House Updates

It's been a long week & we want to continue to emphasize the need for funds for the Global Orphan Project Relief Fund. 100% of your donations will go straight to the needs in Haiti . . .

http://theglobalorphanproject.org/donate/relief For information & updates, please visit http://www.theglobalorphanproject.org/ and click on BLOG.

It's been a very frozen, wet winter for us here & the progress on our house stopped for a few weeks, but this week the thaw began and they were able to do a few things. With warmer temps & sunny days the next few weeks, they are planning to make great progress. We are SO excited!!

See Kevin in our "front muddy" door. I love the gabel. It will be cute!

Kitchen area & front door

In Master Bedroom, door to the right is closet, door to the left is bathroom

The kids "patio". JM bedroom window. Kevin wants to put up a 6' basketball goal on the wall fo the kids to play with out here! Cool huh??

More patio - "Isabelle's side". Her window is on the left.

mechanical/storage room

John Michael's room & closet

Isabelle's room & closet

Looking to the East off our screened in porch.

Looking to the west on our screened in porch

West side of house

East side of the house

7.3 Magnitude Earthquake in Haiti

Our hearts are heavy with the news of the earthquake hitting Haiti. Please check http://artsfororphans.blogspot.com/ and http://www.theglobalorphanproject.org for updates and information. Please join us in prayer and in help however that is asked of us.

Who says I can't try to snowboard?

There are NO pictures of me snowboarding, but YES I tried! The kids spent 5 hours yesterday playing in the snow. It was 32 degrees, feeling balmy compared to today's high of 8! They loved every minute of it. This is Kevin's old snow board . . . the kids mastered it pretty well, but I didn't have the same luck. I fell every time & the kids just laughed. They couldn't understand why I had such trouble. . . I heard "mom, it's not that hard. Keep trying. I can do it." I tried to explain that I have to fall a lot farther than they do! So much love!
Only one small wreck . . . sled headed straight for the tree . . . no injuries, just laughs!
Snowboarding Experts!
Check out the looks on these faces . . . the sled turned and headed straight toward my legs as I was taking the picture. They thought they were going run right into me!

Sweet little snow angels!

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!