Kid Quotes ...

When our friend, Mr. Allen, asked Rachel what her favorite part of Christmas was, she told him it was the middle of the night shopping trip to Wal-Mart, and buying a present for Sarah. Yea ... Gift-Giving was more important than Gift-Getting.

* * * * * * * * * *

A random question to Papa the other day ... Rachel asked, "Are we living in Old Testament times, or New Testament times?" Looks like she is trying to figure out if she can give shoes to Jesus this year. (see Christmas post)

A Fun & Relaxing Week

It looks like my blog has been silent for almost a week now. It's not that I haven't had anything to write about; it's that I haven't had any time to sit down and write. I've been having much too fun with friends and family. That's what Christmas is ALL about for the Big D. Family.

Christmas Day ... as I said, 4 young adult men stopped by to spend part of the holiday with us. We LOVE that they know our door is ALWAYS open, and that there is usually food on the table, or coming out of the oven.

Friday ... 2 sweet young adult ladies came to visit for a few days. Twelve years ago, we were their Youth Group leaders in Puyallup. It is so fun to still be a part of their lives, 10 years after moving away. A "quiet" evening at home with our children and these two friends, quickly turned into a major young adult party night. FUN! FUN! FUN! Without much notice, I suddenly found 10 young adults playing Hand & Foot at my dining room table.



After the card tournament, the ladies joined Papa and the children and me to watch "It's A Wonderful Life", while the big boys played one of their strategy board games downstairs. Even though Carissa & Lindsey are living overseas, we invited their friend Kati to our Family Movie Night. She ended up staying over for a slumber party with Vicky & Jami (our Puyallup friends).

Saturday ... The Big Boys got up early and headed up to the mountain for a day of snowboarding, while the young ladies and children enjoyed sleeping in. The entire day was spent visiting, playing games, and ... (another FIRST for Jacob, Sarah, and Rachel) ... decorating Christmas Cookies.

Hosanna & Jami made all of the cookies ...







while the children enjoyed decorating them ....









The Big Boys arrived home just as we were cleaning up the cookie mess ... and just in time to head to church.

The children finally got to wear the new clothes that I had bought them to wear to the wedding last weekend (which they couldn't attend because of the road conditions), and to the Christmas Eve Service (which was cancelled due to the snow).






After church, Josh cooked up an amazing dinner of Pad Thai for all 18 of us. (The family + 5 extra young adults.) Delicious!


Sunday ... after a yummy breakfast of Josh's Coffee Cake, we hurriedly packed the van and loaded up the vehicles for a trip to Grampa's house (150 miles) ... and beyond. Jeremiah rode with Vicky, so that they could have some good chat time (all that good political science stuff). Jami rode with Cassie for some quality chatting. And, the other 8 kids piled in with Papa & Mama.

Once we all arrived at Grampa's, we said our good-byes to Vicky & Jami, as they headed home. Then, we made lunch for Grampa and Gramma and visited for a couple of hours. Grampa was so glad to get a chance to visit with Cassie and Jeremiah, as it had been quite awhile since he had seen either of them. Papa and I also had the opportunity for a very good discussion with Grampa about health, life, goals, etc... At 90 years old, we never know how long we will be able to continue to have solid discussions with him. But, he is really doing well for his age.

After a few hours, we got back on the road and headed to some dear friends' house (another 70 miles away). And, after dinner with our friends, Cassie got back on the road for her journey home. We sure enjoyed our 10 days with our eldest daughter. Sooo... much fun was had by all of us.

Sunday to Tuesday ... visiting with the Allen family, playing games (more Hand & Foot tournaments), shopping, eating, movie watching, kids playing dress-up, reading, and just plain relaxing. It was the perfect way to spend a few days of our Christmas Vacation.

Our Christmas Day Celebration

I thought that a few of you might enjoy reading about how a family of 16 (incl. Heidi) spends Christmas Day, while enjoying, but not focusing on, the opening of presents.



9:00 Merry Christmas everyone! Time to wake up.


We all had stayed up until after midnight, watching "Elf", and everyone had received their first present, a pair of Christmas Pajamas opened on Christmas Eve.








10:00 Brunch

Egg & Ham Casserole (Papa made it last night.)
Braided Cherry Sweet Bread (Mama made it last night.)
Strawberry/Banana Smoothies


11:00 Family Devotions (read by Jeremiah)


11:15 Open Stockings

Mama sent stockings to Carissa (in Argentina) and Lindsey (in Germany).
Mama also filled stockings for Cassie and Heidi.
Cassie filled stockings for everyone else.
Sarah had written a letter for each member of the family,
which she had put into the stockings, unbeknownst to me. Very Sweet!







1:00 Dinner Preparations are made.

Papa checks the lamb and turkey in the oven,
and makes the cranberry stuffing.
Mama makes 2 Pumpkin Pies.


2:00 - 4:00 Play Time

Little Ones enjoy the snow.
Big Kids & Papa play Telephone Pictionary.
Friend Scott drops by for a visit.
Mama takes a nap.


5:00 Christmas Dinner for 14 (Missing Carissa & Lindsey)

Lamb
Turkey
Cranberry/Pear/Wild Rice Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Yams
Corn
Dinner Rolls w/ homemade Peach Jam
Wild Berry Punch

I had no idea this picture was being taken, it just showed up on my computer when I downloaded pics. Since Ben is missing from the picture, he must have been the one who took it. However, I don't quite know how he was practically hanging from the ceiling above my head, to get this angle. Too funny!




Everyone gets to answer 2 questions:

#1 What are you thankful for this year?
#2 What gift will you give to Jesus this year?

Rachel's answer for question #2, "Shoes." Yes, she wants to give Jesus a pair of shoes this year. I'm thinking that maybe she watched a movie and saw that he was wearing worn out sandals???

Friend Jared stops by, just in time to be the last to answer the questions.


6:00 Clean Up and Dessert Prep.

It's all about teamwork!


Papa relaxes after preparing the wonderful Christmas Dinner.
Jacob & Sarah clear the table.
Ben & Gregg load the dishwasher.
Cassie makes Mochas & Lattes for the adults and big kids.
Jeremiah & Josiah peel and slice 18 apples.
Hosanna makes the apple pie filling.
Mama makes the crust for the 11x15 deep dish Apple Pie.


7:30 Gift Exchange

Starting with the youngest child, each person goes to the Christmas Tree and retrieves the present that they purchased for the person who's name that they drew. This way, the focus is on the Gift-GIVING, rather than the Gift-GETTING. The younger children were so excited to give the gifts that they had purchased.






In addition to the Gift Exchange ...

... Jeremiah brought many presents from Jordan.

Some beautiful scarves for the big kids and adults.

... Hosanna bought 3 movies for the little kids, and 2 movies for the big kids and adults.

She's loving her "job" at MOPS this year, and having her own bank account.

... Jacob & Rachel made cards for everyone.

Rachel, however, apologized to Jeremiah for not giving him a card, because she didn't know that he would be home for Christmas. And, Jacob apologized to Heidi for not making her a card, because he didn't know she would be with us for Christmas. It was sweet!


9:30 Dessert (Apple & Pumpkin Pies)

Bedtime for the young ones.

Play time for the old ones.

Friends Ryan and Matt come by to visit.
(We tell Matt that he and Jared ALWAYS show up when the Apple Pie comes out of our oven.)

We play a rousing Hand & Foot Tournament
(our family's favorite card game).


1:30 a.m. Stuck

Matt needs to go home, and his car is STUCK.
I hop in to drive, while Matt and Jeremiah push the car (in reverse) all the way to the next street. Our block is a MESS!


We had a thoroughly relaxing day, filled with family, friends, faith, fun and good food (with a few presents thrown in, too).

More Snow

The wild winter weather has not slowed down here in the Pacific NW. I realize that some of you may see this type of snow every year, but I can't remember ever seeing this much in Western Washington. So, here are just a couple of pics from this morning ... and the 21" of snow on the ground. (For us ... 6" is a LOT of snow.) We usually can measure our snow with a ruler; I don't believe we've ever had to use a yardstick before.

Christmas Blessings!


The car on the left was cleared off and driven yesterday afternoon.



These are the two benches on our back patio. The patio was shoveled clear yesterday morning.




This is our front yard and our neighbor's trailer.




This is the view from our front porch.




Hope you are warm and cozy ...
on this Blessed Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to my blogging friends.

Hoping your day is filled with faith, family, friends, fun, and a little good food too.



Laurel


Oops ... problems putting up the new family picture. Sad! But, it's midnight on Christmas Eve and I am not going to worry about it tonight. Blessings!

Fabulously Fun Family Day

The Jump that the Big Boys Built

This past week, NW Washington has seen some very rare winter weather. We usually get snow once or twice per year, that stays for a day or two each time. But ... this year we have had snow days, after snow days, after snow days. And, that equals fun, fun, and more fun.

We have had snow on the ground for a full week now, and it has snowed at least a little every day of that week. However, it started snowing last night about midnight (as we drove to Wal-Mart), and it hasn't let up since. By 10:00 this morning, we had 7" of new snow (on top of the week's worth of snow), and it has continued to snow for the past 7 hours. (I just haven't been outside with a ruler since this morning.)

Papa, Jeremiah, Cassie and I took a walk to our favorite coffee shop this morning, and had a nice visit. On our way home, we stopped at the hardware store to stock up on sleds. Then, we came home and told the kids we were going to head out for another adventure. By this time, our cars were snowed in ... so we headed off on foot. We walked about 3/4 mile to the Middle School, for the best sledding hill in town. I will make a short video of pictures later on, but wanted to just give you a glimpse of our fun, with these pics from "The Jump".

After taking just 4 or 5 pictures, the batteries died on my camera. So, I had to leave the family at the middle school, sledding, as I walked to the Farm Store to buy batteries. Too funny!



Rachel



Josiah



Sarah



Elijah

A New Christmas Tradition

As our family has grown, our gift giving practices have had to be re-designed every few years. This year we came up with a new plan, that just might work for a few years.

All children and young adults that have jobs/bank accounts are involved in one gift exchange. They draw names and purchase a $25-$30 gift for that person.

All children that do not have jobs/bank accounts are involved in a separate gift exchange. Papa and Mama provide the funding for this gift exchange, and they each purchase a $10 gift for the person who's name that they drew.

We have been very excited for Jacob, Sarah, and Rachel to be able to know the joy of gift giving. We drew names a week or so ago, and have had them each just think about what type of presents they would like to purchase. Then, last Friday, we had them each sit down and write a list of 10 possible things that they might like to purchase.

I then realized, however, that this meant we would need to take them shopping. I am not a fan of Christmas shopping with the masses (which is why I did my own Christmas shopping in October and November). I am also not a fan of taking children to the mall or to Wal-Mart during the Christmas season, because I do not want them focusing on the "I want ... I want ... I want ..." For MANY years, we have had the policy that the children don't go shopping with Mama or Papa between Thanksgiving and New Years. However ... as I said ... we really want the children to learn the joy of gift giving.

So, I came up with a plan. Yes, we should take the children to Wal-Mart, since you get the most bang for your buck there. However, I was not about to fight the Christmas crowds, especially with 5 children doing their first personal shopping trip (neither Josiah or Elijah have been involved in gift exchanges in the past). Therefore ... I decided that we should take our children on a midnight shopping trip to the "big city" (10 miles away).

We put the children to bed last night at 9:00; and woke them up at 11:30. We told them that they needed to get dressed for a "Christmas Adventure". I wish I had pics of each of them as they stumbled out of bed, completely confused.

Since Papa and I had both been to the city during the day, we knew that the roads should be clear enough for our Monster Van, so we loaded up and headed out for an adventure.

Mama, "Jacob, do you know where we are going?"

Jacob, "No."

Mama, "Sarah, do you have any idea where we are going?"

Sarah, "No."

Mama, "Rachel, what do you think?"

deep thinking ...

Rachel, "I think we are going to the mall."

Mama, "The mall?" (Rachel has never been to the mall.) "Do you know what the mall is?"

Rachel, "No."

Mama, "Do you know what you do at the mall?"

Rachel, "No."

Mama, "Than why would we be going to the mall? What have you heard about the mall?"

Rachel, "Josh and Ben go to the mall."

Mama, "You're right. But ... sorry ... the mall is closed."

(about 10 minutes later)

Rachel, "I think we are going to the store."

Mama, "Why would we be going to the store?"

Rachel, "To buy our presents for the people that we drew their names."

Mama, "Rachel ... you are very smart. Yes, we are going shopping to buy our presents."



After we arrived at Wal-Mart, I huddled all of the "big people" together for directions. We paired off one little person with one big person, gave them their lists, and sent them off to explore the store. (This was Jacob, Sarah, and Rachel's first trip to Wal-Mart, as Mama usually enjoys a little Mama-Time on her shopping trips to the city.)


The kids are ready to shop. (Oops! Already lost 2 of them, they're in a hurry.)



Josh helps Rachel choose a present for Sarah.



Hosanna helps Sarah choose a present for Elijah.



Cassie helps Josiah choose a present for Jacob.



Elijah decides to take a break from shopping for Rachel, to play with this fun sword.



Ben is Elijah's partner. He is, obviously, "hiding".




Sorry ... no pics of Jacob & Papa ... they were shopping for Josiah.


Ready for the ride home at 1:15 a.m. What a fun adventure. And ... guess what ... it is snowing again. Yea!

Wild Winter Weather Woes

This past week, we have enjoyed (or NOT), some wild storms. I LOVE snow, but not when we have to do major traveling. Here are a few of our winter weather woes ...


#1 On Wednesday, it took Gregg & Heidi 12 hours to drive the 430 miles home from Cassie's. (This included a double loop-de-loop on the interstate freeway, and a slam into the concrete barrier in the median.) Heidi's car got a little banged up, but we were thankful that there were not any injuries, and they made it home safely.

#2 On Friday, it took Cassie & Ben 12 hours to drive the 430 miles home from Oregon. (This included 5 hours to make it over the pass on Mt. Hood, which had gotten 2 feet of snow since Gregg & Heidi's Wednesday drive.) Thankfully, Cassie drives a Honda Passport 4x4, and she had purchased new tires the day before, and chains (which were required) that morning.

#3 On Sunday, the whole family was supposed to drive 150 miles to a wedding. (One of Cassie's best friends from age 4 - 14.) On Saturday morning, I woke Cassie up and told her that we had better try to beat the storm that was headed our way. So, she and I packed our bags quickly, and headed south in her 4x4 to do some shopping and enjoy a night at a hotel. The snow was coming down hard by the time we arrived in Seattle. We hoped that the rest of the family would be able to join us on Sunday, but we knew that the two of us REALLY did not want to miss the wedding. And ... we had another job to do, also.

#4 On Sunday morning, we stayed tuned to all of the television and internet news. Not only did we need to decide if Jim and the kids would be able to make the drive in our big van (which was a sad, NO), but we also had to find out the conditions at the airport. Our big family Christmas surprise was scheduled to arrive at noon, flying in from Amman, Jordan. Things did not look good at the airport. Flights had now been cancelled for 3 days, leaving 3,000+ travelers stranded in Seattle. But, since Jeremiah was flying directly in from Paris, they had to find a way for his plane to land. Both Portland, Spokane, and Vancouver airports were even worse off than Seattle, and after a 10 hour flight, you can't redirect the plane too far due to the need for fuel. So, after circling the runway for over 30 minutes, the Air France jumbo jet hit the runway and discovered a sheet of ice. As it slid around going 130mph, the passengers were a bit worried. And, shortly after we were reunited with Jeremiah, they once again closed the airport. Whew!

#5 As we made our way to the wedding in Puyallup (south of Seattle), the snow started up again, and continued to snow for hours. After the wedding and reception, several more inches had fallen (with a good 10" now on the ground). Thankfully, since the road conditions up North were even worse, a dear friend invited the 3 of us to stay the night at her house. So, the wedding that should have been a 12 hour trip, turned into a 3 day adventure. We finally slid into our driveway late in the afternoon on Monday. Crazy!

#6 Yesterday, Heidi needed to drive what should have been a 20 minute drive to her new job (just started on Friday). She got stuck twice, having to finally call a tow truck. Then, once she made it to work, she couldn't make it into the driveway, so she parked on the street. Then ... not once ... but twice .... while she was at work ... her car got hit by cars sliding down the road. The first driver came in to tell her, and there wasn't much damage. But, the 2nd driver did not stop, and Heidi discovered quite a bit of damage when she went out to the car after work. The new damage was, of course, on the opposite side from the concrete barrier damage. Poor Heidi ... it was a TOUGH day!

So, while I do love snow ... I am very excited to stay snuggly in my house, with my wonderful family for the rest of the week. Yea! Cassie is home for 10 days, and Jeremiah is home for 3 weeks. Yippee! Yahoo!

(Uh oh ... I just remembered ... we have to drive into the big city at midnight tonight ... oh dear ... better not take the van ... looks like we'll be taking a couple of cars ... pictures of another Christmas Surprise tomorrow ...)

Christmas Card Update

Thank you all so much for voting on my Christmas Card options. In actuality, though, it was not much of a help since #1 and #3 almost had an exact tie. I laughed!

Today I got my cards developed. I won't say which card "won", but I did print up some of both cards. Those of you who voted, and are on my annual Christmas card list, will get the card that you voted for. How's that sound?

Before heading to Costco to pick up my order, however, I got a phone call from them. They phoned to remind me that I must bring with me a copyright release from the "professional photographer" in order to make all of the copies. I said, "Copyright release? I took the picture myself." To which they asked, "The picture of all of the children?" "Yes." Too cool! I won't take all of the credit though. Since dear Cassie is a professional photographer, she did set up the photo, before jumping into the group and letting me take the picture. Thanks Cassie! (Check out Kekasmai Images, to see more of Cassie's work. And, if you live in Washington or Oregon, she'd love to take your family pictures.)

Christmas Card Dilemma

Since not all of our family and friends read this blog, and since some people actually do put our family picture on their refrigerator or mantel every year ... I still want to send out an annual Family Christmas Picture.

And, since I am having a very difficult time deciding which one to send, I thought I would get your professional blogging opinion.

Please let me know which card you would prefer to have hanging on your refrigerator all year.


Card #1






Card #2






Card #3 (a revision after receiving comments and some email suggestions)

Snow Much Fun

Rachel's "Snowman" ... (a pile of snow with a rock smile)