Believe

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is to snuggle up in the basement in front of the fireplace and the big screen and watch THE POLAR EXPRESS.  Tonight will be our "Polar Express Night" and I'm looking forward to it.  One of my favorite singers is Josh Groban and so I thought I would share this video with you of one of my favorite songs...."Believe".

Christmas Traditions

Our family has many Christmas traditions.  On my mom's side of the family, each one of the sister's takes their turn and hosts Christmas as well as making an ornament for each member of our large family.  So, our Christmas tree is full of numerous homemade ornaments from years and years of Christmases. 

Since we closed on our house on December 15, we have always reserved that day as our "Family Day".  That night we have a special dinner with sparkling grape juice for the kids served in fancy glasses, and we usually decorate our gingerbread house that night.  Well, this year it got too late with obligations, homework, etc, so we had to wait until the weekend to make our Gingerbread Houses.  This year I bought a kit that had 5 buildings as part of a village.  I thought this was perfect since there were 5 of us, we could each make our own building.  Well, I was NOT happy with the kit as 2 of the buildings were broken, 1 repairable and one not.  Also, the frosting they included was 1-not nearly enough and 2-crappy.  So, I looked online and found an icing recipe, made up my own, cleaned out our candy shelf and we went to work.  Enjoy the photos below!

A Favorite Tradition

One of my absolute favorite traditions in our family involves Valentine's Day. It is something I started when our boys were 1 and 2 and we have continued it every year since. I give the kids a little present every year for Valentine's day just like I give my husband something. But the extra special part, is that I make the gift giving into a scavenger hunt all around the house. Each clue taking them to some other spot until finally arriving at the end with a present waiting just for them. Over the years my clues have been in a poem form, in question form and have involved memories from the previous year. One year I even had a scavenger hunt for my husband. Just the other day my heart swelled when our middle child asked if I was still planning to do the Scavenger Hunt this year. Of course I was! Except this year I had to do it a little early....last night in fact! So yesterday, I planned it out, placed the clues all around the house and right after supper, we let the kids get started. This year I also incorporated silly tricks that they had to perform before they got to the final prize at the end. The gift bag included movies and a Leapster game for them to take along for a weekend getaway. We are traveling to an indoor waterpark that is about 2 hours away. This winter has been cold, long, and snowy and we really felt like we needed a weekend get-away. So, as soon as the kids get home from school we are heading out to our balmy indoor waterpark where we hope to forget, for a few days anyway, that it is winter outside! What do you do for Valentine's Day?

Saying Grace

Nearly every Wednesday after school we offer a program at our church called "After School Jams". Children preschool-6th grade come after school and have a snack, sing songs and learn about Jesus and how much he loves each one of them. Yesterday I was responsible for the lesson and I decided to incorporate Thanksgiving with saying grace. I had the preschool-1st grade group and we talked about the kind of prayers we say before our meals and before bedtime. Then we talked about how before Jesus fed the 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, he said Thanks to God. Then each of the kids told the group something they were thankful that God gave to them. The kids completed the lesson with a foam craft that said "Let us thank the Lord for his many blessings". I reminded them that Thanksgiving is an excellent time to think about God and his many gifts that he has given us and to share that with our families. This lesson really got me thinking about my many, many blessings. The Lord has provided me with so much love throughout my life and I just don't thank Him enough for that. I am also sad to admit that we don't always thank God before each meal or even before we go to bed. It is usually one of the kids that reminds me. I get into the mechanics of getting the food on the table and getting everyone food on their plate and milk in their glass and usually by the time I sit down everyone is already eating. So, I am going to try to consciously stop and take a minute to thank God for our food and as I am laying in bed, thank God for the blessings he gave me this day.











At Bible Study Fellowship (http://www.bsfinternational.org/) they handed out a lesson talking about giving thanks at mealtimes with your children. So, if you haven't started saying grace with your children at mealtime, here are some examples to try:









Come Lord Jesus
Be our guest
Let these gifts
To us be blessed
Amen



For fruit and milk,
For bread and meat,
For all our food so good to eat
we thank you, God



Thank you, God
For food so good
Please help me do
The things I should.


Our children also like to throw in extra things like Thank you, God, for my brothers, or for my teachers, or for my mom and dad. I think the more personal you make it, the more likely your family will be to start this new tradition. If it just comes from memory it gets to the point where it is just words and has no meaning. But, the above prayers are a good place to start and a way to get comfortable praying if you haven't ever prayed before. Saying grace at the table acknowledges that all things come from God and gives God a seat at your table. What an excellent way to bring calm to your meal. If you haven't ever said "grace" please try it at your next meal. Fold your hands or hold hands around the table and thank God for all he has provided for your family.

Journals

This Christmas I made journals for our boys. I had seen an idea in a magazine about writing notes back and forth to eachother and placing them in their own mailboxes. I liked the idea but didn't want the space of mailboxes sitting in the house. I had made a journal in a craft at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers http://www.mops.org/) and realized I could do that for the boys. So, I went to Michaels and found some great scrapbook paper and mod podge and then to Target and bought 2 plain Composition Notebooks. I also cut out words and phrases from magazines according to their personalities. I wrote to the boys first, explaining that this was a way to communicate with anyone in the family by writing or drawing a picture and then placing the journal on their pillow. Then the person can write back and place it on their pillow. The boys were very curious about this process and so far we have exchanged 3 or 4 notes. Some have been pictures of cars drawn by the boys, others have been notes of appreciation from me for helping out with something. I look forward to filling up these books and making new ones and then years from now, getting them out and going through them with the boys.

Christmas Movies

Last night we all snuggled up in front of the fireplace and the big screen tv and watch 'The Polar Express". This is an annual Christmas tradition for us as well as watching other Christmas movies. I store all of our Christmas movies and books away with all the other Christmas decorations so that we can only have them out at Christmas. I think that makes them more special when they are only out for 6 weeks at a time. Some of our favorite Christmas movies to watch are "Elf", The Wiggles "Yule Be Wiggling" and "Santa's Rockin", "Sponge Bob's Christmas", "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", and of course, "The Polar Express. Our daughter will be 4 in 3 weeks and last night, it was like she was watching "The Polar Express" for the first time. She became very emotional during the scenes where the boy is in danger, she was in awe of the North Pole and Santa, and ran over to her bell on the tree when the movie was over to make sure she could hear it ring! It was a joy to watch her experience it and know that she and her brothers feel that magic of Christmas.

This year we also added a new Christmas movie to our list, The Little House and the Prairie Christmas. This is one of my favorites. In the Christmas at Plum Creek, the children are all young and the family has very little to spend for Christmas. Everyone in the family is sacrificing in order to purchase a gift for someone else in the family. But, Laura makes the biggest sacrifice. It was a very good lesson for our kids and even my hubby got a little misty!

A House Full of Memories!

Yesterday we celebrated the day we purchased our house. I thought it was a fun way to remember the day we brought the kids out to see their new house and all the memories we have created here over the last 5 years. I still remember the boys running from empty room to empty room saying what each room would be. Then the next night we came out and put up our tree in the empty living rooom and decorated it. It was important to me to have that done since we were moving so close to Christmas. So, this year we had a special supper of tacos and then all of us made a gingerbread house. We shared some special memories that we have had in our home. I am so grateful we chose to move to this little community. We love the school system, we love and appreciate all of our neighbors, and we truly are grateful for our friends. It is hard to believe we have only been out here for 5 years, but the friends we have made I know will last a lifetime. This is the house that I expect to live in for the rest of my life. I can imagine our kids coming home here with their own families. Over the years it may look different, have different furniture (except the couch in the basement is stuck there forever), or new paint colors, but it will always be home to us and a place where they can feel safe and loved!

This is what is so great about small town Iowa!

This weekend was our small town of 700's Christmas celebration. It is a chance for us to get everyone together and share in the Christmas spirit. On Saturday, they served pancakes, eggs, and sausage to everyone and then each one of the kids picked out a toy and visited with Santa. Then on Sunday, there was a lighting contest as well as a silent auction for 14 decorated trees that various businesses donated. Chili and Chicken Noodle Soup and homemade cinnamon rolls were served. A wonderful opportunity to get together with your neighbors, your friends and celebrating Christmas together! This is one of the things I love about small town Iowa living! We were able to win a bid on one of the trees...a sport related tree that the boys were very excited about! Here is a short video clip from the weekend. Our kids aren't featured but, our friends kids are! Van Horne is such a great community. Come check us out....there are even building lots available!

It's a Snow Day!

Today was our first No School Snow Day of this school year. Our kids didn't have school on Monday for a prescheduled teacher work day...so this is day 2 of them being home! I decided we needed to be a little more structured today or we might all go crazy! So, this morning Bennett and Reagan helped me make some cookies and muffins (Patrick chose to play video games). This gives us a little head start on our Christmas baking. We had a great day with minimal fighting, good conversation, and a lot less stress! I am hoping to be able to get back to our normal routine tomorrow as I am sure the kids are too. I am going to share our cookie recipe from today! I got this recipe from my friend Jodi and we think they are yummy!

Jodi's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
2 C sugar
1/2 C milk
1 stick margarine
3-4 tsp cocoa
1/2 C peanut butter
3 C quick oatmeal
1-2 tsp vanilla

Bring the sugar, milk, margarine, and cocoa to a boil and boil for 1-1.5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter, oatmeal, and vanilla. Mix all together and drop onto waxed paper with a spoon. Let cool.

First snowfall of the Season!

This weekend we had our first snowfall of the season. The snow was wet and perfect for snowman making and snowball throwing. The kids couldn't decide what to do first....decorate the tree (as we had originally planned) or go out and build the snowman! Both got accomplished and we have a new addition to our front yard!

Reading Traditions

Reading has been an important part of my life as long as I can remember. I remember my parents reading to me and then "pretending" to read the newspaper, magazine, or books in our home. As a child, since my sisters were 15 years older than me and out of the home by the time I was 4, so I was basically like an only child. I learned to read very early and have always loved it. Now that my father is retired and in his 70's he is a voracious reader. He reads more books than I can ever keep up with. I enjoy going to bookstores and finding the perfect book for his next read. Since I belong to a book club, I frequently share with him the books we have read. No one else in my family is in a book club, but I have numerous aunts and cousins who enjoy reading and we often share our great reads with eachother. My nephew, Eric, is also an avid reader and used to be a high school English teacher. So, we would often share our "good reads" with eachother. It has been great because my dad and I have found a new way to connect with eachother...through our love of reading! Now, as a mom, I want to be sure I carry on that tradition to my children. Our oldest was reading by the age of 4 and has always found reading enjoyable. Our middle child would prefer to be read to, but still enjoys reading. Our youngest is almost 4, but can already identify certain common words. I enjoy reading to them and am always eager to purchase new books for our library or to travel to the library for some new material. As we are coming up on the holiday season, I love to pull out our Christmas and Winter themed books that are only out during that time of year. It makes them more special since we can only see them once/year. The important thing is that we are a reading family. I want my kids to see that I enjoy reading and that it is important. That is one tradition I am not willing to break.

Pumpkin Carving 2008

Every year we gather up all our pumpkins and search for the coolest designs and get to work. Typically it is Pat and I doing all the work, but the kids love seeing the designs come out on the pumpkins and then the real excitement of lighting them outside.

For me, it is all about creating those traditions and memories for the kids. Very soon, they will be able to do the creating and cutting while we sit back and watch the creations come to life. Until then, we are having fun creating the "magic". This year we chose to support our favorite teams, The Cubs, The Iowa Hawkeyes, as well as doing our name with a bat and the typical halloween fare of a jack-o-lantern, RIP and pirate skull. Tomorrow the kids will continue with our tradition of trick-or-treating around town with cousins and I will stay home and hand out candy! Then everyone comes back here for food, candy trading, and great fellowship!