The Nativity

This month has really flown by. It seems the older I get, the more I say that. There was an amazing activity our church did (they do every year here) called "The Nativity". The very brief summary is there are hundreds of nativities on display from all over the world, and musical performances throughout the evening from not only people who are members of our church, but in the community-school groups etc. as well. I was asked to help set up for a special lunch they provide for the uppity up (mayors governors, local officials, school board members etc) people in the community. It was nice because I got to browse through the nativities without the crowds.  I wish I could have gotten a picture when the people were there and it was lit only by the hanging lights and Christmas trees-it was truly a sight to see-that along with the music was a true reminder of what Christmas is all about. There was a room with pictures and paintings of the life of Jesus and a kids dress up room. I didn't get pictures of that night because Kris and I took one kid each as our responsibility to enforce the "no touching" rule for the nativities. Here are some pictures I took during the night we set up for the lunch.

The one below is from Jerusalem. 

Just to give you an idea of how many were there-this is just one angle of the gym.

The one below is made out of silver.

I don't know if it's too blurry to read, but the one below was made from volcanic lava.

There were nativities from so many countries I don't even remember-Germany, Italy, countries in Africa, Austrailia, one was made out of playdough, even a marinet puppet nativity.  It was more amazing than these pictures show. And a nice reminder that we aren't the only ones who celebrate His birth.  I wish you all could have been there.

Busted

My favorite is at the end when they are trying to play it off.  I love my sweet boys.

O Christmas Tree 2010

Saturday we went and picked out a tree. It was the first day it was chilly and we all wore coats. Unfortunately, when I went to bust out the camera it said, "Please charge battery pack" (sigh). Oh well, so we made it quick and strapped it to the car and brought it home.  This year is the first year in ten years of marriage we have a tree skirt-which is exciting. And here are some before/after pics of our happy little tree...

Kris and I had stayed up late the night before watching movies and stringing popcorn and cranberries, pretty-but may have been a better idea for next year-as we have had some popcorn/cranberry "fatalities".

I think I have a picture like this somewhere of when we were living just outside Savannah and Abram was a little over a year old. I can't believe he is so big.

Apparently Reese didn't think the star looked good here....

So he thought about it for a minute......

And found the perfect place.

Who knew the Hulk liked trees? Or Dinosaurs, Batman, Spiderman, or Wolverine?  Even helicopters have made an appearance.  Who needs presents when you have a giant tree to play with and pull things off and put things back on all day long?

This will be the only time our tree will look this pretty (taken Saturday night after he boys went to sleep and I did some rearranging).

I hope it survives until Christmas.

Thanksgiving

Where did November go? Oh yah, we were sick, for weeks and passed it around to everyone, except Kris...and Obi.  But I am THANKFUL to feel better, and more THANKFUL the kids feel better. My sister and her family came to visit us in North Carolina!! We had so much fun, AND I made my first turkey! I feel so grown up (and maybe the fact that I am married and have kids and stuff). Everything turned out perfect. Unfortunately I didn't get a ton of pictures, because there was a ton of cooking going on. We made turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce (that was forgotten about in the fridge)-everything was delicious, maybe a little too delicious. It has been a couple of months since we have seen each other and my sweet little nephew is getting so big.  And Reese LOVES Isaac. In fact, most of the pictures I have are of them being really cute. Abram was really busy playing with his new beloved dragon and Uncle JJ.

Look at all of those teeth? He is getting so big!

This was so funny. They were playing and Reese kept pulling Isaac's arms and grunting and I finally realized he was trying to help Isaac make an escape! The pack n play was quite a hit for some reason. You can see even Abram wanted to join in!

Pulling out the turkey, I was so anxious!

TA DA!!! It was beautiful, and cooked perfectly!!

Super (and tired) Sisters, and one grumpy Abram.

Isaac had a plateful, and finished everything! It was a great Thanksgiving!

Thankful

I am thankful for friends. Especially new friends who are still your friend even after your 18 month old pukes two times in their really nice car (Reese got carsick on the way to the zoo).........at least I hope she is still my friend........

For Aunt Natalie.....

It made you miss me, didn't it? I will see you in a couple (and a half) weeks!!!

Halloween 2010

We did Trunk or Treat on Saturday, so we decided that we would stay home tonight (not to mention the ol' Sunday after church nap lasted a little long today) and carve pumpkins, eat candy, and make cookies. Thankfully-since we live in an apartment, no one came to our house-which was good because all we had was the kids candy, and that could have been bad. Although the kids went out with Kris to take out the trash and there were people handing out candy-so they did trick or treat afterall. So what does it take to have the best laid back Halloween ever? Well you start out with a couple of pumpkins...and a knife because this year-you're going "old school".

Make sure you have a taste tester to make sure raw pumpkin isn't very appetizing. 

Ignore the junk piled up on the counters-focus on the cute baby, focus on the cute baby.....

Then find someone who is eager to help make cookies.

And some good entertainment while you wait for them to cook....

Then enjoy your cookies by candlelight, while making sure that you wipe all chocolate from your fingers on the carpet.

Hope you and yours had a Happy Halloween!!!!