something you may not know...

we have an indoor swimming pool...

Why, yes, Julia did get a bath today...(argh!!!!!)

'twas two weeks before Christmas...

...when right on the couch

the girls ate their candy canes, quiet as a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

in hopes that more candy canes soon would be there.

When on the couch there arose such a clatter,

And what would you guess was the matter.

I saw she was chewing on plastic and swooped in with a flash,

tore open the wrapper to reveal more candy cane to mash.

She spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

and filled her little tummy, ne’er turning with a jerk.

When her sister laid a kiss on her cheek,

she looked up with a smirk and could’ve sat there all week.

When the candy was gone, they sprang like a missile,

Away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard them exclaim, 'ere they ran out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all…Can I have another one?!"

yuletide baking bonanza...

Nothing gets the wheels turning on this baking machine like snow on the ground, the twinkle of lights and a little Christmas music in the background. And so far...nobody around here is complaining...

Since I can't share all the goodies with all of you, I have added a little feature to the blog. On the navigation area over there on the right of this post, you'll see a "From the Kitchen" area. Below that, you may click on the "Christmas 2008 Recipes". This will bring you to a printable page of recipes that I've been using these past couple of days.

Healthy Substitution Note: I used King Arthur Whole Wheat White Flour in the White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies and it turned out great (the kids will never know it's good for 'em).

a long white beard and a bad british accent....

That describes the Mr. Claus we got to see on Monday night. Not sure when it was decided that Santa was a bloke from England...nevertheless, the kids sat and had a word with him.

Lauren asked for a wallet (to hold "all my money...", huh?).

Sarah requested some legos.

Julia asked for a candy cane and was immediately granted her wish.

So...no carbon-action Red Rider BB Guns here. The girls are making it easy on Ol' St. Nick this year. That's good...'cause I'm thinking he's got to spend time working on his dodgy Bri-ish before everybody goes barmy...

a little transportation theology...

Often the most random car rides around here can be memorable. Out of nowhere, the conversation turns interesting.

Last night, Sarah shouted, "Jesus is God's Son!". I replied, "Yes, and God sent His Son to be a baby in a manger and save the world...that's why Christmas is so cool." She responds softly, "How did Jesus save the world?" To which I respond, "Well, He died on the cross...." And before I could respond fully, she says..."How did dying save us?" It took her four years to ask the question that took me thirty years. I did my best to answer, "It wasn't the dying so much as the raising from the dead....."

.....but I was soon interrupted by Lauren's statement...."Mom, sometimes when I'm on the playground, I think about Jesus coming back and there being a new earth." I asked, "Does it make you a little nervous?" To which she replied, "Yes it does." I told her about how I used to get nervous about the same thing because I was afraid Jesus would come before I got to do cool stuff on earth, but now I know it's just not for me to worry about. Afraid my blithering was falling on deaf ears, I then asked her what she was worried about with a new earth. She said, "Well, I'm just afraid that on the new earth...God is going to turn me into an animal." This is just theology above my pay grade...I again, did my best to respond (something about humans being better than animals and how God would not downgrade you in a new earth)...

...and then I said a prayer of thanks for pretty sweet kids.

it's beginning to look a lot like....

Christmas!!! The tree is up, the stockings are hung and candy canes abound! It must be Christmas time! My mom made a tree full of the snowflakes in the picture at left. Ain't they perty? Thanks mom!

I must say...watching this season unfold through the kids' eyes just gets better every year. Below is Lauren's Christmas wish list (I've interpreted it below the picture).

Ice Skates

Magic Wand

Wallet

Candy

Tinkerbell Stickers

Barbie as the Diamond Castle Barbie Doll

Disney Fairies Poster

We're headed south for winter to see my brother and family in Charleston, SC. Last night, I asked the kids if they were excited to go. "Yes!!!" was the answer. I then reminded them that we should send Santa a letter to let him know where to find us and our stockings to fill. Lauren started to shake her head. I asked her, "Does Santa have email? Should we send email instead?" She kept shaking her head and said, "No...no, mom, no. Listen...he knows when we are sleeping and he knows when we're awake. So..." and she shrugs her shoulders to finish her thought. I said, "So...he knows we're in Charleston?" She replies, "Yeah."

Smarty pants.

quote of the day...

Sarah: "Why do the M&Ms all have 'E's on them?"