Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Note that Nathan is the only one dressed. He wanted to put his clothes on as soon as he woke up this morning. He's still the only one dressed!

Prayers

We have our Christmas cards and pictures posted around the entryway to the dining room. We decided we would pick one family each night to pray for. We asked Nathan to pick the first family. He picked the Contants (our friends, Dave and Kristin from church). Here is our discussion:

Mom: "Nathan, what should we pray for the Contants?"

Nathan: "That they would not start a war."
"That they would worship God."
"That they would not have any injuries on their ride home."


Tonight, we picked the Suwyns (another family from church). Here are Nathan's prayers for the Suwyns:

Nathan: "That Kiera and Lexi would be less wild."
"Please help Mr. Suwyn to not want to be bald."
"Help Adam never to get sick."
"Please help Mrs. Suwyn to be able to breathe again because she was on that train that bumped."

Apparently, I'm supposed to know about some train accident that Mrs. Suwyn was involved in...I'll have to ask Sue....

Caroling

I took the boys caroling to a nursing home with our church yesterday afternoon. During one of the songs, Andrew leaned over and said to me (rather loudly), "Mommy, that man lost some of his teeth!" Thankfully, everyone was concentrating on the song and not on the comment!

Singing for Prelude

The Sunday School children sang for our Prelude on Sunday morning. They sang three songs, "Jesus Joy", "Joy to the World", and "O Come Let Us Adore Him".

During the first song, Nathan whipped off his sweater. Elbert and I both gave him a dirty look, and he said (loud enough for everyone to hear), "But, I was hot!" During another song, Nathan pushed Andrew off the stage. The director put Andrew back on the stage, and Andrew refused to let go of her for a moment or two. Then during the final song, Nathan started shouting the words, and Andrew (of course) followed right after his brother.

When the songs were over, Pastor Eric thanked the kids for singing and told the congregation (only half jokingly), "This is why the Bible says to 'train up a child in the way he should go'".

Cookie Baking

Our neighbors invite us over every year for a Saturday morning Cookie Baking party. The kids decorate sugar cookies, and the adults bake about 8 additional varieties of cookies. Everyone comes home with a large plate of cookies to enjoy.

Nathan and Daddy discussing a cookie design


I don't think I should touch this...


Well...maybe I can...

After a long morning of playing (thankfully, he we kept him away from the decorating), Evan just plopped himself on the floor in the middle of the dining room to rest.


Andrew's favorite part of the morning was going down to the basement to see Mr. Hoogsteen's trains.

We tried to take a nice family picture by their Christmas tree...Note Nathan's "football player" pose.

A Valid Question

Andrew (on the way to preschool this morning):

"Mom, do girls cry when they get timeouts or spankings?"

Preschool Cookbook

For the past few weeks at preschool, the kids have been working on a "secret special surprise" for parents. Today, the kids got to take it home. Nathan was so excited for me to open it. It's a cookbook that the kids created. They each "submitted" a recipe. Here's Nathan's entry:

Vegetable Dip
by Nathan Yeh

3 bottles of ranch dressing
Lots and lots of different kinds of vegetables

Put them in groups. Put the small vegetables in the same and the large vegetables in the same. And put out the ranch. And that's it!

Here's what Nathan tried to convince me to make for lunch today:

Chicken Noodles
by Jackson Force

Ketchup
Honey mustard
BBQ
Mustard
Chicken

Make it in the oven, a super duper hot for 10 minutes. When it dings, you put it out in a bowl and then you dip it in ketchup. Then some chicken soup and crab soup. That's it.

Needless to say...we went with PB&J instead.

Andrew is Thankful For...

Here is a picture (that I just found) that Andrew drew for Grandma and Grandpa during Thanksgiving.

Andrew told his teacher to write "Thank You God for Grandma and Grandpa".

According to Andrew:
The person on the left is Grandma. "She is a little bit worried because she is walking through a forest, and there is a bear and a lion.

The person next to Grandma is Grandpa. "He is not worried because he has an invisible sword."

There is also a bear and a lion.

Waking Andrew Up

It was a strange morning because Evan was the first one awake at 7:34 am. Usually Nathan and Andrew are up right at 7 am (or earlier...but, they can't come out of their room until the "7" is in front). Let me say it another way...I got to sleep until 7:34am!!!

I had to wake Nathan and Andrew up to get ready for preschool. When I woke Andrew up, he said, "But, I didn't go to sleep yet."

I said, "Yes, you did. You slept all night."

He said, "No, I just laid here with my eyes closed."

Oh Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

We went to Hart Tree Farms in Rockford today to get our Christmas tree. It's been a family tradition to go out every year to chop down our own tree. The kids love the tractor ride in the big wagon out to the trees. It was very cold today (20's with blowing snow), but we all had fun. Evan was excited to ride in a sled for the first time.

I Can Help, Daddy

Elbert got a new drill combo-pack for his birthday. Evan wants to help Daddy use it.


Note the huge smile on Elbert's face...

Flashback Friday - Nathan and Mom

I haven't posted Flashback Friday in a few weeks. Since we just celebrated Nathan's 5th birthday, I thought I post pictures of Nathan and me.

Here we are in the hospital...



Here we are 5 years later on his birthday...



It's amazing how sometimes 5 years can seem like a blink of an eye and other times, it seems like an eternity. I feel both perspectives when I look at these pictures next to each other.

I Finally Have Teeth

Here are my bottom teeth...



Here are my top teeth....


Evan finally is getting his teeth. It's funny how children differ. Andrew had a whole mouthful of teeth at this age.

Nathan's Birthday

We celebrated a "Pirate" themed birthday for Nathan this year. I was very proud of the pirate cake that I made. It looked perfect the night before his birthday:


Aargh...
Unfortunately, by the end of his birthday, it looked like this:


We joked that it was hit by enemy fire.

Nathan had 4 of his friends over for his first birthday party. I read the kids "How I Became a Pirate". Then, they became pirates. They made eye patches out of felt and ribbon and hook hands out of paper cups, cardboard, and aluminum foil. We sent them on a treasure hunt around the house for hidden treasure.

Elbert and I had fun making up the clues. Here is a sampling:

"Batten down the hatches...you know what to do. Head below deck to find your next clue."
"Blimey...you're grimy. Even pirates need to get clean here."
"Shiver me timbers, treasure is near. Where the littlest slumbers, you'll find the chest here."

They had fun running around the house finding the clues. Elbert had drawn a giant pirate, and they finished the games by playing "Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate."

Here are a few pictures of the party and the rest of Nathan's 5th birthday:

The birthday party (7 boys in all) eating lunch.



Nathan and his cake (before it completely fell apart)


The birthday menu consisted of ribs, beans, and sweet potatoes (all on the grill).



Even Evan loved the ribs.



We got Nathan a pirate ship for his present. It was a big hit.

Warm Weather in November

I apologize that I haven't posted any pictures recently. Elbert put a new hard drive into our computer, and it has taken a little while for things to get up and running again. Thankfully, we caught the problem before the old hard drive failed, so we didn't lose anything.

The first week in November was unseasonably warm. We were outside in short sleeves. Nathan and Andrew helped Dad paint our garage entrance door. Evan played outside.

Chinese Outfits

A year or two ago, Nathan and Andrew were given Chinese outfits by a friend. They finally fit. Nathan and Andrew had a blast wearing their outfits around the house. Of course, they were pretending to sword fight.

Thank You, Thank You for Birthdays

Nathan's prayer last night before bed:

"Thank you, God, for comic books, costumes, and thank you, thank you for birthdays and friends. Amen."

It Made Me A Little Sad

For the past 1 1/2 years, Andrew had said "Dathan" when talking about Nathan. He just wasn't able to make the "N" sound at the beginning of that word, although he could for other words. Last night, Andrew called Nathan by clearly pronouncing the "N" sound at the beginning. Elbert and I looked at each other because it was so clear and different from what we had been hearing. It made me a little sad because it was a unique thing for Andrew that no longer exists. I know, I know...they have to grow up.

So Busy

Last week at Sunday School, Nathan's teacher, Miss Elliot, told the class that they didn't have time in class to finish coloring their pictures. She said they would have to finish at home.

Nathan told Miss Elliot, "Well...I go to school on Monday. I have MOPS on Tuesday. I go back to school on Wednesday. I go to Bible Study on Thursday. So, the only day I have left is Friday."

I Have My Own Way

We all had a piece of Nathan's birthday cake after dinner. It is amazing how much cake ends up on the faces of our children during the eating process. After we were done, I told Nathan to go upstairs to wash his hands and face.

Knowing that he was going to be told the same thing, Andrew said, "I have my own way [of cleaning my face]." He then proceeded to stick out his tongue and lick as much chocolate off his face as he could.

Bodily Functions

Nathan went to throw his pajamas in the hamper yesterday morning. I didn't think they were dirty, so I asked him, "Are they dirty?"

Nathan responded, "Well...I farted in them a lot."

Children's Interpretation of Song Lyrics

The boys have a children's Pirates of the Caribbean CD that they love to listen to. It's funny to hear their interpretation of the lyrics.

Nathan and Andrew sing: "Yo, ho, ho and a bottom of gum."
Actual lyric: "Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum."

Nathan and Andrew sing: "Steggy steals a special ship..."
Actual lyric: "Some say he steers a spectral ship..."

I Am Thankful For...

Today at MOPS, the boys did a craft. They decorated a paper turkey, glued on paper "feathers" and filled out a little piece of paper. The paper said "_____, I am thankful for you because ____________."

I picked Andrew up from his class and got his craft. His craft said "Mom, I am thankful for you because you do puzzles with me." It was so nice. It was a good reminder to me about what is truly important. Sometimes I sit down to do a puzzle with Andrew, and the whole time my mind is wandering to the hundred other things that I *need* to do. What I need to do is stop and enjoy my time with him as much as he enjoys his time with me!

Happy Halloween

Elbert helped the kids carve pumpkins last Thursday. Nathan loved the feel of the pumpkin seeds and "guts". Andrew put his hand in there one time and was done. He did not like the squishy, cold feel of the inside of the pumpkin.



I took the kids "trick-or-treating" to Elbert's school. They had a blast visiting the teachers and getting candy. I was amazed at how well Evan did walking around in his costume. He didn't complain at all that he had the hood on.

Evan, the frog

Andrew, the dog
Nathan, aka Spiderman
Evan wanted to sit in a desk just like the big kids.
Eating lunch in Daddy's classroom
We had Deb and Caleb (visiting from MN) and Pam, Jeff, and Eliot over for Halloween dinner. I decided to start a new tradition. I made homemade pizza and dressed it up with pepperoni to look like a jack-o-lantern.


Nathan and Eliot
Trying to get all the children to look at the camera at the same time was quite the challenge!
It's a good thing that Evan is tough.

Nathan Quotes

Today when Elbert walked in the door from work:

Nathan: "Daddy, Mommy made bread today!"

Elbert: "I know, I can smell it."

Nathan: "Are you like a dog?"

-------------------

Monday morning when Nathan and I were cuddling in my bed before getting up for the day:

Nathan: "I just don't want to smell your breath, that's why I'm turning my head."

There's nothing like a good dose of reality in the morning!

Flashback Friday and Advice from a 4 Year Old

Yesterday afternoon, we lost power for over 2 hours. Consequently, the heat wasn't running. I told Nathan that I was getting cold. He replied, "You should move around more, Mom."

That's why he can wear a t-shirt, have bare feet, and still be hot...he is moving ALL the time.

I could never have imagined how much he would have changed in 4 years! This is one of my favorite pictures of Nathan from October 2004.

Nathan's Marathon

On Saturday, Nathan finished a marathon. Really...he did. He participated in the Grand Rapids Children's Marathon. In the 2 months leading up to the race, the kids had to run or walk 1-mile 25 times. On Saturday, the kids ran the last 1.2 miles at the race. He LOVED it. Here are a few pictures.

The cheering section...

Almost to the finish line...
Nathan caught up to his friend, Jillian, and they finished together.
Almost done...


Each participant got a t-shirt, a bag of goodies, and a medal.
The tired runners...