Christmas Joy!

We were very blessed to spend some sweet time with both sides of the family this holiday season.  A couple of days before Thanksgiving we drove to Uncle Chris's house in Colfax, WA and spent the weekend with Charity's Mom (Grandma Johnson), Grandpa Bob, Matthew and Charity's two brothers and their families.  It was so fun for the kids to spend some time with cousins from Utah (where one of her brothers lives)  whom they don't get to see very much.  Here is a picture of Grandma, Grandpa, Matthew and (Charity's brother) Chris, (his wife) Brandi (their 2 girls) Brooke and Anne Marie.  I am not sure how much time the kids spent away from the Wii and the Pool table but I do know they had lots of fun.  Thanks for loving on us Everybody!!

 Here is a picture of Annecy and Kenya with thier cousin Maddie.  They sure are cute!

 

Merry Christmas!  I hope you all had as blessed a Christmas as our family did!  We were watching the weather on Snoqualime pass with hopes that it would stay clear over Christmas, so we could make the 4 hour trek to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Lynden.  We had snow a lot of the days previous to Christmas, so we were looking for our window to hit the highway and make it over the mountain.  We ended up finding that window on Christmas Eve Day and shot out of town before the forcast could change.  We spent Christmas Eve to the 28th camping out at Grandma and Grandpa's.  We went to some really cool Christmas light displays, ate way too many "Christmas treats, entertained by rematch after rematch of any card game we could find and ended with overnighters at cousins.  We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family members on both sides.

 

Grandma and Grandpa Scheffer got all of their grand kids (who are all about the age to need them)  a set of shower nessecities with deoderant and body spray.  They all loved them and were so excited to use them as soon as they could.

 Elijah on the other hand, did not have the tact the rest of the grandkids did and decided the middle of the living room was as good a place as any to improve on his hygene.

Every year Grandma and Grandpa take a picture of all of the Grandkids around the tree.  Every year the youngest grandchild (Elijah) thinks he is the only one in the picture.   Another tradition that has started with Grandma and Grandpa is that they purchase a beautiful bouquet of crazy socks for the grandkids to adorn.   Here is a view of the creative foot art.

We hope you all enjoy the rest of your family time until we all go back to crazy schedules, appointments and learning.  I know we will!

It has been another busy December getting church Christmas Programs, Parties and Caroling on the Calander, not to mention getting all of the regular shopping, cards, treats made and having a little family fun on the side.  We just finished up basketball season for the girls.  They did a great job and played hard.  Kenya just finished 3 performances of the play called "Amahl and the Night Visitors"  It was about the wisemen and shepherds that came to see Jesus.  It was an opera, so of course Kenya was overjoyed to participate in it, and we at home enjoyed her putting her very loud, high pitched choruses to practice somewhere besides the confines of our sound restrictive walls. She was one of the shepherds.

 

 

We try to spend time in the kitchen as a family every year making some kind of treat to distribute among our friends and loved ones.  This year I found the idea of covering 3 stacked marshmellows with white chocolate, to make a snow man.  Then using butterscotch and milk chocolate to add facial features and buttons.  As usual my children's creativity outwits my in the box thinking.  I love it when that happens!  They made such beautiful creations, despite my tendencies to squelch it.

It has really started to snow here, we have had about 6 inches and snow is predicted for the next 3 days.  The kids have already been out making piles of snow for a much anticipated snow fort!  I love playing in the snow with my family.  Pictures to come soon!  I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas season and are blessed as much as we are to know you are immensly love by a Great Big God and to be loved by so many people, who bless our sock off on a daily basis.