance. Contractions began immediately and went until we got to the hospital. They gave me something to slow them down. Thank goodness this happened in the morning, Mark was still around so he came to the hospital along with both of my sisters. Contractions finally ended and the specialty Dr's came in to talk to us about our options. They said the babies were under great stress and that we could try to not deliver them but the risk was great of infection and danger to me or we could deliver them now, but they would not live. Well we were so thankful that God took that decision out of our hands and I went back into labor on my own. Mark and my sisters were my rocks as I went through labor for something that wasn't going to have a positive ending.
My babies were born stillborn. We named them Jacob and Jordan. It amazed me that even though they were very small, Jordan looked like Nick. I have their footprints and pictures that I will treasure forever. The twins would have been 10 this past June! This was the most painful thing I have ever gone through, however God had a plan for our lives. After this event, we both decided at different times that adoption was something we were interested in and when we brought the topic up to each other it was funny when we both said that we had been thinking about it.
If we hadn't lost the boys we wouldn't have our girls. Not that one is better than the other. I'm glad God is in control of our path and we don't have to decide what our life will be. I will see my boys again in heaven and then I will get to hold all my children again- all 7 of them!

Movie Review

What a fun day we had on Saturday. Mark was in Chicago with the youth group on a service project so it was just me and the kids. I decided to take them to the movie "Flushed Away." I thought it was a really good movie. Nick and the girls both really enjoyed it too. It had enough humor to keep both adults and kids entertained. It was extremely clean. I don't remember even 1 thing that was in the movie that I would have taken issue with.
The only frustrating thing was a goof on my part. I got tickets to the 2:55 movie. I got there at 2:30 got the popcorn and pop and went to go sit down. I handed them my ticket and the lady informed me we were very early. It was only 1:30! I haven't been wearing my watch lately because it has been giving me eczema on my wrist. I didn't realize that I hadn't changed the time on my watch because it's been sitting in my purse.
We had to wander around the mall for awhile but we didn't end up eating all the popcorn or drinking all the pop because you couldn't bring it in to Barnes and Noble and we wanted to look at books.
After that we went for supper and then to Meijers for groceries. The kids did really well- it was a long day- but very fun!

Applesauce

Yesterday was a busy day. Terri and I canned applesauce. It took a little longer because we had a little bit of a blonde moment. We had the last 2 loads going in the canner and we kept checking the back load waiting for it to boil. Terri had to leave at 3:00 to go home and about 3:15 I checked it again and it still wasn't boiling. It was at that point that I discovered the burner wasn't even on! That would probably help right??
Out of 4- 1/2 bushels we only got 24 jars! The apples really cooked down so much this year. I've always used this type of apple so I don't know what the difference was this year but it sure is delicious! We had some warm applesauce for dinner tonight. Very good!
Here's Terri watching over the stove. You can see our Victoria Strainer set up on the table- for those of you who do applesauce and you don't have one of these it's a MUST!! It saves so much time.
 








Here's the apples cooking down.
 






The finished product!
  

God cares about you!!

I'm going to share some of my devotions this morning with you.
It was saying to consider the Earth. Our Globe's weight has been estimated at six sextillion tons( a six with twenty one zeroes) behind it. Yet it is precisely tilted at 23 degrees; any more or any less and our seasons would be lost in a polar flood. Though our globe revolves at the rate of 1,000 miles per hour or 25,000 miles perday or 9 million miles per year, none of us tumbles into orbit.
Those facts just really struck me today. God created this Earth and watches over it yet He watches over all of us and cares about the littlest things in our lives!
What an amazing God we have!

Halloween

Well another trick or treating is done. The weather was cold but it wasn't raining!
It won't be my fondest memories of trick or treating because one of my children (who shall remain nameless) was acting quite "goulish." The last picture should give away who the little goblin was.
This child was wanting to take a nap at 4:30 right when we were leaving and I thought she would fall asleep in the van on the way to Terri's house. She didn't and oh how I wish she would have! As soon as we got to our destination to start the whining started. Her hands were to hot to be in the gloves, her legs were tired etc..
Then came the problem with all 3 of the little girls- who gets to ring the doorbell!
You can all see the vital importance of ringing the doorbell! We tried taking turns but the problem was that is was starting to get busy and now people were waiting by the doors to hand out candy so you didn't need to ring the bell. All 3 of them took turns whining about that.
I said I wanted to limit the candy intake this year- I did pretty well. I only did the main path- there were paths that went off and Terri continued on with those- I called it enough. It wasn't just that I had had enough of whiny behavior- I really don't want all that candy haunting me for months to come.
The little goblin was sleeping before we even turned on to the main road to head home
and slept peacefully the rest of the night!
I think next year it will be Mark's turn to take them trick or treating!!