Its coming on fast!

Every week we've knocked out another anticipated event! 

Boys karate holiday party where both boys did fantastic in the high low competition!

Byron and Fielding again tied for 1st place....it was a gruling thing to watch, and I wondered if Byron was going to throw up or pass out before it ended, but it worked out. Soren completed 100 high lows, which didn't secure a win but man alive thats a ton of high lows....try it.

My boys snack on frozen corn.

I think it is just about the strangest thing ever but Darin said he did that as a child as well so maybe it a thing.  This was their "frozen corn nativity" they requested photo documentation of.

The kiddos have been very cute and deliberate about their gifts to each other and Darin and I.

I love how much they love each other.

The 17th is our anniversary, so while Darin and I were out celebrating Miriam helped the boys make Ninja Bread men!

We came home to this anniversary surprise. 

Miriam and I performed in the Messiah. So much fun, with amazing soloists, a string quartet, french horn, obo, flute and trumpets.  

The kids performed in their Christmas piano recital....this was Soren's first ever piano recital. 

Santa even stopped by!

Caring Cousins

This is our smoggy frosty weather lately.  It is gross but I have to admit beautiful!
I am longing for snow though....

anyway....since I have no control over the weather...

We are in charge of Caring Cousins this year  squeee!  We LOVE when it's our turn, but we love when it's someone else's turn too...we just love this tradition in general.  I can't remember if it was Lisa or Cristin but as their kids grew older, and started outgrowing toys, cousin gift exchanges started to become a gift card exchange...basically like giving money and getting money which is nice but not that magical. It also became a shipping burden for the adults...this gift goes there, this one there unless you do families, in which case it became "you take your family to a play on us, and we will take our family to a movie on you".... it wasn't as fun as it use to be. 

So we changed.  We decided to take turns picking a charity that all the kids would donate their own money to.  The family that picked the charity is in charge of making a Christmas ornament to represent that Christmas giving. 

2017 we are giving to Living Goods this is from their website:

At Living Goods we empower people to improve the health of their families, friends and communities.

Living Goods supports networks of ‘Avon-like’ health entrepreneurs who go door to door to teach families how to improve their health and wealth and sell life-changing products such as simple treatments for malaria and diarrhea, safe delivery kits, fortified foods, clean cook stoves, water filters, and solar lights. By combining the best practices from business and public health, we are dramatically lowering child mortality AND creating livelihoods for thousands of enterprising women.

We already have some ideas about the ornament! The ornament part doesn't need to be there by Christmas...we are all pretty forgiving about that stuff, but it's nice if its there by the next Christmas for a reminder who was in charge and where we gave. 

Here are some previous years:

  One year we bought a sheep

Helped out with humanitarian efforts in the Philipines

Helped put on a fund raiser for kids dealing with disabilities

 Helped supply clean water in Africa

 Helped girls around the world get to school no matter what time of the month it is

 Helped build a school in the Sudan

Helped purchase medical and school supplies for a humanitarian trip to Nicaragua

We have also donated books to hospital waiting rooms, and donated to the Ronald McDonald House.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions!

Christmas-ish

I cut all the male hair in this house (well, Darin does 95% of his own I just do clean up).  It's always ALWAYS a daunting task but I do love the sound of snipping hair, and I love pretending I know what I am doing - like I actually went to cosmetology school or something.  We had to sneak in a Christmas haircut early in the month to get ready for all the celebrations. 

Soren has THICK hair that grows so fast.  Byron has Rasmussen hair, and it would be so gorgeous all grown out long....but he is not the pony tail or man-bun type. 

The kids started making coffee filter snowflakes and Soren took it to the next level. He cuts and cuts and cuts. It is adorable.
The boys sang the Christmas songs they have been working on in their school music classes.  It was so cute, the kids all sang facing the middle of the gym so they could sing to each other.  Now they are frantically trying to get their Holiday piano songs memorized for the recital next week.

New advents this year to make each day more fun. Grown-up chocolate for the oldest 3 of us, legos and milk chocolate for the youngest 2. Way to go Trader Joe!!

So excited for the new Star Wars movie.  Miriam is going with her school on Friday (yes her whole school is being bused over!) Byron is going with a friend on Saturday.  I am sure the rest of us will get to the theatre over the break.

Miriam has started knitting again, we love how she keeps tension on the line. I wonder if this is how Aunt Lisa does it?

Ballroom Holiday Ball
Miriam had a ball.

They do a fun group dance competition at each event, the winter ball is Charleston and from what I understand it will be Disco in the Spring. Miriam and Viv were adorable flapper girls! They danced so cute!

The boys and I were on the run all afternoon so we missed all of Miriam's dances except for the Charleston which was the very last competition.

The boys entertained themselves by taking selfies...

The day wasn't all parties and dancing.  Darin's Aunt Ruth passed away earlier in the week, the funeral was on the same day as the Holiday Ball. We loved getting to have Grandma and Grandpa stay with us overnight, and it was so fun to see family but we will miss Aunt Ruth's energy and fun. We didn't get to see her much, but she always left a big impression. Everyone was at least glad that she was at peace and was surrounded by her children at her passing.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

 It's December 3rd and Christmas is in full swing.  

(except...where is our snow?!)

Since we spent most of Thanksgiving vacation around home we were ready to start by day 1. We are decorated inside and out, Christmas music is paying every evening, new ornaments have been purchased, advents are up, 80% of Christmas gifts are purchased, and a few social events have already been attended.

Such as....

Darin's work's Christmas party.  Darin works with such fun and interesting people, it's fun to get to know them.  The dinner was great, but the best part was hearing all the nice things Darin's boss said about him.  Darin hates when I gush but I just can't help being proud of him. To work for a company that you truly believe in and are inspired by it's purpose is a gift, and not something I take for granted.

We are trying to keep up with #lighttheword daily acts of kindness. We've had to re-arrange some things to match up with our schedule but we are doing our best!

The kids and I met Cristin and Anna at Festival of Trees.

This was a special Christmas request by Miriam.  We use to go all the time when she was little and we could go during the day to avoid crowds.  She has such good memories of the trees, the music, and the treats. 

I could take a zillion photos but I tried to restrain myself.

Thanksgiving 2017

 Grateful for my mom who gathers us all together. No matter how many of us there are, she will work hard to accommodate everyone.  Grateful for my dad who makes sure everyone is comfortable and having a good time.  I am getting to an age where my friends are losing their home base, and losing those people in their lives who organized the gatherings....this makes me stop at take stock of how lucky we are right in this moment. 

I love my parents unique Danish dishes and the feelings that arise when a table is set with them.  Those sturdy blue goblets mean a family holiday meal is about to take place. We have had so many of them throughout the years. 

I love seeing my siblings as couples and parents.  We are all doing the best we know how. Lots of wisdom, kindness, and love through the struggles we each face. I don't know why in the world I thought our family was above trials but somehow I am surprised every time something challenging is thrown our way.

Grateful for transportation and technology that brings Mark and Esme to us. Having a brother live so far away is exotic and exciting, but it wouldn't be any fun at all if we didn't have the ability to see him once and awhile.

Grateful for my mom, sisters, and sister-in-law who provide such delicious food! 

Together we always have an amazing spread.

I am grateful the cousins got time to play together and make memories.

Grateful I experienced a free range childhood with plenty of time in the "Honda Hills" riding my bike, or our 4 wheelers.  I took the boys on the "whoop dee doos" and even let Bub drive the big 4 wheeler.  He was in heaven!

I guess this year in particular it has hit me how fast things can change in life.  Our family has changed so much in just the last few years, it's kind of amazing to stop and take stock of it all.  It makes me want to soak up just how everything is right now.