After Christmas updates

Well, the presents under the tree have all been opened, the turkey and ham are now relegated to leftover status....and I am so grateful for another Christmas. Each year I am reminded again of the incredible gift God gave us. This year we sat in church singing hymns and I was struck by one of the lines, "Begotten, not Created..." and I was reminded again that God Himself chose to come to earth in the form of a helpless child. To live and Die and Live again--For US! What an amazing thought.

In the business of getting everything ready, and David working 2 jobs and kids in 4 different schools, sometimes I just get overwhelmed and FORGET why I do this job I do. Why we moved. Why we live. And then God reminds me. He loves me. He put me here. He will help me if I let Him! And I love my job, my husband, my kids, my life! What a thing to forget...

Next year, I will continue this blog in a more timely fashion...I am also thinking of ways to make Christmas a little easier on me. Each year I think I will get stuff done earlier, and sometimes I do. David reminded me that a lot has changed this year and I was busy. I needed that reminder.

I am kindof rambling at this point, but I want each one of you who reads this blog to know that I have enjoyed sharing a little about our family this way, and would love for you to stay in touch!

My good friend, Diana, has been blogging, too, and I have so enjoyed seeing pictures of her family and reading about their lives as she posts!

We have had the flu, I think, on top of all the Christmas festivities. Molly got sick last week and it is going through the kids. I am not surprized, since we spend many holidays with something or other, but I was the only one who got a flu shot, and then had hives for 10 days afterwards. So, we debated too long for everyone else!

Here are some random pictures from the last few days and I will also try and get some new years pictures to post! I realized that the picture is sideways, and since that is how I am feeling at almost midnight, I am leaving it...I may change it in a few days! I have some pictures of Christmas morning and advent that I will post in the next day or two, providing the sick children let me get on the computer!!

Christmas Trees...

It is a most magical time up here! Yesterday we made plans to finally go get our tree. And woke up with gray rainy weather. We sent the kids off to school saying that if it cleared up we would get them and go as a family (minus the college student) to get our tree. Well, God was smiling down on us, because about 2pm it cleared up enough that we did just that. We picked up the kids, stopped for some Christmas tree decorating essentials (apple cider, cheese, crackers and beef stick), and headed to the Tree Farm.
Ron has been saying for 3 weeks that he wanted to go out to the woods and get a tree. So, we found out that there is a tree farm just down the road from Molly's school! How cool is that? The weather was still cloudy, but warm enough that we were all fine in a jacket. We pulled into this beautiful farm with Fraiser Fir trees covering the rolling hills. In among the trees are cabins that can be rented....and the most wonderful smell of Christmas all around!
We found out which direction to head (up) and started on our way! Let's get this one....it is only 10 feet tall and $160! No, how about this one? After a quick pow wow and a few calculations we decided that around 8 feet would be good, thin better than fat for our space and between 60 and 70 bucks would be a little more manageable....okay, armed with those facts in mind we continued up the hill looking and running and sniffing and just enjoying the moment. Finally, at the top (are you surprised??) of the mountain, we came upon the tree-our tree. Not too tall, but tall enough. Not too fat, but full enough and ONLY $69. Ron said, "This is the one." And we agreed.
So, the guys came with the chain saw and Ron helped them cut it down. Then down down down the mountain we went! While they got the tree ready the kids and the dogs from the farm played badmitton and then we loaded up.
While David got the tree in the stand, I made apple cider, Maddy started the Christmas music and then we ate and decorated until we and the tree were full! I will post pictures tomorrow. It was a magical memory....and yes, totally worth the price of the tree.

Thanksgiving break turned into a Snow Day!!

Just when we thought the kids were headed back to school....Snow Day! And what a snow it was. Big flakes drifted down all day long. The kids headed out about 9am and came in for lunch and headed back out. I watched from the windows while they sledded and practiced snow boarding on the different hills around our neighborhood. Jay is ready to hit the slopes! The ski area is about 5 miles from here, so he will try and go a couple of times this year. Next year we hope to buy a locals pass for him. We missed out this year, because they sell them at the end of the season! I got a few pictures of the kids playing in the snow. We also made Snow Ice Cream, which was always my favorite from when I was a kid....we just used snow, vanilla, sugar and milk...no eggs. My mom used to put eggs in it too, but I thought this was pretty good without them! We are working on Christmas presents and the kids have been making their lists....and planning what to get for each other! We started trading names a few years ago to make the gift-giving in our family a little easier (and easier on our pocket-book, since we end up funding most of the gifts!) The kids love trading names, and picking out something for their person. I love helping them. However, I have David's name this year, and I am stumped as to what to get him for under $10. Any ideas??