Happy New EAR!

We closed out the year with a big event. Emmie and I got our ears pierced. We were scared...

It kind of alarmed me...

Em stalled as long as possible...

then decided to just go for it...

Emmie had moral support, her friends Taylor and Mackenna...

And I had mine too, Miss Emily...

We did it!

And then we ate fro yo at Pinkberry to celebrate our bravery..

We celebrated tonight by having a fancy dinner...

that'd be cheese sticks and cereal.

Got all fancy...

So, with our sparkling new ear's we ring in the new year. And we say goodbye to 2010. The year we said goodbye to Gunga...

That's our last picture of her. Though 2011 will bring no new memories of Gunga, we look forward to the memories we will make as we celebrate God's abundant goodness (Psalm 145:7). Welcome 2011.

From our family to yours

Wishing you merry...

"For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2: 10, 11

and bright...

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light...For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:2a, 6

And especially wishing you the joy and light that come from the One who gave us this holiday to celebrate. Merry Christmas.

i think caroling is awkward...

but i loved it tonight when my sisters and nieces and nephews surprised us by driving an hour to come hang out with us spontaneously. i love them. but i still think caroling is kind of weird. i just never know what to do while i'm standing at the door listening. and it feels rude not to invite people on your doorstep in. and it is usually cold. still, tonight's surprise carolers will likely be a favorite experience from this christmas time.

another favorite memory was our family christmas last night. all our married lives, we have spent the week before christmas with extended family. so we choose a day before we leave to have our own celebration as a family in our own homes...

this used to always be my gig. but the kids have gotten old enough to take some ownership in the experience and since then, things have gotten pretty interesting (you can read about last year's festivities here.)

this year, my kids got us presents and wrapped them themselves...

jack handed bill a mysterious present and said "good luck with that one." umm yeah, it was a bra of mine. definitely not appropriate, but funny nonetheless...

jack didn't have to receive undergarments. we gave him the football uniform he has been begging for...

someone else swiped it from him...

notice the toddler-containment device jack put on her, though. ya think i could market those for that purpose?

basically, it was a whole lot of fun...

i haven't been motivated for a lot this christmas. but i am always motivated for fun. carolers (who i'm related to) and quirky gift exchanges have put the merry back into christmas for me this year. just in the nick of time...

what's been going on

my boy scout went caroling at a nursing home...

we have finally found a place where jack's volume is a needed and appreciated quality.

we hosted a christmas party for our small group at church.

for once i got a gift in the white elephant (aka dirty santa) gift exchange that i am super excited about. run out a get yourself a pair of these now. seriously, right now. they are so soft and cute and fragrant. you will thank me later when your feet are comfy and don't stink.

we hosted a christmas party for the junior high sunday school class.

we don't have a youth group for the junior high at our church yet, so i am excited for us to regularly host activities in our home. i am well acquainted with little kids birthday parties and have hosted many college parties in our home, but this is a whole new ball game...

we played the game curses. it is the world's most random game and it is always fun. we also had a white elephant gift exchange and did karaoke. lulu was right in the middle of the action, of course. she was the only non-junior higher invited (other than my aarp self) and she loved showing off her own karaoke and dance moves...

tate demonstrating his "you are embarrassing me, mom" face...

we hosted our annual "girl party" with our sweet friends rachel, addi and lyvi.

{i might like parties just a little bit}

ya gotta love cranberry splash sierra mist this time of year...

rachel was thrilled to give lulu her first taste of pop...

did she like it?

i couldn't wait til christmas and gave lulu one of her gifts early, these adorable ruched leggies...

one less thing i have to wrap since that is something that has definitely not been going on in my house. still 4 more days left, right?

until then we are sleeping in heavenly peace...

this is just not right

I quietly entered my 40's on June 19, 2010. I had hoped for a big dance party, but instead we were having a memorial service for my sweet Mommy. Needless to say, it wasn't my best birthday. Since then, I have been trying to adjust to being 40. And I think I have been doing pretty well. But there is something that keeps happening that is really making my adjustment to "middle aged-ness" harder.

It has to do with the mail. Twice I have received information from the AARP. Seriously? Is 40 the new 65? I shook it off. Mistakes happen. Instead of focusing on those unfortunate incidents, I have been enjoying this time of year with the Christmas cards arriving every day. But today I also received a very disturbing piece of mail with my name on it. It read

"Dear Neighbor,

We are excited to inform you about plans for the expansion of Pacific Springs Village, a beautiful 50-acre senior living community located near the intersection of..."

How is a girl like me supposed to have a merry Christmas if I'm getting mail like this?

Bah humbug to that.

a wrench like me

jack has always had a real distinctive speech pattern. many years ago, a student coined it "jackanese". his speech has greatly improved, but he still has his own jack way of saying things. he is a pretty quotable kid with phrases such as...

"mom is having some angerment issues!"

while we were cuddling at night, "Can we be a little more cuddleish? We're not too much in cuddle formation."

and recently this beauty, while playing with the thermometer, "mom! it's 83 degrees down my pants!"

he can often be heard singing around the house (since it's jack, he can probably be heard at the neighbors too). lately it's been "amazing grace, how sweet the sound. that saved a wrench like me..."

i am glad for the little things that make me chuckle because frankly, this whole merry christmas thing still isn't quite working for me this year. though we are doing some "christmas-y" things. like decorating the huge gingerbread men i bought from trader joe's...

the men were not delicious as a whole (thus they sit on on kitchen counter with most of their limbs still in tact), but the m&m toppings were a big hit...

and emmie's winter chorus concert was also sweet, in a different way...

she rocked her speaking role (not that i'm biased or anything)...

lulu was impressed...

though i'm not in much of a christmas mood these days, i'm so thankful for the christ of christmas. this christmas i am reminded more than ever that it isn't about the decorations and the baking and the gifts and the traditions. it isn't even ultimately about being with the ones you love. christmas is...amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wrench like me. so keep on singing, jack. that's the true christmas spirit.

Oh what fun...

Oh what fun it is to ride in a Swagger Wagon. Tonight we have a new vehicle in our garage. We will be saying goodbye to our faithful steed, the Ford Windstar, tomorrow. It has gotten us from New York to Florida to San Diego and just about everywhere in between. Lots of laughs, fights, and chicken nuggets have been shared in that trusty, dented van.

Oh what fun for Bill and Tate to road trip to the Big Twelve Championship game in honor of Tate's 13th birthday...

Though the outcome of the game was not fun. Not fun at all. We watched from home...

That was painful enough.

Oh what fun to be on stage for a dance performance. I don't know what was more fun for her, dancing...

Or getting to wear makeup...

Oh what fun to go to our new Trader Joe's for the first time...

I should have been embarrassed by how I kept saying "I'm so happy" over and over again while walking through the store. Here's the back story, though. Four years ago, I called Trader Joe's corporate office and asked them to come to our city. When I told him it was in Nebraska, he laughed and said "I don't think so." Whatever. Who's laughing now? The girl happily walking through Trader Joe's, that's who. Joe, you were worth the wait.

And Oh what fun it is to have Lulu in our lives...