Family For Christmas

Family traveled from all parts of the country to gather for Christmas. It's always a lot of fun (and quite a bit of chaos) when the relatives all get together. On Christmas Eve the cousins got all decked out for church services. My children were part of the Children's Choir this year. There was no nativity skit as in previous years. (The children were disappointed, they like dressing up as angels). But they did get to sing up front ( and look really cute doing it).

There's nothing better than hanging out with family when they're around. Youngest DD talked Grandma and an uncle into playing "Pretty, Pretty, Princess" with her.


It's a game where your piece travels in an endless circle around the board while you collect various pieces of jewelry (which you have to put on). The winner (also known as the princess) is the first person who collects all the jewelry including the crown. Guess who won :o)

The cousins also enjoy gathering in Grandpa's room and playing on the computer. (anything to get out of that Pretty, Pretty, Princess game - huh Grandpa?)

And the adults running around with the digital cameras are always fascinating to the little ones.


So what will we remember from this year? Chaos, laughter, smiles and fun. A time to celebrate the birth of our savior, and the family that He has blessed us with.

What A Face!

Youngest DD got into some craft stickers. You gotta love that face!

Making Cookies

Decorating cookies is a fun tradition when December rolls around.

Since we don't use any artificial colors or flavorings, decorating cookies has been a challenge. Our first Christmas following the Feingold Program the children were happily decorating sugar cookies with a variety of chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and nuts, when DH arrived home from work. "The cookies are all black and white! What fun is that!", he exclaimed. So we've experimented with different ways of decorating cookies.


We tried mixing natural colors into the dough, it works okay with Tumeric for a nice yellow, but any other color couldn't stand up to the heat. (I've heard there are other powders that can be bought and mixed, but I haven't tried those).

Then we tried naturally colored sugars. They were a pretty pastel to start with, but the color baked out of those too. And pastel is nice for springtime, but doesn't quite cut it for Christmas.

Coloring frosting and frosting already baked cookies worked. But again, the colors were all pastel and my tradition was to decorate the cookies before baking.

Then we found egg-yolk painting. Mix some natural colors in with the eggyolk, paint on the cookies and bake. The colors turned out rich and dark! We mix tumeric for yellow, beet juice for red, liquid chlorophyll for green, cocoa for brown and plain egg white for a clear glaze. Pictured above are cookies before baking. The best part is that the colors get even darker in the baking process, so the pinkish color actually turns out red.

We still use various chocolate chips with some other cookies, but the eggyolk painting fills our need for rich, vibrant color.

Thanksgiving Reunion

The clan gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving together. This has become a bi-annual tradition for DH's family. We rented a cabin somewhere midway between the 8 traveling families and gathered for the long weekend.

It's always a great time for the cousins to hang out together and renew friendships. The girls definitely find themselves outnumbered. (DS really enjoys being in the majority for a while).

The cabin had a pool table, foos- ball and air hockey tables, along with a wide screen TV to which the boys connected their Playstations/Gamecubes, etc.

Outside there was hiking and a field to toss around a football. There was lots of shopping just a short drive away.

There were enough bedrooms/bathrooms for each family to have their own.

A great time was had by all. Good food, good fun, good fellowship, good family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tea Anyone?

Oldest DD had a tea party to celebrate her birthday. Six young ladies, all dressed up, sitting around a table laden with goodies - chatting away. (Now I want a tea party myself!)

There were cranberry scones with whipped cream, cucumber sandwiches, pineapple nut sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches, banana muffins, pumpkin muffins, grapes, sugar cookies and truffles. They had two flavors of tea, regular and peppermint, along with a pot of mango juice for the non-tea drinkers.

DD was encouraged to create several "conversation starters" for times when the discussion lagged. Those could have gone over a bit better, but I think that kind of thing comes with experience.

The girls who were a bit early even got the experience of preparing some of the food. So what if most of the sandwiches weren't perfect little triangles - the girls had fun!

And after the tea - presents!

Stuffed animals and toy animals - yep, her friends know what DD likes.

Then came crafts. The girls worked hard to make beaded Christmas ornaments. Crafting came easier for some than others.

After the ornaments were done it was time for cake. I now have a teenager in the house!

Happy Halloween

Youngest DD finally figured out what was going on when I got her dressed for school that morning in her Cinderella costume.

Am I going to be in the parade this year Mommy?
Yes! You are!
Are you going to come and see me Mommy?
Yes, of course I am.
Will you bring your camera and take pictures of me Mommy? Yes, I'll be sure to bring my camera :o)


The weather cooperated nicely and both girls were able to wear their short sleeved princess costumes with out the added bulk of winter coats.


This is the last parade for middle DD. She opted for a simple pink princess costume. She'll be in a different school building in third grade next year - no more Halloween celebrations. (Yea! Oops, did I say that?)

It was a little different that night too. Oldest DD and DS decided they were too old to go Trick-or-Treating, so they stayed home to hand out the candy instead. Am I actually seeing the beginning of the end of this ritual? Whatever will we do with our rack of dress-up clothes.

It's Always Something . . .

What is it? Is middle DD trying a new salon treatment? Did we decide to color her hair for Halloween? Are we having a Spa and Beauty Day here at home? Nope, nothing so exciting as any of that. We found lice in DD's hair. Yep, four DC and it's our first case of lice ever. So DD got a mayonnaise treatment. I coated her hair in gobs of mayo, then wrapped her head with plastic wrap and sent her to bed. The next morning I washed out the mayo and used a wire lice comb to comb out those long, dark tresses. The mayo did an amazing job of moisturizing her hair - we didn't need any detangler for about a week. So far there have been no more lice in DD's hair. It now gets combed every morning with the lice comb, then sprayed with an herbal bug repellent, then braided or pulled back into a ponytail. Sunday is the big test though - that's the two week mark. By Sunday I'll know if the treatment has been successful.

And just why does she look so happy? I think she's glad we figured out why her head itched so much and that the bugs are going bye-bye!

Busy, busy, busy

I know I haven't posted much lately. I've been trying to get pictures of the kids playing soccer, but I'm finding it difficult to get to everyone's games. Oldest DD is too old for the recreation league this season, so she joined the Friendship league (which plays neighboring townships). She's struggling with a coach who doesn't know much about the game and most of the joy of the sport is gone for her now. She says what she really likes is running, so we're going to look into track for her this winter. But, she doesn't want to have to jump over those "thingies" :o)

DS is playing soccer again on the same team as last season. The older children have moved on and this season the team is struggling to win even a few games (after being undefeated last time). Ds is doing well. He scored one of their only goals in a game early in the season. We're just finding it tiring to rush home from church every Sunday for his early afternoon game.

Middle DD is playing soccer again this fall as well(#8). She has a coach this time who played the game in High School (or maybe college?) and is really enthusiastic with the girls. The practice sessions are drills which the coach has turned into games. This has really helped DD's attitude. She's excited about the games and doesn't find it boring. I was rather amazed at the first game. DD's team does drills for almost their entire practice session, but doesn't scrimmage much at all, so I wasn't sure how they'd do when it came to playing an entire game across the whole field against another team. They won! It all came together, those little girls may not be incredibly aggressive, buy they know how to control the ball - and they remain undefeated so far this season!

Youngest DD would love to be doing something too, I need to look into things for the spring. Our Township doesn't offer recreational sports to children younger than six, that's a long time to wait.

Youngest DD continues to love school (that's her in the blue). She's well on her way to being a social butterfly. She has friends over as often as possible. Or she's across the street playing with the neighbors. She likes to do "homework". She doesn't actually get any at school, but she brings papers home from church that we work on together during the week. She knows her address and likes to write her phone number on the calculator.

I'm looking forward to the end of soccer season. Maybe we can actually enjoy a weekend at home together!

Back to School

That time of the year has come again, and all of the DC are in school this year! Oldest DD has started Middle School (is that actually possible? Reaching double digits not so very long ago was enough of a shock!) For the first time she has a locker, and she changes classes all day long. I must admit, the schedule they sent home was rather confusing at first - there's something different every marking period due to electives and state requirements. AND they run on a two day schedule - so odd days are different from even days. I took her schedule and wrote out two columns - odd day schedule and even day schedule. She came home the first day of school and said "Mom, I was sooo thankful you did that! So many other kids were walking into the wrong classrooms. I just thought 'I love my Mom!' " We also practiced the really important stuff - like how to open a combination lock - ahead of time. So oldest DD is really busy now - she's playing soccer again, signed up for a volunteer group in school, trying out for the fall musical, attending Jr High Youth group, and still hoping to squeeze in some babysitting jobs.

DS is in his last year of Elementary school. They switch between three teachers to prepare them for next years' class switching. (Now that I have one in the next school - I consider this preparation laughable). DS is also enjoying school. He'll be in orchestra again this year, but decided not to join choir, because he wants more time to study for his tests and get his homework done. (It's statements like this that make me fall out of my chair and think 'Maybe I am doing something right!') He enjoyed soccer so much last spring that he's signed up again this season. He's also involved in the Jr High Youth group at church. And currently he's deciding whether or not to continue with scouts.

Middle DD is in 2nd grade. She has a great teacher this year who is full of enthusiasm and is working to get (and keep) her class organized. DD is actually able to do most of her homework by herself now (isn't reading wonderful!?!), I just have to nudge her into starting. DD reluctantly agreed to do soccer again this season. Turns out that her new coach is great at keeping things fun and DD is really enjoying it this time around. Besides soccer DD keeps herself busy playing with her friends in the neighborhood and crafting whenever she gets a chance.

Youngest DD got to join her older sister on the bus this year as she headed off to Pre-K! She was so excited! I was a little worried that she might get clingy or scared and not get on the bus - not at all. She climbed right on there, bounced down in the seat and started waving with a huge grin on her face. She's made a new friend who lives in the neighborhood and the two have become inseparable in school. The first Saturday after school started, she came downstairs, dress in hand "Mommy, can I wear this to school?" "Sure, you can wear it on Monday." "But I want to go to school today!" and she started crying inconsolably. Four kids - and this is the first time one of them ever wanted to go to school on the weekend!

Vacation at the Beach

Another year at the beach for a week. This time we decided that rather than sitting on the beach day after day we would find other things to do. So we went online and explored the area. One of the places we found was Sunset Beach. The brochure promised "unsurpassed sunsets". "Due to the atmospheric conditions caused by the interaction of sea breezes across the bay, the sunsets seen here among the most brilliant and colorful one could ever imagine." Umm, maybe we were there on an off week. There was a small line that said "evening flag ceremony". What it didn't say was - an evening flag ceremony in which you will turn your back to the sunset or risk appearing unpatriotic in front of a hundred or so others, and it's guaranteed to last 10 - 15 mins, timed so that the sun will set while you have your back turned. The last time I checked "God Bless America" is not our national anthem, and I do not have to stand and salute the flag while all five verses are being sung. I did salute the flag while the "Star Spangled Banner" was being played and thus missed the sun dipping below the Western horizon. Next year I think I'll set my alarm to go and see the sun rise above the Atlantic - which is what you're supposed to do while vacationing on the East coast.


We did, of course, make it to the beach several times. The first day there the girls found several small jellyfish that they played with. Middle DD is holding one in this picture. I think oldest DD caught most of them, but the littler girls found them fascinating. After the first day the larger stinging jellyfish were in the water, the girls weren't nearly as fascinated with them.

Youngest DD was the only one still thrilled with digging in the sand. The others spent most of their time in the water catching waves.
All those years we spent trying to get them in the water, and now we can't get them out :o)

Peaceful Pets

Our cat, Pumpkin, likes to find various places around the house in which to hide and nap. On this particular day someone left the door to the linen closet open. A couple of leaps and Pumpkin found a cozy spot on top of the towels.

He definately wasn't thrilled that we found him, and he wasn't about to move!

We also had the fun of "birdsitting" for a week this summer. This is Rascal - a pretty blue and white parakeet.

More time with Family

This past week we took a quick 700 mile jaunt to attend the retirement ceremony of DH's brother. He chose to retire after 21 years of service in the Air Force. The ceremony was very nicely done.

The nephews (his sons) sang "Proud to be an American" during the service - many eyes were welled up with tears.

The ceremony was a fitting tribute to one of our many American Heros. Congratulations, and thank you for defending our country and working to keep us free.

Visiting Family

DH's sister and family arrived in the area this weekend. We were able to get together a couple of times before they had to move on. Tuesday night we got to visit their campground. We all went swimming in the pool - the water was a welcome relief from the 100 degree temperatures.
After swimming, the men grilled the burgers for dinner while the cousins went touring around the duck pond. The adults had a few moments to talk and catch up on all the news.


We had planned a picnic under the trees, but the weather quickly changed our minds. Storm clouds came rolling up. We grabbed everything possible and headed into the camper. Eight of us squeezing into a camper that comfortably holds three - family togetherness!

It was nice to have family visit our neck of the woods. Hopefully next time we won't get rained out!

Summer Camp

On Sunday we drove DS to Boy Scout Camp. It's the first time he's attended any summer camp, and it's the first time he's attended a sleep-over camp. He's there with his troop - about 30 members, the largest troop there this week. The temperature has been in the high 90's in our area, so I'm not sure what it's like where he is. I woke up Monday morning with the song "Hello Mudder, Hello Fadder" running through my head. I'm not sure what that means. I sang the song to the girls, they got a kick out of it. The house is strangely quiet without DS here. The girls actually miss rough housing with him. I'm excited and anxious all at the same time to know that he's experiencing stuff this week that will help to shape the man he is to become. Saturday seems to be such a long way away - before I see my boy again.

Fireworks Fun

Time again for our annual 4th of July family photo. Okay, so it was only the third of July - there were fireworks on almost every night of the week around here.

DH bought the children glow in the dark necklaces at one of the fireworks showings. Here's DS being his angelic self.

And youngest DD posing for the camera.

Middle DD had a lot of fun goofing around with her necklace. She's twirling it and dancing although you can't really see that too well in the pic.

And oldest DD managed to use two others to make a three ring thing for herself.

It's just amazing how much amusement they can have with such a little thing. Of course, on the way home, youngest DD managed to bite through hers and glow-in-the-dark oily goop wound up being splattered all over the interior of the car. Sigh, 4 kids and it's always the last one that manages to do something new.