Merry Christmas (updated with new pictures 12.27.08)

We had a wonderful day. Hope you all did too.

At one point this morning after Nolan had opened his Santa stuff, he says, "Well, that's cool, I thought I was getting coal for Christmas because I've been bad, but I guess Santa decided to give me my presents anyway." Then he was quiet for a few minutes and said, "Well I haven't really been BAD, I've just made some poor choices." Guess he's heard that a few times this past month!


Madi, Tanner, Morgan, Nolan

Merry Christmas!!

Thursday's Thought

Thank you God for the baby you sent into this world who changed everything.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

You can scroll down to the song list at the bottom of the blog to select and hear the words to this song. I love it!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

A Baby Changes Everything by Faith Hill
Teenage girl, much too young
Unprepared for what`s to come
A baby changes everything

Not a ring
On her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything (x2)

The man she loves she`s never touched
How will she keep his trust
A baby changes everything (x2)

And she cries, oh she cries

She has to leave, go far away
Heaven knows she can`t stay
A baby changes everything

She can feel it`s coming soon
There`s no place, there`s no room
A baby changes everything (x2)

And she cries and she cries o she cries

Shepherds own they got their �
Star shines down�

Choir of angels say
Glory to the newborn king
A baby changes everything (x2)
Everything, everything, every day
Hallelujah x4

My whole life is turned around
I was lost and now i`m found
A baby changes everything (x2)

Christmas Eve 2008

The day has gone by much too quickly. We had fun today not really doing much of anything. The weather was very nice, and the kids got to go outside today which they thoroughly enjoyed.



We had a short visit with Toby's mom this afternoon and then we headed off to Christmas Eve service at our church. Madi was really confused because I told her she would get to go to big church with us and sing, but the last time she was in the sanctuary (about 3 weeks ago) her Mother's Day Out class stood on the stage and sang Christmas songs, so she thought she was going to be on the stage singing again and she was thrilled! She was very disappointed when I explained that no one would be on the stage except our preacher and the music director. She then decided she should probably just go to her Sunday School class which confused her even more when I explained that the Sunday School teachers would not be there because it's not Sunday!

When we got home, the kids each got to pick one gift to open. Nolan has been dying to open this big bag I put under the tree the other day, so Madi decided she wanted to open her big bag too! I was not sure they would be okay with their choices because the bags contained sleeping bags (from Toby's grandmother) and I was worried they would be upset that it wasn't a toy. However, I need not have worried because they spent the next hour getting in and out of them, and carrying them around in the backpack sack they came in, and pretending like they were going on a camping trip (there was also a canteen and flashlight with each bag).




Baby Morgan's big bag contained a rocking horse that talks and sings (from Gradmom Karla and Grandpa Gary). She liked it when she was sitting on the floor looking at it, but when we put her on it she wasn't real sure about it.





Amazingly the kids even cooperated for a color coordinated Christmas picture in front of the tree (of course their Mom surely would not have bribed them for such an event :)



We then went outside to leave food for Santa's reindeer and to sprikle Christmas dust on the lawn so the reindeer would know where to land. As we are doing this, an interesting looking airplane flies over and Nolan gets super excited because he thinks it's Santa's sleigh. It was too cute!





Next we put out cookies and milk for Santa - hope he's hungry!



The kids insisted on sleeping in their sleeping bags in our room (now that's a surprise - ha!!) Madi went right to sleep just like her sister.




Nolan was a little too excited though. As I was laying down with him I remembered we forgot to put the Santa sacks out, so he got back up and did that and watched part of a movie and then finally went back to bed. I wonder what time he'll be up in the morning???





Goodnight!

Nothing to do

So, it's the day before Christmas Eve and Toby and I are busily trying to get last minute details taken care of when Nolan announces the dreaded "Mom, I'm bored, there's nothing to do." And it's only 9:00 in the morning!! I tried sending him and his sister outside to play despite the fact that it wasn't supposed to get out of the 30's. However, they played about 10 minutes and then came inside and said it was just too cold.

Sooooo . . . this is how they spent the rest of the day:


Unwrapping Hershey's kisses for the peanut blossom cookies we are making for the neighbors. If you look closely at Nolan's face you will see his little chipmunk cheeks are full of kisses!!



Nolan got some puzzles for Christmas from his Nanna this past weekend, so I put him and Madi to work assembling one of them.



Then I went to the dollar store and bought 3 more!!



After lunch we backed the cars out of the garage and let the kids ride their bikes in there. However, they found some styrofoam and decided to 'make' snow. When Toby and I discovered what they were doing, the garage floor was covered in shredded styrofoam!! Before I could get a picture of it, Toby had turned on the shop vac and ordered Nolan to clean up. Which occupied he and his sister for a good 1/2 hour!





Later in the day, the kids and I ran some errands and when we returned Toby was perfecting his tamale making skills in our kitchen. What was he thinking? The kids had fun helping him.









Only 12 more days of Christmas break to go!! Hopefully I don't lose my mind :-)

8 months

It's so hard to believe but Morgan is 8 months old today!! She has been such a huge blessing to us. She is THE BEST baby ever. I know, I know, everyone thinks that about their baby, but seriously she is. She is such a happy baby and a great sleeper, she eats whatever we feed her (well, baby food of course) and she's quite content to entertain herself playing with her toys or in her jumper - we could not ask for more. She's starting to really babble a lot and she's trying to wave bye-bye. And if she could walk, she would make a beeline in the opposite direction of her sister who smothers her to death. Her Bubbie though is a different story - she loves that boy. Her eyes light up when he walks into the room. I think the feeling is mutual.

Kidzone Christmas Play

Nolan got to play Joseph in our church's kids choir Christmas play this year. And his little friend Lindsey (they're crazy for each other, and Nolan blushes when we tease him about her) played Mary. They did a great job. And I've enjoyed listening to the songs for over a month now as Nolan has been memorizing them - I even have them memorized!!

Thursday's Thought

Are you making room for God?
Some of the saddest words on earth are, "We don't have room for you."
Jesus knew the sound of those words. He was still in Mary's womb when the innkeeper said, "We don't have room for you." . . .
And when he was hung on the cross, wasn't the message one of utter rejection? "We don't have room for you in this world."
Even today Jesus is given the same treatment. He goes from heart to heart asking if he might enter . . .
Every so often he is welcomed. Someone throws open the door of his or her heart and invites him to stay. And to that person Jesus gives this great promise: "In my father's house are many rooms." . . .
What a delightful promise he makes us! We make room for him in our hearts, and he makes room for us in his house. ~When Christ Comes by Max Lucado

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. ~Revelation 3:20

First Christmas X 3

Nolan's 1st Christmas 2002



Madi's 1st Christmas 2005



Morgan's 1st Christmas 2008

Gingerbread Train

Last year we decorated a gingerbread house for the first time, and we wanted to continue our tradition, but while we were searching for one at the store Madi spotted a gingerbread train. So we decided to try that this year (I already found a big gingerbread boy and girl for next year so maybe we'll do something different each year). I thought the train was easier than the house, and the kids said they liked it better.

The tree is decorated . . . FINALLY!

It took almost a week, but it's done now! The kids were excited to get all their ornaments out and talk about when they got each one of them. Of course Nolan is explaining to Madi that she wasn't even in Mommy's tummy when he got certain ornaments - and she's arguing with him that "yes, I was too in Mommy's tummy, right Mommy?"

I originally had Toby fix all the lights to blink, but when we plugged it in there were SO MANY lights b/c the tree is so big that it was literally like a light show in our living room. Sooooooo, I went through and found every single little red light that makes the strand blink and changed them out so they wouldn't blink. THEN, my friend Kim tells me about her lights that twinkle like stars.

So, I go searching high and low for these so called twinkling lights (it literally became my mission in life for 3 days straight). I finally found ONE box at Walgreens. So I got the bright idea that I would put the twinkling lights all up the middle of the tree because I did not want to take down the strands of lights that Toby had already put up, plus the tree was already mostly decorated at that point. Toby was out of town during this time, or sweet husband that he is probably would have taken it all down and re-done it for me.

Anyways, I ended up with scratches everywhere from pine needles trying to get those darn lights throughout the middle of the tree. But when all was said and done, I was pleased with the results. And I LOVE the twinkling lights (thanks Kim).

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

This year we decided to get our tree Thanksgiving weekend. We've never gotten it this early, but our December calendar was so crazy we decided to go ahead and get it because the next chance we had was the week of Christmas.

We started a tradition when Nolan was 2 of going to Elgin Tree Farm to cut down our own tree. So this was our 4th year to go. It was actually COLD the day we went which is always exciting because it's really hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it's 85+ degrees outside. So, we get to Elgin and go eat BBQ (yum) and when we come out of the restaurant it is RAINING!! By the time we drive down the road to the farm, it is POURING!! So, we sit in the truck waiting for the rain to stop, which it actually never did. But it finally slowed to such a light drizzle we decided to make a run for it.

Toby and I and our little bundles boarded the tractor trailer to be transported to the designated area for tree cutting. I was praying the whole way we wouldn't get stuck out there in more pouring rain. Thankfully we didn't get another hard shower until we were back at the main entrance where we could take cover.

So despite the rain, we found the perfect tree - our biggest ever, over 7 feet tall !! And we had a great day!