Today the boys lined up chairs and other varieties of furniture and threw blankets over them in order to make tents.  I could not believe how long they played in them.  They even had their reading/rest time in the tent.   So, I took advantage of the opportunity to snap some shots of them in the tent.

Here’s the tent that took up half the living room.

I caught Elias and Asa’s feet sticking out…I’m sure they aren’t kicking each other.

Asa grabbed a new book he got for Christmas for quiet time.

I’m pretty sure he’s totally faking, but Justus is so cute here “sleeping” in the tent!

Elias:  also faking, also cute.

It’s an idea I’ve used with my kids for several years.  It’s something I’ve been working on for a few weeks.  I finally got some software to help me.  And now, in January, they’ll be ready for you!

They are Kid’s Character Charts, tools to help you as you train your child’s character to be like Jesus.  They’re bright, fun and encouraging for you and your kids!

Here’s a sneak peak at one titled, “Walk in the Light”. 

To use this tool, you’ll cut out the “shoes” and put them close to the hanging chart.  Each time you notice your kids “walking in the light”, you’ll let them put some shoes on their “path”.  The charts even come with a lesson for you to use with your kids to help them understand the scriptures.

Be sure to check this out, plus three others in the HeavenlyHomeMakers Shop tomorrow!  (Or maybe even tonight, if I get my act together!)

As we come to the end of 2007, I pray that you can look at the year and see the ways God has worked in the lives of you and your family. 

No matter what you experienced in 2007, God took care of you.  He provided for you.  He held you.  He shaped you.  He stretched you.  He loved you.

Psalm 63

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thrusts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 

I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods: with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.

They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God’s name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

And so, as we prepare to enter into 2008, know that whatever you experience, God will take care of you.  He will provide for you.  He will hold you.  He will shape you.  He will stretch you.  He loves you.

Well, we traveled well over one thousand miles in the last six days and now we’re home. 

We went to Kansas to be with my family for Christmas this year, but on the way, we made a quick stop in Iowa (what?)  I know, Iowa isn’t on the way to Kansas, but we had a VERY good reason for going.  Matt’s brother and his wife recently adopted a baby boy.  They live in Los Angeles, but they were in IL for Christmas, so we HAD to go see him (um, I mean them). 

His name is Seth and he’s almost three months old now and he is such a sweet baby!  Our boys loved making him smile and taking turns holding him.  I had a hard time sharing him and could hardly hand him over when it was time for us to leave again.   

And THAT is why there are no pictures of him to put on this blog.  I was so excited to get my hands on him that I left my camera in the van and then, once I did have my hands on him, I couldn’t give him up, and I didn’t ever send Matt out to get the camera.  So silly!  But, my sister-in-law took plenty of pictures on her camera, so she’ll send them when she gets home.  In the meantime, if you’d like to see our adorable, sweet, precious nephew, you can check out their blog which is full of pictures.

http://knr-adopt.blogspot.com/

We left Iowa and traveled on to Kansas where we spent the next few days with my dad and his new wife, her kids and my brother and his family.  It was our first Christmas with our “new family” and it was very nice.   I enjoyed getting to know them all better and I am so thankful that my dad now has someone so wonderful to spend the rest of his life with. 

While we were there I was able to go through some of my mom’s things to see what I would like to bring home with me.  I brought back her everyday dishes that I have always loved, some of her cast iron cookware and a variety of other kitchen things.  I’m so happy to have these precious memories of her in my kitchen.

We had a loud and crazy time opening gifts on Christmas morning with seven kids ages 10 and under!  Here’s a few shots of our kids.  (I really did not do a good job of preserving our memories this year…I’ll treasure them all in my heart)

Hope you and your families all had a blessed time together!

This morning the kids and I made a list of friends and neighbors we wanted to make treats for and a list of treats we wanted to make.  Of course they wanted to make about 42 different kinds of goodies and take them to 86 different families, so I had to moderate the lists a little.  I don’t have THAT much butter on hand!

We first decided to make some simple sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles.  (notice I used the word simple…what about cooking with four boys is simple?)

So, we’re mixing and measuring and spilling and “taking turns” and Justus, who loves to cook and helps me any chance he gets, says to his brothers, “I’m the professional here.  I’ll show you what to do.”  (it was said in love of course)  Asa, who’s older, didn’t take it in love and thought it was really a mean thing to say.  Malachi (who’s still TWO…for two more days)  in the meantime was crawling on the countertops through the spilled flour and sugar getting it all over his clothes and licking the sugar off his hands.  Elias sat patiently for a while until he realized that he hadn’t had a turn stirring or pouring for a while.  (”What am I, chopped liver?” is his favorite thing to say when he feels an injustice has been done to him.)  Then we started smashing the cookies down with a glass and sprinkling red and green sugar on and Justus got to go first and that wasn’t fair because he wasn’t being nice about calling himself a professional so he shouldn’t get to go first.  And then when it was Malachi’s turn, he took a whole fist full of red sprinkles instead of just a sprinkling, but wanted to keep it in his fist and not let me help him so he kept his fist full of red sugar for a while before I could pry it open and help him sprinkle his cookies.  (deep breath)

SO, we did finally get the simple cookies in the oven and they turned out fine and they are yummy (we all got to do quality control).

I’m sure that when we load up the van and the boys knock on the door of Mr. Bob and Ms. Barb and we see how delighted they are to see my boys with their treats, the kitchen scene won’t really matter.  Nothing is really very simple with kids, but what do we expect?  I’d rather have a crazy Christmas cooking experience with my kids so that they learn to serve and give, than to send them away and do it simply on my own.  Although I do have to say that after one pan was put into the oven, they got to go play and I finished up the rest on my own.  I figured that they had experienced enough service and giving for one recipe.  And besides, I hadn’t had a turn yet.  (what am I, chopped liver?)

Four chefs (including one professional and one chopped liver) take 1

Take 6

Take 23

Okay, we’re off to make Cranberry Orange Bread…prayers please!

I’ve been in denial for several months now that Malachi’s birthday was coming up.  My baby CAN’T be three.  And yet, on Dec. 20th he certainly will be three.  (but since I’m in denial, I can still say that he’s only two, for three more days - so there.)

We’ll be travelling on his birthday and so we hosted our church small group last night and turned it into a sort of birthday party.  At least we sang and had cake (which is enough when your three - BUT HE’S NOT THREE YET - don’t forget).

Here’s a few pictures of the “party”!

Malachi should be happy that I actually put three candles on the cake
since every part of me wanted to put only two.

Here he is spitting on the cake…I mean blowing out the candles.

Got ‘em all.  (Everyone is applauding.)

Here’s some of the kids eating cake.

Here’s more of the kids eating cake.

There was quite a bit of cake on the floor by the time it was all said and done, but I didn’t take pictures of that for you.  It was loud, it was fun, it was Malachi’s third birthday party….but he’s still TWO!  (so there)

Today, we went to our annual homeschool Christmas Craft party.  It is always a little messy, a little busy, and a lot of fun!  Each family sets up a table with a craft project and the kids just go from table to table creating great Christmas projects.  Here’s some pics of my kids having a blast with their friends.

Here’s Asa making oragomi ornaments.

Justus tying a ribbon on his cute yarn candycane.

Malachi taking a pause from getting into all the supplies to pose for a picture.

And, craft, schmaft!  Elias just wanted to play Legos with the other five year old BUSY boys!  We didn’t come home with any handcrafted treasures from Elias this year. 
I think Elias and his buddies played Legos for two solid hours….
(until it was time for refreshments, of course!).

We have some college students staying with us this weekend, so we needed to prepare!   So,  last night, we cleared out what we call our “game room” and put matresses down on the floor.  The boys decided that they needed to check it all out to see if it would work for our company, so, they pulled down their pillows and blankets and crashed on the matresses for a “sleep-over”.  When I headed up for bed, I couldn’t resist snapping some pictures, because they looked so sweet, four boys all lined up in a row, asleep!  (Ah, listen to the quiet!)

Keep in mind that it was completely dark when I took the pictures, and I couldn’t see what I was taking until the camera flashed (after I snapped the picture!)  Hey, I did my best!  I couldn’t quite get all of them in one shot either, since they were all spread out and I was not able to hang from the ceiling or dangle myself out of the window to get them all in.  Sorry. 

It’s a little louder at my house right now than it was when I took those pictures,
because we borrowed two extra boys for the afternoon. 
Six boys all playing some kind of tag through the house. 
You can be amazed that I actually typed complete sentences (at least I think I did!?)

Thought I’d share these great pictures with you that my friend Charlene sent to me.  Her kids were sitting like angels (I’m sure the WHOLE time) at the table using their Kid’s Card Kit.

Thanks for the pictures Charlene!

Your boys are so sweet!

Kid Card Kits are SOOO much fun, and right now, they are 30 % off! 
Only $6.96 until Dec. 15

Yesterday, some teen friends of mine and their moms (also friends of mine!) came over to learn how to make mozzarella cheese!  I’ve been making cheese for about a year and a half, trying to perfect the process (wonder if I ever will?).  So, they were interested to see how it worked.  Thankfully, it worked pretty well yesterday.  It tasted good too!