Winter Wonderland

Snuggled in front of the fire is a great place to be after playing in 12 inches of snow today at my parents house! It was sheer joy for the kids. They loved every minute of their playtime . . . and they needed the outside time in big ways as we just arrived at my parents after 4 days of travel & hotel stays in Indiana. We had a blast, but that much car time does fill little bodies with LOTS of energy!! We so enjoyed visiting my Grandma Clare (dad's mom) and ALL my extended family on my mom's side. . . it was GREAT FUN!!! There were SO many pics, but here are a few highlights!My sister, Holly, Grandma Clare (my dad's mom) and me! It has been a LONG time since all of us were together to visit her. We enjoyed opening some presents, playing dominos & sharing meals with her!
After visiting Grandma Clare, we took over a hotel with all the "Buck" Family (mom's family). There were 34 of us eating, swimming, laughing, playing games, and more. I think the other few guests probably wished they had picked some place else to stay! Boy did we have fun!Here we are - the 7 grandkids/cousins . . . From left, Tod & Jay Austin, Benji Buck, Me, Holly, Mandy & Jamie (Benji's sisters)
Here are our 14 kids combined . . . Back row: Lydia Austin, Chloe Austin, Isabelle, Jillian Tunnicliff, Faith Olsen, Zak Olsen, Grant Austin. Front Row: Asher Tunnicliff, Olivia Kemp, Bricen Tunnicliff, Vivian Buck, Adrienne Austin, Jackson Buck, John Michael
My cousin Benji & his wife Laurie gave their kids 1 present for Christmas - Winston, the dog! Isabelle thought that was the greatest idea and now it's what she is asking for next year . . . I guess it makes shopping easy . . . we'll see???? After late night games & more laughter, we headed back to KC. As we got closer, the weather got worse. We arrived to very high snow drifts. Kevin & my dad had to use the snow blower to even get the cars in the driveway to unload our luggage. It was crazy!
The kids were ready for FUN!! Again, way to many pics to post but here are sledding highlights.

The kids figured out that they'd go faster if they stacked on top of each other on this small circular sled. It worked great until my sister cracked it with her knee! It was hilarious. The kids weren't happy about it though. Nana made a run to the store to get some replacement sleds. She saved the day!
Little Miss O had a blast in the snow. She belly laughed every time she went down the hill.

Uncle Brad helped Isabelle & John Michael make an igloo. They thought it was so cool! Thanks Uncle Brad!! He even considered getting the hose out & watering it to really make it sturdy.
After so much hard work, Brad decided to see how the street in front of my parents house would work as a slide. He got to the corner! It was funny!

Our Family Christmas

Our first present every year is a special gift! We wrap up Baby Jesus from the manger & put it in a box outside their doors. When they wake up & see a gift - they know it's Christmas. Opening Jesus reminds us all why we are celebrating!

Kevin's face looks a little confused in this 1st picture, because he wasn't sure what his present from me was. When our house was broken into Kevin's fish was stolen - this fish was the first BIG fish Kevin ever caught. He caught it one week before we were engaged & I had the fish stuffed for a wedding present. So - the fish had some extra special meaning for us! Without Kevin knowing, I arranged to have a replica made. In his Christmas gift letter - I put a copy of the picture from when I gave him the fish. He couldnt' figure out what he was getting - WHAT A SURPRISE!!! We can't wait to get it hung in our new house.

Isabelle & John Michael give each other gifts every year - they hand pick what they want to get for each other - it is really sweet! I think they enjoy watching each other open the present they bought more than opening their own gift. John Michael gave Isabelle Bendaroos (the bend & make fun things). Isabelle gave JM a new truck for his CARS set.

Here JM & Isabelle are giving daddy their gifts - Isabelle gave Kevin a date out to Braums - her treat!! JM gave daddy a hike in the woods (worth $100) - he wrote that on the gift card!

Isabelle & JM's big gift was the Pyramid & Sphinx - Egyptian Playmobil! They have been wanting these really bad. Since we have been studying all about Egypt & mummies, etc - they have SO enjoyed playing with their Egyptian playmobil.

More fun advent + the house

Cookie making at it's finest . . . . . . the sprinkles were EVERYWHERE!!!!The cutest bakers around!

Finished products ready to be delivered . . .

Here are my little VERY BOLD carollers . . . . they were NOT shy in any way. John Michael started the singing with Go Tell It On the Mountain, 2nd Song was Away in a Manager & they ended with We Wish You a Merry Christmas! It was very cute!!!

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HOUSE PROGRESS - We have roof trusses & hopefully before it snows next week, we'll have a roof . . . it is getting really exciting to see it all coming together!
This is looking in our very large garage - Kevin is excited about that!

Looking from kitchen to "family room" & out to the deck area.

From Kitchen down hallway to garage. On left is study/laundry room. On right will be the 1/2 bath & the wall of the master bath.

From family room into master bedroom, the stairway to basement is right before the master bedroom. The open space on right will be our sliding door to deck area.

From family room looking at the kitchen area & front door.

Part of the large screened in porch that we are SO excited about!!!

Fun Advent Activities

Our new tradition of doing an activity every day to celebrate the birth of Jesus has been a big hit! (Check out previous post for more details.) The kids look forward to each day & what it holds! Here are a few pics of some of what we've done this week. . . We made Cornstarch Creatures . . . JM made 3 snowmen & Isabelle made a nativity. . . they enjoyed making the "dough" & using nails, screws, beads, etc. to creat their creatures!

Isabelle made wire angels . . . she has lots of fun with this one. I think she'll be making a few more this week.

The kids LOVE to paint . . . so little wooden Christmas images were on our agenda for one day. They painted stockings, reindeer, trees, angels, & candy canes. The painted "ornaments" then made it to our little Christmas Tree.

What is Christmas with out A Gingerbread Village? I have to say, almost everyone I've talked to in recent days has NEVER made a gingerbread home . . . if that includes you - head to Wal-mart & you can buy a big house or a village kit for $10! My kids look forward to doing this every year. Thanks to my friend Jennifer for sharing that she hot glued her pieces before the kids decorated them. I did that as well - a perfect solution & you don't waste the icing!!

JM & Isabelle are hard at work (or eating . . . you may not be able to see it, but there is icing hanging from JM's lip)!

Dad got in on the action - icing for snow covered roads & sidewalks complete with evergreen trees! Dad wasn't real excited about ths project at the beginning - but creativity got the best of him in the end!!!!

Our completed village . . . CUTE!

Isabelle & I also volunteered at our church's Winter Clothing Giveaway . . . it was a true blessing to see all the clothes that our church family donated & to see families who needed warm clothing be able to get as much as they needed!

A Season to Remember

I love December . . . I love all the thoughts, emotions, feelings, and activities there are in this special month. On December 1st, we filled up a paper tree with all the special memories & traditions that we all enjoy during this season of remembering Jesus birth. The tree was full & we were full of smiles & wonderful memories. However, we were touched with some sadness as we realized that many of our "traditions" were packed away in boxes that we couldn't get to. So instead of being sad, we decided to take advantage of our circumstances this year & create new memories & new traditions.

So every day for the month of December we are doing something special to remember this special time of year & why it is we celebrate Christmas. We are creating gifts, crafts, and foods. We are reading special books and devotions. We are watching special Christmas movies. We are attending special events and musicals. We are volunteering to pass out winter clothes with our church. We are giving to the needy. Each day has a special task for us to complete.

One of our first special activities was to go to Silver Dollar City to experience Christmas in a very special way. We attended their production of the Dicken's Christmas Carol - it was absolutely amazing! We also saw their Live Nativity Musical - such an awe inspiring reminder of the true reason of the season.
Here we are waiting for the Dickens Christmas Carol to begin - it was inside where we were warming up, but outside it was under 32 degrees the whole day - CHILLY!!!!

Silver Dollar City has over 4million lights on display . . . here's the tree when we arrived & the tree at night. The tree is set to music & they have a lights show every 15 minutes that the kids thought was great!

It wasn't just the big tree that was part of the lights show - all of their displays everywhere included lights & were choreographed to the music. It was great!

Day one at Silver Dollar City didn't get out of the low 30's, so no rides were open, much to the displeasure of 2 children! However, day two got up to a balmy 43 degrees so the rides were running & packed. The smiles say it all!

The teacups & the bouncy frogs.

The Viking Boats

The ElectroSpin - can you see them right above with their hands up. Isabelle - purple coat & Kevin in the Camo Coat.

The Swings - Isabelle loves, but the rest of us could puke if we ride! JM loves the ball area - these tubes are vacuums that suck up all the balls. . . he loves it!

Here is our little princess with the BIGGEST smile of her life on! She & Kevin waited 30 minutes in a line to ride the Powder Keg - her favorite ride. The ride will not operate unless it's over 42 degrees - well that wasn't happening very well. Isabelle was ready to call it quits when it didn't appear the weather would warm up enough. With big tears slowly streaming down her face, she conceded that we should probably head home. BUT, just was we were about to exit the mile long line (we were in the front), they opened the ride much to the delight of Isabelle. The smile on her face was amazing - it brought such joy to us!! A fitting way to end the trip!

Saying good bye to Silver Dollar City - until NEXT YEAR!!!!!