New Year's Eve

 We had a fun New Year's Eve party home with the kids.  I saw this idea on Pinterest & thought it was perfect!  Write out some activity ideas.  Roll them up & put in a balloon with the time you want to do it.  Blow up balloons & hang on a string to pop each one when the time arrives.  EASY!  At least if you have more than two balloons in your house.  Ha!  I ended up improvising with some Ziploc bags & tissue paper... Darren was making fun of me, but they still popped!  The kids loved it as expected.

 We made pizza, played Phase 10, made brownies for dessert, & played some minute-to-win-it games.  This was easily the most amusing, though not the most challenging.  They had an empty Kleenex box full of jingle bells tied to their waist.  The first to dance out all the bells won.  Unfortunately all my jingle bells had strings on them which caused them to become mostly one tangled blob!  Still funny, though.

 Some impressive cup stacking

Curly Bell

Happy New Year!

New Years

 Fancy supper with the kiddos!  Even lemonade is fancy in a wine glass.  

 Auntie Katie & cousin Alivia on New Year's Day at Green Grandpa's

 Hey, cutie

 We surprised Grandpa with birthday hats & cake

 Happy birthday!

Happy New Year

We spent the day celebrating together & decorating the kitchen for our party.  We made sure to have our own hip hip hooray before we put the kids to bed & headed out to another celebration.  Thanks, Amber & Kelly!

Our second amaryllis opened just in time for the new year!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Just as our empty tree became a Jesse Tree became a Christmas Tree,our empty stable was filled day by day during Advent to a full Nativity scene on Christmas
now became the newborn King awaiting His Presentation

Best Reads of 2010

Here are a few of my best reads from last year. Check them out!

The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

We read this week by week for our Bible Study & it was very good. It was a different way at looking at our vocation that really helped put my day into perspective.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My friend Karen recommended this fiction book to me & I was totally dragged in by it. I read the whole thing in two days! (Not to mention that I just read the second book in the series yesterday... 400 pages in 7 hours!) A gripping story with many underlying social commentaries. My favorite part is that a lot of our GodTeens are reading/have read them as well, so it's one more thing we can talk about.

The True St. Nicholas & Why He Matters to Christmas

by William J. Bennet
This was the most descriptive "biography" of St. Nicholas of Myra that I've ever read. It's a compilation of what we KNOW about him, which is little, & what tradition has passed onto us both in America & around the world. Very interesting & a good read as you contemplate Advent next year!

Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibigiza

& the sequel Led by Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide

These two horrifying & yet amazingly uplifting books tell the story of a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda. (It's hard to put down, so be ready for a full day or three of reading!) The extreme suffering that she endured is almost completely covered by the incredible joy, peace, & love she brings to the world through her message of forgiveness. It will get you thinking & get your heart moving toward TRUE love of God & neighbor.

Happy New Year!

Darren's parents generously offered to take the grandkids over night on New Year's Eve once again. Thank you so much! We enjoyed a fun time with friends & then SLEPT IN until 8:00. Unheard of, I tell you!
We headed out to pick up the kids around lunch time & to celebrate Green Grandpa's birthday. It was a lovely day with lots of family. Unfortunately, I missed a photo of the birthday boy, but here's a few grandkids instead. All three of ours are in love with cousin Logan, especially Rebecca. He's a sweetie!

Speaking of makeovers

Since the kids' closet was beyond crazy, I spent a day reorganizing, pitching, & donating all kinds of good stuff.
I decided to move their bookshelf inside the closet because with the way their three beds are squeezed in the room right now it was right next to Teresa's crib. After most naptimes or morning hugs I would see on the floor all the books & toys that she wiggled through the bars to grab off the shelves. When I heard their puppy singing, "Head, shoulders, knees & toes, knees & toes," 30 minutes after they'd been put to bed one night, I figured that was my sign.

I love how just reorganizing the same items can make different ones more enticing. Teresa has barely batted an eye at her stacking rings for months & all the sudden they're fascinating! * I wish I had a before picture so you could really appreciate how much better this looks. Of course, this was a week ago already, so I could probably just take one now & get the same effect...

Photo of the Year Award

2010 was a wonderful year full of countless blessings! Some that I can count... 4 new nephews! Seeing Andrew & Rebecca grow to become real buddies, Teresa stealing my heart & often taking away my breath with her stunts, Darren laboring tirelessly with our dads to finish our basement, vacationing with Vranas, making new Bible Study friends, witnessing Rebecca's giddy anticipation for Friends Preschool, watching Andrew delight in his progress with reading & playing the piano, enjoying time at the farm with my whole family... God is abundantly good to me. I could write & show pictures for pages & pages to recap the year, but you could always just read my old posts! Instead I picked my favorite 5 shots from the year. My Photo of the Year Award goes to July's... credit Lisa... for capturing the sheer innocent delight in her face.JanuaryAprilJulySeptember
October

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Thank you, God!