MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas!! Hope everyone had a wonderful day spent with the ones you love!!

The kids always get so excited when the packages come from their Mimi & Paw Paw and Grandpa & Grandma Carol..although sometimes the boxes are as much fun as the gifts! Christmas morning...ready to open presents!
Our new puppy Princess was very excited about the presents too!

We would like to call this photo "Peace on Earth"....not bad for only living together for 3 days... we think they'll be best buddies in no time!
Nathan was very excited to get a brand new bike from his Grandma and Paw Paw!
Ready for Christmas dinner...
It's one of our family traditions to make a cake and sing "Happy Birthday to Jesus" each year..the kids get to decide what kind of cake we'll make ...this year we made Him a Sour Cream Pound Cake.
Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Meet "Princess"

Well, Christmas came a few days early for Nathan and Emily! Meet our new puppy "Princess", she is a 3 month old Beagle/??? (we think maybe Daschund)Mix, she weighs 6 pounds. We adopted her from the shelter this morning. It's like having a new baby in the house!

Weekend in Maryland

We had a whirlwind 2 day trip up to Maryland this weekend to visit some friends and family for the holidays! We started our trip on Friday afternoon with a visit to one of my closest friends, Michelle and her girls. Here is my Emily and her Emiley..these girls have been friends since they were 3 years old and even thought they live so far away, they still keep in touch and remember each other. Me and Michelle....
We stayed with our good friends the Hunt's and had a ball...on Saturday night we all decided to put on our PJ's and drive around to look at Christmas lights...such a fun memory!
We even stopped at Wawa for coffee and hot cocoa! The funny thing was that no one seemed to notice the crazy people in pajamas?!?!
We ended our trip with a family Christmas party on Sunday. Here are the kids with their Great Grandmother Boyer..it's hard to believe she'll be 85 next month...still quite a beauty.

Tinseltown

The kids had a sleepover at their Grandma and Paw Paw's house last night, which meant a date night for Dave and I. We decided to try something new and go Ice Skating at Tinseltown at the Koka Booth Ampitheatre. Considering it was the first time in my life to ever put on a pair of ice skates, and Dave had tried it once when we he was 8 or 9 years old, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into...

After a few laps around hanging onto the wall we were actually not doing too bad....still pretty shaky though! We still don't know how people make it look so easy????

Okay, here is something I never thought I would post...a picture of someone famous!! After our Ice Skating Adventure we headed to Barnes & Noble to get coffee and peruse some books, we noticed the store was packed with people and wanted to see why.... Rachel Ray was there signing copies of her new cookbook! While we weren't able to get in line to get a book signed I did manage to get close enough to snap this pic of her...what a night....ice skating and a celebrity sighting!!

"Journey to Bethlehem"

A family from our church put on a Christmas event called a "Journey to Bethlehem" right in their own backyard. They have been doing this for the past 7 years and this was our first time to go, we were amazed and so blessed how a family could transform their ordinary wooded backyard into a walk to Bethlehem. Complete with a shepherd for our guide and live sheep and donkeys, we visited the marketplace, saw the angel Gabriel, visited with the Magi, stopped at the crowded Inn, and ended at the stable....

The journey ends with a walkway of scripture verses that remind us not to still think of Him as a baby in that manger, but as the one who payed the ultimate sacrifice so that we may have eternal life.

Trimming the Tree.....

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with friends and family! We spent the weekend picking out a Christmas tree and decorating our home for Christmas. Here are a few random photos of our activities....

The kids alternate each year who gets to put the star on top the tree...Dave and I were commenting that this might be the last year Nathan needs to be lifted up to reach it, by the time his turn comes around again he may be tall enough to stand on a chair and reach it by himself...sniff, sniff...just another reminder to redeem every moment with them.

SEEK Family Night

Our homeschool co-op SEEK (Spiritually & Educationally Enhancing Knowledge) had our "Family Night" this week. This the kids gives a chance to show off some of the projects they have made and the things they have learned. I taught a cooking class with my good friend, Beth for 5-7 year olds, here's a pic of my "Little Chefs!" Here is our class table display for Family Night.....
Nathan took 2 classes, Math Logic and The Human Body. This is a display from his Human Body class...
The last day they dissected a sheep heart and brain. He thought this was really cool!! One of the many reasons I love this co-op....no dissecting for me the rest of this school year. Whew!

BLESSINGS MIX

The fall semester of our homeschool co-op ends this week, the kids and I always make a little something to give to the Moms who teach and help out in their classes. I stumbled across this "Blessings Mix" the other day and thought it was a great idea, we ended up making a few extras to give to neighbors and friends. Here the "recipe":

BLESSINGS MIX

Bugles: Shaped like a cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty,
a symbol of our nation’s abundance.
Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by
those who founded our country.
Popcorn: Represents the sacrifices of the Pilgrims’ first
winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on
just a few kernels of corn a day.
Nuts: Promise of a future harvest, one we will reap
only if future seeds are planted and tended with
diligence.
Dried Fruits: Harvest gifts from our bountiful land.
M & M’s: Memories of those who came before
us to lead us into a blessed future.

Here's how our finished products turned out...just thought I would share in case anyone is looking for a neat Thanksgiving idea.

AWANA GRAND PRIX

Today was our AWANA Grand Prix, for those who may have never heard of this before, it is a Pinewood Derby style race where each child gets a block of wood to construct a car out of. Nathan chose to make a bobsled out of his car and it turned out really great.... Here are some of the other near cars...
Ready for the first heat of the race! Isn't that Ratatouoille/Cheese car adorable???
Not a winner this year, but he still got an honorable mention for his design and got to spend some quality father/son time with Dave which is priceless.

Happy Halloween....

The kids dressed up as two of our favorite Disney chracters this year.....Peter Pan and Tinkerbell! They had a great time! We let them carve their own pumpkins this year...with much adult supervision and help! Em made hers to look just like her, with no front teeth!!

Today also happened to be the day Emily mastered her two wheeler! She has been practicing on and off for a few months now and would get discouraged quickly when she would fall or need help. She hopped on it today and took off like she had been riding for years!