Snow Day!!

Schools here were closed today because we got some more snow last night! I *love* snow days. The kids and I have essentially had a four-day weekend because I let them skip school yesterday to go to the North Pole.

We've had a great day. Very low key and very cozy. John worked from home which was great! I was thankful he didn't have to drive in to work this morning because the roads were slick and things were a mess. We tried our best to leave him alone so he could work...but goodness, it's so much fun for the kids when dad is home!

The girls baked and decorated some cookies this afternoon. Jack snuck more than his fair share of unbaked cookies too. Arghh.



When John got his work stuff finished up, we all bundled up and headed to Toboggan Hill for some sledding fun. It was 20 degrees and still snowing, so we didn't stay too long, but we had a blast!









I would love another snow day tomorrow, but I think the roads are in okay shape and everything will re-open. That's okay though...I haven't started Christmas shopping and I really need to take advantage of my kid-free mornings from now until Christmas break!

So Much Fun!

Yesterday, I let the kids play hooky from school and we went on our annual trip to the North Pole, a mini amusement park outside of Colorado Springs. Oh my goodness...we had SO much fun!!!

We went last year with some good friends, and they were up for going with us again this year! We discovered last year that it is very worthwhile to go to on a weekday. There were maybe 40 people in the entire park all day yesterday. We walked right into Santa's house to see him and have the kids' picture made...absolutely NO line and no waiting! Same thing with the rides. The kids rode every single ride in the park and all they had to do was walk up to the gate and go in. Most of the time they were the only ones on the ride, and the ride operators let them ride as many times as they wanted...over and over and over!

Abbey has grown a lot since last year, but there were still some rides she had to have an adult ride with her. That would be me. I had a ball! My favorite part was hearing her squeal with delight. She loved every minute of it!

Temps were in the 30s, so we bundled up (layers and layers and layers) and packed our lunch and some hot cocoa and it really wasn't too bad (it was much colder last year!) It was only really cold when the wind was blowing in the late afternoon. The North Pole is open in the summer, but I think it's totally worth it to brave the cold and go in December! It's the stuff memories are made of.

Here are some fun pictures from our North Pole adventure!




Photos with Santa! Isn't that a great Santa? I had them take individuals too, and they turned out great! Abbey told Santa she wanted real make-up. This is the third year in a row she's asked Santa for this. I think he'll probably cave and get it for her. Sarah told him she wanted the Disney fairies, and Will told Santa he'd like a legos set.


Sarah, on Rudolph, leading the pack.


This ride is called the Candy Cane Coaster. To my credit, I rode every ride but this one. I was trying so hard to get a picture of Abbey's face because she was LOVING the thrill of this ride.





These pendulum rides scare me to death. Will and his friend rode it 4 times in a row, and would have continued if I'd let them. I rode it once, and only because Abbey had to have an adult with her, and she was not about to sit this one out.



I conquered my fear of heights (temporarily) and rode the chair lift with the girls. Love this photo of our boots!


There are llamas in the park, and also Swedish deer. The Swedish deer look a lot like caribou. K & J loved feeding the llamas, but my kids wouldn't go anywhere near them!!


This is what the parking lot looked like when we were leaving. It looked almost like this when we arrived yesterday morning, and THAT is the reason we skip school to go. One guy told us that over the weekend there were over 500 visitors. Ugh.


Abbey might not like this photo one day, but I love it! My kids fell asleep f-a-s-t last night. They were totally wiped out by all that fun!

surreal

I can't remember exactly what I was doing yesterday afternoon when John called me and told me to turn on the television. There had been a shooting at a church down the road from us.

My hands were shaking as I turned on the t.v. and searched for info. This kind of thing shouldn't be happening. We live in the United States--not Afghanistan or Israel.

Scary. Scarier still when I realized that both of the girls' teachers and some other friends of ours are members of this church. I started praying, and the pray without ceasing verse has new meaning for me now.

I was later able to talk to their teachers--they and their families are fine--and they gave me updates on other friends. No one we know was affected (thank God), but others have been affected, so please continue to pray for them. For the victim(s) and their families, and for those who witnessed such a horrific scene. My heart is still so heavy this morning.

From the "Jack" Files

Not quite two weeks ago, Jack the Beagle joined our family. Our kids LOVE him. John and I think he's pretty great too. I think Jack is finally getting used to us and to his new home and to the constant attention from the kids. Here are some of the more memorable of our adventures with him so far...

Yesterday morning, Sarah walked in the kitchen with a funny look on her face. She told me that Jack woke her up. He walked into her room, jumped up on her bed, and started licking her face. Yep, I'd say Jack likes her! She was trying to act like being awakened by her dog was the worst thing EVER, but we knew she secretly loved it.



We've had a very wintry weekend. It's been snowing off and on since Friday evening. We've discovered that Jack LOVES the snow. At one point, John was outside with him and the falling snowflakes were huge. Jack was happily jumping up trying to catch them with his tongue. Just like a kid! So fun.

Last week the kids wanted to take Jack for a walk around the block when they got home from school. I hooked Jack's leash to his collar, gave the kids my cell phone and instructions to stay together, and sent them off. A few minutes later, I hear Sarah screaming outside in the garage before she bursts into the back door in tears. Apparently, Jack was "lingering" on their walk (checking out his new neighborhood, I'm sure) and they were pulling him, and they pulled his collar off, and he bolted! OH NO! Thankfully he didn't get too far, we found him in the cul-de-sac down the street, and thankfully, our neighborhood requires us to have fences, so essentially, we were able to corner Jack. I got his collar and leash back on and we made it home safely! I must admit for a few minutes I was very worried that we might not see him again! Now when we walk him, we make sure his collar is tight enough it can't slip off. And when I give the kids my cell phone, I make sure to show them how to call home and not my voice mail. oops.

One night this week, one of our neighbors anonymously rang our doorbell and left a little surprise package on our doorstep with instructions for us to repeat the good deed the following evening. (Have I ever told you that we have the BEST neighbors?) So, the following day, the kids and I made some snowball cookies to share with our neighbors. Of course we made some extra for us to enjoy since they're one of our holiday favorites! Friday evening after dinner, John and I were cleaning up the kitchen, the kids were munching on the last of the cookies, and there was ONE left for John. All of the sudden there was a loud calamity. Jack managed to pull the cookie container off of the table and he gobbled up that cookie LICKETY-SPLIT! Oh my goodness. So funny. So much for saving it for dad.

Since Jack joined our family, there has been much laughter, much petting, much licking and tail-wagging, and much loving going on around here. Who knew that a dog could be so much fun?!

Ornaments Part III

This is the last ornament post, I promise! I'll save some for next year. It HAS been a good way to jump start that scrapbook project I want to make someday, though, so thank you for bearing with me!


These two ornaments are among my most favorite. They came as a set and were given to me by my good friend and next-door-neighbor in Arkadelphia. Her son was close in age to Will and Sarah, and he was over playing one day, and two-year-old Sarah put her blanket on her head (like Mary), picked up her baby doll (Jesus) and said, "Hey, P, you wanna be Jofus?" My friend and I cracked up (and of course I took a picture). They were so adorable. Watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special is one of our family traditions during the Christmas season. I love the end of the show when Linus recites the passage from Luke 2 about Jesus' birth and tells Charlie Brown THAT is what Christmas is all about--the birth of our Savior. That makes this ornament all the more special to me!


John and I took a trip to Mississippi one spring and visited Oxford, Vicksburg, and Natchez. We didn't have children at the time (found out we were expecting Will about 2 months later!) and we enjoyed touring some antebellum homes and staying in some beautiful B&B's. We bought this ornament in Natchez as a trip souvenir.


John brought this duck ornament back from a science trip he took to Memphis, TN as a senior at OBU. It's from the Peabody Hotel there. The Peabody is famous for the ducks that march through the lobby each day on a red carpet. Fun!


My mom gave me this ornament in 1990, the year we got married. It's a bride made from a wooden clothespin. My kids know that I'm the only one who gets to hang this ornament on our tree each year. It's very precious to me.


My nana made this ornament for me in 1977. One of my most favorite childhood memories was spending Friday nights at my nana's house. We'd usually go to Long John Silvers for dinner, then go back to her house and make cookies or do some kind of art project. She loved making things with clay, and this ornament is one of her creations. I love that her initials are engraved on the back along with the date in her handwriting. I was extremely close to my nana. I treasure all of the things I have that belonged to her or that she made for me.


The Christmas before we were married, John bought a miniature Christmas tree for his apartment, and I went with him one afternoon to buy some stuff to decorate it. We bought four blue and white porcelain ornaments at Dillard's in Park Plaza mall. We thought they were beautiful then, and they are still some of our favorites!


The cowboy boots! We have so many western-themed ornaments. I probably have enough to decorate an entire tree with them. I think these are so fun, and the spurs are actually pretty sharp!


This Razorback ornament is O-L-D! See, it has the (very) old Razorback logo. I know that John and I have been hanging it on our own Christmas tree for 17 years, and there is no telling how many years it hung on my family tree before it became mine. I *always* try to hang it in the very front of our tree! Woo pig sooie!


Jemima Puddleduck represents the year that Will was born. I love Beatrix Potter stuff, and this ornament is adorable. The kids and I watched the movie Miss Potter one weekend when John was out of town. If you haven't seen it, it is a great family movie. We loved it, and it made me love and appreciate her books and art even more!


This one is for Jenn! See...I have one too! Again, a gift from my nana in 1976. You can't see it but my name is engraved on the front, and the year is engraved on the back.

My children receive an ornament (or two) from each of their grandmothers every year. I try to write the year somewhere on it before it gets packed away and I forget. I hope when they get married one day to be able to give them all of their ornaments (as my mom and John's mom did for us) so that they will be able to unwrap them and let their Christmas tree tell it's own unique story.

Ornaments Part II

Here are some more of my favorites...


Did you really think I wouldn't have an Arkansas Razorback ornament on our Christmas tree? I actually have a couple, but this one was a gift from a special family in Arkadelphia. They gave it to us when we moved to Colorado in 2003.


My nana brought this wooden ladybug back from Germany. I have another German ornament, but my sister has the "cool" ones. She has an adorable cuckoo clock, and an old-fashioned iron. I think my brother's ornament that year was a beer stein.


I made this snowman ornament for Will when he was almost 2. I painted it at Mudslide Pottery, a paint-your-own pottery place in El Dorado, AR. Fun memory! I also painted a Cookies for Santa plate that we set out every Christmas Eve.


I grew up in the Catholic church, and I guess my mom gave me this nun ornament one year to remind me of my roots. I think she's so cute!


I gave John this polar bear on skis one year when we were dating because he and some friends went skiing in Taos, NM over winter break. Know who they skied down the slopes with? Christopher Reeve, aka Superman!


We bought this ornament on one of our visits to Estes Park...my favorite place in the world!! I've had a couple of people tell me that they buy ornaments as vacation souvenirs. We do too! I have many more to show you!


This ornament was a wedding gift. One the side of the foxhole, it says, "Our First Christmas Together". Awwww, so sweet.


The first five years we were married we lived in the great state of Texas. John was actually born in Fort Worth, and is a true-blooded Texan. I love this ornament of the Texas state flag.


I bought this adorable ornament from the GAs at our church in Arkadelphia. They made them to sell as a fundraiser for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

I have SO many more...so stay tuned for Part III.

Welcome to Our World

I mentioned last week that my favorite contemporary Christmas song is Welcome to our World by Chris Rice. I found this on YouTube today. The video isn't great (lots of typos) but it was the best I could find and the words are so beautiful. I hope you are blessed by it too.

The excitement never ends around here!

Abbey lost her very first tooth this morning before school. She first noticed it was loose in mid-October, and she's been wiggling and wiggling and wiggling it. She showed me how loose it was this morning and I knew it wouldn't be long before it was out, though I was a bit surprised it came out THIS MORNING! She is so happy because her teacher told her when she lost it she could pick something out of the treasure box. I can't wait to see what she brings home!


She called John at work to give him the BIG news!



My mom made this tooth-fairy pillow for me when I was little, and each of my kids have used it through the years. You can't see it great in the photo, but there is a pocket on the front. They leave their tooth in it, and the tooth-fairy leaves money for them in the pocket! Sarah found it for Abbey this morning and her tooth is securely in place, ready to be replaced with some cold hard cash tonight! LOL!

O Christmas Tree

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is decorating our tree. Hanging from it's branches is a hodge-podge of ornaments, big and small, ordinary and ornate, new and old, but each one of them is beautiful and holds a special place in my heart. I love unwrapping them each year and remembering the significance of each one. The last several years I've wanted to make a special scrapbook with a photo of each treasured ornament and journal about the story behind it. That will happen...eventually...but until then, I'm going to share some of my favorites here.


John and I bought this one on our honeymoon in Boston in 1990. We celebrated 17 years of marriage this past summer.


This one was given to me by my family one Christmas. I was a teenager,and I guess I had been particularly grouchy and grumpy. They nicknamed me Oscar, and I laugh every time I hang this on our tree, and so do my kids!


This angel ornament is as old as I am. I received it on my first Christmas, and I think it is beautiful.


I bought this moose ornament on our vacation this summer in Grand Lake, Colorado. It is actually made of birch, but it looks like aspen bark...and in case you don't know I love aspen trees!


This ornament was a gift in 1971; I was one-year-old.


Our family bought this ornament in 2004, just a few months after John resigned from his job as pastor. It was a hard season for us, and we needed the visual reminder of HOPE.


My nana gave me this ornament when I was four. My sister has a yellow one. I always thought it was so neat because instead of hanging from a branch, the nest has a clip underneath and it appears to be resting on the branch. It is still one of my most cherished ornaments.


I made this one in kindergarten!

I have so many more I want to share! I think I'll post them in installments, so stay tuned!

A Boy and His Dog

Love, love, LOVE this photo!

And so it begins

The season of Advent begins today. Advent is a season of expectant waiting and preparation for the Nativity, or the birth of Jesus.

John and I have been some thinking and praying about how to celebrate Advent this season with our children. Yesterday, I scurried around town trying to find an Advent wreath. I came up with a creative alternative, which I'll share with you later. Our plan is to light the appropriate candle(s) each evening during dinner, read scripture, then sing a verse or two of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. We'll begin tonight, and I'm looking very forward to it.

We have a couple of other things we'd like to incorporate into our Advent celebration. One is lectio divina during family devotion time (using the story in Luke), and the other involves the nativity set we have. I want to take some time this week to wrap Baby Jesus. The box we wrap him in will be the most beautiful box under our tree (I'm thinking something gold and sparkly and a bit extravagant). On Christmas morning, that will be the first gift we unwrap, because Jesus is the most beautiful gift we've ever been given.

We do have an Advent calendar, but honestly, it's kinda cheesy and has more to do with Santa and toys than the nativity. We're still going to use it (because I'm sentimental and my kids LOVE it) but I'm going to be on the lookout for something more meaningful to use in the future.

While doing some Advent research, I found this site which offers a beautiful daily Advent devotion. There are many free Advent resources on the web, but I thought this one was neat, and I'm going to try to make some time each day to visit there. I might possibly be able to use it with our kids too.

Do any of you have any Advent traditions you'd like to share...or any that you'd like to start?? If so, please share them with me.