Christmas Time is Here!

Christmas can really be very magical for kids. We change the look of our house having a Christmas tree complete with living room Christmas decor, watch Christmas movies, do a Christmas prayer circle every night. 

On Saturday we went to see Santa Claus and encountered a huge line but had fun while waiting at Playland, Glow world and for some reason those little quarter machines are a treasure to kids. The mall was full of activity and it just felt like Christmas. 

I then got $5 of coins for Chucky Cheese and told the kids to go together and take turns playing the games. They just love it all. We then went through the Candy Cane tunnel at Chick-Fil-A which was very exciting.

On Christmas morning, Brody started us out this morning by leading in Christmas carols. Kara recited Luke 2. After she was done, baby Jesus was placed in the nativity by our three year old Jordan and we all started clapping. We then moved on to presents... 

What a great morning!! We had a very Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of Jesus!!

Christmas Play

Kara had her Christmas play tonight and it was just like re-living my childhood. A huge Christmas play production and it was awesome! 

Kara told us that she was singing super loud. At the end of the song for her class, she had a nice big yawn and we got it on camera. She was tired after all that work.

The Thanksgiving Trip to Minnesota

Here is our family photo for 2013.  It brought back a memory about Jordan when he was three.

Jordan was in the back seat and all of the sudden he read a sign on the road. Chasity had showed him how to put the sounds together in a word. My wife and I were both shocked that he read it all on his own. I asked Jordan, "How did you know what that sign said?" He said, "I read it."

Are you Scared?

I asked Jordan who is three if he was scared of Halloween. 

He said, “Dad, I am not scared.” 

A little surprised at his answer I asked him, “Why are you not scared?” 

Jordan then boldly proclaimed, “Because God made me!”

Jordan was placing His faith in God to protect him and keep him safe.

When we went to the scary houses though, he was still a little scared.

Halloween Season

We had a wonderful Halloween season this year.  Our church began it with a fall festival where the kids got to go on hayrides, do cake walks, fish and search for hidden treasure in the rocks.  The kids started their candy collection that afternoon.  At the cake walk Jordan did it again, he got on and was the very first winner.  He decided to play again and won the second time also.  Kara had been trying for 15 minutes by that time to win.  She couldn't believe that Jordan kept winning.

On Halloween night, trick and treating was delayed by most neighborhood due to the weather.  The churches near our house though could not cancel because of rentals.  We went to two churches near our house and the kids got hot dogs, more candy, went through mazes, spent time in jump houses and threw a lot of balls into different things.

We stopped by Publix at the end of the night and they had a huge bowl of candy that they had not been able to get rid of.  They told us to take as much as we wanted!  The kids took half of that bowl and their pumpkins were full!

The day after Halloween we actually hit the streets and went trick and treating at Indian Hills.  Chasity found it for us and we had a blast.  A couple of the houses had some scary displays that allowed us to have some
fun as a family.  The kids ran from house to house getting candy from some really nice homes!  One of the houses we stopped at had hot apple cider which Chasity and I really enjoyed.

The scary moment was when Jordan and Brody walked up to a house that had a dog.  The dogs eyes lit up as you walked by.  The dog started rising up and with Chasity standing right there jumped at her.  Chasity was scared to death and screamed!!  Jordan didn't like it at all and Brody was hit by the dog jumping at him.  Brody thought it was awesome but Jordan was ready to leave.  Kara of course would not go near a house that had scary stuff opting to stay with me and hold my hand while Brody and Jordan went to do the dangerous work of getting some candy.

Kara Shares the Message!

Today my daughter came home from school and sat down at her desk and wrote down a message to share with others.

A little later she came to my wife and asked, "Are there any people on our street who don't know Jesus?"

To which my wife replied, "I'm sure there are"

Kara then said, "I'm going to go to their house and tell them about Him."

May wife had to admit that she felt a little out of her comfort zone but she said,  “Far be it from me to stop a child from doing the work of the Lord.”  So my wife put her shoes on and followed Kara to two houses where she boldly rang the doorbell

When a lady came to the door Kara greeted her with these words, "Do you know Jesus?  Well, I'm here to tell you about Him"

And the same thing happened at the next house! Kara shared Genesis 1:1 and a few other truths about God.

My wife reflected, “I have to say…I am so entirely PROUD of this girl! It is such a blessing to see her grow in her walk with the Lord.  How amazing that He can speak to the heart of an 8 year old little girl and supply her with all she needs to proclaim His truth to strangers.  This ought to say something to us!   If God can use even a child, just imagine what He can do in you and me if we are willing to follow Him!!!

Grandpa's Halloween Surprise

We were at the house when a huge package came to our home.  Grandpa had noted that he had sent something for the kids but I wasn't expecting something that big.

The kids were anxious to open it and ripped it open in no time at all to see the gifts.  The first thing they noticed was the huge Rice Krispie Treat activity box, a few iron-on, streamers, a box of chocolate and a card!  The kids were just amazed to get such a large box full of stuff for Halloween.  

The box of chocolate went pretty fast after they spent some time thinking how they were going to eat it.

The following Monday, the kids did the Rice Krispie Treats and had a blast doing them with their Mom.  After they were done, they had these huge Rice Krispie Treats that were decorated with a ton of color.  The kids proudly presented me with one since they are one of my childhood favorite and I enjoyed it.



The kids all enjoyed theirs too; however, they were so big that Jordan and Kara could only eat half.  They decided to save the other half for later.

When I offered to eat the remaining halves, I was met with a resounding "NO".  They were going to eat them later.  

Grandpa is always doing little special things for the kids and we appreciate it a lot.  Grandpa likes to add his presence to our family by blessing them with little things from time to time which generally prompts a phone call of thankfulness!  

New Pajamas

Dad, "O.k. Jordan, time to get your pajamas on."

Jordan said, "I am going to get my new pajamas that mommy got me at the yard sale."

Playing House

Dad: Brody, what were you doing in your room?

Brody: We were playing house.

Dad: Who was the mother?

Kara: I was the Mom

Dad: Who were you married to?

Kara looks at Brody and then says: I was a widow

Big Wheeling

My wife found a red big wheel at a garage sale and brought it home for Jordan.  The big wheel was way too big for him at the time; however, we kept it in the shed waiting for the day when he would be able to take it for a spin.

Jordan was riding his tricycle the other day and I noticed that his knees were coming close to hitting the handle bars.  He loved his little red tricycle and pushes those little peddles like crazy as he speeds down the street.

Since he was coming close to hitting the handlebars on the tricycle, I got the big wheel out to see if he could make it work.  To my surprise, he took off on that big wheel and was going faster than ever.

In the fall I spend a lot of time outdoors.  I love fall because the temperature is right and the air just feels so wonderful.  One of the things I always do is run to the local park with the kids to get some exercise and spend some time with the kids.

I told Jordan, "Are you ready to get on your big wheel and go to the park with me?"

I didn't have to wait long for an answer because this was an opportunity for fun.  We changed clothes after church and went outside.  Jordan jumped on his big wheel and Kara on her bike.

Jordan got on his red big wheel and started pushing those pedals.  I was running right behind him and soon discovered that it was not safe. He would suddenly stop from time to time and just about send me flying as I tried to avoid falling on top of him.

When we got the park, we went to the Tennis Court and he drove that thing in circles over and over again.  I noticed that Jordan liked running into the fence, post and anything else he could run into.

I didn't expect this; however, he decided he was going to run into his sisters bike.  When she saw him coming she screamed, "Stop Jordan, Stop!!"

It was too late.  Jordan ran right into her bike nailing her foot.  She just stood there with a frown on her face.  I will never forget that frown of disappointment.  The big wheel didn't really hurt her; however, the fact that Jordan nailed her was disconcerting to her.

Jordan was not done with his fun and starting chasing Kara around the Tennis Court on her bike.  Kara loves to squeal at the slightest sign of danger which just motivated Jordan to try harder.

I finally told Jordan not to hit his sister with his big wheel because she might get hurt.  Jordan already knew that and didn't want to hurt his sister; however, he seemed to really enjoy making her squeal.

The New Recipe

My family knows that I am famous for creative cooking.  My cooking skills come into play when Chasity is off on a retreat or when she is sick.  I generally throw a bunch of stuff together that I like and then give it to my family to see if they like it.  The experience can sometimes be positive.  I haven't had a lot of success with it; however, in theory it should work.  For example, if you like chicken and chili, then chili chicken should be good.

As Jordan, Kara, Brody and I were travelling to the pool to play and swim, I informed the kids that I came up with a new recipe that they might enjoy.  

My wife had gone on a women's retreat; however, before she went she had left a pulled pork meal that I was certain would be to die for.  The kids on the other hand don't always appreciate good food yet so I thought I would be creative.

I informed the kids that I was planning to have spaghetti pork for supper.  Jordan upon hearing that name to my surprise said, "P..u..k...e.."

I have no idea where he heard that word; however, that was a really bad start to my surprise.  I figured that the kids liked spaghetti so I was certain that putting spaghetti sauce on the pork would be a kids dream come true.

Not to be unprepared, I said, "You have a choice between salted pork, spaghetti pork or pork with BBQ sauce."

The conversation sort of died off about the supper and we finished our trip to the pool.  We swam for about an hour and a half and then got our stuff and headed home.

When we got home, the kids sat around the table and I warmed up the pork and the spaghetti sauce.  The plates were prepared and given to the kids.

One look at the food and Jordan said, "Dad, this is yuck!"

Kara and Brody had both jumped on my spaghetti pork.  I said to Jordan, "It looks like Kara and Brody love my spaghetti pork, why don't you try it."

Jordan picked up his fork and after one taste was in culinary heaven.  He loved my spaghetti pork supper.  In fact, I think it may now be one of their favorite meals.  

Should We Hire the A-Team?

My wife called me while I was on the road to inform me that Jordan was running a temperature of 103.  We discussed what we were going to do and set a plan in motion.

When I got home, Jordan was laying on the couch looking sick.  When Chasity came into the room, Jordan said he wanted her to hold him.  Chasity was busy at the moment and recommended that Jordan sit with me.  Chasity had been holding him for most of the day already while I was gone.

Jordan looked at me and headed on over.  We sat down and I held my hot little boy while we watched the the Justice League.  Superman who is his favorite character was on and we watched it together.  Jordan is always talking about Superman calling him the good guy.  After Justice League was over, we decided to watch the A-Team

I said to Jordan, "I think we should hire the A-Team to do something for us."

Jordan said, "Yah, we should hire the A-Team."

I said, "Who do we need to get rid off?"

Jordan replied, "We need to hire the A-Team to help Superman fight the evil guys."