Just Hanging Out

Rick and Jessica left at 3 A.M. to go get Jeff. Jasmine and I hung out together.

We usually have a puzzle going at Christmas. We started one today although we changed our minds about which puzzle after this picture was taken.



Rick, Jessica and Jeff got home around 2 P.M.

Ty teaches Jasmine how to play Game Cube.

Hanging out in PJs getting ready to watch movies.




Jeff

Jasmine

Tyler

Adam

Scrappy

Jessica

Kid's Party

Jessica getting food ready.

The girls.

Jessica and Kathryn.

The girls all dressed up in Jessica's dance recital clothes and medieval dress.

Dancing and singing to Barlow Girl.

Everyone.

Tyler and Kathryn. Yep. She likes him.

Pirate Jessica handing out presents.

End of the party.

Tagged by Juli

I don't usually do these but Juli had this on her blog and it looked kind of fun.

You are tagged if you read my blog!

This is fun (according to Juli : ) ) - it's a Christmas Survey! Please post it on your blog or do it through email.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. Whatever works best for each gift.

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. We had a real tree when we were stationed in South Dakota and could go cut one down for $5.

3. When do you put up the tree? I do NOT put it up. I would throw it through a window. Ask Jessica. It's true. She puts it up each year. See previous Christmas traditions post.

4. When do you take the tree down? Pretty quickly after Christmas. We're tired of tripping over it by then.

5. Do you like eggnog? Uck.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Little rocking chair.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Three. One that's indestructible for the kids to play with.

8. Hardest person to buy for? No one really, well, maybe my mom. She doesn't need anything.

9. Easiest person to buy to buy for? Any of the kids or Rick. I give everyone a piece of paper and it has categories--games, toys, movies, clothes, hobbies etc. and they fill it in according to what they want. If it's electronic games I have to know exactly!

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Ugly angel. I still have it. It's so ugly it's kind of grown on me.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Polar Express.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I see something on clearance I know someone will like! I buy Jasmine's Christmas dress after Christmas 75% off for the next Christmas. Cheap, huh?

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, but Jessica swiped the jacket my in-laws gave me last year.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night but you don't hear it much anymore.

18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? Home. About every five years we drive up to northern IN so the kids can have snow.

19. Can you name all of the reindeer? If I say the rhyme.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Cute little bear puppet one of the kids got somewhere.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve for stockings and the kids' gift exchange. Christmas morning for the rest.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Rude people in stores.

23. What I love most about Christmas? Family.

24.) Favorite winter outdoor activity? Going to the beach. Isn't that funny? I grew up in Northern IN but live in the FL panhandle now. It just seems so funny to pack the kids up and go to the beach in December. We don't swim though. See our Veteran's Day post below.

Yay Cheyenne

Cheyenne won Angela Hunt's contest. You were suppose to take a picture of your pet dressed as a character from one of her books. This is Cheyenne dressed as Gina from "The Elevator." It's the story of three women stuck in an elevator together as a hurricane heads toward Tampa. The gun is my dad's German Lugar from WWII. You can see her on Angie's blog at http://alifeinpages.blogspot.com/2007/12/we-have-winner.html. 

Here are some other pictures. Max as snooty church member in "The Debt."

Scrappy as the dead body in "Doesn't She Look Natural."

 

Christmas traditions

Every family has their own traditions but many of them are similar. I hope that our kids will keep some of our traditions once they have their own families but also blend in their mates' traditions and create some of their own together.

The first thing we do is get our sponsor kids' packages ready to go. We sponsor two kids in Mexico, three in Honduras and one in Guatamala through World Vision.






We can only send 6x9 envelopes with small gifts but we sometimes cheat and send larger. Not much because I'd hate for anyone to have to pay customs. But the part that gets me is that it cost $9 to send a package with a couple of small presents and a few pieces of candy which cost about half of that!



This year we also got packages ready for our twins in Haiti at about the same time.

On Thanksgiving, the kids all write their names on slips of paper. Then they draw a name. That is who they will buy a Christmas present for that year. This year we pooled the money from $1 an A on report cards to buy the gifts. I take each child out one at a time to buy for his/her chosen sibling.


The kids have cloth advent calendars that my mom made.

Our church has several things going on at Christmas. Last year Adam and Jessica were both in the big program at the civic center but no one is in it this year. The younger kids, which included Jasmine, did their little program last week. I hope to have a video up soon.


This year we also had two marching in the Christmas parade. I think we will have band members for a long time to come.



On Christmas Eve day we bake our birthday cake for Jesus and read the Christmas story. This picture is from last year. The kids exchange their gifts and everyone gets their stocking gifts. Right before bed we watch Polar Express and have hot chocolate.

On Christmas morning we have cinnamon rolls and open gifts. Thankfully no one has ever gotten up before 6:30. Everyone plays until lunch. In previous years we've made home made pizzas for lunch but this year we have cornish hens.

In the evening we have one last gift. I buy a game, wrap it and hide it. The kids follow clues to find it. Then they all play the game before bed. We've decided to suspend this tradition until the twins get home because all but Jasmine are a little old for this now.

On Jan. 5th the kids put a shoe outside their door before bed to be filled with little treats (whatever is 50-75% off after Christmas at Walmart). We have monkey bread for breakfast on the 6th. (I don't know how to make Three King's Cake). We just added this tradition to have one last thing to look forward to.

We hope to add some Haitian customs to our celebrations in coming years.


Off to our Sunday School Christmas party.

Ready for the Parade

Be sure to click on the link to the right for our adoption blog.

Our Precious "Babies" in Haiti