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Baby #3 is due to make it's appearance in late July.

Family for the Holidays

We've been really enjoying the extra family that arrived on Christmas Eve.  It seems strange that it's already the third night they've been here.  It actually feels like they've been here for a week at least.  Not because we're ready for them to leave---not at all!  Actually it's because we're all having such a good time and really enjoying each other. It doesn't get much better than that.
Our nieces and nephew are the only cousins that our kids have, so they are having a blast reconnecting and spending time with them.  It's so nice that they like playing with each other.
The picture above is my fabulous sister-in-law reading Twas the Night Before Christmas to the kids on Christmas Eve.  A very nice memory.  (My nephew had already pooped out on his bed after a big day of traveling.)

Deck the Kids

Forget about the halls!  Decking the kids is much more fun.  This was Sunday morning before we left for church.  All decked out in their holiday best.

Christmas Program

Carly had her first school program yesterday.  Her class sang several songs and did a few finger plays for the parents and family who came to watch.  She did a great job--no stage fright terror in her eyes.  She sang well and did all the hand motions.

I thought she was particularly cute at the very beginning of the program.  Her class was the first ones on the risers and they were waiting for the other 4 year old class to file up the aisle.  She stood very still with her hands at her side and looked right at me.  Then, while keeping her hands down, she started waving at me.  It was just a little flicker of a hand moving down around her hip, but I knew what she was trying to do.  It was so cute and made me smile.

After the program, there were refreshments served in the gym.  I was so proud of Carly for taking her plate of treats and sitting over with some girls from her class.  She's usually a bit shy about doing things like this, especially if she's got me to be around.  But she boldly sat down with the other girls and seemed to have a good time.  I didn't want to spoil her fun, plus I figured Isaac would be apt to give her an unexpected bear hug and knock someones drink over.  So I took the little man over to some nearby chairs to eat.

She's definitely growing into a big girl.

Oh Yes He Did!

It's been another busy week in our house.  Getting ready for Christmas, another craft fair this weekend, and doing my best to help a bit with my sister-in-law to be's wedding plans.  That right there is enough to keep any momma busy, but throw in a mischievous 2 year old and you're just asking for trouble.

The following pictures are what Isaac was up to last Sunday night after church and the teen devo.  I was trying to get Carly into bed since she had school the next morning and Shawn was talking on the phone.  The perfect combination for such a little sneaker. He thought he was into the sugar, but it was actually the flour.  Too bad for him!

Sort of a good Santa Claus impersonation, huh?

A Flurry of Terry Cloth

Well, it's that time of the year again. Tomorrow starts the first day of the craft fair at the Mendenhall Mall in Juneau. For those who may not know, for the past few years I've made and sold hooded bath towels for babies and young children. They've sold pretty well each time, but last year they sold like hotcakes! In the two-weekend craft fair bonanza last year I sold 32 towels! (Special thanks to that grandma out there who bought 5 at one time for all her grandkids!)
So yes, if you were to come over to my house right now, I'm sure you'd leave with at least one fiber of terry cloth on you somewhere. I've been cranking them out lately and am ready for the first weekend with 24 towels.
If anyone is interested, the towels sell for $20 each. If you're an out of towner and would like to see more pictures I can email you, and I'll include shipping for $25 total.
Otherwise, stop by the Mendenhall Mall if you can this weekend. I'll also be there next weekend. This year I'm also selling some hair bows, we'll see how they do.

Take a Deep Breath

Don't worry, we didn't leave the tree as Carly decorated it. (see previous post) We finished up the tree the other night and I thought I would put any worried hearts to rest. Ahhh, there's our tree. All twinkly and calm tonight.I also want to clear up any confusion I may have started in my last post with my question for a new blog title. What I meant by "turning my blog anoymous" is not that I'd put a password on it or try to hide it necessarily. What I meant was simply that I'd like to take out our last name from the blog title and address. So I'm going to need a new idea for those. Then I'll make the switch and get the word out via email, facebook, and Christmas cards so our usual readers can still stay connected. So any ideas?
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Back to the Christmas tree....
While I had the camera handy--and didn't have any yahoos jumping in front of the lens or tugging on my leg--I thought I'd snap a few pics of some new and "oldie but goodie" ornaments.
I don't know if this is an official tradition or not for us, but this year at least, I got a new ornament for each of the kids. Mostly because I found this sock monkey one and just knew my little guy needed to hang it on the tree this year. He has recently shown a big interest in monkeys--especially his stuffed ones.
This one just seemed right for Carly this year. The best part is that I got a slammin' good deal on it and she loves it.
This one takes me down memory lane a bit. It's not actually a Christmas tree ornament. I believe it's supposed to be a rear view mirror ornament, but oh well. Shawn and I got this in China when we spent Christmas there with our friends, Mark, Charity, Damon, and Andrea way back in the year that was 2002.
This cute and crafty ornament came from a student who was in my first class in Oklahoma. She was such a sweet girl and a good student. Every year when I pull this ornament out of the box, it gives me great memories of that year teaching in Edmond.
This was also a gift from a student Edmond from my first class, but I don't remember exactly who. Does that mean it was an ornery, snotty nosed kid? Probably, but anyhoo, I like this one just because it's so stinkin' cute. It's got a little spot in the bottom to put a light from your tree in, so it lights up too. For some reason, I just think that's very cute, so it's one of my favorites.
And this extremely plain jane star is a standard part of our tree and I wouldn't have it anyother way. We bought this star in Japan before our first Christmas together and we've had it on every tree since. Good thing my scentimental side beat out my practical side when I was packing our bags to move back to America.
This is Isaac's first Christmas ornament. Believe it or not, it was pretty tough for me to find ornaments for both of the kids that I like well enough to be "the first" ones. Fortunately I succeed and I didn't have to break the bank.
This is Carly's first Christmas ornament. Special thanks to my Dad who worked very hard with a bottle of super glue to repair this one during Carly's second Christmas after I dropped it. Yeah, not one of my favorite moments, but Dad saved the day.
This one is just a funky new one that I got before Christmas last year. It's actually a mini starfish that an artist dried and painted.
Do you have a favorite Christmas tree ornament?

The Princess Tree and A Question

This is apparently how princesses decorate their trees when they've just got their dress-up box to work with. We set up the tree the other day, but there were some technical difficulties with our pre-lit tree, and since Shawn had to leave for work we decided to wait on decorating it. But Carly just couldn't wait.
Also, I've been thinking about changing the title of our blog to make it more anonymous. That would mean we'd be changing the actual blog address too. I know it sounds crazy, but I figured that this is the time of year to do it, when we can hopefully update most of our readers with a new address through our Christmas card. So does anyone out there have a new blog title idea for me?

Showering with Blessings

Things have been a bit hectic around here lately. Which is why I haven't blogged as much lately. It started with preparing for the arrival of my parents and brother who were here for a two week Thanksgiving vacation. They just left today. Shortly after their arrival I, with others from church, hosted a bridal shower for my soon to be sister-in-law. I was so glad my mom was here to help with last minute details and caring for the kids while I ran errands, etc. Thanksgiving soon followed the shower. Then we embarked on a huge project with the help of my parents and brother. We painted our hallway, living room, and kitchen in just two days--including the ceilings! In the coming days I hope to post some before and after pictures, but right now we're still putting things back on the wall and trying to decorate for Christmas. So it's not quite "after picture" worthy yet.
Anyway, back to the bridal shower. I'll admit that I was a bit stressed about getting all the details taken care of beforehand, but I'm so pleased to say that everything came together SOOO well. It was a beautiful time of learning more about Rachel (jr--as we affectionately call her) and her relationship with Lee, sharing conversation with old and new friends over some delicious food, giving blessings for a strong Christ centered marriage, and showering her with things for their new home.
I also got a sense that it was a pivotal time in their engagement and their march to the alter. Sort of the official beginning to all the celebrations of their marriage together. It was truly a special time.
Ok, I know my friend Kelly is going to ask, so I'll just say it. Yes, I made the cake. Basically because I couldn't bear to pay $60-$90 for something similar to this. And because there were so many willing and capable ladies that took on the finger foods, so I felt like I had time to focus on the cake. I borrowed some pans and got some pointers from my friend, Sarah, who makes cakes professionally, and stuck with a recipe I'm familar with--Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese icing. The cake worked out great, especially since Rachel's wedding color is red!

Playing a game of getting to know the bride.
Rachel loves to cook and bake so we played a game where you had to use just your nose to identify 8 different herbs and spices. It was a lot tougher than it sounds.


Miss Jeannie gave a beautiful blessing to Rachel and Lee as they begin a new life togther. She is always so eloquent and thoughtful with her words. What a blessing she is to all of us who know her.




Can you guess that this girl likes pottery? I'd say that's a yes. Here's to many happy days baking and cooking. But mostly here's to your marriage. May you always keep Christ at the center of your lives and marriage as you work to serve him with all that He's blessed you with.

Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving didn't used to be all that exciting of a holiday for me. I mean, I enjoyed it. But it wasn't necessarily the one holiday that I looked forward to with eager anticipation. But sometime after we got married, it became on of my favorites. I credit a lot of that to the years we spent celebrating in Japan with fellow foreigners who weren't literal family members, but with whom we shared a tight bond--like the folks in this picture from Thanksgiving 2004. That sounds a bit strange, right? Developing a deeper appreciation for an American holiday while living in another country. It may sound strange, but it is true.
Thanksgiving isn't a holiday in Japan, so we usually celebrated on the closest Saturday. And we always met at the church building that most of us worshiped at. Some of us would gather the day before and decorate. I remember one year going to extreme measures with Mark and Charity to make sure we could fit everyone under one table.

And the desserts were always amazing. I think that's pretty much standard for every Thanksgiving celebration--or at least it should be! We had some excellent cooks in our group of "gaigin" (foreigners). I learned quite a bit about cooking and baking from these lovely ladies. I have several recipes that were given to me by some of them that I still use today. Like Nicole's sweet potato recipe, Kari's BBQ sauce, and Rachel's "governor" pancakes. Mmm, mmm good.
After dinner, everyone stayed the rest of the day and spent time together. Some of us brought our supplies and scrapbooked the evening away.
Some watched football games that Mark would record a few days before our gathering. The rest of us didn't have the fatty cable package that he had, so he was our ticket to American sports on TV.
Some people played games.
And others just enjoyed some conversation. I can appreciate Brooke in this picture (far left). She had two little boys about the age that my two are now. I noticed that she wasn't in any of the other pictures of people relaxing after the meal. My guess is that it's because she had to stay on her toes for her little guys. I can definitely appreciate that role right now.

This year, 2009, we made some memories as well. We had our meal with our church family here in Juneau at the church building.
We also got to share the day with my parents and my brother.
After our meal, my 2 yahoos played with whatever they could find.
And tried to be a goofy as possible.

And petted the heads of our friends. Ok, yes. But I'd like to point out that Rylan's hair looked very different from his normal doo. It must have gotten wet or something, because it was all soft and curly and cascading down his face. I mean who wouldn't want to reach out and touch it. Ok, so no one else did, but that's still alright. We're all friends here!
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and made some wonderful memories.

More Entertainment

Entertainment

My parents are here visiting for Thanksgiving, as well as my brother. And for the last couple of nights, the kids have given us some toe tapping entertainment. Tonight it even included dressing up!
Carly (in mid-twirl in the picture above), said: "I'm a princess and Isaac is a king, but I don't know why he's not wearing any [dress-up] clothes!" These kids crack me up! I feel like I've said that before.