Jammie Drill

A jammie drill is when parents announce to their kids who are already in their PJs that they need to get their shoes on and head out to the car.  Then the family either goes through the drive through for a treat or goes in somewhere for a treat.

We've done these in the past, a long time ago, but had forgotten about it.  Thanks to this post our memories were jogged and we got to thinking about giving it a try again.  We finally got around to doing one last night.  We took the long way to Village Inn so that we could look at Christmas lights, which we had not been able to do yet this year.

We had a good time and it was just what I needed.  It was something easy to do, but made some great memories with the kids.  It was something silly, but special; it put a smile on my face and warmed my heart.  I think the kids had fun too!

It almost wasn't Christmas

Shocked, numb at times, and grieving; this past week was spent with family preparing for my Dad's memorial service.  Most of the time it was easy to forget that Christmas was upon us, but I had this sweet little red headed travel companion (Mr. R) that was wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.  As we made our way back home on Christmas Eve I slowly started to switch gears to Christmas.

I came home to a darling two year old who clung to me and patted my back while saying "My mommy!  My mommy came back!"  The tree was up, kids had already opened gifts from Nana and preparations for a Christmas Eve dinner where underway.  Joy and laughter filled the house; kids have a way of helping you forget your cares, if only for a moment.  After the kids went to bed it was time to stuff stockings and set out gifts.

The grief was still there; just hovering.  There was no way that I could get into "the Christmas Spirit" but there is so much more than Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls to Christmas....  There is Jesus; there all along, through this whole week.  He always has been, he always will be.   This is what we are celebrating, His life, His death, His resurrection, His saving grace which is the greatest gift of all.  Now that I can get into!

Christmas will feel very different this year.  I'm thankful that I still have hope, that I still have reason to celebrate. God's gift of eternal life is why we are celebrating, this year it is so much clearer.

***On a funny note.... Last night when I got home Miss J announced "I helped Dad wrap your hair bows!  Its a surprise though, so you don't know what it is!" and ran off on her merry way not realizing that she had just spilled the beans!***


Want to know more about my dad?  You can check out his web site and this article published just this past week to see his art and learn a bit about him.

Saying Goodbye to Dad

My Dad passed away suddenly last night.  I am shocked.  I am numb.  I am getting myself and two of my kids ready to fly out to Portland tonight.

Prayers for the whole family would be appreciated.  I am so thankful for the love and support that has poured in from friends and family both old and new; near and far!  I am thankful for my wonderful husband that has arranged for me to fly up to be with the family and is caring for the kiddos here at home as well as finishing Christmas preparations!   I am also thankful to God for his peace that passes all understanding.

Christmas 2010 with my Dad

Updated to add- Dad died of a pulmonary embolism.  There were no typical signs or symptoms of the growing blood clot that would end his life.  The one symptom he did show (a strange cough) would not have lead to the discovery of the clot.  He appeared to be a very healthy 60 year old man; his loss was oh so very unexpected.

Early Unwrapping

We received a package from G'ma and Grandad the other day, and while we usually wait until Christmas to unwrap gifts there was a note encouraging us to open the gifts early.  So we did.

Many of the gifts were books from G'ma's library, which will be very useful for school!

The kids are very excited about their new books and have been spending quite a bit of time looking at them or reading them (depending on the age).

It looks like a trip to Starbucks and a bit of shopping is in store for our family too!  Everyone got some cash and a Starbucks card!  How fun!

Starbucks giveaway

Go on over to my Large Family Living in a Small Family World blog to enter my Starbucks giveaway!

A Christmas musical

This week-end our family got to go to a Christmas Musical at a friend's church. She had extended the invitation, the added bonus being that for our family it would be free since we were military! The musical had a military theme, and the church was honoring military families in the area. We were happy to put on our Camo and fatigues to help add to the feeling of being in a USO show (and the kids were thrilled that I was letting them out in public in dress up clothes!).

All of the kids were great during the show. Mr. K sat quietly or nursed allowing me to stay in with the family the whole time! Yippee! Miss C managed to wait until after the show to go potty, again letting me stay the whole time! Again, Yippee! Miss J was mesmerized by the singing and dancing, asking several times if she could get up there and sing and dance too! She wants to go again. Of course the older four kids were great too and enjoyed the show too.

As if the show was not enough, there was a whole room filled with goodies after the show. The kids enjoyed the cookies and candies as well as some hot drinks!

It was a wonderful family evening and we got to get to know our friends a bit better too. Two of their girls were in the show, and it was such a pleasure to watch them sing/dance with such joy! Thank you "N family" for inviting us and making us feel so welcomed last night. We had a wonderful time.

Potty trained!

Miss C has been ready to potty train for several months, but with the new baby and move it seemed wise to put that off a bit. This past week was the earliest that I felt up to tackling potty training and Miss C was thrilled to take on the challenge.

Candy is a major motivator for Miss C, once she realized we would give her candy every time she went she decided that she was going to get as much candy as she could! I think she has been accident free for 4 days now (including church on Sunday!). So at 25 months she is officially potty trained! Yay!

I must say that potty training with older kids around to help is so much easier. When she announced that she needed to go and I was nursing the baby someone was always around to help her. They have all been so encouraging of her too.

Cloth diaper reviewers needed!

Midnight Mommy is looking for cloth diapering Mommy bloggers to review and test out some cloth diapering products. Go here to sign up! I'm hoping to get to do some reviews and giveaways here or on my other blog.

Locks of Love

This week Miss E decided that she was ready to donate her hair to Locks of Love (again). So the two of us went out to get haircuts on Saturday afternoon.

Her hair sure had gotten long, she was able to get 12 inches cut off!

She is enjoying having shorter hair again and has been told by a couple of people that the shorter hair makes her look older.

This was her third time donating her hair. The first time she heard about Locks of Love she was five years old and was determined to do it as soon as she could.

Guest posting- Go laugh with me!

I'm guest posting over at Laugh with us. If you want a good laugh go check out my post there.

If you are visiting from Laugh with us, welcome! Thanks for visiting and please take a minute to visit me over at my other blog Large Family Living in a Small Family World. I've got a give-away up over there too!