2009 Memories and Milestones

A conversation around our lunch table prompts today's post on, this, the Eve of 2009. Dave asked the girls what they'll remember most about this year. The following are their answers mixed in with some of ours (and if you click on them you can link to the fuller story).

Being the flower girl in Sarah's wedding

Hawaii

Moving into the bunk bed

VM Family Vacation

Delia's broken collar bone

Mt. Hermon

Ella getting to play the part of Mary

Visits from family: Auntie Heather, Auntie Karen and Calvin, Uncle Kyle and Grandma and Grandpa

Butterflies!

Delia's Shamu-themed 2nd birthday party

Ella's first ride on the tube

Delia's first ride on a horse (which she is still asking about every single day, "Can I ride horsey today? I ride Cosmo?")

My trip to LA with the Ladies

Of course, these are just a few of the many ways and times we saw God's blessing through the past 12 months. For us, 2009 was a pretty spectacular year. Now, onto a new decade of memories and milestones!

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Though the sprainked ankle and Dave's inabilty to go anywhere without his crutches limited our birthday ideas somewhat, we still had plenty of fun taking family outings and spoiling our bithday boy for his 33rd birthday yesterday.

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The birthday festivities kind of began on Saturday, when one of our regular sitters actually asked if she could come over some time soon and play with the girls and their new dollhouse! Of course, we said, "YES!" and headed out for a rare date night. Dave and I checked out a new restaurant and then saw Avatar in 3-D. We see movies in the theatre about 2 times a year, so we felt this movie was an awesome and totally worth-while experience. What a feast for the eyes! It was truly spectacular to feel like you were actually in the movie, we'd recommend it to anyone. We even found some neat Christian parallels in the story. The girls got a kick out of our special

3-D glasses.

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Dave woke up to both girls singing him out of sleep in the morning. Ella had also hauled all the gifts into bed for Dave to open right away. Then we served him breakfast in bed. One of our gifts for Dave was a new blue suit. Yesterday we took a family trip to the mall to get this and then went out for lunch at a nice restaurant. Without the humiliating serenade, Dave got a complimentary pizookie dessert.

A lazy afternoon of naps and game playing followed. We sang to Dave once again when we served him his birthday cake.

Another of Dave's gifts was the Wii Resort game. Dave's favorite activity is archery. Wakeboarding, Frisbee and skydiving are pretty cool too, though. Amazing what video games have evolved into! A few rounds of Carcassonne and a Bears victory topped off Dave's birthday.

Custom Cards by Dave and Jen

For Christmas a few years ago, Dave got the Adobe Photoshop program. We wanted it because we thought it would come in handy if we ever needed to switch heads around to get pictures with two happy girls. As we got more and more adept at the program, though, we began to explore its gazillion options and design custom cards. It began with birthday invitations and moved to our Christmas card. Now, it has become so easy that our family has begun emailing us pictures to craft a custom card with. In less than an hour, Dave and I can design and create a card, email you options and then order the jpeg version of it in a print for literally cents. I write this post to show off some of our work and alert fellow family members and friends to the possibility of having us make you a Custom Card by Dave and Jen of your very own!

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Merry Christmas!

"Glory to God! (or as we sang in church today, "Ere zij God!")

Glory to God in the highest!

Peace be on earth.

Peace be on earth, to the people whom God delights in."

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Wishing you peace and opportunities to witness his GLORY this Christmas!

Love, Dave, Jen, Ella and Delia

Christmas Eve

Following in the tradition Dave grew up with, we opened our gifts on Christmas Eve and shared a special dinner. We had a lovely night and want to especially thank our family for all the thoughtful gifts! Every single thing you picked out for us was a hit! All the toys, games and books have been played with and read multiple times. Right now, Ella is doing new crafts. Dave is wearing Christmas clothes from Heather today, I took my sewn-by-orphans-in-Honduras clutch to church and we just LOVE everything!

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Ella got a new big-girl bathrobe.

Delia got a moving Shamu toy and trainer.

Dave and I decided to skip gifts for each other this year and instead put some money in the home repair fund. We hope 2010 brings us new carpet! We still helped the girls pick out small gifts, though. Ella and Delia gave me scarves and socks and gave Dave a pomegranate tree.

Baby Cole sent his monkey of a cousin a stuffed monkey. Delia slept with this new favorite animal and was too cute when she trudged out of bed still cuddling him this morning.

Auntie Heather sent stuff for the dollhouse. These neat box sets have pieces for dinner, birthday party and taking care of pets.

After we gave Too Many Toys to a friend we had to put it on our own wish list. Thanks, Uncle Kyle! Kyle's gifts were special because they each came with a poem ("Joy to the World, Christmas has come. But with so many toys, can you have too much fun?")



For Christmas last year Dorina gave me a "Secret in the Sauce" cookbook, a compilation of authentic Italian recipes from her mom's side of the family. For our special family Christmas Eve dinner I tried two things I totally love, but have never made on my own before-- cannelloni and tiramisu. They turned out great!
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I have to just add that a meaningful new addition to present opening this year was the homemade or gift-in-kind gifts we did with Dave's siblings. We did this to give gifts that showed true thought. We were so blessed with the neat little things Kyle and Kris picked out specifically for us. Karen's gift was an email telling us about the trip she's making to CA this year! The one cloud over our Christmas was that our family in Chicago never got our big box of gifts this year. It's been too long since mailing to hope that they're not lost. I'm not even as bummed about the cash value of the gifts inside-- more about the hours we put into baking and crafting our special homemade gifts. Lesson learned: buy the insurance!

All About the Dollhouse!

This year Grandma and Grandpa wanted to get the girls a dollhouse for Christmas. This really was the perfect present idea because it was the only thing Ella kept saying she wanted, and she's never actually asked for specific things as presents before. After a bit of looking around, we decided the all-wooden, mostly-pink house from Target was the one. Dave and I assembled it and set it up so the girls would notice it right away when they got up from their naps for our Christmas Eve present unwrapping. Oh how I wish our video was working! This picture kind of shows their reaction-- there was much jumping and screaming.

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I did NOT have to ask them to smile for this picture! That joy is not posed!

Grandma also thought they should have some dolls, so they could play with the dollhouse right away. Yes, they played with it immediately, and between each present opening and until they went to bed and pretty much non-stop since they saw it.

Even first thing upon waking! This is where we found Ella when we got out of bed this morning. Taking breaks to go potty and eat meals has been difficult! :)

The Patient

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Did you know Dave has been running? He started about a month ago and has maintained the discipline to get up early and run at least 4 mornings a week. With each time out, he is able to go faster and farther. He does have some big goals in mind, but is not telling anyone those right now just in case he can't get ready ("trained" you might even say...) in time. Unfortunately this morning he had a pretty major set-back. While dodging a car, he rolled his ankle on a curb. It happened a few miles away from our house, so we're thankful he was able to at least limp home okay. Once he got off it, though, it swelled to a size I can't even look at without feeling a little woozy. And it hurts pretty bad. We're going to give it a few days and see if maybe it's just sprained. If the pain and swelling continues, Dave will head to the ER.

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Since the girls play doctor every day with each other and their stuffed animals they are just thrilled to have a real patient! Poor Dave took the afternoon off work to get some rest at home and the girls are all over him. He's getting check-ups, shots, x-rays (that's what Ella's doing in the picture), dirty dishes served to him on trays and more ice bags than needs. Ella was dying to be the one to wrap the swollen ankle and Delia won't stop climbing on him. I'm gonna have to fake an injury to get in on this love and attention! :)

And My House Has Never Been Cleaner!

I have always enjoyed entertaining, but something happened when the Christmas decorations went up this year. I suddenly felt this urge to start working on that "People We've Been Meaning to Have Over for Dinner" list. In the past 2 weeks, we've had meal guests 4 times. I love it. Some company has been good friends we know well, some has been new friends we've been wanting to learn more about. I've cranked out chicken cacciatore, lasagna, pumpkin cheesecake, peach pie, even baked my own rolls from scratch once! When people come to our house, they can expect a decent meal, and also some games and lots of laughs. One of our guest couples stayed until 12:30 am! This weekend we had tons of fun having our good friends Mike, Julie, Travis, Jadon and Mikaela over on Friday and Sara and Arend over on Saturday. What a blessing to have such a long list of people in our lives to invite over for fellowship! Two of my girls' sweet church grandmas are next on that list. Maybe after the new year.

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Because One-at-a-Time Was Getting Too Easy

Delia's Second Limo Ride

Delia has not lived all that long-- two and a half years to be exact. She took the second limo ride of her short life this weekend. We have our friend Joann to thank. Joann hosts a great Christmas party each year. We can always expect fun food, warm bonfires, lots of church friends and a limo ride down Christmas Tree Lane at her parties. While the girls may grow up thinking this is somewhat normal, I am still just awed and delighted by the opportunity to view insanely decorated houses from inside a white stretch limo.

. Delia sat on Dave's side and I kept hearing, "Delia keep your body inside the vehicle!" from him. She was worse than Lily trying to hang her whole self out the open window to exclaim over lights and wave to pedestrians.

Ella loved the "stars" on the ceiling and made us all laugh when she announced, "Hey if anyone is thirsty, there are special drinks in here!"

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A ride on a horse last weekend, a ride in a "BIG, fancy car!" this weekend. I guess that's how we roll.

The Gingerbread Learning Curve

Ella has been asking to make a gingerbread house this Christmas. Yesterday, being the rainy and dreary day it was, seemed the perfect time to pull it out. We've never done this before and while we all had fun, we also learned some lessons.

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Lesson one: That frosting is a pain in the neck! It has the viscosity of toothpaste. Spreading and piping it was definitely a Daddy-job. Our house looked nothing like the ones on the cover of the kit!

Lesson two: Take the finished product picture quickly! When we tried to pose with it, we actually captured the moment when the whole house collapsed (below).

Lesson three: Surprise! The girls viewed decorating the house as a secret ploy to getting as much candy and frosting into their mouths as possible. I think Delia put 2 gummy bears on the roof and was done. She spent the next hour sneaking treats! Though with the spread that was before them and their parents distracted with decorating, who could blame them?

Our Mary, Our Star

Last night we had the great pleasure of watching Ella be Mary in the preschool Christmas program, "Jesus is Born!" I will try to hard to balance my pride with a bit of modesty for this record of the night. Ella's role was a big one and she played it just right! She and Joseph were the first ones up, riding a donkey, holding hands and exchanging lines about having to go to Bethlehem, being tired, naming the new baby Jesus, putting him in the manger for a bed and being thankful for the nice stable they had to rest in. Ella said each of her 4 lines with expression and enunciation and sang her solo about Emmanuel very loudly. Then it came time for the acting. Ella had to take a blanket and spread it in the manger, wrap up her baby, rock him, kiss him and lay down in the hay to rest. I whispered to Dave, "No wonder Ella got this part-- she plays this game with her dolls every single day!" The rest of the program had Ella stationed at the manger loving her baby and looking grateful for each of the visits they got from shepherds and wise men. She came up to mic to sing one more solo and then took the final curtain call with Joseph and baby Jesus.

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On the walk home from school yesterday, Ella told Dave that Miss Debbie said, "Ella, your mom and dad are going to laugh and cry and cover their open mouths with their hands because you'll be so cute!" Her teachers and many other audience members told us what a great job she did after the program last night. Once again, Ella had some special guests come to see her-- Gramma Jean and Pastor Bruce.

Okay, forget the modesty. Ella was totally adorable and perfect and we couldn't be prouder of her for getting the important Mary part and doing such a stellar job with it!

Happy Birthday, Jonathan and Amy!

Do you have one of those people in your life who seems to constantly overwhelm you with their thoughtfulness? Mine is my friend Amy. She always has her eyes open for things that she knows we can use and love. The girls are owners of princess markers, jammies, cute clothes and Hawaii books because the items were too perfect and the deal was too good for Amy to pass up. Last week she surprisingly showed up on my doorstep with a giant cookie making gift basket. It was something she had made with a Moms Time Out group and just had to pass on to us, knowing the girls would enjoy it so much. So, for her birthday on Saturday and Jonathan's birthday tomorrow, we just had to plan a special lunch playgroup for her!

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Jetta was also able to come with 4 of her kids. The kids played great for a few hours in the morning. Then they were too cute praying and eating their lunch around the little table together.

After turkey salad on croissants, my new favorite pear salad and ice tea (could my menu be any more girlie?), we broke out candles in brownies and cookies and sang to them both. It think it's pretty cool that Jonathan and Amy share their birthdays.

We gave Jonathan the new David Shannon book Too Many Toys. Since Amy is requesting library book donations for Jonathan's birthday this year beacuse they already have too many toys, we knew it would be perfect. Though, we're secretly a little happy that the book was such a hit, they'll probably keep it for themselves. Happy Birthday to my most thoughtful friend!

Not Braggin' Today!

I don't think I've ever had to raid the hat, gloves and scarves basket just for Ella and Dave's walk to school! Once again, we woke up to a winter wonderland. The ground, roofs, garden and outside toys were all covered with a white layer of frost. And yesterday it actually snowed! It was brief and just light flurries, so we didn't see it, but people were going absolutely nuts. It hasn't snowed in this part of California in 35 years! I often write warm weather report posts taunting our frigid-temperature-dwelling friends and relatives, but we're so unusually cold here, I have nothing to brag about today!

A Good Saturday

Saturday was a day of family Christmas fun. Dave read in the morning paper about this great holiday-themed farmer's market happening right outside a historical mansion in the next town over. We bundled up, shoved the wagon in the back of the car and headed over to check it out. We wandered the streets and shopped all the different booths selling local honey, olive oil, fruit, nuts, homemade jams and warm drinks. We had to get a bag of the made-in-front-of-us kettle corn because the smell was simply irresistible.

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All the market stands were great, but a real highlight was getting to tour the mansion built and decorated in the late 1800's. The docents were dressed in elaborate Victorian costumes and pointed out interesting things in each room. Ella and Delia really loved seeing the "Big fancy house" especially the kids' room with the antique dolls and tea party dishes.

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Another cool part of the festival was the street performers. We watched this group for a while, just because it was so funny-- grandmas in Santa hats and Christmas sweaters playing Christmas songs on their ukuleles! Of course, Delia danced.

After the festival, we stopped at the nursery to pick up some plants for our winter vegetable garden (gonna try lettuce this winter.) Inside the nursery we admired the dozens of decorated trees and mega-train set with just about every Dickens Village figurine that has ever been made.

The night ended with a fund-raising dinner at church. Our GEMS hosted a brand-new Western-themed dinner that was sooo awesome! We giggled at Dave and Pastor Bruce's pictures on the Want Ads, avoided being put in jail and played all the games (horse shoes, fishing hole, shooting gallery, panning for gold, etc.). Dave and I dressed up in borrowed cowboy gear (the girls were wearing their own thanks to Delia's Halloween costume) and had our family picture taken. But we spent the majority of the night on horseback! That's right. We have lots of horse owners in our church and someone brought a whole trailer full of them for rides around the parking lot. Poncho and Ellen were good friends by the end of the night! :)

Off to Church

Why I Don't Pull Out the Paints Every Day

In case you can't tell, those are fifteen masterpieces drying on the line! Anyone need some artwork for their fridge?

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