The true reason for the season!!!
My kids and I enjoyed a great treat this year, of a birthday party hosted by a friend in honor of Jesus' Birthday. It was awesome and a great way to remember just what we are celebrating this day.

However, the party reminded me of a discussion my children had with me about a month ago that went something like this. We were all around the diner table eating when one child starts to say "Mom, you know that Christmas is Jesus' birthday" I said "yes" wondering in my mind exactly where the conversations was going, when another child blurts out "yeah its his birthday so why don't we have a birthday party for him that day" and another screams" yeah, we need birthday food, like hamburgers and chips and cake and ice cream" and that's when I knew it. My children had an ulterior motive for their spiritual revelations.

My kids are famous for their picky eating habits, my friends actually dread having to feed my children cause they fear my children may starve in their care, or they may rip their hair out if they hear "I don't like that" out of my children's mouths for the millionth time. And, those things that make up a holiday dinner, are high on my children's dislike list, Aiden at Thanksgiving survived entirely off white buns, Courtney entirely off mashed potato's and Thomas entirely off Turkey, yep that is right they all like different foods each picky in their own individual way.

So you see , as much as my children love learning about Jesus and other biblical matters, that truly was not their intent during that deep diner discussion, they were thinking with their stomachs and not their hearts. They heard the word birthday at church, and tied it hamburgers and hot dogs cake and ice cream, and not a child in a manger who came to offer us a free gift of eternal life. A gift that means more to me now than ever, cause I know that my mother took that gift that Jesus offered, and because I took it myself, I am confident that one day I will see her again, and that is a gift I hold dear to my heart.

So whether you are eating Turkey or Ham, or perhaps even hot dogs and hamburgers. Remember that today is a holiday based on celebrating the birth of Christ. Take a few minutes to ponder the true gift, in the midst of the celebration.

Thomas Finds the Christmas Pickle!!!

Okay most of you are probably wondering, what exactly is a Christmas pickle?and what on earth is it doing on my Christmas tree? and why would Thomas be so excited about finding it?

Well the first year we moved here. I won a pickle shaped ornament at MOPS ( a mom's morning out group). The lady was very excited to be giving them away. She said it was a family tradition for an adult to hide the pickle on the tree after the children have gone to bed Christmas eve. Then, on Christmas morning the first one to find the pickle gets and extra small gift.

Since I could not find the Christmas crackers from my childhood Christmas's that year I thought I would give it a try, and the kids love it. They look forward to it every year. This year the gift was a Tom and Jerry DVD, which all three of my kids love watching. In previous years it's been play dough. But, it is always a gift all three will enjoy.

I hope your family too, is enjoying sharing silly traditions, today whether they be generational or something entirely new!!

Daddy really blew the budget this year!!

There were three big presents under the tree this year from my kids to me. I thought that they were small gifts wrapped in big boxes to stop me from guessing!!! I am a great guesser!!! It really irritates Jack!!! He doesn't get much past me. Well this time he sure did.

What your seeing in the picture (which by the way if you double click on it, it will get apicture as big as your screen) is the willow tree nativity scene.

Now this cost way more than the $30 the kids were suppose to spend on me but I must say I am one happy MAMA!!!

I know several friends who have been salivating over this set for years, just like I have, and now I got it, so friends you don't have to salivate in public anymore, just come on over and drool at my house!!!

The Christmas Crackers!!!

I pressed a wrong button last time I blogged and discovered by accident how to put a video clip on here. It just happens last summer I did exactly the same thing with my camera (I find out a lot of neat things by accident) and found out that it can take short video clips. So I thought perhaps the relatives especially would like a little glimpse into our Christmas Eve dinner.

In case you have not been raised in a home with British heritage, the kids are opening Christmas crackers. I finally found some at Target after we have gone years without them!!! I was so happy to share these with my kids as they were a favorite part of my Christmas childhood memories.

We had our big dinner early afternoon on the day before Christmas. That way I can enjoy the big day just watching the children play and contemplating just how blessed I am to have three healthy children and a awesome husband.

I hope you are enjoying your day!!! . I know we are, Jack is zoning out in front of the TV. Courtney is crafting and the boys are enjoying their Lego's and I thought I would take an hours to blog, and share our day a bit with others.

(this is just a small selection of my yarn stash)

My Addiction!!!!

Yes I admit that I have a problem.

I first started realizing that I had a problem when I ran into my friends mother and she did not recognize me at first, she told me it was because she had never seen me without knitting needles in my hands!!!

Then this summer it hit a all time high. I was spending a week up in Fort Wayne with the kids who were enjoying zoo camp. I of course took my needles with me. Well I found out that during a city stop light, I can knit a entire row of a wash cloth, so my eyes on the stop light and my hands on my sticks I did it. Is that sad or what.

My knitting and me are two peas in a pod. Even my purse buying decisions revolve around them. I won't buy a purse if its not either small enough to fit in my knitting bag, or large enough for my knitting to fit into, and it has to have a zipper, because i have lost a few needles now in bags with no zippers.

I knit slower when I am tired, but get me angry and I can finish a whole wash cloth from start to finish in 45 minutes tops!!!

I have knitted wash clothes for so long now that I don't even need to look at the needles while doing it. My hands just know the motions.

The Worse part though is that my disease is spreading. All my homeschooling friends use to sit around and locker hook during our children's PE time (locker hooking is another passion I will share with you perhaps another time), now they are all knitting.

The ladies in my bible study, are all now knitting converts as well. They all sit and knit while I lead the class (and I of course join in and knit while I teach it cause I have discovered I can knit and read too!!!)

I knit while I homeschool, I knit while I watch tv, I knit during half time at the boys soccer games. I have knitted in grocery store line ups. I knit in drive thru line ups.

Do you think perhaps I have a problem!!!!

We Got snow!!!!!

Thomas hiking up the hill for another slide!!!
Our snow lady (made by Courtney and I on Saturday afternoon)

Well it is finally here. We got our first really good dump of snow for the year. We got a bit of it a week ago but it did not stick for long. I think this storm should keep us white for quite a while.

Saturday, I resisted the urge to stay inside all day and cozy up with my knitting needles and headed out to make a snow lady with Courtney. I tell ya she is all girl, even her snow people have to be girls. That day there was barely enough snow to scrape together and make a little knee high snow person.

BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sunday has been a different story. By the time we woke up the snow lady we had built the day before was buried by the nights dump of snow.

By afternoon it had stopped snowing so Jack and I took all three kids out sleighing at the local school lot (about one of the only places around here with a good hill). They had a blast. Aiden is our biggest sleighing fan, we always have to drag him off the hill. Courtney, well she was done about 10 minutes into it, but she stuck around when our friends arrived with a thermal mug full of hot chocolate (and she drank the whole thing!!!!)

The Christmas Tree attacks again!!!

No this in not the normal state of my daughter's bedroom!!

What you see is what happens when six adults leave three two year olds in one room unattended for a few minutes.

And if you are wondering what the white stuff is. Well remember how I spent 45 minutes cleaning up the glass, and then patching the window the christmas tree broke? . Well what you see in the picture is what I used to patch the window. I used a 2 inch thick Styrofoam sheet to cover up the whole window and adhered it with painters tape. Yes I realize that is not the normal patch job materials but it was what I could find!!!

Yeah anyways turns out two year olds love this stuff. It breaks into pieces really easily and starts too look like snow when you really get it going.

Even after four of the six mom's vacuumed and swept the room, (we left the other two downstairs to supervise the culprits) I am still sweeping up a bit more of the Styrofoam snow every day since Tuesday.

And exactly what were the six mommies doing while the kids were up to mischief, well we were knitting of course!!!!

I have started an epidemic of knitting amongst my friends. Either I or a friend I taught to knit has taught pretty much everyone in our circle of girlfriends to knit. We have a grand time sitting and chatting and knitting!!!

If You Love to Laugh at the missfortune of others this story is for you!!!

For those of you who have been at my house at christmas time before, you will notice that the tree Courtney is decorating is not my usual tree. No it did not shrink.

The story all starts on the morning of Thanksgiving (the fourth thursday in November for you Canadian folks). I asked Jack to get the Christmas totes out of the attic for me and place them on the landing, because that way I could have them out of the way while I decorated a bit each day. I normally try to do it all on Thanksgiving day and the day after Thanksgiving, but things have been hetic around here and I knew it was not going to happen, so I thought if we left them upstairs at least they would not be an eyesore downstairs.

So Jack did just that. Well that morning Courtney was so excited she kept asking me if we could get the tree up that day. I had a few things to do in the morning and then we were invited for a thanksgiving feast at a friends home, so I told her when we got home from that we would put of the tree.

Jack had to work at 3pm so I came home from our feast at friends at the same time. Courtney had seen my friend had her home all decorated and was repeatedly telling me at the party "mommy we can get up our tree today right?"

As soon as we were in the door I kissed Jack goodbye as he left for work and I went upstairs to get the christmas tree. Now we have a big huge pre-lit tree (or at least we had) and it fits in a big huge box that was placed in back of all the christmas totes. Our hallway upstairs is narrow and rather than move all the christmas totes out of the way to get the tree through, I decided to slide it over the totes and simply catch it at the other end.

WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Things did not go as planed. Instead of catching the tree it bounced off the top step and proceeded to smash my landing window into a thousand pieces and then park itself on the roof of the small overhang for the side door.

So I spent 45 minutes cleaning up glass and first searching for covering supplies and then covering the now very broken window. And still the whole time courtney is asking "MOM when are you going to get to the tree!!"

Finally I get it out of the big box and get it together, and then comes the next hassle ( I mentioned it was prelit right), I plug it in only to discover two sections no longer light up.

NO PROBLEM I think to myself, I will just simply unwrap the limbs and put on new lights. 2 hours later I am still trying to figure out just how the company got those lights so well wrapped around the branches and Courtney is still within 5 inches of me the whole time saying "MOM your going to get it up today right!!!!"

Not wanting to disappoint my 5 year old who still thinks her mom is a super woman, I decide to take desperate measures. I throw the tree back into the box whip out my bank card and go to the open 24 hours even on national holiday "walgreens" located just 10 minutes away to purchase a new tree!!!

Now Walgreens displays all its trees on the top shelf about 7 feet up in the air. I first thought that this was because that way they could be seen from outside, (I now discovered their secret).

I quickly pick out the biggest non prelit tree they have (I am never doing a prelit tree again!!!) throw it in the cart along with a bar of dark chocolate (because oh how badly I need some chocolate therapy by now!!!!), and enough lights to keep ten christmas trees going ( I am not taking any chances that I might not have enough at this point). I take time to grumble loudly to the clerk and the customers in line about the hazzles of prelit trees as I cash out then pop quickly back into my car and head home.

We get it home, Courtney is estatic finally a tree. I put it up, now the box says 6.5 feet, so apparently I myself am now over 7 feet high!!! (wow I grew from 5'10" to 7 feet in a day!!!!) cause the tree only goes up to my nose!!. At this point I no longer care, I give up, throw some lights on it, and enjoy decorating it with Courtney.

Turns out I am not the only one who has been tricked by those 7 feet off the ground displays, I have had two other people now tell me they have the walgreens charley brown specials in their own homes!!!

Oh well I will wait till after christmas sales this year and get back my big tree but this time it will not be pre-lit!!!

Oh and by the way, I placed the old tree out on the curb and someone took it within hours. I hope they have the patience of a saint, cause they are going to need it!!!!

What happened to October and November!!!

Several people have been mentioning to me, when are you going to update that Blog of yours. I finally felt in the mood tonight to write, so I thought I best take advantage of it, and I noticed as I signed in that my last blog was October 2nd. So much for trying to update the blog at least twice a month!!!

The house is coming along, the bottom floor is all drywalled and ready for the crew of taper's and muder's to come over and get it done. Once that is done, I will start priming and painting while Jack hangs the drywall on the top floor. Which will take him a while since we changed around alot of the closests to maximize storage in the old home that one had very little storage.

You might be wondering how are one year time line is going, well, we got real!!! and sat down and made out a schedual for how long things were going to take based on how long things have taken already, and realized two homes in one year is too much, but a home a year is fine with the spare time we have, and since we own the second home completely we can live comfortably at that pace, so why wear ourselves out when we don't have to.

(picture taken by jami-jo of Old Barn Photography)

Merry Christmas to YA All!!!

I hope you enjoy the picture, it took a hour and a half family trip to walmart to decide what we could all wear, and the day that we had it done was freezing!!!. But I think it was worth it.