Christmas Cont.

Well, on Christmas day during dinner we shared with all of our kids that we wanted to take them to Build-a-Bear. Our 15 year old has been talking about always wanting to go there (at least she has been over the last month or so). We figured it would be a fun gift from Michael and I. The kids have been asking almost daily when we would be taking this trip (into Asheville). Today was finally the day. We got everyone ready and only left the house about 30 minutes later than planned. As soon as we walked into the mall, one of our girls said, "I think I see it." Sure enough she did and the girls wasted no time. It was awesome to see how excited they were. Each kid got one stuffed animal, an outfit and a pair of shoes. It was so much fun going through the process with them and helping them. On our trip home the teen said that it was her best Christmas gift. She can't wait to go back and wants to make it an annual tradition. Like the teen, I have always wanted to go as well so Michael and I got a stuff owl for Samuel which Michael named Irving (after John Irving, the author of A Prayer for Owen Meany). It was such a blast. I am hoping to get a picture of all the dressed stuffed animals to post with the names. The kids had such a good time and were very well behaved.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and the kids can't wait for the food (and neither can I). I love fixing a ton of finger foods and nibbling all day long. Such a fun way to spend the day. One of our kids said she wanted to watch the fireworks. We informed her that we would be staying home and watching the ball drop on TV and she would see the fireworks from the warmth of our living room. I can't imagine spending it outside in the freezing cold (snow still on the ground and icy).

A good reminder...

"But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one." 2 Thes. 3:3

Christmas Morning

Michael here-again this is a couple days old, I'm just posting it now. Blessings on you all.

It was a wonderful Christmas morning. The kids had a great time and it was a joy to watch the younger ones so excited and happy. One of the girls was squealing "EEEEEEE!" the whole time she was unwrapping. One hard thing was that two of our young girls were swamped with presents and one of them was not. The two girls were from a different county and so they got onto two Angel Tree lists on top of what we got them. The one girl only got what we could get her so her gift pile was significantly smaller. She was the one who needed less and so it was good in the long run but it was still hard to see a dissappointed, freckle-faced little girl on Christmas morning. She cheered up pretty quickly though and was able to enjoy the gifts that she did get.
The foster baby was blessed with a sea of toys as well. He saw a pair of shoes that he got and wasn't really interested in anything else after that. He is definitely a shoe man. I see fashion design in his future. The dog got some new tennis balls and an indestructable Kong toy that he immediately begun destroying. He also gave us a Christmas gift of two steaming piles of crap on the floor in the living room. He doesn't do this very often but it was raining hard outside and he did not want to get wet. Nothing says Christmas like the smell of dog poop.
Moving on from that lovely note we had a great dinner. I cooked a turkey roast in the crockpot and then did some broccoli with cheese sauce. Jen made sweet potatoes, orange Jello salad, chips and dip, and some blueberry crisp. Our oldest girl made some pinto beans. I am proud of myself for only slightly overeating during the holidays. I am glad that they are almost over so that I can more easily continue working at getting in good physical shape.
In other news my coworkers and I all passed on our Alpine Tower skills and so we can now lead the kids in climbing and other experiential recreation activities. I am excited. The guy that came on campus to test us was an old school climber with lots of experience and stories. He was actually the one that originally built the towers on our campus twenty years ago. It was a cool experience.
The day that we tested was very busy. As soon as I was finished climbing I was due to appear as a shepherd in the kids Christmas production. Because of my climbing training schedule I had only been able to make it to one practice for the Christmas show so I winged it a bit. It worked out though. As soon as we finished the last note of the last song one of the kids from another house said very loudly "So we're done now right?" Another kid said "that's unacceptable!" and the two boys started to argue loudly right there on stage. It was pretty hilarious.
Well the house is a mess of boxes and paper. Toys are all over the place and the dog is doing his best to try chewing on any little piece of Barbie clothes he can find. The girls made it til almost bedtime last night before they started bickering. We had considered letting them stay up late but then they started fighting and it was to bed as normal. God give us patience as we have more than a week of all of the kids home all of the time. I hope everyone reading had an awesome Christmas and I wish you a happy New year!

Games

Life has been busy around here (to say the least). The kids were out of school 3 days early due to the snow thus setting me back three days to finish my Christmas shopping. Today was a somewhat laid back day. I had a doctor's appointment for Sam today and did some shopping before returning home for a meeting. Then Michael left to pick some things up in Asheville (he's been gone for about 6 hours now). I actually had the energy to make dinner (my mother-in-law's potato soup...a favorite at our house). While making dinner I was attempting to listen closely to the three younger girls play so that I could break up any arguments and make sure they were all following the rules. It made me start to remember the games I played when I was a kid with my sister and friends. After almost getting hit hard in the head with a bouncy ball, I remembered when my mom used to let Heidi and I sit at the entrance to the kitchen (when no one was in there) and throw bouncy balls at the garage door. At times we got a little rambunctious and it would land in the sink with all the dirty dinner dishes or on the stove. So much fun though. I, however, stopped this game very quickly today. I didn't like my head being a target and the baby in the house just happened to be napping. I was also reminded of all the games that I played that were NOT safe. I'm sure if my mom had known we played some of these games she would have put a stop to them VERY quickly. The main one that came to mind was Swamp Monster. To understand this game you first have to understand the layout of my room growing up. Heidi and I had twin beds that sat at opposite walls. We would throw all of our blankets between our beds (about 3-4 feet of space) and we would take turns (we usually had a friend over or our cousins). One of us would hide under all the blankets while the other kids would jump between the two beds, at times either falling off the bed into the "swamp" or stepping in the "swamp" on the way to the other bed. The person in the swamp was hidden under all the blankets (are you beginning to see the danger?) and would try to grab someone as they jumped (the danger continues). The game went on like this. Amazingly (praise the Lord) no one was every stepped on or hurt (at least that I can remember). Also amazing, my mom never learned about this game...although I'm sure that if she had caught us we would have had no reason to think it was dangerous. All I can think of now is how thankful I am that none of my kids can play in another kids room. It saves on so much of my sanity and keeps me from having to make a trip to the emergency room (except that they get pretty bored in the living room at times). As I was thinking about this today while the kids were playing I had to smile. If only they knew that the one telling them not to play a "dangerous" game was also the one who played the game above. If only they got a glimpse of how I was growing up they would probably have a completely different opinion of me. Now, I fear that I am the strict parent (Michael is too, but I'm the one that gets on them more about what they play...Michael gives them a little more freedom). Perhaps it's something I'll explain to them one day...I think they would laugh pretty hard, or tell me that it was a dumb game to play. Who knows??



Mom, Heidi and I building a snowman.



A. Denise, Heidi and I on Christmas eve. Heidi looks like she's about to bite A. Denise. She's mischievous.



Heidi, Adam, Joseph and me...we were always together and teaching each other new dangerous games.

SNOW DAY!!!!

We are whipping out blogs like mad. Today was pretty amazing. We had at least nine inches of snow. I took out the younger girls and the dog to play in the snow and it was one of my favorite memories from my time here so far. The dog, U.B., has Husky in him so he should be a natural snow dog but the last time we had snow he was afraid of it. Now he is a bit older and he enjoyed it thoroughly. He bounded and leaped and ran in front of the girls that were sledding. It was entertaining. The kids are so cute when they are all bundled up and red-nosed. My neighbor and I met up and watched the kids sled. My neighbor had his eyes on a much steeper hill. It was covered in twigs and shrubbery to get tangled in. This hill probably wouldn't have been office-approved for the kids to sled down but we have learned that when this is the case you simply don't ask. It actually didn't turn out too bad. It was a fast ride for the kiddies and it was a fun day. Things get stressful here with the constant nature of the job. We are never off for more than a couple of waking hours at a time and it is pretty draining. But having days like this are great because you get to enjoy watching the kids play. Every time they were inside they were bickering of course and asking a hundred questions a minute but while we were outside it was perfect.
One of the other couples that work here just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl (that looks so much like her daddy) and it is making me so anxious to see my baby boy. Tonight he has been moving around like mad and it was awesome. Last night we were watching a TV show that had a newborn on it and I got teary eyed. I'm turning into a woman. We keep getting gifts in the mail (and we are VERY thankful for them) and I keep on thinking of Sam in the new pajamas or bathing tub or whatever thing arrives and I get so excited. Just a little bit longer.

I'm a Writer, Climber, Runner, B Baller and Kid Wrangler

Michael here-I wrote this a few days ago but was not able to get it posted until now.

It has been awhile since I have posted to our blog. I have been keeping rather busy. During the month of November I was taking part in Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. You don’t edit, you just stream words onto the page as fast as possible. I finished! It was pretty exciting for me. I learned a lot. I am taking a break from my novel but eventually I will attempt to edit the book and make it something readable.
I have also been doing some other things on campus. A few of the other staff members and I have been training to be leaders on the Alpine Towers on campus. So we have spent a lot of time climbing and learning the ropes (literally). Jen really wants to do it as well; she worked a high ropes course one summer on Mt Hood and really enjoyed it. I’m sure she will be able to join us once she pushes out her puppy (as a staff member called it). My coworkers and I have to trust each other with our lives and it’s a pretty bonding experience. Climbing to the top is a beautiful feeling. We have a view of the mountains and hills that surround our campus. Today we were climbing when it was 30 degrees out. It is more difficult to climb when your hands are frozen but we made do. I started out today by climbing up the easy side as I have done several times. Then I had to climb the harder side which has smaller holds. In doing this I actually had to learn a bit of technique and so it took some adjustment for me to get up the first half of the tower. After I found my footing (literally) it felt like it took me no time to make it up to the top. It was one of the scarier things that I have ever done and I am glad I have had this experience. One of my coworkers who is a more natural climber was able to climb the firecrackers. Firecrackers are basically dangling logs with climbing holds. They swing around so it is much harder to move from one log to the other. It was awesome to watch. It will be cool to lead the kids in doing the climbs. It is a great way for them to conquer fears and for us as leaders to be able to start discussions with the kids about difficulties that they face in life.
I have been in the running club on campus with our eleven year old twins. I have cut 2 ½ minutes off of my mile since we have started and it has been awesome to get back in shape and to run around campus with the other kids in the club. The twins have a hard time pushing themselves but they definitely push harder when they are competing against each other. You know that the girls have worked hard because their faces turn bright red and their cheeks turn bright white. It’s cute. We are going to be participating in a 5k run and possibly an 8k as well.
I just started doing church league basketball with a few other guys. We lost our first game badly. The other team was fast and very tall and apparently God was with their team instead of ours. We play for a local Methodist church so apparently God likes the Baptists better than the Methodists. It was fun and we have a team with some good players so I look forward to playing against some other slower, shorter teams.
Jen has been wonderful to allow me to be involved in so many outside activities. For awhile I was getting really restless because I spent so much time in the house with the foster baby. I am trying to give Jen as many breaks as possible, tonight she is out with one of our girls doing Christmas shopping and going to dinner and a movie. I stayed home with the rest of the kids. It was a quite evening. I had three girls giggling and arguing, a baby crying, yelling and breaking stuff and a hyped up border collie/husky shedding hair all over and chewing on every little thing he can get his teeth on…good times. All of the kids are now in bed and I am finally able to have some down time so I am going to head off and do absolutely nothing. Peace out.