Christmas Concert After Party

I posted this on my blog, but thought I'd post it here too. :)

I decided since I haven't posted about anything that we've done in the last few months, that I'd go back to Christmas time, at least for a little bit.  Eliza's and Kate's singing group, Shine Your Light Singers, sang at a church's Christmas Party in December.  Outside of the church, they had a small set up of a manger scene, with actors, and a small "petting zoo."  There were donkeys, and sheep, chicks, and bunnies.  The Allens and the Hills were able to come with us.  It was so nice to have family there supporting our girls ... Thank you, we love you!

Poor, Adam stood by the pen for the bunnies waiting and waiting for his turn with a particular bunny.  Finally, when he was given the bunny, he was scratched and it startled him enough that the bunny needed to be put back down.  After that point, he waited and waited patiently for another turn, which he never got.  I was surprised by his persistence.  He stood there for easily 15 minutes waiting for another turn.  While, Andrew held a bunny for probably 8-10 minutes alone.  He sure got attached to that cute furry thing.

Eliza and Kate were also attached.  Kate is holding a guinea pig, and Eliza is holding a bunny.  They left with the intention to own a bunny someday.

Oh, and their performance was so fantastic.  We were a little bit late, but made it before they started, so it was all good.  Eliza had a solo that she was able to sing one more time.  Kate's solo was part of a Chipmunks Christmas song, and their teacher didn't feel it was right for a church setting, so she didn't get to sing her song.  But, I will say this, after their first performance at an assisted living center, we walked out and all of the girls in the younger group were asking for Kate's autograph ... they all exclaimed at how much she sounded just like Alvin.  And, I completely agree!  Surprised me for sure!

Holiday Tradtions

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything here.  We were in Idaho Falls for an internship all summer, which most of you know.  I was not excited about this at all and the first part of the summer went so slow.  But as I came to realize what a blessing it was to be there and how the Lord was truly doing what was best for my family I started to enjoy my time there.  We learned a lot and are glad for our experiences this summer but hope that we won't have to repeat it.  And then when we got back, between school starting and me being down because of my back for more than two weeks it has been a little crazy.

So to start out a new era of posting I want some input from you guys.  What are your traditions that you do as a family every year?  I really want to make this Christmas more Christ and family centered, so I need some ideas.  I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving, and I hope you all know how much I love and look up to you.  You are all amazing people and I'm glad to be a part of this family!!

Happy Birthday: Sarah!

Happy Birthday Sarah!  She is turning nine today.  We just love having Sarah around, and love that we get to see her so much now.  She is such a sweet girl, always ready to help out and serve others.  Such a great example.  We love you Sarah!

Edited to add pictures:

We were invited to celebrate Sarah's birthday with her on Saturday, which included swimming!  It's always  refreshing to get in the swimming pool on a hot day.  Thank you, Robert and Norine for sharing your pool!  It was a blast!

 

Soup Recipes from the Family Reunion

I posted a link on the right to my blog that has my favorite recipes on it, but thought I'd put the direct links to the soups I made at the family reunion in a blog post to make it easier for anyone who wanted to find them.

Cheesy Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Also, Heather, .... so glad you changed your mind about making waffles at the reunion ... I just made a double batch of your sour cream waffles (which were SOOOOOOO yummy!), and it took me about 1 1/2 hours (with a yield of about 25 +/- waffles).  :0)

Movie Ratings

My friend just told me about this site and I thought that I would share it with you all. It is a movie rating site that tells you detailed about violence, sex, language, and drugs. You can also look up music as well. This has become my favorite site. I make sure that I look up the movies before we go to anything, you never know what you are going to get now days!! Here is the site......commonsensemedia.org

Happy 20th Anniversary

Last night we took the Gomezes over to the Allen's house for a day of fun and realized that on Tuesday Robert and Norine celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary!  We went to the store to get some things for dinner and Norine saw this cute little Snickers cake and decided to reenact the cake eating done at their reception.  Both Neen and Rob said that they didn't have to courage to shove the cake into each other's faces at their reception, but LOVED doing it last night!

We feel so blessed to be so near to the Allens now, and love visiting with them.  Rob and Norine have such a great relationship, and their home is filled with that love from wall to wall and door to door.  They are so cute together too.  For their anniversary, they worked together to declutter and rearrange their bedroom.  (Which looks awesome, guys!)  It was so wonderful to be a part of their "mini" celebration.

Happy Birthday: Isabell

We are so glad to have you in our family!  It was great to see you and our girls LOVED playing with you at the family reunion!  You are such a big help to your mom, and I know you bring your family such joy and sunshine.  Hopefully, you have had a great birthday.  Love you!