Christmas 08

Christmas has come and gone so quickly. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday with family and friends...and good health! :) With so many pictures and memories, it's hard to narrow it down for a blog post. So, here's a recap of some of my favorite things about Christmas.

Being together. Family time.

Family traditions. We've started a few of our own that I hope the boys will always remember. We're making some Christmas treats for our neighbors. The reason for Christmas....Jesus. Bart's dad reading the Christmas story before gifts.

Reconnecting with family and friends we don't get to see often enough. Relaxing and just hangin' out. :)Getting that "one gift" you'll always remember......

Yep, the boys got a Wii from my parents. They were shocked and are having a blast. Quinn hasn't yet been beat at boxing. :)

Happy New Year! God Bless.

Christmas Pinata

This past week when we were all sick. Everyone was getting restless. Too many days at home, not feeling well, stuck. So, I decided to do a fun project for the boys. A pinata, a Christmas pinata. The only thing I didn't think through was that this would take several days to complete. Just last night we had the pinata party. Here's several pics of the process. Oh, and I'm sure all this sugar will help boost their immune system after being sick, right?! :)

Step 1: Mix 2 parts water to 1 part flour.

Step 2: Mix, mix, mix it up.

Step 3: Cut 2" strips of newspaper.

Step 4: Spread the wet strips on a balloon. Step 5: Pop the balloon and pull it out. Decorate. Step 6: Have fun. :)

Better late than never

Last weekend Bart and I traveled to Memphis, TN for a marathon. This was his 10th marathon. He loves it. And he's good at it. He did awesome. God gave him a runner's body. With the right nutrition during the race, he could run and run and run. He really wanted to qualify for Boston. However, his time was 3:11.53. He missed the qualifying time by 54 seconds. Unreal. Really. But, this was his best time ever. He told me a few days after the race, he wished there was another one close by in about 3 weeks. We'll see where the next marathon will be. I have a feeling this is something he'll be doing for a while. (And I have to admit...I love it too!) :)

Loading up on carbs the night before the race. A great pasta meal with friends.

Got the Garmin, got the race number. Geared up and ready.

Mile 13. Feeling great and looking good.

Hey, this is Memphis, remember. Looks like Bart's "all shook up".

A great weekend, great memories, and great friends. Jamie, you're on for the next one! ;)

News from Ethiopia

Well, sadly, my brother and sister in law did not pass court today. They have a sweet little boy, Fisher, (who is just a doll by the way) who is waiting to come home. He turns one in January and when they found out he wouldn't be home by Christmas, they were thinking he'd be home for his birthday. But, it doesn't look like that will be the case. There is some good news out of this however. They are also on the wait list for an infant girl and they have moved up to the first in line! They are wondering if maybe Zion, the name they've given her, and Fisher could come home together. It'd be awesome if God would work it out that way. If not, we're still not going to question Him. He created these little ones and has a perfect plan for their lives.

After finding out about Scott and Heidi, I received a letter from my SW saying we are THIRD on the list!! Yes, THIRD. I can't believe it!!!! Really. I even emailed her back and asked her to check again b/c I thought there were more people in front of us. :) All of a sudden it seems so close, such a reality. I've really been gearing up for a long wait. We started at number 14, then 12, then 11. Things just seemed to be moving so slow. I know it could still take a little while. But, THIRD!!! Wow. Tears of joy. :)

This comes on a good day. The first day we're all feeling better finally. Yes, everyone (except Bart) caught the flu bug. Yuck. I haven't felt that bad in quite a while. So, I have some posting to catch up on. Unfortunately, I have lots of laundry, cooking, and cleaning, to catch up on too. :)

What's been going on

Okay, bear with me. This could really be about four seperate posts. But the days are flying by so this is just going to be one really long post. Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Rinks. Here's Bart's grandparents along with some other family.

Lots of great food and good family time. Here's Bart with his cousin and uncle.

After being with the Rinks, we headed to my parent's house and spent some quick quality time with my fam. My sister Tracie is great with my boys. She's an awesome aunt! This is my sis in law Mindy and my oldest nephew, Noah. We love to play games. Just finishing up a game of "beans".

And look at this cutie. Levi Dale, my brother's second boy. What a sweet little guy he is. My brother, Michael and Carson spent a good amount of the afternoon on the computer. They are a little too much alike, right Mindy?! :)

My dad and Cole.

On Friday we headed to Indy to be with Bart's mom's family. His grandma takes the family to a Holidome every year over Thanksgiving weekend. I think there are around 117 now in the family so it's a big fun crowd as you can imagine. Lining up for pizza.

Playing at the indoor water park. Quinn going down the slide.

A little game boy action.

On Saturday night the last night, his grandma provides a catered meal for the whole family in one of the banquet rooms at the hotel. Here is Cole in the middle of dinner, in the crowd of about 100 people, stripping. :) He thinks it's great.

Such a fun weekend. But, it wore everyone out.

Fast forward a few days. The boys had their school Christmas program. Bart's parents with my boys. They do such a great job of being involved in our boys lives. Thanks Mom and Dad!

And now tonight. Cole has the flu. Not the 7-day fever achy flu (although I might prefer that) but the puking all over the house, never know when it's coming up or out the back end kind. Gross. He's usually so busy and all over the place. Tonight he was just miserable. He sat in front of my new washer and just watched it go round and round. You can pray no one else gets it from him!

Seeking to Save

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I have lots I could post about but instead I've spent the last two nights looking into grocery deals. I'd love to cut my "Walmart bill" down each month. I feel like Walmart has pretty good prices but still think I could be doing more. I've looked at several different things (The Grocery Game, My Grocery Deals, CVS/ECB, Money Saving Mom, etc.) and am just not sure what to start with. I'm wondering if anyone out there has found a good system or has tried any of these things. Any good advice??