Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We had such a wonderful few days celebrating Christmas and the birth of Jesus! As usual we spent Christmas Eve with the Heimbigners and with 6 cousins, there are lots of fun times. Andrew and Hannah were excited to get thier new plates that they had painted earlier in December with Grandma. We went to church and my most favorite moment of the evening was during the candlelight portion of the service. Watching Andrew's face glow in the candlelight as he sang the words of Silent Night is something I will always remember. When we got home from church, Andrew and Abigail had to get Santa's cookies ready and put reindeer food in the front yard.

Then on Christmas morning, we had some family time and the kids opened their presents. They got so excited! When Abigail opened some things for her babies she squealed, "Yes!" and pumped her fist up and down. Where does she learn that? Andrew had asked Santa for Hot Wheels, so while we gave him a new track set, Santa delivered some new cars. I love this time of hanging out in our PJs, playing with new things and spending time together. That evening we went to Aunt Liz and Uncle Craig's house for a wonderful dinner and more time with family.

On Saturday, December 26th, the whole Liezen family (minus Stallcops - we missed you) came over for more presents and Joy's famous chicken enchiladas. Uncle Hans brought his yarn and knitted new hats for the kids. Nick surprised Matt and Hans with matching Raider's aprons and we had fun playing games all afternoon.

Decorating Cookies

Another Christmas tradition we have with the Liezen family is decorating gingerbread cookies. Andrew was really into the task this year with much concentration given to just the right "mix" of frosting and sprinkles. I think he counted 11 cookies that he decorated. Abigail did her share of frosting, but mostly enjoyed swiping her fingers through the finished product and taking a sample bite of each one. "Just one more sprinkle," she would tell me. When it was time to go, we wrapped them up and Abigail had the important job of delivering the cookies to the car. Thank you Grandma Joy (and aunt Claire) for making all of the cookies and inviting us over for such a fun morning!

Santa Visits a Little Early

For the past five years, a group of us have gotten together with all of our kids (the number has grown over the years) and Santa comes to visit at one of our homes. I teach with a wonderful man who dresses as Santa and brings his little elf helper (his wife). The kids get so excited. Andrew usually gets very shy, but somehow Santa already knows what he wants. This year was the first year we had no tears and on the way home Abigail said to me, "Mom...Santa knew my name!" The picture of the "older kids" is all ladies I teach with.

Christmas Preparations...

Christmas tree decorating at the church was very exciting for Abigail and Andrew this year. They were the only small children and they got to do many decorations. Daddy also let them climb the ladder to get decorations on the perfect spot way up high! We are so thankful for our church family and all of the people we love at Prince of Peace.

Imagination Movers

Andrew and I had a special date and went to Imagination Movers LIVE. It was so much fun - lots of singing and dancing! Andrew's favorite part was all of the confetti that was sprayed into the audience during the "idea emergency" and we were sitting pretty close, so he was busy picking up handfuls of streamers. He also got hi-fives and autographs from a couple of the guys. For people without kids, Imagination Movers is a fun show on Disney!

Family Picture Time

Andrew's school (Woodridge) had a professional photographer come and do photos for a fund-raiser, so we figured we would take advantage of the deal. We're pretty pleased with how the pictures turned out. The kids redeemed my faith in getting pictures done (last year was not fun)! They were so cooperative and we managed to get a few shots with Abigail smiling. Most of the time, she was twiddling her fingers and acting shy.

Halloween Fun

Andrew and Abigail had a lot of fun helping carve pumpkins this year (even though I had to pull out most of the pumpkin guts)! Andrew picked a skull and Abigail picked a "meow meow". I'm starting to wonder if she'll ever use the word cat.


Finished products...



Halloween night was fun too. Andrew was a fireman and Abigail was a fairy princess.

The 2009 Version of the Pumpkin Patch...

You might be asking, "Is that an Albertson's sign behind Abby?" Our trip to Greenbluff on Saturday to pick pumpkins got cancelled. Instead we took Abigail to the ER to find out she had the Swine Flu. She was running a temperature of 104.5 degrees, had a terrible cough and we were concerned about her breathing. Until last night, when we took the big trip to the Albertson's "pumpkin patch", she's been cooped up in the house recovering. Abby is doing much better with the exception of the cough and getting tuckered out pretty quick. After losing over 3 pounds, she's finally starting to get her appetite back. Hopefully the rest of us stay healthy and I can go back to work next week. Mommy is feeling a little cooped up too!





Guess what we woke up to this morning? The first snowfall of the year. Of course the kids were thrilled and Matt and I were not. Luckily it didn't last long and then it turned into rain!

The Joys of Fall...

Is there anything better for kids in the fall than playing in the leaves and picking pumpkins? We've had some wet and dreary days around here, but yesterday was dry enough for the kids to play in the leaves when I picked Andrew up from school. Many of the schools around Spokane have beautiful maple trees that surround them and in the fall, they are filled with amazing colors.






Andrew's class took a field trip to Greenbluff last week. It was Andrew's first time on "a real school bus" as he put it and I was fortunate enough to share in the experience with the 51 kindergarten kids. Andrew picked his favorite golden delicious apple and took his time finding the perfect pumpkin in the little pumpkin patch. It was a fun morning.