Christmas 2014

This year has flown by.  Merry Christmas!  Yesterday we went to church and had a nice family dinner together and then opened family presents.  Our kids get so much that every year Ben and I are saying we will give our kids corncob dolls the next year.  Here is Gwen before church.  This is her nicest dress and I did her hair and even let her wear a necklace of mine.  

Zeke recently has forgotten how to smile. :)

Doesn't he look so handsome in this shirt and sweater?  It took some talking into as he likes to dress for comfort.  He tried this on and said, "well, this isn't too bad."

When we picked out Gwen's dress from her closet I realized that Romy had one almost the same color.  They look like they were made to go together.  Three beautiful and healthy kids... thank you Lord.

At church trying for a family picture. 

Cheesing for the camera

I thought her profile was so pretty.  This is right before she realized she was given a battery operated candle instead of a real candle.  She was not happy with that and made it known.

Daddy and Romy after service.

Gwen and her Victorian Elegance Barbie.

We got Romy a rocking horse.

Gwen testing her remote control Barbie car.

Zeke got remote control fighting robots.

We spent some time putting jamberry nail stickers on Gwen's nails.

Romy Christmas day... our little snow princess.  The kids got a Wii game system as their large shared gift.  You can see them in the background playing.

Snowman Ornaments

We made homemade Christmas ornaments the other day inspired by my friend Leah.  We used things we had on hand to make what is supposed to look like a snowman that has melted.  We used peppercorns because I thought that might look like lumps of coal.  The first attempt was not pretty.

but the second and third and fourth attempts looked much better!

I've been in an attempt this year to do away with all the metal hooks on our ornaments and replace them with strings.  I saw an X-ray of some kid that swallowed a hook and now I'm nervous.  With all the babies we've got coming into the family now and also my Romy I just thought I would ere on the side of caution. 

A week until Christmas.  I'm looking forward to it.  I'm getting more and more in the Christmas spirit. 

Peek-a-boo and Rainbow

Here is Romy saying peek-a-boo.  Her speaking has really taken a leap lately.  She is saying "all done" and "trees" and "cheese" and "trash" and all manner of words.  She knows many parts of the body and really gets a kick out of pointing out her belly button.  This is such a sweet age and we are enjoying her very much. 



A photo I took of a rainbow today.  It was so bright!  We are looking forward to Christmas and I am trying to enjoy December.  It seems it is going by so quickly!  I sang the Christmas concerts with the Kansas City Chorale and enjoyed that very much.  

Thanksgiving 2014 highlights

Pilgrim's Hymn

I'm singing with the Kansas City Chorale again for the holiday concerts.  I must admit, it is good to be back.  We are doing a set of songs composed by Stephen Paulus because he just passed away.  One of them is this song and it is one of those songs that makes an impression on your heart I think.  Here are the lyrics and the audio of the song for your enjoyment.

Original text for "Pilgrims' Hymn" by Stephen Paulus


PILGRIMS' HYMN
Even before we call on Your name

To ask You, O God,
When we seek for the words to glorify You,
You hear our prayer;
Unceasing love, O unceasing love,
Surpassing all we know.
Glory to the father,
and to the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit.
Even with darkness sealing us in,
We breathe Your name,
And through all the days that follow so fast,
We trust in You;
Endless Your grace, O endless Your grace,
Beyond all mortal dream.
Both now and forever,
And unto ages and ages,
Amen

Silly November Things

We've enjoyed this November.  The kids are growing and changing so fast.  Here are some silly photos of what we have been up to.  This is Gwen and Zeke's favorite pass time after dinner.  They push each other in a laundry basket.  They also take Romy for a spin. :)

 

For Thanksgiving we are planning a skit involving 3 dragons (Gwen, Zeke and Romy).  This is Romy's dragon costume.

Ben has been growing a mustache for charity this month.  It is blond, so he's self conscious about it.  He went and got these stick on mustaches from the dollar store.  The kids had a good time with them... until they had to be pulled off.

I recently had some girlfriends over to put together a gingerbread mansion kit that I bought.  Let's just say I'm not gifted at putting together gingerbread houses.  Here was our mansion before it fell down.

I saved some of the decorations and made gingerbread houses with the kids out of graham crackers.  They did a fantastic job and theirs actually were sturdy.

This is Zeke's.  I told him it looked like a trailer or bomb shelter.

This is Gwen's.  She modeled it after the mansion.  She did an amazing job.

We still have this kind...looking forward

The Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving

It may be I am getting old and like too much to dwell
Upon the days of bygone years, the days I loved so well;
But thinking of them now I wish somehow that I could know
A simple old Thanksgiving Day, like those of long ago,
When all the family gathered round a table richly spread,
With little Jamie at the foot and grandpa at the head,
The youngest of us all to greet the oldest with a smile,
With mother running in and out and laughing all the while.
It may be I'm old-fashioned, but it seems to me to-day
We're too much bent on having fun to take the time to pray;
Each little family grows up with fashions of its own;
It lives within a world itself and wants to be alone.
It has its special pleasures, its circle, too, of friends;
There are no get-together days; each one his journey wends,
Pursuing what he likes the best in his particular way,
Letting the others do the same upon Thanksgiving Day.
I like the olden way the best, when relatives were glad
To meet the way they used to do when I was but a lad;
The old home was a rendezvous for all our kith and kin,
And whether living far or near they all came trooping in
With shouts of 'Hello, daddy!' as they fairly stormed the place
And made a rush for mother, who would stop to wipe her face
Upon her gingham apron before she kissed them all,
Hugging them proudly to her breast, the grownups and the small.
Then laughter rang throughout the home, and, Oh, the jokes they told;
From Boston, Frank brought new ones, but father sprang the old;
All afternoon we chatted, telling what we hoped to do,
The struggles we were making and the hardships we'd gone through;
We gathered round the fireside. How fast the hours would fly-
It seemed before we'd settled down 'twas time to say good-bye.
Those were the glad Thanksgivings, the old-time families knew
When relatives could still be friends and every heart was true.
Poem by Edgar Albert Guest, 1881-1959

Beki's shower and the start of Winter

Over the past few weeks I've been working on putting together a baby shower for Beki.  We had it this past Saturday and my only goal for the whole thing was I wished for Beki to have a good time.  I think she did, so it was a success. :)  I chose the "mommy to bee" theme because I thought it was cute and because they are waiting until birth to find out the gender.  I really enjoyed this theme!

I priced out someone else making cake pops...but it was just too expensive.  I tried them myself and they came out all right.  :)

The table.  Someone gave to me the honey jar on the left.  It was a perfect decoration!  We had a mini waffle station, quiche (crust and no crust), pumpkin pie, dipped pretzel rods, cake pops, fruit salad.  It was great.

Here is the mommy to be herself.  She's due January 22nd.  She is a beautiful pregnant lady. 

My mom crocheted little bees to make into a garland.  They were SO CUTE!

More people arrived after this photo.  The room was packed.

Opening presents. I think I'm the only one in the Midwest without boots like this.

The two Grandmas.  Beki's mom and Jeff's mom. 

Sweet three week Owen.  What fun these two cousins will have together.  I'm sure Romy will be in the mix too.  Sorry I cut Melody out of the photo, but you know... priorities. :))  I'm a proud Aunt!

flowers... makes any cold day nice in my opinion.

I copied this from a picture on pinterest.  I liked how it turned out.

My Romy has stopped nursing now and is beginning to speak more and run around more.  She is able to communicate almost anything.  In fact, she said the word "Hercules" the other day.  I know you all think I'm crazy, but she did.  Everyone laughed at me with Zeke because I said his first sentence was "I want a gumball", but it was.

My girls.

We also see lots of this... fit throwing.  It is so comical the third time around that I have to walk away and just laugh. 

My Gwen in looking so grown up these days.  I look at her and I think she is just beautiful.  She also says interesting things to me and says them in ways that don't sound like me anymore.  She is coming into herself and I like who she is becoming.

Fall Memories

A few weeks ago Gwen pulled her first tooth.  I always thought it was gross when parents saved their kid's teeth.  Um... I might have Gwen's in my jewelry box.  I couldn't bring myself to throw it away yet. 

Above the candy, above the dressing up and being with friends, the kids were most excited to go in a haunted garage our neighbor put up.  They had me drive by it daily.

Gwen's school Halloween parade.  Katie Beth is in front of her as a pink lego.

Her class party.  We hear a lot about this little boy, Gabriel.  Gwen really likes him.  She's holding a plastic bat.  From what you see on the desk guess what I contributed.  That's right, the orange. :) 

The kids and Ben.  Gwen was an angel, Zeke a robot, and Romy a pumpkin.

She made this pose when I asked to take her picture.  Nothing like a sassy angel huh?

This is total de ja vous.  Gwen wore this same outfit a few years ago and looked very similar. 

This was Gwen a few years ago...

Ben dressed in his soda bot costume he made himself. 

We fashioned a light in his helmet.

Kids at an apartment complex we minister to with an organization called Mission Southside.  We go there each week and meet people, pray with people and are hoping that we can start a Bible discovery group there and make disciples.  Things are in the early stages there, but we are covering this place with prayer.

I've been needing to use up my fresh herbs before frost hits.  This year instead of drying them I made different flavored salts.  I now have a basil salt and a rosemary salt.  You just put a cup of herbs with a cup of kosher salt... whir it in your blender or food processor, put it on a baking sheet and bake at 225 for 30 minutes.  Stir it halfway through cooking time.  You may ask... what do you use it for?  Primarily roasting vegetables or on tomatoes or on buttered bread... but the possibilities are endless. :)  Plus, when it is baking it smells heavenly.

Romy in Costco.  She loves stuffed animals.

Ministry

Today this quote was in my devotions:

"Spend your time and energy with heaven's perspective.  Resist the urge to fritter away your valuable time and strength.  Invest it today in the only thing that will last through eternity:  people.  Your children, co-workers, neighbors and husband are worth all the time and energy you have to invest, for now and for eternity."

That is so where I'm at these days.  My neighbor is Egyptian.  She is Muslim and in her 60's.  I have begun walking with her every morning.  She grabs my hand when she sees a dog.  She's afraid of them and Islamic people have a "thing" about dog saliva.  They don't want it near them at all.  We walk so early we see skunks moving about our neighborhood and we are both afraid of being sprayed.  We talk about life and faith.  She loves God.  She prays 5 times a day.  I've heard the call to prayer app on her phone go off.  She ordered us a bidet attachment in thank you for Ben doing all sorts of handyman work over there.  This morning I was walking with her under a full lunar eclipse.  It just can't get any more unusual and wonderful than that!  She tells me stories from the Quran about Jesus talking as a baby.  I tell her stories from the Bible about Jesus.  It is interesting.

Antioch Woods is an apartment complex just 5 minutes from my house.  My house in a cozy neighborhood is butting up against an apartment complex in which people open their doors and they don't have a stick of furniture.  We have committed to going to these apartments once a week (Ben and I) and meeting people and praying with people and hopefully starting a small group Bible study there.  We are meeting and going along with a guy that has been going there for months.  He has the gift of evangelism.  Ben and I are gatherers.  We are relationship people.  It is a good match.  We are using this as a date night.  Meeting/praying with people and then going to dinner together.  We are going there Halloween night as a family.

Following Christ is an adventure... you never know what you are going to encounter.  I'm ready to go a little deeper and trust him more.  I'm ready to not be noticed and go to the people that feel forgotten.