It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

No, it hasn't snowed here, but the lights are up and the tree trimmed. It is a joy to watch the girls enthusiasm for Christmas this year. They remember every detail from last year, and they jumped up and down as we took each decoration out of its box. Their joy is contagious!

It all began with our family trip to cut down the Christmas tree. As you may remember from last year, and from Halloween this year, that Jaelyn is deathly afraid of Santa. The whole trip there she kept repeating "I don't want to see Santa." to which we kept answering "You don't have to talk to Santa, just wave and keep walking." When we got there she immediately spotted Santa, so kept within a 20+ ft. radius of him. Kaia ran right up to talk with him, along with Josh, so I got my camera out. I called Kellen over for photos, and Josh scooped Jaelyn up and told her he would hold on to her. Surprisingly she let him stand right next to Santa, and she even "pet" his costume when Josh told her to. She would not speak to him though, but for the next couple of days, all she would say to anyone she met was "I so brave. I not scared of Santa!" That's a huge improvement for her.

As you can see, we were a bit tuckered out by the time we were all through, so getting a halfway decent photo of the whole family around the tree was a challenge. Tomorrow is December 1, which means "No-shave November" is over for Kellen. Yep, he and some of his buddies took on the challenge for the month. I think he's anxious to get rid of it too.

What we're thankful for....

Each family members reply at dinner to what they're thankful for this year, which is one of our holiday traditions:
Kaia - "Spraying my brothers with water"
Josh - "Being able to spend time with my family and this wonderful Thanksgiving dinner"
Mike - "My family and all the blessings I have"
Kellen - "God and the 2nd Amendment"
Jaelyn - "My dogs, Romeo and Caesar"
Toni - "The many freedoms I have in the US"

May you and your family have as many things to be thankful for as our family does, and remember, you can show your gratitude more than once a year.

Advent Conspiracy....

Our pastor shared this at church this morning.....something for you to think about as we move into the holiday rush this week. I know I will be.

4 year olds and video games....

Here's what four year olds say when they're playing video games with their teenage brother:
Kaia: Don't kill me, I'm your sister.
Jaelyn: Okay, let's get Kellen!

Now that's teamwork (and don't worry, it's only SuperSmash Bros)!

Happy World Diabetes Day???

I'm sure most of you do not know this, but today is World Diabetes Day. The best way I know how to deal with this disease on a daily basis is in keeping a good attitude and having a sense of humor, so I thought I would bring attention to diabetes today with this humorous clip. To those of you who do not understand the humor behind it, that means you or a close loved one does not have to live with it, so be thankful...

Trunk or Treat...

The kids went trunk or treating for Halloween at our church, which means they walk around the parking lot visiting different car trunks decorated in a variety of themes. Some people were actually quite creative. Despite not typically liking people in costumes, the girls did fairly well this year. That is, until Jaelyn spotted someone handing out candy, dressed as her most dreaded person in costume, SANTA CLAUS! She absolutely lost it at that point, and almost couldn't go on. I think her love of chocolate was the only thing that got her to persevere:)

There was also a professional photographer there snapping free photos, and I thought it turned out cute. Josh the hippy and his love kittens! Kaia's new haircut didn't turn out so bad...