Black Friday

So, I did succumb to the temptation of cheap flannel and went shopping at 6am yesterday morning. I must say though that it was actually fun this year. Instead of a tiny JoAnn's in Astoria I moved up this year to the larger JoAnn's in McMinnville. There were plenty of carts for everyone that wanted one, the staff was efficient and friendly, there was plently of room to move around and there was no one frantically grabbing at the flannel trying to get all they could. People actually spent their time looking at the flannel and deciding what they wanted instead of grabbing like crazy. It was a civilized shopping experience. At the most I waited 30 minutes in the cutting line and 5 minutes in the checkout line! I also branched out this year and looked at and bought more than just flannel because I had time to look around without worrying that I needed to save a place in one of the lines. I was impressed that I spent $80 and saved $180 by buying everything on sale. Erik wasn't so impressed, he always says I could have saved more money by staying home and not spending any....
Erik and I did brave Wal-Mart yesterday afternoon and it wasn't bad but I don't think you could have paid me to be there at 5am. My in-laws went, walked in and turned around and came out (and that took them 20 minutes), they said it was a nightmere. I'm excited because even though I still have a few things to make for Christmas I think we have all the shopping done. And as we were leaving Wal-Mart there were two adorable husky puppies for sale so Erik and I spent some time petting them...we think we might get rid of (or eat) our chickens and get a dog. We did pass up the husky puppies but it was really hard.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year has been good. I've felt tired and out of it all day but I'm so very thankful for family that loves to play with my kiddos and lets me take a nap and says that I don't have to make anything for Thanksgiving dinner. I was suppose to make breakfast this morning but Erik took charge and finished that up for me and let me sleep, I'm definitely thankful for the wonderful husband I've been blessed with. As long as I'm listing things I'm thankful for I can't forget my kiddos. They amaze me every day with what comes out of their mouths (or in the case of Clayton, what goes in...). I'm so very thankful that they are excited to "have Jesus in my heart." Ivan has taken to saying that "Jesus is mine. And Jesus is daddy's." I just love it.
This morning my mom called to say that Grandma Dorothy died. She's my dad's mom. I find though that I have more to be thankful and grateful for than I have to be sad about. It's hard to be sad when I know she's in Heaven and that she was really ready to go home. I spent a week up at my parents' house and we got to see and talk with Grandma and she was more coherent than usual while we were visiting, asking how old my kiddos are and commenting on how cute they are. It was good to say goodbye that way and I have to admit that when we left I thought maybe it might be the last time I saw her alive. I am so thankful for her love for God and the legacy that has left in our family, first in hers and then tickling down into ours now. I'll miss her but I am so very thankful that I will see her again someday.
So it has been a good Thanksgiving and I hope yours was wonderful too.

Jesus in my Heart

Tonight after reading the Bible with the kiddos Erik asked Hannah if she wanted to pray and ask Jesus to live in her heart. She said she did want to but that she didn't know the words to say. So Erik took the boys to bed and Hannah and I prayed together that Jesus would live in her heart and take all her sins away. Then when I carried Hannah to bed, Ivan said that he was a "christ-masin" now. Erik said that he wanted Jesus in his heart too, so they prayed and Ivan asked Jesus to forgive him and live in his heart.
The last few weeks Hannah and Ivan have both actually wanted to pray (as long as we help them with the words) at night. It's very cute, and if we forget to pray for something that we prayed for the night before, Hannah will remind us.
I love my kiddos.

Jesus on the Cross

This morning at breakfast Hannah was explaining to Ivan that "sin is disobeying God" and "Jesus died on the cross to take away all our sin." It reminded me that I had meant to blog about something a few weeks ago and forgot. We all went to Tillamook a few weeks ago and we were looking around Rosenberg Building Supply when the kiddos spotted a kids "patio set". A table with umbrella and chairs. The table had a tic-tac-toe grid on it and it wasn't long before Hannah and Ivan discovered x 's and o's in the pockets on the chairs. Only they found the x's first, turned them on their sides and showed anyone who would look at the them..."Look it's Jesus on a cross." They got a few blank looks until I explained that they'd been paying close attention in Sunday school. So their alphabet skills may be slightly lacking at this moment but I'm not complaining.

Dishes

For those of you that know me and know my love of washing dishes, this may come as a surprise. I'm not even sure I want to mention it and run the risk of jinxing myself...but for a week now I've been able to keep my kitchen clean and all the dishes are done before I go to bed. I think maybe it was my week off from anything kitchen related, combined with my mother's ability to keep her kitchen clean with 3 grandkids and a daughter making messes that helped spur me on to greater heights (or depths) of cleanliness. Not to brag too much, but I've also kept on top of the laundry...clothes are clean and folded and put away. I say this all in amazement as these are not my strong points when it comes to "household management". I'm praying that my fervor and devotion will continue, it's really nice to wake up to a clean house and know that pans are already clean for making breakfast and that nothing is growing mold or going to suddenly evolve out of the slime and muck and run away. People have been telling me for years that it's easier to do one or two dishes at a time than waiting for them all to be dirty and trying to wash them all at once, I think I might be inclined to believe them now.

Our New Fireplace

So far this is the framing for our new fireplace and closet. This is about as far as we can go for now, turns out the fireplace we are getting is back-ordered 3 or 4 weeks. Hopefully it comes much sooner rather than later, but it should still be in time for Christmas!

The Cottage

Here are pictures of the really cool grand-kid cottage at my parent's house. Hannah and Grandma slept on the hide-a-bed most nights that we were there. Ivan joined them once and Hannah slept in the loft so Ivan could sleep with Grandma. They loved playing out there. My dad and Clayton came out to take pictures with me so there would be people in my pictures too. Clayton liked playing out there also, lots of toys and books to get into.

Halloween

Here are the kiddos in their Halloween Costumes. I made Hannah and Ivan's and Clayton's is one that we've had (and Hannah and Ivan have both worn). Ivan was so tired after the Harvest Party we went to that he was snoring by the time we made it back to Grandma's house. And Clayton's bear costume has gloves (paws) on it so he couldn't scratch himself! Hannah's wings I found at Fred Meyer, thank goodness I didn't have to make those too.

Clayton Walking

I have many many pictures to post from my week vacation, and I've been debating whether or not to post them all now or slowly over the next few days, just to keep you coming back for more. I think it might actually depend on what the kiddos let me do.
Clayton finally let me get him walking on video. Enjoy!