Christmas Card Blog Greetings

For those of you who have received a Christmas card from us... you may have noticed that our blog address is on the lower right hand corner. And for some, you may be getting the card in your mailbox any day now... sorry that it's a tad on the late side! If you have NOT received it yet, please close your eyes and do not look at the following picture. Thank you for your cooperation!







If you're joining us here for the first time because of that little address in the lower right hand corner... a BIG welcome to you!! We're glad you stopped by...

Maybe some of you are wondering why in the world our blog address is included on our Christmas card.

Well... it's simple! For the last number of years our Christmas letters have tapered, and are now at a hault in production all together! It's sad... but true! So this blog is the next best thing to a yearly Christmas letter! About 85% of you on our "Christmas card list" don't see us on a regular basis... so here is a way for you to stay connected with us (sort of!) ALL YEAR ROUND!

Maybe that thought is just a little overwhelming for some of you... and that's okay!!! :)

Anyhow... this is our way of letting you know what we're up to! So again... thank you for taking an interest in our lives. I'm always amazed when I hear someone stopped by to "peek" at my silly little blog. And just blessed... so much... that you care for us.

Thank you again... and a VERY MERRY Christmas from our family to yours!

Christmas Oranges

I never thought of oranges being a part of Christmas... until I moved to Canada! But goodness gracious... those little suckers just start popping up everywhere around the Dec. 1st mark!

Our house included...
but we discovered a treasure today. The Christmas orange of all Christmas oranges! Those little tiny "baby" mandarins... not the normal sized ones... the little, little ones! They are delightful! Please - go pick up a box at your earliest convenience! Our box has been in the house for only a few hours and has a considerable dent... they are definitely worth the trip!!!

SNOW Much Fun

Alia loves snow. Larren does not! This has posed a bit of a problem considering our winters are quite lengthy here in the north! But, at the request of her big sister, Larren donned her pink fluffy "marshmallow" suit... and took to the cold!

Slowly but surely Larren started "warming up" to the white stuff and I'm thinking Alia will have her converted in no time!


Alia was determined to give Larren the best ride possible... remember, she had a lot of convincing to do!

She pulled... and pulled...

... but her sister just wasn't buying it!

So we came up with another plan... the classic "put your whole body into it" method!
But... it just wasn't going quite as smoothly as Alia had planned... it didn't help that Larren tried bailing any chance she got!

So I finally convinced Alia to leave the pulling to me, and just walk along, enjoying the sunshine!

We made it to our destination without too many complaints from the sleigh passenger, but those silly horses weren't too interested in any cheery hellos!

The ever determined Alia just wouldn't take "walking along side of Mommy" for an answer!

Larren certainly appreciated the kind gesture!

Alia soon got bored just walking along (or pushing!)... and a couple rocks caught her eye.

So needless to say... her mission shifted gears a bit!

**Side note** You can tell deer season is closed here! The deer are back out in full force... just walking down the street where ever they so desire!

I was quite pleased with how well Larren did in the cold! It gives me hope that maybe... just maybe.. we will be able to get outside some this winter!

Up to this point Larren has made quite a squawk whenever her snowsuit comes in sight!

Maybe her and "Miss. Marshmallow" will be good friends by the time spring rolls around!

Editing Discovery

Ideally I would never have to edit pictures that I have taken. Straight out of the camera would be good enough. BUT... I'm not that gifted, and have loads and loads (and loads!) to learn. I've only just discovered how much of a difference editing can make... and I'm SUPER EXCITED!! Who would have known?!?!

So, I would like to show you two pics that I took yesterday that needed some help! I spent a couple minutes editing them... and I prefer the finished product quite a bit more! I won't be showing evidence of the before shots from here on out... they will be thoroughly destroyed!! :) But here ya go... editing really does work wonders!

Good Gifter...

My husband is SO GOOD at gift giving. He always seems to pick just the right thing!
For example... as part of my birthday gift a couple years ago he bought me a label maker. You see... he knows me, and knows me well! And I have to say... years later, I still smile when I open my cupboards and see this...




I am SO not into diamonds... never have been and never will be... it's those little gifts that say "I thought of you when I saw this" that sparkle way more in my eyes.

This year we decided to have an executive desk made as our anniversary/Christmas gift to each other, and I am so super excited about that, don't get me wrong... but I just love being able to see what Jon sees as he gives a gift. He is way more in tune with people than I am... and that clearly shows in his generosity! I am... once again... blessed by this man the Lord has given me!

Christmas Presents...

... are starting to find their way under the tree!

And little fingers are starting to find their way under there too!

It'll be a wonder if all the ornaments, bows, and paper survive until the big day!

Broccoli Heads Up

Okay... so like 99% of you probably know this little tip already, but I only found out about it after Jon and I got married!

When you're cutting up broccoli DON'T throw away the stalk. It really is the yummiest part!

Cut your broccoli florets off as you normally would, then take the stalk part and just hold it so it's "standing up". Cut off each side and throw those away... leaving you with a square piece of the inside part.


Now just cut that part up into pieces...

... and either nibble away, or toss them in with the rest of your broccoli!


There ya go... you're being less wasteful and enjoying the best part!

Soup and Straws

To me winter means soup! To others in our household it may mean snow or snowmobiles... but ohhh, I just can't wait to dust off my soup recipes and whip up pot after pot!

Since we've been indulging lots of soup lately, Alia has found a new tool to aid in slirping up every last drop of the yumminess!

As soon as she hears there's soup a coming, she runs to get her most beloved "utensil!"


I wouldn't have thought to use a straw for "Chicken Alfredo" soup... but to Alia it made perfect sense!

And look... the straw serves more than one purpose... it's a bridge too!



Mmmmm Mmmmm, good!

First... First Concert

It's been almost a week since I've blogged? Really? Sorry Gramma and Grampa!!

My absence doesn't mean there's nothing going on around here... there was big news this weekend at the Kreiser house, Alia had her first Christmas concert to participate in!

On Sunday evening she donned her Christmas dress and took to the stage! Ideally she would have sang... but somehow she picked up gum along the way (here's to hoping it was NEW gum, and not gum she found!!!!) and was more interested in chewing than in actually singing! But really... the kids job is to stand there and make all of us "ooh and ahh" about how cute they are, right? It's a hard job but somebody has to do it!!!

The pictures are horrible ("I will bring my tripod next time, I will bring my tripod next time, I will bring...") and we were sitting on the wrong side to get any good shots of Alia - but here they are. Ignore the horrible photographer behind the camera and focus on the cute kiddos in front of it!!

I HATE using the built in camera flash... but drastic times call for drastic measures, and wowsa dark and blurry probably would have been better!!! :)

At any rate... here they are waiting for their big break!

Getting all lined up (kind of!) and ready to begin!

Her "My God is So BIG!" fists!


At this point the singing has been replaced with Wow... look at all those people!

And... What are the other kids talking about?

I'm sorry what was that?



So there you have it!! I'm telling you... the kiddos really were just so super duper cute! They did their job splendidly!

Advent

There are many ways to count down the days until Jesus Birthday... but this year we went for an extremely simple, extremely cheap, YET extremely effective method.

The ever popular paper chain!


Alia had fun helping me make it, and she just LOVES opening up a new link after breakfast for the daily activity!


Here are some of the activities that are revealed each day!
- Sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus
- Watch a Veggie Tales movie
- Sing a Christmas song
- Have an indoor picnic lunch
- Make a Play Doh snowman
- Give your sister a hug
- Have a special treat
- Take a snowy walk
- Read a Christmas book
- Go on a drive and look for Christmas lights
- Bake cookies with Mommy
- Have a special treat and share with your sister
- Take a snowmobile ride with Daddy
- Call G&G and tell them "I LOVE YOU"
- Color a Christmas picture
- Go ice skating
- Have a beach day with Mommy and Larren
- Have a piece of ribbon candy


The deer stand watch for those little fingers that would love to pull off five links at a time, or for those that would love to use our advent calendar as a teething toy... the deer are more protective than you might realize! But... if ya feed them mushy banana smeared Cheerios... you've got a friend for life! :)

Little Piggies

... at snack time!

Cookie Tasting... Saturday Morning Style

Cookie dough was meant to be sampled... that's the "bakers rule" we live by in this house!

And there's usually no hiding that fact!


But we can sure try...



THERE... Daddy will never know!

Good as new!