Duck Pond

Today we spent part of our day visiting a local duck pond.
Don't think that the partially frozen pond kept us from feeding the brood. Why, the duckies were so happy to see us they flocked towards our car barely giving an inch to open up the doors.Stale bread and cheerios.
An equally delightful experience for our littles and the waddlers.

The Order of the Skittles

Skittles, a chewy fruit candy with a rainbow of fruit flavors, is a popular item in the Kintner Clan. (At least with the little people) The Skittle has become so well-loved it has become a staple.

You may wonder why a mother who limits sugar (especially high fructose corn syrup) in her children's diets allows them to eat Skittles.

Frankly, its all about the bribe.

Yes, I'm one of those mom's who believes in a little bribery.

Whenever Carissa and Caleb successfully use the potty they can choose one Skittle from the jar. They are always proud of their 'job well-done' and get soooo excited about their little piece of candy.

I guess moderation has served us well here.

And, I hope it serves their teeth well...eeek!

When the twins choose their single Skittle they pick the same colors in the same order. Their first color choice is typically gone before they choose the next color/flavor.

So, the Order of the Skittles is:

ORANGE

PURPLE

RED

YELLOW

GREEN

(In case you were wondering, the bribery has been fairly successful. Carissa only wears a diaper to bed and Caleb is working towards the same in his 'Cars' Pull-ups. Yeah!)

What is your Order of the Skittles?

MeeeeOwwwwW

MeeeOWWWW was the word of the night in the Kintner household.

I wasn't aware that so many 'Meow' sounds existed.

But now, I am enlightened by my 'dear' two year olds.

Rather than going 'night night' they entertained themselves (and me) by making every cat noise known to man...or cats.

It would have made a cat laugh.

Perhaps they were inspired by their recent visit with 'Babes' my friend Stacy's cat (whom Carissa scared meow-less when she threw a ball at her head).

Or, maybe they were hoping to land a spot in my up-coming studio voice recital. It was their own version of Rossini's 'Cat Duet'.

Thankful Thursday

"But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure."

Psalm 71:14-15

Lately I've been feeling more grateful of my time with Caleb and Carissa. Only working 10ish hours a week allows me the opportunity to help shape their little hearts and minds into respectful, well-mannered, happy and God loving children.

I consider this a privilege and I don't take it lightly.

Since the twins are '2', this is an important year in their emotional and behavioral development. Even though they are emotionally fragile and downright exasperating at times, they are quickly learning what kinds of behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable. I am constantly amazed by their smarts, captivating personalities, ability to love and playfulness.

Caleb and Carissa, my heart is exceedingly thankful that I get to be your mom and love on you all day long. I love you more than words can express.

A Man Pedi

I would say that I'm a girly girl. And I highly enjoy treating myself to an occasional pedicure. If you saw my feet right now you'd gasp - seriously, my feet are rough and scruff and my toes are suffering from a paint job that I got in Arizona last September. Yes it's time for me to get some foot lovin' but...this past Saturday I wasn't the privileged one, Jeff was. He got his very own surprise: a 'Man Pedi' from his truly, Caleb and Carissa. Caleb worked hard at cutting dad's toe nails and then 'carefully' used the filing tool.

Carissa used her meticulous skills to file the other foot.

And they filed and filed daddy's toes to perfection. What a treat!

08 Family Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

2008 has been a year filled with many joys and several sorrows. Shortly after Jeff and Angie were married they began the practice of sharing daily news with one another by way of their ‘joys and sorrows’. In this letter we’d like to highlight 2008 in that same way.


Our Joys
• Our marriage of 10 years January 2nd, 2009.
• Our children Caleb and Carissa bring immense joy and laughter into our lives. In November we celebrated their two year birthday. Each day they amaze us with their happy spirits and their love for each other, for us and our community. We cherish this time of rapid growth and development in their lives.
• Our faith community at Covenant Presbyterian Church continues to be rich. We have built some great relationships and are blessed to have such a caring and supportive church family—it’s all about relationships.
• Angie’s new eyes. She got Lasik surgery and now has 20/15 vision. Eyemazing!
• Our summer vacation in Breckenridge, CO – a week of fun, relaxation and reprieve from the norm of our everyday lives.
• Angie’s Voice Studio remains steady and allows Angie to work from home about 10 hours a week. Since June a neighborhood mom has cared for the tots while Angie teaches – a huge answer to our prayers!
• Jeff continues to enjoy and be challenged by his job at Covenant. Helping people grow in their faith and in their outreach to our community and the world. In June he led a team to Russia to visit the orphans we sponsor there.
• Angie enjoys volunteering in the music ministry at Covenant. She leads Sun. worship, organizes special music and directs vocal ensembles.
• Angie’s ‘mentoring moms’ class last year at church encouraged a freshening of spiritual disciplines in her. This year she is co-facilitating a class titled ‘Soul Care’; helping women arrange their lives for spiritual transformation.
• Grandparents – many special visits and quality time spent with us and the kids
• The arrival of our niece, Olivia Amina Kintner to Jeff’s brother Jon, his wife Jeannelle and daughter Kelci. A precious new soul in our family.
• Our Blog www.thekintnerclan.blogspot.com Angie enjoys journaling and posting pictures of our family on our blog. Check it out!

Our Sorrows
• Sept. 18, 2008, Angie’s mom Sharon was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia. She began chemotherapy Sept. 19th and was hospitalized for 43 days. Treatment has been successful. Angie flew to AZ two times during her hospital stay and we also traveled as a family in mid Nov. The timing of this life change, the ramifications, and the heartbreak Sharon is experiencing is overwhelming. We continue to pray for physical and emotional healing, full remission, and quality of life. You can follow Sharon’s journey on her blog www.strengthofmysoul.blogspot.com
• Several people in our church have passed away this past year. We mourn the loss of those loved ones in our church community.
• We grieve the hardship of difficult financial times and the loss of jobs our friends have experienced because of tight times.


In the midst of our joys and sorrows we praise our Lord and Savior and have confidence that He is above all and in all things. We are thankful for the many blessings God has given us. We treasure your friendship to us and hope to hear from you in the coming year.


In the Hope of Christ’s Birth,

Jeff, Angie, Caleb and Carissa

What a Rascal

This morning I dressed Caleb in this appropriate shirt after his bath. No, we don't normally bathe the kids in the morning but today started out like no other...

The twins awoke around 6:30am. They were giggling, talking back and forth and playing their typical crib games (or so we thought).

By 7:00am it was unusually quiet.

When we entered the room we found Caleb buck naked in his crib (Carissa was laughing and egging him on). At first we thought it was funny (we've found Carissa in the buff before) but then we saw the unthinkable.

Yup, you guessed it, PEE & POOP! Caleb not only peed all over his sheets, blankets, and stuffed animals, but he also pooped! And to make matters worse he thought it was funny.

He quickly understood that his 'accident' was not acceptable but I'm praying 'Lord, please let this be a one time incident'!

It was gross.

Jeff stripped the bed and put everything in the laundry. With no need to strip Caleb I plopped him in the bathtub and scrubbed him from head to toe.

Our Caleb, we love him dearly but he can be a little Rascal!

Don't you love those curls?

Melt my Heart

Tonight Carissa melted my heart...literally. After I put Carissa in her crib for bed I tidied up the room while Caleb was getting his teeth brushed. When I turned around Carissa pulled out her 'sah' (aka pacifier), made a smacking sound and leaned forward to give me a kiss. I bent down next to her and she gave me a big kiss and then extended her arms out and said "hug me". I lifted her up in my arms and we embraced neck and neck. My heart leaped as she was lOVING on me freely! It is my hope that as Carissa grows older that she will learn the importance of accepting love and showing affection in our family. Carissa, I love you with all my heart; you can hug and kiss me anytime.