Christmas Notes ' 2007

I don't scrapbook all my pictures - I save that for baby books, special trips and gifts. But, last year the idea came to me, that it would be really fun to have just a Christmas Scrapbook, so that you could really see the growth of the kids from December to December, the toys that were the big hit of the year, the special things we did to celebrate, etc etc. I really want to do this in a scrapbook form, but this year, I won't be getting to that til maybe June?

This next part is just for me. So, until then, I will use this to get my thoughts down, before I forget...

Leading up to Christmas (not in order):

1. Singing Christmas Tree outing
2. Just Moms Shopping Trip
3. Daphne's Preschool Program
4. Daphne's Church Program
5. Decorating the Christmas Tree at Grandma Pam and Grandpa Mike's
6. Making the gingerbread house
7. Daphne making our wrapping paper
8. Moms Group projects
9. Daddy putting up Christmas lights
10. Ruby's room preparations instead of big Christmas decor
11. The year of the AZ trip...

Favorite Gifts:

Mike - Nano
Me - My tea pot and sugar and creamer from Pottery Barn
Daphne - 3 new Barbie movies, rings, glitter glue (thanks to Matt and Becca:), calculator with paper roll
Maisie - baby that cries, her own dress up dress, new jammies

On the calendar:

Dec. 22 - Dinner at our house with Dad
Dec. 23 - Dinner at Jon's with mom and G. Miller
Dec. 24th - Dinner at Mike and Pam's
Dec. 25th - To Creswell for Riddle family Christmas

Hardest thing - Maisie had a streak of bad sleeping in there, which a NON pregnant mom would have handled fairly well, but this very pregnant mom, was extra tired and teary. Luckily, the day after Christmas, she resumed to her usual schedule:).

Best thing - We kept things as simple as possible with our situation, and were very prepared. Then, Mike helped a tremendous amount at the different events. I got to sit and rest a lot. We were a great team!

Side note - first Christmas without Damion and Lesley, Max and Emmy :(

I wasn't as invested in the hupla of Christmas this year, which was actually not a bad thing. We focused on friends, family, and reading lots of great books about Jesus' birth. The girls didn't miss out on anything important. We were preparing for a baby too, just like Mary, so it was fitting that I was working on the nursery and trying to soak up my girls as much as possible during this Christmas season.

Deck the Nursery

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While all of you were decorating your tree and home for the holidays, I chose to go lite on decking our halls and instead focused on a more permanent form of decor - Ruby's nursery! Although I was sad to have to choose between the two, and kicking myself for starting a painting project this late in my pregnancy...like always, the finished product made it all worthwhile. Yahoo - it's done!

Can a nursery get any more "Ruby-like"?

Back from Arizona

The Arizona trip in summary:

• Daphne did terrific on her first airplane ride. (she kept busy with the little make-up tote that Grandpa had given her on the morning of their big departure - he even painted her nails in flight)
• Biggest AZ highlite - swimming in the heated outdoor pool nightly.

• She conquered 18 holes of golf (which took 5 hours), by amusing herself with her prize pony and finding oodles of golf balls with Grandpa.

• She was even a patient traveler when their first flight home got delayed an hour. Then on their connecting flight, they hit 3 geese on take-off and had to land again for the icky cleanup. They sat in the plane for 45 minutes. And we were being old fashioned with no dvd player or anything...

A successful, memorable trip for the three amigos. And I got the nursery done - not due to the fact that Daphne was gone...Maisie kept me plenty busy, BUT entirely due to the fact that Pam kept Maisie overnight Friday and almost all Saturday day!!! I realized that this was the first time ever that I had spent the night in my own home entirely ALONE - it was GLORIOUS.

They're off to Arizona!

I'm just writing in to say that Daphne, Mike and Mike Sr. are off to AZ for four days...

I am taking them into the airport this morning!

Daphne has never flown and is very excited. She has a carry-on with new highliters, a princess spiral notebook, two kinds of life savers, her trusty pink silkie blanket and a photo album that I stuck in for a surprise. I won't be there to see all her reactions to the exciting life in the air - but honestly, that's okay with me. I despise flying - but know it is a very irrational fear, because whenever anyone else flies, I feel very confident that nothing is going to happen to them. We'll see how it goes when I drop her off at the doors this morning though!

This was a trip born only a week ago and the fact that Daphne got invited is a huge BONUS. Me and Maisie are going to lay low and try to finish Ruby's nursery. I am so thrilled to have the house to myself for awhile! Yahoo.

Mike is taking his laptop (our only computer right now) - so I will be away from blog world for four long days. Please pray for these three special people in my life, as they embark on this little adventure.

And this is why the laundry didn't get done honey!!

Today we had a very fun December "moms group" meeting. All week I prepped a presentation of homemade Christmas gifts and decor and today I excitedly showed the girls the creative and yet stolen ideas. (I guess this is where I am supposed to give Martha the credit for her beautiful magazine and her highly trained staff etc etc - NAH!) I brought all the supplies for them to make the jar filled with peppermint items and I was so relieved that we finished them in 30 minutes and truly we would have made the above mentioned very proud. This is for the ladies who couldn't attend and for whomever enjoys this sort of thing! Happy baking/crafting...

Things learned:

1. When the project calls for peppermint sticks (not canes mind you) - don't bother looking at 10 different stores in the area, just cut off the hooks on the cheap candy canes at Walmart. No one will ever know.

2. You really CAN bake the bread in the tin can!

3. Nonpareils is just the fancy term for sprinkles.

See, stay at home moms do learn new things everyday:)

Kickin' off the Season!

The Singing Christmas Tree is such a wonderful way to begin the Christmas Season. My mom and I love it and we try hard to go each year. There is wonderful music, beautiful lighting and a sweet youth choir, and always the fantastic message of the Christ child. The director, a Christian man, always does a bit of a sermon in the middle. Last night, during the Messiah, everyone rose to their feet and I noticed no one was raising their hands up high, but I felt it sure would have been appropriate. It was beautiful.

This year was extra special, because we took Daphne for the first time. We started the evening at Newport Bay and Shirley Temples all around the table. When we got to the auditorium, I noticed there were very few children - probably because it was a 7pm show on a Thursday. So she definitely got a lot of ooohs and aahhs from the grandmas in attendance. Daphne loved it - she was born singing:) and the Santa Claus and flying angels helped. But mom and I definitely had to work the whole time...you know pulling out all the tricks with life savers, switching lap turns etc etc. She finally fell asleep in the last songs. We didn't leave until 10pm and didn't get home until 11pm. It was a big night!

I left with some mom homework for myself. Since our church doesn't sing traditional hymns...as mine did growing up...and because the programs at school don't anymore either, I have some work to do with my girls. I think we'll try to learn a couple each December.

November 21st, 1998

Happy Anniversary Honey! All day I will be thanking God for how He has given me such a wonderful husband in you. I never even dreamed a marriage this good or believed God that He could transform our relationship as He has. All praise and glory be to Him!

I can't imagine a more fitting 9 year anniversary Eve - last night putting Ruby's nursery together, with our other two daughters running around, excited about their new little sister! Daphne said it best, "Mom, I love all this Rubyness."

Well, I love our little family!

Thanksgiving Feast a la Preschool Style

I missed the Pumpkin Patch, Back to School night, the Halloween party, and haven't volunteered at all - because of Maisie and my condition. But still as a former first grade teacher, it is hard to step back and not participate very much. So when the Thanksgiving Feast invitation came, I arranged a sitter straight away and took Daphne's lead in anticipating a really memorable 45 minutes:). She wanted to invite the world and everyone to dress up (that was definitely her own idea). So what did we do? We went shopping the day before, and spent lots of time beautifying the day of! It really got us excited for a real feast next week!

Your Homework Post

Sometime between now and the BLOG GATHERING, you will need to post the answers to the following questionnaire. Please include the questions and answers when you recreate it in your post. We will test your knowledge of, "Which blogger said...?" at the party...so, this will hopefully encourage you to be reading as many blogs as possible, from now until the then. Study hard and possibly win a prize. You can do this even if you can't make it to the party!


Here's mine to get your creative juices rolling! (PS, I am such a thinker/reflective gal, that this was hard for me.)


What is your Motto?


Believe God: And I don't mean believe in God, but really truly believe God. Believe His word is alive and the only truth, believe that He can and still does work miracles in our lives, and when we tap into the Holy Spirit's power within us, we can make any mountain MOVE! (Yes, I am doing Beth Moore's study right now - so why not make it my motto!)



What superhuman power would you most want to have?


To fly! I'm not sure about this one until I could try it out...see I am scared of flying. But, I also like to be in control (ironic, huh? with my motto, but I'm a work in progress)...so, if I wasn't worried about the pilot, the aircraft and the passengers, maybe I would enjoy spreading my wings up there!


What makes you laugh?


Friends (the real deal and the tv show)


Cats or dogs?

Easy - dogs! Yellow, here, for my dog, Gus!


Would you rather be a little smarter or sexier?


Okay, duh, I think that any very pregnant woman woman would say "sexier"!



What's the one thing you'll never understand?


Why some people make the decisions they do and the things that come out of their mouths...



My life would be simpler if?

The blessings in my life are so rich! Seriously, I am so grateful to God for doing a mighty work in my marriage and the wonderful treasures coming out of a life lived in obedience, I can hardly go there. But on certain days of my week, I would take either A or B:

A. Someone to pick up Daphne from preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I wouldn't have to wake Maisie up from her nap on those days.

B. If my mom or mother in law were completely retired and could take Ms. Maisie one day a week, so I could just hold Ruby all day with no interuptions. Just gazing into the eyes of a baby that will grow all too fast and sleeping whenever she sleeps:)

The big decision I'm currently wrestling with is...

Not a decision - more a mom virtue..Patience.

Over a Cup of Coffee

Gals, it is finally time! BLOGGERS UNITE! We've cried together, we've laughed together, we've commented until our fingers bled. And now it's time to meet and sip coffee together. Send Becca an e-mail at theglorylaine@yahoo.com and she'll give you the details. We want everyone there, so please pass this on to a fellow blogger you think should be there.

Thanks for being patient as we planned this behind the scenes and I just have to say that I am looking forward to meeting ya'll. Please stay tuned to my blog sometime this weekend, as I will be presenting a "homework post" for you to complete between now and then!

One Beach Condo + 2 Couples that are long-time friends - the 4 little girls we have combined = A very enjoyable Weekend

We have been "vacation buddies" with our good friends Jessi and Kurt since right after college, when we all were married, employed, and had weekends to spare. Jessi and I go way way back to the church nursery, then on to elementary school, middle, high school and college roommates. Actually, all four of us went to the same college... Then Jessi and I got teaching jobs in the same town right after graduation. Add to the story that she married a hunter, and I married a hunter, and well, "you get it now, right?"

Our most frequent retreat, was definitely the beach condo - that her parents, so generously let us enjoy probably 3 times a year before kids. We had our traditions each time - Dairy Queen (only blocks away) each night, games, duck hunting for the guys, shopping and projects for the girls, the local cinemas, and the favorite restaurant spots too.

Then kids came along, and we still traveled together. At first it with was still real manageable, with the first baby that came along and then even doable when there were two infants. We even prided ourselves in being the kind of parents that would not let kids slow us down:). But with every year, and every additional child - we now both have two little girls (Daphne 4, Paivi 3, Maisie 2, Helmi 1) our trips got fewer - still very memorable, but more and more work and not as much play!

This year, Jessi had the best idea ever - leaving all the kids at home, and going to the beach alone; making it like "OLD TIMES". I'm not sure why we had never thought of this before, but we all jumped at the idea. We planned our sitters (grandparents) months in advance...and looked forward to it earnestly.

This last weekend, was the much anticipated - ONLY ADULTS ALLOWED beach weekend.

It was relaxing, fun, and super easy to pack and unpack for! We had dairy queen twice, ate out four times, ordered pizza in one time, went to the cinemas in the MIDDLE of the day, had mani-pedi's, did crafts, and played Catch Phrase (Girls WON!). We were even there for the extra hour of sleep...another bonus.

We adore our time as families, but this, friends was a better way to travel!

Halloween '07: A Post in Progress - FINISHED

In our family, holidays don't just fall on "the day", but start early and end late. It's too fun to not see everyone and get good use out of the money spent on costumes and special holiday clothes!





I could wait and just show all the pics at once after it is all said and done, but I decided to just add to this one as I go.





Monday's Events: My Grandma Barb's house with Daphne, Maisie and my brother's son, Cole (2 1/2 years). Candy corn, cookies and McDonald's was on the menu. We neglected to get Grandma in the pictures, but you can guess she was smiling ear to ear and so glad that the neighbors came out of their houses to look at her great-granchildren too.

Tuesday's Celebration: An annual tradition of visiting my other Grandma Barb and my Grandpa Foye, with as many of my cousins' kids as possible too. My dad and mom were there enjoying the kids too! Pizza, lots of treats, and it isn't even Halloween yet. Really truly, I am not a Halloween fiend - I just love when kids get to make believe and play with their cousins. Are you bored yet?

Halloween! : We had the luxury of going out to breakfast as a family in the am - that is something I love about my husband's job. Most of the time he is super busy, but at least he is the boss of his schedule and we get to squeeze in some family time in "normal business hours" every once in awhile. The girls and I carved our pumpkins - although never lighting them last night...whoops! The big stuff was the Trunk or Treating fest and traditional trick or treating around our neighborhood. The girls had such a fun time - I think next year we'll do more of the traditional trick or treating - Daphne ran to each house and Maisie and I were always a step behind. Once Maisie "got it", she really was giggling and having fun too. I ate way too much candy yesterday and am swearing if off for the rest of my pregnancy...