This was my view for about two hours on New Year's Eve right before the big count down to 2018. SO. MUCH. FUN. And yes, I danced too! Be sure to watch the videos. Each one is only about a minute and they are hilarious. :)
Showing posts with label traditions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label traditions. Show all posts
Saturday, January 13, 2018
New Year's Eve Dance Party!
This was my view for about two hours on New Year's Eve right before the big count down to 2018. SO. MUCH. FUN. And yes, I danced too! Be sure to watch the videos. Each one is only about a minute and they are hilarious. :)
Christmas Day 2017
My mother in law still wanted to host us for Christmas dinner (she is pretty amazing!), so we spent the afternoon and evening at her house. After dinner we stayed for several hours, playing a strategy board game that takes a long time, so she would not be alone and we could spend more time with her. It was a quiet afternoon, but fun. And we were together. Moms of all ages love it when their children are together. :)
I apologize for the darkness of this picture and the lightness of the next one. I just switched from a dumb phone to a smart phone, and was learning the camera on my new phone. But.... grandma with most of her grandchildren!
I apologize for the darkness of this picture and the lightness of the next one. I just switched from a dumb phone to a smart phone, and was learning the camera on my new phone. But.... grandma with most of her grandchildren!
Christmas morning!
Our tradition of the children piling on our bed to open stockings continues!
New, cool socks.
We gave son C several new fitbit bands for Christmas. This is the "fancy" rose gold one for church and other special occasions.
New scarves.
Art pens.
2017 ornaments.
New, cool socks.
We gave son C several new fitbit bands for Christmas. This is the "fancy" rose gold one for church and other special occasions.
New scarves.
Art pens.
2017 ornaments.
Christmas Eve 2017
If you have been a long time reader, these pictures will look familiar. They are just the 2017 version. :) We started our family Christmas celebration at the Christmas Eve service at church. I always love the Christmas Eve service! We end it every time just with candlelight, while singing Silent Night. So special.
At home we ate our traditional Chinese food for dinner, and then had our own worship service, with sons G, A, and C helping to read the Christmas story this year from my grandfather's Bible.
After prayer, we began opening our gifts to one another. Daughter H was able to join us for the evening, and we had fun being all together! She gave my husband this Keurig for Christmas!
Little Man is obsessed with this show. We watch it with him....it's a little edgy (scary)....but we are all enjoying the very good acting by child actors, and can talk about each episode after we watch.
So happy that two of my boys still want legos!
Son L received these cool water speakers (behind him on the bookcase). They light up and water spouts up with the beat. We had fun trying out different songs to see how they would affect the water.
These are daughter G's feet. She has long wanted Chaco sandals, and this was her year to get them!
We faked son G out with this gift....it was so fun! He had wanted the battlefront 2 game (Star Wars, for those of you who may not know), but we packed it with a heavy book in a bigger box so that he wouldn't guess what it was by the weight and shape. He opened it from the bottom and saw the book first, and was kindof confused....it was a book on eschatology! Haha! The rest of the evening, while all the gifts continued being opened, he loaded it on the xbox so he could play some before bed. He LOVES this game.
Daughter G gave hubby and I light sabers, so we could have a light saber battle for date night!
Kyle Ren's tie fighter.
Daughter H got to open her stocking that night as well, since she wouldn't be with us the next morning.
Merry Christmas everyone!
At home we ate our traditional Chinese food for dinner, and then had our own worship service, with sons G, A, and C helping to read the Christmas story this year from my grandfather's Bible.
After prayer, we began opening our gifts to one another. Daughter H was able to join us for the evening, and we had fun being all together! She gave my husband this Keurig for Christmas!
Little Man is obsessed with this show. We watch it with him....it's a little edgy (scary)....but we are all enjoying the very good acting by child actors, and can talk about each episode after we watch.
So happy that two of my boys still want legos!
Son L received these cool water speakers (behind him on the bookcase). They light up and water spouts up with the beat. We had fun trying out different songs to see how they would affect the water.
These are daughter G's feet. She has long wanted Chaco sandals, and this was her year to get them!
We faked son G out with this gift....it was so fun! He had wanted the battlefront 2 game (Star Wars, for those of you who may not know), but we packed it with a heavy book in a bigger box so that he wouldn't guess what it was by the weight and shape. He opened it from the bottom and saw the book first, and was kindof confused....it was a book on eschatology! Haha! The rest of the evening, while all the gifts continued being opened, he loaded it on the xbox so he could play some before bed. He LOVES this game.
Daughter G gave hubby and I light sabers, so we could have a light saber battle for date night!
Kyle Ren's tie fighter.
Daughter H got to open her stocking that night as well, since she wouldn't be with us the next morning.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Goodbye Fall
You did give us rain on Halloween, but hey.... we could deal. Our dogs didn't want to stay in their costumes very long anyway. (Darth Vader and Spiderman)
(our two youngest as Dr. Who and a Jedi knight, with two other little friends! The teen boys opted not to go trick or treating this year.....end of an era)
Thank you for giving us such a great time, fall. See you again next year!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Change
An annual Christmas tradition that has always meant a lot to me is baking cookies with the children. I'm not sure they have enjoyed it as much as I have. They would probably say they love the end result! :) For me it has been a fun time to spend together and to talk with one or two of them at a time. It has also been fun to see how they choose to decorate their cookies from year to year. We are *almost* past the dump-all-the-sprinkles-the-pan-will-hold stage.
This year, however, only the two youngest had a strong desire to bake cookies with me. I could have "forced" the others to bake also, but chose instead to embrace the change.
Others may bake again next year....
so it is not necessarily a permanent change. I am slowly learning, as my children age, to go with the flow and keep my own non-negotiables few. I have some awesome mom friends with slightly older children to emulate as I become a parent of (almost) adult children.
And in the mean time, I thoroughly enjoyed baking with my 12 and 10 year olds!
This year, however, only the two youngest had a strong desire to bake cookies with me. I could have "forced" the others to bake also, but chose instead to embrace the change.
Others may bake again next year....
so it is not necessarily a permanent change. I am slowly learning, as my children age, to go with the flow and keep my own non-negotiables few. I have some awesome mom friends with slightly older children to emulate as I become a parent of (almost) adult children.
And in the mean time, I thoroughly enjoyed baking with my 12 and 10 year olds!
Friday, December 19, 2014
Go Navy, Beat Army!!!!
This and the Super Bowl are the only two times during the year when it's a football day for the whole family! :) (though a couple are missing from this pic) We were a tiny bit happy for Army that it wasn't a blow out, but VERY happy that Navy won again!
Gingerbread House Decorating
One of daughter G's oldest friends has had a really cool Christmas tradition that her mom started with her when she was four years old ~ they invited a few friends over and decorated gingerbread houses together! The host mom provided the houses and all the friends brought candy and food to decorate the houses with. Daughter G was invited to join this tradition when she was 6. Other friends have come and gone from these parties, but daughter G is the "longest running" friend, at 12 years! It has been such a fun thing for the daughters and the moms through the years. This year daughter G decided to go with an Oz theme.
The friends with their finished houses.
I loved this one....it even has a carport (with car!) and a balcony!
Loved this one, too!
Such beautiful girls. All of them homeschooled, and nearly all of them seniors this year! We joked about how for the host daughter's wedding shower some day, the girls should get together and decorate houses!
So thankful for fun and meaningful traditions.
The friends with their finished houses.
I loved this one....it even has a carport (with car!) and a balcony!
Loved this one, too!
Such beautiful girls. All of them homeschooled, and nearly all of them seniors this year! We joked about how for the host daughter's wedding shower some day, the girls should get together and decorate houses!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Go Navy, Beat Army!!!
These pics are two weeks old, but too good not to share! As "required" by my die-hard Navy fan husband, our entire family watched the game ~ with faces painted, blue and gold clothing worn, and pushups done each time Navy scored. They eked out yet another victory ~ I think that is ten years in a row. It was an excruciating loss for Army, but we didn't feel too bad for them. :-)
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