Oh, Deer!

This week is B.E.A.R. week at school for Faith. That's Being Excited About Reading! Each day, her class does some activity to emphasize reading. Tomorrow is "come as your favorite character" day. The kids get to dress up as their favorite story-book character. Faith thought long and hard about who she wanted to dress up as. She was torn between Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer and Bambi (notice the deer theme...currently her favorite animal!). After school today, she decided she would like to go as Bambi so we got right to work creating her a costume. This is a picture of Bambi-Faith posing in front of the mirror so you can get a view of both sides of her outfit!

Side note: We checked the book, Bambi, out from the public library in Colorado once about a year ago and she has never seen the movie. She says she is going to tell the kids in her class the story as best she can remember it. :)

Blue Sky!

On the way to church on Sunday morning, Jaron looked up and said, "Look, Mommy! The sky is out!" It took me a second to realize that he meant the blue sky! It has been grey, foggy and a bit dreary around here for weeks. I guess that explains his surprise. We decided to take full advantage of our sunny day. After church, while Jaron napped, Faith took her first real big girl bike ride around the neighborhood. She learned to ride her bike without training wheels several weeks ago (in the garage) and has been itching for a nice day to ride somewhere other than our driveway. She loved every minute of our ride together: learning to ride on one side of the street, using her breaks down the hills, standing up to pedal really hard to get up the hills, and even pulling over to stop while cars passed.

When Jaron woke up, we gathered some old bread I'd been saving in the freezer and headed to the fishing pond to feed the ducks. Both kids thought it was a treat when daddy decided he would pull them there in the wagon that Nanny & Papa gave Jaron for Christmas.

It was nearly dark when we got back home and every one's fingers were cold!

Jaron decided that old, stale bread doesn't taste that great.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Holiday/Snow Pictures!

Jaron on Christmas Eve!

Faith with her new Christmas Scooter!

Lots of Snow!

Goofy face!



Daddy and Faith with snowman!



Whatcom Falls

Fishing pond at Whatcom Falls park

How will you celebrate?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GZEZ_en-GBUS287US290&q=adv&feature=player_embedded

When everyday life is so busy, Christmas can become an added stressor! So many things to do, so many things to buy, so many obligations and guilt! Why? I guess it is because someone, some time ago decided that that is the way it should be. If you think back to your own childhood Christmas memories, what are they? Are they full of anxiety, guilt and stress? Probably not! One of my most distinct Christmas memories is one of the last that I spent with my mom. It was Christmas Eve and my mom took us to get a Christmas tree. By then the lot was pretty well picked over, but she had waited until Christmas Eve to have us pick out our tree because the guy that ran the Christmas tree lot said he would give her a tree for half price on that day. For some reason, it didn't seem to matter to me that everyone else had their trees up weeks before or even that they had presents under them. I eagerly awaited the night that WE would get OUR tree! I don't remember what I got for Christmas that year or if we even got presents at all, but I do remember staying up late decorating our tree with my mom and my brothers and sister and I remember being happy.