Christmas Eve

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve service last night . . . the theme of the evening was "The Story Must Be Told" and we were reminded of the importance of the message of the first Christmas and that we need to share that message with those around us.

Here's a taste of Christmas Eve at our church -

Harp being played . . .

 O Holy Night being sung . . .

A few words being shared by our pastor, reminding us what Christmas is really about . . .  

 The children singing . . .

 . . . praises to the newborn King!

 And a reminder that the old, old story MUST be told!

May the Light of the World light your way this Christmas!

Making memories at the Nutcracker

We've been studying about Tchaikovsky in preparation for our outing to Symphony Hall for their annual performance of The Nutcracker.  Lael has had the opportunity to attend twice before, but this was Jaden's first time!

We arrived a few minutes before the performance began, which was just enough time to get a quick picture . . .

 and find our seats.

 Can you tell we're just a bit excited???

 The performance was absolutely marvelous . . . and Jaden (who was a bit reluctant about going because of all the dancing) said after each scene, "That was my favorite part!"  By the end, he decided it was all his favorite!

 Special thanks to "Miss Barbara" - who invited us to go with her!  It was a wonderful afternoon full of sugar-plum memories!

Family times at Christmastime

One of the things we always look forward to at Christmastime is spending time with family.  In this case, it was the annual family dinner with Daddy's paternal grandmother and the extended family.

The matriarch of the family is Great-Grandma Irene (pictured here with her husband Clarence) . . . she is such a blessing to all of us!

Opening a gift is quite exciting for little ones (and bigger ones)!

 And one of the things that Jaden remembered about this particular family gathering is that there was an air hockey table there . . . he was anticipating some fun times playing!

(Noah wanted to be part of the action too - he thought he'd help keep score!

 They played the "double-puck" version of air hockey.

 After lots of running around, Noah needed a bit of quiet time with Grandma playing with a puzzle game.

 Ooops! Caught Jaden exploring the inner workings of an upright piano . . . he was quite fascinated by all of it!

We are so thankful for our family . . .

and are glad that we can at least get together once a year!

Pictures that didn't quite make the cut

In the interests of keeping things real, here's a glimpse into our recent photo shoot.  Who knew that getting a picture of three great kids could be so tough?

 If Noah wasn't crying . . .

. . . he was walking out of the picture . . .

 . . . or sticking out his tongue.

However, we did manage to come up with some beautiful pictures - but you'll have to wait a bit longer to see the final product!  (Christmas is full of surprises and secrets, you know!)

Christmas 2010 highlights

Yes, I know that it's almost Valentine's Day . . . I guess I'd better get these pictures posted! (At least it's still winter, right???)

Here's the gang on Christmas morning

One of our Christmas traditions is reading the Christmas story from a book that we got for Lael her very first Christmas - when she was one week old in the NICU. We've read it every year since - but this year Jaden read it to the family . . . he did a fabulous job!

Lael's big gift this year - a wardrobe for her American Girl dolls and all their clothes and accessories.

Jaden's big gift - this really cool castle LEGO set!

Noah was just taking it all in . . . at one point he wiggled off my lap and into the trash bag - I think he did it just to get some attention ;-)

(By the way, his big gift - a high chair, just so you don't think we forgot about him.)

Christmas Day was spent putting LEGOs together - at least for Daddy and Jaden! We also had a yummy dinner of white garlic lasagna and watched Toy Story 3 . . . fun all the way around!

We weren't able to get together with Grandma and Grandpa until mid-January due to winter weather and sickness, but when we did it was a laid-back, relaxing day . . . even had some reading time!

Both Lael and Jaden were excited to receive slippers, Odyssey CDs, and especially books!

Noah's present was pretty fun too! It was a great day!

We're still waiting for some "cousin time" - we didn't get to see any cousins this Christmas - and we need a good visit with Nana and Papa too! But we are so thankful for the family time we had and the sweet memories that were made.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!

Thanks for coming to earth as a baby so that we could have abundant life!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!

From our house to yours,

Merry Christmas!

May you be blessed as you celebrate the birth of our Savior!

Christmas Cookies - Part 1

Today in our Christmas fun box, Lael and Jaden were somewhat puzzled to find a pound of butter. Their puzzlement turned to delight when they discovered that we were beginning our Christmas baking today . . . and that they each would get to choose a cookie recipe to make!

As soon as breakfast was over, they rushed to take care of their morning responsibilities - then they each grabbed a Taste of Home Christmas cookie magazine and began perusing every recipe. Not only were they looking at the pictures, but they read through the list of ingredients to see if we had what we needed to make what they selected.

Finally, they settled on their choices . . . although both of them commented that there were just too many yummy options to choose from! Jaden's choice: gingerbread cookies (I'm ashamed to say I've never made them before. Ever. It seems almost un-Christmas-like somehow.) Lael selected a chocolate chunk shortbread cookie - she's a girl after my own heart. (Chocolate always makes everything better!)

We started with Jaden's gingerbread dough -- although he was a bit crestfallen to discover that we had to chill the dough and would need to bake his cookies tomorrow, he overcame his disappointment quite quickly!

While Jaden and I worked on making his dough, Lael had the all-important task of entertaining Noah . . . it's rather hard to concentrate on measuring ingredients when there's a crying baby in the room - ask me how I know! She did a fabulous job, as did Jaden. He especially enjoyed smelling the different spices that we were including in his cookie dough.

After Jaden's dough was safely chilling in the fridge, Lael got to make the dough for her Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies - such a simple recipe . . . only five ingredients!

Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies

Yield ; About 3-1/2 dozen

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Additional confectioners' sugar

(Note: I used dark chocolate chips, but probably should have chopped them just a bit for easier cookie production.)

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Stir in chocolate.

Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a glass dipped in additional confectioners' sugar.

Bake at 300 degrees for 30-33 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Our first day of cookie baking was a delicious success!

As for Noah, he thinks making cookies is exhausting!

Another Christmas Fun Box

In today's Christmas Fun Box, the kids found red and green food coloring, salt and mint extract. Strange combination? Not if you're making red and green playdough, which is what we were going to do!
They each took turns measuring the ingredients for their playdough -- Lael made red with orange extract mixed in and Jaden made the minty green. Then they had to stir . . . and stir . . . and stir . . .

. . . until the playdough was "the consistency of mashed potatoes" -- of course, that didn't mean as much to the kids as it did to me. After all, they usually eat mashed potatoes without contemplating the consistency of the dish.

Then Mommy kneaded the playdough to get it nice and smooth -- it was still really hot so the kids couldn't really touch it. Then they had to wait for it to cool so they could play with it. Doesn't it look pretty, and so festive? I predict that we'll enjoy this playdough a whole bunch this Christmas season!