Fashionista

I got her this scarf for Christmas, thinking it would be a fun way to spruce up her school polos.  This is how she's worn it all day:

Think this Erykah Badu look will catch on at school? :)

Merry Christmas!

Relaxed.  Playful.  Full of tradition. Joyful.  Overwhelmed by the generosity of our family and friends.  These are some words that describe the tone of our past 2 days and our feelings after the infamous Christmas Eve Present Extravaganza.  Thank you to everyone who blessed us with gifts, messages, and kind gestures, contributing to these feelings of joy!

  

Christmas Eve day is traditionally spent turning our kitchen into a cookie making factory.  The pastoral staff serves the treats at the Christmas Day service, so making cookies for hundreds of church friends has become a whole family affair.

Around 4:00 we start The Unwrapping.  We say we do it this early to try to coordinate with our family in Chicago who is opening in Central Time, but really it's just 'cause we can't hold out any longer!

Here are just a few shots of happy faces and perfect presents.  The one above is my favorite of the night.  It was when Delia opened the DVD set of the 3 original Star Wars movies.  Yep, we now officially own them, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa.

 When Ella unwrapped the latest book in a series she loves from her cousins, she actually bailed on present opening for a while to start reading!

 This couldn't be any more perfect-- Star Wars Operation from Auntie Heather!  It has been played every day.  Maybe even every other hour!

The after-unwrapping Lego assembly.

The after-unwrapping Just Dance competition!

And here is a gift from Dorina's family that we have been enjoying all season.  In honor of Ericlee and his passion for telling children about God's love, Dorina sent us Ann Voskamp's Advent devotional book.  Each night we pause after dinner to appreciate and ponder how the entire Bible points to God's greatest gift.  We read and treasured the last page yesterday, on Christmas Day.  

After 2 days of fancy meals, present-o-rama, tons of togetherness, play, and Star Wars movies, we got out of the house a bit to drive around looking at Christmas lights.  This was really fun, but we had to laugh at the one Christmas Day picture I took of the girls.  While you all are posting adorable pictures of your kids in matching jammies or posed by a twinkling tree...here are mine, screaming and hiding because they are blinded by the laser beam flash of my phone! ;)

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)  We prayed as a family yesterday that this season each of our loved ones would find some peace and the time to ponder what it's all about: God's great love in the form of a miraculous baby boy.  Merry Christmas!

Today's To Do List:

Especially excited about haunted stories and princess rock star! :)

Weekend with Kyle

Once again, Kyle's work paid to fly him right to us!  After meeting with some clients on the coast on Thursday and Friday, it worked out perfectly for Uncle Kyle to get picked up by his family for a weekend in Monterey.  He's already off today, but oh what a start to our Christmas Vacation!

Our first bit of time with Kyle was spent eating pizza for dinner and swimming in our hotel's indoor pool.  Apparently coastal vacations are not so common during the winter, so we had this great hotel all to ourselves.  In the above picture, Delia is modeling an early Christmas gift from Auntie Karen and family-- a talking R2D2 wheelie suitcase.  You can probably imagine how excited she was about this cool gift!

The next day we started making our way to the aquarium, stopping at a few of our favorite wildlife viewing spots as we drove.

The day was gray, but the animal sightings were still aplenty.  Highlights were the playful otters and the cuddly/grumpy sea lions.

Our second trip to the aquarium on this year's membership was just as great as the first one.  Once again we started at the cephalopod exhibit to watch those amazing cuddlefishes and octopuses in action.

On this trip, we also enjoyed the jellyfish exhibit, the big Open Seas tank feeding, and the lionfish.  I love how each visit to the aquarium brings a new favorite.  You never know what is going to be especially exciting, making each time we go special and memorable.

These playful penguins were all lined up at the glass, just begging for a picture! :)

We had to make the traditional stop at the ocean too.  The surf on this day was incredible!  We've never seen the ocean so pounding or the waves so huge.  We just read about a "King Tide" in this area, which is what seems to be making the water extra exciting.

And a quick stop at the butterfly sanctuary is always a must too.  On this day, the butterflies were clumped up in the biggest bunch we'd ever seen them.  They looked like a bee hive!  A docent told us that about 20,000 monarchs were in this little piece of forest.

Still having time in our day, we spent an hour at our favorite Dennis the Menace park too.  Above, the girls are performing a number they choreographed to "You Are My Sunshine."  They are singing and dancing on a sunshine...clever, right?

We had a special surprise for the girls that required a little stalling, so we stopped for some Starbucks on the way home.  Drinks for everyone were on my generous students, who gifted me with so many Starbucks cards, I probably won't have to pay for coffee for the next 3 years!

This was the special surprise: an incredible dancing lights house in the Bay Area right on our way home.  We saw this thing on You Tube and realized it was not far off the road from where we were going to be this weekend.  We HAD to work it into our day.  Have you seen it?  It's getting famous for its last number, which is a light show coordinated to Star Wars music!  (Click here if you don't know about this yet.)

The Star Wars song was definitely the coolest, especially when the lasers on the roof fought each other like light sabers, but that was not all.  The house also played Christmas music, dance music and Frozen songs, which the whole crowd sang along to.  And with this thing going viral, there was quite the crowd!

Sunday was a lovely day of church and relaxation.  We watched Muppet Christmas Carol, we played lots of games, we ate popcorn and drank hot chocolate, and we opened Uncle Kyle's thoughtful Christmas presents.  

It was SUCH a good weekend.  What a gift for all of us to get this unexpected time with Kyle.  It kicked off what I hope will be a really excellent break!

Sunday School Program

Last week our kids led our evening worship service with their Sunday School Program.  It was as wonderful as always, with lots of costumes, singing and instrument playing.  Ella was a "wise woman" and Delia was a donkey.  They each took a turn reading  a selection from Luke 2 also.

Ella's favorite part of the program is always the invitation to help play the prelude for the service.  Even though her teacher has been on maternity leave and Ella hasn't had a lesson since the end of September, she was determined to figure out this tricky song on her own so she could play it for everyone.  Enjoy a one minute video of her below.

What a blessing to have our own children stand before us and remind us what Christmas is all about.  I always watch this program with a big smile as our little ones sing their hearts out and excitedly tell us the story of Jesus' birth!

The Perks of Being a Ballerina

Last night, for the first time ever, Delia got to be IN a parade!  Her dance studio got all the kids on the back of a semi trailer and had them march down Main St. in our small town's annual Christmas parade.  She was beside herself with excitement!  The older kids did a dance routine behind the trailer and Santa was high up on a throne by the cab tossing candy.  These things all combined to give this dance float a first place prize in the parade!

After 3 months off from her broken arm, Delia returned to ballet and was instantly reminded how much hard work it was.  She asked to quit at that point, but we encouraged her to stick it out for at least a year.  After last night Delia was soooo glad she did!

VM Family Holiday Letter

Our 2014 in 1316 Characters

This year our family...

-shared an awesome mountain vacation in Mammoth with Grandma and Grandpa

-found one of God's best redemption stories at Glass Beach in Ft. Bragg

-had another reviving week at Mount Hermon/HiCamp

-enjoyed our annual Pinecrest camping trip

-watched humpback whales frolicking from the shore of Moss Landing

-hiked through caves and crevices

This year Dave...

-ministered in Guatemala again

-ran a 12K across the Golden Gate Bridge with Heather

-took his youth group and family on a service trip to Rehoboth, NM 

-was called to be our church's next Senior Pastor, starting sometime between April and August 2015

This year I...

-am still thanking God for my job and finding my second year of teaching preschool to be even more satisfying

-loved visiting my all-time favorite ocean animals in the aquarium's new cephalopod exhibit

-said goodbye to our dear friend Ericlee, and was honored to stand at his widow's side, learning life-shaping lessons about finding joy in trials, keeping faith, and living with courage

This year Ella...

-took an art class at our local college

-watched her beloved SF Giants become a "dynasty" by winning another World Series Title

-won a prize for having the most reading points of everyone in her class

-started  4^th grade, the year of projects and reports

-was a stop light for Halloween

-joined our church’s GEMS Club

-ran an entire 5K with Dave and was given a medal!

This year Delia...

-lost both of her front teeth

-fell in love with Star Wars

-became a ballerina

-loves school and her teacher and has not lost a single (behavior-related) smiley face

-kicked off 2^nd grade by spectacularly breaking her arm at school, and then rocking the 3 month recovery

Wishing you a Joy-FULL 2015...
One that cannot be described in under 1000 characters!
Love, 
Dave, Jen, Ella and Delia

Take Nap on the Couch I Will

To slow down and be still long enough to actually fall asleep in a random place during the day is NOT like her at all.  So I had to take a picture. :)

A Visit from Sint

As has become our family's Christmas tradition, last night we filled the klompies with letters for Sinter Klaus and carrots for his white horse.

And this morning the girls were rewarded with a small pile of presents!  How lovely that December 6 falls on a Saturday this year!  We don't have to rush off to school, but can instead laze around in our jammies playing with the new treasures.  This includes making Star Wars crafts and origami!  Can you believe Sinter Klaus found such perfect gifts for these girlies? :)

  

And...It's Christmas!

After such a lovely, family-filled, relaxing day yesterday, today we worked on getting our house all Christmas-y.  

We had a Griswold Christmas moment when Ella and I fell in love with and insisted on THIS big, beautiful tree:

Dave was the voice of reason, logically reminding us of our 7 foot limit, but giving in in the end.  With some creative pruning, we were able to squeeze it into our living room.  The angel has reached new heights-- actually touching the ceiling this year!

A big basket full of beloved Christmas stories, a soundtrack of Christmas songs, those favorite decorations I haven't seen in a year, that fresh pine smell, and anticipation for all the wonderful things this season will bring...today we are feeling like it's finally Christmas!

The Perfect Thanksgiving

This year we had a relaxing Thanksgiving at home, just the 4 of us.  I didn't go too crazy with the cooking since the theme we were going for was "Stress free and low key".  But, putting these ingredients together did succeed in creating one of our best Thanksgivings ever:

Church
Macy's parade
Lily begging for turkey scraps
Corn soufflé and cranberry apple salad
Heartfelt Thanksgiving prayers from our girls
Texts and calls from loved ones
Face Time with the cousins/newphews
Bears game
Family movie
Fierce game of Trains, where Ella wiped the floor with us
Left over turkey sandwiches
Pumpkin carving
Just Dance competition turning into a family dance party
And some dozing on the couch

Life has been full this fall.  To get a day with no agenda, except to spend quality time together, was exactly what I had on my agenda this Thanksgiving!

Star Wars Hockey

Alternative Title: The Night 3/4s of the Family Was in Heaven!

Ask Dave what one of his favorite things in the world is and he might tell you, "Hockey!"  Ask the girls and they'd currently tell you, "Star Wars!" So, imagine our delight when we discovered our local minor-league hockey team hosts a Star Wars Night!!!

I posted something on Facebook about attending this game as something I did because I love my family, but it was actually tons of fun!

Delia, like the little Star Wars enthusiast she is (read: nerd), insisted on wearing her Princess Leia Halloween costume.  Ella and Dave found some funny Star Wars shirts on the clearance rack to wear.  I did not dress up. :) 

FIGHT!!!

The girls watch hockey with Dave so they like and understand it.  I got such a kick out of how into the game they got.  Our team scored 7 goals and won big.  It was especially funny watching Delia in her costume, with her little wig askew, gawking at fights and cheering for goals.

GOOOOOOAAAAL!

The Star Wars theme was really fun.  After big events in the game, they'd play appropriate movie clips (like Darth Vader inviting us to "join the Dark Side" after a fight).  In between periods they had costume and best Wookie call contests.  Darth Vader dropped the first puck for the night and Storm Troopers danced on the big screen.

In the stadium's lobby were lots of photo oppotunities too.  I post these pictures in this order to show you Delia's reaction.  First she was terrified (even though she loves Star Wars and was dressed up herself) and wouldn't go near them.

Then she was willing to stand near a character, but only if Daddy held her.

Then she ran up to each one on her own to take a pic and give them high fives!  She even begged us to return to the character area for more pictures later!

It was a late night, but this picture may show how much energy was exerted and how much fun was had by the end of the game!

I still need to have penalties explained to me and get scolded when I call Bobba Fett a Storm Trooper, but I'm learning to love hockey and Star Wars for the sake of my husband and daughters!