Christmas Morning!

The kids have been so excited about waking me up by jumping on my bed Christmas morning since they saw a commercial over a month ago. When I put them to bed, I told them that I was excited for that as well, but not before 7am. They must have been watching the clock, because I had 5 little bodies enthusiastically jumping on my bed at 7:01am.  

We play Santa each year, but are very honest that Santa is not real. The girls were very confused this year. They weren't sure we were telling them the truth or if their friends were in the know about the big man. After all, the cookies and cards they left for Santa were gone in the morning :) 

 Elfie left a goodbye note, little candy canes, a picture of himself, and a bucket of "snowballs" for a snowball fight. He promised to be back next year. Such a fun tradition was started with our elf this year!

The next several minutes were complete chaos :)

 Even Harley got Christmas presents :) I think he liked them!

After the gifts were opened and breakfast was eaten, we got ready and headed to church. We came home to nap since Christmas Eve fun kept them up pretty late. The rest of the day was spent eating and playing and just enjoying each other.

Christmas Eve

This year my kids are all at a perfect Christmas age. For the first year they all really get what is going on. More than the getting, they were so into giving this year. We started the month with a really neat Advent book called the Truth in the Tinsel. It is not just a story each day, but a craft as well. It was so good!

Baking takes up a lot of our Christmas eve! I am not much of a baker, but my children LOVE to bake. I am sure it has NOTHING to do with the chocolate they get to sample :)

Finished Santa's cookies

Our birthday cake for Jesus!

Each child gets to light a birthday candle to remind them to allow Jesus' light shine through their lives all year long. 

Each child gets to open one present after our birthday party on Christmas Eve. Michael and Sam have been around long enough to know that it is always the same thing...

 Christmas pajamas!!!! They get a new Christmas book as well.

These girls love each other SO much!

This is completely spontaneous. These three are best friends

Josh is starting to feel the cake!

They are either hugging or this is the start of a wrestling match...or maybe both :)

Testing Santa's cookies and reading the new Christmas book

Cookies, diet coke, and cards for Santa :)

A Whole Week

It has been a week since Marvin's ship pulled out, and man, has it ever been a week!!!!!!! We stayed very busy. Busyness is a double edged sword. It makes time go really fast, and yet every time we go on a fun outing there is sting in knowing that Marvin is not a part of them. That stings, although the sting gets less over time, I know from experience, which is kinda sad in itself.

Okay, enough of that! I thought I'd write down a few things the kids are doing and saying before they outgrow them. It happens way too fast!

>Sarah has started telling knock knock jokes. An example of one, S-"Knock knock."  Me-"Who's there?" S-"dog!"  Me-"Dog who"  S-"Why did the dog cross the road?"  Or her absolute favorite, S-"Knock knock."  Me-"Who's there?"  S-"Beenana!"  Me-"Banana who?"  S-"knock knock."  Me-"Who's there?"  S-"Beenana!"  Me-"Banana who?"  do this about 10 more times(no exaggeration)  S-"knock knock."  Me-"Who's there?"  S-"Beenana"  Me-"Banana who?"  S-"orange you glad I didn't say beenana again? She is so close to getting that one. The best part is her joyful laugh after each joke :)

>Abby has been pretty obsessed with falling in love these days. The other day she told Sam, "I am in love of you."  You can imagine my 7 year old boy's response to that, he was pretty disgusted and adamant that you can't be in love with your brother. Her response, "Well, I am still in love of you!"  Sam, shrugged, sighed a huge sigh and said, "I'm sure you'll find someone to have a crush on soon." Made me laugh.

>Josh is very much a Mama's boy. I gotta admit that I absolutely love him. He stops what he is doing several times a day to come give me big hugs. He will plop down next to me and ask, "Do you know why I am sitting here by you?" I smile and ask him why. He looks at me with his big brown eyes and eyelashes that about make me melt and says, "It is because I love you!"

>Josh loves me, he also is still VERY attached to his Thumper. "Bunny" is what Josh calls him. A while back we were walking and Josh was holding my hand. He looked up and said, "Mama, I love you the best.......... right after Bunny." I'm thinking he meant that as a high compliment, I'm trying not to be offended!

>Both of my girls have the tendency to cry this high pitch awful cry when they are angry or sad. We have been working VERY hard on putting that sound out to pasture and use words instead. Yesterday, Abby refused to eat her dinner. I told her that she could not have a cookie for dessert if she did not eat the dinner first. She said that she didn't like cookies. So, when it came time to have cookies, she was glaring at me as only Abby can. I ignored it, but Sarah asked why she was being grumpy. The following conversation unfolded. Abby(still glaring) said, "Mama is mad at me." I Said, "Abby, I am not mad at you. I am sad that you chose not to eat your dinner and get a cookie." Still glaring at me, she said, "Welllllll, I am mad at YOU!"  I had to walk down the hall and compose myself before we discussed respect. Can you unteach words?

>When the kids got home from AWANA this last week, Sam was excited about a new game they learned there. He very excitedly asked me, "Have you ever played Sharks and Widows?"  I could not stop laughing, while he looked at me, very confused. I told him that I had played Sharks and MINNOWS a lot. Kinda puts a new spin on the game :)

Whirlwind of Chritmas Fun!!!

This last weekend was CRAZY busy! I love our church. I look forward to every Sunday and Wednesday! However, I love any excuse to visit other churches and meet other believers. Christmas programs are the best excuse! Our local Christian radio station has a list of activities and programs from all over our area. I sat down with our calendar at the beginning of December and filled it up with fun! We are halfway there and have had a blast! We started with a trip to The Lights of Christmas on Dec. 1st. It is a Christian camp about 30 minutes away and it is truly a winter wonderland. Millions of lights, food vendors galore, train rides, pony rides, petting zoo, fun shows, and of course, Santa! We bundled up and headed out at sunset.

Santa pictures take one!  Notice that there are only 4 little Qs in the picture. Abby would have none of it :)

 Sarah is over her fear of Santa :)

 When we left she said that she loved Santa and told Abby he is a nice man.

Bruce the spruce is a Christmas tree with a microphone. He talks and answers questions and my children did not know what to think!

They had fire pits spread out to warm up as we went

Then on the Fifth, the kids and I went to the Nutcracker with my homeschool group. It was so good and during intermission, they taught the kids about lights, sets, electrical, and the crew back stage. I am so glad we were able to make it.

The kids and I headed to a nearby city for a Christmas program that included an illusionist on Saturday afternoon. Brock Gill was awesome! It was a great program and I am pretty sure that my boys and I are now even for The Nutcracker:)  I have no pictures, because the memory card was not in the camera...it was a lot of fun though!!

Then, on Sunday, we left our church and headed to a huge church about an hour away. Before the show, they offered Santa pictures. It was our first ever Q family Santa picture in which the whole crew is there and SMILING! They are sending them out this week and I'll post it when it comes! They had a fellowship hall set up with trees from around the world. Each country's tree had wonderful people from those cultures serving snacks from that area. It was so fun to meet new people and, since our curriculum this year is focusing on Countries and Cultures, it was great to tie it in to what we have learned so far! BONUS! Their program BLEW me AWAY!!!! It was amazing with a full orchestra and choir. The first half was packed full of stuff for kids and mine loved it. They listened and laughed and clapped. Then, during intermission, they opened the children's department for Jesus' birthday party. They weren't sure about going, but agreed to check it out. As soon as we got there, they all quickly said goodbye. I went back up and enjoyed the second half of the show which was much more serious.

There will be more to come this next week! Can't wait!!!!

The Seattle Car Show

When getting Christmas pictures off of my camera tonight, I found these ones from a few months ago. I thought I already posted about them, but didn't. So, I am writing it now so these memories don't go away!

I am NOT a car enthusiast. Well, I WAS not a car enthusiast. Then Sam turned about 6 and he became obsessed with all things cars. I don't just mean collecting various hotwheels or admiring fast sports cars. He began gathering information on every make or model. He spends our car rides naming every car we pass (or passes us) and giving all its stats. As soon as he could read consistently, he began reading mama approved articles and car reviews. It is completely normal for him to see a favorite car in a parking lot while we are out and ask to get a closer look. As long as it is not pouring down rain, my normal response is, "Yes, you can look, but DO NOT TOUCH!" Then I wait patiently while he circles said car as many times as I let him. When I heard an ad on our radio station for The Seattle Car Show, I knew we had to get there. When Sam asked what it was, I told him it was like a huge parking lot filled with brand new cars to look at. He and Michael were incredibly excited.

 Waiting in line to get tickets. Kids were free!

 On the way in with their brochures

Right at the entrance were the expensive cars that were roped off

Then he looked over the railing and saw cars of every kind! This was only one small section, it was HUGE!

Sam was in HEAVEN!

Michael was pretty excited about it too!

Each of the kids got to pick a car they wanted to see up close. Michael went first...not sure what that is, but it is blue :)

 

 He was LOVING being up close to so many cars, but when we told him to climb in, I think he was in a bit of shock!

Sam's choice!

Josh's pick...I think it might be a Mazda :)

Marvin's pick

Abby's pick. It is Bumblebee from the Transformers movie. And, no, none of my children have ever seen the movie. Someone was really good at marketing!

 This was Sarah's pick as well, but she was moving like crazy and I couldn't get a picture of her..

Like father, like sons...

Cars are not one of my top interests. Not even close, actually. Sam is right up there toward the top, though! So, because this is a way to connect with the small men in my life, it is important to me too. I will continue to hear about horsepower, weight, engine size, fuel type, etc. Actually, I can't think of anything I'd like better :)

Saying Goodbye

This is not our first deployment. We have been doing this for 10 years now, you'd think it would get easier. It absolutely does not. Every single time we have to send Marvin off, we send part of hearts with him. I play through every memory he will not be a part of...again. I worry that our children will begin to doubt how very much they are loved because he is absent so much of the time. I worry that they will feel a huge void because of the decisions we have made. I think about the very lonely evenings after I put the kids to bed. I wonder who I will laugh with at their silly antics. I think about the cold sheets that will greet me each night and cannot help but feel incredibly lonely. And then I dive into the promises of One that will never leave me nor forsake me. I remember why we made the choices we did, following what we knew to be God's will for our family. And in following after Him, He has promised to meet absolutely every need. He will be the Father to my children. As I teach them how very special they are to our Lord, they will have no doubts that they are loved so fully, even beyond what we as their parents on earth can ever love them. Marvin may miss out on many memories, but in those times, we can remember the ones he was here for. I am reminded that even if he were home every second, we could not meet the needs of our children completely. Only God can fully know them and meet all of their needs. All we can do is continue pointing our little ones back to their Father in heaven and trust Him. I smile because my God becomes so much more tangible to me when my husband is gone. I think it makes Him smile when I talk to Him about the silly things. He may not talk in ways that our ears can hear, but He fills me with a peace that is undeniable. The sheets are still cold, but flannel pajamas and warm socks will keep me warm until my hubby returns. Not to mention that the empty space is often taken up by a small warm body...or two :) There will inevitably be tears along the way, I am sure that my Savior understands that, for even He wept. After a few fall, I will shake them off and press on in faith. And the many times I completely fall on my face and start feeling sorry for myself, I'll come back and read these words.

O Tannenbaum

After a great Thanksgiving, it was time to cut our Christmas tree. We have a Christmas tree farm just a few miles from our house. We have been passing it every time we come and go and have watched with anticipation as they readied the lot for the year. Saturday it was finally go time! We bundled up, even though it was really not very cold and headed to the tree farm. We got our saw and a wagon and set out in search of the perfect tree.

We searched

 and searched

and searched...

Then...

 we found it!

 O Tannenbaum!

Marvin, Michael, and Sam worked together to cut down our tree

Josh and Sarah were waiting to catch the tree

TIMBER!

The boys loaded it into the huge wagon!

Hauling it back to the van!

The girls discussing if they were really responsible for holding the tree onto the roof or if Abba was just messing with them...

It made it home!