20 days until Christmas

So now we were a day behind in our unwrapping

but that's okay, because truthfully, I knew I would get behind!

So what will it be today?

looks like something flat, kind of flexible...hmmmm, could it be???

 Yes, a book!!

How to Draw Christmas

I am so not artistic!  I can barely draw stick figures and my favorite times of art have been when a friend of mine, who happens to be an artist, has invited my kids over to paint, or sculpt with Sculpy or whatever.  That does happen only rarely though and my kids are way more artistic than me.  I think I must THINK art is important though, because I BUY a lot of art books, but I struggle with using them!  LOL!
So today was How to Draw Christmas day!  I had the kids do a snowman picture with chalk and the older girls did a drawing of a snow queen that we are going to do a resist technique on with paint over top.  I will post a picture of the finished product too!

21 days until Christmas

Eek!  3 weeks!  Time seriously flies!
Today's gift got a little mismatched!
LOL! 
This is what happens when you get a little ahead of yourself.  I took some time this morning to go downstairs and wrap up the rest of the weeks gifts so that I am not in a time crunch.  Originally I was going to have them all done in advance, but let's face it that goes against my very personality and with sick kids and real life, I just didn't get to it!
So I was all ready to go and then my husband (who took today off, what a treat!!!) decided that he was going to go get something that was way better than anything I could give them for advent.
Have you guessed?  Should I make you wait?
It smells so good!
Yes,
it is
our

TREE!!
Isn't it beautiful?  We always end up with the most beautiful trees!
Anyway, I think it is totally thawed now and it smells absolutely AMAZING!  If you come over you would think I just washed my floors with PineSol or something!  Just kidding, it smells way better than that!

Anyway, we got the lights on, but didn't have time for anything else, as Ballerina had youth group tonight, and we couldn't do it without her.  And we can't do it tomorrow because we have care group/kids club/youth group again and we won't be home.  But we can hopefully get it decked out on Thursday night!

Are you wondering then why we got it today if we can't even decorate it and I had a different plan for a gift?  Well, truthfully it is because I am cheap.  Up to tomorrow, at the store we bought it from, we received a gift card to use in the new year, and if we use it the tree will have cost us about $5.  And who doesn't need stuff from the Home Improvement Store in the New year?? 

So anyway, we got it today, which works out fine!  I also bought a small cheap artificial tree when I was out for the front room.  The rest of the decorations were also part of today's present and we will decorate tomorrow too.

Yay!

22 days until Christmas

This is by far one of my favorite days of Advent!  Here was the gift....

Can you guess what it is??

It is small and flat, and sort of circular shaped inside the paper!
One of the things that brings me absolute joy at Christmas time!
Ready??

Yes, that's right - it says it...Boney M Christmas!!  Yay!  I totally love this CD, and am tempted to listen to it at random times throughout the year.  But I try and keep it for the month of December only!  The really funny thing is that my mom, when I was a kid, had it on a tape, that was recorded for her from her sister's tape!  And I have it on a burnt CD.  The difference is though that I had purchased it once, and the CD got so scratched that I ended up buying it through iTunes.  So actually I only burnt the CD so we could open it as a present last year and then we can also take it in the truck with us.  I actually always have it available to me in my iTunes library!

So today's soundtrack will be some good old Disco inspired Christmas music!

23 days until Christmas - first day of Advent

So this was the present for the first official day of Advent!

Number 23.

 

I don't know why they look scared - or sad about it...it wasn't sad or scary, really!

This was the present.  Our advent wreath, the candles to go in it.  The book we are reading this year Tabitha's Travels.  (Click the link in the sidebar to find it on amazon) and the treasure box for Jesus.  Each day of Advent the kids get a bit of change which goes into the gift for Jesus.  On Christmas day we count it all up and see how quickly a little change can add up and then donate it to somewhere - sometimes it goes to our Compassion children, sometimes it goes to our church for an extra program, or to a missionary.  It changes each year.
So we gathered last night to read and pray together and of course the question was asked..."One more chapter, please??"  Which I love, but of course had to refuse!

24 days until Christmas - pre advent

There is 2 ways of looking at Advent.  There is the traditional 4 Sundays before Christmas way and then there is every day of December way.  We usually do the 4 Sundays before Christmas way...because the book we read is designed that way, but this year I let them have a pre-Advent present.  Egg Nog.  I am a bit of a stickler about a few things and one of them is Egg Nog.  I won't buy it until December 1, so this year I could have made them wait but since I am all about the fun (within the rules that is) I gave them an early advent present on December 1.  It was really good egg nog.  Totally worth the wait!

23 days of Advent

Maybe the trick is to get up at 5:00 a.m.

That's what time I got up today and now I find myself with a few extra quiet minutes alone so I can blog.

If that's actually the trick to blogging then you can forget it!  I won't be able to do it! LOL!!
I have a huge issue sleeping soundly when I know I have to get up at a certain time.  I just get super worried that I am going to sleep in and sleep through my alarm, which really is so illogical.  There are 3 alarms that go off every morning in my house and then I have my phone set to go off at a 7:19 in case we all push snooze or off and sleep in.  I have to deal with this issue, because really there is actually very little possibility of sleeping in for me!

So I decided I am going to try to share my advent celebrations on my blog.  Eeek!
This should give me something to blog about every day for the month of December and should hold me accountable to be a fun mom and it should be good!
I am a little nervous about it to tell the truth...I do anticipate there may be days where I am posting two days in one, but I am truly hoping to post daily!

So today I am going to tell you a little about how we started to observe advent as a family!

Four score and seven years ago....okay, not really, but probably about 7 or 8 years ago, when Ballerina was about 7 and Tapper was about 3 and the little Princess was almost here, I had a really profound time at Christmas being pregnant.  That pregnancy was really a time where I just felt like I understood something new about the birth of Jesus.  I had already been a Christian for a few years, so our Christmas celebration had already become focussed on Christ, but I felt something kindred with Mary while being so pregnant at Christmas (Princess was born in January).  I found myself that year not able to travel home to the praries from the foothills because I was just too pregnant, and then felt like I could imagine the daunting task Mary and Joeseph undertook to get that young woman to Bethlehem to be counted and pay their taxes.  I grieved for her as I imagined the way people would have talked about them.  I myself having a pregnancy while not married, I felt like I could relate to the shame - only hers was truly a righteous life, but no one would have believed it.  They would have been ostracized in many ways.  Then I thought about the things they would have said about Jesus.  Oh my...how my heart broke as I imagined the self righteous, pious, busybodies who would have had no grace or mercy for a child born out of wedlock.  Ugh!  My heart truly broke.

I found myself hoping that they would have stayed in Bethlehem for a while (as some believe they did) finding for themselves a new life.  And being grateful to God that when they fled to Egypt, there too they would have been able to start anew....and so much like we were, able to live our lives together - struggling through the first years of marriage, HAVING to figure out how to live with each other, because there was no family around to complain or gripe to...but having to figure out how to be a family ourselves.  Although our first years of living in the foothills were hard for me, NOW, on the other side of them...I am grateful for them.  I remember feeling like Mary and Joeseph would have had that too.  An opportunity to start their family on their own terms, without the gossip and intrusion that would have come from being "at home". 

That year Christmas meant so much more to me.  Now, I know that we don't know exactly when Jesus was born...and I know that lots of scholars believe he would have been born in the springtime, as usually that was the time that the shepherds spent time in the fields with their sheep, when there were baby sheep in the flock...and I know that they didn't have snow or tinsel or the rest, but I still feel like it is good to have a time where the world recognizes the birth of Christ.  Even if that is not the focus of their celebrations, even if it is Santa or presents or what-have-you, it is still a time of year where we, as Christians can celebrate right along, only keep the real thing the real thing...so, that being said, rather than forget Christmas (which if that is your personal conviction, that is okay), we choose to celebrate. 

Someone asked me recently if we do Christmas...to which I responded, "Yes!  We are big on celebration and small on presents".  Which is only kind of true!  We are big on celebration, big on presents, just small on spending money!  And this is one of the ways we do it...

So, advent!  We began observing advent about that same time, maybe even that same year and we started by reading a book called Bartholomew's Passage which was an awesome book that takes place in the time of Jesus, and is broken into one section every night starting on the 4th Sunday before Christmas and almost every night the chapter ends in a cliffhanger.  The book is designed to be read aloud and it is good for both girls and boys.  Very exciting, very full of adventure and danger and serioulsy was an amazing time for us as a family to really focus on preparing for Christmas.  Each chapter is followed by a devotional thought, Scripture and a prayer starter as well.  Very cool!
So this was the start, there are also two other books in the series...
 So the next two years we read those as well. 

Now, we still read one of these books each year, and even though we have heard them each twice already, going on the third reading, no one cares...we love them just the same as the first year.  But then last year I heard of something else that I love.

I am all about building the anticipation.  I mean, when I think of how the first century people were LONGING and anticipating for their Messiah, I want to recreate that longing in my kids!

So when I heard this idea (and I don't know where from, so I can't give credit) I jumped on it!  The person said to really increase anticipation for Christmas and the fun and excitement of it, without increasing cost and unneccessary clutter...use what you have.  So you take all the Christmas movies, CDs, craft books, favorite Christmas baking recipes, everything and wrap them up individually.  Then each day of advent your kids get to open one present!  If it is a CD, you put it in and listen to it...Boney M anyone?  If it is a storybook, you sit down and read it.  If it is a Christmas movie you watch it.  If it is a craft book, you make something.  And it makes it fun and exciting, but doesn't require any purchases.  Just some planning. 

Last year when I heard of it, I didn't have time to get it all arranged the way I wanted, so we only could really participate well for a few days, but this year I am hoping for a full on 23 days of advent fun!

So, I hope this will be fun, and do-able, I will try my best to capture and blog each day with it, just a short post...and we'll see how it goes!

See you tomorrow!

Apparently I don't blog

I was surprised at how long it has been since I blogged - for a while i thought about blogging, I really did, but then I think I forgot.  We have been pretty busy with company and school and just life getting back to normal.

I have been trying to decide how I can do a "31 days to..." kind of series like Kelly is doing on this blog but I don't know if I am that interesting, and truly I don't know if I have 31 of anything to share...AND I don't know if I could actually blog every day.  Although that is one of the reasons I want to do it!

Here are some pics from our house lately

 This was a soccer clinic that we sent the middle 3 girls to.  The Princess said to us this year when we were planning our activities.  "Did you know that playing soccer is my dream?"  Her dream....really?  So we looked into rec soccer and decided to give it a go.  We had considered it last year, and even for outdoor spring league.  As a matter of fact, that same child had asked last year and because we weren't sure she would actually like it enough to commit to October through March of soccer, we put her in a skills development class at our city's local fieldhouse.  It was great and she really enjoyed it.  In the spring however, when it was time to register for outdoor soccer, our house was going up for sale, and we didn't know what neighbourhood we were going to be living in when the season started, so we let is slide.  So we decided this year, since it is pretty inexpensive, requires no equipment other than indoor runners and shin guards that we would go for it...for all eligible children.  Even the Ballerina and Tapper.  What a rigamarole it all is to decide on activities and sports...ugh...I wish it could be decided for me!  Anyway, the middle 3 kids went to a clinic the week before the season started to get acquainted with the soccer ball, run some drills, and try and get them pumped for this new sport.
I will admit, it worked for 2 of them, but not necessarily for one!
Our oldest daughter couldn't go to the skills clinic that weekend (and she would have been quite a bit older than everyone there anyway) because she was at a bible quiz meet.

There she is at the far right hand side of the picture - long red hair.  Anyway, we stopped and watched this particular quiz and then came home - they are memorizing the book of Matthew this year - so amazing!

Here are some pictures of gymnastics as well...

Just Dash and Tapper did gymnastics this year.  We registered them for a 10 week session.  It is almost over.  I love it, but truthfully am glad it is almost done.

 

We also signed Ballerina and Tapper for a 6 week basketball session with some homeschoolers in our city.  It went really well, they totally loved the time and they learned a lot.  The coach was great and they liked just seeing some good friends for an extra 2 hours every week!  I don't blame them, because truthfully so did I!  I love going to homeschooling activities, so that I can hang out with the moms and wait in the lobby!  I was able to spend a little time with some moms that I barely ever see!  Totally worth it!

 

 

Well, now I guess I realize why I haven't really been blogging - apparently I have been driving people around.  A lot.  Hmm, go figure.  This doesn't even take into account church activities or ministry commitments.  Whew, no wonder our fuel consumption has seemed higher than normal!  ;)

 

Also, those of you with more blogger knowledge than me - I can't seem to upload more than one picture at a time on here anymore - any suggestions?

 

How to make an apple pie - Mama Milly style

So you know that saying, easy as pie? 

 

 

Well we made quite a few pies this year and I decided I would take pictures along the way and post a picture tutorial - not for any reason except I can, and I made so many pies I had lots of opportunity!

 So the first step to making a great apple pie is to buy a house with apple trees!

Yes, if you remember we moved to a different house back in May, and we didn't buy a new house, we went with an established neighbourhood - you just can't beat the trees and the size of the yards.  Besides that, we have a lot of company throughout the year, it's just how we roll, so I am always concerned that people will have a place to park.  We looked at some new houses in new neighbourhoods, and we just felt like the narrow streets and small front yards leave your company o where to park!
So we bought a house that was the same age as our old house, actually it even has the same brick on the front, but it is bigger and way closer to our church! One really cool thing about our house is the two big apple trees!  One had small apples - 1-2 inch and the other tree had big apples, some where literally the size of softballs!  And neither tree is a crab apple tree, so that is even better!  We had so many apples!  It was crazy!

 So I made a lot of the little ones into applesauce, but we had a bit of a debate around here as to when to pick them.  My hubby had a friend back in Calgary who had an apple tree and he said you have to wait until the first frost to make the apples sweeter, but I thought we should pick them as soon as the neighbour started picking his - he is 95 years old or something so really, I am guessing he knows when to pick the apples!  The other neighbour told me, that he told her, that they haven't bought apples in 30 years or something.  They keep the ones they pick down in the cold room and eat apples all year!  So anyway, we had a debate and I think they must be sweeter after the frost, but the wind in the fall just knocks them off the tree like crazy, so next year the little ones are getting picked as soon as the old guy starts picking his!

 Next, have a super cool sister who buys you super cool tools like the apple, peeler, corer that is above!  It is so neat, I should go get a second one so next year we can do them twice as fast!  Not only does it do all the work in one go - it makes cool slinky apples like this...
 and it also makes crazy long apple peel strings like you can see in the background of that picture or is this crazy one....

 

Oh that was so fun!  I have another friend who has apple trees and she has a apple crisp making party every year after they pick their apples.  She invites some women over and we make an assembly line to peel, core and cut the apples, put them into aluminum pans, cover them with topping and put the lids on and add an instruction sticker.  Then we would split the crisps and take them home.  It was always so fun and productive too!  I came home with at least 6 crisps each year!  All that to say that next year, I am hoping to do the same!   

 

So once you send all the apples through your cool machine (or cut them by hand if you insist) toss them with a bit of sugar - I use brown because I like it better - or a mixture of brown and white a bit of lemon juice and a little smidge of flour, then put them in the pie plates which are lined with pastry.

 

 I was going to put my recipe in this post, but I use the pastry recipe on the back of the Crisco box, just because I always have and it always works, so why change, right? Truthfully though when I was running out of time last week with company coming, and apples getting old, and fruit flies starting, I bought some pie crusts - really, it's the filling that matters, do whatever you have to!  We are not going for perfection here, just goodness!  The above pictures are homemade though - AND as a side note, I use wax paper to roll out my pastry, then it doesn't get too much flour and it doesn't stick to anything, and you don't have to handle it too much to make it tough - works every time!

Doesn't that look good?  I made one with less than half the sugar for a friend and apparently it was still yummy, so there you go!  So almost done, put the top pastry on and cut some steam escape holes and pinch the edges and bake.

 

It's hard to tell, but I always cut a little heart in the middle and then put an x on the top, bottom, and each side of the heart - it's just what I do! 
So one of these was for a friend, and the other two I was going to invite people over to eat them - but we had some sad news this very day - right as I was ready to leave to deliver my pie...which made our whole week, never mind that one day look a lot different than I had planned. It was nice to have these desserts premade though so that when the company did arrive we had some yummy stuff to share.

Now my apples are done, the frost must have made the 20 apples still left in the big tree sweet, because the grackles have been crazy about them ever since - they can't be salvaged.  So if you weren't invited for pie this year, maybe we'll get to do it next year!

I can tell it's earlier than I normally wake up

How you ask?

Well, for one it is quiet in here, absolutely quiet.  No talking, no laughing, no screeching, no music, no little feet pattering around - really super quiet!

The coffee was hot!  Instead of lukewarm like I usually get it!  We have a thermal carafe as part of our coffee machine so that the coffee doesn't get yucky between when my husband makes it and I get up to drink it, but it doesn't stay particularly hot either.  Today it was hot, I kind of like that!

 Mostly I can tell though because all these kids are sleeping!  I debated about whether or not to go upstairs to take pictures, I mean because I am actually blogging I don't want to take the chance of waking them...although they do need to get up in the next 15 minutes or so!  Do you take pictures of your kids sleeping?  I am just realizing that you can tell these are authentic pictures because my little Dash here in the first picture has 3 different sets of sheets happening!  LOL!  A fitted sheet from one set, a flat from another and an entirely different pillowcase! Too funny!

 There are kids in there - but they are too buried to be able to see them!  Oh, I shot my theory out of the water, because there are actually matching sheets on the two bunks, but whatever...to be honest, they don't have the pillowcases that match on the beds, which I would stage if I had thought about it - AND they do have matching duvet covers that I could have put on.  I do always buy twin size things in duplicate.  So that the beds have the potential to be matching at all times....

 Again, mismatched pillow case...

And this last pictures cracks me up - because I follow Honest Toddler on twitter.  I swear it could be my own kid tweeting!  Although I don't go to the park NEARLY as much as that person tweets about!  Anyway, this is my toddler, in the big bed....sleeping sideways.  I laughed so hard one day when the Honest Toddler tweeted something to the effect of  - 'woke up in the big bed today in the shape of an H - guess who was in the middle' .....truth my friends - even when she sleeps in there alone she makes an H shape.

Last night she did actually stay in her own bed, and only came to see me at about 6:15...maybe that is why I ended up getting up earlier than normal.

Anyway, the last way I can tell I am up earlier than normal is that I am actually blogging - because I had a minute to myself, with no one needing any food, or any wiping - and with no one asking to use the computer!  Hopefully this will all happen again soon!

Welcome Home

We had the opportunity to go to the Welcome Home for the CYIA workers on Saturday. 

It was kind of amazing. 

I am so happy that our oldest daughter had the opportunity to serve this year, I am feeling really blessed.

Each worker had opportunity to stand up and share their summer highlight - it moved me to tears numerous times. Did you know that there were 5000 children enrolled in 5 day clubs this summer in Saskatchewan? There were 1298 children enrolled in Alberta and 45.9% of those 6298 children don't regularily attend church or Sunday School.  Almost 600 children made decisions to accept Christ and over 7000 Mailbox club lessons were received.   

This is incredible to me. 

But it is more than that.  It is more than the kids who attended the clubs.  It is the kids who taught the clubs.  I was so amazed to hear what THEY got out of the summer.  An increased sense of God's love for the kids they were teaching, a realization that He really does provide.  One boy talked about how his heart was broken for all the fatherless children he taught on this one reserve and how he felt like maybe they (the CYIA workers) were father figures to them, but how could they do that, they weren't equipped, they couldn't go back often enough - and God showed him that the way they were doing it was taking these children and introducing them to THE Father.  Introducing them to Father God, who IS a father to the fatherless.  He was amazed to see his role as teacher in this 'bigger picture' light.  One girl talked about having a rollover with her car and realizing that God provides when someone came along to help her, and her injuries were very minimal, considering.  They spoke of God giving them energy and enthusiasm for the task, for Him providing physical needs like places to stay and children to attend the clubs.  The spoke of learning that prayers are really answered - WHEN YOU PRAY THEM.  I was just amazed at what it did for them, not just those they were teaching!  I was so not that mature when I was 14, 15, 16, heck not even when I was in my 20s.
I am humbled and awed that we were able to be a small part of it.

So why does this all matter to me?  Because I grew up believing in God, but having fear that He wasn't going to accept me, but knowing in my own self that it didn't fit with the character of God that you hear about.  We didn't go to church when I was growing up, and my  mom did put me into Pioneer Clubs so I would have the opportunity to learn about God, which probably reinforced what I 'knew' to be true, but at the same time it was confusing because it was inconsistent with what the church had said to my mom when I was born.  So now that I know what the Bible really says about God, and am discovering more every day His great love for us, the love that caused him to die for us WHILE we were still sinners, I want everyone to know.  Because that love is not just for me, it is for my kids, and my husband, and my neighbours and my family members. That love is offered freely - and it doesn't end, even when I blow it.  God is so faithful, even when I am not - that is amazing!  And the unfortunate part is that we only get one chance!  I don't believe in reincarnation - so we have to choose to believe Him while we are here so that we don't get there to have Him say that He never knew us.  Because we have to live here on earth in our life like we are living with Him, so that in our death, he too will say Welcome Home.

So what is my daughter doing today to wind down, now that clubs are done and school isn't starting until tomorrow or Wednesday?

Quizzing!

LOL!  That is another thing that is amazing to me.  This year they are memorizing from Matthew.  I am going to try and memorize too - even though I am old and it is hard for me. But of all the things she could be doing on her first weekday off of teaching and one of her only days off before starting back to school work, she is memorizing! 

Totally in awe!

Summer

We have been having such a great summer.  Other than the fact that our oldest is gone almost all day every day with her summer missions, but it has been so relaxing and we have had fun not being so scheduled!
We just finished our first week of holidays and we had a nice time at a family camp.  We have never been to family camp before and so we weren't sure what to expect.  I think that the general consensus was positive.  Our kids would go back tomorrow.  I found it hard to actually visit with the other families because there was no time in the morning and the free time in the afternoon I had a napping baby.  After evening chapel I was pretty anxious to get her to the trailer to bed as well, so I felt like most of the time I was unavailable for visiting.

 But as you can see it was still fun, tubes in the lake, swimming, big meals, Dutch Blitz over BBQ chips...I mean really, what more do you need?
We also had a family event on my husband's side, so that was fun..

 We also went to a wedding where we refreshed the kids' awesome dance moves

A little YMCA anyone??

We hosted a 5 day club in our backyard took - which was good, although I think my little kids gave their big sister a hard time about teaching, but I think they were still pretty co-operative!

We also went camping for a couple of nights, and other than everyone being a little sick from family camp, that was good too.  We had a little visitor, we had Ballerina's birthday out there, we had an aunt, uncle and two cousins come to visit...and there was a lake there too so that was great on the 30 degree day with no wind.  And ice cream was only $1 for a one scoop cone at the canteen...doesn't get much better!

This week is VBS,and then we are strating back to school next week, to get a jump on it and see how the schedule actually works.  I am all for starting early if we can take a big break at Christmas!
How has your summer been??

Christian Youth in Action

These are the 5 girls who stayed with us the first week of training for teaching 5 day clubs this summer.  Right after this picture we had one leave and another come for the second week of training and then the first week of teaching one of these girls stayed with us again as she and the Ballerina were teaching together all week.

I was so proud of these young ladies.  There was a 14, 15, 16, and two 19 year olds here the first week and one of the 19 year olds left to be replaced by a 17 year old.  They were simply amazing girls that I am so proud to know and proud to be a part of what God is going to do through them this summer!

You can read what is happening with Child Evangelism Fellowship through these young ladies and young men (there are young men teaching as well) by going to this blog and read and pray for them as they try to reach kids with the gospel of Jesus!  Pray for my daughter as well, because although she is not pictured with them, she is giving her summer for teaching as well and we are so proud of her!  Pray that they will be strengthened, and encouraged, that they will bear fruit, and pray as the Spirit leads as you read the blog!  Oh, and ask her about it if you know her IRL, she would love to know that you are interested! Thanks so much!