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Advent: Days 5 and 8

(Had fun times on Days 6 and 7 too, just didn't get any photos.)

Day 5: Ride the Christmas train.

Saturday was a cold but amazingly sunny day, and we had a few short hours before Andy had to leave for church. So we decided to squeeze in a trip on the Bear Creek train, which is "decked out" for Christmas. Now the Christmas decorations are definitely the "Surrey version" (as compared to the Vancouver Stanley Park Christmas train) but hey, we're a Surrey family! ;) (And proud of it!!!) We enjoyed it and had a great time together as a family.

Daddy and daughter walking hand in hand

Feel the sunshine!




No one was too impressed to meet Santa. Jorja didn't have a clue who he was, Kenna was nervous of him, and Kaleb knows he's a fake.
(Thanks Jorja for making this picture extra classy!)


Candy makes this boy smile!



Someone was a little grumpy. Not naming any names though. ;)

Family photo with Santa

Mom coaxes out a little smile

Excited for the train ride to start!


After Andy had to rush off to work, we stayed for a bit to play on the track. Nice to enjoy the sun for a bit and get in some exercise.

Posing with his number (and my shadow)

Sweet girls, holding hands

Day 8: Get our Christmas tree.

This year we decided to go all out and cut down our own tree, a first for this little family of ours. We ended up at Dogwood Christmas Tree Farm in Fort Langley and had a good time hunting down our "perfect" tree amongst the rows and rows of trees and then chopping it down.

Heading out to find out tree, saw in hand.

I love this one because of the "Bob and Doug McKenzie look" that my hubby has! And doesn't our middle look happy to be there?! (She had just fallen asleep in the car ride, unfortunately.)

Tree, where are you?

All he wants for Christmas is his two front teeth!!!

Wearing Mom's toque

Love her gorgeous freckles.

Our "baby"!

The cute Fraser fir we picked!

Daddy is about to hack it down. Jorja looks a bit nervous!

My girlies!

What a man!

Photo of the Day

(of YESTERday actually)



Found the girls watching TV like this yesterday. Aren't they cute??

Ch-ch-ch-chia!

Remember these guys? And their catchy, though annoying, commercial? I sure do. My nickname in Jr. High was Chia, after I got my short-long (short over one ear, long over the other) permed! (Don't mock me. The haircut WAS in style. I think the perm was the big mistake!!) I'd post pictures but I am not that brave don't have any! All have been destroyed. Just kidding! :P

We (well, my kids) got one last Christmas from my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bob. A Christmas tree with a light up star. Cooh, huh? Since we'd missed the Christmas season by the time we got it, we decided to wait until this year to try it. But today was the day. The chia seeds have been soaked and applied and now we wait. I think I'm more excited about it than they are!

Cool thing is that since its introduction in the 80's, the health benefits of the chia seed have been realized by the Western world. I have yet to try them, but after doing some research online, I'm excited that we will be able to eat the sprouted tree we are now (hopefully!) growing. Though the company that makes the Chia pet did not go through FDA approval so cannot promote it as a food product, the chia seeds are grown without chemicals and fertilizers so can be eaten.

We'll be sure to post some pictures and give you the update on our cool edible tree!

Look at the website for other cool Chia's. I'm thinking of getting the Obama one for my in-laws for Christmas. You'd love it, right Sharon? ;)

I'm off to shower some dirty kids and get ready for a friend's Christmas Open House. I'm trying a new appy idea I got from my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday, and made some kid friendly pumpkin muffins that my gang love.

Days 2, 3 and 4

Thought we'd share the last few days of advent activities with you. We're having a lot of fun and the kids are looking forward to this special time each day. Today, they tried to talk me into doing it without Daddy, as they didn't want to have to wait till dinner time!

Day 2: Dance party with Christian Christmas music with glow sticks

These photos were taken with a flash in the dark. It was so fun to just point the camera and see what we captured. The cousins dancing make me smile!

My personal fave! Look at all the crazy action going on here!

Janaya is the DJ!

And a group shot of the gang together, before the Oldhams drove off and we headed to bed.

Day 3: Make a fort in the living room and read stories in it by flashlight

Shadow puppets (Attempts at least. Kaleb found this a bit frustrating.)

Daddy reading a few family favorites.
(Ever heard of Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman? Good stuff.)

This one of Jorja makes me laugh.

Snacks in the fort

Flashlight fun!

Day 4: Make Rice Krispie Squares combined with Watch a Christmas movie with popcorn

Since we'd had popcorn for an after school snack, we decided to make Rice Krispie Squares to eat while watching the Franklin Christmas Special that Andy had recorded from TV.

Such hams for the camera!

I didn't even say a word and this is what they do when they see the camera!

So "them"!!



Kenna's creation!

Proudly showing it off!

K is for Kaleb

My favorite four!

So there you have it. More to come! We're going to try to keep snapping pictures as we are doing our advent activities together, so we can remember our special times from year to year.

Forgot to mention...

...that I'm a brunette. The roots were driving me crazy, so this was my solution. Whaddya think?

First Day of Our Family Advent

Can I first of all tell you how excited I am? Very!

After scouring the web for ideas and getting some great suggestions from friends (thanks all!), I've made our family advent plans. I'm still working on some of the "crafting" aspects of the project, but otherwise, I'm ready to go. And am very happy with these new traditions we will be starting with our little family.

After seeing several ideas I liked, I decided that we'd do two different ideas and combine them. My main goal was to find some age-appropriate ways to focus my young family on Jesus, the reason we celebrate Christmas. With all the hubbub around Santa and presents, I wanted us to have a daily reminder of what Christmas was about, that would also be a teaching tool. I found what I was looking for on this blog. It is a kind of a child-friendly version of a Jesse tree.

I also liked the idea of doing special things together as a family. Creating memories as a family that we can enjoy from year to year. A reminder to spend time with the ones we love, and not get swept away by the business the season brings. Nadia posted her Advent box, and I decided to do something similar.

I got quite inspired with the "crafting" aspect all, which has been fun. I have not been doing much of this type of "creating" and it was a really nice outlet for me. All I can say is that I'm kind of glad there is not an all night craft store around, as I'd probably never go to sleep! :P

So this is what it all looks like. (Please excuse all the gratuitous photos of my creations! I'm just a little excited is all!)

I got inspired by this page on the cool Kiddley site and needed to make these cute little match book boxes. (Hence my facebook status looking for where to buy them. Dollar stores, in case you were wondering.) I used scrapbooking paper I had stored away and not used in year. And the number stickers were dollar store finds as well. (Though this particular dollar store is now actually a $1.25 store. Doesn't roll of your tongue quite as easily, does it?!)


In each box is a "theme" for the day and a Bible verse or two to go with it. Each day focuses on a symbol and has a little ornament with each symbol to hang on our Jesse tree. (Or Joshua Tree, as I've been known to call it.) I've not finished making all of these yet, but hope to get the rest of them done over the next few days.

Today's read:

DAY 1: We anticipate Jesus’ birth, just as they did many years ago.
Isaiah 11:1 - A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Psalm 27:14 - Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Symbol: Branch

A close-up of the box and ornament (a drawn picture glued to a flat backed glass "pebble" or bead")

And this is the little tree our ornaments will hang from. I already had this table-top tree, so didn't have to try to get out to buy one, which worked out well. The last several days of our advent have pieces of a small wooden nativity set (instead of an ornament), which we will set up on display around the tree with the other "present boxes". On Christmas morning, we will open up the last piece, which is the baby Jesus in the manger.


Here's Kaleb getting ready to open today's box. (Since Andy was away all day, we did it with just the big kids and I. Jorja is a bit too little to participate, and too hard to "wrangle" while trying to do this with the other kids. I'm hoping she can be part of it though when we have two parents around.)

Kenna opened the envelope with our special advent activity.

Our version of the Advent Box, also from the Kiddley site. I used the same block of scrapbooking paper to make 24 envelopes that will hold a special family activity for the day. I came up with about 40 different activities that would work for our family. The kids don't know this, but most of the envelopes are currently empty. I'll choose each day what activity works, because "Go for a walk in the woods or on a beach" is not something you can do everyday. (Not in our rainy BC winter climate.) And I know not every day will I be up for baking up a storm or doing an intensive craft. Also, some days, Andy will not be around, so it needs to be something I can pull off on my own.

I've included the list of all our activities, divided up so it is easier for me to figure out what works for the day.

All laid out, so you can see how much fun I had making them pretty!

Today's activity read: Make paper snowflakes and hang them from the dining room ceiling

The look of concentrated cutting

Freckles

So grown-up all of a sudden

Showing off his creation

Kenna's handiwork

And Jorja was not part of this (we snuck it all in during her nap), but she wanted her picture taken too!

So excited about the days ahead, with Jesus' birthday being the big celebration and the reason for all the other celebrations! Hope you are enjoying the anticipation of advent!

____________________________________

Here's the list of our family activities, is case you want to join us and do something similar. Divided into categories, so it is easy to find the activity that works for the day.

With Daddy

Have dinner in the RV in a special location
Taking photos of each other, print them up and make an album
Write a family worship song and record it with Andy
Get Christmas tree
Decorate Christmas tree
Play in the snow
Get out and set up the large wooden nativity set and read Christmas story
Bowling with Daddy
Date night along with either mom or dad
Get photo with Santa and mail letter
Go out to see the Christmas lights while listening to Christmas music
Have a camp-out/sleep-over around the Christmas tree
Make a fort in the living room and read stories in it by flashlight
Have fire and roast marshmallows in fireplace
Have homemade "Blizzards" (milkshakes with all the fixings)
Chocolate fondue with fruit




With or without Daddy

Going food shopping and taking the food to a food bank
Making paper snowflakes and stringing them from the dining room ceiling
Board Games (Candyland with candy!)
$ Store present hunt for siblings
Make Thankful Chart/Mural that we add to during the rest of the month
Decorate gingerbread houses or men
Go walk in the woods or on the beach
Fancy candlelit dress-up dinner
Puddle jump walk
Go out for donuts and hot chocolate
Watch a Christmas movie with popcorn
Wrap a toy and take it to a charity drop off
Use puppets to tell bedtime story
Have an indoor "carpet picnic"
Make ornament with Crayola Model Magic


Good with just Mom

Do some baking for teachers
Write letters to Santa
Make handmade Christmas cards for Great Grandparents
Make sugar cookies (baby Jesus cookies)
Make and decorate plaster decorations for family
Make homemade red and green candy/caramel corn
Make snowman decorations
Make Rice Krispie Squares

With friends or cousins



Christmas caroling with friends
Dance party with Christian Christmas music with glow sticks
Ride Christmas Train

Last Day of November

Happy to say I out-waited the rain and actually got my long run accomplished. And even got a little Vitamin D at the same time! Whooohoooo! Yes, the sun actually peaked out a bit while I was out there running. A blessing I am very thankful for!

And tonight we're off to our church staff Christmas party. I'm excited as I don't see many of these people except for at these once a year occasions. Plus, it is a night out sans kids with my man (a rare treat!), so a lovely treat! Hopefully I'll have a few pictures to post tomorrow. Me in a dress, nylons and heels - even more rare so I MUST document with photos.

And then tomorrow is the first day of December, and so starts the advent activities I have been planning. I'm excited to share with you what we are doing so stay tuned! :)

And I'm off to shower and "get beautiful" for tonight!

While You Were Out...

On Wednesday, while my sister was out with our "big boys" at their Young Scientists class at the local Recreation Centre, the little kids and I were having a super hero party. It is very cute (and amazing!) how well these four play together when the eldest sibs are gone.

Ages one, two, three and four, they can find an game or activity where they can all participate. This week, I had four super heros. They were saving animals and "flying" all around the house.

Showing me the puppy she was rescuing!

I could hear her saying over and over, "Super hero. To the rescue."

Naya wasn't sure about the cape, but did like to help the animals.

Posing!

Each wanted their pictures with their chosen animal.

Ages L-R: 2, 3, 4 and 1

Aren't they cute??!!?

Flying!


I showed Jorja the pictures I had taken and when she saw this one she said, "Smile."

Preparing for Advent

This year, I am trying to be more purposeful about teaching my children the real meaning of Christmas. Not that we have not in the past years, but now that my kids are a bit older, I'm hoping to add some new family traditions that are focused around the real reason we celebrate. Traditions that we can add to as their age and understanding grows.

I'm just now starting to use the resource of the internet to find advent ideas, but would love your input. Websites, books, etc. Please share ideas you have used or plan to use, as I would love to hear them. Thanks in advance!

Still Running!

Can't even believe it myself, but I'm still running! No, I don't always jump out of bed with a smile on my face ready to run (actually I NEVER do), but there is nothing like the feeling of a hot shower after I'm done! And this is what gets me out there - the feeling of being done! :P

I ran my second 10K race on Sunday with my friend Leah. The rain held off and we only had to worry about the huge puddles and muddy trails that the previous days and nights of rain had caused. Had a great time though!

My dad and Kaleb came out to watch me cross the finish line. Knowing they were waiting for me at the end gave me an extra boost to run my best finish! Nothing like getting a congratulatory hug and sprig of flowers from a super cute six-year-old!


Race results are here. I had hoped to beat my time from my first 10K, but instead actually managed to "tie" my time, right down to the second!