Three {more} Reasons I Love Where I Live

Number One:

Living above this-


No, those are not rolling ocean waves...it's the valley engulfed in fog/smog. This was the view on my way down the mountain this morning. Yuck!


Number Two:

Neighborhood wildlife



we love our backyard friends!



Number Three:

It's cold enough to make these-



Ice wreaths are my new favorite. They'll last about 4-5 days (or longer) in my neck of the woods. Fill a bundt pan half way with water & add whatever your heart desires. I had some cranberries and a jalapeno on hand.....Freeze and enjoy!

I also made one with baby carrots that we'll put out on Christmas Eve for the reindeer to enjoy while Santa's busy leaving us goodies. I hope they like it....if not, I'm sure our backyard friends will!!

Traditions!

*disclaimer: i "stole" this post from my friend Jill's blog. I was planning on doing a post about this but she did such a good job that I figured I'd save myself some time ;) Hope you don't mind, Jill!




A few nights ago my school friends got together for our annual Christmas Party. We have been doing this forever, and though we don't have a sleepover these days, it is always such a great night!

Here is a lovely morning shot of our 1st shebang! (we're missing Liz). LOVE the plaid boxers! I'll always remember waking up in the morning to the smell of Shosh's pull-aparts. Thanks for making them again, Jill! This Christmas Party has never failed. A couple of us may have missed a time or two, due to missions, living out of state, having babies, etc...but the show always goes on!

So, last night was our 17th annual Christmas Party. CRAZY that we've been doing this longer than we were alive at the 1st party!

This year, instead of exchanging gifts, each person brought a Christmas Tradition to share, other than the traditional advent calendars and nativity reenactments. It was really fun to hear some new ideas.

Nabby makes a doll for her mom every year for Christmas. She started when she was 7. She brought them all, and it was fun to see how her creativity has evolved over the years. One gift was a big stuffed ant, one was a quiet book with dolls that velcro on, one was a manger scene, etc...Here is a picture I stole from Nabby's blog. It's her apron gift from last year, with "dolls" on it.Andrea's family always draws names and make a homemade gift for that person. Some examples are: a binder full of favorite sheet music to play on the piano, an "autobiography" including essays and writings from the child as they grew up, a full Halloween party kit, a framed photograph for an office wall, etc... They're thoughtful and sentimental gifts.

Nicole's family always makes a gingerbread house at the beginning of December. Nicole builds the house and hides little toys inside for her kids. Then the kids decorate it together. On Christmas Eve day, they get to break it open and find their 1st gift of Christmas.They also play lots of games, and she recommended "Smarty Party."

Liz's family always makes Aebleskivers for breakfast on Christmas Day. When she got married, she was pleasantly surprised to find out her husband's family had the same tradition! She brought us the recipe, and I can't wait to make them!

My family has a Christmas blanket. Each day a different child gets to carry it around that day & sleep with it that night. They cannot wait until their turn comes around again! The kids are so funny, and come down in the morning and say, "I had the best Christmas dreams, because of the Christmas blanket!".

Jill's family always reads, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve. They all sit in a circle and her mom and aunt pass out money to everyone. There is always at least one $5 bill, a $2 bill, some $1bills and a bag of chocolate coins. Then her uncle reads the story. Every time he reads the word "the" they pass their money to the person next to them. At the end of the story, whatever is in their hands, they get to keep. Two funny twists to this, some versions say "The End," and some don't! And although you may think the chocolate coins are the dud of the prize, there have been children known to trade an uncle their $5 bill for the chocolate coins. :)

Although, there are so many "traditional" traditions, I'm always amazed at all of the other fun ideas out there. So do share some more! And in the meantime, have fun with your family traditions!

Thief #2

Here is Kensie's part in the 3rd grade play, Scrooge-
{she's the one in the middle}

So much for motherly instincts....

It's a BOY!

I was so convinced that I was having a girl. The thought of a boy hardly crossed my mind. I had a name chosen {divinely inspired while folding laundry one day before I was even pregnant}. The kids were as certain as I was. Matt was the only skeptic.

As I was watching the ultrasound I saw it. There was no mistaking. I'll admit, I was irritated. I tried not to cry- how could I have felt so sure? What about the name? Why?

I got over my pity party quickly when the tech came back in with the head honcho who told me he wanted to take another look at some things. At that moment all thoughts of boy vs. girl left my mind as I thought about something being wrong with my baby.

Long story short, he had seen a small cyst in the tissue around the baby's brain. That in and of itself was not too concerning, but if the baby wouldn't open its hand then that could be a sign of a chromosomal abnormality. They tried for what seemed like forever to get the stubborn guy to open up his fist. They jiggled him, they tried to scare him with a buzzer. They finally got him to do it and told me that if the quad screen I had taken at my last appointment {to test for abnormalities} came back normal then everything was fine.

I cried the whole way home, and called for my test results a.s.a.p.

Everything was normal.

I think it was the Lord's way of telling me "It's a boy. Get over it."

I'm over it.

and can't wait to meet this little guy!!! Now to think of a boy name.





This is how the kids reacted to the news:
we told them at Costco, thinking that a churro might butter them up....




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the card

Here's the final product:



Maybe one day I'll have the $$$ to get professional pictures taken {or get a nice camera}....

Until then, this is as good as it gets!

What it's really all about....

gluing, stringing, mixing, and baking

Here's what I've been up to:

sneak peak of the neighbor gifts
{have yet to deliver them...}

ornament wreath
{we got new ornaments this year, but I still wanted to use my old ones}

English Toffee- recipe here

Eggnog Bread- recipe here

I looked out the window and what did I see....

It's been an interesting night. Kensie came downstairs around 6:00 and told me that there was a car in the front yard. Not the driveway, the front yard. Sure enough....

I was a bit freaked out & after I made sure there was not a dead body in there I called police dispatch. As I was calling I noticed ANOTHER car in my neighbor's yard. If you know my neighbor, you know how much he loves his yard. I was more worried for the driver of that car (who was responsible and stuck around until the cops came unlike the driver of the car in my yard who just bailed after it happened, I guess) suffering the wrath of my neighbor, but he was actually really cool about it. The road was pretty icy, I guess.

We hung out while the cops tried to figure out who's car was in my yard. They searched the car, ran the plates (expired tags- registered owner had sold it) and discussed various reasons for someone just leaving the car (intoxication being #1).

Finally the owner showed up. Apparently he lives in the neighborhood and instead of knocking on my door he just decided to go home and call it in.



The tow truck arrived and {hopefully} took the car away without too much damage to our yard. We'll find out in the spring! The guy ran over the cable, phone, and power boxes. Luckily everything still works for now but there are a lot of exposed wires.....

Christmas Card photos: the bane of my existence

I've had my Christmas card made for a while now, but just thinking about taking pictures of the kids for the card has been too much for me.

I finally decided to get it over with. The results were not great. The boys were TOTALLY into it and were posing like champs, but Kensie was bitter because I was not taking her suggestions {she's a pro, you know}. Thus, a grumpy, tear-stained face. By the time Kensie finally got over it Jackson was done.

So, this is what I ended up with-
Cute pictures of the boys and cute pictures of Kensie and Lincoln. But no decent picture of the three kids together. I was so tempted to just use one of the grumpy ones and be done with it, but before church I snapped some more with THREE happy kids who looked even better in their Sunday clothes & I'm much happier with the result {which you'll see soon.....after I mail the cards}.


Here are some of the pics from the first attempt:

Santa Claus is coming to town

Last night Santa paid a visit to SunCrest. His reindeer got lost.....but we enjoyed a violin concert, treats, chatting with friends, and a game of Santa Says while we waited.

When he finally arrived the parental claws came out. The Christmas Spirit was out in full force {sarcasm font}. Despite the crazed parents, the kids finally got their turn to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.

Kensie: an IPod
Lincoln: a remote controlled car
Jackson: cars

Beats waiting in line at the mall.....

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