20 Questions for 2011

My friend sent me this 20 questions list as a year in review exercise. Since blogs are all about sharing, here are my answers.

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
Kevin was found not guilty.

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
The whole court case experience.

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
Discovering Zumba. I really LOVE it. (Thanks, Paula!)

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?
My health issues

5. Pick three words to describe 2011.
Grace-filled, hard, enlightening

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2011 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you).
Stink, stank, stunk. :) (That's from the Grinch song)

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2011 (again, without asking).
Hard, fun sucking, blessed

8. What were the best books you read this year?
Hinds' Feet in High Places (Hannah Hurnard) and One Thousand Gifts (Ann Voskamp)

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?
God, Kevin, Mary Liz

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
Thirty-One. The confidence it has given me.

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
I'm less psycho. :) It's true!

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
More than I can count. When all is gone and you feel completely alone, God will ALWAYS take care of you. My biggest spiritual growth lesson to date.

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?
Well, my waistline grew and then shrunk and then grew again and hopefully will be shrinking again.

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
I learned that it's ok to let people in on your business because they might get something out of it. They might see how strong your faith is in such crappy circumstances and try praying for the first time in a long time.

15. What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
Meeting new people (professionally) and finding a housekeeping system that worked!

16. What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
Time management to both

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
The internet (A.K.A. Pinterest)

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?
Trying to be a blessing to others...and snuggling. :)

19. What was biggest thing you learned this past year?
I'm a lot stronger than I think I am.

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2011 for you.
The year of learning to recognize my blessings...big and small.

Happy 2012 to all of you!

Rollerskating Day

We are having a staycation this week and were invited to go rollerskating with some friends. It was in Pennsylvania, but they cater to kids and have little PVC contraptions for them to use to skate with. Everyone had a great time! Logan and his friend were the first ones out of skating and to the video games. Rory pretty much skated the whole time...sometimes with me, daddy, Kaelyn, and her friend Emma. At any given time she would just take off on you. It looks like Marley inherited her daddy's balance genes because she was out there and even dancing while skating at times. Once she got the hang of it, she didn't want anyone holding on. Here are some pics and video.










It was a lot of fun, and they're already asking when we can go back. Can I just say that I held my own for not being on a pair of skates for about 20 years? I had a great time! Some more practice and everyone better watch out!

Christmas Jammies

The kids got some much needed jammies for Christmas this year. It was getting to slim pickings from some growth spurts. Now though, I think they'll be able to wear a different pair for 10 days in a row. :) It gives me a chance to get rid of some other less desirable ones. Logan in particular has a couple sets of shorts and t-shirts in size 4. When Logan wears these jammies, he's normally up at some point in the middle of the night because he's cold. He sleeps without a blanket too. I have weird kids. Anyway, I'm happy that he has new warm jammies.
Marley has every Dora jammie known to man I think. She loves her Dora nightgowns the most. We got her a purple one and then she got a red one from Nana. This makes Marley happy because she doesn't like wearing pants.
Rory got a couple of pairs which really doesn't mean anything. She takes them off the first chance she gets and just sleeps in her underwear. She covers up with blankets at least. Told you my kids were weird. Here are some pics of them modeling new jammies...and Rory got a robe too because she says she's cold in the morning. I told her it's because she has no jammies on, but I don't think she cares. When I was growing up, I was always jealous of friends who had older brothers. I wanted a relationship like that...a protector. I love how Marley and Logan cater to each other. Rory and Logan have a great relationship too, but somehow it's different.
Rory wanted you to see her new socks too.
Logan wanted me to take this pic.
That's his Ninja Squeaky.

Christmas 2011

Well, folks....I forgot to bring my camera to Nana and Papa's for the Nerf Gun fight. :( I'm sorry! This year Kevin went out and got a bigboy gun, but Brian didn't have his. Instead Papa loaded up and got himself a new gun. We did our Christmas on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning the Spirit of Christmas came and the kids opened those presents. Then we went to Nana and Papa's. Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's. Then we went back to Nana and Papa's. Here are some pics I did get.
Some action shots. More to come. I need to try and sweet talk Papa into sending me the pics from his camera. ;)

Merry Christmas!

If you look for Me at Christmas

you won't need a special star -
I'm no longer just in Bethlehem,
I'm right there where you are.
You may not be aware of Me
amid the celebrations -
You'll have to look beyond the stores
and all the decorations.
But if you take a moment
from your list of things to do
and listen to your heart, you'll find
I'm waiting there for you.
You're the one I want to be with,
you're the reason that I came,
And you'll find Me in the stillness
as I'm whispering your name.

Love,
Jesus

Christmas Week Daybook

Outside my window...
There is someone riding their ATV at 730p. This makes me not happy. It's dark but not too cold. It got to 60 today. I guess that seals the deal for no white Christmas. :(


I am thankful for...
My life. I helped a friend by helping her clean her house today, and I'm glad I'm not a maid. It's hard! My husband is amazing, and I'm glad we are making steps to improve ourselves and our relationship.

I am thinking about...
How I'm going to get everything done. I have a few more things to do, but all deals are off on Christmas Eve. That's when we have our Christmas with the kids. Sunday is travel day and Christmas with everyone else.

Learning all the time...
We are not doing any "school". We are learning to bake cookies, cross-stitch, bird watch, squirrel watch, singing, dancing, etc...

From the kitchen...
I'm going to make more Ritz cookies. These are the people pleaser, folks! Smear a little peanut butter on one ritz cracker and a little marshmallow fluff on another. Put them together and dip in chocolate. Let set before eating (about 10 minutes). I just keep getting request after request.

I am creating...
A home. It's coming along being cleaned every morning like it is with my chores and such. Decluttering is happening all the time. I have a feeling Christmas might ruin this open feeling.

I am working on...
Being aware of what I need to be doing for me. My counselor keeps saying to just take care of me right now and everything else will fall into place. I can't...CAN'T take care of everyone.

I am going...
To try and keep my focus for the next few days. I'm going to breathe and stay calm even if things don't go according to plan. Hopefully being intentional about it will make it happen. (NOTE TO PAPA- No trying to test this one. That's not fair.) :)

I am hoping...
The kids enjoy the holiday but learn that it's about something bigger than presents.

I am reading...
"Too Deep For Words" by Thelma Hall. It's an interesting book about Lectio Divina...deep praying.

I am praying for...
Peace.

I am hearing...
The TV. I told the kids they couldn't watch it, so they went and asked their dad who said, "yes."

Around the house...
Answered already. It's feeling like home for the holidays. :)

One of my favorite things...
Helping people. I'm hoarding money so that I can pay for the people behind me at Starbucks tomorrow. I love doing that!

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Kevin's off all next week, so the family is having a staycation. I don't know what all we're going to do yet, but I know we're going rollerskating on Tuesday with some friends. Oh...and my zumba guy is in town doing a zumbathon. That's two hours straight of zumba. I'm addicted. I'll admit it.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
Ninjas..with black construction paper. :)

Fancy Schmancy

For my mom's birthday, my dad wanted to get me, my sister, Kaelyn, and our significant others to a fancy restaurant that we hadn't been too because...we started having too many kids. HA! My other sister couldn't attend since she lives in Canada. :( Moving on.
Kaelyn and her boyfriend were very nervous, and since we thrive on sarcasm in this family, we had the opportunity to play a little on those nerves. At one point I told Jared that they couldn't laugh or even smile because my dad didn't think it's acceptable behavior for this restaurant. I was just kidding, but Jared asked again just to make sure I really was kidding.
In the waiting room (lobby) while we were waiting for my parents and sister, they had a decorated Christmas tree. It was lovely, so I made the kids pose for pictures in front of it. :) I'm nice that way.
Say it with me, "aaaawwwwwwww!"

Our Favorite Christmas Cookies

Yesterday I felt generous and decided to make some cookies with the kids. Not just any cookies, but the ones they PAINT. For some reason I tend to think I can bite off more than I can chew when Kevin's not home working. Maybe it's because I know he won't be able to hear what's going on, or he won't be able to save them. MUUWAAHAAAHAAA! Just kidding. I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman. We tried it about three years ago and fell in love. I'm not sure anyone likes them because they're not among the ones asked for at Christmas except for by the kids. I guess it really only matters as long as they like them. I like them too.
They're lemon flavored cookies. We cut out the shapes which is always the hardest part for me. Even though I have them on wax paper, I wind up rolling them thick because they're easier to get on the tray. But then when they cook, they spread. Once they get on the cookie sheet, the kids paint them. The paint is egg yolks with a teaspoon of water and whatever food coloring you've chosen. We normally have just red, green, blue, and yellow, but with Marley in the mix this year she insisted on purple too.
As you can see, when the cookies are too thick. The colored frosting comes apart when cooked. Marley's star is in the bottom right of the picture. It fell apart when I was getting it on the rack. The recipe calls to cook the cookies for 6 minutes and no longer. Something about not wanting the edges brown and making the paint look weird. Anyway, this year with a new oven, the cookies needed 7 minutes. Lesson learned on this first batch here. They're still completely edible. I ate the part of the star that got left behind. :) Try them out and let me know if you can give me any pointers. I think I need that mat that has the measurements on it, so you know how thick your dough is. Nana gave one to Kaelyn at one point, but I have searched for it and can't find it. Christmas ideas anyone? Watch me get a bunch of mats now. :)

What Happens When Marley Gets The Camera

And this was scaled down.

Christmas Crafting

The kids and I have found some interesting crafts and have even attempted a few. First up..the craft from hell. Excuse my language, but I don't understand why Family Fun would have a craft in their magazine that a parent couldn't even do. Anyway, I finally figured it out, so I'm going to post it here. I would challenge someone to do it with their kids, but just in case this really is easy and I'm an idiot, I'm not going to. :)

Logan's

Rory's

Marley's

Here's the directions. You cut off the ends of numerous Q-Tips. Then you figure out how to make this shape. All of these are a little off, but it took me a good bit of time to figure out how to get them at least a little star shaped. Then you put regular glue (I used Elmer's) and sprinkle glitter on it. They dried overnight on wax paper, and then you pry them off easily. The problem was that all the kids were gathered around the table and none of them could do any part of it. Rory tried to cut the tip off of the Q-Tips, and that was scary enough! So I went around the table doing little bits of all three at a time. My mom called in the middle of it, and I believe I said, "'I'm in the middle of the craft from hell. Can I call you back?" :) Leave it to me. Can you tell that Logan was the last kids to get done? By the time I got to him, I had learned what not to do on Marley's and Rory's, so Logan's actually looks pretty decent.

Next we did poinsettias. I had a template and cut everything out of construction paper and brought the glue and glitter back out. I decorated Marley's really pretty and then she promptly dragged her fingers through it. It was very sad. I don't have any pictures of these.

Then we decided to get one of those Walmart Gingerbread House making kits. I thought that would be best because Kaelyn and I tried a Gingerbread house once, and I still haven't recovered. That was 8 years ago. All we had to do with this one is decorate it. So we opened the box and...
Yep... In shambles. I quickly got the icing into the piping bag to try and fix it.

It fell apart after this picture was taken. So, I tore it apart. I gave each of the kids a slab, spread out icing, opened the candies, and turned on some Christmas music. After lunch, we each got our cookie.
I didn't get a picture of Marleys. :( Mine is the one with two squares in the middle. The directions told us to roll out a gummy and then cut it into a square for windows. I don't think any of the kids finished their cookie. It was too much, but at least we can say we tried. :)