Let the Birthday Celebrations Begin

Well Christmas has literally just ended and our household has already begun its next celebrations....Cole's 5th Birthday. I can't believe how big he is getting. It seems as though it was just yesterday that I started looking after him when he was only about 6 weeks old. Wow! How time flies!

Dan, Bonnie and Cole leave for Mexico on Wednesday, so Cole will be celebrating his actual birthday day on a warm sunny beach in Mexico. I am very jealous. So because he won't be around for the next 2 weeks, we had his friends birthday party today with 4 of his good friends. It was the perfect amount of kids and they all get along so well!!! I am glad he has such great friends in his life. I hope and pray that they will continue to be a part of his life in the years to come.

This year Cole decided he wanted to have a dinosaur themed bowling and tobogganing party. It was a big hit. I am SHOCKED at how good the kids are at bowling (granted, there were bumpers in the gutters). I had the lowest score and I was actually trying. How sad is that? Apparently I need some practice before New Years bash tonight where we will attempt 10 pin bowling for Graham's birthday.

Following pizza, presents, cake and bowling, we headed over to Crescentwood Community Centre for some tobogganing. It was a lot of fun, although a tad chilly.

Minneapolis

For the 3rd year in a row, my parent's have taken all of us kids (and girlfriends) to Minneapolis for 2 days to do some outlet shopping for Christmas. I look forward to this all year. Nothing beats going to the Albertville Outlet Mall. The deals were great this year, although everything seemed to be not what I was looking for. For I think first time ever, some of my better deals were at Ikea and at the Mall of America. Don't get me wrong, I still found some great deals at the outlet stores. My Christmas money was well spent!

Off to do some serious shopping!

Over the past 3 years I have enjoyed getting to know both of my brother's girlfriend's better during this trip. They are really sweet girls and I love them. We have a lot of fun together and we all just click really well. They add a great balance and dynamic to our family and all 7 of us have a lot of fun together.

After a long day of driving on the 27th to Minneapolis, Kevin, Dom and I were FULL of energy! We needed to burn some of it off, so we decided to take some "crazy" pictures in the abandoned store plaza after the mall closed (our hotel is right next to the mall, so it makes shopping extremely convenient).

Due to the apparent glare coming in from the windows in the car, Kevin felt the need to watch his movies on his ipod under his blanket. Dom and I thought he looked pretty ridiculous and made fun of him relentlessly for it!












I think what made this trip extra neat was that because we had to take 2 vehicles this year, Kevin and I had more time to spend together. We don't have that great of a relationship. Dominika is definitely the buffer between us a lot of the time, but these past 2 days we remained pretty sane and reasonable. We talked without insults or fighting and we actually had some pretty good laughs between us (It would appear that we are both growing up a bit). Our relationship isn't super stellar yet, but I am curious and anxious to see where it goes and how we get there. I am pumped and excited to see the work that God will do in both his life and in my own. This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me!

**On a little side note, my best friend Jodi got engaged over Christmas! Congrats guys. Love you very much. May God continue to bless the both of you as you plan this special day in the coming months.

Christmas Traditions

Christmas has come and gone again for another year. It has been a very busy but good week. It also feels very nice to be home. From the 15th until the 23rd I was housesitting for Andrew and Aimee and then I have been at my parent's this past week for various Christmas gatherings, etc.
I love our Christmas traditions. I know there will be a day when things will have to change due to our family growing and accomodating my brother's girlfriend's sides of the family, but for right now I am enjoying our familiar and comforting traditions. This is probably one of the first years in a long time that I have not felt stessed and anxious over Christmas. Rather, it was a season of refreshment and joy as I attempted to keep my heart and eyes focused on Jesus rather than getting consumed within all of the hussle and bussle that the season can often bring with it.


Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve we go to my Grandma's for a delicious christmas dinner - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, hot veggies, yummy salads, fresh, homemade buns and christmas baking for dessert. It is the one meal over Christmas that I completely indulged in and just ate until I was soooo full. It was great - very worth it!





















After supper we go to church as a family for the Christmas Eve service to my parent's church and then head back to my Grandma's to open gifts and play games for the rest of the evening.

Every year we take turns reading the Christmas story and leading the devotional. This used to be my Grandpa's job, but ever since he died 6 years ago, we have all taken turns. We have some pretty big shoes to fill, but I think we're doing a pretty good job and it's neat to hear the thoughts of some people who ordinarily probably wouldn't have shared.











































I love Starbucks. That is no secret to most people, but this year was an exceptional year for gift cards and Starbucks products. I raked in the mugs and gift cards. Most of the gift cards came from various gift exchanges and draws. On Christmas Eve, 10 out of the 13 people received mugs of some sort and a Starbucks gift card. It appears that I come from a family with some serious coffee addictions and a general love for Starbucks! Bring on the Raspberry Iced Tea Lemonades and the Latte's.





This year we expanded our horizons and played Balderdash instead of the usual Rook. It was a much welcomed change :)









Christmas Day
Christmas morning has and will forever remain our immediate family Christmas. I love waking up at my parent's place to the dog licking my hand and trying to drag me out of bed and the wafting smell of my mom's Christmas bread baking in the oven. This year instead of asking for things I want rather than things I need (which I normally do), I tried giving ideas to people for things that I need. I am definitely not in lack of anything and that was extremely evident again on Christmas morning. My family was very good to me.

My mom LOVED her gift from us kids (the blown up pictures of us as little kids and now of us as we have grown up). She even had tears in her eyes.

Dominika LOVES the Barefoot Contessa. She adores her, so Derek and I got her some of Ina's cookbooks to add to her collection. The screams of pure joy and excitement that left Dom's mouth were quite something at 9:30 in the morning.

Me with all of my Starbucks gifs so far

Another great traditon that goes on in our family on Christmas day is that my mom's extended family (her cousins, my second cousins, etc) all go to the Fairmont for Christmas brunch. The food is delicious and it's a good time to catch up with cousins I haven't seen since the previous Christmas. I love that we all get to dress up nice and go and eat a very delicious meal together. This year we had the most people there that we have had in years. I think there was somewhere around 75-80 people who showed up. It was great!

For the remainder of Christmas day my family laid low around the house, played games and ate little finger foods. We were originally supposed to have a fondue, but due to 7 VERY FULL bellies, we had to cut some food out of our original menu plan. Heidi, I still have your cheese fondue recipe and I intend on using it soon!

For Christmas this year, my brothers and I got my dad an awesome crokinole board, which got a lot of use already by everyone on Christmas day. Even Kitty joined in on the fun. He really is quite the strange cat!

Mary's Prayer

For the past few weeks I have been somewhat discouraged at my lack of "feeling" the real spirit of Christmas and my extremely poor attempt at devotions. Nothing seems to hit close to home and speak to my heart...until tonight!
Tonight at church the following excerpt was read from Max Lucado's book "God Came Near" and all of a sudden something struck my heart. The reality of what Christmas truly is about and not what we have made it to be found its way to my heart.

Mary's Prayer

God. 0 infant-God. Heaven's fairest child.

Conceived by the union of divine grace with our disgrace.

Sleep well.Sleep well.

Bask in the coolness of this night bright with diamonds.

Sleep well, for the heat of anger simmers nearby.

Enjoy the silence of the crib, for the noise of confusion rumbles in your future.

Savor the sweet safety of my arms,

for a day is soon coming when I cannot protect you.

Rest well, tiny hands.

For though you belong to a king, you will touch no satin, own no gold.

You will grasp no pen, guide no brush.

No, your tiny hands are reserved for works more precious:

to touch a leper's open wound,

to wipe a widow's weary tear,

to claw the ground of Gethsemane.

Your hands, so tiny, so tender, so white -- clutched tonight in an infant's fist.

They aren't destined to hold a scepter nor wave from a palace balcony.

They are reserved instead for a Roman spike that will staple them to a Roman Cross.

Sleep deeply, tiny eyes.

Sleep while you can.

For soon the blurriness will clear

and you will see the mess we have made of your world.

You will see our nakedness, for we cannot hide.

You will see our selfishness, for we cannot give.

You will see our pain, for we cannot heal.

0 eyes that will see hell's darkest pit and witness her ugly prince ...

sleep, please sleep;

sleep while you can.

Lay still, tiny mouth.

Lay still mouth from which eternity will speak.

Tiny tongue that will soon summon the dead,

that will define grace,

that will silence our foolishness.

Rosebud lips-upon which ride a starborn kiss of forgiveness

to those who believe you, and of death to those who deny you - lay still.

And tiny feet cupped in the palm of my hand, rest.

For many difficult steps lie ahead for you.

Do you taste the dust of the trails you will travel?

Do you feel the cold sea water upon which you will walk?

Do you wrench at the invasion of the nail you will bear?

Do you fear the steep descent down the spiral staircase into Satan's domain?

Rest, tiny feet.

Rest today so that tomorrow you might walk with power.

Rest. For millions will follow in your steps.

And little heart ... holy heart ...

pumping the blood of life through the universe:

How many times will we break you?

You'll be torn by the thorns of our accusations.

You'll be ravaged by the cancer of our sin.

You'll be crushed under the weight of your own sorrow.

And you'll be pierced by the spear of our rejection.

Yet in that piercing,

in that ultimate ripping of muscle and membrane,

in that final rush of blood and water,

you will find rest.

Your hands will be freed,

your eyes will see justice,

your lips will smile,

and your feet will carry you home.

And there you'll rest again--

this time in the embrace of your Father.

After reading this, it is impossible to look through the same set of eyes at Christmas. No longer is it a holiday just about a cute little baby that was born to a virgin in a cute little stable in Bethlehem one night. No, it is a holiday that celebrates the Prince of Peace was born in a dirty, gross stable to a very frightened woman who was born so that He may die for you and for me. The birth of Christ and his death are so closely linked, far more than I ever thought they were. Tonight my heart had an "ah ha!" sort of moment as this poem was read and the eyes and the ears of my heart were opened. I think I finally get it! This is not to say that this shouldn't be a season of joy. The birth of Christ is definitely cause to celebrate, but be mindful that the birth of Christ was not a cushy sort of event. Rather it is a time for us to reflect on the reason why Jesus was born and who he came to save.

May this Christmas be a time of celebration, great joy and thanksgiving as we reflect on what really happened that night in Bethlehem and the big picture behind the birth of Christ!

Merry Christmas!

Skating

Well, school has officially come to a close for the 2007 year and I couldn't be happier. I have been anticipating this tiny bit of a mental break for quite some time now. I will be spending most of my holidays studying, but for the next few days I plan on taking it easy, breathing deeply and just being and spending time with Jesus. I am going to treasure these next few days as much as possible.

Due to some home renovations, Sabrina needed to venture out of her house, so we met at St. Vital to keep each other company and to just hang out. It was quite wonderful! Everytime I see Gavin, he seems to be getting cuter and cuter and his personality is slowly coming out. I can't wait to see the boy he becomes and encounter his personality. I have a feeling it is going to be great!

Auntie Kara getting her cuddles in and keeping warm over Starbucks. He is a joy!

Today was also Cole's last day of school before the Christmas break, so to celebrate the both of us being done for the year, we packed up our skates and headed down to the Forks to do some skating for the first time this winter. We couldn't have picked a better evening to go because the weather was perfect - not too cold and the ice was like glass, no bumps.

Cole is still in the learning stages of skating and has a hard time staying up for a long period of time, but it's fun to watch him get the hang of it. He is the kind of child that tends to be quite hard on himself if he does not succeed on the first try, so the first little bit of skating turned out to be quite discouraging for him. I'm hoping that with lots of practice and opportunity to skate this winter, he will gain confidence in himself and go along with the learning process. Despite some frustrating moments, I think he still had fun.

The skating trails at the Forks are quite fun. It's almost as if you are on a skating adventure - Cole and I let our imaginations take charge and we headed out on quite the expedition. It made the falling and the loss of balance much easier to handle.

Following skating, we headed into the Forks Market to grab a bite to eat.