Away in a Manger

Our church put on a Creche that was open to the community and it was absolutely amazing! Nativity scenes from around the world were displayed beautifully around the church building while musicians performed live music. My sweetheart was asked to play the piano for part of that time.

I brought this nativity to put on display. My wonderful mom designed and painted this Nativity Puzzle.

They had a room set up for children. The walls and ceiling were covered with parachutes and the room was lit with faux candles making the atmosphere very peaceful. Inside the children's room there were different nativities that children were allowed to touch. They also had different coloring activities-which Grant and Maddie loved!

There were hundreds of different nativities on display. I took a few pictures of the more unique ones.

Nativity made from a coconut.

Looks like it comes from India

This one was made in Kenya.

Made in Nepal


This was a beautiful event and I enjoyed seeing the nativities from all over the world. We are all God's children and He loves us so much that He sent His son. I am grateful for the birth of my Savior Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

little steps for our little cuties

Chris is wonderful! He loves to use his woodworking skills and I love to ask him to build stuff for me :) So Chris built Maddie and Grant their own step stools. I am also happy about this because my back gets sore from lifting kids all day.

Below is Madelynn's step stool. I love the bright colors and it will help out a ton in the kitchen. (Sorry about the dark picture) I think it suits our little sweet pea!

Next up- Grant's step stool. I coordinated the colors on his stool to match our jungle themed shower curtain. This one will go in the bathroom.

My mom is an amazing tole painter and has published 9 or 10 "How To" books. So I used some of her designs on Grant's stool (hippo, bird, and Sun).

Tuesday Toddler Conversations

1.) Fact to Grant: Sharks eat bears.

Grant: Hey Mom, do sharks eat bears?

Me: Let's think about this. Where do Sharks live? Where do Bears live?

Grant: Oh, Sharks live in the water and bears live in their caves.

Me: So, they don't live very close to each other so sharks probably don't eat bears.

Grant: But Mom, Sharks eat bears when bears go swimming.

Me: Oh really?

Grant: Yeah sharks eat bears because the sharks will think the bear's bottom is potatoes and the shark will think the bear's tail is a carrot. So sharks do eat bears.


2.) Grant: Hey Dad can we play in Target tonight.

Chris: Maybe for a little bit.

Grant: How about a big bit?

October: Birthdays and Broken Legs!

It was a whirlwind of a month - full of trips to the pumpkin patch, celebrating birthdays, and a trip to the ER.

We'll start with the cute news. Our little sweetie turned 1. She is now walking and has two teeth on top and two on the bottom. She can make animal sounds: cow, horse, dog, sheep and cat. She folds her arms for dinner prayer, loves pulling things out of boxes, bags, and drawers, sleeps through the night, LOVES watching Grant, and loves to sing and dance. She loves books and snuggling! She also loves to climb up onto things and jump around on the couch. We love you Madelynn!

We had a spooky Birthday Dinner! Thanks to Grandma Kathy and Kayla!

Witches Broom Breadsticks

Spooky Minestrone

Little Mummies

And Grant requested a Spooky Cake

Maddie really seemed to enjoy the attention!

Although at one point she started to get nervous about something.

Then realized how delicious the cake and ice cream were.

Her little cake. It was actually the hardest cake I have made- it turns out I don't know how to wrap a round cake in fondant :)

Our little Dash and Monkey

We were sad that he couldn't show us how fast Dash can run :(

This is one of Grant and Maddie's favorite games. Maddie climbs into the box and Grant fills it with all of the toys.

Duck Racing at the pumpkin patch

We took a short trip to Oceanshores, but actually didn't do anything because it was too cold and rainy. We were on the beach long enough to take the picture.

After we went to the pumpkin patch last week we decided to go to the Mall so I could get some stuff. Chris took Grant to play in the kids play area inside the mall (you know, the kind that are totally padded and kid safe.) Anyway, Grant jumped off of a toy a few times, but the last time he jumped off of the toy he landed wrong and got hurt. We took him straight to the ER and after X-Rays discovered a Broken Tibia. So now he is in a bright Green cast for 4 weeks. It is sad to see him scoot around, but he is a trooper and never complains.

We are letting friends and family write on his cast. Get better sweetie!

For My Snuggle Bunny and a Question From My Little Rascal

I finished Madelynn's cross stitch about a month after she was born, but we just finished the frame. We bought crown molding stuff and then Chris cut it into a frame and then I painted it.

We love our little Maddie who is now 11 months. She has 4 teeth and can wave, initiate peek-a-boo, and can take about 3-4 steps at a time before she realizes I'm not holding her hand :)

Grant is definitely our Curious little kid. He is constantly asking questions and trying to figure the world around him.

Grant: Hey mom, how do worms dig holes if they don't have shovels?

August Pics

One of our favorite family hiking places is Franklin Falls. Grant loves tossing rocks into the water!

Maddie all ready to get wet in her rain coat.

Grant demonstrating the benefits of buying in bulk.

We went to the Woodland park zoo two weeks ago- here are some pics below.

Maddie finally got out of the stroller and cruised along the fence! She is now 10 months old and has two bottom teeth.

Rare cutie snow leopards.

I LOVE this baby!

We spent some time in the super stinky bird house.

Grant really enjoyed feeding the birds. Out of all the beautiful birds Grant chose to feed the ugliest bird known to man. It was missing most of the feathers on its head. Maybe I'm just being an insensitive jerk, it probably had a nice personality.

ABC's, Berry Picking, and Sunday Pics

Yeah! We actually finished something we started! Grant and I started a "Letter a Day" Page. Each day we would write the letter and then look for words in magazines that start with the letter. We had a lot of fun and now we are done and have something really fun to look at!

Great job Grant!

We went Blackberry picking yesterday- so much fun and so free! In Washington there are blackberry bushes EVERYWHERE! So we are finding different yummy ways to use them.

Grandma stealing Jeff's hat, which was really Grant's hat.

Yummy! Blackberry cobbler!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blackberry-Cobbler-II/Detail.aspx

(I baked it in an 8x8 and added 1tsp cinnamon and vanilla to the topping and 1tsp Cinn. and vanilla to the berries)

Now on to our Sunday pics! I feel like we should take pics every Sunday when we dress up for church because it is the rare time when I don't have food or drool on me and the kids don't have food, drool, or snot on them. :)

twins

Not a Sunday pic, but still delicious!

Maddie absolutely loves Grant! She follows him around and laughs at everything he does. Grant is starting to warm up to Maddie too. When he didn't know that I was looking, he told Maddie that he loved her and then hugged her. Love those little cutie pies!