I Can Fly

Holiday Highlights

We had a great Christmas celebration (despite illness raging through our home), enjoying Christmas eve and Morning at our home and then traveling to Cincinnati to celebrate with Family. Jesus' Birthday is a big deal!

Highlights from our week of celebration:

• the Donkey cake...yes, Donkey cake for Jesus' Birthday :)
• Ethiopian Christmas dinner (Amy was busy!)
  
• magical reindeer food sprinkled on our deck
• Santa ate all his cookies this year (last year Hendrick was so upset Santa left crumbs!)
• reading the Christmas story and sharing the gifts of the Magi
  
• the slinky!!!!
• Christmas day board games
• walking through a jungle at Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati (and "stinky" live nativity)
• Grandpa's 60th Birthday celebration and Prof. Pryor's Magic (illusion) Show
• sharing Christmas gifts with Amy's family
  
• pretend play with cousin Zoey ("we're sipping wine...")
• MIKE'S BIRTHDAY!!!!
  
• a date night :)
• another "Christmas morning" with Mike's family
• gag gift exchange with "poo" - no, really
• sleeping on army surplus cots - with our family of six in one room!
  

click on the picture for a larger view of all the fun

Merry Christmas

HE is born! Merry Christmas!

Tracking Santa

Hendrick is loving this website:
www.noradsanta.org

Cookie Time

Yummy...we love Cookies!!! Every year we roll-out, bake, and decorate cookies from Amy's family recipe - then we eat through them way too fast (this is the second batch we've made in two weeks!). The kids did great...with all the practice, they're becoming pros!Merry Christmas!!!!

Zoo Lights

This past weekend, we took a magical trip with our good friends to the Memphis Zoo for Zoo Lights. The Kids got to meet up with Santa (and remind him about the slinky!) and explore the Zoo at night. There was even fake snow for us deprived Tennessee folk!

Christmas Traditions

Christmas is a BIG celebration of the birth of Jesus - the greatest gift ever!!! Christmas is a joyful time - it should be a big party, a celebration. We really want our children to know the "reason for the season" and to be excited about Jesus' birthday without getting lost in the secular traditions of Christmas. We have tried to find a good balance in our household and keep our focus on Christ during this wonderful season. Some of our traditions:

First Gift: the first present opened on Christmas morning is Jesus...really! We wrap-up baby Jesus in our nativity set and He is opened as the first gift of Christmas - this helps to keep our focus on the real importance of Christmas...and without Jesus, there would be no Christmas!

Birthday Party: We are celebrating Jesus' Birthday, so that calls for presents, cake and decorations. We decorate with lights and Christmas trees and we make a Birthday Cake for Jesus and sing "Happy Birthday" to our Lord. We made a "lamb" cake last year, and this year we are going to attempt a "donkey" cake (Hendrick's idea). "Everyone is so excited about Jesus' Birthday!"

Gift Giving: God gave us the biggest gift, His Son, and so we give gifts at Christmas (it is a birthday party) in celebration of Jesus and to share God's love. Santa Claus comes to celebrate Jesus and give gifts in rememberance of the the biggest gift. Our kids also give gifts at Christmas (hand-made ornaments) - so they to can share in this spirit of giving.

Gifts of the Magi: We want our gifts to the kids to of have meaning (and limit the number...and yes, we do "family" gifts) and so this year we are giving gifts of the Magi (and hope to continue this tradition in the future). The gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh were given the Christ child; each representing a significant part of His life and ministry.

• Gold: a gift for royalty, a gift of virtue - our holy Savior is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. A "gold" gift is one of value, a "treasure" to the person (i.e. Superhero Capes!!!) and can be wrapped in gold paper for extra significance.
• Frankincense: a costly white resin and ancient "cure-all" to be used for religious purposes and was specifically requested as a sacrificial incense in God's temple, where He promised to meet with His people - Jesus in our Emanuel, "God with us". The "frankincense" gift is one for spiritual life (i.e. devotional, bible or Christian music - our kids love "Go Fish") wrapped in white paper representing the sacred white incense.
• Myrrh: a dark resin with rich aroma used in ancient times to scent anointing oils, perfumes, and embalming liquids - Jesus sacrificed His very life for our salvation. "Myrrh" is a gift for the body (i.e. bubble bath, lotion, towels, perfume, etc.) wrapped in brown paper.

We hope to make our Christmas special and meaningful in our household. Merry Christmas!!!
*We'd love to hear some more Christmas celebration ideas...please share!!!

Ornaments

The kids make ornaments each year -this way they can participate in the "gift-giving" of Christmas...and we love having each age-and-stage captured on our Christmas Tree.
This year the kids created 56 ornaments!

Santa Claus is Coming...

Santa Claus is coming to town...
"to the country...to the town and the country" - Hendrick

Super

We are so excited to give these to the kiddos for Christmas! Amy enjoys making presents for Christmas...Super Hero Capes are the latest creation. These will be the "gold" gifts this year. *Explanation and more home-made gifts coming soon...

Cape pattern is from The Long Thread - Amy designed the Super Hero logos.

Christmas Blooms

It is nice to have blooms in December (Christmas Cactus)
*Happy 60th Birthday to (Amy's) Dad

writing practice

Hendrick's letters are coming along...

Christmas Card

Green Baby

We have made the switch, Maegli is going GREEN!!!
Maegli is now in cloth diapers...and we LOVE them. We wanted to make a healthy change: healthy for our environment, our baby, and our finances. It is a big initial investment,
but overall this will save our family a lot of money (three kids in diapers is very expensive).
We hope the move the two boys into cloth diapers soon!

Peas in a Pod

We love watching our two "bitty" boys together.

2008 Year End Review

With 4 kids, 4-and-under, 2008 has been a blessed and busy year for our family. We moved to new realms of "busy-ness," yet established a new normal that is more fun than we could have imagined...it's a party everyday! We are constantly entertained. Our full slate of activities included visits to the Zoo, Children's Museum, and our favorite Ethiopian restaurant, three camping trips, two mini-vacations (Nashville and Chattanooga), one family wedding, two weeks of "Camp YoungLives" (our own at-home VBS), and beginning the exciting world of homeschool...plus the everyday fun (and challenges) four kids provide!

Our newest member, Maegli (10 months) brings a lot of color to our world. The boys love their baby sister! Maegli is a super smiley, happy baby. As the lone girl, she is learning to be one tough cookie.
Burke (23 months) has a wonderful personality. He is a captivating presence, is a talker, loves music and dancing, has a great laugh and is full of drama. Burke is now a U.S. Citizen! He and Davis are two peas in a pod.
Davis (2-1/2 years) is becoming such a big boy. He works so hard in Occupational, Physical and Speech therapy and has made great strides. His darling personality is really coming out - he has a wonderful sense of humor ("Daddy, I am laughing at you!").
Our big boy, Hendrick (4-3/4 years), is the leader of the pack. He delights in helping his brothers and directing imaginative play (Star Wars, cowboys...). He has enjoyed playing t-ball and soccer and attending Kindermusik classes. He has excelled in his homeschooling: he is now reading beginner books and is chugging away at kindergarten-level math. We have treasured Bible devotionals with Hendrick: his innocent and pure faith discussions are so charming ("Heaven has cabins and bunk beds and pillow fights and no one gets hurt").

Amy adores being home with the four kids and has enjoyed her new vocation as homeschool teacher. It is a lot of work and crazy at times, but God has been so faithful providing in all areas. Along with kid duties, she has continued knitting at a torrid pace and bakes lots of bread!
Mike transferred to a new department at the Pringles plant and has enjoyed the challenge of new people and technology. He continues to work with the Dream Center of Jackson and fills in as homeschool teacher a few nights per week.
Amy and Mike are also avid readers and play oodles of games...current favorites include Cribbage, Qwirkle, and Banagrams.

God has immeasurably blessed us with four wonderful children. Parenting, as our family's core ministry, is challenging and yet fulfilling beyond our wildest dreams and we hope to be blessed with more "opportunities to witness."

We wish you and your family the very best for 2009!!!

She Knits - Bears

Bears...Amy has been knitting bears for two years. Amy first knit bears for the "Mother Bear Project" and sent 2o bears to South Africa (2006) with our church's mission trip. After much tweaking of the design and adjusting yarn weight and needles, Amy began to knit bears for gifts and then knit 35 bears in 2007 to send to Ethiopian Orphanages. Now, the bears (13-inches, all-cotton, machine-washable) are available for sale (custom order)...and Amy is still knitting for Ethiopia.

She Knits - More

I (Amy) am self-taught knitter and have been working the needles for 6 years. My first major project was a set of Christmas stockings for our family and since have ventured to socks, mittens and hats for gifts; hats, sweaters and blankets for the boys...and then there were bears. Most recently I've been working on a new hat for Maegli (my "Cherry-on-Top" hat). Next project on the table: more sweet knits (hat and coat) for our baby girl and experimenting with new fun animal designs.

December Media Recommendations

Mike

Tell No One - Without a doubt, this is the best movie I have seen all year. I hate to use the phrase, "Edge of your seat," but this is an "edge of your seat" murder mystery. If only Jackson had a theater where we could find these unique movies! We saw this on a date night at Cincinnati's Esquire Theater.


Amy

Same Kind of Different As Me is the inspirational true-story of an unlikely friendship between a wealthy international art dealer and a homeless drifter told by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. This is a touching, eye-opening, and thought-provoking book dealing with issues of racism, homelessness, service, faith, death, and friendship without limits. It was so apparent God was at work in their lives. I laughed and cried, was very inspired and challenged. This is truly a must read!

Kids
The Star Wars Trilogy by John Williams - Whenever we play this CD, Hendrick dresses up all the kids in their Star Wars costumes. For whatever reason, he thinks this consists of gloves, a jacket, and a stocking cap. Apparently this is what Luke Skywalker wears when he fights "Dark Vader." Maegli is Princess Leia, and Davis and Burke alternate between Han Solo and Lando. Daddy gets to play Dark Vader and uses a red Betty Crocker spoon for a light saber. Just imagine how excited Hendrick will be when we actually let him watch the movies...

Writing practice

Hendrick's independent work in letters and music
("Old MacDonald Had A Farm" - in case you were wondering!).

Got Milk? - 3

*Amy was pleased to be able to participate (for a second year) in this shipment of breast milk to a South Africa - donating over 800 ounces of milk! If you have milk, don't let it go to waste - please consider donating to this great organization. Check out our other posts on the IBMP.

We are pleased to announced that just a few hours ago 45,717 ounces (357 gallons, 1352 liters) of donor breast was picked up by Quick International Courier to begin the journey across the ocean to infants affected by HIV/AIDS, malnourishment, poverty and disease in South Africa.

INFANTS IN AFRICA TO RECEIVE 357 GALLONS OF DONOR BREAST MILK FROM MOTHERS IN THE UNITED STATES

International Breast Milk Project sends its 7th shipment of donated breast milk from moms across the US to infants affected by HIV/AIDS, malnourishment, disease and poverty in South Africa.

Rochester, Minnesota, USA. (Dec. 1, 2008) – On December 1st, 2008, International Breast Milk Project, a Minnesota-based non-profit organization, will be making final arrangements for 357 gallons of donor breast milk to begin the journey across the ocean to South Africa.

The shipment will consist of 45,717 ounces (357 gallons, 1352 liters) of pasteurized donated breast milk, enough milk to feed 75 babies for 1 month. Quick International Courier, a global priority transportation and logistics company, will be donating the transport of the breast milk from Monrovia, California to South Africa. Prolacta Bioscience, a life science company headquartered in Monrovia, partners with International Breast Milk Project by processing and packaging the donated breast milk to ensure its quality and safety. Once the milk arrives in South Africa, Quick will split the milk into 3 separate lots before hand delivering it to partner organizations for infants affected by HIV/AIDS, malnourishment, disease and poverty in Durban, Uitenhage, and Cape Town.

To date, International Breast Milk Project donors have provided over half a million ounces (4147 gallons, 15,800 liters) of safe, pasteurized donor breast milk to infants in need, with 162,665 ounces (1270 gallons, 4811 liters) going to infants affected by HIV/AIDS, malnourishment, poverty and disease in South Africa. Half a million ounces of donor milk could feed over 3500 premature infants or 850 full-term babies for 1 month.

International Breast Milk Project is the only organization in the world to provide donor breast milk on a large scale to infants affected by HIV/AIDS, malnourishment, disease and poverty in Africa. In just two years, the organization has grown from one mom to over 1,125 breast milk donors and it has received inquiries from all over the world on how to get donor milk to infants in need. International Breast Milk Project has received numerous awards for social entrepreneurship and innovation.

For more information about International Breast Milk Project, visit the Breast Milk Project.

Art and Puppets

We intentionally seek out diverse art experiences for our family. Last week, we enjoyed a trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum for a museum tour and puppet show. The Madcap Puppet group performed "the Firebird" story with wonderful fanciful shadow puppets - the boys were very engaged throughout the production. The personal museum tour really helped the art come "alive" for the kids - we love the famous Juan Miro Mural (how many faces are in that?).