Creating an Advent Tradition

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One of our favorite things to do this time of year is to celebrate the Advent season.

What is Advent?

The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God.  (The Voice)

 

For the past decade or so, our family has been reading three wonderful Advent books that have become our family tradition, and have been permanently imprinted on our children’s heart.

Read the full article at The Marathon Mom.

How We Celebrate So Many Birthdays

(Jonathan's 3rd Birthday 6-3-12)

The month of May begins our steady string of birthdays.  And a question I am asked quite frequently is, "How do you celebrate birthdays in your large family?"

Since our older two girls were little, we knew we would not plan elaborate parties every year.  And actually began our "method" back then...when we only had two.  The only difference now is that with so many people in the family, it's always a party anyway.

Here's how we do it!

We decided that the BIG parties would be reserved for certain ages...5, 10, 13, 16, and 18.  One, for sanity's sake, and two, for budget purposes.  We chose 5...because they're big enough to enjoy/appreciate a real party, 10...the excitement of turning double digits, 13.....hello teen years, 16.....sweet sixteen, and 18....official adulthood. 

A "big" party means inviting friends, having fun games and party favors, and pizza or a BBQ.  But they also have the option of going to Chuck E Cheese or the like, but only inviting one or two friends.  They always go for the party so they can invite more friends.  Our summer birthday kids always choose a pool party.  We have a nice clubhouse in our neighborhood that accommodates pool parties nicely.  And since we pay association dues, we can use the clubhouse for free!

On the "in between" birthdays, we still want our kids to know how special they are, but we do it with just the family.  Our tradition is that the birthday kid gets to choose what he or she wants to eat for breakfast and dinner.  Meals made at home, but they pick their favorites!  For lunch, the birthday kid gets to choose a place to go with just mom and dad!  Inevitably, our little ones always pick Chick-fil-A, which is a win for the budget.  Our older, smarter teens go for the real restaurants, which is a win for us since we don't go out often! ; )

(Celeste and Seth agreed to have dual parties since we had family in town...it was a packed house! 6/2011)

 

In addition, they also get to choose their birthday cake, which Mommy always makes (though my big girls have saved me a time or two when I was unable).  They pick a theme/colors/flavors and I do my best to create it.  After dinner and cake, they open their presents.  We usually buy each kid 3-4 things depending on what they asked for and the cost of those things.  We take the little ones to the Dollar Store to shop for the birthday sibling so they can afford to buy the gift themselves.  They love it!

So as you can see, each year is special for our children.  Even on the non-party years, the kids enjoy their day and know how thankful we are that they were created!

How do YOU celebrate birthdays in your family?  What are your special traditions?

Thankful Thursday: Sacred's First Video Post

A couple of things before you watch.  One, I apologize in advance for my loudness....still getting used to filming on my Flip Share.  Two, pay NO attention to the kids who are misbehaving during prayer.  ; )

As you can see, the younger ones were very distracted by Mommy filming mealtime prayer, and felt the need to show off a bit.  I told them beforehand that I was testing the camera (which was true)...and for them to just listen to Daddy while he prayed.  HA!  Some of them didn't even catch on until after the prayer! lol

Anyway, we are very excited and SO thankful for the sweet life growing inside of me, and we're humbled by God's goodness.

I am almost 8 weeks along, and due Nov. 18th.  Of course, morning sickness has arrived, so I'm taking it one day at a time, and praying that it won't get as bad as it normally does.  So far, it's been manageable, so I'm thankful for that as well!  I would appreciate any extra prayers if you think of me.  : )

What are you thankful for today? 


This post is linked up with The Marathon Mom.

Christmas Craft Fun

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am not a crafty gal! It takes effort and sheer will to pull out the craft box for the kids. But because I love them, and don't want to completely deprive them of craft fun, I do it!

Today, we actually did TWO crafts. Probably a record for me!  I knew we would set out to do the Paper Plate Snowman craft, but since it went so quickly, to the kids' delight, we did another.

We didn't exactly have the proper plates....meaning the ones withOUT the blue rims....but that's okay!  We were also short on cotton balls, so we couldn't even cover those blue rims.  ; )

These just crack me up! I love seeing what little ones come up with on their own. Some even look like Pilgrims, and I'm not sure any of them resemble a snowman, but I love them 'cause my babies made them. They did a great job and had fun!

Remember the dough ornaments from when we were kids?  My mom still has the ones we made from early childhood.  She even has one my dad made when he was five.  Sooo, when I pinned these on Pinterest, I knew we would eventually do them.  The kids were happy it was today!

A few of my sweet Rag-a-muffins anticipating their turn....

Aren't these adorable?  I used a toothpick to prick names/initials and dates on each one.

Here's the easy recipe:

Salt Dough Ornaments  (via Homemade Grits)

4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water

Mix well and knead for 15-20 minutes

Bake at 300* for 20-25 minutes. Ornaments will continue to harden as they cool. Paint if you wish....acrylic paint works best. Oh..and don't forget to poke a hole in your dough before going in the oven. :)

Please share what fun things you're doing over Christmas break!

Pinterest Find: Handprint Christmas Tree

Pin It

I am finally getting the hang of Pinterest. And though I don't have much time to spend perusing boards, I'm enjoying what I've pinned so far and am putting it to use.

I pinned this idea a couple of weeks ago....and recently, we made our own Family Handprint Christmas Tree.  Isn't it cute?

We did ours a bit differently than the one pinned here.  Ours isn't quite as neat and tidy, but I love all the varying sizes of all my babies hands.  We ended up using my husband's fingers for the trunk rather than printing his whole hand.  At 6' 6", my hubby has very large hands, so his handprint would have covered the whole tree.  I also painted the kids' names and ages on their handprint so that years down the road, I can marvel at how little some of their hands used to be.

I am not a crafty person by nature, so this was right up my alley....simple and fun.  And anything that involves getting their hands covered in paint is a win for the kids! :)

What have you made recently from Pinterest?

A Big Day: A Recital and a Bridal Shower

Yesterday was a big day for our family. Aside from the usual holiday craziness, for good measure, we threw in a Piano Recital and a Bridal Shower...ON THE SAME DAY! 

Cuh-RA-zy!


This was Sophia's first piano recital ever. She was a bit nervous, but played like a pro! We were so proud of her!

Sophia was one of five other sweet kiddos who played varying arrangements of Silent Night. There were about 35 pianist in all, and they did a beautiful job!

Did I mention how hard it is to keep your seven youngest ones quiet and still during a long piano recital? I have to say...they did a great job. Thankfully, they've had a lot of practice at church since we attend a family church where our kiddos stay with us in the service. :)

Cheyenne's Bridal Shower was wonderful. What's more fun than getting a ton of ladies together, eating yummy food, playing fun games, and watching your daughter be blessed beyond measure? 


The lovely cake.....

About 30 of our closest friends and soon-to-be family....

The delicious spread......

The beautiful Bride-to-Be....

Our first game was a hoot! It's called "How well do you know the groom?" We all asked a series of questions about her groom...and for every answer she got wrong, she had to add a piece of gum to her mouth. I think she ended up with six pieces of gum out of 22 questions. Not bad. Though, I won't mention the hints we may have given her on some. ;)

The next game was called, "Advice to the Bride".  Let's just say that this advice personified  the term "blushing bride".   A-hem...moving right along...

Gift fun!  Cheyenne and Nathan were blessed tremendously with goodies for their future home.  They will surely be set.  Thank you to our sweet friends who came to celebrate and bless the this soon-to-be married couple!

What a great day it was. My heart is full over God's goodness and love.

It's hard to believe that NEXT month, I will have a married daughter! How did we arrive here so quickly! My little girl is all grown up and about to begin a life of her own with a wonderful young man!  

Thank you, Father!

Easy Thanksgiving Placemat Craft

If you're looking for something easy for the kids to do on Thanksgiving Day, why not let them help decorate your table with these fun Thanksgiving placemats?

Since we are having lots of children here for Thanksgiving, we thought it would be fun to let them make their own placemats for the kids' table.  It will make a cute addition to the paper pumpkins we made yesterday for centerpieces.

Here's what you need:  Fall colored construction paper (don't mind my Christmas colors here), scissors, a ruler, and glue.

Cut one inch strips of paper lengthwise for weaving, and one inch vertical slits on your background paper.  Older kids can cut on their own, but for our younger kids, we'll have these pre-cut.  Be careful to leave about a one inch border at the top and bottom as shown here....you don't want to cut all the way or you'll have more strips. :)

Simply weave the strips of paper under and over each slit, incorporating your different colors for each row.  Once all the strips are in, use glue to fasten down the ends of the strips. 

While my mom was here in March for the birth of Amelia, she taught the kids how to make these (hi Mom!).  They're looking forward to making them again on Thursday!

Once the kids are done constructing their mats, let them be creative and decorate with markers, crayons, stickers, glitter glue, etc.   They can even write "Give Thanks" like shown above, or write things for which they are thankful around the border.  And if you happen to have a laminating machine, these would be great to preserve that way!

It's fun, it's easy, and will keep them busy while you're working hard in the kitchen! :)

It's How We Roll

Why would we let a few billion days of 100+ degree temps prevent us from pitching the tent....

My husband, the fun dad, won't hesitate to set up the tent INside for his babies when it's too hot (or cold) OUTside...

Here are some of the kids enjoying a night of "camping" with their cousin, McKenzie.  The kids had a blast...but they had waaay too many comforts for camping if you ask me.  Do you see those mattresses?

That's my husband, the fun dad.

He is da bomb!

It's how he rolls...

Begin An Advent Tradition

What?  It's only August and you're talking about Advent already?

You betcha!

The reason?  I want you to have plenty of time to order these wonderful Advent books that our family has enjoyed for the past nine years. 

Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage, and Tabitha's Travels by Arnold Ytreeide are all beautifully intertwined stories that lead up to Jesus' birth.  Each character is lead on a different journey full of adventure and nail-biting cliffhangers.  Your kids will hardly be able to wait for the next day's reading.

Even though our older children have heard these stories numerous times, they still look forward to hearing them again every year.  And for our younger ones, it's a brand new story as they grow each year and begin to understand the beauty of Advent.  It's become a wonderful tradition in our family....one that we hope they'll continue in their own families.

You begin reading the story on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and read a section each day until you finally arrive at Christmas morning...the reading of Christ's birth.

Our first night of reading, we sit around the table with big mugs of hot chocolate.  It is such fun time for our family.

On Christmas morning, we eat breakfast first...must feed the vultures.  Then, we do nothing else, not even open presents, until we've read our final Advent story.  It really sets the tone for what Christmas means to our family as Christ-followers, and why we celebrate His glorious birth.

If you're not already reading these, I highly recommend them.  If you can only order one, begin with Jotham's Journey, and try to collect one a year until you've acquired all three. 

Your family will love these, and the time spent reading together is a time to be cherished!


















"With these books you will begin a rich tradition of nativity celebration in your household."


*This post contains affiliate links.

Photo Credit

Fun Reading Games

Looking for something new and fun to keep the little ones busy while they're cooped up in the house because it's TOO scorching hot to go outside? 

Yep...me too!  That's why I'm glad to have found this....

Three of my kids have already been enjoying these fun FREE reading games.  And it's just enough to change up the old routine, and still keep their minds busy. 



If you have beginning or early readers, click on the photo, and give it a try!


*I receive a little compensation per sign up.

New Trampoline

It's A Hit

After many years of contemplating a trampoline for the kids, we finally did it. My parents graciously sent us Christmas money for the kids which helped us make the purchase. The kids have had a blast almost every day on it. Maybe once I have the baby, I'll give it a go too. :-)

Here's the little ones having their turn.....



And here are the "older" little ones (Ethan is missing)....



And even Greg has had his share of fun on it. The kids LOVE when he bounces on it and makes them fly up into the air....


We're so glad to have a trampoline. I'm sure I'll still worry about injuries, but we'll just pray everyone stays safe. It's been a great way to expend energy and get daily exercise. Thanks Mom and Dad for helping us to finally get a trampoline.

California Trip

Snippets of Our Trip to CA

Celeste, Jonathan, and I took a week's long trip to CA. I wish the whole family could have gone, but we had a good time, anyway. It was so special getting to spend time with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and my brother and his sweet family. It was especially exciting for Celeste since she was able to experience her first airplane ride. Here she is with Jonathan just before boarding the plane.

Since our camera has been out of commission, Celeste was our vacation photographer. She really captured some terrific shots. Below is Half Dome, my favorite mountain in the world. Perhaps it is because it's so unique, or just plain breathtaking, or maybe climbing it when I was fifteen has something to do with it. Whatever the draw, I just love it and never tire of seeing it!

We drove up to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park (one of my favorite places on earth). We made it there just in time to watch the sun set. Breathtaking. This photo below is the Diving Board (left) and Yosemite Falls in the distance. You may have seen a couple of famous photos of the Diving Board involving people. In the old days, people would do handstands on this outcropping; DO NOT ATTEMPT SUCH FOOLHARDY STUNTS! YOU WILL DIE! As a matter of fact, people have died, whether on accident or on purpose.....it's a 3000 ft plunge to the Valley Floor from Glacier Point. OUCH!

We're the handful of family who made the trip. My Aunt Julia is taking the photo. The back row begins with my sweet sister, Angel, and my wonderful dad. In the front, we have little ol' me, my beautiful Celeste, and my awesome Uncle Andy. If you look real hard, you can see the top of Jonathan's head at the bottom. ;-)

Okay, so I know this is hardly an adequate number of photos to come out of a family reunion vacation, but I still need to go through all of them and label them, etc., etc., etc. I'll try to get to that soon since I have loads of free time with nothing to do. ;-)

Seth Turns Nine

Happy Birthday, Sethman!



Yes! Another birthday post. May began our first string of birthdays, and today we are celebrating Seth, now 9 years old.


We were so excited the night he was born to find that we had had a BOY! Having only two girls, it was hard to imagine actually having a boy. But there he was...all 8 lbs 11 oz of him (my biggest baby at that time).


Seth has really been the dream son. I mean, I was a little afraid of having a boy, but Seth was a very easy boy, as far as boys go. He's mild natured, very caring, a superb big brother to the five under him, and loves to help.


But at the same time, he's also very active. He loves the outdoors, baseball, basketball, and building stuff. He likes to tinker around and fix things. He's smart and thoughtful.


He also likes to draw and paint. He's interested in many different things which makes him a lot of fun. Seth is just a neat boy.


We love you big guy and hope that you have a memorable day today! We praise God for you and are humbled and honored by the young man you've become!

Celeste Turns 15

Happy Birthday Celeste

A night out to see Wicked (above)...

Celeste is an amazing young lady. With a loving nature and a sweet spirit, she's always putting others first. She loves to serve and meets needs before asked. With her quick wit, she keeps us laughing. And with her deep, genuine love, she makes this world a better place. We love you, Celeste, and we're humbled and thankful to be your parents. You are a blessing! We hope you enjoy this day...and enjoy this year of being fifteen!

She's not afraid to have fun being silly...in public...at the zoo..


She's been my faithful week day running partner.....


She ran the 8 Miler with Blair and me.....and beat us.


Having fun fishing with Grandpa....
Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl. You are loved and cherished more than you know!

Pictures

A Few Photos


Well, it's been a while since I've posting anything let alone pictures. Our camera is out of commission, so here are a few we captured just before the camera went out.


This one was taken back in December. Cheyenne and her friend Shelley played in a piano recital. They both did very well. Their piano teacher, Mrs. Woodard, stands between them.



Five of our younger crew. Not sure where Ethan was while taking this.



Sweet Jonathan. Here, he was about nine months old. He is now nearly eleven months.



We recently took a trip to the zoo....one of our favorite places to visit. Since Ethan was missing in action in the photo above.....here he is enjoying the play area at the San Antonio Zoo.



And here's almost the full crew. Of course, I'm taking the picture.



Hoping to get back to blogging a bit more consistently now. Stop on back soon! :-)