Christmas Catch-up-Part 1

I'm taking the day off to strictly play "catch up" around here!  Here are some of the highlights from our recent holiday season!

We got to see PLENTY of this little guy in December, so I must include him!

Allen First Ward Christmas Party

Jacob's performance in the brass ensemble was glorious. 

Yes, I'm biased. 

Their performance of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"

was the best of the show.

 

 Jacob with some of his new best buds at church...

 

 The girls---hanging out with some more new friends

 

 EMS Winter Concert

 (my trumpeteer is the 2nd from the Texas flag there on the left!)

 

 Katie was invited to go with friends to the Allen HS Championship game

 at Cowboy Stadium.

 

 Wonderful Christmas Carol Surprise!

 

 Receiving Christmas greetings from so many of our loved ones was the best thing ever!

Kids at Play

 

***Those of you that read this blog regularly, will know that I am NOT a photographer, so I know you will be able to see past the poor quality here and see the REAL reason I took these pictures.***

 

  I love to see kids use their own imaginations without a smidgin' of prompting or motivation from me---even if they are supposed to be doing something else instead of playing! 

They are so creative...

 

Healthsource- Maddie, Manager 

Motivational Poster:

 "What I think about, I bring about."

As you might see, "Claire's" Sales Rates are definitely on the rise!

 "Check-In"

 Executives at work

 

Now, here is an officer that is ready for action...

Locked AND Loaded!

 

~I remember doing THIS as a child~

 

 We have a couple of empty rooms...SO.....what do a couple of girls come up with on a Saturday morning after the house is freshly cleaned and tidied?!  Turn it into something fun!
Presenting~M & K's Bakery

 And here is last Saturday's find....Why use the TOY ROOM with a big DOLL HOUSE when you've got SUCH a great space in mom's bathroom?!

Christmas Prepping

 WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE!

The most wonderful time of year!

We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ!

SHrtly after we were married, Joe implemented one of our favorite family traditions:

Christmas Decorating on Black Friday.

We spend the day with our Christmas music turned up, and we clean and decorate the house for the special holiday. 

Then, in the evening, we prepare a meal of crackers, cheeses, Hickory Farms sausages, fruit/veggie trays, and various sweet treats and Wassail. And then while we eat, we decorate the family tree.

This year, RED Christmas decorations were finally phased out of my holiday decor (they were put to good use at the office!)  And I'm proud to say that after some dilligent bargain shopping, I put a only a few dollars towards some new Christmas flair! 

 

I have become enamored with the color APPLE GREEN! 

 So fresh and cheerful. 

 

RIBBON and a few baubles were ALL at our favorite discount stores!  It was fun to have a little challenge in the hunt, and I already look forward to adding to the collection next year.

 



Do you remember all the years we had this 3 ft beauty in our little living room? It has been heavy-laden for YEARS with our family ornaments.

I want to keep it now forever. What happy memories from that tiny living space...

But this year...it got a make over!  

Couldn't resist these knick-knacks to go along with my

"apple green/pinecone/sparkle/reindeer" theme,

 now could I?!?!

And here is the Forred Family Ornament Tree. 

 

 (Last year, daddy FINALLY agreed to a larger tree ONLY if it was a narrow one to fit in our tight quarters. NOW it looks underfed, lost and lonely in this larger space!)

 

This tree is LOVED by the kids.  I can't tell you how often the ornaments are re-arranged by their busy hands as they recall the meaning and ownership of each piece!

In years past each child received an ornament marking their year, but recently, we've simply chosen just one to represent the family as a whole.

In lieu of our big move AND the fact that this was a big year for Allen Stadium,

here is this year's pick:

2012 Forred Family Tree Ornament

Allen Eagles, Allen, TX

 

Although we miss our previous home and life, and we long for it often, we know this is where we were sent for this time in our family history.  We love our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and we sure are grateful for the foundation His teachings bring to our family. 

As this is the first Christmas the children remember being in a different home,

I am grateful for the comfort

family traditions

bring as we celebrate and honor Him during this season in a new place.

 

!!!Happy Christmas Prepping!!!!

Giving Thanks

  "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."

Psalms 136:1

 

 

Dad passes on the turkey-carving tradition

When you get to spend the day with friends who are like your family, it's a THANKFUL day indeed!

Later in the day, we all wnet outside to "work off" the feast

 when this breathtaking rainbow appeared.  I'm glad we did not stay inside or we would have missed it!

So, a little reminder to me: 

WHEN we are looking, it's not hard to find beautiful blessings from a loving God all around us. 

 I am especially grateful to know that He is ever-present, and watchful and mindful of us, even when we are not submissive, obedient or mindful of Him.

Every good and perfect gift certainly comes from above. 

 

Trick or Treat

Halloween 2012 at our house this year was fun and memorable. 

It started with our annual Family Night Pumpkin-Carving.

Joe and Maddie did their favorite "pumpkin elf" together.

Miss Katie-lady tackled hers alone and created her own 3-sided self-designed wonder: "trick-or-treat/KU/traditional jack-o-lantern".

And Jake and Levi got busy wielding sharp objects on their jack-o-lanterns together. 

Over the weekend, we enjoyed a fun-filled night out with our church, and they threw quite the Halloween shin-dig. There was an indoor carnival, with various games (ring toss, face painting, doughnut-on-a-string, balloon animals, etc). This accompanied a chili contest/feast, complete with hot dogs, homemade breads, cupcakes/cookies and HOMEADE ROOTBEER! 

 

(Some scary Yong Women with one of their scary leaders)

Then, the traditional trunk-or-treat ritual continued outside.

 

We got a little shocker a few days before Halloween---when we found out that our new schools do not have parades nor parties for Halloween.  After 9 years of school Halloween festivities, there was an adjustment period with this news!  We all spent a few days of sulking and wondering how Halloween was ever going to be fun again.  But, funny thing---life does go on.  And soon enough it played into the most wonderful surprise.  The most precious highlight of our Halloween this year was a package we received on Halloween from my drop-dead, amazing sister, Delight.  It was packed with so much love, that we couldn't help but get teary when we opened it!  Aunt Dee had all the KS girl cousins together over the weekend, and they all had made tu-tu costumes AND included Katie and Maddie. And they made them the exact characters they had wanted in the first place. Awww.  They also packed some fun stuff for Levi and some of Uncle Matt's BDU's for Jake's costume.  Very special for us. 



Trick-Or-Treating in our neighborhood made up for the lack of fun at school that day.  So many people put a lot of time and creativity into making the trick-or-treating fun and memorable for all.  (Jake broke away and went to a different neighborhood with some friends.  Even though he had fun, after hearing of our adventures, he regrets leaving our 'hood).  Katie ran around with the large pack of  kids that are in her grade,  and Maddie hung out with 3 of her favorite classmates.  Levi took off with Katie's group first (they have adopted him), while I stuck with Maddie.  About 45 minutes into it I got a call that Levi was exhausted---made me laugh outright.  Evidently, he lost steam after one too many frights from Halloween displays.  So, I caught up with them and carried my tuckered little man most of the way back home.  On our trek back home, we discovered a few awesome houses that gave me some great ideas for future reference!  But Levi's personal fav was the house that had the Monsters, Inc movie on a big screen in their front yard---complete with blankets, chairs and coolers of pop for relaxation. (Ahhh.  I needed the rest, too!)  I missed a lot of the fun stuff the girls got to see, but they told me about it.  Their favorite was their librarian's house.  It was "tricked-out" (Maddie's term) with a circus theme complete with fake tatoos and a "fire-ant circus" (instead of "flea circus"-lol)
Of course, when it was all over, we had quite a haul.  What do we do with all that candy?!?!  Well, for starters, we ALWAYS spend a few days eating candy to our hearts content!  Yes.  Yes we do.  We indulge in our personal favorites---namely the chocolate! (Mine happen to be Snickers, peanut M&M's and Twizzlers!)  Then we move on to the second favs THEN, it becomes time to simply start making it all "disappear"....you know, randomly throwing handfuls away when no one is looking?!  It usually only takes a week or so to get "back-to-normal".  Sugar rushes?  Cavities?  Bad behavior?  Maybe.  But, not so much.  It's so fun...it's worth it.

**happy little sigh**

Now, believe it or not, our neighborhood is starting to decorate for CHRISTMAS, and I say, BRING IT ON!  I could always use a little more "holly' and a lot more "jolly"!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

HAPPY FALL, YA'LL!!!
 

***For my budget-conscience friends, I have two words: DOLLAR TREE!***
 

I only buy the stuff I can re-use and that will pack away nicely;
 I've used my $1 finds 3 years in a row now. 

 

New to Texas? New to us!

 

We've had a little fun spending our last few weeks noticing the differences between
 Texas and our home state.

When I went to get some information on vehicle registration, I got a laugh.

"To learn how, read our Apply to be Texan booklet. In no time at all, we will be proud to call you a Registered Texan!"

The booklet is SO Texan and kinda cheesy, but, hey! This IS Texas.

 

 

The Texas flag flies the same height as the American flag, and my school aged kids have had to learn to recite the Texas Pledge of Allegiance every morning after the National Pledge. 

One can find the Texan flag everywhere...At Dairy Queen one day, I noticed my hamburger wrapped in paper that was a Texas flag! 
Pickup trucks proudly display the fact that they are "Texas Truck"(s) and most are built with some special package that gives them EXTRA 

manufactured Texas bling-age.
Proud.

 

And lest we forget at some point that we are not in Kansas anymore, the Lone Star itself is proudly displayed on bridges, buildings and houses!

 

 

Now, here is something I like...in the dead middle of the ferocious summer heat, Crepe Myrtle trees are in full, beautiful bloom.  And when I say they are everywhere, I do not exaggerate.  These trees line the streets, highways, tollways in multiples and are in every shopping center and yard. 

 Beautiful.

 

 

And then, you've heard about football in this big state...

and it's all true. 

 This is our high school stadium, and the current largest HS marching band in the US (about 850.

One fun annual tradition in our town is when the marching band spends a weekend going through every neighborhood right before school starts. 

Impressive.

 

 

Two things about this picture:

1)  Dallas traffic.  Ick. 

Construction is everywhere. 

Rumble bumps are used instead of painted lines.

Motorcycle cops are sneaky.

(Kansas City should win an award for BEST road system!)

2)  The puffy white clouds.  Every day brings on a new display, and I love it. 

 



Then there are these little critters...they get in my HOUSE!

Although quite endearing and enamoring to my family, I am not so impressed!

 

 

We also have gotten the opportunity to experience FIRE ANTS. 
More on that later.

Maybe.

 We have SO enjoyed being in a house.  It's been such a long time. 

We've enjoyed making carpet angels and having a couple of empty rooms!

It's interesting that all the houses are brick around here.  And even though they look huge from the outside, they typically aren't that big.  There's no basement to double the square footage like we are used to.

 And the newer neighborhoods are truly small communities within themselves complete with an elementary school, parks, and pools. 

Ours also happens to boast our church! 

***Happy Sigh***

 

 

Remember how I have spent the past few years bemoaning the fact that the hardest job on the chore chart was taking garbage to the dumpster?!

Now, the kids vie to mow grass, to use the weed eater and the blower.

Added incentive is they get to run across the street and jump in the pool when they are done!

We'll see how it goes....I give it ONE season...