Fa la la la la...la la la la

Our annual 'Caroling Party' was a wonderful time celebrating the season with those close to our hearts. It was a time of sweet fellowship, sharing yummy food together and singing the carols of Advent by piano, hammered dulcimer, oboe, and violin.

(Angie with Nancy)

(Steph, Angie, Stephanie, Teresa, Tammy)

(and special guest...my mom!)

Until next year,
Fa la la la la....la la la la

Our Token Rudolf

Apparently Rudolf the red nosed reindeer made a smashing appearance at the staff Christmas party in Dec.
So smashing that he won 1st place in the 'crazy Christmas hat contest'. I'm telling you, I would have totally won if I would have known that there was going to be such a contest. I simply found out minutes before leaving the party when my sweet husband showed me what he had rigged up. After many giggles and me helping him to find a 'red nose' he simply handed me a traditional Santa hat to wear. It all turned out though because Rudolf's prize included a little Starbucks love!Brian (our youth pastor) and his wife Lori got 2nd and 3rd places.And Doug (counselor) and his teaching wife Jan just looked too cute for words.
Here's some of use ladies simultaneously stirring 4 pots of cheese fondue.

Bon Apetite!

A memorable evening!
I so appreciate and enjoy hanging out with our church staff!

Cookie Houses

The kids made these Cookie Houses at preschool and got to bring them home for break. Their teacher, Ms. Vicki does not assist the children when making their projects so this is their own personal masterpiece!Caleb was especially excited about eating the candy! And truth be told, I was especially excited when the candy was about gone and we got it out of sight, out of mind.

Nana Nana...

We can't wait for you to spend Christmas with us Nana!

We love you!

WWJW?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love birthdays.

And since Jesus' birthday celebration is only 8 days away I've been thinking:

WWJW?

Not to be confused with the overly used phrase 'What Would Jesus Do?', I was struck today by 'What Would Jesus Want?'. For his birthday party that is.

Ever find yourself being asked or asking someone what they want for their birthday? certainly.

Honestly though, I've never stopped to ask Jesus what he would want for his birthday. We celebrate the season by giving gifts to one another but if Jesus was sitting next to me and feasting on my plate of carrots and hummus what would he say he wanted for his birthday?

Would it be something I could give him? Broader than that? Or both?

I invite you to step back from the hustle and bustle of the season and just stop.

Stop doing.

Stop obsessing about the long list of things to do.

Just stop.

And ask the One who gives us all good gifts "Jesus, what do you want for your birthday?".

And that's exactly what I'm going to do right now.

goodbye computer. hello Jesus.

My Birthday

I love birthdays.
My special day was yesterday and I turned another year older.

The kids were super cute. All day they were telling me
"happy birthday" and "I love you mommy".
And, we captured this priceless video of them singing to me!
Tonight Jeff and I went out on a date sans kids. It was fun to talk
about this past year and to dream about what this next year holds.

Our Thanksgiving Day

I hope that you were able to spend Thanksgiving Day with those who are dear to your heart and that your thoughts were focused on the one who gives all good gifts.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

We spent the day with Jeff's side of the family and long time friends. It was a wonderful time of hanging out together, loving, laughing and eating yummy food. Here's some pic's of our day!(Jeff's parental unit, aka Jack and Lennyce, aka Papa Grandma)(Jeff and his Dad)
(me...some people say they never see a pic of me on the blog. here you go.)(Our buddy, aka Caleb Jackson)
(Our sweetie, aka Carissa Joy)
(Our adorable niece, aka Olivia)(Our friend, aka Katie and youngest Izzy) (her eldest Evie and Carissa)(Papa carving the turkey, the kids admiring the 'raw' turkey)

Happy Birthday

Caleb and Carissa anticipated their three year old birthday party for three months.

Seriously.

We had their party on their actual birthday, Nov. 8th.Caleb emphatically declared he wanted a 'Diego' cake and Carissa went along with it saying she'd like a 'Dora' cake. Whew, that worked out nicely.I bought this carved fondant cake from a nearby mom who is a friend of my friend. (it was a total bargain!) The kids were thrilled, all 13 of them.

Backpack, Backpack...

Caleb pinning the tail on Swiper - one of three party games the kids played It was a full house with 13 little people, some parents and other friends. Dinner for the wee ones included a Kintner kid favorite of 'mac & cheese' and 'cake'. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...The party blowers were a hit!

the presents were too!Goodbye hugs

A great party!

Birthday Eve

On the Eve of the kids third birthday we celebrated as a family of four.
Both kids received Harley Davidson scooters that light up and rev like a motorcycles.
It was fun and thrilling.

Happy Birthday sweet ones.

09 Halloween

This year the tots were very excited about dressing up.

Caleb Jackson dressed up as a 'Fire Chief' aka 'Fireman'

He wore the costume for 4 days prior to Halloween.

Carissa Joy dressed up as 'Tinkerbell'

Fireman extinguishing Tink. Tink aghast.
Caleb thought he was 'big time' with his real fire extinguisher

Tink 'ding-ing' Fireman. I'm not sure what she's changing him in to but...her face is glowingOur first stop was our neighbors home - this is where the tots play while I'm teaching voice lessons
Our second stop was at the Peterson's home. Caleb and Carissa thought it was really funny to say 'Trick or Treat'. Given the reward there was no coaxing needed.
Carissa 'ding-ed' Uncle Brian (pictured above) and he turned in to a monkey! Brian was fairly believable (to a tot) and Carissa got a little scared and wouldn't turn him back. Poor Kim, she had to live with a monkey the rest of the evening!
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Our third stop was our church Harvest party. Complete with a bouncy house, toddler games and food, the kids had a blast!