Christmas Happenings

Our family had a wonderful Christmas this year! As mentioned in my previous post, we went to Leavenworth on Christmas Eve Night. The lights were absolutely beautiful! We browsed through some cute shops and adored the lights and Christmas spirit all around us. It was an evening very well spent!

For whatever reason we didn't take any pics of Dad and Josh :(

Christmas day started out with some delicious monkey bread, then headed off to spend a wonderful morning in church. We were able to finally get a good family picture! The picture in my last post was the best/most recent one, which is from Thanksgiving LAST year.  (I'm kinda the odd ball with my blue sweater, oh well!)

After church, we came home opened gifts and louged around for a bit. We decided that we would do the big meal for dinner instead of lunch this year. We played Scategories after dinner and even had a visitor via Skype play with us! Fun fun!

Monday evening we went with some friends and fellow church members ice skating, at the before mentioned ice skating rink. (On the way to ice skate I was wondering....we call the day before Christmas, Christmas Eve. What do we call the day after Christmas, Christmas Post?!) Anywho, just a thought :). 

 30-45 minutes into skating, right when everyone started getting there...BAM!!

IT happened.

What is IT you may ask?

I fell.

Face forward.

On the ice.

After getting up I quickly noticed something was wrong with one of my back teeth. It was cracked...grr. Aside from the blow and initial pain from it all I didn't know something was wrong with my chin until someone pointed out...she's bleeding

OH SUPER

With help from others I made it off the rink and mom came to examine my 'wound'. Then I heard it, those dreadful words that no one, I mean NO ONE wants to hear.

She needs stitches.

Grrrreat

I.do.not.like.needles.

There was a doctor on vacation who popped up and asked if we needed any help, he looked at my chin and confirmed it.

 After many phone calls, made even by kind strangers, no hospital was open or no doctors were available. We had to travel back home, almost an hour away to the ER. I took some pain meds, hopped in the car and began on our journey to the hospital. Oh the joys of small towns :)

So, all this to say I am now the owner of 7 stitches on the underside of my chin. The first two days were the worst, but today I am feeling much better. Plus, I was able to get my tooth fixed yesterday, so all is well. 

Praise the Lord. Thank you all who knew and were praying, the assembly of the stitches went so smoothly. God is good. Despite my dislike of needles, God allowed it to go SO well and really, truly not as bad as I had imagined. I think maybe, just maybe, I am not as scared of needles because of this experience.

Here is the good news/things to be thankful for:

1. I get my stitches out on Tuesday (Lord willing it heals up nicely, Mom says its looking good..), just two days before Kali and I hop on a plane to visit our friend
2. The tooth that cracked was in the back of my mouth, not the front. Big Blessing.
3. My 'wound' is on the underside of my chin, so SO thankful it was not directly on my face. HUGE blessing.

My family has been teasing me about my stitches. At the right angle it looks like I have the starting of some dark facial hair underneath my chin. That's ok...accident's happen and you just have to laugh! :)

~Christmas Time Is Here~

These past few weeks have been pretty busy with Christmas preparations. First, we had our Christmas program at church that went very well. Several of us adults sang, kids recited Scripture, a group of kids sang, and also did a little scene of Joseph, Mary, the Angels and Shepherds gathered around baby Jesus. They all looked so cute with their little costumes on!

We have received/baked so many yummy treats this year. I have orange-almond biscotti in the oven as we speak, errr, as I type. There are plans for a 3-day sour cream cake and a black bottom cheesecake for Christmas day! Yum!! This is when I am thankful we have two men in the house to eat all these sweets up! Self control concerning sweet stuff is not my strong point :)

Our family has been trying to do fun/Christmasy-related things on the weekends. Last saturday we went to an outdoor skating rink! By the time we got there it was later in the evening, as we pulled up no one was on the ice. We were quite puzzled and were wondering if they were open. Upon speaking with the worker we found out they were open just no one was there. SCORE! Our family had the entire rink to ourselves for the remaining hour it was open. It was such a fun time we had together!

Tomorrow (Christmas Eve) we are heading to Leavenworth (a little-touristy-old-log town). They always go all out for Christmas, lights galour with all the shops! We are looking forward to it! I'm sure you all will see pictures later :)

Christmas day is just going to be us five this year. Honestly at first, I was a little bummed it was going to be just us. After thinking about it more, I think it will be nice. We are trying to spend all the time we can together (just us five) before Josh moves in February. Of course, we are planning the big ham meal with fixings and such. YUM! Looking forward to the day centered around our Saviour and His birth. It is truly an awesome thing to celebrate!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

Shout it from the housetop

I like to talk.

Sometimes I talk too much.

Far too many times, I speak without thinking.

This morning I was reading in Luke 12 and the Lord reminded me to gaurd my speech.


"For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.

Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."
~Luke 12:2,3~

Wow.

Can you imagine every little thing you have told someone in secret, good or bad, shouted to everyone from a housetop? That really causes me to think more about what I say. How many times have you heard people say, "Just between you and me...."? It can be so easy to say things to people when you think they are the only one listening.

I think we can all admit that too often than not, we speak without thinking. Say those words and later wish you could have taken them back. It doesn't even have to be mean or hurtful words, it can be things you say that just aren't necessary.

You know that saying, "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." This is an utterly false saying. Words are some of the sharpest and most hurtful things. You can physically heal from broken bones, but words, oh, those words can sting like a dagger.

"The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."
~Psalm 12:6~

The Lord's words are purified, seven times, the number of perfection. What if we did that? Instead of speaking hastily, think about those words, are they good, edifying, and words you wouldn't mind be shouted from a housetop?

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
~Psalm 19:14~

Washingtonians

YOU KNOW YOU ARE FROM WASHINGTON STATE WHEN:

You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Enumclaw and Issaquah. You consider swimming an indoor sport. You see a person carrying an umbrella and know they must be a tourist. Your lawn is mostly moss and you don't really care. Your daily commute to work involves riding a ferry. Honking your car is for absolute emergencies. You're extremely picky about your coffee. You rarely wash your car because it's just going to get washed by the rain tomorrow. Northfaces are always in fashion. You take a heavy coat and a hat with you for a day at the beach. Half of your food is organic. You are a full supporter of one of Seattle's sports teams, even though you know they arent that good. You play the "no you go" at four-way stops. You can tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean and Thai food. You know what a Dick's Deluxe is. You wont go to Forks because of all the Twilight fans. You will never forgive A-Rod. You are a fan of all things green.

20 days left.....

Can you believe its only 20 days until Christmas?! Where has this year gone? THEN, it will be 2012!! *shudder* In prepartion for Christmas, this weekend was filled with a holly jolly time :) Saturday we went out in the hills and mountains, to find our Christmas tree. We did this for the first time last year and decided to do it again! Although, I have to say its ALOT harder to find a good tree and it takes up time, but its fun. We used to have such a hard time picking one out at the Christmas tree farm, imagine picking a tree with 5 people's opinions and tons of trees to choose from. *Eek!* We had a lot of fun and its definitely an enjoyable experience with our family. Once again this year, we have a large version of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, oh well, beggers can't be choosers!

Braxton went with us! So cute!

Dad pulling in the tree

Braxy eagerly watching from the window

Last night, we had our traditional grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner, then we decorated the tree. I think all the rest of the decorations were put up today! It's beginning to look alot like Christmas..... *in a sing-songy voice*

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family this year! Jason, Sierra, Violet and Josiah came up from Oregon on Tuesday and just left this afternoon. They were able to stay for a week long visit and it was WONDERFUL! There were many games of chase, puzzles, and dress up with the kids. Oh, did I mention that they picked up 6 12-packs of Cranberry Sierra Mist for us, since we can't get it over here?! I *love* my family :) Thanksgiving Day, my Aunt Deb and her kids made it over to spend the day with us, which was equally fun. It was a great group! Lots of laughter, food, and fellowship.

Playing songs with Selma

*posing* :)

Lovely kitchen worker

~Cousin Love~ 

Nappers......

Shark Tale puzzle masters ;) 

Selma "riding" Lady Bug 

Of course, we have to put olives on our fingers! 

Let's show our appreciation

There are always lots of things on the internet saying of our appreciation for our troops putting themselves in harms way. Why not SHOW them our appreciation?

I have heard of this website before....anysoldier.com....then a friend Rebecca recently did a blog post of her sending cards to the soldiers. I thought, what a great way to show encouragement, love, and blessing those men and women? Especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner, let's spread some cheer and warmth to our soldiers! So, I got a couple addresses today and am sending out boxes or cards before the week is out.

Will you join me? Let's show these men and women HOW MUCH we appreciate and love them!

Calamity Jane

This movie is becoming one of my fav's! One of my favorite parts is this song, its so funny! If you haven't seen it, at the end, well I probably shouldn't spoil it if you haven't.....BUT especially knowing the context of the movie, its super cute!

Chai Tea

I *love* chai tea! I think it all started last winter when I was recommended an Eggnog Chai Latte and absolutely loved it! (Thanks Liz!!) I had bought several at good 'ole Starbucks this fall season, then got to thinking about the chai tea concentrate you can get at walmart for about the cost of a 16oz tea at Starbucks. Plus, you can get several drinks out of those!! *hurray goes my wallet* After trying different brands and types, Oregon Chai is my favorite!

If you like Chai Tea, this seriously tastes as good as the bought stuff at coffee shops. Mmmmm!! 

McDowell Family Visit

Well, its about a week and a half later that I am finally getting to post about our wonderful visit with the McDowell Family! Better late than never, I suppose :)

They arrived on Thursday evening and so ready to get out of the van from the LONG drive. Bro McDowell taught our Thursday Night Bible Study on trials, it was very good. Friday evening we went to a piano concert that Lilly's piano teacher told her about. The pianist was Yelena Balabanova, she was wonderful! How her fingers could fly about the keys! She was playing the first song and Lilly leans over and says, "When is this song going to be over?!" The songs were very long, but so well played.

The rest of our time was spent fellowshipping with one another, lots of laughter, games, singing, and eating! Plus, I finally remembered all of the kids names, hurray! :) Mykaela, Micah, Malachi, Mercy, Kourage, Kayson, and little baby Kebron!

Josh doing what he does best (picking on the kids!) 

To which Mercy probably gave Josh a tongue lashing for :)

Lead Me to Calvary

What a blessing it was to have the McDowell family over this weekend for a visit! (More on the visit later...) Here is the song Kali, Mrs. McDowell, Mykaela, and I sang on Sunday, a beautiful song!

Sunday Mornings

Sunday morning started out pretty normal. Oh, you know, scurry out of bed all bushy haired, get ready to go to church..... We have to get up pretty early in order to be to church (40 min away) to set up and get all settled for the services. I'm sure you all know how Sunday mornings tend to be, especially with two rambunctious dogs having to be taken out and fed before leaving! Finally, we were out the door heading over the Loup to Twisp for church in Kali's car. Ok...side note needed here..

*Side Note*
Kali's gas gauge in her car is not working correctly. It will show the gas tank to be full or half full but its not....so we have to track the amount of miles from filling it up, this is how we know when to get gas.

Ok, we're back. Apparently, it was overestimated how much gas was in Kali's car. Up the mountains and hills we go then it happened...we started slowing down. The gas gauge went down to completely empty and the "Low Fuel" light is on. Well, thank you for telling us when it's too late!! Thankfully, we were not too high and we still had cell reception. Now, by divine purpose or not, Josh was home with a bad headache that Sunday. I called Josh and he brought us the gas tank to put in the car. Of course you can imagine the *smile* I could hear from the phone call and that very smile he displayed when he came to "rescue us".

While we waited, I can promise you this, there was a chipmunk on the side of the road laughing at us! It was chirping away and was having a grand old time, enjoying our doom.

Josh gets there, put gas in the tank, only to find out that there is only about a gallon of gas in the tank that was brought to us. (Mind you, we still have a good 20 min or so to church.) Here was our plan of action, which my wonderful father was the mastermind of :) Once we get to the top of Loup Loup most of it is down hill,  the engine was turned off and we literally coasted down most of that mountain. I kid you not! Praise the Lord we DID make it to the gas station without having to walk or push. :)

Do you think God likes to spice up our Sunday Mornings to see if we are awake and ready for His House?! :)

"Lies Women Believe"

Mom, Kali, and I have been reading this book together recently. Its by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, have you heard of her? She is a Christian author and writes many, many books for women striving to live a life that is Christ-honoring. We have only gotten as far as the 3rd chapter, but let me tell you, this book is SO good. I've shared with some friends already how eye-opening it really is. As women we are naturally way more emotional then men are. Big shocker, I know!! :o) So, being those emotional women we are, we tend to let Satan get in our minds and let him tell us lies about God, ourselves ect...., then we start believing them and acting upon it. Here is the steps she gives...

1. Listen to the Lie
2. Dwell on the Lie
3. Believe the Lie
4. Act on the Lie

Then, she starts getting into the different lies Satan will tell us about God.....

"God is not really good. If He were, He would..."
"God doesn't love me"
"God is just like my father"
"God is not really enough"
"God's ways are too restrictive"
"God should fix all my problems"

Some of these we would look at and go *gasp*! There is no way I would even say God is not enough (for example). Yet, in our lives, if you take a honest look at it, you may be living the lie. Feeling you need the opinions of others to 'ok' your life, but the only true opinion you need is to know you are right with God and doing what He wants you to do. Relying on people and things, instead of God.

Others lies Satan will tell us about ourselves...

"I'm not worth anything"
"I need to learn to love myself"
"I can't help the way I am"
"I have my rights"
"Physical beauty matters more than Inner beauty"
"I should not have to live with unfulfilled longings"

This is just scraping the surface of what she talks about. All of these 'lies' she goes into and talks about them in depth and really makes you to consider, "Am I believing/living this lie?" I HIGHLY encourage women to read this book. We have just gotten into the first 3 chapters and I have already gotten so much out of it. Once you realize what 'lies' you are believing, you can counteract those 'lies' Satan will tell you with the Truth of God's Word. Believe me, if you take a honest look at your life, you will see some areas that you have been believing the 'lies' Satan tells you.

Breakfast Cookies

Our family loves these breakfast cookies! The smoky bacon, the crunchy cornflakes, and the sweet raisins...Mmmmm!!

[Photo Credit: Taste of Home]

Breakfast Cookies

Yield: 2 dozen

1/2 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 t. baking soda

10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

2 c. cornflakes

1/2 raisins

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in bacon, cornflakes and raisins.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfulls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks. Store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Helpful Hint: Be sure you cook the bacon ahead of time and let it cool before adding it to your dough. If not, your "hot" bacon will cause the dough to soften, thus producing flat cookies.

Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord

Teach me Thy Way, O Lord, Teach me Thy Way!
Thy guiding grace afford, Teach my Thy Way!
Help me to walk aright, More by faith, less by sight;
Lead me with heav'nly light, Teach me Thy Way!

When I am sad at heart, Teach me Thy Way!
When earthly joys depart, Teach me Thy Way!
In hours of loneliness, In times of dire distress,
In failure or success, Teach me Thy Way!

When doubts and fears arise, Teach me Thy Way!
When storms o'er spread the skies, Teach me Thy Way!
Shine thru the cloud and rain, Thru sorrow, toil and pain;
Make Thou my pathway plain, Teach me Thy Way!

Long as my life shall last, Teach me Thy Way!
Where'er my lot be cast, Teach me Thy Way!
Until the race is run, Until the journey's done,
Until the crown is won, Teach me Thy Way!

Feeling Blessed....

I've been thinking tonight about how really blessed I am. Blessed to have a wonderful and Godly family striving to serve the Lord together. As all of us "kids" are 20 and up, I was thinking about how rare you have 3 grown adults living under the same roof. I mean, really, a lot of adults our age are off to college, married, or just living away from home. I can't even describe to you how blessed I am feeling to be together with all of my family, under one roof. I know this won't last forever, marriage and new chapters of each of our lives will begin. I, truly, do look forward to those "new chapters"!! Yet, at this time, I want to enjoy and appreciate the time we all have together, just as us five. Down the road will be sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews [can't wait!]  but just as these moments are here, I am feeling extremely blessed.....

I *love* lists

Maybe its the organizational side of me, but I love lists. Whether its a list of thing to pack, buy at the store, or things to do. The satisfaction you receive when you cross off those things is wonderful! It gives you a sense of accomplishment and success! Maybe I'm weird, but that's how I feel. Its like...YES! Things have been accomplished and completed. I don't always write a list down, usually I have a list going on in my head throughout the day. A verse comes to mind that makes me think this isn't necessarily a weird/strange thing......

~ I Corinthians 14:40~

"Let all things be done decently and in order."

God is a God of order, so I'm thinking He is happy people like lists :)

Thanksgiving Thursday

• Great time of fellowship after church with a very regular visitor on Thursday Night Bible Studies
• God's unfailing, unwavering, never-ending love for us
• New car insurance that cuts my monthly bill in half!! Woo Hoo for saving money!!
• Nice evening walks, enjoying the few warm evenings we have left
• Fun chats with friends living far away
• The many, many great hymns and songs we have to praise the Lord
• My family, they really are the best :)
• Slurpee's and Ice Cream that cools you down in the summer heat! Mmm!
• The opportunity God has given us to be over here serving the Lord, its exciting to see what He HAS done and what He WILL do!!

Day by Day

Praise the Lord that He is with us, to strengthen us "Day by Day"!

I tell ya what....

...this kid is growing up way too fast! Little Samuel is almost 2 months old already and cute as ever!

Stampede

We went to the Omak Stampede/Rodeo once again this year and it was great! We had Carolyn, Deborah, and Matthew visiting from Oak Harbor and that always makes for fun times!

Check it out! This cowboy is from Oak Harbor, WA!! 

This poor cowboy lost his back wheel in a wagon race :(

Vacation

Its been over a week since we have gotten back from Oregon, but I'm sure you all know how busy things can be when you get back to your normal schedule. We had a great time, lots of relaxation and fun! We went camping with my moms side of the family for several days. There were over 20 of us so it made for an fun/crazy time, lots of laughter, swimming, sunburns :(, food and good talks. It was a blessing to be with the family again, I love our family! Its always so fun when we get together! After camping we spent most the time in Bend (where most of the family lives), spent time there shopping and floated the river! Oh, Saturday morning Granny and Jason made biscuits and gravy...YUM!!!

 ~cousins~

~girls going to Sonic and doing some shopping~

~getting ready for breakfast~

~crazy Aunt Sam~

*Kali made a picture slideshow of the trip, so hop on over to her blog to see more pics*

Thanksgiving Thursday

Haven't done one of these in a while...*shamefully spoken*

• Some GREAT preaching! Tonight was on John 14:15, wow, Bro. Geist really dove into it and it was so good! 
• The JOY we have in being able to be in fellowship with Christ! 
• Great time on our vacation with family (more on that later)
• Dad doing better (has another test with a specialist tomorrow)
• The nice warm weather we've been getting :)
• Peace-that only God can give
• Summertime = fresh fruit *love*
• Evening walks in the warm summer air

New Recipes

Red Velvet Swirl Brownies

I'm taking these with us to Oregon for a family camping trip, but of course I had to taste test them first! They are sooo good! They might not survive the trip tomorrow :)

Symphony Brownies

(Be generous with that Toffee and Almond Symphony Bar....oh so good)

[Photo credit: My Baking Addiction]

Spicy Chicken and Pepper Jack Pizza

(Be generous with the cheese, comments I had from this is "more cheese and maybe some garlic", overall it was delicious!)

[Photo credit: My Baking Addiction]