Merry Christmas.... from our family to yours...
May you experience the joy of Christmas, and peace this Christmastide.
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
25 December, 2012
27 December, 2011
christmas morning
a glimspe of our christmas day
our beautiful tree--his name was oliver this year...
under the tree christmas morning.
ready for church..
our beautiful tree--his name was oliver this year...
under the tree christmas morning.
ready for church..
24 December, 2011
16 December, 2011
25 December, 2010
While they were there....
..... the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
24 December, 2010
merry christmas
From our family to yours.
May you be blessed as you celebrate the birth of our Savior!
23 December, 2010
"Crips"
It took us about a week to decipher what on earth Levi meant when he said, "crips"... we finally realized it.
CHRISTMAS!
Remember that country christmas program we went to last week? That was when he first starting saying it... "crips, crips, crips" over and over again when santa came in at the end of the program. I, for the life of me, couldn't figure it out. It took several days, and that's when I realized it... Levi knows who "santa" is, and we haven't done anything to teach him about it.
Which brings up the current debate in our house. "santa or no santa?
Up to this point in little mans' life, we haven't really done santa. Last year he was so little, and quite frankly, christmas was less than christmasy, as mike's job was ending in a matter of days, and our life was in boxes. This year, we opted to not take him to see santa because it would basically have ended with him screaming, and I just would rather forgo that mess.
And then.. out of the blue... Levi is associating Santa with Christmas.
From where?
I don't know.
Mike and I have gone back and forth on what to do. Mike is leaning towards not doing santa, and I guess, for lack of a better word, I'm on the fence. I see Mike's point, and I want to honor that, I also love the idea of making Christmas magical, but that's all I've got on why I want to do it. (which doesn't necessarily seem valid) I think maybe because it was part of my childhood, I would love to pass that on to Levi. But this year... the presents are wrapped and under the tree, there will be no "santa".... and I dare say we need to decide by next year what we are doing.
So... what do you do in your family?
Santa or No Santa?
What traditions do you have?
I'm all ears.
CHRISTMAS!
Remember that country christmas program we went to last week? That was when he first starting saying it... "crips, crips, crips" over and over again when santa came in at the end of the program. I, for the life of me, couldn't figure it out. It took several days, and that's when I realized it... Levi knows who "santa" is, and we haven't done anything to teach him about it.
Which brings up the current debate in our house. "santa or no santa?
Up to this point in little mans' life, we haven't really done santa. Last year he was so little, and quite frankly, christmas was less than christmasy, as mike's job was ending in a matter of days, and our life was in boxes. This year, we opted to not take him to see santa because it would basically have ended with him screaming, and I just would rather forgo that mess.
And then.. out of the blue... Levi is associating Santa with Christmas.
From where?
I don't know.
Mike and I have gone back and forth on what to do. Mike is leaning towards not doing santa, and I guess, for lack of a better word, I'm on the fence. I see Mike's point, and I want to honor that, I also love the idea of making Christmas magical, but that's all I've got on why I want to do it. (which doesn't necessarily seem valid) I think maybe because it was part of my childhood, I would love to pass that on to Levi. But this year... the presents are wrapped and under the tree, there will be no "santa".... and I dare say we need to decide by next year what we are doing.
So... what do you do in your family?
Santa or No Santa?
What traditions do you have?
I'm all ears.
18 December, 2010
country christmas
Last night we were invited by some friends to go to a christmas program at this small country church. We decided, kind of a whim, to go...
First up: We received a history lesson. This tiny church was built in 1844. There was no plumbing in the church because plumbing didn't exist. A small heater sat in the back that had obviously been installed at some point. It reminded me of a one room schoolhouse setup. The pews were tiny, and straight-backed, one pew fit about 4 people. It was dimly lit, and had the faint smell of moth balls. They also had a large, what looked like a china cabinet, that had small cubicles in it, and inside were all of the hymnals, and it was definitely made for that purpose! I'd never seen anything like it. The inside was lined with wood paneling that had been put up throughout the years. There was an old upright piano that was so out of tune, when hit right notes, it sounded like wrong ones. There was also an old pump organ! There is normally a woman who is in her 90's who plays it, but she had broke her arm in a fall. This church is not an "active" church anymore. It sits closed, but once a year, they open the doors, dust off the cobwebs, and invite people in to celebrate the birth of Jesus!
Seriously it was the most delightful little program I have EVER been to. we walked in the door, found our place next to some friends. We hadn't more than sat down, and this lady comes up and says.. I hear you're a "professional" piano player.. would you like to play something for us? uh.... I guess I can... which basically meant I made it up because I didn't have music or anything with me... let's see what else was there... several duets of people who were the most tone deaf singers I'd EVER heard. at one point we all had to stand up and introduce ourselves. there was maybe 60? people in the church, and it was PACKED. though, the old-timers kept reminiscing about the time they had 99 people and 1 mouse. no joke. :) Most of them were related and lived about 2 miles or less from the church. oh it was so delightful.
Levi of course was uncooperative and didn't want to sit still. One time he escaped arms reach, and ran up to the front of the church, climbed up on the platform, and when everyone laughed.. he burst into a big belly laughter.. oh and there was the woman who played her cello.. the minute she started playing he laughed hysterically the entire time she played. it was so funny. Mike and I couldn't help but laugh which of course made him laugh even more... I think what was funny was that it truly was a I'm so delighted by her music, I'm laughing kind of deal. We were concerned about his crazy behavior, but everyone kept saying... oh let him run around, it's no big deal!
At the end a couple came in dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus. All the kids came up and sat on his lap.... .. and when we left every person got a bag of freshly made caramel corn and some chocolates...
oh my. it was the funniest and most endearing program i have ever been to in my entire life, and i've seen many! The only thing that would have made it better was if I would have had my camera with me to document this lovely experience.
On the way home from our delightful adventure, Mike and I both commented, on, while these were not um... stellar musicians, this group of people were coming together to truly celebrate what Christmas is about, and share in each other's joy, laughter, and concern.... Mike said.. it's kind of what Paul talks about.. coming together, and whoever has a word may share it. That's what this tiny church was all about last night.
What a blessing!
First up: We received a history lesson. This tiny church was built in 1844. There was no plumbing in the church because plumbing didn't exist. A small heater sat in the back that had obviously been installed at some point. It reminded me of a one room schoolhouse setup. The pews were tiny, and straight-backed, one pew fit about 4 people. It was dimly lit, and had the faint smell of moth balls. They also had a large, what looked like a china cabinet, that had small cubicles in it, and inside were all of the hymnals, and it was definitely made for that purpose! I'd never seen anything like it. The inside was lined with wood paneling that had been put up throughout the years. There was an old upright piano that was so out of tune, when hit right notes, it sounded like wrong ones. There was also an old pump organ! There is normally a woman who is in her 90's who plays it, but she had broke her arm in a fall. This church is not an "active" church anymore. It sits closed, but once a year, they open the doors, dust off the cobwebs, and invite people in to celebrate the birth of Jesus!
Seriously it was the most delightful little program I have EVER been to. we walked in the door, found our place next to some friends. We hadn't more than sat down, and this lady comes up and says.. I hear you're a "professional" piano player.. would you like to play something for us? uh.... I guess I can... which basically meant I made it up because I didn't have music or anything with me... let's see what else was there... several duets of people who were the most tone deaf singers I'd EVER heard. at one point we all had to stand up and introduce ourselves. there was maybe 60? people in the church, and it was PACKED. though, the old-timers kept reminiscing about the time they had 99 people and 1 mouse. no joke. :) Most of them were related and lived about 2 miles or less from the church. oh it was so delightful.
Levi of course was uncooperative and didn't want to sit still. One time he escaped arms reach, and ran up to the front of the church, climbed up on the platform, and when everyone laughed.. he burst into a big belly laughter.. oh and there was the woman who played her cello.. the minute she started playing he laughed hysterically the entire time she played. it was so funny. Mike and I couldn't help but laugh which of course made him laugh even more... I think what was funny was that it truly was a I'm so delighted by her music, I'm laughing kind of deal. We were concerned about his crazy behavior, but everyone kept saying... oh let him run around, it's no big deal!
At the end a couple came in dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus. All the kids came up and sat on his lap.... .. and when we left every person got a bag of freshly made caramel corn and some chocolates...
oh my. it was the funniest and most endearing program i have ever been to in my entire life, and i've seen many! The only thing that would have made it better was if I would have had my camera with me to document this lovely experience.
On the way home from our delightful adventure, Mike and I both commented, on, while these were not um... stellar musicians, this group of people were coming together to truly celebrate what Christmas is about, and share in each other's joy, laughter, and concern.... Mike said.. it's kind of what Paul talks about.. coming together, and whoever has a word may share it. That's what this tiny church was all about last night.
What a blessing!
24 December, 2009
Christmas Time
Merry Christmas Eve!
May you have a blessed Christmas as you celebrate
with your families and remember our Saviour's birth!
Merry Christmas!
22 November, 2009
Advent
It's an overlooked, underated time of year if you ask me. Mike and I have talked quite a bit about celebrating advent with our kids, counting down those days until Jesus was born.
This year, I've been on the prowl for an advent calendar that we can use. Much to my surprise, most of them are laden with snowmen, stockings, presents, and candy; all of which is NOT what advent is about. As my sister said "those are countdowns to materialism at it's finest."
Thanks, but we would really like one that simply states the story.
Criteria:
1)reusable: i want it to be one we can stow away for each year
2)economical: it can't cost a lot to buy or to use every year. so many of them require you to purchase little trinkets or candy or something to put in the boxes, and i'm not interested in that.
I've been toying with a couple..
The first one is this cloth one.
I love that it has all the characters from the nativity, and you can place one in each day as you count down until Christmas. I like that you could talk about how each person holds a part in the story. It's very kid-friendly.
What I don't like is that there are so many animals. I mean really, how many times can you talk about a sheep? I'm also not sure where we would put this. It's not exactly something I'd love to have hanging on my wall.
The second is this one.
What you can't see from this picture, is that when you open it up, there is a small booklet for each day. When you pull out the booklet it has a story about the prophesy of Jesus' birthday. I love the biblical aspect of it. I also love that it gives you something specific to talk about each day, without a lot of umm.. prep? work.
It's full of cardboard though, and I don't know how well it would hold up over time. it's also only $19... so I guess you get what you pay for.
There is also the candle option, but I don't think I'd like to do that one with kids. I like the idea of a daily thing, not a weekly..
Do any of you out there have any great advent calendars?
I'd LOVE to know about them.
This year, I've been on the prowl for an advent calendar that we can use. Much to my surprise, most of them are laden with snowmen, stockings, presents, and candy; all of which is NOT what advent is about. As my sister said "those are countdowns to materialism at it's finest."
Thanks, but we would really like one that simply states the story.
Criteria:
1)reusable: i want it to be one we can stow away for each year
2)economical: it can't cost a lot to buy or to use every year. so many of them require you to purchase little trinkets or candy or something to put in the boxes, and i'm not interested in that.
I've been toying with a couple..
The first one is this cloth one.
I love that it has all the characters from the nativity, and you can place one in each day as you count down until Christmas. I like that you could talk about how each person holds a part in the story. It's very kid-friendly.
What I don't like is that there are so many animals. I mean really, how many times can you talk about a sheep? I'm also not sure where we would put this. It's not exactly something I'd love to have hanging on my wall.
The second is this one.
What you can't see from this picture, is that when you open it up, there is a small booklet for each day. When you pull out the booklet it has a story about the prophesy of Jesus' birthday. I love the biblical aspect of it. I also love that it gives you something specific to talk about each day, without a lot of umm.. prep? work.
It's full of cardboard though, and I don't know how well it would hold up over time. it's also only $19... so I guess you get what you pay for.
There is also the candle option, but I don't think I'd like to do that one with kids. I like the idea of a daily thing, not a weekly..
Do any of you out there have any great advent calendars?
I'd LOVE to know about them.
26 December, 2008
merry christmas
Look what Santa brought! :)
Mike and I have been debating and discussing Christmas for quite some time. We decided we would go ahead and get a new digital camera. So, after a ridiculous amount of research, and I think about driving the guy at the camera place crazy we decided on the FujiFilm S2000. Unfortunately Santa will deliver it next week around Tuesday or Wednesday, but that's okay.... it will be nice to get it soon!
More exciting was that on Tuesday this week, I got a call from one of the directors I play for who said he had something for me. That something turned out to be quite a nice bonus. So... we decided to go ahead and purchase the FLIP video. Some friends have one and really recommended it to us... so we bought that and put it under our tree for yesterday morning.
Mike and I have been debating and discussing Christmas for quite some time. We decided we would go ahead and get a new digital camera. So, after a ridiculous amount of research, and I think about driving the guy at the camera place crazy we decided on the FujiFilm S2000. Unfortunately Santa will deliver it next week around Tuesday or Wednesday, but that's okay.... it will be nice to get it soon!
More exciting was that on Tuesday this week, I got a call from one of the directors I play for who said he had something for me. That something turned out to be quite a nice bonus. So... we decided to go ahead and purchase the FLIP video. Some friends have one and really recommended it to us... so we bought that and put it under our tree for yesterday morning.
19 December, 2008
snow day
It's a SNOW DAY,
which means Christmas Break starts today! :)
I'll be back later with pictures.
It's been snowing for 2 hours and we have about 5 inches already.
10-12 inches expected today.
which means Christmas Break starts today! :)
I'll be back later with pictures.
It's been snowing for 2 hours and we have about 5 inches already.
10-12 inches expected today.
13 December, 2008
stories and schedules
we've made it through another week, and we are grateful for that. it seems we are counting the days til christmas, as that is when we both will get a chance to breathe! HALLELUJAH!
I had a crazy week with tons of extra rehearsals and nursing home tours for choirs etc. Here are a couple of stories to share...
1) On Thursday we were on our nursing home tour with the jr. high kids. We were at our last stop and suddenly, this girl bursts into tears. Now, really it's jr. high, so it's not that surprising, it's the end of the day, all reasons that she could be crying, except that she is really really crying. Bill and I went over to check on her to find out this: Her grandma was in this nursing home. The catch? No one in her family had told her. So this poor girl find out all by herself at the nursing home that her grandma is here... AND... grandma was not quite all there mentally and had no idea who this girl was.... how crazy is that?? i just couldn't believe that her parents signed a permission slip for their daughter to go on a nursing home field trip and never bothered to mention, that oh by the way you may see grandma?
2) Yesterday was my sister's resident Christmas party. It's a HUGE deal, fancy, yum-o food, hired entertainment etc. Well, for the entertainment, she had so graciously hired a group of 8 kids from one of the schools I play for. They are raising money for a trip to NYC, and this would go towards their accounts. A little back story...yesterday, I was at a school playing for a rehearsal. I was walking inside, and I slipped and fell pretty hard on the ice. I was not feeling well afterwards, was quite sore, and needless to say worried about the baby. So.. after talking with Mike, we decided maybe I should go ahead and call L&D just to get checked out, make sure everything was a-okay. I was going to be at this party for my sister, so, I called her to tell her what was going on, and that depending on what my dr. said, I may or may not be there.
Somehow during this conversation the time the kids were coming came up. Now, my sister and I had had countless conversations about the time of this party, when the kids would get there, how long they would perform etc. Somehow in the zillions of conversations we had, we had both been communicating the wrong time. I thought it was 5:45, April thought it was 4:45, the kids knew 5:45... and we discovered this minor oversight at oh..... 4:15... YEAH. So.... needless to say it got crazy. I called the director, who had gone home (which is about 30 minutes away). He was going to turn around and come back. They were meanwhile trying to contact the kids via cell phone. Meanwhile, I raced around like a maniac and managed to get to my sisters work at 4:50. I hopped on the piano, and started playing any christmas tune I could. I covered for the kids until they got there about 5:30. They ended up singing through dinner, instead of appetizers. It was a little insane. We're still not really sure what happened. April thinks when she originally communicated with the kids she said something like.. appetizers are from 5-6, so if you could be here at quarter-to... that would be good... how on earth we missed it after we had countless conversations about 5:45 who knows... but we laughed about it, and were thankful that we caught it at 4:15, instead of her calling in a panic at 4:45... yeah, that would have been bad.
3) Since I mentioned it previously. Yesterday, I took a pretty nasty fall at school. I'm doing okay. Sore, and achy, but I'll be fine. Needless to say I never got to L&D last night, but I've been quite concious of the baby's kick counts, drank a TON of water, and the sore crampiness went away, so we're thankful for that... and I'm up in the night because this little bean decided to join the gymanstics team or something, because it's flipping around like crazy in there. But today is Saturday, which means we get to sleep in, which makes being up at 3:30 less annoying.
Mike and I both have one more week of craziness.
My schedule: just for your amusement.. :)
Monday--- elementary holiday school tour 9-2:30, teaching from 4-8
Tuesday---record holiday cd with choir 8-2, rehearsal 2:30-3:15, teach 4-7
Wednesday---school 8-3, teach 3:30-6, choir concert at 7:30
Thursday--- teach 4-6:30, choir concert at 7
Friday---choir concert at 6, christmas party at 7....
Saturday-- collapse in exhaustion. :)
Mike has 40+ hours of work, and his last week of classes for the semester which means lots of extra papers etc..maybe someday soon we'll see each other for more than 10 minutes.
I had a crazy week with tons of extra rehearsals and nursing home tours for choirs etc. Here are a couple of stories to share...
1) On Thursday we were on our nursing home tour with the jr. high kids. We were at our last stop and suddenly, this girl bursts into tears. Now, really it's jr. high, so it's not that surprising, it's the end of the day, all reasons that she could be crying, except that she is really really crying. Bill and I went over to check on her to find out this: Her grandma was in this nursing home. The catch? No one in her family had told her. So this poor girl find out all by herself at the nursing home that her grandma is here... AND... grandma was not quite all there mentally and had no idea who this girl was.... how crazy is that?? i just couldn't believe that her parents signed a permission slip for their daughter to go on a nursing home field trip and never bothered to mention, that oh by the way you may see grandma?
2) Yesterday was my sister's resident Christmas party. It's a HUGE deal, fancy, yum-o food, hired entertainment etc. Well, for the entertainment, she had so graciously hired a group of 8 kids from one of the schools I play for. They are raising money for a trip to NYC, and this would go towards their accounts. A little back story...yesterday, I was at a school playing for a rehearsal. I was walking inside, and I slipped and fell pretty hard on the ice. I was not feeling well afterwards, was quite sore, and needless to say worried about the baby. So.. after talking with Mike, we decided maybe I should go ahead and call L&D just to get checked out, make sure everything was a-okay. I was going to be at this party for my sister, so, I called her to tell her what was going on, and that depending on what my dr. said, I may or may not be there.
Somehow during this conversation the time the kids were coming came up. Now, my sister and I had had countless conversations about the time of this party, when the kids would get there, how long they would perform etc. Somehow in the zillions of conversations we had, we had both been communicating the wrong time. I thought it was 5:45, April thought it was 4:45, the kids knew 5:45... and we discovered this minor oversight at oh..... 4:15... YEAH. So.... needless to say it got crazy. I called the director, who had gone home (which is about 30 minutes away). He was going to turn around and come back. They were meanwhile trying to contact the kids via cell phone. Meanwhile, I raced around like a maniac and managed to get to my sisters work at 4:50. I hopped on the piano, and started playing any christmas tune I could. I covered for the kids until they got there about 5:30. They ended up singing through dinner, instead of appetizers. It was a little insane. We're still not really sure what happened. April thinks when she originally communicated with the kids she said something like.. appetizers are from 5-6, so if you could be here at quarter-to... that would be good... how on earth we missed it after we had countless conversations about 5:45 who knows... but we laughed about it, and were thankful that we caught it at 4:15, instead of her calling in a panic at 4:45... yeah, that would have been bad.
3) Since I mentioned it previously. Yesterday, I took a pretty nasty fall at school. I'm doing okay. Sore, and achy, but I'll be fine. Needless to say I never got to L&D last night, but I've been quite concious of the baby's kick counts, drank a TON of water, and the sore crampiness went away, so we're thankful for that... and I'm up in the night because this little bean decided to join the gymanstics team or something, because it's flipping around like crazy in there. But today is Saturday, which means we get to sleep in, which makes being up at 3:30 less annoying.
Mike and I both have one more week of craziness.
My schedule: just for your amusement.. :)
Monday--- elementary holiday school tour 9-2:30, teaching from 4-8
Tuesday---record holiday cd with choir 8-2, rehearsal 2:30-3:15, teach 4-7
Wednesday---school 8-3, teach 3:30-6, choir concert at 7:30
Thursday--- teach 4-6:30, choir concert at 7
Friday---choir concert at 6, christmas party at 7....
Saturday-- collapse in exhaustion. :)
Mike has 40+ hours of work, and his last week of classes for the semester which means lots of extra papers etc..maybe someday soon we'll see each other for more than 10 minutes.
09 December, 2008
tis the season...
Our beautiful tree... Her name is Gwendolyn.. :)
Here's our tree.. right before we chopped her down...
Mike chopping away...
Our beautifully decorated tree..
this ornament we bought in memory of our baby...
one of our nativity sets. somehow i started a collection of nativities from different countries. this one is from the philippines.
i got this when i was in honduras...
this is the one that started the collection, i bought it when i was in africa.
We had a lovely weekend, completed by going out and picking out our Christmas tree. It's a HUGE deal in our family, so it's always adventure. It was of course freezing on Saturday. We had hats, gloves, snowpants, warm coats, the whole nine yards, but we had a blast. We named our lovely tree, Gwendolyn, and Brian and April, Marcella.
Saturday evening, Mike and I enjoyed a nice dinner, and tree decorating together. It's always such a peaceful time. It's nice to take some time out and spend those moments together, building those traditions. Christmas time as a musician, is really hard. You know all those lovely parties you go to, and concerts you attend? Well, I'm the one running around playing at all of them. It's challenging, and very tiring, especially being almost 8 months pregnant. My favorite one this year? On Friday I had to play for a special for a local tv show. We recorded.... OUTSIDE.. the windchill friday was basically 0. My hands were wrinkly and purple when we got done... YIKES!
With being so busy, it helps us appreciate that our church celebrates the advent season, that we can take that time to remember the real simple beautiful meaning of Christmas. A beautiful time to reflect on our Savior's birth, and be reminded of His glory and presence in our lives.
Here's our tree.. right before we chopped her down...
Mike chopping away...
Our beautifully decorated tree..
this ornament we bought in memory of our baby...
one of our nativity sets. somehow i started a collection of nativities from different countries. this one is from the philippines.
i got this when i was in honduras...
this is the one that started the collection, i bought it when i was in africa.
We had a lovely weekend, completed by going out and picking out our Christmas tree. It's a HUGE deal in our family, so it's always adventure. It was of course freezing on Saturday. We had hats, gloves, snowpants, warm coats, the whole nine yards, but we had a blast. We named our lovely tree, Gwendolyn, and Brian and April, Marcella.
Saturday evening, Mike and I enjoyed a nice dinner, and tree decorating together. It's always such a peaceful time. It's nice to take some time out and spend those moments together, building those traditions. Christmas time as a musician, is really hard. You know all those lovely parties you go to, and concerts you attend? Well, I'm the one running around playing at all of them. It's challenging, and very tiring, especially being almost 8 months pregnant. My favorite one this year? On Friday I had to play for a special for a local tv show. We recorded.... OUTSIDE.. the windchill friday was basically 0. My hands were wrinkly and purple when we got done... YIKES!
With being so busy, it helps us appreciate that our church celebrates the advent season, that we can take that time to remember the real simple beautiful meaning of Christmas. A beautiful time to reflect on our Savior's birth, and be reminded of His glory and presence in our lives.
30 November, 2008
traditions
With Christmas I've been thinking a lot about traditions, what our family does each year, and which ones I would want to pass onto our kids. It's a lot to think about. I look back on Christmas with so many fond memories. My family never decorated for anything, but for Christmas? The sky was the limit it seemed! It somehow made it extra special.
So... these are our traditions.
1) Both Mike and I's families bought ornaments for us growing up. We have quite an impressive collection from that. I love that I have all these ornaments that represent different aspects of my life.
2) One random year, my family decided to name our Christmas tree. Why, you ask? I have no idea, but it stuck, and it's still a HUGE tradition. In fact this next saturday we will venture out to the tree farm. We will stand there, and decide indeed whether the tree is a boy or a girl, and name them before we cut it down. Afterwards we will go to a local bakery and get hot cocoa and goodies!
3)Christmas Eve has sort of modified over the years, but has now become a soup buffet at my sister's house, followed by Christmas Eve service as a family, complete with driving aroud and looking at Christmas lights afterwards. Normally Mike and I end up at home watching a Christmas movie with homemade hot cocoa.
4) Some years, Santa came early at Mike's house growing up! Yup, EARLY! He would stop off, often during dinnr, and drop off something fun, maybe for the whole family? Like a VCR or new PJ's for everyone to wear to bed? I think it's fantastic! Maybe not every year, but I think hear and there is a great idea!
5)Christmas morning is spent with Mike and I at home by ourselves. We made that a tradition, if you will, when we got married. We didn't want to be the traveling couple at the holidays. We get new pj's for Christmas Eve, and enjoy presents in the morning along with cinnamon rolls... :)
Growing up we never did Advent, but Mike and I have talked a lot about starting that tradition with our kids. Does anyone have any ideas on this one?
So those are some of ours....
I'd love to hear about yours!
So... these are our traditions.
1) Both Mike and I's families bought ornaments for us growing up. We have quite an impressive collection from that. I love that I have all these ornaments that represent different aspects of my life.
2) One random year, my family decided to name our Christmas tree. Why, you ask? I have no idea, but it stuck, and it's still a HUGE tradition. In fact this next saturday we will venture out to the tree farm. We will stand there, and decide indeed whether the tree is a boy or a girl, and name them before we cut it down. Afterwards we will go to a local bakery and get hot cocoa and goodies!
3)Christmas Eve has sort of modified over the years, but has now become a soup buffet at my sister's house, followed by Christmas Eve service as a family, complete with driving aroud and looking at Christmas lights afterwards. Normally Mike and I end up at home watching a Christmas movie with homemade hot cocoa.
4) Some years, Santa came early at Mike's house growing up! Yup, EARLY! He would stop off, often during dinnr, and drop off something fun, maybe for the whole family? Like a VCR or new PJ's for everyone to wear to bed? I think it's fantastic! Maybe not every year, but I think hear and there is a great idea!
5)Christmas morning is spent with Mike and I at home by ourselves. We made that a tradition, if you will, when we got married. We didn't want to be the traveling couple at the holidays. We get new pj's for Christmas Eve, and enjoy presents in the morning along with cinnamon rolls... :)
Growing up we never did Advent, but Mike and I have talked a lot about starting that tradition with our kids. Does anyone have any ideas on this one?
So those are some of ours....
I'd love to hear about yours!
08 October, 2008
sometimes...
Sometimes life doesn't go as planned.
Last week was my birthday and Mike and I were going to celebrate Thursday night. Well, we ended up driving to Muskegon to be with my friend at her dad's visitation. It wasn't quite what we had in mind, but it was okay. We decided we'd celebrate later.
Last night we were going to have my "birthday night". The plan was dinner out, movie etc. I didn't get home from teaching until 7:15, and Mike didn't get home from work until 7:30. Well, yesterday just so happened to be a really awful sick day for me. I was not feeling up for dinner out, so we decided to just order pizza in.
We ordered, and Mike drove to get it. While he was gone, I managed to get super sick, and when he got back I was in no mood to eat greasy pizza. I ate one piece, and that was about all I could do. We settled in to watch the presidential debate and 9, and by 9:15 I was down for the count. So much for our romantic filled evening.
This morning, I found candles on the counter. I asked Mike what they were, and he was going to put them on some pie we had and celebrate my birthday with it last night. I felt so bad that I'd fallen asleep, gotten sick, missed pie, and everything else.
Such is life I suppose. Today I feel better for which I am thankful. I've started to notice that when I feel really sick are those nights that I don't sleep as well. I have NO idea if lack of sleep and being sick could be related, but I'm starting to wonder if they are. I have an appointment next week, and I'm going to ask about that possibility.
Not much else happening around here. We are still looking for a place to live. It's a long process and I just want to have a decision, and feel good about it. I have some showers coming up soon, and I'm excited for them, if nothing else to see friends I haven't seen in a while!
I know it sounds lame but I'm getting excited for Christmas! :) I know it's only October, but it's not that far away, and i just LOVE Christmas. SO FUN!
Last week was my birthday and Mike and I were going to celebrate Thursday night. Well, we ended up driving to Muskegon to be with my friend at her dad's visitation. It wasn't quite what we had in mind, but it was okay. We decided we'd celebrate later.
Last night we were going to have my "birthday night". The plan was dinner out, movie etc. I didn't get home from teaching until 7:15, and Mike didn't get home from work until 7:30. Well, yesterday just so happened to be a really awful sick day for me. I was not feeling up for dinner out, so we decided to just order pizza in.
We ordered, and Mike drove to get it. While he was gone, I managed to get super sick, and when he got back I was in no mood to eat greasy pizza. I ate one piece, and that was about all I could do. We settled in to watch the presidential debate and 9, and by 9:15 I was down for the count. So much for our romantic filled evening.
This morning, I found candles on the counter. I asked Mike what they were, and he was going to put them on some pie we had and celebrate my birthday with it last night. I felt so bad that I'd fallen asleep, gotten sick, missed pie, and everything else.
Such is life I suppose. Today I feel better for which I am thankful. I've started to notice that when I feel really sick are those nights that I don't sleep as well. I have NO idea if lack of sleep and being sick could be related, but I'm starting to wonder if they are. I have an appointment next week, and I'm going to ask about that possibility.
Not much else happening around here. We are still looking for a place to live. It's a long process and I just want to have a decision, and feel good about it. I have some showers coming up soon, and I'm excited for them, if nothing else to see friends I haven't seen in a while!
I know it sounds lame but I'm getting excited for Christmas! :) I know it's only October, but it's not that far away, and i just LOVE Christmas. SO FUN!
04 January, 2008
Toledo Zoo in December
These are just a few more pictures.
We went to the Toledo Zoo for their Christmas Lights.
They boast this tree has more lights than Rockefellar Center, it was beautiful!
Just some of us in front of the tree.
My brother-in-law, my good friend Amanda and her daugher, Ariel,
myself, mike and my mom...
my sister was taking the picture
We went to the Toledo Zoo for their Christmas Lights.
They boast this tree has more lights than Rockefellar Center, it was beautiful!
Just some of us in front of the tree.
My brother-in-law, my good friend Amanda and her daugher, Ariel,
myself, mike and my mom...
my sister was taking the picture
03 January, 2008
Christmas Fun
The infamous self-portrait shot in front of the Christmas Tree! :)
This was our Christmas Tree. We had a tradition
in my family to name them. His name: Ezra
This was us being silly at a party!
Mike didn't think I was smiling well enough for the camera! :)
These are small.. No idea why..still learning...
but they were from when we went to Greenfield Village...
we were riding on a carousel that was built in 1914.....sooo much fun!!! :)
This was our Christmas Tree. We had a tradition
in my family to name them. His name: Ezra
This was us being silly at a party!
Mike didn't think I was smiling well enough for the camera! :)
These are small.. No idea why..still learning...
but they were from when we went to Greenfield Village...
we were riding on a carousel that was built in 1914.....sooo much fun!!! :)
28 December, 2007
Christmas Thoughts
Well, here we are Dec. 28th and clearly I have not done any posting! It has been a season full of ups and downs. Mike and I have tried to really focus on the things we are grateful for this season. We are so thankful for friends and family. We're thankful for our small group of friends that we hang out with all the time. We are mostly thankful for God providing for us, and for holding us up when we've needed it the most.
When I started thinking about starting this blog, I originally had intended it to be for the baby. I had all these great plans for it. Those plans changed. We lost our baby to a miscarriage on Oct. 31st. I put off starting the blog for a while, because I couldn't deal with it yet, but then I decided to go ahead with it. We started it and then I couldn't bring myself to write about the miscarriage yet. So... I'm finally to that point.
Christmas was hard, but we are grateful for the time we had with family. What a season... to remember the birth of a child, a child born to die..... while I never had the opportunity to give birth to my child, I loved them so much and we had never met them. What a prespective, to think how God must have felt letting his son coming here, knowing full well what would happen to him 33 years later.... I know that I"m a selfish human being and I can't begin to understand that kind of love.... but I can understand a small part of it, and for that I'm intensely grateful.
So... thats us in a nutshell for the past few months.
When I started thinking about starting this blog, I originally had intended it to be for the baby. I had all these great plans for it. Those plans changed. We lost our baby to a miscarriage on Oct. 31st. I put off starting the blog for a while, because I couldn't deal with it yet, but then I decided to go ahead with it. We started it and then I couldn't bring myself to write about the miscarriage yet. So... I'm finally to that point.
Christmas was hard, but we are grateful for the time we had with family. What a season... to remember the birth of a child, a child born to die..... while I never had the opportunity to give birth to my child, I loved them so much and we had never met them. What a prespective, to think how God must have felt letting his son coming here, knowing full well what would happen to him 33 years later.... I know that I"m a selfish human being and I can't begin to understand that kind of love.... but I can understand a small part of it, and for that I'm intensely grateful.
So... thats us in a nutshell for the past few months.
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