Christmas itself may be over...

So, yes, "Christmas" itself is officially "over" here. My sister and my brother and their families just left yesterday. We had a GREAT Christmas week of hanging out, playing games, watching the kids play and have so much fun together, laughing, eating, going shopping...basically just enjoying each other's company! What a blessing family is...and how precious is that time together!!!

We love you guys so very much!!!

So, yes, Christmas itself may be "over" in that the 25th of December has come and gone. But, I truly hope and pray for my family that the reasons that we celebrate and the things that bring us joy during this Christmas season are things that live in our hearts and things that we celebrate every day for the whole year!!!

• Our Savior, Jesus Christ, coming to this earth to die for us.
  
• Our family and friends that are near to our hearts.
  
• The many blessings and gifts that the Lord has given us - He is so faithful!
  
• The strength and hope that the Lord gives us even when the days are hard and life is tough.

May these be the "things" that we celebrate and find joy, hope, and peace in each and every day ALL YEAR ROUND!!

OH...and Happy New Year too! I can't even believe that it is already 2008! Well, ALMOST, that is!!!

:-)

Watch out NFL...here he comes!

There is a new "Viking" on the Minnesota Vikings team!

Our dear friends came back from their Christmas festivities with a little "surprise" for Caleb...a Vikings uniform, helmet, and shoulder pads!!!

He has loved it SO very much...I don't know HOW I am EVER going to get it off of him!

Doesn't he look ready to make some tackles???

:-)

EIGHT kids in 4 1/2 years...

Could you imagine if that was really true for ONE family???

Well, it IS true in one sense for Pat's mom and dad. Only, it is their GRANDKIDS that make this true. Yes, between Pat and his two sisters, there are EIGHT grandkids in a span of 4 1/2 years.

Four girls first, then four boys. The oldest is Kendra at 7 1/2, then Mackenzie at 6 1/2, Gracie is 5 1/2, Kylie is 5, Jackson starts the string of boys at almost 5, Ryan and Sean are twins that are almost 4, and little Caleb finishes it off at the age of 3.

Here they are just a few short days ago...it is quite impossible to get EIGHT kids to all look at the same place at the same time! :-)

What fun it is for my kids to have cousins so close to their age and of the same gender too!! :-) They all have so much fun playing together...it is a bummer that we don't get to see them all more often!

Here is the whole family...these pictures are rare and fun!! :-)

We love you guys and had a great time with you celebrating Christmas! :-)

Whirlwind...

Do you ever feel like your days/weeks/life are a whirlwind, blowing you from one thing to the next and one place to the next with no time in between to really plant your feet and rest for a bit???

Well, that is how I feel like our last week has been!! :-)

We are home now from Christmas with Pat's family...but now have a sick Daddy on our hands.

Hopefully today can be a day to rest and recuperate!! We are all a bit worn out!!!

Hope that you all are having a wonderful Christmas weekend - I wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas celebrating our Savior's birth!!

How can it be...

...that my "baby" is now THREE???

Yes, today is a very, very special day at our house. Our little Caleb is THREE!!!

I enter into this day with many mixed emotions. I am thrilled to be celebrating my Caleb's life - he is a huge blessing to our lives and is a joy to have around - I can't even explain how MUCH I love him; but I also have some had some tears at just how FAST my "baby" is growing up!! This third year of his life has brought about some major "getting bigger" milestones - a big boy bed, losing the pacifier (called a "fier" over here!), trading in the diapers for big boy underwear, talking in full sentences/paragraphs...he really is NOT a "baby" anymore.

And, although it warms my heart to see him growing - I love his stories, communicating and just chatting with him, and being able to connect with him on a "bigger kid" level, my heart is sad at just how FAST he is growing... It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was holding that sweet smelling newborn baby, kissing those baby toes, and snuggling with my little guy (before he was able to wriggle free from my grasp!). How those days and memories are sweet.

Yet, I know as they grow, the memories are still just as sweet. Maybe a different kind of "sweet"...but, still "sweet" nonetheless. Oh, how I so desire to treasure these days when my kiddos are still little (at least somewhat)...the time is just going ever so fast!!!

Here is our little guy only three short years ago...

Here is he now...

Here is the "sisterly love" that was easily displayed three years ago...

Here is the "struggle" that the girls now have to give their brother "sisterly love" NOW...

We had fun celebrating Caleb's life by having some of our close friends and family over for a VIKINGS celebration and some supper, cake, games, and play time last night!!! Yes, the "Vikings" theme was definitely Caleb's choice! He LOVES anything that has to do with Vikings and especially loves to wear his Vikings jersey! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for getting him a couple more Vikings shirts for his birthday!!! :-)

We played a little "Pin the Football on the Viking's football player" (Mackenzie's creative idea). In fact, she made the paper footballs to tape on the Adrian Peterson poster...and the kids had a fun time with it!! :-)

He had a great time and we are blessed to have such wonderful, dear friends in our lives!!!

Today, we got to go over to Grandma and Grandpa's for lunch for his birthday...and that is always a treat!!! :-)

We love you SO very much, Caleb. You are so special, fun, funny, creative, and such a blessing to our lives!!! We are so proud to have you as a son and look forward to what the Lord has in store for you! We pray that you will love the Lord with ALL of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that your heart will desire to follow Him, know Him, and love Him more and more each day. We love you, buddy, and look forward to the next year of your life.

Only, please, can it go a little SLOWER??? :-)

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY CALEB!!!

We love you, buddy!!!

Hairy question....

A couple of nights ago, we were sitting around as a family getting ready to pray. The girls were being sweet and "spoiling" me to some back/head rubbing (one of my favorite things!), so Caleb decided that he would do the same for Pat. Only, he went for his legs...

After a bit, he stopped and looked at Pat and said, "Did the hair fall off of your head?"

We all chuckled a bit at his question, and thinking that I knew what he was thinking, I asked him, "Where did Daddy's hair fall?"

Caleb thought for a second and then said, "Daddy's hair fell off his head and on his legs."

Well, that's one theory, I guess! And, we will just let him believe that one for awhile...no need to have "the puberty talk" at age two!!! :-)

This is the house that Madelynne and Mackenzie built...

This is the house that Madelynne and Mackenzie built.

These are the crayons that worked overtime to make the house that Madelynne and Mackenzie built.

These are the "hands" that colored the crayons

That made the house that Madelynne and Mackenzie built.

This is the bedroom all fancy and fun,

And the living room all said and done,

That were in the house that Madelynne and Mackenzie built.

This is the final product (yes, even chalk drawings on the sidewalk there are),

Who knew paper and crayons could go so far,

As to make the house that Madelynne and Mackenzie built!

Now even though this house creation is wonderful and neat,
The question is where in MY house do I "house" such a treat?

:-)

Sweet words...

Kylie and I had a sweet little conversation as we were putting our coats on and leaving a restaurant after church yesterday.

She said out of the blue, "God is our Father, isn't He, Mommy?"

To which I said, "Yes, Kylie, God IS our Father."

We have had this conversation many times. But, what got me was her sweet follow-up comment. She then said with much conviction, "God is always going to live in my heart, Mommy."

Enough said.

Oh, how I pray that is so true for EACH one of my kiddos. May they know God in a real and personal way, follow Him, and love Him with ALL of their heart, soul, mind, and strength!!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Let's just say that it is COLD here.

BITTERLY COLD. OUTRAGEOUSLY COLD. RIDICULOUSLY COLD. FRIGHTFULLY COLD. OK...I think that you get the picture!! :-)

Pat decided to show the kids just HOW cold it is here tonight (-23 according to weather.com right now!) by doing a little "experiment" with them. Now, even though Pat is a wonderful father and I am sure he really wanted to enlighten our children with some wonderful knowledge right before they went to bed, I can't help but wonder if this little "experiment" was more for HIS pleasure and fun than to send our kids to bed with Science-like dreams tonight!! :-) When I saw the water boiling on the stove, I asked him what he was making. He just replied with a little grin, "It is 25 below out right now..." Nothing else needed to be said...I knew just what he wanted to do!!! :-)

He got the kids and explained to them that it was SO cold out that when he took this boiling pot of water and tossed it in the air outside, the water wouldn't come back to the ground...instead, it would crystallize and steam.

Anxiously awaiting their father's fun and games...

Here goes nothing...

Yep...it really is cold out here!!! :-)

And, yes...I really DID go outside and brave this cold in order to capture these pictures! And, guess what? I even went out with no coat and just my slippers. Well...not JUST my slippers - I WAS wearing a shirt and some sweats!!!!

:-)

O Christmas Tree...

Besides being a well-known Christmas carol and something beautiful to look at when it is all lit up and decorated, the "Christmas Tree" is also a great source of PAPER for making costumes for a "play" of the manger scene... Or so I learned today!!!

This is what the afternoon looked like over here today...

The kids took their paper-creating skills to the next level and decided to make and create costumes and props for themselves as they desired to put on a little play today!! It took much work, paper, skill, and time...but, they did it! They (mostly "ring-led" by Mackenzie and her great buddy Madelynne), designated roles and got to the creating!!

Here is Joseph...

Mary...

Baby Jesus (The King of Kings needs a crown as well as a big blanket to be "swaddled" in)...

The "star" that led the Magi to Jesus...

Two angels...

Obviously it wasn't all "fun and games" - Caleb was not too thrilled with the beard that was made for him...

But, he did settle down and we got the "crew" together for a group picture...

After clearing out the play room and creating all of these fantastic costumes, there was little time left to actually "practice" and put on the play of the manger scene!!! :-) Oh well...there is always tomorrow!!!

:-)

The things that seem never-ending...

...the laundry that accumulates each and every day (I swear that it really does multiply while in the dirty laundry basket!).

...the socks that are "matchless" after going through the laundry. Obviously where some things "multiply," other things are being kidnapped!

...the projects and painting that need to be done in our house. Yes, that is why I haven't been bloggin' too much lately...we have been busy painting trim, walls, cabinets, and putting in some new flooring in our main floor hallway as well.

...the messes that my kids can (and many times do) make in one day. Too bad they don't have as much fun cleaning them up as they do making them!!

...the snow that keeps falling - making huge mounds all over town and producing some terrible driving conditions as well.

...the paper "creations" that my kids make. They actually are starting to make clothes and costumes now...maybe we could sell these "creations" one day to make money to pay for all of the paper they use!!!

...the mail that needs to be gone through and sorted.

...the many COLD days that we have ahead of us.

...the snow that keeps falling down. Oh, did I already mention that? (Can you tell that I am not "thrilled" about the snow...or winter in general?)

Well, since the TIME that I have in each day is NOT "never-ending," I probably should go and start to take care of some of these things around here!

:-)