We finally saw Santa!

Well, we finally visited Santa Claus. It's never been a big deal to either me or Aaron to have our kids visit Santa ... the malls are so commercial and the pictures are outrageously expensive! And I don't want to push Santa at Christmas anyways. Last year, I asked the kids if they wanted to visit Santa and they said "no." This year I asked if they wanted to visit Santa and they said "yes." So we went to the Bucks County Visitor Center, visited Santa, Caleb told Santa he wanted a dragon toy and Ellie said she wanted a Tiana Polly Pocket and Charlotte barbie, we took our own pictures (none of which turned out fabulous, but then, do any candid pictures of young children turn out fabulous?). We then looked at all the Christmas trees on display and had a great time! All in all, I think it turned out nice. The kids got to visit Santa but it was low-key and relaxing. And the trees on display were beautiful!

The kids are in bed, Aaron is having fun with the guys at church watching football (alas to the Metrodome!!! How sad! It's such a part of the Mpls skyline!), and I scrapbooked. A relaxing end to the day. Well, mostly. I really need to clean our room! Off to do that now!


~JG

Kraiz

Just finished Kraiz scrapbook pages. Yeah for Grandpa Dick with a nice camera! Now off to unload the dishwasher. Booooo. Well, ok, Praise God for dishwashers!

~JG

Kraiz

Yes, today was our Kraiz performance in "big" church! The first time we've gotten to see Caleb sing! Hurrah! I was so excited! And he did great. The entire choir did great - the actors did great. There wasn't any snaffoo - no mics fell off, no one fainted (like last year), everyone remembered their lines ... it was all lovely! Ellie got up with Dylan towards the end to sing "Happy Birthday Jesus" and she actually sang! (I was a bit worried after yesterday's practice where she perfected a petulant and very silent pout during the entire song ... she "wasn't ready" ... but she sang great today! She didn't even flash the audience with her spinny dress.) Alas, we got nothing on camera worthy of America's Funniest Home Video. I guess that $100,000 grand prize will have to wait.

Here are some pictures (thanks to Grandpa Dick's awesome camera!) ...

Caleb singing - very seriously.

Ellie and Dylan singing "Happy Birthday Jesus"

More singing "Happy Birthday Jesus" (and Caleb is Joseph - he only poked Jesus' head once trying to make him comfy in the manger - Caleb and Isabella are both very "Type A" - they were both very responsible parents!)

Afterwards

Wait Caleb and Eric were doing after Kraiz while we cleaned up and put away mics and such ... ahh to be young again ... and able to fit under pews again ...

Now to RELAX!!!

~JG

Charlie Brown Christmas

I read this on Focus on the Family and thought it was so true!

By Jim Daly

I was only four years old on the night of Thursday, December 9, 1965 (45 years ago!), but to this day, I can tell you where I was and what I was doing - watching the debut of A Charlie Brown Christmas on CBS in our southern California home.

It was an instant hit, much to the surprise of network executives, but surely not to me. (I assumed the whole world was watching!) Creator Charles Schulz argued with the bosses at CBS over a host of issues. At the time of its creation, studio personnel thought it was too religious (Linus quotes Luke 2:8-14) and too amateur (all the voices were of kids, not professional actors). They also believed the theme music was too contemporary for kids’ tastes (Vince Guaraldi’s jazz soundtrack is now a classic and instantly recognizable by all) and that the lack of a laugh track left the production feeling flat and too contemplative, but in an overly simplistic kind of way.

Isn’t it interesting that all the things we like about it are the very things Hollywood didn’t?

It's a miracle!

Aaron put Ellie to bed tonight and this was their conversation ...

Ellie: I want to listen to the CD about the White Witch and about Aslan the lion ...

Aaron: You mean, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe?

Ellie: Yeah. I just can't say Wardrobe.

Aaron: You just said it! You just said wardrobe.

Ellie: (pause) HaHa! It's a MIRACLE! It's a miracle of Jesus!


Gotta love those little unexpected miracles whenever they show up! Ha!

~JG

Star Wars Action Figures + Cheerios + Overhead Transparency = Zacchaeus story

I couldn't sleep last night, so as I lay awake, I pondered what new way to tell the Zacchaeus story. And I came up with the combination of Star Wars action figures, cereal and an overhead transparency. OF COURSE! The perfect combination! And what's better ... Caleb agreed to help me tell the story! Awesome!

Point of the story: Show how Zacchaeus didn't just say he'd change ... he did it. Good intentions are not enough.

So, the day started with the kids asking what the overhead projector was. Man, I feel so old. They probably think a slide projector is a historical artifact.

Anyways, I started the story with Yoda as Zacchaeus, laid on top of the overhead (so we could see his shadow up on the stage screen), and showed how Zacchaeus, as a tax collector, was stealing money from people. He charged Han Solo 1 silver coin (or cheerio), but took another silver coin (or cheerio) for himself. Then Caleb got to eat the Cheerios. Then Yoda charged the Storm Trooper 2 cheerios of tax, and took 2 cheerios for himself. And Caleb ate. Then Yoda charged Leia 5 cheerios of tax, and stole 5 cheerios for himself. And Caleb ate.

Then I briefly told the action part of the story, we all sang the song, and we got to the part where Zacchaeus changed. I told the kids, "Something happened in Zacchaeus's heart. He didn't want to steal anymore. In fact, he told Jesus that he was going to give back all that he stole!"

Immediately, I heard Caleb mutter under his breath, "I don't know how I'm gonna get all those Cheerios out of my belly ..."

And I lost it. I just started laughing. Really laughing. And everyone looked at me like I was nuts, 'cuz they couldn't hear what Caleb had said. So of course, I had to tell them. And then they laughed. But, I think they all laughed more at me laughing than what Caleb actually had said. I laughed so hard I started to cry. Ahhhhh ... it's been awhile since a good guffaw like that. Well, I did get my composure and finished the story. Zacchaeus paid back 4 times what he had stolen. So Yoda went to Han Solo and paid him back 4 cheerios (Caleb counted them all out from his bowl) ... gave 8 to Storm Trooper ... and then we just dumped the bowl on Leia. Then Caleb got to eat them all again. The Cheerios, not the action figures.

It was a fun story. I like working with Caleb! He's funny! He is a great gift from God!

That just goes to show you ... you never know what you can do with 3 weird items. Try it. Pick out 3 weird things in your house and just see what story you can tell! It might just make you laugh!

~JG

Snake Chores

Ellie gets into the car after school and spies a bendy wooden snake toy on the floor of the car. She cries, "My snake!!!" (even though she hasn't really played with it for quite awhile - Caleb was last seen with it). And as we start our short drive home, she sits in her car seat and we have the following conversation.

Ellie: "My baby snake is tired because he has lots of chores at his house."

Jen: "Oh, what are his chores?"

Ellie: (starts to list them ... these are only a few of the chores, I can't remember the rest) "He has to clean the laundry! And fix the car. And he has to build a playground. And chop down trees to build houses. And make roofs. And go up in a balloon into space. And make food. And build a smokestack (How does she know what a smokestack is?). And fix fences because his fence fell down. And grow grass. And plant bulbs to grow into flowers."

Jen: "That's a lot of chores! (I'm finding it amazing that a snake really can accomplish all those chores in a given day, especially since he has no arms or legs to speak of!)"

Ellie: "Mommy snake has only a few chores. She has 5 chores. #1 is climbing up trees. #2 is doing the laundry. #3 is she never has to clean up (yeah!) because her kids never play. #4 is she has to make brick houses. #5 is she never can hit (well, that's a nice rule ...) because she doesn't have any hands ( ... or practical)."

And the conversation ends because we arrive home.

I am so glad I am not a snake.

~JG

What IDIOT is in charge of retail?!?!?!?

Ok, so I know that the retail rulers try to shove Christmas down our throats before we've even bought our Halloween costumes. Each year it disgusts me, but I have accepted it as a reality. But really, today was just a new low. Ellie and I went out after lunch to find her a nice Christmas dress for Kraiz. Now, I am not used to buying nice Christmas dresses, as I usually find something at the fall consignment sale. And I did find one at the fall consignment sale. But it isn't really NICE - like performing on stage NICE ... because I did not know I would need that kind of NICE back then. And now I do, sooooo, the search in retail began.

We searched through a few of the pillar children's stores - Children's Place for example. But alas, all they had was one sorry rack of left over "Christmas" apparel (not really Christmas-y) and they would not be getting anymore in. Other stores did not have a huge selection (I mean really, is a red or green or black poofy dress too much to ask for?)... or their one nice dress was waaaaay too much. So I thought, really? REALLY? It's still before Thanksgiving! Is it impossible to find a Christmas dress even NOW? I am not ready to think Christmas before Halloween!!! Too much PRESSURE!!!

Sigh. But thank God for Sears. Yes, Sears still had a nice selection of Christmas dresses. In fact, we found 3, YES THREE, that would fit the bill (figuratively and literally). So Ellie tried those dresses on (what girl doesn't love that?) and picked out the one she liked best (of course, I had already pre-approved each selection beforehand! Can't give the wee one TOO much power ...). And NOW we have a Christmas dress.

I guess I should be looking for a swimsuit in the next few weeks or those might run out too.

~JG

"Strong Love"

We had the kiddos pictures taken on Saturday ... and they were just so cute that I took a few pictures myself. I liked how they turned out. I really love how they show Caleb and Ellie together. Caleb and Ellie really seem to love each other - they play with each other all the time and are a comedic force to be reckoned with at meals! I absolutely love to watch their love for each other. I know relationships change as we grow, but I pray that they will always LOVE each other. (And here's praying, Tim and Britt, that Bitty G Grape Babies will always love each other too!!!)

Here's a scrapbook page that I did tonight ... my way of unwinding after a more-than-usual stressful day at church (due to performing a monologue - which as awesome and great but emotionally taxing as well ... as all drama is!). Yeah for digital scrapbooking!



And now to further relax, here's to reading a "Choose your own Adventure" book that I found at the thrift store!!! Score! I LOVED these as a kid! I always tried to find the good endings and work my way backwards ...maybe that's how my "snerking" habit began (for those who are unaware of what "snerking" means, it is Aaron's term for Jenny's veracious habit of skipping ahead in books). I already read one possible ending with Caleb. Let's see if I can choose a more fatal adventure this time! MWAH HAHA!

~JG

Posing for the Picture

A few days before Halloween, Ellie and I took advantage of a BEAUTIFUL day and took a lovely walk. We took along the camera and looked for colorful leaves - we took pictures of some and collected some. And Ellie was in a "posing for the picture" mood! She kept asking me to take her picture - and she kept tilting her head and smiling. HA! Here's the scrapbook page I made about our walk ...



However, Ellie is not always in a "posing for the picture" mood. I helped out for her class Halloween (or rather, "Harvest") party. She was very glad to have me there, but she did not want to take a picture with me. As seen below. Despite how it looks, she actually DID have a good time! I promise!


~JG

Free Will

Tonight at Club 56 (our bible study/fun time with our 5th and 6th graders), we were watching "What's in the Bible?" I stopped it every so often to discuss different points with the kids, like "Who wrote the bible?" and "What is sin?" and "Why is free will such a wonderful and dangerous gift?" At the last question, most of the kids looked blankly at me, but one piped up and answered, "Because we might sin." And I thought, that's the answer, in it's simplest form. Free will, our choice to love or reject God, is so wonderful when we do decide to choose Him. But it is so dangerous because so many times we choose to reject Him. Because we might sin. It doesn't take a huge, theological mind to grasp that. Ellie can understand it, because she was the one who said it.

~JG

Snippets from today

This afternoon ... Caleb jumps and clings on me like a monkey.
Jen: (laughing) "What are you doing?"
Caleb: "I've got you! I want your attention!"
Ahhhh ... if only he were a little more clear ...

Overheard in kids church this evening ...
Jen: "Tonight, we are going to talk about the Day of Pentecost."
Girl: "YES! PENNIES!"

Praying at bedtime ...
Ellie: "And please help all da cities not to be destroyed. And all da people to not die and do sins."

After lights out ... I overheard Caleb singing a GT Song to himself ...
Caleb: (singing) "So do not fear for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, strengthen and up? ... up? ... uphold you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10"
I had taught that song to Caleb a few weeks ago when he was afraid of the dark. I didn't know he actually sang it to himself. I listened at the door and just about melted.


~JG

Halloween "Light the Night"

Whew! What a night! It was sunny ... and a bit COLD ... (well, not as cold as Minnesota Halloweens!) ... and we had a GREAT time ... and now we are TIRED!

Earlier this afternoon, Aaron got out our grill and set up our make-shift puppet stage (made out of pvc pipes, sheets and safety pins). Mike and Sarah (with Jacob and Abby) and Slavic and Sarah (with Baron and Sofia) and my wonderful mom came over late afternoon. I must say, we were a bit confused about when people would come out for trick-or-treating. I think they came out earlier last year ... but Aaron says that's because the Phillies were playing. So, we all waited and chilled for a bit (literally), but had fun hanging out together.

Caleb and Ellie tried out the puppet stage.

We got a picture (of course!) before going out. Ellie and I were "beautiful princesses" (well, Ellie insisted that she was a QUEEN and I was a PRINCESS ... don't know how that works since I'm married and she isn't ... but oh well) and Caleb was a Jawa (from Star Wars).

Around 5:45 (or so) Sarah, Slavic, our neighbor Jen, mom and I left to go Trick-or-Treating with the kiddos. We only went down 2 streets and were loaded with candy. SCORE for living in town homes! And POINTS for parents who take lots of pictures, give lots of "Say thank you!" reminders, and get to "sample" the candy after the kids go to bed!

Baron the tiger, our neighbor Robert (as Dennis the Menace), Caleb, Jacob, Ellie and Abby

We came back and the kids played while Aaron and Mike bbq'ed hot dogs and Sarah and I did some puppet songs. Several neighborhood kids got behind the puppet stage for their own performances. Very fun. :-) Jacob and Abby even got in on the action. (Caleb and Ellie tried the puppets out early but then got too occupied with other things).

Aaron, Mike and Sarah, my mommy and Abby

Sooooo ... the Statistics ...

We gave away 150 bags of candy ... 128 hot dogs ... 96 mini water bottles (and we still ran out!) ... and the number of hours of sleep to recover is yet to be determined! HA! We pray that we were a light to our neighborhood, and that this night will have an eternal impact in some way.

Aaron may have more stories - but that's all for now!

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law Rachel!

~JG

Apple Picking

We went "apple picking" with Caleb's class on Friday - except we only got to pick 2 apples each. But we DID get pumpkins and went through our very first CORN MAZE! And yes, we completed it. We reached all five color stations, got a color for each finger AND found our way out. We persevered! But alas, we did not come home with many apples. So the kids and I went to Styers Orchard on Saturday and we came home with LOTS of apples. I rather feel like the Pevansies in "Prince Caspian" when all they had to eat was apples. Anyways, here's some pictures from our Orchard experiences!

Picking Pumpkins ...

The Corn Maze

Picking (and eating) LOTS of apples!

~JG

Ellie's prayer tonight ...

Yes, another wonderful prayer by Ellie where I have to hide my face so she won't see me laugh.

Elanor: "Thank you God for all da creation ... and God, I really don't appweciate lying and Satan is da father of lies and could you just kill Satan, 'cuz I don't want to see him 'cuz he lies ... and don't send any thunder (she doesn't like lightning either) ...AMEN!"

~JG

"Now I lay me down to sleep ..."

We just said our prayers for bedtime ... why didn't I have a video camera playing? Here is a snapshot of our prayers - the bits that I remember ...

Ellie: "Thank you for making everyfing and creation and thank you for making our house and ..."

Caleb: (tapping her foot and whispering) "God didn't create our house."

Ellie: " ... and thank you for [she lists many more things] ... "Thank you ... [something about] God taking care of us and keeping us safe and mommy takes care of us cuz she wants us to be safe and not walk away without asking her. And God keeps us safe and if he didn't the people who worship idols will DIE, but we will not die because we will be safe - because we don't worship idols and we don't like idols ..."

Caleb: "It's too long! Pray shorter!"

Ellie: " ... and thank you for all creation and I like being created and having hair and piggy toes and clothes and a bunk bed with a bed on top and on bottom [and she lists more] ..."

Caleb: (kicking his feet and covering his ears) "It's taking too long! I'm NOT going to listen to this!"

Finally, we said "amen" and they went off to bed. Ellie said something about not getting to pray for something, and I said, "Sweetheart, you can talk to God all you want to in bed."

I hope she does.

~JG

FYI

I would just like everyone to know ... when they visit our downstairs powder room, the huge boogies that are on the wall by the toilet were NOT put there by me. It was the other female in the house. Aaron says I should clean them up before you arrive, but I think the female who placed them on the wall should do the cleaning.

~JG

UT and AB

Here is a digital scrapbook page that I just made about Uncle Tim and Aunt Brittany - and how awesome they are! We love them!



~JG

Caleb singing in Kraiz

Caleb is in the Kids Choir (called Kraiz). Yeah! Every year I've watched (and helped) with Kraiz and thought, "Someday I'll get to watch Caleb sing." Now I get to! YEAH! At first, Caleb was NOT happy about going to Kraiz practice! After all, it was new. And new things don't go over so well with him. It took a few weeks of rehearsals and he's fine now. He does have the occasional complaint ...

"Mom, all we do is sing!"
"Yes, honey. That's what choir is."

Anyways, Kraiz sang in the adult service this morning (they sang a song from the spring performance - but it was new to Caleb!). The song (in case the words are difficult to hear) is from Psalms 1:1. Here it is - enjoy! I know I did!

~JG

"Are you SERIOUS?!"

Finally, an update! Yes, a new post is being posted. And in honor of the tradition of our previous posts, I thought I'd share this.

Aaron, Ellie and I were at home for lunch. Aaron is preparing the lunch, I am sorting the mail and Ellie is watching a Fraggle Rock episode, when she turns and asks quietly, "Can you help me with my nose?"

"AWESOME!" I think. "She's asking for help with her boogies instead of digging for them herself. This is a good sign!"

I take over the lunch duties while Aaron assists with the nose blowing. I am picking off grapes from the stem when I hear Aaron exclaim, "Are you SERIOUS?!" Well, of course I am curious, so I go over to investigate. And yes, Ellie has blown out something huge and green out of her nose. She can definitely breath better now! The evidence of her nasal effort is nestled in the crease of the kleenex ... a green Polly Pocket shoe covered in snot. Are you SERIOUS?!? And I, being the good mother that I am, walked over to the kitchen counter to laugh while Aaron discussed the dangers of putting toys up our noses.



~JG

FUEL @CLC - Silence and Solitude

At Christian Life Center this week we are starting a series called "FUEL". The adults, the youth, the kids, small groups...we are aligning everything for six weeks to start the year off.


The series discusses Fuel for our souls - godly habits that we should develop in our lives. This week is Silence and Solitude.

As a pastoral staff we are writing devotions to be emailed out each day (you can sign up for them here), and I thought I'd share mine with you for the week (a preview copy!):

I have two children – Caleb, age 4 ½, and Ellie, almost 3. They are the essence of energy. Anyone that has children, or has been around children, knows how they can run circles around you and still have more energy later…long after yours is depleted.

That being said, I love to play with my kids! Ellie loves when I play princess with her (I don’t dress up like the princess…I am the prince) – we dance the Sleeping Beauty waltz, we try on glass slippers, we’re upset at the mean stepsisters – it fills up her love tank! Caleb loves when I fly spaceships and airplanes around the house, build new train tracks with his Thomas set, or just wrestle with him in the living room. These are things my kids love, and I do them because it helps my children understand how much I love and cherish them.

But do you know what I love? I love to sit with my kids at night and read them a story. I love to hold them close in the morning when they wake up and tell them how much I love them. I love when they look me in the eyes and listen carefully when I have something special to tell them. These things show me that they love me.

There are things I can’t tell them in the middle of a game of hide and seek. Some things they won’t hear and understand when we’re outside swinging or playing in the snow. Sometimes they need to be still and just listen to hear the good things I want to tell them.

When I saw some of Pastor Del’s main verses this week I thought of these things.

Psalm 131:2, “I have stilled and quieted my soul.”

Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Remember to take time out of your comings and goings to just be still with the best-Father-of-them-all and see what He has in store for you!

God bless!
AG