Wheee!!! and year ends on a cool note

With the cold weather, we are home more than we are out and about during the boys' break that's ending so soon already.

The coolest day must be when we went to Mt Spokane, and...

Look, who's having fun?!!

Wheee!!! 

Kait kept asking for more!

There were Ben and Jon, of course...

Now can we go? ;p

They couldn't wait to take the chair-lift to the top of the bunny hill -- to whoosh down again and again!

The 0F and lower on New Year's eve makes it even more chilly now. It also means we are ending the year on a COOL note! Before that, the youngest asked, "Somebody turned off lights?", before she got it: "Oh, (lights) not working!".  Thankfully the blackout lasted only 3h.  And the future is still BRIGHT :)... and yes, the heat came back on, phew!!!

(Am trying out a $2 app on the hubs' phone... Shorter posts in the new year???)

Have a very Merry Christmas!

You know, I wasn't exactly kidding about rolling my fave fall picture(s) over to Christmas...

Here's a family one specially to wish you and yours much love and laughter this special time of the year, and God's richest blessings always!

"Glory to God in the Highest, 
and on earth peace, 
goodwill toward men!"

Luke 2:14

From a less hurried evening during busy fall, that let us take in the season's beauty (always my sanity saver!) not just take some random pictures :). Thank God for His amazing grace and goodness day by day, season by season! (The card template is from an online provider).

"Look, it's Christmas (almost)!"

Getting into the spirit...

I plugged in the vacuum cleaner, and Kait went and put on her red winter hat.

She grabbed the duster, and I went and grabbed my phone for a quick picture of my jolly little elf! ;p

And like a reminder to myself to keep a positive attitude going about my regular chores and more to do this time of year!

And...


"LOOK, IT'S CHRISTMAS!" gasped an animated Ben -- when finally, finally up went our tree and on came the lights!!!

"YAY, Christmas!" Kait was bubbling over with excitement, too -- and leaning over her stool, one of her makeshift ladders to help her get a better look!

Jon was beaming as well, whilst still hanging up his lovely made-in-Sunday-School ornaments from previous years I've kept -- to help us keep Christ in Christmas!

We've also got those plastic, shatter-proof ornaments, besides a few school and homemade ones.  Plus three stocking-stands spelling out J - O -Y, among our merry touches older and new.

And it's always a joyful moment for me as a mom, to see the children's faces lit up like this -- when our tree came aglow!

May Christmas never lose its lustre on us.  That we'll approach it with such childlike joy -- over God who said "Let there be light!" in the beginning, and sent us Jesus, His only Son, the Joy to the world for eternity. 

***

Besides joy, this mom had better also be thinking peace (and harmony), and love, love is patient, love is kind... 
To one child's question (prompted by the stockings stand) of what joy is, I actually told all three children that it means them having to try and not call each other names or throw a tantrum or fight whenever they can't agree.  As much as it means me their mommy having also to try and not scream whenever they scream. You can guess I am pretty worn out to have to tell it to them like this!  

Joy, the husband pointed out, also includes me not carried away with those DIY touches to gifts I enjoy adding but at the expense of sleep, and especially with all the interrupted sleep still. A less cranky mom also means joy for her children!

But no, it's not because the boys' schoolbreak just started that the three kids like to go "Moooommmm!!!" a lot! Yes, I am learning to shelve the stuff that can wait -- to keep the holiday (and everyday) stress in check.

(Pictures added to post).

This is mommy talking

My two sons were checking out my teeth mould I'd brought home from the dentist's, and going:

"So gross, SO GROSS!" !

They echoed my thoughts actually -- that I was not at all looking forward to starting to wear a mouthguard when I go to bed. Night after night, for (and this is the part I dread) AS LONG AS IT TAKES.

But the dentist was sure, "You have the teeth of an 80yo" -- worn down by my stressful grinding :(.

Separately, another reliable source said I had worn off my fingerprints (considerably)! I didn't know that was even possible. But apparently, my finger pads not just hands are getting grandmotherly also - from the day-to-day washing, cleaning, scrubbing.

Finally, what helped me remember we can stay young no matter how old we become (and you know, I will only be 40 years young next year), was when the cheeky boys helped me LAUGH OFF the stress from being told how stressed I am!

"This is mommy talking," piped up Jon, he and Ben playing ventriloquist with my teeth mould...

"And THIS IS MOMMY SHOUTING..." (at this point, picture my mouth -- the teeth mould in Jon's hand -- pried WIDE OPEN, and he upped his volume saying all this...)

"GO DO YOUR HOMEWORK NOW!!!"

***

A few more quick quips...

The little girl, though she takes awhile to fall asleep and wakes up every few hours still, actually does quite a nice job helping me tuck her brothers in:

"No talking, alright!" she tells them.

And when they don't take her seriously, she adds -- with a straight face, "NO LAUGHING!!!"!

Now I wonder where or who she gets that from? ;p

***

In the picture:

It's not because it's winter that Kait can go without any nap now. This was the other evening when she said "I, sleepyhead" of herself, and went and curled up in this makeshift bed she set up in the middle of nowhere! A pillow and a quilt she had dragged out from the bedroom -- to place nicely on the floor under the dinner table, next to where I was cooking.

Then less than 3 min into her catnap, she jumped up and promptly announced to her brothers and me that she's "ALL DONE SLEEPING!".
The husband reminded me I've said the same thing about the boys: WHERE DO THEY FIND SO MUCH ENERGY?!

***

Another dinnertime anecdote:

Instead of eating, Kait has run off to the next room with Rick Ashley -- dancing to his "never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down"!

She discovered him sometime back on the dad's phone -- in some app buried beneath many layers. And somehow she's always managed to find him again.

"How does she do that?" the boys asked. The proud daddy thinks she's just smart. Don't forget she is also from the touch-screen generation, having played with the phone apps and games for over a year now, and knows her way around them better than I do (no kidding, but mine is a simpler phone)!

Got to hand it to Apple, of course, for such friendly technology that even little kids like her and younger can grasp.

Talk about starting young. I did not come across Rick Ashley till I was way older, hahaha!

***

Kait at 27-28 mos. I am also tickled by her use of "hey!", like when she was convinced her dad had snuck some chocs from the fridge into his pocket -- the way she knows I do -- but he did not; telling me to "stop it!" when I told her "No smearing... the ants will come get you!"; and her calling the shots for when enough was "enough!" e.g. to my asking her for more 'mwaaahs' after she identified a quick smooch between a couple in a commercial as "kissing!" and had surprised me with a peck! Less so the name-calling, and hilarious as it can be when she says "beep" instead of an actual bad word, that's something I have to try and not laugh at, even though she is still little to grasp what "mind your language" really means. There's also her all-knowing "yaaahhh", the disappointed "awww" at precise moments, and her rather precocious, sounds-just-like-her-brothers-answering-me "Wait a minute!", "I'm busy!", or "Whaaaaaat???" -- that cracks me up! My sweetie also thinks she is a "pretty-pie"... 'coz "pr" is easier to say than "sw", hehe!

"Look, snow!" and feeling the warmth

"This is the moment I've been waiting for!"

"Look, snow... lots snow. I like snow! Where my boots? I want wear boots... play Gor Gor!"

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!"

These were the children's enthusiastic responses --

to the first flurries (Ben),

then the first accumulation (Kait) almost a week after that,

and what else was on all their minds, besides the "20 minute fort" (Jon) they put together that same day after school.

Getting the snowball rolling...

Keep going...

One more...

Ta-da!!!

The snowfort the kids worked on together!

Of course it's not always quite so snow-perfect. And I'm not talking about how more carefully we have to drive on more snow than this -- after another heavier snowfall, as it is navigating through the sea of slush when the snow melts -- that's not a pretty sight either.

But let me try and keep the peace here, hehe, and bask in such a precious moment of the children playing quite nicely together! ;p

***

Fastforward to after more snow has accumulated since the first snowfall...

The snow plow finally made it to our street! It did such a good job compacting the snow and throwing the chunky blocks to the sides, it took us a lot more effort to clear the driveway -- so as not to be snowed in! What an irony!

Now here's what I love about my husband, and I am writing it down, so blessed to be married to the kind man that he is:

After we were done and I'd come back inside with the younger two children, Vern and our eldest Jon went and helped shovel a neighbour's driveway without being asked. Then, with that neighbour who had been helped, they all went on to help another two more neighbours that way -- and it's true more hands helped make that laborious work lighter. After that, there was still another neighbour who came out after everyone had gone back in. We were actually already in our car by that time, about to drive off. Still, good Vern asked me if we could wait for him and Jon his good helper to pick up their shovels again to go lend a hand once more. Of course -- go, guys, go!

We missed church that Thanksgiving weekend, but that was a wonderful "love your neighbour" opportunity there. Among more ways you and I can be there for a neighbour, friend, and also the less fortunate. It is always more blessed to give than to receive.

And feeling the warmth...

We've also been wonderfully blessed to be on the receiving end, often when we least expect it.

My loving friend from Singapore who seizes opportunity after opportunity to bless us, picked out a scarf for me -- to help me stay warm this winter. The way a newer friend this time last year, who lives in the state next-door and a caring `neighbour' she is though we've not met, had gone to all the effort to knit me a scarf also. Over thanksgiving was when another thoughtful old buddy went the extra mile to get us our Christmas gifts already.

I'm touched by these lengths they go to, they don't need to. And you know that a warm hello in the email or on this blog always warms my heart just as much :). Other ways and times our friends have blessed us, we're thankful for. Including those precious, precious moments when we were able to catch up with old pals during our July visit, and it was also my honor to meet a few newer friends for the first time then.

Thank you, I am grateful for your precious gift of friendship! The world is a warmer place because someone like you makes time for friends!

"Good friends are like snowflakes

each is unique,

heaven sent,

and makes the world a beautiful place."

(unknown)