Monday, December 29, 2008
I now live with an old guy
Yesterday Derek turned 40! Since I'm still in my 30s for a couple more years I get to tease him about it for a while. I don't think he really cares though. He got to have carrot cake for breakfast and I took him to the GLI Hockey Tournament as a birthday present. Pretty low key day but I hope he had fun. I mean as much fun as an old guy can have. Love ya Babe!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas from our family to yours
Luke 2:1-20
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Christmas Past Winner
The Winner of the Christmas past contest is non other than
Erica from Kirk Haven
It's rather fitting since she inspired the contest. Congrats to all you got the correct answers or made some attempt. The year was 2003, Kaylee was 7, Nate was 2.
The hint that it was not Max in the picture was a big hint since Max is now 2- the same age as Nate in the picture. Then once you guessed that Nate was 2 you could figure that the year was 2003. Kaylee's birthday is in the Meet the Characters- The Ballerina post. So using her birthday as a guide you could figure her age in the photo- she was 7, almost 8.
BTW, for those wondering how the winner was chosen it was a random drawing. Everyone who entered or commented on the post was put in the drawing.
Erica from Kirk Haven
It's rather fitting since she inspired the contest. Congrats to all you got the correct answers or made some attempt. The year was 2003, Kaylee was 7, Nate was 2.
The hint that it was not Max in the picture was a big hint since Max is now 2- the same age as Nate in the picture. Then once you guessed that Nate was 2 you could figure that the year was 2003. Kaylee's birthday is in the Meet the Characters- The Ballerina post. So using her birthday as a guide you could figure her age in the photo- she was 7, almost 8.
BTW, for those wondering how the winner was chosen it was a random drawing. Everyone who entered or commented on the post was put in the drawing.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Nate's super power
In kids' church on Sunday mornings, Karen likes to give the kids a warm up question. They go around in a circle and give their names and their answer. Last week, the question was "What super power would you like and why?"
Here's Nate's answer.
"Mind control over my parents so Malachi can come over and we can eat junk food downstairs and watch TV all day."
I guess it could be worse. But if his eyes start spinning and someone notices us slipping, please help us.
Here's Nate's answer.
"Mind control over my parents so Malachi can come over and we can eat junk food downstairs and watch TV all day."
I guess it could be worse. But if his eyes start spinning and someone notices us slipping, please help us.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Christmas past
I've been inspired by Erica over at Kirk Haven to hold a little contest. I'll follow a similar format with the same prize. (Starbucks!) My questions are what year is this and what are the kids ages?
There are some clues (like the kids birthdays) somewhere in this blog but to some extent its just guessing. (I'll give you another hint- that's Nate not Max!) All the correct guesses will go in a drawing and the winner will be posted on Sunday. Good Luck! You can email your answers to kcat1971@yahoo
There are some clues (like the kids birthdays) somewhere in this blog but to some extent its just guessing. (I'll give you another hint- that's Nate not Max!) All the correct guesses will go in a drawing and the winner will be posted on Sunday. Good Luck! You can email your answers to kcat1971@yahoo
Saturday, December 13, 2008
25 Christmas Questions
Becky Jo posted these 25 Christmas Questions on her blog and tagged her readers to do the same. Here are my answers. If you have a blog, I invite you to play along.
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate with a shot of peppermint!
2.Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? No Santa here- we celebrate CHRISTmas.
3. Colored lights on house/tree or white? Colored blinking lights on the tree. White iciles on the house if Derek hangs them up. (He really doesn't like to do it.)
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope
5.When do you put your decorations up? We usually do the tree on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend but this year we were a little late. We put it up on Friday.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Cranberry Stuffing
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I remember staying up really late (like 4:30am) with my brother when we were about 14 & 12 to "prove" Santa didn't exist. We had paper routes and the papers came so we ended up not getting any sleep- instead we delivered our papers opened our presents then went to bed. Kind of a goofy memory but remembering the harmony my brother & I had gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. It was a good time in our relationship.
8.When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember exactly but I didn't believe at 14 (see above).
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We usually opened 1. Now my kids usually get PJs on Christmas eve.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? A mixture of heirlooms, fun cheap ornaments and expensive crystal ones. But after Nate broke 3 ornaments in a row this year (luckily the cheap ones) I decided not to get out the special ones.
11. Snow. Love it or dread it? Mostly love it- but I eventually get sick of it.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I kept the teddy bear that I got for my first Christmas for 30-some years. I think it might still be in storage in my crawl space.
14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Celebrating the birth of Christ. We read the Christmas story from Luke first thing on Christmas morning and we look at the holidays as an opportunity to make sure that the people around us know what our faith is.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Grandma VanZuese's Christmas Fudge but I haven't had any in at least 5 years. Second best is Buckeyes.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Stuffing Stockings
17. What tops your Christmas tree? A sad little angel made from a white sheet and a foam ball that Kaylee made when she was 4.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving but I don't like to be forgotten on the receiving end.
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
20. Candy Canes. Yum or Yuck? YUM
21. What do you want for Christmas? I'd like a new lens for the Camera but I already got a Caribbean Cruise and that was delightful.
22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? Not really, Derek's old job had one that was a big semi-formal deal. It was fun bk (before kids). My work has a luncheon during the work day- not really a big deal.
23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear PJ's? Dress up for church, then new PJ's for bed!
24. Do you own a Santa hat? Yes but we don't do much with it.
25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? Christmas Eve with the Timms- then usually Christmas Day on our own.
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate with a shot of peppermint!
2.Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? No Santa here- we celebrate CHRISTmas.
3. Colored lights on house/tree or white? Colored blinking lights on the tree. White iciles on the house if Derek hangs them up. (He really doesn't like to do it.)
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope
5.When do you put your decorations up? We usually do the tree on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend but this year we were a little late. We put it up on Friday.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Cranberry Stuffing
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I remember staying up really late (like 4:30am) with my brother when we were about 14 & 12 to "prove" Santa didn't exist. We had paper routes and the papers came so we ended up not getting any sleep- instead we delivered our papers opened our presents then went to bed. Kind of a goofy memory but remembering the harmony my brother & I had gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. It was a good time in our relationship.
8.When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember exactly but I didn't believe at 14 (see above).
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We usually opened 1. Now my kids usually get PJs on Christmas eve.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? A mixture of heirlooms, fun cheap ornaments and expensive crystal ones. But after Nate broke 3 ornaments in a row this year (luckily the cheap ones) I decided not to get out the special ones.
11. Snow. Love it or dread it? Mostly love it- but I eventually get sick of it.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I kept the teddy bear that I got for my first Christmas for 30-some years. I think it might still be in storage in my crawl space.
14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Celebrating the birth of Christ. We read the Christmas story from Luke first thing on Christmas morning and we look at the holidays as an opportunity to make sure that the people around us know what our faith is.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Grandma VanZuese's Christmas Fudge but I haven't had any in at least 5 years. Second best is Buckeyes.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Stuffing Stockings
17. What tops your Christmas tree? A sad little angel made from a white sheet and a foam ball that Kaylee made when she was 4.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving but I don't like to be forgotten on the receiving end.
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
20. Candy Canes. Yum or Yuck? YUM
21. What do you want for Christmas? I'd like a new lens for the Camera but I already got a Caribbean Cruise and that was delightful.
22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? Not really, Derek's old job had one that was a big semi-formal deal. It was fun bk (before kids). My work has a luncheon during the work day- not really a big deal.
23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear PJ's? Dress up for church, then new PJ's for bed!
24. Do you own a Santa hat? Yes but we don't do much with it.
25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? Christmas Eve with the Timms- then usually Christmas Day on our own.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Caribbean
Since its my 100th post- I figured I'd tell you 100 things about our vacation but that got too long so here are some random things plus some pictures.
We had an awesome time! I highly recommend a caribbean vacation in December. Leave your kids with great friends and they'll have fun too. (Thanks Mandy & Edward & Becky!) It's worth missing the "Black Friday" sales to get up early to go to the airport. Getting a friend to drive you to the airport makes life a lot easier. (Thanks Mark!)
San Juan is a really neat place! I'm very glad we got to spend some extra time there before & after the cruise. El Younque Rainforest is beautiful. We discovered that when walking up the mountain its better to take the trail rather than the service drive. The trail looks longer but its much easier and much more scenic.
We really enjoyed visiting the historic sites in Old San Juan after the cruise.
Ox Head Point in Dorado, PR has some amazing waves crashing into the rocks.
In Dorado, if you meet Pee Wee in the grocery store & he invites you to his restaurant go- it was good food. Be sure to take the correct gate opener to the townhouse because that barbed wire is dangerous!
St. Thomas is touristy- but fun. We did the tourist thing of stopping at the jewlery stores for the free bracelets. Here are some tips for the rest of St. Thomas:
Save money by hiring the same taxi driver for the whole day and tip him with a turkey sandwich. Pick a taxi driver with a taxi that looks save and reliable- breaking down a mile from the ship can cause stress. Coki Beach is a great place to snorkle and play in the water- just avoid the questionable smoke near the locals.
Every night the food is good but formal nights are even better. You can order as many appetizers, entrees & desserts as you want- you already paid for them!
Celebrating birthdays, anniversaries & graduations on board the ship is a little silly. Getting Free cake is kind of redundant. But it's worth celebrating events just to hear the waiters sing.
Champagne Reef in Dominica is ranked #5 in the world for snorkling. The island is volcanic so bubbles arise from the bottom of the ocean making it look like swimming through champange bubbles. The reef had lots of amazing things to see- a coral snake, squid, octopus, lots of fish. Kelli did not see them due to an encounter with fire coral .
Grenada is a great place to get cheap spices. But it is the only island that didn't feel very safe. The locals were fairly agressive in soliciting and begging. We even saw a local brawl.
We saw dolphins from our balcony in Bonaire. Bonaire is flatter than the other islands, and is famous for flamingos & donkeys. (Go figure!) There was good snorkling at Donkey Beach. Sorobon Beach is great for swimming. It has a 3/4 mile sand bar to play on and at the end of the sand bar is a reef- its a long walk/swim out to it. Once you get to the reef- watch out for the "GreenPeace Police" they will chastise you for destroying the envirnoment by being there. If you aren't careful you could end up as "fish food." (No kidding that is what he said!) Next to Sorobon Beach is a nudist colony. The nudist colony shouldn't be allowed to rent kayaks. (But they do!). At Sorobon Beach the guys tried to learn to windsurf on their own.
There are lots of funny/silly things to do on a cruise. We tried to line dance and ended up on the ship's dvd (only $29.99 at the end of the cruise). Mark & Andy also ended up in comdey routines. Mark was volunteered and Andy was picked because the comedian liked Denise. (Word to the wise don't sit in the front row of the theatre unless you enjoy wearing a wig and swinging balls on a string.)
Several of us also test out the decorative saddle in front of the steakhouse.
Snorkling is rumored to be good in Aruba, but not this time. Paul rented a boat and several went to see a shipwreck and a lighthouse instead of snorkling.
Aruba is beautiful, but lots of the things they sell in the open markets are made in china. We did buy the boys flutes and maracas- yes we are a little bit crazy.
We have a lot more funny stories but some we can't share because "what happens on the ship stays on the ship." Next time you should come with us!
We had an awesome time! I highly recommend a caribbean vacation in December. Leave your kids with great friends and they'll have fun too. (Thanks Mandy & Edward & Becky!) It's worth missing the "Black Friday" sales to get up early to go to the airport. Getting a friend to drive you to the airport makes life a lot easier. (Thanks Mark!)
San Juan is a really neat place! I'm very glad we got to spend some extra time there before & after the cruise. El Younque Rainforest is beautiful. We discovered that when walking up the mountain its better to take the trail rather than the service drive. The trail looks longer but its much easier and much more scenic.
We really enjoyed visiting the historic sites in Old San Juan after the cruise.
Ox Head Point in Dorado, PR has some amazing waves crashing into the rocks.
In Dorado, if you meet Pee Wee in the grocery store & he invites you to his restaurant go- it was good food. Be sure to take the correct gate opener to the townhouse because that barbed wire is dangerous!
St. Thomas is touristy- but fun. We did the tourist thing of stopping at the jewlery stores for the free bracelets. Here are some tips for the rest of St. Thomas:
Save money by hiring the same taxi driver for the whole day and tip him with a turkey sandwich. Pick a taxi driver with a taxi that looks save and reliable- breaking down a mile from the ship can cause stress. Coki Beach is a great place to snorkle and play in the water- just avoid the questionable smoke near the locals.
Every night the food is good but formal nights are even better. You can order as many appetizers, entrees & desserts as you want- you already paid for them!
Celebrating birthdays, anniversaries & graduations on board the ship is a little silly. Getting Free cake is kind of redundant. But it's worth celebrating events just to hear the waiters sing.
Champagne Reef in Dominica is ranked #5 in the world for snorkling. The island is volcanic so bubbles arise from the bottom of the ocean making it look like swimming through champange bubbles. The reef had lots of amazing things to see- a coral snake, squid, octopus, lots of fish. Kelli did not see them due to an encounter with fire coral .
Grenada is a great place to get cheap spices. But it is the only island that didn't feel very safe. The locals were fairly agressive in soliciting and begging. We even saw a local brawl.
We saw dolphins from our balcony in Bonaire. Bonaire is flatter than the other islands, and is famous for flamingos & donkeys. (Go figure!) There was good snorkling at Donkey Beach. Sorobon Beach is great for swimming. It has a 3/4 mile sand bar to play on and at the end of the sand bar is a reef- its a long walk/swim out to it. Once you get to the reef- watch out for the "GreenPeace Police" they will chastise you for destroying the envirnoment by being there. If you aren't careful you could end up as "fish food." (No kidding that is what he said!) Next to Sorobon Beach is a nudist colony. The nudist colony shouldn't be allowed to rent kayaks. (But they do!). At Sorobon Beach the guys tried to learn to windsurf on their own.
There are lots of funny/silly things to do on a cruise. We tried to line dance and ended up on the ship's dvd (only $29.99 at the end of the cruise). Mark & Andy also ended up in comdey routines. Mark was volunteered and Andy was picked because the comedian liked Denise. (Word to the wise don't sit in the front row of the theatre unless you enjoy wearing a wig and swinging balls on a string.)
Several of us also test out the decorative saddle in front of the steakhouse.
Snorkling is rumored to be good in Aruba, but not this time. Paul rented a boat and several went to see a shipwreck and a lighthouse instead of snorkling.
Aruba is beautiful, but lots of the things they sell in the open markets are made in china. We did buy the boys flutes and maracas- yes we are a little bit crazy.
We have a lot more funny stories but some we can't share because "what happens on the ship stays on the ship." Next time you should come with us!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
