Tabletop Tuesday

Ah.... this is when I need my family blog up and running, because this post has NOTHING really to do with Tyson. I promise it's a working progress... JUST SLOWLY. Anyhow, I chose to post these pics on Tyson's blog because I bribed him, to help me undecorate from Christmas, with CANDY if he did a good job. I just could NOT take another moment of the Christmas decorations up. After all, they have been up since November 2nd. Could you have?

It's customary to undecorate by bringing ALL OF OUR decorations to ONE central location and then to pack them up, until next year, in the rubbermaid bins, in that ONE ROOM. I could tell Ty sensed a feeling of importance. Why? Because I even utilized Lilah and Jaxon's sets of hands to help. I would hand unbreakable items to them and say, "Go give this to big brother." They really followed directions and he just thought he was the man in charge. I am not THRILLED with the way the items are piled onto the dining room table, but at least it's done and ready to be put away. Some help is better than the wrong help.... well, sometimes.

2nd Week of Christmas Break!

With Christmas over, you'd think all the new toys and games that my kiddos received would occupy their time, but eh... it doesn't. The day after Christmas, as my kids walked around aimlessly, I lost it for a moment and told all three of them "next year, you all are getting what everyone else in our church gets for Christmas... 3 gifts! and that's it!" I really think I'm sticking to that threat. It just becomes more work for me the day after Christmas to put away all the gifts and revamp the toy closet. If they'd play with the gifts, I'd have no problem buying them. Tyson got 6 playstation/wii games and he refuses to play ANY OF THEM. He loves all his old toys and old games. Go figure. Anyway, back to reality... Daddy is at work today and mommy is left home trying to figure out what the heck to do with two almost 2 year olds and one almost 6 year old.

The age difference is killing me.

Here are a few ways we occupied some of the early am today.

Disclosure: Excuse the "look" of my children. They had not showered or undressed from the night before.

Mr. "Food Face" Plate.

What is it you ask?

It's a porcelain plate with a plain face on it.

After your food is served, you can decorate his face with your food.

I love the fact that Tyson can be creative.

But... it also teaches him to play with his food... not cool.

Check out the creative way Ty used his breakfast:

Cherrios and apples with peanut butter, to make Mr. Food Face silly.

Next up, "Welcome to Paper-Bag-Town"

Luckily I had white paper bags to do this craft.

The rest was supplied to us from a Highlights magazine.

Ty getting busy creating his town.

Then we just completed our paper bag town.

I thought it was fun, but I got out paper, stickers, and stamps for Lilah and Jaxon to get creative with while Ty and I did this. Ty wanted to do what Lilah and Jaxon were doing and Lilah and Jaxon wanted to do what Ty and I were doing. So, needless to say, this "fun" didn't last long.

Finally, HIGH HEEL FUN!

Lilah received these for Christmas from mommy and daddy.

Obviously, she's NOT the only one who uses them.

"Cutie" is an understatement.

Great blackmail photos.

Ty was having fun wearing these heels too,

UNTIL...

I told him I will show these photos to everyone on his wedding day.

Can you tell he's saying, "Nooooo!" In this photo?

I love having a little girl!

Here Lilah is about to fall. See her foot twisting?

Operation Christmas Child

One of our family Christmas traditions has been and is to help someone in need. Some do the Angel Tree, some donate to their favorite charity, and some physically work in the "Soup Kitchen" serving the homeless. Our family participates in the "Operation Christmas Child". This is our third year in a row that we have participated in it. I LOVE THIS for so many reason.

1. It helps someone in need.

2. The entire family gets involved in picking out special gifts for the receiver.

3. The gift is delivered in the name of Jesus Christ.

4. It teaches our children the beauty of giving to others.

We did this a few weeks back and I am just now posting about it.

It's a simple concept... You are given these tags. You choose the sex and age of the child you desire to buy for and you fill a box with all kinds of goodies. This year we chose to bless 2 boys. We picked the 10-14 year olds. Apparently, this age is not chosen as quickly as the younger children. If they run out of stuffed shoe boxes for the 10-14 year olds, this age range receives a box that is not age appropriate.

Here, Darren, Tyson, Lilah and Jaxon are featured heading into Wal-mart with the empty shoe boxes in hand. Tyson was so excited. It's great that he gets involved. I think it was a BIG eye opener when I told him that the boys we were giving these shoe boxes to would ONLY be receiving what was in the box for Christmas and that's it. His reply was, "Well I think we should do like 20 boxes then." So sweet.
Our first stop, in Wal-mart, was to the clothing section. Tyson had a blast picking out two batman shirts for the boys. Other items included, socks, underwear, a football, balloons, candy, markers, a bar of soap, stop watch, neon glow sticks AND more.... You'd be amazed how much you can fit in such a small box.
We went to Wal-mart and the Dollar Tree to fill these boxes. We picked out all kinds of fun things that boys between the ages of 10-14 would love to have.
We were certain to include some spiritual items for the boys. In each box we gave them some bible trivia cards. We hope there isn't a language barrier and that they can use these cards to somehow know of Jesus Christ. We would have put a Bible in the box, but we were told that customs would remove it. We are so blessed to be able to read our Bible without suffering in extreme measures. We also put a personalized letter as well as a picture of each of us in the box. We thought it would be nice for the receiver to know who sent the box to them.
Our church collected MOUNDS AND MOUNDS of shoe boxes. This ROADWAY truck held a portion of the boxes. If I recall correctly, we had at least 2 of these trailers, if not three of them FILLED to the brim with stuffed shoe boxes. Our Church was a drop off location for shoe boxes.

"Let's See What We Are Going to Bake Today!"

Gotta love MEN! On Saturday morning, Darren decides to announce after he pulls all of my cook books off of the shelf... "Let's see what we are going to bake today!" Little did he know I was down to nothing in my refrigerator, INCLUDING EGGS, the main ingredient in most ALL sweet treat recipes. Tyson was ecstatic. AND... once you plant the seed in Ty's head, there is NO turning back. He was, for sure, going to hold his daddy to this Saturday afternoon baking experience.

All joking aside, I AM LOVING my husband more and more, day by day. He is truly every woman's dream man. He unloads the dishwasher and takes the trash out EVERY morning before work. He is 100% a team player with a our children. He is a God fearing and God loving man. He is responsible, reliable, trustworthy, motivated, self-less, involved, organized, clean, and hard-working. A great provider. Not to mention sexy! AND he loves to do FUN things as a family. Baking is one of his favorite holiday traditions. I'm not sure he was thrilled about following through once he heard that he had to make a trip to the grocery store WITH Tyson for all of the ingredients. But he went anyway. Grocery list in hand. Did he get everything needed?

Yes he did! After returning home from the grocery store, Tyson and Darren wasted no time and got to work immediately. I put the babies down for a mid-morning nap and folded a load of laundry. By the time I returned, the cookies were already prepared and finished baking. I got to participate in the decorating and clean up part though.

Darren, thank you for the wonderful memories you create for our family. I always wanted a fantastic father for my children and I got one, that's for SURE! Now if only you would eat the cookies with us.

This was just 1/10th of the mess that was left for me to clean up! Sprinkles, sprinkles, EVERYWHERE. Oh well, the mess was honestly well worth the memories and the excitement beaming from Tyson's face. He definitely is his mommy's son. Loves to get creative.

3 Blessings From Above!

Lately, I must confess, I have questioned why God blessed me, of all people, with 3 children. I'm so undeserving of such an honor. I have had to repent of my lack of patience lately and the ease in which I complain about what they ARE doing WRONG instead of what JOY they can and do bring to my life. The other day I stopped and witnessed these beautiful gifts that God has given to Darren and I to shepherd. It was a blissful moment as they were getting along so well and sitting quietly together as they watched a Christmas video on the computer. Tyson is really enjoying being home, on break, and hanging out with his brother and sister. He cannot wait for them to wake up every morning. He has even enjoyed sleeping in their room a few nights in a row. It's cute to watch him "father" them aka boss them around as well.

I have recently shared with my sisters in Christ that one of my biggest fears is NOT appreciating these times ENOUGH. Lord, be with me, during these next 14 days. Allow me to find the desire, energy, and enthusiasm to mother these children in a manner that is glorifying to YOU!!!

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

Psalm 127:3-5

Football Talk. Football Art. Football Games.

If you know me WELL enough, you know how much I loath the mere thought of football season. I truly wish I could find a way to become interested in the sport and enjoy spending time with my husband as he enjoys his love for it. I'm just not that type of wife that gets all decked out in her husband's favorite football team attire or better, plans a football pre-party for her husband and his friends. Darren has no hesitation to remind me of some of you wives who are like that. I always say, "Well maybe you should have married them!" LOL!

Darren's MUCH better now than he ever was when it comes to football and all that it entails, but I still find myself getting internally angry or hurt every time he's watching a football game. I guess it's because I've never see men give so much uninterrupted attention to something so pointless. If you want to know who won the game, you can eliminate 4 hours of sitting in front of the television, and just check the score when the game is over. Yea right! Try telling that one to a man who has a favorite team. Am I the ONLY wife who feels this way? Please, enlighten me.

ANYWAY, Tyson has been displaying his love for the sport now. He's so smart. I'm not just saying this because I am his mom. His level of intelligence and his ability to retain information is amazing. Darren and Tyson have had a few football discussions on the rules and how the game is played, while watching a game, but nothing overly substantial. It's incredible how much him and his daddy can converse about a game on tv. For some reason, it gives me great joy hearing it out of his mouth. Maybe ultimately, I like it because I know it's exactly what Darren envisioned the day he learned he was having a little boy and I'm excited for him. Does that help change your opinion of me being a non-supportive wife?

With two sons, I'm just going to have to accept the fact that football is inevitable in this house. I do look forward to watching TY play football soon on the pee wee team.

Enjoy a photo of a drawing Tyson made at school. It's all about FOOTBALL. And, then, the other picture is of Darren and Tyson standing in front of the tv, watching a basketball game and discussing it. I'm so glad I have a little girl to go get a manicure or pedicure with one day. :)

Christmas Traditions

Our family is already in the Christmas spirit. The indoor and outdoor decorations have been up for well over a week and a half. I'm sure our neighbors are NOT happy. We had to make the best use of our weekend stuck home with sick children, so Darren decided Christmas decorating was the way to go. I love everything about Christmas. I love celebrating the birth of our Savior, I love the Christmas lights, I love the baking and the smells associated with it, I love the scent of fresh Christmas trees and wreaths, and I even love the hustle and bustle on the roads and in the stores. I've heard several friends mention lately that they would like to add to or create new Christmas traditions for their family/children, so I thought this was a great opportunity to share our traditions with everyone before everyone gets knee deep in their hectic holiday schedule. Just incase you'd like to snag them for your own family/children, here they are.

The Christmas Story:

On Christmas morning as well as EVERYDAY, we don't want our children to loose sight of the real reason Christmas is celebrated. We want them to focus on the TRUE meaning and give thanks to our Savior. Before the gifts are dispersed and opened on Christmas morning, our children sit around the fire, near the tree, or on our laps and listen to the story of Christmas. The book we bought and use each year is very clear cut and the illustrations are beautiful. Barnes and Noble sells many Christmas stories by different authors. I loved this one the best.

"What God Wants for Christmas"

What God Wants for Christmas is a kid-friendly, interactive nativity that tells the story of Christ's birth in a simple and fun way for kids of all ages. It creates anticipation and surprise in your child's Christmas experience with seven gift boxes, 6 hand-painted figurines, and a surprise ending in box #7. A colorful pop-up manger and a beautifully illustrated story booklet are also included. You can use this hands-on Christmas activity as a one-time event or 7 days leading up to Christmas morning. We started this tradition last year and it will resurface again this year. When Ty saw me pulling it out of the Christmas bins, he said, "Oh, I remember that. Can we do it again? RIGHT NOW!" It's amazing how well my 5 year old knows the gospel and it showed when we did this activity. I pray his head knowledge becomes heart knowledge one day.

Bake a Cake for Jesus

This is a wonderful tradition that we started three years ago. It's brings you to a point of literally stopping your hectic holiday chaos to bake, sing, and celebrate the birth of our Savior. Last year we took it one step further and even decorated our dining room with "Happy Birthday Jesus" decor. After all, he was there with us in spirit. This tradition allows the kids to be creative and provides mommy with a reason to increase her cake decorating skills. See last year's cake below. Also, I have attached a link to a recipe for a Happy Birthday Jesus cake and the meaning behind each layer of the cake etc...

http://www.maryricehopkins.com/devotions/december.pdf

Operation Christmas Child

Our lives are so blessed and we know that everything that we have is given to us by God. We are so thankful for the common grace gifts, his saving grace, and the physical blessings we also have. We are expressing our gratitude by blessing the less fortunate with both physical and spiritual gifts. We enjoy sharing God's word in so many facets, but this is a great way to show love... one of God's greatest commandments. Each year we participate in the Operation Christmas Child. We fill a shoe box and share it with a child around the world. This year, we have chosen to bless 2 boys between the ages 10- 14. A child who has never received a gift before will now get to experience what receiving a gift feels like. These gifts go to children who live in poverty across the world. We are certain to include a small bible or spiritual gift expressing the good news of Jesus Christ as well as a picture of our family so the recipient knows who shipped the box to them. When these boxes are passed out, they are given in the name of Jesus Christ. We know this gift will be accepted with much gratitude. It's a wonderful feeling to give rather than to receive. If you're interested in participating, our Church is a drop off center.

Christmas Advent Book (NEW TRADITION in 2010)

This is a book that we just bought for the kids and we plan to begin reading a section of the book each night starting in December to help anticipate the coming celebration of Jesus' birthday. This is a classic Christmas picture book, One Wintry Night, which tells the story of a mountain boy who is injured in a snowstorm and seeks refuge in a cabin. While he waits out the storm, the woman who lives there tells him the Christmas story. Starting with the very creation of the world and ending with the resurrection, the boy discovers the big picture of God's plan for his people and situates the nativity within the scope of history. Breathtakingly illustrated by renowned artist and author Richard Jesse Watson, One Wintry Night is the perfect gift for the young and the young-at-heart. I'm excited to see this new tradition transpire into something meaningful.

Christmas Program At Our Church

Our home church puts on a HUGE Christmas program each year which involves many of the children, teenagers, and adu

lts in our congregation. It is very enjoyable to witness this program because much hard work goes into it. The practice starts in August. The participants practice for several months. The sole purpose of this program is to display Christ's glory and share the TRUTH about His work on the cross. There is no Frosty the Snowman or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer songs at this event :)

This event is open to the PUBLIC. Plea

se contact me if you are interested in coming. The performance is on December 11th and 12th and is FREE.

Christmas Eve Service

Many people only attend church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but God deserves to be worshiped and glorified all year round. It should be our desire to be around fellow believers, keeping us accountable for our actions with people of liked minds, bodies, and souls. We are designed to worship the Lord with others and not just once of year just because it wouldn't feel like Christmas without attending Christmas Eve Service. Our church's service is on December 24, 2010 at 7:00 pm. If you do not have a home church of your own please join us.

The Day After Thanksgiving Photo With Santa Claus

Each year we seem to celebrate Thanksgiving at my father's home. The day after Thanksgiving we take the kids to see Santa for a photograph. With a full attendance, this year, we would have 8 children, all under the age of 5, sitting on or near Santa's lap. YIKES! The photo gets more hilarious and more hilarious each year as some of the kids LOVE Santa and some of them are PETRIFIED of Santa.

Matching Pajamas

It's not atypical if the FIRST Christmas present I buy for anyone in our household is our family pajamas. I love having us all wake up on Christmas morning in pajamas uniquely picked out for each family member. On Christmas Eve, I give my hubby and each of our children one gift to open. It's always our matching pjs.

Gingerbread House

The gingerbread house has been a household tradition for at least 3 years now. The distributor has made it increasingly easier to enjoy the fun part of this tradition without worrying about baking the house and assembling it. I always buy the Wilton preassembled gingerbread house from Wal-mart for $10.00. This is ONE tradition I allow Tyson to do completely on his own unless he asks for me to help him. I remember the first year we did this, I was controlling where he put every piece of candy so it would look nice enough to display on my countertops and then I realized how unfair that was to him. His gingerbread home always winds up looking similar to the candy house on the movie Hansel and Gretel. Candy, candy, EVERYWHERE!!!!

The Elf on the Shelf

Year after year, children and adults alike are baffled by the mystery of how Santa really knows who’s been naughty or nice. After much urging by the elves and Mrs. Claus, Santa has allowed his biggest secret to be revealed in The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition . Touted as “The best thing since The Night Before Christmas” this gift set includes a light skin, blue eyed North Pole pixie-elf, hardbound children’s book and keepsake box. Children can register their elf online and receive a special response from Santa.

This has been the biggest and most exciting Christmas tradition, yet, for Tyson. "Nicey" (as he named him when he first arrived 3 years ago) arrives as soon as our house is FULLY decorated each year. Each night, it is said that the Elf leaves our home and reports to Santa as to whether or not Tyson, Lilah and Jaxon had been good that day. Each child can speak to "Nicey", but cannot touch him or he will lose his flying capabilities. It's requested that the children tell Nicey what they want for Christmas so that he can fly to Santa and reveal that information to him. Each morning, when the kids awake, Nicey is hiding in a new spot. Tyson SERIOUSLY believes this elf is real. We use this tradition as a way of explaining to Tyson that just like the Elf sees Tyson's behavior all day long, so does God. He's alway watching.

If your family does NOT have this.... I HIGHLY recommend it.

Leave Santa Milk and Cookies

Self-explanatory, BUT, I will say, we NEVER seem to leave Santa chocolate chip cookies because Tyson despises chocolate and fears Santa may also dislike it. Santa is served oatmeal raison or this year probably VANILLA oreos with organic whole milk. We are always sure to capture the before and after shots. (This is the one time a year that daddy will actually sometimes eat cookies :). What? Someone has to act as Santa.

Feed The Reindeer

Last year while Christmas shopping at Pier 1, I came across "Reindeer Food" for $1.00. I figured, we leave milk and cookies for Santa, but he doesn't do half as much work as those poor reindeer do, out in the brutal cold. So we adopted the cute idea to feed them. The "food" is basically oatmeal. I am sure you can use anything. On the night before Christmas, we ask Tyson to go outside and sprinkle it ALL over the lawn so that the reindeer can snack while Santa drops off the gifts.

Read "The Night Before Christmas" A RECORDABLE Book

Have you seen these books at Hallmark? Expensive, but the greatest invention EVER. I purchased the book last year because I had a $10.00 off coupon. I was unsure if I was going to give it away as a gift or keep it for our family. I am so glad I was selfish :) Darren and I took turns, last year, recording our voice as we read the story aloud. Every other page I read, as it was recording my voice, and every other page Darren did the same. Each of our personalities came alive as our voices were being recorded. Darren's especially. He made his voice sound big and jolly just like Santa's voice. I thought this was especially nice to have for all of my children acting as a family heirloom and JUST incase we are no longer around for Christmas one day. They can still have their deceased mommy or daddy read them this holiday classic. Morbid I know, but reality.

I would like to have a book for EACH of my children, but being they are $29.95, I am only willing to buy one a year until each of them have a recordable heirloom. I didn't like the idea of purchasing the same book x 3, so this year I purchased the recordable book titled, "The Very First Christmas." Obviously, this is the story of Jesus' birth. Check them out online or at your local Hallmark. They have quite a few titles.

http://www.hallmark.com/online/in-stores/recordable-storybooks/

Christmas Lights Entertainment

This tradition kind of happened on accident one year when we were so tired of being stuck inside due to cold weather. We loaded Ty up in the car (At the time we didn't have the twins. I promise we didn't leave them home alone), picked up some ice cream (it would have been hot cocoa, but Ty despises chocolate) and drove around in search of the coolest homes decked out with Christmas gear/lights. As a child, my mom would take us to a house in Florida that looked more colorful than the home in the movie "Deck the Halls" and it was always a very "bright" night for our family.

Christmas Parade

Tyson really enjoys sitting out in the freezing cold to watch our Salem City Christmas parade. It certainly doesn't light a match to the Macy's day parade, but for Salem, it's decent. The highlight of the night is getting to see Santa on the fire truck. He's always the very last "float" to be seen. Last year Tyson was pretty bummed though... Santa used to give the kids candy canes from way up high, but I think that idea got banned after his aim was determined bad. :)

The German Pickle Tradition (NEW in 2010)

I'm super excited about this new tradition that I spotted in a catalog. Being I am half German, I figured I have an entitled reason to adopt it. Supposedly, the tradition goes like this...

According to German tradition, the pickle brings good luck and was the last ornament placed on the Christmas tree. On Christmas morning the first child to find the pickle was rewarded with an extra little gift left by St. Nicholas. This German tradition encouraged the children to appreciate all the ornaments on the Christmas tree, rather than hurrying to see what St. Nick had left for them.

I've read up on this tradition and supposedly this tradition is a myth. Who really knows? I just love the idea because to Tyson, everything is a BIG GAME OF CHASE and HIDE-N-GO-SEEK. I found an ADORABLE pickle ornament at Hallmark the other day. It's called the "hide-n-seek" pickle. It was made specifically for this tradition. The ornament is actually battery operated and yells out, "I'm over here. Come find me!" Once I spotted it, I had to have it. Hopefully, as the kids get older and older, this tradition won't become a "DILL"emma when the first child spots it. This year, TYSON will obviously be the winner.

Amanda, Ashely, and Carlene, if you are reading this, I bought this ornament for your older children or only child as their special ornament that I give to them each year. You know I LOVE surprises, but I was afraid after you read this post you might run out and buy it.

SPECIAL ORNAMENTS

This is a tradition that my dad started with me but only carried it out for 2 years (laugh out loud). I really enjoyed it and thought it was so special, even if it only lasted 2 years, so I chose to carry this tradition out with my own children as well as my nieces, nephews and youngest siblings. I began this tradition when Tyson was born. I LOVE IT! Each year, I pick out an ornament that reflects each child's personality or interest at that time. It doesn't have to be a Hallmark ornament, but the reality is, even though they are so expensive, Hallmark's ornaments are so insanely AWESOME, detailed, entertaining, and worth something. My goal is for my children, siblings, and nieces/nephews to have a wonderful collection of ornaments hand picked from their Aunt to fill a tree in their bedroom as a young child and into their adult years. This year, I bought Tyson the Hallmark ornament "TRIPLE DOG DARE" based on the tongue on the flag pole scene in the movie "The Christmas Story". He's going to LOVE IT! This ornament is ALSO battery operated and mimics the exact words in this part of the movie.

Which leads me to MY finally tradition and one of my simplest and favorites....

WATCHING THE CHRISTMAS STORY RE-RUNS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN

It's the greatest Christmas classic movie of ALL TIME. I never get sick of watching it.

I hope you have enjoyed this INCREDIBLY long post. I'd love to hear about your traditions. That is of course if you have any left to share that our family doesn't already do. Let know if you decide to snag any of ours and please feel free to share your experiences with me.