The Day After

The day after Christmas we take the short trip to the Santa Anna country to spend a few days with the Dean's. There is always something fun awaiting us there.
This is a great shot, Tatum is doing a little jig in his penguin suit. I think it's part Mary Poppins, part Happy Feet, part lame duck, part Tatum shuffle. One hand behind his head and one on his hip, what a kid!

One last thing...

While going on a joy ride in the mule, which is one of our favorite things to do at the river...

We meet, THE mule, I think his name is Sylvester. We are, however, prepared to woo this animal with treats...brocolli, carrots, apples etc. Do you catch the attitude that this thing is giving off?

This is as close as that animal would let us get to it and only if we were holding the right thing. Apparently, he has a discriminating palate and will only eat the sweet stuff, no veggies for him.

Oh, he would pose for pictures all day long, the primaddona. He even followed the Mule when we decided that petting the donkey was out of the question. So we stopped the mule and tried for 20 minutes to touch him.

Luke had met his match in the category of stubborness and in the end resorted to attempting to outrun the thing. I don't think I need to tell you that it was all in vain.
Luke forgets that if he would just play a little hard to get, he'd have more success. I just happened to have this picture from Thanksgiving '05 to prove my case. But back then he really wasn't all that interested.

On Christmas Day

The kids had to be woken up but as soon as we told them "Santa came" they jumped out of bed and ran down the hall to see the booty.

The guitar was a big hit and Tate picked it up like he'd been holding one his whole life.

Emma was thrilled, Granna bought her REAL dresses! They are beautiful!

I had a little "ugh" moment in the middle of all the Christmas festivities. Emma was being selfish with one of her toys so I says to her "Every good and perfect gift is from above, God gives us these gifts so that we can share with each other" to which she retorts "but I thought Santa brought me these toys?" To which I reply "God lets Santa give us these toys". OOH! WHAT am I DOING?! Quoting scripture and lying about Santa!? Good grief!! I almost choked on the words as soon as they left my tongue. I almost confessed to the whole charade right there but Emma had already trotted off to something else. I'm still a bit dumbfounded by the whole situation... Uh... Yeah...

This is Tate's attempt at "looking tough" and showing off his tatooed muscles

Another pretty dress from her friends Tucker and Tyler
Poppy boy is so hard to buy for, he has everything he wants and whetever he doesn't have he just buys for himself. But you can't go wrong with little hands and feet...especially if they are black and red. For anyone in the area who is interested, Ginger Hartman can make the cutest stuff out of your kids prints. Her email address is capmom2006@att.net

After gifts it was on to the more serious business...eating! Poppy and Jason have perfected the fried turkey. It's the only way to eat the stuff if you ask me.

A few months ago, my dad was featured on the cover of Well Servicing magazine and had a big fat cover story written about him.

So Luke and Shane had t-shirts, aprons, and bags made up with his picture on them and then gave them to us all. So funny to see my dad's picture plastered across the whole family, from GG all the way down to TC. Dad tried to act like it was no big deal but you could tell he thought it was a pretty cool joke. Good job guys! We ended the day riding around on the new bikes that Santa brought. Oh, we enjoyed the peacefulness of the day. Christmas could not have been better this year. I am so very thankful that my God chose to come to us as a baby to bridge the gap of our sin with his sacrifice. It is because of Him that I cannot even count my blessings they are so numerous. It is because of Him that our family is still together and functioning. It is because of Him that my once empty places are now full. It is because of Him that I move and breath and have my being. And it is because of Him that I have such peace. Not quiet or lack of chaos in my life; with 3 kids, are you kidding? This peace in my soul passes all understanding because I know that the One who holds the universe is holding me. "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 Thankyou God for Christmas and for Your gift of peace to me this year!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

and all through the orchard, not a creature was stirring....because they knew the great white hunter was cocked and loaded! What would Christmas be without a deer carcass hanging from a tree?
I know everyone has painful memories from childhood that have effected the way they relate and react as adults. Mine is not getting to open any gifts on Christmas eve, no matter how hard I begged. My children will not have to relive this pain and disappointment. My motto: "Let em rip!"WOO HOO! Cookies for Santa! Whatever frosting has not already been eaten the children use to decorate their cookies. You should have seen the mountain of sugar sprinkles on those suckers. I hope Santa doesn't go into a diabetic coma after visiting our house!

Of course the story will be told from the first sin of man to God's ultimate plan of salvation through His son Jesus. Then off to bed...

Christmas at the castle

We had been looking forward to Christmas at our own house. The invitation was open for anyone to join us but I was adament that my children would wake up on Christmas morning in their own beds. So Mom and Dad said they would be there. Then we found out Luke was planning on coming with his friend Shane. Yippee!! Then Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell...our house just got REALLY small. Okay maybe I'm not so set on Christmas as the Dean casa. Maybe I can bend a little this year. Let me tell you, Christmas at the castle was a blast!

We got to see and do COOL stuff like... taking elevator rides in Poppy's front loader to see if Jason could really lift a metal cabinet over his head while suspended in mid air.

The kids were more independent this trip than they have ever been. Emma was sure to keep everyone in line.

The most amazing story of the holiday is this: 4 years ago when Jason and I moved to Georgetown, after unpacking all of our boxes, realized that we were missing the box that contained our flatware along with a few other important items. The only thing that we could figure out was that maybe the box was accidently thrown away or even stranger that maybe someone had opened the trailer containing our boxes and stolen one from the top (a conspiracy theory of sorts). We bought new flatware and went on knowing the box was gone. About 3 days before this trip, Dad calls and asks if I still have the photo albums I had taken from their storage shed about the same time we moved to Gtown and could I bring them to the river. It would be fun to reminisce with family over old photos he says. I say, sure I know right where they are, in the garage in 2 boxes marked "photo albums". When we open the boxes at the river, what should appear but the long lost box of flatware, etc. It had been in our garage for the last 4 years in a mislabeled box. The moral of this story is: even if you think you know, you better double check anyway because you may not know as much as you think you know. The second and no less important moral is this: if you're going to use someone else's moving boxes, make sure they are labeled correctly.

The kids and I ALL swam in the jacuzzi tub (at the same time) and had a blast splashing and diving. I must say that I'm not used to having little toes in my water showing up in suprising places :}

One of the benefits of living on a dirt road is, driving lessons start at a very early age (just ask Jason)...One of the benefits of living in a small town is one of the few things to do includes icecream :)

I tried to include myself in the flying lessons but Uncle Luke wasn't buying.

Class party

I was so excited to get to participate in Tate's class party. Jason came home from work to keep the destroyer so that Emma and I could go. Tatum was thrilled and the room mother did a fantastic job with all the crafts and snacks. When we got home, all Emma could talk about was "last year when I was in kindergarten". She loved acting like one of the big kids. She and Tate sat together and decorated cookies and ornaments and she thought she was really somebody!

Santa Baby

Our sweet friends volunteered their home for our Church Christmas Party. Since they know people in high places they made arrangements for a special guest to visit.

Who should visit but Santa himself, complete with cold sleigh bells from the north pole. Cindy jumped at the chance to share her Christmas list and to show the less eager children that Santa was nice and not naughty.

But my Emma and her Chapman were not taking the bait.

Emma eventually warmed up to the old guy but poor Chapy never did. I say she warmed up...she never would sit in his lap. Why do we encourage our children to sit in the lap of a strange bearded man anyway. I guess it is good that she is cautious.

Classic Tatum, he jumped right in Santa's lap like he was greeting an old friend.

Bethlehem in Burnett

Christmas makes me so sentimental. Just thinking about what it must have been like on that first Christmas. I know that night probably wasn't quiet like we think...it was more like the outlet malls 2 days before Christmas. Everyone was coming into Bethlehem to pay their taxes and all the rooms were full. And with all those angels singing and the cattle lowing...not to mention Mary had just given birth, who could sleep? Mothers, do you remember what it was like that day for you? Anxious? Tense? Painful? Did you cry? Remember what it was like the first time you gazed on the most amazing thing God had ever created? Were you filled with fear for the responsibility you now held in your hands? Were you numb, the reality of it all not fully being realized? Did you feel unequiped, unprepared? And your baby grows...think of all the hopes you hold for them, how they delight you. Mary, just 14, with the Son of God...WOW. So I tend to get a little weepy thinking about my God, as a baby, with everything all planned out for me and mine. "The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost". What an amazing night. When I get there, I may ask to see the DVD of that night, relived in surround sound with the light show and everything.

Okay, so tonight we drove to Burnett for the live Bethlehem display. I'm not sure who loved it more, me or the kids (I'm guessing me). They had it all in this little city...camels, sheep, fresh bread, a tavern with harlots and drunks, centurian soldiers, high priests... But the best part, the part we had been talking about all night, was at the very end. What thrilled me was while I watched Mary and Joseph with the baby, Emma was right beside me, quietly watching also. People walked by, some barely noticing the scene, not unlike the actual night. But we were still, watching. It was like, even though she knew he was the "pretend baby Jesus" (as she says), she picked up on the reverence. It's so exciting to me when one of my children seems to "get it". With all the talking, praying, scriptures, you just never know if one will believe and another will reject. So I take the moments as they come and then pray that whatever seed of faith that I have planted that God will water it.

Ride 'em cowboy

This is what I see as I glance out the kitchen window. Emma has rigged up a "mechanical bull" for TC by putting his scooter inside the red wagon. She is the engineer and TC is the cowboy, complete with hat. As I walk outside I hear TC shouting what I could swear sounds like "YEEHAW!" This is one of those wonderful moments that catches me off guard and makes me laugh out loud. This, my friends, is the good stuff!