The advent and The elf--day 14

Advent day 14 (11 days til Christmas)

Gus was snuggled into the manger scene with Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, a camel and a sheep......how amazing it must have been to really be there on the night of the Birth!

There were great intentions of this being the year to do an epic amount of Christmas baking, but with a full and busy schedule, a tight budget and a little one underfoot we have been keeping the baking somewhat minimal.  Kaelan requested plain chocolate chip cookies, so that is what we made.  Addie and I also worked on making up some sugar cookie dough to get chilled and then we did go ahead and make up 2 batches of Friendship bread and a batch of Snickerdoodles, so I guess we didn't do too bad after all.  There is nothing like a house with a brightly lit tree that smells of good things to eat!!



The advent and The elf--day 13

Advent day 13 (12 days til Christmas)

"He sees you when you're sleeping....."  This was the message scrawled across the bathroom mirror (a very streaky, dirty mirror I must add!)  and Gus was hanging over the top of it!

This is one of our family's favorite Christmas activities!  Unfortunately we did not get to dip with Dustin as he had to go in and work a double : (  The kids had a lot of fun and Autumn had fun licking the spoons!  We made so many pretzels.........and they are being eaten up just as fast!



The advent and The elf--day 12

Advent day 12 (13 day til Christmas)

Gus's perch this morning : )

Well, this is proof that plans change!  The advent calendar told us to "go to the Missouri History Museum", but the state of our family said otherwise.  The plan had been to attend homeschool day at the History Mueum for their "winter wonderland" celebration, but after a very, very long weekend  and a cranky Tiny, we decided it was best for the family to have a stay home day.  It was well worth it! Proof that sometimes being home is better than going out--no matter how much fun the day could have been, we all needed to just be at home!

The advent and The elf--day 11

Advent day 11 (14 days til Christmas)

The kids were so glad to finally see this as the advent event of the day.....unfortunately this momma could have done some better planning when choosing this day as the day to decorate.  Today we had Sunday School and church, Dustin worked days, Addie had a afternoon soccer game, momma had baking to do and we had a missional group get-together in the evening.  With tears in Addie's eyes I had to explain to the kids that I wasn't sure we would really get to decorate the tree today after all, but after a very,very long day we pulled out the ornament box and decorated the tree at 9:30 at night!  It was a little "less beautiful and peaceful" than I would have imagined it to be, but it is done and looks great and I guess that is all that matters!

(Dustin was the photo taker..........can you tell!!!!!)

When we got up this morning Gus was patiently waiting in our tree, with lights and garland but no ornaments.  I think he was very glad that we went ahead and finished decorating the tree tonight!

The reason......

We had 3 amazing kiddos, good jobs, an easy and smooth life–we didn’t need another child to mess up what was so “good.” Our world, money, vacations, clothing was the the king of our home. We made the choice of a vasectomy when our youngest was only 8 weeks old………after all, it was the “right thing to do.” Two years later, we had a new King in our home; one who was exposing what was not so “right” and so “good” about our home. Through tears and prayer we regretted our hasty decision to take away whatever other blessings God had for us and our children. We were still new at this and thought that we could do it our way. We did the first “sensible” thing and traveled to Oklahoma, to one of the best reversal doctors in America, spent our savings, made things “right.” Now we would be able to calm this ache that God was stirring in our hearts for more children–right? It didn’t work…….all of the facts and the prognosis and the tears were for nothing. Why did our little family feel so strongly that someday there would be another child if my husband and I could not bear more? Through the guidance of a friend, adoption and foster care were suggested. We balked. How could we do this? What would it mean for our “easy” life? With much trepidation we stepped forward into unknown waters to meet our Lord where He wanted us to be…..finally. It took 2 years to get our license to foster–with many hurdles, tears and doubts along the way. We were told we would never receive an infant–they were “hard to come by.” Four weeks after being licensed we got the call. A baby girl was in need and we were the only home they could place her in–she needed a stay at home mom. She was 4 days old, she cried up to 20 hours a day, she was in the throes of withdrawal and was oh so tiny. Did we want her?  Our motives were selfish, our care was not for the "orphan" but rather for a child of our own, but we knew in that instant that was what God had put that ache there for, this is why we had a longing for another child, this little baby needed us…………….we needed her.  .“Tiny” came into our home last November and has never left. She is our daughter. We have seen that God is good–our children have seen God’s goodness and love in a situation that hasn’t always made sense. We wanted a child by birth into our family….God had other plans. If we could have had it the way we planned it, if it had happened the way we “wanted” it to, we would have missed out on this. We would never have known our daughter…….

The advent and The elf--day 10

Advent day 10 (15 days til Christmas)
Today Dustin and I drove back to Springfield to finish up our adoption certification training.  Kaelan, Addie and Autumn stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's while we were gone. Tristan had spent the night at a friend's birthday party and was fast asleep at Grandma's after staying up all.......night......long........!!!!! With Tristan being gone this morning that left Addie and Kaelan to find our friend Gus.....he was hiding in my egg nog bowl!

 Addie also got to scratch off the day's advent card before hurrying out the door to Grandma's.

 Now, I have to admit that Addie has been pretty upset and confused recently as to why our house is one of the only ones that she has been in lately that does not already have a tree yet, so she was estatic when we read the card this morning.  After gathering the kids from mom and dad's we headed over to Lowes (yes, boring old Lowes) to get our tree.  Tristan opted to stay in the car and sleep (poor guy started to cry every time he opened his eyes he was so tired)  Kaelan and Addie picked the 2nd tree Dustin held up and since I had vowed not to stress over the tree I said yes.......

It isn't a bad tree...just one with a lot of "character."  It has wimpy branches, a severely crooked trunk and the bottom 1 1/2 feet of branches are either bare, dead or nonexistent!  The kids love it so it is perfect, besides a dark house and lots of lights on the branches always helps!

And there is nothing quite so great as hearing a little one's "AAAAAHHHHHH" as they come around the corner to find a bright, sparkly thing standing there just waiting to be adored.

The advent and The elf--day 9

Advent day 9 (16 days til Christmas)
Our house elf, Gus, made more mischief than ever last night....this was the scene on our steps that the kids awoke to.......

The steps had been strewn with lime green crepe paper!  Tristan took one look at it, sat down and slid all the way down the steps, under the crepe paper, on his bottom....Addie and Kaelan quickly followed suit!  Of course, the mischief of one little elf was no match for Autumn and the paper was quickly shredded and tossed through the banisters of the steps!  Gus did stake out the perfect spot to guage the kids reactions on the top of the greenery on the bannister.

For our advent activity of the day I incorporated a special field trip already planned......

Going to the Botanical Gardens is such a treat for our family...especially in the winter time, and with friends!  There is nothing quite like being chilled on the outside and stepping into the moist, earthy heat of the climatron!  I was so impressed to watch Kaelan pick out every lily he could find (they have become quite an interest after studying Monet's Water Lilies.)  Addie loved all of the colorful flowers, Tristan liked running ahead with his friends and Autumn just took in the sights : )

After we explored the Gardens we went inside for the special Christmas train show.  Three were motorized model trains everywhere in an elaborate display of flowers and Christmas trees--including a "tree" made entirely of poinsettas!

The advent and The elf--day 8

Advent day 8 (17 days til Christmas)

We woke up to find that apparently Gus had overheard our coversation regarding the Seawright's house elf who put moustaches on all of the photos in the house...........

The kids all thought this was quite hilarious and hoped that he would be a good elf and clean up his mischief later....I am happy to report that he did!

Our advent activity of the day was to make paper chain garlands to put around each of the kids bedroom doors.  We enjoyed the time spent together around the kitchen table listening to the story on cd of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" while we worked.

The garlands turned out beautiful.  I am so enjoying having a planned activity each day that brings us together as a family.  Although each day's activity is nothing elaborate it makes me take notice of our time together, it makes for a pause in an otherwise busy, crowded, messy day for us to just be a family.....

The advent and The elf--day 7

Advent day 7 (18 days til Christmas)

We have a lot of trees in our yard....and a lot of birds.  Last year we made pinecone birdfeeders and hung them under our kitchen window awning.  We (and our cats) had so much fun watching the variety of birds that came to visit our feeders all winter long. 

Just pinecones, peanut butter, birdseed and twine...instant birdfeeders and the kids had so much fun making them!

Today Gus chose a lookout spot in Tiny's stocking...you better be good for goodness sake!!

The advent and The elf--day 6

Advent day 6 (19 days til Christmas)
When we woke up this morning this is what we found..........

Our adorable little elf, Gus, had built himself a Goldfish pond and was happily fishing away....the kids let him fish in peace although our cat, Rufio, was not quite so considerate!

Our advent for the day was......

Growing up our family used to go to an amazing live nativity in Highland, IL called the Journey to Bethlehem.  The church that it was held in went all out--there were donkeys and chickens in their fellowship hall, vendors of all sorts, beggars, food stands and craft for the kids.  Every year I got to make a "God's eye" ornament so this year, even though Journey to Bethlehem has long since ended, I decided to teach my kids, but first I had to refresh my memory....

http://www.caron-net.com/kidfiles/kidsapr.html

This website gave great instructions on how to loop the yarn.  I had already pre-glued popsicle sticks together so we set to work.

Tristan caught on really fast and made a mass quantity of purple ones.  Kaelan made one, decided it reminded him of part of an Indian dwelling and left to find more popsicle sticks, cardboard and glue and build the rest of the Indian hut to go with his God's eye!  Addie worked really hard on finishing one, then asked ME to make some for her to give to her friends.......yep, amazing how a simple project like God's Eyes can bring out their true personalities.

Our evening included going to Emmanuel Free Methodist Church for their annual Foster Family Christmas Dinner.  The kids were really looking forward to it and we all had so much fun (Dustin unfortunately had to work)  The kids were on their best behavior and were such great helpers with Tiny all night long.  They loved their gifts from Santa and have been busy playing with and putting them together.  Little Tiny got a talking purse but was too tired to really enjoy it....

Addie got a LaLaLoopsey doll which is "just what I asked Santa for!"  She loves it and can't wait to see Annie and Audrey so they can all play with their dolls together!

The boys both got Kreo sets (kind of like Legos) and stayed up tile 10:30 putting them together!

We are so blessed....

The advent and The elf---day 5

Advent day 5 (20 days til Christmas)
The kids had so much fun working on their Christmas cards for friends yesterday afternoon.  We had had a bit of a "horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day" so being able to focus on our friends and the joy of Christmas was the perfect way to spend our evening : )

This morning we found a rather confused Elf hanging around with a leftover Thanksgiving decoration.  I know, I know....that was last month : )

Although it was only 32 degrees today, our special advent activity was.............

Our homeschool group, Grace Home Educators Together (GHET), meets monthly at the local Salvation Army so participating in the Christmas season bell ringing is a great way to give back to them and our community.  We had the 10-noon time slot at the Alton Schnucks and boy was it chilly!  Although we all had runny noses, cold toes and frozen fingers by the time it was done we also had a lot of laughs, got to meet a lot of people and all-together had a lot of fun.  (Dustin and Tiny stayed home, of course, due to the cold and prepared a yummy potato pie to warm us all up!)

Tonight the boys will be joining some friends from our missional church group to ring the bells outside our local Kmart store before heading over to a friend's house for hot cocoa and cookies!

The advent and The elf--day 4

Advent day 4 (21 days til Christmas)
Apparently our little elf friend, Gus, has had his eyes on more than just the Turner children.  We awoke this morning to find him canoodling with Christmas Barbie in her pink convertible!

Addie wanted to know how Gus was able to drive her Barbie car all the way downstairs because "it is not even a wind up or a battery car".........I guess that's just a little bit of Christmas magic : )

Today was Addie's turn to scratch off the advent card:

The kids were listing all of the friends that they want to send card to during our lunch.  We will probably work on those this evening after we go to Addie's 1st indoor soccer game!  Go Red Hot Chili Peppers!!!!!

The advent and The elf--day 3

Advent Day 3 (22 days til Christmas)
Today Dustin and I had to be at adoption certification training in Springfield all day so the kiddos  spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa.  We got up very early to scratch off the day's advent card and find our elf--Gus.

After getting home from all day training Dustin promptly fell asleep on the couch (he had worked a double shift and not slept at all the night before) and I settled in with the kiddos to watch the movie.......Tiny and I were both asleep by 6:30!  We all had a long day and everyone was tired but it was so nice to have all of my kiddos snuggled up on the bed together.

Gus had chosen a great place to watch over the happenings of the day...in a Christmas wreath on the living room wall : )