This Week's Verse: Jeremiah 29:13

The Best Christmas Surprise... Ever!

Last June Katie told us that she and Gabe were going to surprise the kids (Sunny and Thunder) with a Christmas trip to Disneyland and asked us if we wanted to go with them. Of course, we said yes!

The plan was for the kids to open large boxes on Christmas morning filled with balloons that revealed the special Christmas gift. That was surprise #1.

Surprise #2 was that when they arrived at the Disneyland Hotel, Dan and I would go knock on their door and surprise them with our presence.

It all went as planned!

We were in the same tower with rooms right across the hall from each other. We actually watched them walk into the tower from our window and heard them enter their room. Then we went over and knocked and they were surprised again!

We were in the park for three days (yes, we were there when the power went out on Wednesday, that was an experience!) and had a great time. I've always wanted to see Disneyland decorated for Christmas and it was festive and beautiful. 

If you're wondering about the crowds... well... there are crowds. Tuesday, the 26th wasn't bad, but Wednesday and Thursday were extremely crowded. 

Disneyland twice in 18 months... I'm getting used to this!

Merry Christmas!

Since it's Christmas Day I thought I'd share our family Christmas with you.  We broke with tradition this year and held it in the morning. I think we found a new tradition. The parents weren't irritated after spending all day with kids who whined about "when do we get to open our presents?". The kids were all rested and excited for the day. We were done by 11 am and everyone could go home to play with their presents.

I knew it was a success when the talk turned to who would bring what next year! haha

We remembered to take a photo in front of our tree!

Singing a chorus of "Jingle Bells" before the fun begins

Thunder was one of Santa's helpers

Storm was a Santa's helper for the first time

Snow getting some help from Gramps opening her stocking

Sunny is a seasoned Santa's helper by now

Sunny and Thunder gave me a flashing Christmas light necklace,

I love it!

Skye's first year to read the Christmas story aloud to us all

This Week's Verse: Luke 2

Luke 2 KJV

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Official Eleven Month Photo

Our next to last official monthly photo - where has the time gone?

I love you, Blizzard!

This Week's Verse: Zephaniah 3:17

Look What My Garden Grew!

I have long wished to have a flourishing Tropical Bird of Paradise in my yard. A few years ago I decided to take the risk and we purchased two plants for our yard. We planted them right outside of our Family Room window, hoping they would grow tall enough to be our view one day.

They got off to a slow start, but this past summer we finally started to see some blooms. They opened, but were disappointing. Last week I was in the yard putting something away when I noticed that I had a new bloom... a perfect bloom!

I'm thrilled and hope this is the first of many. As you can see, they have not yet grown tall enough to be our view, but I think in a couple of years they will have. In the meantime, I'm enjoying this beautiful exotic bloom... right in my own back yard!

HO...HO...HO

I was so excited about the grandkids' visit to Santa this year. I literally spent weeks anticipating it. You see in October it occurred to me that since JD, Janel, and Blizzard would be here for Thanksgiving it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have all six grandkids in a photo with Santa! Yippee! I plotted and planned... Katie bought matching "Cousin Crew" pj's for them all to wear. I made a reservation to see Santa so we wouldn't have to wait in line.

The big day finally arrived. We drove to the mall in anticipation of the awesome Santa photos we would be getting.

Alas, it was not to be. For some reason as we approached the first photo station, Thunder decided that he did NOT want his photo with Santa. He started throwing a fit like a toddler (most unattractive in a six year old). We managed to get a shot of him in the first photo, but when we reached Santa he completed revolted.

I am bummed. But, on the bright side, I got a photo of five of the grandkids with Santa. I am focusing on the bright side. Really, I am. Yep, one of these days I'll be able to focus on the bright side.

So, here are the Santa photos, the much anticipated Santa photos...

Skye (6), Snow (1), Grammy, Blizzard (10 mos), 

Sunny (8), Storm (3), Gramps, Thunder (6)

Hmmm, wonder if I could insert a photo of Thunder in here?!

Storm is very into Christmas this year and was thrilled 

beyond words to see Santa!

Skye asked for an Appaloosa, but Santa explained that he 

doesn't bring live animals...

Blizzard's first meeting with Santa went very well!

The last time I had a photo of Sunny alone with Santa was in 2010, 

before Thunder was born

After we left the mall, Katie called me and said that Thunder had a change of heart and went back in to take a picture with Santa and Sunny. {{sigh}}

This Week's Verse: Psalm 27:14

Baking With the Grands

Sunny and Thunder had a half day last week so we decided it was the perfect time to bake cookies...

Thunder is going through some sort of an odd smile phase... 

... and they wanted a silly photo!

We made delicious Christmas M&M cookies - yummy!

Candy Sleds

Of course, I found this idea on Pinterest. It is a sled made out of candy! The grandkids were thrilled and wanted to make them for their parents.

The day before Thanksgiving we gathered our supplies and set to work. They did a great job! I used glue dots instead of the hot glue gun that is called for in most of the instructions I found (how can you use hot glue with chocolate?!) They were able to handle the dots by themselves. I found the chocolate Santa at IKEA and he looked very cute "driving" the sled.

This was a fun activity that I will definitely keep in mind for future holidays.

Thunder 

Skye

Sunny 

(My son, JD is making pies in the background)

Nativity Collection

If you don't read my Christmas blog you may not know that I collect Nativity sets. I have sets of all shapes, sizes, colors, and mediums. I love them all. This year I decided to count my Nativities as I decorated. I was shocked at the final tally. I have 50 individual sets or nativity related decor items. Wow. I had no idea.

This year I've only purchased a few new sets; a Peanuts set from Hallmark and a small set I found at Goodwill.

Here are a few of my favorites in my collection:

A tiny Peanuts set I've had for many years

This is a tiny pewter set I bought from Current Inc over 30 years ago

I love the simple elegance of this snow globe

My tallest set - Poor Mary was dropped a few years ago and has a huge hole in her left leg behind her knee. I couldn't bear to throw her away and she is not able to be repaired so I have to set her up so her "wound" is not visible.

This Week's Verse: John 6:35

Want a Stress-Free Christmas?

It's not too late. You can still do it. You can have a stress-free Christmas.

By spending time each day this week on Christmas, you can be ready to relax and enjoy the fun for the three weeks preceding Christmas.

Are you ready? Let's go!

12/2 - Sit down with your favorite Christmas beverage and make a list of who you want to buy gifts for, what you want to buy, and how much you want to spend. If it's on your phone - great! - you'll have it with you at all times. If it's on paper - awesome! - fold it up and put it in your purse.

12/3 - Time to go shopping. Yes, I know it's a Saturday. The stores will be crowded, the mall will be packed. That's just the reality of preparing for Christmas in December. Next year you'll be done with all of this by Thanksgiving, so this is the last year you have to endure the craziness! Take a few minutes before heading out the door to look over the list you made yesterday. Try to plan your day to get as many gifts as possible in the same location. You can do it!

12/4 - Today is baking day. Don't overwhelm yourself. Choose three of your favorite traditional holiday goodies and prepare them. If your family has a tendency to eat them up quickly, freeze half of them or hide them in your pantry so they last the entire holiday season.

 12/5 - Take time today to put your tree up and decorate the interior of your house. Again, just put out the decor that you really like. It's ok to leave some decor in the boxes. You can bring those pieces out next year when you have more time to decorate.
  12/6 - Now that your tree is up, it's time to wrap the gifts. I have learned over the years that although I want the gifts to be wrapped in awesome, never~before~seen~at~my~house styles, the recipients could care less what the gifts look like. Some of my kids don't even use bows/ribbons on the gifts for their families. Don't stress about what the gift wrap looks like.

12/7 - Today is the day to wrap up the loose ends you haven't gotten to. If you normally send Christmas cards, why not try something different this year? In this day of technology, it's perfectly acceptable to send e-cards or e-mails. I've even received cute text Christmas greetings. Save the cards for next year.

12/8 - Pat yourself on the back. You're ready for Christmas. You may not be doing everything you normally do each year, but that's ok. It's good to shake things up from time to time. The most important thing is that you're ready to enjoy the activities, concerts, school programs, and family fun that's about to happen this season.

Congratulations! I'm proud of you. You're ready for a stress-free Holiday!

Official Ten Month Photo

I should have posted this photo a week ago, but in the hustle and bustle of this past week I'm just now getting to it.

Blizzard is now ten months old. He walks holding on to hands, toys, furniture and lets go to stand unassisted but hasn't taken his first steps yet. It will be soon! He flew into Phoenix the Saturday before Thanksgiving with his parents to spend the week with us. It was heaven! He got lots of play time with his cousins and was passed from person to person at each family event.

He is such a cheery little boy with a ready smile and a hearty laugh. He waves, and has a few words in his vocabulary. He is curious and observant.

In other words, he's awesome!

This Week's Verse: Philippians 4:6

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Week's Verse: Micah 7:7

This Week's Verse: Ecclesiastes 9:10

This Week's Verse: Psalm 59:16

Happy Halloween

This Week's Verse: Micah 7:8

Official Nine Month Photo

This month's photo was taken in person earlier this month when we visited KC with JD, Janel, and Blizzard. I'm so thrilled when I get to be with him, and having the opportunity for our monthly photo is very special for me!

He's just about ready to walk. He stands up on everything and lets go for a few seconds. He has a very cheery personality and is quick with a smile or a laugh. When he saw us in KC he recognized us which was a thrill!

We love you, Blizzard!

This Week's Verse: Psalm 29:11

This Week's Verse: 1 John 5:11

See What I Found... J's!

In August I posted a request to my children to please not name any more of their kids with "J" names. Scrabble games only come with one "J" and I'm really into making Scrabble crafts right now.

Well, that was then and this is now.

We were in KC last weekend and went to an event down at the West Bottoms. At one of the shops they were selling individual Scrabble tiles for 25 cents each.

You guessed it... I bought J's!

Eight of them in fact. I was so thrilled.

So now, if someone in my family has another "J" baby, I'm prepared!

This Week's Verse: Matthew 6:34

Happy 85th, Dad!

We celebrated my dad's 85th birthday this past weekend. When I approached him with the idea of a special party he requested only family and one family of friends. Since he was the birthday boy he got his wish!

Dad doesn't particularly like cake and he definitely doesn't like frosting, so we had birthday pies instead. Our menu also included a slider bar, which was very popular.

Happy Birthday, Dad... we love you!

He loved his gift...

... and the photo of his birthday banner

Me, Dan, Mom, Dad, Kelly (sil), Mark (brother)

Janel, JD, Zach, Jessica, Mom, Dad, Katie, Gabe

Matt, Shelby

The Martins' with Mom and Dad

The birthday banner