Christmas Party Fun

We took a break last week to enjoy some Christmas fun with friends.

M is hard at work making her spice ornament.

equal parts of cinnamon and applesauce and glue.

Roll it out, make shape.

Dry for 3 days...maybe depending on how thick the ornament is.

I was thoroughly impressed by M

This was a relay race.

Put on the gloves, remove the wrapper of a Hershey's Kiss.

Eat it and run back to your line so the next person could go.

She managed to do it all with thumb in a splint!

My little poser. "Take a picture of me like this"

They are holding balloons.
They are sitting still (well, my boys are)
They are listening.
I have it documented !
It is the season of miracles !
Teacher's helper now. My oldest baby is growing up.
She doesn't play the reindeer games anymore.
She likes to organize and help the games go off without a hitch.

Candy Cane Lane ! !

So after Red and Green Night we loaded up and headed on over to Candy Cane Lane where we discovered there were 7 days left till Christmas!

If you live in the Wichita area and want directions let me know!

Every house goes all out to decorate with lights.
Every house has a giant candy cane curbside as well.

The patriotic house, and has been for several years now.

The little guys got excited about seeing Santa!

He was there and we have proof!

This one is my favorite for 2 reasons.

The Happy Birthday Jesus across the highest point.

The creativity of putting a landing strip and airplane on the roof above the garage.

I bet someone there works in the aircraft industry.

Red and Green Night with the WIGGLES!

So it is Red and Green night at Awana!

Even Mom gets into the spirit of things.

I pinned Candy Canes on my clothes.

Then I kinda forgot at times during the night and couldn't figure out why

the kids wanted me to come to them...and then I would remember.

Smack those hands, jump back and hurry back to my spot in the kitchen!

It is incredibly hard to get pictures of children during the holiday season.

They just can't seem to hold still for long.

If you have more than one posing then pictures tend to look like this:

or even like this one

or you might even find yourself missing a child in the picture!

New Experiences!

D has been staring at the snow this winter. Just longing to get out and experience it. He had been sick during the last snow. The temperatures bitter cold during this snow. We finally let him out! He was euphoric and soo excited!

It lasted at the most 15 minutes. A face full of snow and he was done!
I have a dear friend who explains why her children like different seasons of the year....

The ones with summer birthdays love the hot weather, hate the cold.
The ones with winter weather love the cold and hate the heat.

Doesn't work for my kiddos.

This one, does not like the COLD! !

He hovers by the door these days and not crazy about venturing out.

My other winter birthday child, well he is afraid of sweating in the snow so he doesn't wear his coat.

All the others are summer birthdays and they love the cold, especially the hockey player.

Their mom, likes hot cocoa, hot tea, cider, cozy blankets and warm slippers in the winter.

In the summer, she like swimming pools, air conditioning and shade. Most of all the mom likes air conditioning! But then again I have a fall birthday and love fall and spring.

Snow ball Fights with Big-O-Daddy-O!

Grandpa loves watching the Child and Grand-children Play!

What could possibly make this Dad wield such a large snow ball!

A 4 yr. old who thinks he's king of the "snow plow mountain"?

Yes, he has no winter coat on.

He's afraid of "getting sweaty"

Picture mom rolling her eyes. It is 12 degrees outside.

Could it be the kids are ganging up on Dad?

Or that he's Got a Plan and Ammo?
Check out the size of these snow balls!

Could it be the 12 yr. old who obnoxiously wants her dad's pants covered with snow?

Why covered in snow? So they are wet and cold when he drives to work!
Can we say OBNOXIOUS TWEEN !?!

Or all the above and in effort of making more memories?

Dad pleads the fifth.

I happen to believe a lot of great memories were made that day!

Balm for the Hurt and Angry Heart !

So this Christmas season has been especially difficult for me. I recently checked out this book and may have to buy it because it is taking me an incredibly long time to get through it. I thought it was a novel. However, the Lord knew what I needed. It is not an easy read, it is thought provoking and meaty. I have spent way more time than I would like, this last week on issues related to the criminal trial we must testify in as witnesses. It is hard when a beloved child becomes a victim of a violent crime. I want to have the testimony of grace and forgiveness. To have people say I don't know how you do it, and in return reply, "it is the Lord who works in me." However, my fleshly desire to see this person suffer unimaginably wars with the truth of God's love and salvation for all. Then the Lord leads me to this book, written on the Prodigal Son. A different outlook of this very well known parable. A healing balm to my heart and soul as we navigate these difficult days ahead. Written not about the prodigal son, but about the son who was faithful and made all the "right" choices.
Sooo, now that I am back to blogging....lets get onto the fun stuff I have so neglected this last week due to yucky business and the foul funky mood it put me in!

Christmas Countdown!

It is getting a little nuts around here. Just a little.
The kids have cabin fever from being sick and now the miserable cold weather. We went to the dentist yesterday. If I can figure out how to get pictures off my camera I will add those. It was D's first visit and he was soooo excited !
We have moved up to 7 appointments at the dentist office now! D is old enough to go. Sad thing is he has a cavity. A small one right in front. His little-big brother has one too. We found out the enamel didn't form correctly on his teeth and this will probably be the first of many fillings for this guy until he gets his permanent teeth. So now we are praying for healthy developement of his teeth to come.
The famous question started tonight "How many more days till Christmas?"
Being the mom I am, with so many other things on my mind, I answer, "I don't know."
But alas, it never fails my older children know and were quick to fill in for their Mom, "7 days!"
Which led to "I want happy tummy andy ans!"
I don't know why he leaves the 'C' off those two words. I think it is cute.
So in response to his chant for andy ans, I reply, "I will not go to the store tonight, tomorrow yes, but not tonight. If you continue to demand, never."
So I will try to remember to send Dad with the camera tomorrow. He can take N to the dentist to get his filling and then to the store(s) to hunt for the elusive happy tummy candy canes. Get pictures of the irony of it all.
For those who wonder what "happy tummy candy canes" are. We have food issues around here.
N can't have red dye. So we have been looking for the very hard to find all white candy canes for him. A whole box just for him. As of yet we have not succeeded.

SO in the next 7 days we must:
find white candy canes.
Go grocery shopping.
Take each child shopping so they can buy for the sibling they drew the name of..
Figure out the Christmas menu
Finish wrapping presents
try to find the elusive Christmas cheer that has been missing this year....
shake out the laundry that is covered in pull up beads....yes another child slipped one into their pajamas and I missed it in the sorting.
maybe Christmas cookies