Friday, January 14, 2011
On The Search...
As a number of you know, we have been on the look out for a country property... for, ummmm, awhile now!
We have enjoyed renovating our place. We have enjoyed discovering our likes and dislikes in a home. We have enjoyed our neighbors and the family that they have become. We have enjoyed the "community country life" and we are actually looking for the same type of property again... just a little bigger on both the land and house side! Don't get me wrong, our place has served us well... but it's time to move on!
So we put together an "ideal house list" and are praying that the Lord will bring the right house along.
In our area country properties are a bit hard to come by. The cheap properties are a plane ride from town. The expensive ones are, well... normal! Sadly there isn't an in between! That being said... we believe that the Lord desires more for His children than being tied down by money and mortgages... and it's nice to have some freedom there. So... what's the answer?!?!
Thankfully we have a really good realtor, and a really good God who knows our hearts desires.
It will be VERY VERY hard to leave our place. (In some ways... in other ways I won't take a second glance!) But, I'm realizing that in order to have a change... we need to make a change.
So... we would covet your prayers as we are looking and as we make a decision. A bazillion questions swirl through my head about "is this the right choice"... but I am trusting God to clarify and confirm! And praising Him that He has given me a wise, hardworking, gifted husband to hold my hand through it all!
We have enjoyed renovating our place. We have enjoyed discovering our likes and dislikes in a home. We have enjoyed our neighbors and the family that they have become. We have enjoyed the "community country life" and we are actually looking for the same type of property again... just a little bigger on both the land and house side! Don't get me wrong, our place has served us well... but it's time to move on!
So we put together an "ideal house list" and are praying that the Lord will bring the right house along.
In our area country properties are a bit hard to come by. The cheap properties are a plane ride from town. The expensive ones are, well... normal! Sadly there isn't an in between! That being said... we believe that the Lord desires more for His children than being tied down by money and mortgages... and it's nice to have some freedom there. So... what's the answer?!?!
Thankfully we have a really good realtor, and a really good God who knows our hearts desires.
It will be VERY VERY hard to leave our place. (In some ways... in other ways I won't take a second glance!) But, I'm realizing that in order to have a change... we need to make a change.
So... we would covet your prayers as we are looking and as we make a decision. A bazillion questions swirl through my head about "is this the right choice"... but I am trusting God to clarify and confirm! And praising Him that He has given me a wise, hardworking, gifted husband to hold my hand through it all!
I Know... I Know...
... I've been a little M.I.A. lately, and I do apologize. BUT goodness life just seems a bit overwhelming at times, now being one of them! That being said... I will try to take a few extra minutes a day to keep ya'll updated. Deal?!
I'll leave ya with a couple reasons why you DON'T see pics of me on here very often!
Reason numero 1. It just never fails... almost every picture has me in mid sentence, or mid blink, or mid turn, or mid SOMETHING! So they promptly get deleted and forgotten!
Reason numero 2. Actually doing my hair and/or putting make up on doesn't happen all too often... and really, who wants or needs that documented!!?? :)
I'll leave ya with a couple reasons why you DON'T see pics of me on here very often!
Reason numero 1. It just never fails... almost every picture has me in mid sentence, or mid blink, or mid turn, or mid SOMETHING! So they promptly get deleted and forgotten!
Reason numero 2. Actually doing my hair and/or putting make up on doesn't happen all too often... and really, who wants or needs that documented!!?? :)
Monday, January 10, 2011
That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles
Confession - I have never made a gingerbread house. I've always thought it would be fun... but just haven't got around to it as of yet! Well... my little "froggy" (that's what she is today... a froggy!) got to experience this "rite of Christmas passage" before her ole' mama did!
Alia and Auntie Betty whipped us this little beauty before Christmas a few weeks ago!
I told Betty that Alia's advent activity for the day was to draw a Christmas picture (which we hadn't gotten around to yet) but Auntie Betty took it about 10 steps further!!
Mr. Gingerbread house lasted a good month or so at our place... that is, until Daddy started nibbling some of the candy off, and then shared it with his ever keen daughter. Stale month old candy has next to no appeal to me... but those little gumdrop bushes just looked too darn tempting I guess!
Green Noel Cottage was nice while it lasted, but I'm already planning for the "expansion pack" next Christmas! Green Noel Estate is going to be on the advent list for next year... we're bi-passing the Christmas drawing all together!!
Alia and Auntie Betty whipped us this little beauty before Christmas a few weeks ago!
I told Betty that Alia's advent activity for the day was to draw a Christmas picture (which we hadn't gotten around to yet) but Auntie Betty took it about 10 steps further!!
Mr. Gingerbread house lasted a good month or so at our place... that is, until Daddy started nibbling some of the candy off, and then shared it with his ever keen daughter. Stale month old candy has next to no appeal to me... but those little gumdrop bushes just looked too darn tempting I guess!
Green Noel Cottage was nice while it lasted, but I'm already planning for the "expansion pack" next Christmas! Green Noel Estate is going to be on the advent list for next year... we're bi-passing the Christmas drawing all together!!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Noodles in the Making
Since some friends of ours gave us 6 dozen eggs... and since Jon and Arnie were out working on all things motorized... and since we wanted to be productive while we chit chatted... my mother-in-law and I decided that making noodles would be a good way to spend our Christmas Eve Eve.
In theory it was... but goodness, things didn't quite go as we thought they would!
Problem # 1 - we didn't realize that yes... in fact noodles CAN have too much flour in them! Who would have thought?
Problem # 2 - trying to make 6 batches with 2 kids under foot. You see, life happens, and noodles get put on the back burner... and they don't like being left by themselves for too long. They get too stiff, too fast, thus making it next to impossible to put them through the noodle maker! So we bi passed the flattening attachment and went straight to the handy dandy rolling pin. Even with all the elbow grease we could muster we still had a hard time getting them flat enough!
Problem # 3 - If the noodles won't go through the flattening part of the noodle maker, than they will definitely NOT go through the cutting attachment!
So... we ended up cutting a lot of them by hand. First we used a small knife... and then, by the end, figured out than a longer knife made for easier cutting!
We did manage to get about 1/2 of them through the cutter... and it is quite visible, to the naked eye, which were which!
Jeannette and I have both made noodles on numerous occasions, but this was a memorable event indeed!
Lesson learned... with kids around, smaller batches are better!
Thankfully the company was good, we got LOTS of conversation time in, and we have a good supply of noodles in the freezer for some yummy chicken noodle soup!
** Okay... so quick vote. How many of you have had beef/chicken and noodles served on or with mashed potatoes and corn?
That was our Christmas Eve meal... and up to this point the massive amounts of carbs in one meal has never crossed my mind - that's just what we grew up with. But wowsers... ya can't get more "carby" than that! It's good... but not for the faint hearted! My Canadian family was just in shock when I told them you can buy that meal from the band tent at the county fair!! :)
In theory it was... but goodness, things didn't quite go as we thought they would!
Problem # 1 - we didn't realize that yes... in fact noodles CAN have too much flour in them! Who would have thought?
Problem # 2 - trying to make 6 batches with 2 kids under foot. You see, life happens, and noodles get put on the back burner... and they don't like being left by themselves for too long. They get too stiff, too fast, thus making it next to impossible to put them through the noodle maker! So we bi passed the flattening attachment and went straight to the handy dandy rolling pin. Even with all the elbow grease we could muster we still had a hard time getting them flat enough!
Problem # 3 - If the noodles won't go through the flattening part of the noodle maker, than they will definitely NOT go through the cutting attachment!
So... we ended up cutting a lot of them by hand. First we used a small knife... and then, by the end, figured out than a longer knife made for easier cutting!
We did manage to get about 1/2 of them through the cutter... and it is quite visible, to the naked eye, which were which!
Jeannette and I have both made noodles on numerous occasions, but this was a memorable event indeed!
Lesson learned... with kids around, smaller batches are better!
Thankfully the company was good, we got LOTS of conversation time in, and we have a good supply of noodles in the freezer for some yummy chicken noodle soup!
** Okay... so quick vote. How many of you have had beef/chicken and noodles served on or with mashed potatoes and corn?
That was our Christmas Eve meal... and up to this point the massive amounts of carbs in one meal has never crossed my mind - that's just what we grew up with. But wowsers... ya can't get more "carby" than that! It's good... but not for the faint hearted! My Canadian family was just in shock when I told them you can buy that meal from the band tent at the county fair!! :)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Christmas Break
Christmas break?! There was a Christmas break?!?! Goodness... that flew by fast!
Our holidays started off full speed ahead with a trip to the city to pick up Jon's folks! We had the pleasure of having them stay with us over the first few days of break... and were so glad they were able to spend Christmas Eve/Christmas morning with us!
Christmas Eve photos... needless to say, we were in a mad rush to get to church on time, so pictures BEFORE hand just weren't high on the priority list!
This was the best family pic we could muster. Someday... someday... we will be able to take a good picture, spur of the moment... without coaxing or bribery! Or I will just set up the tripod and click away until we're all blue in the face - whichever has to happen first!
This was our first family Christmas here in MB ... so we wanted to start a few traditions.
Tradition # 1 - Attend the Christmas Eve service. Though I will say... it's easier said than done when kids are involved! It's late, and they are tired... so basically it's just trying to keep them quiet and occupied for an hour. I want them to understand that we celebrate Christmas because of CHRIST... and the Christmas Eve service is a reminder of that - but goodness, it ended up being more tiring than I thought it would be! Thankfully we sang a lot, so that aided in the "occupying process!"
Tradition # 2 - New pair of PJ's on Christmas Eve. Alia was pretty excited about this one... and hey, if it makes them more eager about going to bed... I'm excited too!
Poor Larren was so tired she didn't quite get what was going on, so her ever helpful sister stepped right in and took over for her!
Tradition # 3 - Banana splits for "night snack". It's Christmas... why now allow a little spoiling!
Tradition # 4 - Read the Christmas story before bed. This year we opted for a "kid friendly" version from Alia's Bible (mostly because it was getting late and attention spans were no where in sight!)... but will graduate to Luke's gospel over the next year or so.
Tradition # 5 - Opening presents PRONTO! Growing up, we were the kind of kids that woke our parents up at 4 am (at the LATEST!) to open gifts Christmas morning... but Jon's family simply slept in. So... we compromised by stating that gift opening will only take place at a reasonable hour in our house... which to Daddy would be no sooner than 11 am :)
Tradition # 6 - Christmas Breakfast Our menu consisted of hash brown breakfast casserole, a "birthday cake for Jesus" (coffee cake), and fruit. Simple enough not to stress over... and yummy enough to look forward to! AND, I might add... Jon absolutely surprised us with his mad coffee cake making skills! DELICIOUS... wow!
The rest of our morning was leisurely... the boys put toys together and the girls played with them!
We had a day or two to relax, then packed up and went south! Not as far south as we normally do... but south none the less! This time our final destination was Wisconsin - we met my family at a ski resort /water park there!
We didn't take very many pictures (and I really wish we would have!) but I'll share a few of what we did take!
Can ya tell who's room is who's?
The Ohio crew could be identified by the LOADS of gifts for the girls (and their parents!).
Our crew could be ID'd by the LOADS of online shopping purchases (this is just a small sampling. :) My poor parents get boat loads of packages starting around 1 1/2 months before they are scheduled to see us next!)
Enjoying some Auntie and Uncle time...
Enjoying the togetherness...
A present opening frenzy... that's what our first night together was!!
Alia sure didn't mind!
Our fire place didn't have a mantle... so onto plan B!
And this was like one of three shots that I took at the water park... ya get the idea, right?!
********************************************************************************
Our break was really good, but sadly enough... it was quite stressful for me. Why do I do that? Why do I let a perfectly good time with family get bogged down by stress? I'm not sure... but I'm working on it... I really am.
To counter weight the stressful moments that I look back and see over our winter break.... here's a quick recap of the times I absolutely 100% enjoyed, stress free!!
- The evening that Mom and Arnie arrived... simply chatting and enjoying the catch up time
- Christmas Eve (following the service) and Christmas morning... loved watching the girls excitement and simply enjoying our family time
- Opening gifts in Wisconsin and being with my goofy family again :)
- Sitting in the hot tub with my mom and sister-in-law, watching skiers ski down the slopes and having our hair freeze!
- Going shopping for a couple hours with my bro and being able to look at whatever I wanted to, for as long as I wanted to... KID FREE!!
- Going on a night snow tube run while my mom graciously watched the girls... totally want to do that more often!
- The drive home from Wisconsin... it went way better than I ever thought it would and Jon and I got to talk for HOURS. It was lovely!
- An impromptu overnight stay in Fargo... it was so fun and we were beyond thankful to have missed the blizzard! The stories were enough for me... gracious.
So there ya have it... our Christmas break in a nut shell. A very small nut shell, but an update all the same!
Our holidays started off full speed ahead with a trip to the city to pick up Jon's folks! We had the pleasure of having them stay with us over the first few days of break... and were so glad they were able to spend Christmas Eve/Christmas morning with us!
Christmas Eve photos... needless to say, we were in a mad rush to get to church on time, so pictures BEFORE hand just weren't high on the priority list!
This was the best family pic we could muster. Someday... someday... we will be able to take a good picture, spur of the moment... without coaxing or bribery! Or I will just set up the tripod and click away until we're all blue in the face - whichever has to happen first!
This was our first family Christmas here in MB ... so we wanted to start a few traditions.
Tradition # 1 - Attend the Christmas Eve service. Though I will say... it's easier said than done when kids are involved! It's late, and they are tired... so basically it's just trying to keep them quiet and occupied for an hour. I want them to understand that we celebrate Christmas because of CHRIST... and the Christmas Eve service is a reminder of that - but goodness, it ended up being more tiring than I thought it would be! Thankfully we sang a lot, so that aided in the "occupying process!"
Tradition # 2 - New pair of PJ's on Christmas Eve. Alia was pretty excited about this one... and hey, if it makes them more eager about going to bed... I'm excited too!
Poor Larren was so tired she didn't quite get what was going on, so her ever helpful sister stepped right in and took over for her!
Tradition # 3 - Banana splits for "night snack". It's Christmas... why now allow a little spoiling!
Tradition # 4 - Read the Christmas story before bed. This year we opted for a "kid friendly" version from Alia's Bible (mostly because it was getting late and attention spans were no where in sight!)... but will graduate to Luke's gospel over the next year or so.
Tradition # 5 - Opening presents PRONTO! Growing up, we were the kind of kids that woke our parents up at 4 am (at the LATEST!) to open gifts Christmas morning... but Jon's family simply slept in. So... we compromised by stating that gift opening will only take place at a reasonable hour in our house... which to Daddy would be no sooner than 11 am :)
Tradition # 6 - Christmas Breakfast Our menu consisted of hash brown breakfast casserole, a "birthday cake for Jesus" (coffee cake), and fruit. Simple enough not to stress over... and yummy enough to look forward to! AND, I might add... Jon absolutely surprised us with his mad coffee cake making skills! DELICIOUS... wow!
The rest of our morning was leisurely... the boys put toys together and the girls played with them!
We had a day or two to relax, then packed up and went south! Not as far south as we normally do... but south none the less! This time our final destination was Wisconsin - we met my family at a ski resort /water park there!
We didn't take very many pictures (and I really wish we would have!) but I'll share a few of what we did take!
Can ya tell who's room is who's?
The Ohio crew could be identified by the LOADS of gifts for the girls (and their parents!).
Our crew could be ID'd by the LOADS of online shopping purchases (this is just a small sampling. :) My poor parents get boat loads of packages starting around 1 1/2 months before they are scheduled to see us next!)
Enjoying some Auntie and Uncle time...
Enjoying the togetherness...
A present opening frenzy... that's what our first night together was!!
Alia sure didn't mind!
Our fire place didn't have a mantle... so onto plan B!
And this was like one of three shots that I took at the water park... ya get the idea, right?!
********************************************************************************
Our break was really good, but sadly enough... it was quite stressful for me. Why do I do that? Why do I let a perfectly good time with family get bogged down by stress? I'm not sure... but I'm working on it... I really am.
To counter weight the stressful moments that I look back and see over our winter break.... here's a quick recap of the times I absolutely 100% enjoyed, stress free!!
- The evening that Mom and Arnie arrived... simply chatting and enjoying the catch up time
- Christmas Eve (following the service) and Christmas morning... loved watching the girls excitement and simply enjoying our family time
- Opening gifts in Wisconsin and being with my goofy family again :)
- Sitting in the hot tub with my mom and sister-in-law, watching skiers ski down the slopes and having our hair freeze!
- Going shopping for a couple hours with my bro and being able to look at whatever I wanted to, for as long as I wanted to... KID FREE!!
- Going on a night snow tube run while my mom graciously watched the girls... totally want to do that more often!
- The drive home from Wisconsin... it went way better than I ever thought it would and Jon and I got to talk for HOURS. It was lovely!
- An impromptu overnight stay in Fargo... it was so fun and we were beyond thankful to have missed the blizzard! The stories were enough for me... gracious.
So there ya have it... our Christmas break in a nut shell. A very small nut shell, but an update all the same!
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