Lowe's and Birthday

This is Weston with his basketball hoop he built at Lowe's on Saturday in Bend. Lowe's and Home Depot both have children's workshops they host once or twice a month where you can go in and build a project together (It's even free!) So far Weston's built an art caddy, a turkey recipe holder and a basketball hoop. Both Mike and my dad took Weston on Saturday. I think it was a very manly thing to do together :)

My mom's birthday is December 18th so we had a little party to celebrate early. Weston and Grace took turns decorating her crown and I made her a cake. We managed to stuff the cake in, even after all that pie ;)

Thanksgiving Feast

Here's a photo of us sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a wonderful meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, rolls, carrots, several kinds of salads, a puff pastry yam dish, and cream cheese grapes. For dessert we had grasshopper pie, pumpkin pie and pecan pie. We had so many leftovers that we all ate very heartily the rest of the weekend and still had some left!

Mt. Hood Snow

On the way home from Bend we stopped to play in the snow for awhile. It was about 26 degrees out so Mommy and Elsie stayed in the car most of the time. The kids had a great time, but whined quite a bit once they got in the van and realized how cold they were. I bundled Elsie up and strapped her into the driver's seat while I took a few photos. She couldn't move in her big coat so I didn't have to worry about her wiggling out.

All Cracked Up!

My mom thinks Elsie's bum is so funny. She does have a pretty high crack for a baby :)

Elsie and Her Pear

Here's a photo of Elsie tonight. This is the first bow I've put in her hair and it's barely staying in. I'll post a couple more of her romping on the sofa.

This is where she ended up after her couch romp. As you can tell she was pretty tempted by the remote control which is a "no, no" at our house. She fell off the couch before she could actually grab it, but don't worry, I caught her ;)

3 Million Cheeses

Here's a post that shows how hard it is to get 3 kids all looking at the camera (with normal expressions) at the same time. You say "cheese" about 3 million times in about 3 minutes. This photo was taken on Thanksgiving at my parents' house in Bend.

Mike Huckabee Ad

Intentional Christmas

I've recently realized that Weston and Grace are old enough now that we need to start creating some traditions that point to Christ during Christmas.

The other day Weston found a toy catalog that came in the mail. He quickly spotted a knight costume complete with a sword and let me know that's what he wants for Christmas. Although we will probably give him the costume, I really want to start instilling in them the desire to give to others and focus on Christ's birth rather than get caught up in all the excitement over presents.

I recently heard about organizations sending out catalogs where you can purchase animals and various other items to have sent to those in need around the world. I searched online until I found an organization I've heard is reputable. Gospel for Asia is an organization that plants churches in impoverished areas and works to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the people in those areas. I went online and requested a couple of catalogs as well as an explanatory DVD about the organization. It's my understanding that Gospel for Asia (GFA) specifically works with the Dalits who are the "untouchables" in India's caste system.

Weston and Grace both had some money in savings so they watched the DVD and we talked with them about what they wanted to purchase from the catalog. Grace was insistent she wanted to buy a water buffalo (only $430!!!). We finally talked her into going for a pair of rabbits and some Bibles instead. ;)

Weston had more in his savings so he decided to purchase, with his own money, a pair of pigs, a pair of rabbits and some Bibles to give. He was very excited to give to help others, although he had a hard time with the idea that he had some money at the bank that we couldn't go take out right this minute. He thought all the money was in his piggy bank and went right upstairs to get it out. He also thought we would get his money and go buy the animals ourselves to send :) He was a little disappointed that he wouldn't get to see the animals before we gave them. I'm not sure that he completely understands all the candy and toys that his money would buy if he were to keep it, but we won't fill him in on that quite yet ;)

In the end we were able to buy two sets of pigs, two sets of rabbits, a pair of chickens, some Bibles and gospel tracts (for missionaries) and a blanket to donate. What a blessing to us to get to participate in this! As the kids get older I think we will try to do something a little more hands on to raise money. Maybe we'll have them pick out what they want to order and then help them find ways to raise the money themselves (this is what my friend, Kristi, has her kids do). They can put a little effort into thinking about what they want to give instead of get!

Housewife Delight!

Here's a crockpot recipe I recently found. I call this post "Housewife Delight" as this is the kind of recipe I love. Easy, not tooooo bad for us, makes good leftovers, and tastes great!

Creamy and Beany Crockpot Chicken (I made up my own name for it):

4-5 frozen chicken breasts
1 15 oz. can corn, drained
1 15.5 oz. can black beans, drained
1 15 oz. jar salsa (I used the regular kind from a jar)
8 oz. package cream cheese (I used regular, but I'm sure it would still taste good if you want to use light)

Put frozen chicken breasts into crock pot.
Add black beans, salsa, and corn (remember to drain the corn and beans).
Cook in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.

I spooned out some of the excess liquid before adding the cream cheese and decided to shred the chicken to put into warmed tortillas. I added some green tabasco to mine, and it was delicious! Husband loved it too! Kids were not so sure, but unless it's candy or cookies, they usually aren't ;)

*Another suggestion would be to add some olives or some cooked rice.
**If anyone has any good crockpot recipes that meet my above criteria (easy, not too bad for us, etc) I would love to receive a copy.

Who Needs Grass?

I just took this photo of the kids playing in our backyard. Due to an early winter and some "kinks" in our landscape scheduling, we will not have any grass at our duplex until spring. But, we are discovering that we don't need grass to have fun!

I think that after 5 or 6 months without grass we will really be thankful and appreciative when we do actually have a lawn.