New Year's Eve

15 years ago I would have been devastated if I wasn't at a raging party on New Year's Eve. I loved the night life, baby! But this year I will be raging with my 4 kids at:

Hey, at least there will be fireworks! ;)

What are you up to tonight?

9 Last Things to do in 2009-Updated

9 Last Things to do in 2009

1. Put away Christmas decorations, tree, lights, etc.

2. Re-do the big boys' room. They want to have 2 beds instead of one bunk.

3. Make room for the new Christmas toys in the kids' rooms and donate toys they don't play with anymore

4. Upload all the holiday pictures to Costco and get organized to scrapbook it all.

5. Help Knox with his extra credit project on CA missions.-ok, not happening. Will do it on the 2nd. ;)

6. Go to Sea World for New Year's Eve. YES!!!! We're going! But I can't check it off yet....

7. Start my prayer journal from Jessica.

8. Write thank-you cards. Ummmm...I bought the cards, does that count?

9. Eat some fabulous food because January 1st the diet starts in FULL FORCE!   UGH! I've gained 5 pounds in the past two weeks. This one was a bad idea!

Half way done to meeting ALL my goals! heehee! Here's hoping I do the rest!!

Happy End of 2009!!!!

2009 To-Do List

9 Last Things to do in 2009

1. Put away Christmas decorations, tree, lights, etc.
2. Re-do the big boys' room. They want to have 2 beds instead of one bunk.
3. Make room for the new Christmas toys in the kids' rooms and donate toys they don't play with anymore
4. Upload all the holiday pictures to Costco and get organized to scrapbook it all.
5. Help Knox with his extra credit project on CA missions.
6. Go to Sea World for New Year's Eve.
7. Start my prayer journal from Jessica.
8. Write thank-you cards.
9. Eat some fabulous food because January 1st the diet starts in FULL FORCE!

Happy End of 2009!!!!

These are a few of my favorite things

Actually, these are my kiddos with their favorite gifts this Christmas.

Knox with his cellphone. He begged for a phone for months and we always acted like it probably wouldn't happen. He was ECSTATIC! Here he is getting his 1st call...from his dad! :)

Caleb wanted a new bike. It wasn't under the tree when he came downstairs but Lucas' scooter was. He said, "Oh, I guess I didn't get a bike after all." But after all the presents were opened Jesse said there was one more in the garage and brought in the bike. Caleb was SO excited and proud of his new, cool BMX bike. Especially after Knox said how awesome it was and that he wished he had one!

Lucas loves watching Diego on TV so he was giddy to get a Diego playset. Duplo is WAY easier to build than Legos-thankfully!!

I'm not sure what toy was her favorite but Ava chewed on this apple for a long time! I'm already looking forward to the Christmases to come where she gets dolls and tea set- all the toys I want to play with again, too! Especially princess dress-up stuff and a doll house! :)

 

Hope your Christmas was Very Merry!!!

The best stocking ever!

I love stockings and buying all the little treasures for them. Jesse doesn't "get" stockings so he doesn't put stuff in mine. No worries, though! I've always just put a book, candy, lip gloss, a CD, new toothbrush...whatever in mine. (And his, too) But this year I got a great stocking! Since I moved back to Cali my mom bought our family stockings to have at her house too. She's so sweet! This was the loot I got this year in my cute Pottery Barn personalized stocking from my mommy:

A fantastic smelling Christmas candle from Bloomingdale's!

$30 Target gift card

Sephora lip gloss

Nail polish

Life & Style magazine

A mini monogramed notepad

Holiday recipe cards

Winter magnetic notepad

peanut m&m's

Thanks Mom!!!

I am From by Knox Winkler

This is a poem Knox wrote in his class during culture week. So precious!! He wrapped it up and gave it to us for Christmas.

I am From
by Knox Winkler
I am from an uncle who skates with me. An uncle who plays volleyball with me. From an uncle who plays badminton with me.
I am from a father who used to go camping with me. From a dad who takes me to the skate park. From a dad who taught me how to ride a bike.
I am from a mother that loves me to the stars. From a mom who feeds me her homemade snickerdoodles. From a mom who always helps me study and do homework.
I am from a brother who always share with me. A brother who sleeps in my room. From a brother who watches TV with me.
But mostly I am from a family that loves God.

(Yes-Lucas and Ava are missing but he said he was supposed to write about people who understand him  and he thought they might be "too young to really understand him yet". hahaha)

For unto us a Child is Given!

Luke 2:1-21
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, 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. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,"Glory to Go in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Grandpa reading the birth story:

Lucas putting Jesus in the manger:

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve: Prepare for the best gift ever given!

“For your sakes he became poor.”

2 Corinthians 8:9
The Lord Jesus Christ was eternally rich, glorious, and exalted; but “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.” As the rich saint cannot be true in his communion with his poor brethren unless of his substance he ministers to their necessities, so (the same rule holding with the head as between the members), it is impossible that our Divine Lord could have had fellowship with us unless he had imparted to us of his own abounding wealth, and had become poor to make us rich. Had he remained upon his throne of glory, and had we continued in the ruins of the fall without receiving his salvation, communion would have been impossible on both sides. Our position by the fall, apart from the covenant of grace, made it as impossible for fallen man to communicate with God as it is for Belial to be in concord with Christ. In order, therefore, that communion might be compassed, it was necessary that the rich kinsman should bestow his estate upon his poor relatives, that the righteous Saviour should give to his sinning brethren of his own perfection, and that we, the poor and guilty, should receive of his fullness grace for grace; that thus in giving and receiving, the One might descend from the heights, and the other ascend from the depths, and so be able to embrace each other in true and hearty fellowship. Poverty must be enriched by him in whom are infinite treasures before it can venture to commune; and guilt must lose itself in imputed and imparted righteousness ere the soul can walk in fellowship with purity. Jesus must clothe his people in his own garments, or he cannot admit them into his palace of glory; and he must wash them in his own blood, or else they will be too defiled for the embrace of his fellowship.

O believer, herein is love! For your sake the Lord Jesus “became poor” that he might lift you up into communion with himself. ~C.H. Spurgeon

Last Christmas Eve at my parent's house with one of my little sisters in our matching pj's (my mom's tradition is buying everyone matching pj's to wear on Christmas Eve!) and baby Ava in my tummy!

Our 1st Christmas Dinner in San Diego

I'm hosting Christmas Dinner. I just realized that this will be the first time in my entire life that I've had my family-parents and siblings- over to my house for a holiday meal. Ever! Crazy! Hope it turns out good! ;)

Here's my menu...
(I haven't done all the shopping yet so I might vary the menu according to what happens while shopping!)

Appetizer:
Spinach dip and bread
Fruit and cheese plate
Champagne and beer and Martinelli's

Dinner:
Mango and avocado salad
Ham, baked with a brown sugar crust
Turkey breast, slow cooked in white wine and butter
Garlic and chive potatoes
Parmesan Broccoli
Sweet potato pie casserole
Fresh baked rolls

Dessert:
Cookies
Mint Brownies
Pecan pie

Since my mom is doing everything for Christmas Eve, I volunteered to do it all for Christmas Dinner. Good luck, Angie! hahaha! :)
What's on your menu?

Today

Waking up to rain and wind.
Sunbreaks. Amazing rays shining through the clouds. Realize it's symbolic of the day ahead.
Survey the damage of my 3-days of neglected housework and count the piles of laundry. Bummer.
Waffles for my boys.
Tea. Uninterrupted, I get to drink the whole cup!
Cleaning. Laundry. Phone calls from friends. I'm not even a quarter done but Ava's up. Hope I'll have time to finish everything left undone.
Ava's laugh while she eats applesauce and her cute little teeth make me smile.
Watching her try to crawl while her brothers cheer her on. Wondering why she'd rather play with my phone charger than anything else.
Brothers playing and laughing with their new toys bought from aunties and cousins. Lucas only breaks one thing. And I'm a hero for figuring out how to build a Lego car.
Looking at my boys all cuddled in my bed watching the end of The Polar Express. Who cares if I just made it and the pillows looked perfect?!?!
Pj's till lunchtime. Wishing Lucas could wear his footie pajamas forever.
Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets, spicy potato wedges with ranch, peaches and apples. Huge smiles when they see their lunch!
Dinner in the crockpot.
Sunshine.
Homemade muffins dropped off by the neighbors.
15 minutes of chores for the boys. Only 2 minutes of mumbling whines about it.
Boys wearing their Santa hats from Great-grandma while they scooter outside.
Little boy naptime. Big boy video game time. Baby girl lunch time.
I can't believe it's only/already 12:30pm!
New to-do list.

Christmas Lights

Ours are kind of boring this year. I wish they looked like this:

but at least we're not this bad:

hahaha! Saw that on Karina's blog and cracked up!

Over the snow and through the woods.....

To grandmother's house we go!
Well, not quite snow and woods. More like the 5 freeway along the ocean and lots of palm trees. :)
Anyway, I'm excited for Christmas at my grandma's house in the O.C. today. Every one of my kids has a "matching" cousin just like when I was growing up! That's a cousin within months of them age wise. Ava's cousin is just a few weeks younger! All the kid's exchange gifts with their matching cousin, sing songs for the adults, listen to Grandpa read the birth story, eat tons of sweets and enjoy the attention from all their aunties and uncles! Ever year one of the little grandkids, now great-grandkids, gets to put baby Jesus in the manger. I think it is Lucas' turn this year!
Then we're spending the night at my cousin Aaron's house! Fun, fun, fun!!!

It's a blessing to be with families at the holidays and I hope you get to enjoy yours this year!

My morning with Spurgeon

"The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord."—Proverbs 16:33.


If the disposal of the lot is the Lord's whose is the arrangement of our whole life? If the simple casting of a lot is guided by Him, how much more the events of our entire life—especially when we are told by our blessed Saviour: "The very hairs of your head are all numbered: not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father." It would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to remember this. It would so relieve your mind from anxiety, that you would be the better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian should. When a man is anxious he cannot pray with faith; when he is troubled about the world, he cannot serve his Master, his thoughts are serving himself. If you would "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," all things would then be added unto you. You are meddling with Christ's business, and neglecting your own when you fret about your lot and circumstances. You have been trying "providing" work and forgetting that it is yours to obey. Be wise and attend to the obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your Father's storehouse, and ask whether He will let you starve while He has laid up so great an abundance in His garner? Look at His heart of mercy; see if that can ever prove unkind! Look at His inscrutable wisdom; see if that will ever be at fault. Above all, look up to Jesus Christ your Intercessor, and ask yourself, while He pleads, can your Father deal ungraciously with you? If He remembers even sparrows, will He forget one of the least of His poor children? "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved."

My soul, rest happy in thy low estate, Nor hope nor wish to be esteem'd or great; To take the impress of the Will Divine, Be that thy glory, and those riches thine.
~C.H. Spurgeon

*********************************************
Ah, I needed to read that this morning. Struck by this: "you would be the better able to walk in patience, quiet, and cheerfulness as a Christian should." Mediating on how greatly it would impact my family, my friends, my neighbors if I walked like that in the midst of uncertainty and despair as well as in times of joy and plenty. God is good. Always. Why do I ever doubt Him and think that He is not good to me?

Jesse's Birthday

Today is Jesse's birthday. He told me not to buy him a present. I hate not getting him anything but he'd rather pick out his own stuff and do things. He just went motorcycle riding this week and bought himself a UCLA jacket so he those were technically his "presents". So today I let him sleep in, made cards for him with the boys, and we'll all go whereever he wants for dinner tonight. Probably sushi!
13 years ago, I gave him a wrapped package of Nutter Butter cookies for his birthday. We weren't officially together and I wanted a present that would say I like you (those were his favorite cookie so it showed I paid attention to him) but not too much (it costs $3). The next year, he was my boyfriend. Almost my fiancée! I threw him a surprise party at Taco Bell. He hates surprise parties and almost didn't go in. (Oops-I didn't know! And how could I fall in love with someone who hates birthday parties?!?!) I also made him a journal with pictures all over it. He still has it. The next year, we were married and in Slovakia. I bought him fireworks and a really cool sweater from Benetton. In 1999, we were back in America-staying in Big Bear, pregnant with Knox and about to move to WA. I made a huge Mexican dinner for his family and some Big Bear friends. Plus a huge chocolate cake from scratch. I'm sure I bought him something but I mainly remember cooking ALL day. In 2000, we were dirt poor, had a baby and his 1st Christmas was around the corner so we were focusing on that. Jesse really needed a new watch but couldn't decide if he should get a nice watch or a casual watch since he was working outside doing landscape. I saved up my left over grocery money for 4 months to buy him both.
Gifts are one of my love languages. Not Jesse's. 13 years later it's still hard for me to realize that he'd rather have a nice card with heartfelt words then a pretty box to unwrap. I for sure wouldn't! haha! So while I will write him a lovely card, these are the presents I wish I could give him. And these are the presents I know he'd LOVE to get if money was no object! Card or no card! But I guess it's the thought that counts, right?

perfect surfing waves:

New Uggs:

A Nixon Tide Watch:

 jeans:

a 2010 truck:

So there you go, babe. Happy Birthday! I love you!

Trader Joe's Thursdays

It's almost Christmas and we are all busy so here is one of the easiest meals ever! And it's under $10.

Chili Cornbread Bake and Brown Sugar Carrots
1 box of TJ's cornbread mix
2 cans of TJ's chicken chili
bag of TJ's organic baby carrots

~Prepare the cornbread mix according to directions. Put chili into a baking dish and spread out. I use a 10 inch round dish but I also like a 9x13. (The bigger the dish the thinner the cornbread and faster it cooks). Pour cornbread mix on top, trying to cover chili. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes, depending on size of dish.
Steam the carrots. Put a TBSP. of butter and a TBSP. of brown sugar in a skillet. Cook until bubbly and sugar is melted. Add carrots to coat.
Serve immediately.
P.S. If you like things with a kick, put some Frank's sauce on top of the cornbread when you serve it.

Please pray for Matt Chandler and his family

Here is the latest update from The Village Church website:
Dear church,

In the first chapter of Philippians, the Apostle Paul writes that whatever imprisonments, beatings and trials he may have suffered, they all “serve to advance the gospel” of Jesus Christ. We implore you to keep the gospel of Christ as the main focus as we walk with Matt and Lauren through this trial.
On Tuesday, Dr. Barnett informed Matt and Lauren that the findings of the pathology report revealed a malignant brain tumor that was not encapsulated. The surgery to remove the tumor, the doctor said, was an extremely positive first step; however, because of the nature of the tumor, he was not able to remove all of it.
Matt, who is being released from the hospital today, is meeting with a neuro-oncologist this week to outline the next steps of the recovery process. There is a range of treatment possibilities but the exact course of action has not yet been determined. He will continue outpatient rehab.
The Lord is calling Matt and Lauren and The Village Church body to endure this trial. It will be a challenging road for Matt, his family and our church body. The gospel is our hope and the Lord is our strength. Matt and Lauren continue to find solace and hope in Christ. They weep facing this trial, but not as those without hope and perspective. The gospel clarifies their suffering and promises more of Christ through it all.
You have done a wonderful job respecting the family, and we ask that you continue to do this. They are processing all of this together and need you to give them precious space. Please do not visit them at their house unless personally invited by the Chandlers. The best way to serve the family is to continue to be faithful in prayer. Specifically, pray for the following:
Wisdom for all the coming decisions
Strength and peace to endure
The kids’ (Audrey, Reid and Norah) hearts; pray the Lord is merciful as they process and that their little hearts do not grow embittered
The Chandlers and The Village would suffer well because of the gospel and for the sake of Christ’s name
As you hurt and weep for the family, do not do it alone. Gather with your home group and with other believers in homes and pray together. This is a time to walk together with others and to endure this trial in community. If you wish, send cards and letters to Matt and Lauren at 2101 Justin Road, Flower Mound, TX 75028.
We will continue to keep you informed as new information is made available. Please be patient with the frequency of the updates. May God strengthen us all and may His glory shine brightly through this.

You can find the whole story and updates here

My girl is hon-gry!

Ava loves food! So far she's eaten:
rice cereal
apples
pears
bananas
orange
avocados
sweet potatoes
green beans
peas
blueberries
apricots
corn
mixed veggies
mixed fruit
yogurt

I'm glad she's a good eater. And she's definitely carrying on the fuit-loving Winkler kid tradition!
What are the best table foods to start with? I know I've done this four times but I always forget...

Manic Monday

Well, more like Manic Week since this week is crazy busy! It’s full of fun though!

Today is my clean and catch-up day. Plus send out all my Christmas cards. Oh, and all the laundry. And maybe wrap presents. And then we're going to a friend's house for Monday Night Football. Not making dinner this week=I'm in!
Tuesday: I have been invited to an annual Christmas tea at a fabulous woman’s home. She is a highly respected author (I have used her books for women’s studies in the past. How cool is that?) and I’m excited to meet some new ladies there. I’m friend’s with the hostess’ daughter which is why I get to go. Wondering what to wear…
Wednesday: baking 200 cookies. Seriously! And maybe a girl’s ELF night at my house. I have a friend who has NEVER seen it!! Craziness. Really want to watch it with her because if she doesn’t like not sure we can stay friends. Haha. Kidding, J.T.! (well, sort of) And I need to make 50 pieces of fudge for one son’s class’ cultural day. Oh, and find random things that represent our heritage. P.S. He wrote that he was American....

Thursday: Two of my friends’ sweet daughters are coming over to help me decorate cookies. And it’s also my son’s class Christmas party. He needs a wrapped book for the gift exchange, a gift card for the teacher tree and some type of treat. Weeks like this make me SO glad I'm not a room mom this year, too.
Friday: It's Jesse’s birthday! Not sure what we'll do yet since it depends on his work schedule. Maybe a family day?
Saturday: Birthday day date with my handsome hubby. Lunch and shopping. Home movie night.
Sunday: The Knox family Christmas at my grandma’s house in OC. She has requested all the kids sing a song. Ummm...not sure how Lucas will do with that. And then we’re spending the night at my cousin’s house. My boys don’t know yet but they will be so excited when they find out!

Whew! And then next week is Christmas!!!!

Isn't it amazing?

I'm home from the San Diego Parade of Lights. This is our 2nd Christmas community event and I'm struck again by how amazing it is that millions of people celebrate the birth of Jesus. Even if they don't actually believe it-they still celebrate it. You know the pithy little saying, "Jesus is the reason for the Season'. Well, HE IS! It's just amazing to me that for centuries people have celebrated his birth. All over the world. There is no other person celebrated like Him. God is so good. How can you live in America and NOT know that Jesus was born? You might not believe it, but you hear about it. Every year. Sure, many things in our culture distract us from that fact and celebrate consumerism more than the virgin birth: presents, Santa, hoopla galore but for just one moment consider with me how amazingly good God is that he allows everyone to celebrate his birth, gives them the grace to enjoy His birthday, the grace to hear of him. Year after year after year!

As we were driving home, I kept thinking about this:
" But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed." ~2 Peter 3:8-10

The day of judgment is coming where those who have rejected Jesus will be held accountable. But it wasn’t today! Today God was patient and allowed thousand of San Diegans to enjoy the beautiful Bay, sparkly lights, Christmas music and the joy brought to us from his Son's birth. The day of judgment is coming. But until then, God is patient, loving, kind, drawing his children to himself. And every year giving a beautiful, fun, festive reminder of his birth for those who love him to celebrate; and for those who reject Him a chance to repent. Isn’t it amazing?

I hate rain

I really hate rain. It ruins everything. It's raining this weekend and we had to miss going to SeaWorld on Friday night. It is probably going to rain tomorrow and if it does, we'll miss the boat parade.
And it's making me feel depressed and all I want to do is eat cookies. I hate the rain. :(
Maybe after a few years of "drying out" in San Diego I will appreciate rain but for now...it sucks!

Blog Envy

I love reading my friends' blogs. And their friends' blogs. There are tons of encouraging, helpful, insightful things to read. And darling pictures to see, yummy recipes to try, decorating inspiration and funny stories to laugh at.

But some days...it's not so encouraging. Sometimes I click on these random blogs and feel a little jealous. That house is SO nice, the decorating is impeccable. Why is that one so skinny and her baby is younger than mine! How does this lady have time to cook a gourmet, organic meal? Where did she find that awesome baby bow? And on and on. I suddenly have blog envy. I've never even met these ladies and now I'm feeling a little jealous of them!
I was talking to a friend about how she thinks blogs seem like people are just bragging. I know they aren't though. It's what is in MY heart that makes me feel like that. Who knows, people might even feel that way after reading this blog. And I know that's not my purpose at all. Obviously, I don't post pictures of my dirty shower, cluttered counters, or pictures where I look ugly. And there aren't going to be any video clips of me frustrated and annoyed with my kids on here! So while I put glimpses of my life on this blog, that's all it is. Glimpses. But knowing that everyone isn't perfect isn't what will get our heart right, will it? We already know that! So what's the problem? How can I be jealous of something I know isn't real and something I don't even want. (Southern girls have great houses but I do NOT want to live in Texarkana!heehee)
Where is my focus, what is my idol? I want to be best. Or at least really good. I'm competitive and focused on others or myself and on...things. Instead of thanking God for the MANY, MANY blessings I have, I start to see things I wish I had. Instead of being content, I'm discontent. That's the problem. It's my heart. My sin.
After years of counseling women, I know this is a struggle for many women. Contentment. It is a simple, Biblical concept. Be content. When we start to feel discontent, we can stop. Repent. Be content.
Remember, there is nothing new. We all feel this way sometimes. But it is not what God wants for us. This is: "Enjoy your life with your [husband], whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun-all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:9
Don't take yourself, your stuff, your life so seriously! Take GOD seriously! Love him and enjoy what he gives you. Be thankful. Be content.
And stop reading this blog if it bugs you! :)

“And godliness with contentment is great gain” 1 Timothy 6:6

Trader Joe's Thursdays

I love Trader Joe's. I'm SO excited to live down the street from one! I have found so many ideas for quick, easy, and inexpensive dinner ideas there. So for a little bt (and since blogging every day is a LOT) I'll share some of those meal ideas on "Trader Joe's Thursdays"

Dinner One=Asian Food
Menu: Garlic shrimp, fried rice, chicken egg rolls, garlic green beans (my go-to TJ's veggie)
Cooking time=25 minutes (hands-on prep=10 minutes)
Shopping List:
1. frozen shrimp-medium, peeled and cleaned
2. frozen crushed garlic cubes
3. olive oil
3. Frozen fried rice (3 flavors to choose from. I like chicken or veggie but there is shrimp, too)
4. Frozen chicken egg rolls
5. One bottle of Sweet Chili Sauce
6. frozen green beans

~Sauté shrimp in oil and garlic until cooked. Make fried rice and egg rolls according to directions. Thaw beans under water in a strainer, then quickly sauté in a little bit of oil and 2 garlic cubes. Serve with sweet chili sauce.

So easy. So good. About $15 total! Your welcome!

What are your favorite Trader Joe's foods/dinners?

My kids are hilarious!

Hola, Can I take your order?
We're driving to church and Knox starts talking to Jesse about what he does for Railworks. He then says he wants to open a company like that. Or actually, a restaurant would be best. "Really?", I ask. "What would you call it?"
"Rico's Burgers", he says.

Choco-holic
Caleb picked up my cell phone and said, "Mom. Can I call 9-1-1?" "NO!", I replied. "That's for emergencies only!".
"But mom," he said, "It is an emergency. I don't have any chocolate!"

Cheaper than Tylenol
Knox came home from school today because he wasn't feeling well. He said his head was hot (temp=100.1) and his stomach, head, and ears hurt. He was telling me how his ears felt like "sun light burning into them" so to make them feel better he just bent them in half to "let the heat out".

Do you want some candy, little boy?
Because Knox came home, I called Caleb's teacher to ask her to tell Caleb to go to the pick-up lane alone since Knox wouldn't be there to walk him from class like usual. (yes, they have phones in their rooms. Love it!) She answered and just let me talk to Caleb. I explained that he'd have to go to the pick-up line by himself since Knox was home sick and I'd be there to pick-him up. He said, "But mom! What if someone tries to steal me!?!"


Lucas Benjamin Buttons
Lucas was sitting on my lap as I was looking at my friend's wedding picture. Her new hubby has long hair, like Lucas' style, brown eyes, and was wearing a shirt like the one Lucas was wearing. Lucas pointed to her husband (over 35 years old) and said, very confused, "Is that Lucas?"


The anti-meatloaf virus
If the boys have an upset stomach, they're excused from dinner. BUT the rule is they don't get any other food to eat the rest of the night (except the dinner they refused) to make sure the boys aren't faking it to get out of eating a food they don't want to eat. The other night, Caleb says his tummy hurts. After he ate his sweet potato fries. Thinking this was a fake-out, I told him he could be excused without eating his meatloaf and veggies but he wouldn't get any mint jo-jo's (from Trader Joe's-sooooo good!) for dessert. "Mom, those are okay. My stomach will ONLY hurt from this food!"

If you live in the Seattle area, You should have pizza tonight!

Papa Johns will be donating their profits to the families of the four slain Lakewood Police tonight and tomorrow. Order pizza for dinner! Try their BBQ chicken. Yum!

Movies!

There are so many great movies out right now! I already saw New Moon but I'm excited to see a few more!

Jesse and I are planning to take our older sons to see:

Maybe as a date night movie? I heard it was a fun movie.:

Maybe to see with my sisters? hahaha!

And with my sons...hopefully, in 3-D! (unsure if Lucas can handle it though)

I'm sure I'll see this with Ava...I'll just have to wait a few years:

What movies are you excited about? And what are some good girls-night out movies? Besides New Moon!

Christmas Traditions: Presents

"And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gold, frankincense, and myrrh." ~Matthew 2:11


Do you remember your favorite Christmas present that you got when you were a kid? That special Christmas morning when you came downstairs and saw all those lovely packages and tore through them and found the thing you were longing for. I got that feeling a lot growing up. I remember being so excited when I ran downstairs and discovered the most beautiful Cornsilk Cabbage Patch kid, with a stroller! She was so pretty my sister kept trying to steal her and give me hers. Haha! I remember being so happy at the sight of a shiny new 10-speed. Silver with white curled handlebars. So sleek and cool and grown up. And then the year that I got a SWATCH watch and a SWATCH phone! With my OWN phone line-my OWN personal phone number! Woo-Hoo!! I was SO happy that year! My parents always made sure that our Christmas morning was a fabulous time full of fun and presents and they made us so happy! And the envy of all our friends, usually! :)


I LOVE presents. Getting. Giving. Whatever. But Christmas presents are the best because there are so many. But sometimes that makes it the worst too. It can be hard to remember that it's Jesus' birthday when we get so focused on all the hoopla. Especially for a kid. So we have a couple of traditions that we do to try to keep Jesus the focus of our celebration and still give our kids the types of excited and overwhelmingly happy Christmas mornings I got to experience!

The purpose of exchanging gifts. Every year we talk to our kids about why we give gifts. The answer is always that we give each other gifts because God gave us the greatest gift-Jesus! And since everything is His, we bless each other with gifts to celebrate.

3 Gifts: Jesus got 3 recorded gifts in Scripture at his birth- gold, frankincense, myrrh. So, we give our kids 3 gifts, too. If that sounds like a little amount, it is. But it's 3 things they really want. This ties the presents back into the birth story and helps make the presents more about celebrating Jesus than celebrating selfishness and greed for MORE, MORE, MORE! And because they know they only get 3 gifts, we ask them to tell us what things they really want. They also get a "brother gift" from each other although soon we'll have the kids pick a name and buy each other a gift. This helps them think not only about themselves, but also about what their siblings would like. They get stockings full of little stuff, plenty gifts from grandparents and family too!

Santa=no. We don't celebrate him. Never have. I know some parents love it but I don't get why. I think it's crazy to lie so excessively to kids and it takes the focus off the real meaning of Christmas for me. I know it's fun and make-believe (which is what we tell our kids) but I don't make my kids believe in Aslan or SpongeBob or agree that they're real if their friends say so. I could go on and on but I won't because if you "do" Santa I'm sure you've thought through the consequences and if you don't...good! Haha! But  please don't let your kids talk to mine about Santa because my middle son LOVES to tell kids that he isn't real! :) (he's not allowed to bring it up but if someone else does...)

Giving gifts to others. This is a tradition we have done for a few years. We have donated to Samaritan’s Purse, Toys for Tots, Angel Tree. This year we are donating toys and medicine to Kids Who Care Globally through the boys’ school.

Jesus' birthday gift. This is a new tradition this year. A few weeks ago I was talking to the kids and they were telling me what they wanted for Christmas. I asked them what Jesus wanted since it's HIS birthday. One Son said, "our hearts". I wanted to come up with a tangible way we could give Jesus our hearts this Christmas. Inspired by Noelle Piper's book, Treasuring God in Our Traditions. (Click on the link and you can download the book for free! The Piper's are SO generous!) I decided that we could give Him something this Christmas. We have a lovely wrapped gift on our coffee table. But it's an empty box and there is a hole on the bottom. All through the Christmas season, we can write things that we want to give to Jesus, give-up for Jesus, put in money, whatever is evidence of his grace in our life we see so we can acknowledge it as his gift to us and give it back to Him. Some examples might be: Doing someone's chore as a way to bless them for Jesus, feeling selfish and angry but praying instead of sinning and writing down that evidence of grace, not buying a treat but using that money to donate to a charity or our church, etc. On Christmas, we'll go through the box together. I'm not sure how it will go since this is a new thing but I'm hoping it becomes a tradition that we look forward to!

What traditions do you have with your presents at Christmas?

Christmas Traditions: Family Time

"Children spell love t-i-m-e" ~ Dr. Anthony P. Witham

Our regular lives are busy but the holidays make things even busier! Even though our kids have vacation time and are home with us, it doesn’t automatically mean we are all together. In a big family with big age gaps like ours, we have to be very intentional about family time or we won’t be able to do special things and create lasting memories. After we had our son Lucas, a wise dad reminded Jesse that he only has 18 summer with him and to make them count! Doesn’t that sound really, really short! Well, the same is true about Christmases! When our kids are away at college or are grown and have their own families, we won’t be able to plan their holiday vacations and their childhood memories will already be set. So, now is the time for that!

To make our holidays personal and special to our family, we have a couple traditions:
We celebrate Advent as a family. We read Jotham’s Journey every night during the Advent season. We buy each kid a little Trader Joe’s Advent calendar and they get a piece of chocolate for the story plus various other treats over the season (pomegranates, hot coco, Carmel popcorn-whatever. Stuff they don’t ever get before bedtime!)

Family Adventures. These are times we just pack up as a family and go on an “adventure”. Big or small, these are outings, trips, places we wouldn’t normally go or things that aren’t available all year. We've been blessed a few times with free vacation houses to borrow, too! We rarely tell the kids in advance so it’s just a spontaneous adventure to them. Past adventures include: sledding, Christmas light drives, out at the mall for treats, going to downtown Seattle to ride the carousal, a couple of days to vacation in Lake Chelan, boat rides, etc. This year, some of our family adventures will include driving to Julian for apple pie and looking for cool Christmas light displays, walking up to Starbucks for breakfast, going to Knott’s Berry Farm, going to the beach at night to drink hot coco and look at the stars, having a sleep over at their cousins' house, a Big Bear trip…But SHHH!-they’re still surprises to the kids! :)
Here are some pictures of previous adventures....

Sledding in 2006

Lake Chelan in 2007

San Diego Wild Animal Park in 2008 (Ava was there, too!)

Time with Extended family. The Holidays are a great time to see the WHOLE family. Some of my favorite memories from childhood Christmases are wrapped up in my big, extended family. Playing games, eating cookies, making my cousins perform Christmas plays! haha! We have spent 8 out of the last 9 Christmases in WA with Jesse’s family and those memories are so precious. Last year was the first time we were with my family for Christmas in 10 years! Now that we live in SD we’ll be able to make new memories with them. Every Sunday before Christmas is the celebration at my Grandma’s house with aunts, uncles, cousins. A grandchild, actually now it’s a great-grandchild!, puts baby Jesus in the manger and my Grandpa reads the birth story from Matthew while everyone sits around him in the living room. I hope my kids and their cousins will grow up putting on Christmas plays for the adults and carry on the tradition!

What are special things you do as a family at Christmas?

Christmas Traditions: Community Events

I love how all over America people come together to celebrate Christmas. I know that not all of them believe in the Christmas story like we do but regardless, it's amazing to me that people everywhere celebrate my Lord's birth. There is something about being in a big group of people that adds to the excitement and importance of Christmas. Plus, I love letting my kids see that we are part of something larger than our family, our church, our neighborhood. That there are hundreds of thousands of people who worship God, too-including many in our city! So a special part of our annual Christmas traditions are attending and participating in Community Holiday Events.

There were several events that we attended/participated in every year while we lived in Washington:
Redmond Lights. This was a unique community experience. While they celebrated all faiths, we focused our attendance on the Christmas celebrations and our church even had a booth in the "religious section" one year where we painted kids' faces and did Nativity type crafts.
Snowflake Lane. This was a fun holiday event where the streets of Downtown Bellevue were lined with drummer boys playing Christmas carols on their drums, a light show on the side of the mall, fake snow falling and carolers walking on the sidewalk, passing out candy. So fun.
Candy Cane Lane. This is a cute Victorian neighborhood in Seattle that decorates their houses for Christmas better than Clark Griswold ever dreamed. After we drove through, we'd usually go to Dick's burgers (WA only answer for In-N-Out)
Bellevue Botanical Gardens. This is a garden made out of Christmas lights. You walk through and see hundreds of flowers, birds, plants. It's so pretty.

This year we live in San Diego so we are trying out some new Community Events this year.
We're planning to go to:

 Balboa Park's December Nights

San Diego Bay Parade of Lights

 and find a new Christmas lights display called Christmas Card Lane (thanks for the tip, Vanessa!)

We're looking forward to many years in this fabulous city and are so excited to celebrate our first Christmas here with fellow San Diegans!
What does your community do to celebrate Jesus' birthday?

Christmas Traditions: Food

"The worst gift to give is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the world and people keep sending it to each other." ~Johnny Carson


I don't have a lot of Christmas food traditions. Actually there is only one specific food that I have made every year of our whole marriage: sugar cookie cut-outs with frosting and sprinkles. When I was a little girl, my grandma would make hundreds of sugar cookies in various shapes and sizes and all the grandkids would come over and decorate them. We'd get to eat a few (they were delicious!!!) and then she'd hide them until Christmas day. when she'd put them out on the dessert table. In the meantime, I looked every year for them and never found them. About 17 years ago she told me she locked them in the trunk of her car! Hahaha!
Anyway, I make them every year-starting with our 1st Christmas in Slovakia. (Yes, I make star shaped ones to carry on my star theme.) As my boys have gotten older, we've had cookie decorating parties where they invite friends over and decorate the cookies and watch a Christmas movie. I make dozens! And then every year we package them up and deliver them to our neighbors. Well, we eat a lot too!

Another Christmas food tradition that we have is on Christmas Eve: we eat out! I love this tradition. We get dressed nice, go to church (if our church has a service) or in WA we went to Snowflake Lane or Candy Cane Lane and then out to dinner somewhere nicer than we'd normally go with all 4 kids on any other night. And then I get to come home to a clean kitchen!

Christmas Breakfast: I'm not a big fan of breakfast food so I was a little shocked that Jesse wanted to have breakfast BEFORE presents on Christmas morning. So I would buy pre-made cinnamon roll dough and bake them once I got up. Or he would make eggs. Whatever. But a few years ago, Jesse's mom started making homemade cinnamon rolls in the shape of a wreath and sausage rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree and dropping it off at our house on Christmas Eve for us to bake on Christmas morning. They taste amazing and are so cute! Unfortunately, she's in WA and we're in SD now so I'll have to make them myself. (Well, I'm going to start with the sausage rolls...the cinnamon rolls might go back to the pre-made dough kind.)
While we eat breakfast as a family, we read the birth story. We talk about whose birthday it is and what we're about to celebrate with the presents and then pray for the day. I love how the focus isn't on presents ASAP on Christmas morning but about Jesus and family time first. And breakfast.

Birthday cake: This is a new tradition. We will have a birthday cake at Christmas lunch or dinner to celebrate Jesus' birthday. This year I am going to order a cute one from a bakery that says "Happy Birthday Jesus!"
I googled it to get some ideas. Here are a couple I found:

Ummmm....ya, I'm still looking... :)

So, what are YOUR food traditions?

Christmas Traditions: Decorations

Christmas decorations are fun and pretty. They make things festive and set a party mood. They help to convey that this is a special time, different than every other day. It adds to the excitement and anticipation of Christmas. They can also be used as a way to teach and remind children about aspects of the birth story which is the main tradition I want to focus on. In our house, we do this several ways using repetition and specific purposes in our yearly decor ...

1. A Nativity Scene. I bought a huge nativity Set from Costco 7 years ago. I love it. When it's set up, we read the birth narrative out of Matthew or Luke and then in the weeks before Christmas, I'll ask the kids who or what the pieces are. I love hearing them re-tell the birth story.  (Unfortunately my nativity table broke in the move and i haven't replaced it so I haven't put the nativity up yet)

2. Christmas tree/ornaments. I love Christmas tress. They are SO pretty! I like to have a nicely (read=I do it!) decorated tree for the family. In 1999 I chose to do my tree in burgundy and gold and have kept those colors ever since. I like how gold relates to Jesus' majesty and burgundy/reddish speaks to His blood sacrifice. About 5 years ago, I decided to only use star ornaments to represent the star that lead the wise men to baby Jesus and to remind us to go to Him also. (I didn’t have enough stars to fill the tree then so I used ball ornaments to fill in and bought some stars every year since. This year stars are finally the only ornaments on my tree!) We have used a fake tree for a few years since it doesn’t shed needles, I’m bad at watering things, and it’s easier for me to set up whenever I want to! This year the boys wanted to help build the tree so as we were building it, we talked about decorating it with stars and lights and gold and burgundy and what those represent to us.
Each year I see new colors and cool ornaments and want to switch it up but I have decided that keeping the theme we’ve had for years is a great way to instill and reinforce the simple truths that Jesus is King and sacrificed himself for us and just as a star pointed the way to Him for some wise men seeking him long ago, we are reminded to seek him every time we look at the tree.
But my kids’ make ornaments and want bright colors and festive things that don’t fit into my star tree. So, on their 3rd Christmas (any younger and they don't care and/or they will tear it apart!), my kids get their own little tree to decorate. I buy them a set of mini Nativity ornaments from Michael's and a star for the top and then let them choose a few things for their tree every year. The boys look forward to their room trees and it makes things fun and festive in their rooms. Plus, they don't touch the big tree since they have their own to play with! Haha!

3. Lights. I love a lit up house! I wish I could have Clark Griswold’s lighting skills. When we light our tree, put up our outdoor lights and when we look at others’ Christmas lights we talk about how Jesus is the light of the world. And as his followers, he calls us to be lights in this world too. Christmas lights are a reminder of that for us.

Those are my Christmas decoration "traditions". They are the same every year. (Well, I'll always add new stars to the tree but the theme is the same) Not every decoration in our house is specifically “spiritual” though. I also have stockings, wreaths, garlands, centerpieces, pinecones, a Snowman bathroom, holiday plates, etc. But those things change and are not really a specific yearly tradition since they aren't tied to any specific Christmas truth although I try to match the other themes. So, in our house decorations add to the festive feel and importance of Christmas. They are all a blessing to my family and our kids are excited about our decorations and what they mean. Yesterday Knox and Caleb brought in some neighbor kids to see how pretty our tree was. Now hopefully they will have an opportunity to tell them about who those stars are pointing to! ;)

This year's star tree:

All lit-up:

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."....When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." ~Matthew 2:1-2;10-11

Christmas Traditions: The Focus

tra⋅di⋅tion: the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice

"Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world". ~Susan Lieberman

Well, that seems like a tall order for some lights and a nativity scene, doesn't it?!? It is if you want to have Christmas traditions that mean something more than eating too much and spending too much (and then lying to your kids about who those gifts are actually from. haha!) There are books written on this subject, blogs galore and everyone has an idea for you to try. So let me start this blog series by saying that I don't have it all down perfectly and you should only do things that you feel would bless YOUR family, not something that blesses mine! And I'd love to hear about YOUR traditions!

But before we talk about specific traditions I want to lay the foundation for why I practice Christmas traditions at all and what I'm hoping to pass down to my children. Very simply: Christmas is about Jesus and I want to celebrate HIM every year. The number one Christmas tradition I want to keep year in, year out is to celebrate Jesus' birthday! I want it to be personal, important, special, memorable, fun. I want my children to see and know that Jesus is so important to me, our family and ultimately them that we celebrate HIS birthday for about a month every year! That HE's so amazing, people all over the world celebrate HIS birth in some fashion. That our country considers HIS birthday a National Holiday. That HIS birth is the most important birthday our family will ever celebrate! (If you're reading this, you probably do too.) Imagine if it was your child's 5th birthday, would you choose a theme, food, presents that have nothing to do with them or their likes and desires? Of course not! So keep this the focus of your Christmas traditions...It is Jesus' birthday! Make the party about HIM!!! I will talk about how to incorporate that fact into decorations, events, food, and presents. But if we remember that one, true fact we will have a fabulous filter by which we can decide if things the culture says are "Christmas-y" are things worthy of our God's birthday party.

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, 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. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:8-14