WARNING: MANY PHOTOS BELOW!!

I apologize ahead of time for the photo overload that lies before you. But we have just been having so much fun this Christmas season that I had to share. I will try to keep the story lines short and sweet though. Kinda like me. Ha!

We have been fortunate enough to hang out with friends to exchange gifts, eat good food and of course play games.

We surprised the girls the other night by bundling them up and driving to Big Bear for dinner.
As you can see below they may have talked daddy into some new animal hats along the way.
There is this cute little coffee house that we always stop in after dinner. They have the best hot cider, sipping chocolate and handmade marshmallows.

We were getting ready to leave when what did I spot but some VERY long icicles. I could not help myself.

"But Mom I'm freezing!"
"Oh Ryanne, take one for the team!"

Do you see how stinkin' long these things were? They just screamed sword fight which did ensue right after Dan broke the following off......

Yes do you see what my husband has in the background? Why he thought it was a good idea I am not sure. Lucky for me it was all of 19 degrees out so they fought only briefly and then jumped in the car. I think Dan's "light saber" broke first.

Ryanne took this photo of us.

The cookies that were oh so carefully decorated.....

The oh so fun mess making the cookies above......

The sweet little baker's who made the cookies AND the mess. Ha!

Morgan had her first ballet recital. She was so nervous. I don't think she expected the 100's of people that were there. She had a little miss step and was crying afterwards. She is soooo hard on her self. I was so proud of her and thought she looked beautiful. But as she later informed me, my opinion doesn't count because I have to say that as her mama. Ha!

Some family and friends braved the cold night to support her and then yogurt was papa's treat afterwards.

One of the Chiefs that works with Dan has a daughter in the ballet. She had a lead role in the Nutcracker. We surprised the girls and as one of their advent doors took them to see her. She was amazing! The girls loved every minute of the show. They even had guest dancers from the San Francisco ballet and we were in awe of the talent.

My friend Tammy and I took the kids to the Long Beach Aquarium for the last day of school.
The sea lion was in love with Morgan. He would swim around and then come back to the glass and smile at her and put his nose to her hand. He did this for like 10 minutes. She wanted to bring him home.

Silly Montana and Ryanne in Long Beach.

If you bought this for us I apologize ahead of time. But we found this in our cupboard still in the box sealed. It was a wedding gift. We have been married for almost 15 years. Again with the apology. Anyways, I decided to try it out and this rice maker is my new best friend. Did you know you can have perfect Spanish rice in like 15 minutes? Amazing!

And lastly, some good food and fellowship with friends at the spaghetti factory. Our cup overflows this Christmas with good friends, family and lots of good memories of Gods goodness.
Happy night before Christmas Eve!

Marriage 101

I mentioned we had our Christmas dinner for Married life a week ago. Jack Hibbs (our speaker) said something that really stuck with me. He said we should be anticipating our spouses needs. It's the whole idea of being a servant taken to the next level really. I mean can you imagine a world where we anticipate one anothers needs? What would it feel like for you if a friend anticipated your needs and was there selflessly? Or if your kids started anticipating needs around the home and started acting on them? How would your spouse feel if you did that just because?
I mean where does that kind of love and service come from. Not of our strength that's for certain. I mean in my own strength I barely have enough for my kids and husband by the end of the day let alone to anticipate extra needs whether they be emotional or physical.
BUT there is good news; if we do it in the strength of the Lord we will have a heart to do that for our spouse. What would our homes look like if we took that extra minute to love our husbands so much that we knew and acted on what their needs were before they had to ask.

Personally I think it would have a ripple affect. It would go from our husbands down to our kids into our extended families and into the church body. Hmmmmm......
So is it easy? No. And it won't come natural because were by nature selfish. But being in the word and lots of practice I know we can do it. :)
I want to be that kind of wife, mom and friend for sure!
Why because God first loved me.
I think people take marriage struggles to lightly. I mean if your marriage is under fire it is spiritual warfare. And it should be seen as that. Satan wants to destroy marriages because it has the most devastating ripple affect when he wins. I say let's reverse that and serve our spouse whether they return it or not. Being more concerned about their walk and condition of their hearts than what we get out of it.
Can you imagine when we start to love like that what our homes will look like!
I'm so excited! :)

Married Life And Fake Vs. Real

Can you hear the big long sigh from there? That would be letting out a long relaxing breath.
This past Friday was our Married Life Christmas dinner. Months of planning and praying and did I mention planning goes into this dinner. It was the ministries 1 year anniversary and we were so excited to see the 184 people walk through those doors for dinner, worship and Jack Hibbs speaking.
I found this AMAZING lady who does cakes as a hobby and agreed to my nutso idea of doing 1 cake for each table. I collect cake plates and I had this vision of stacking the cake plates on a really long dessert table and then serving each table of 10 their very own special unique cake.
Oh my gosh was it fun! Thank you Tina!!!! Everyone felt so special and loved as we delivered your handmade creations to their tables.

We held the event at the Mitten Building in Redlands. If you have never been to this historic old brick building you are missing out. It is beautiful!

See the people in the back ground running around? Those sweet couples are the hands and feet of this ministry. They go with my crazy ideas and help till' they drop without complaining or even thinking twice.

John and Tammy, the center pieces you created and donated made the tables. Thank you so much for your desire to be part of this ministry and loving on marriages at Wildwood.

We had magnets made with upcoming Married Life dates on them and home made toffee for each couple to take home. So fun!
Now we can breath, enjoy Christmas with our kids and gear up for Valentines!

So listen, I know there is this on going debate about real vs. fake when it comes to Christmas trees. But I am gonna just share our feelings on this subject. Ours being Dan and me. :)

Dan and I, were simple people. It takes very little to please us. We are happy laying on the couch watching football together, driving around looking at neighborhoods and homes we love. Going for walks or on little adventures. But when it comes to our Christmas tree we take it very seriously. I mean VERY seriously. In fact this is probably (OK not really) how our first date went;
Dan: "You single?"
Me: "Why yes I am. You love the Lord?"
Dan: "Why yes I do? Fake or real Christmas tree?"
Me: "Real of course."
Dan: "Will you marry me?"
Me: "Oh yes!"

So with that said we make an event out of it. We go and hunt it out. Debate about the height, the width and fullness. Our girls have this process down to a science. Some might argue that Dan should be more careful because he's a fire fighter and go with the fake tree. That is where you are wrong because we might be simple but we like to live on the edge. Ha! Ha!

Dan: "Tree straight?"
Macy: "Yup' uh-huh looks good dad!"
Macy after all the fun with the tree.

5K And Truffle Gifts.....

Dan and the girls run a 5K in Redlands every December. It was the first year Ryanne was old enough to do the longer distance on her own. She was pretty excited. Morgan on the other hand HATES to run so she was probably thinking bad things about me right about here.

It was FREEZING out! Like 35 freezing and a breeze. It was hard work being a spectator. Ha!All in all they had a good father daughter time.

We have our Married Life Christmas dinner this coming Friday night. At each event I always try to come up with something creative to make for the couples who help us with the ministry. It's usually something to just say thanks for all your hard work!
This year I found this cute idea in a magazine. You take an egg crate, cut it in half and then line it with full sized cup cake liners. Then you put some red shredded paper in a 10" bag, slip the egg crate stuffed with truffles or your favorite home made cookie into the bag. Cut off the sealed side of the bag, and tie off with cute festive ribbon and a tag.

I made chocolate peppermint truffles and topped them off with crushed peppermint.
Hopefully the host couples will like them. I started saving egg crates months ago and even though I think Dan thought my "egg crate pile" was a bit strange he can see my vision now.
Anyways, thought I would share this little project with you. maybe it could bless a teacher, a neighbor, friend or your church staff. :)

Playing Catch Up.....

Man where did the time go that it's already December! I realized I have been reading everyone else blog but not updating my own. Ha!
So this post is a "catch you up" post.
We were lucky enough that Dan's sister and my niece and nephew got to come up and visit a couple weekends ago. My nephew Nate LOVES firemen and fire engines etc. so we took them to the fire station to visit Dan and go for a ride on the engine.
Even Dan's sister loved it! Riding on that huge truck never gets old!

Morgan and her cousin AJ enjoying the ride

Nate and Ryanne. We had to finally turn Ryanne's head set off because she was talking so loud the poor guy driving the back of the truck was going deaf.

Don't worry Uncle Dan I will help you get the ladder out!

I think I mentioned before that I was in the process of redoing our room; well it is still a work in progress but here are a couple of shots so you can get the idea and see the color.
I am doing a mirror col age on our large empty wall. I am still looking for 2 more mirrors to complete it. Bought a new bookcase at Target.

This corner was empty so for Christmas (yes she already gave it to me) my mom bought us a chair and ottoman at Home Goods for cozy hours of reading and long conversations with my hubby.
I found the little side table at Ross for $15 and the floor lamp at homewoot.com for $39. I love finding stuff cheaper that works.
Oh and the cat is Morgan's but he thinks the chair was bought for him.

Christmas threw up at our house the other day......

Our church does a Thanksgiving out reach every year where families can sign up to provide a complete Thanksgiving meal for a family in our community who is in need. Our church provided over a 100 meals!

We packed them up and met at the church the Saturday before Thanksgiving......

The girls have helped in the past but we have never helped deliver the meals. It was a really good experience for us all. A real eye opener for my girls. Some families allowed us to pray for them while others declined. The girls had happy, helping hearts even in the freezing cold rain that eventually took over the morning.

So much fun stuff going on during the holidays. I'm enjoying being healthy and pain free even in the cold. The girls are excited about shopping for gifts for each other and Dan. We have some fun outings coming up; friends in plays, Morgan's ballet recital, tickets to the Nutcracker etc.
Lots of baking for neighbors, Married Life Ministry Christmas dinner and family to visit with.

Dan is busy getting settled into his new position as Battalion Chief at work and the girls are eagerly awaiting Christmas break so they can sleep in and do NOTHING! Ha! The teacher will enjoy that as well.

I hope this reaches everyone enjoying the Christmas season, loving on their wound up kiddos and taking a few minutes to hang out with their spouse.

One Of The Many Reasons I love Dan...

One of the reasons I LOVE my husband and mind you there are many; is because he is always willing to leave behind the stresses of work, ministry, kids (sorry girls) house chores etc. to just pick up and go. Go to the beach for the night and let everything else fade into the back ground if only for a day or two. He's always got a lot going on with work (especially lately) and we are always in full swing with Married Life ministry. The girls go full speed all week and I home school which is a full time job.
So when I say,"Honey, let's get a room, get dinner and a movie and go back to our room and just be." He is great about saying OK! So last week the girls doubled up on school work to get it all done and my mom came and watched the girls Thursday and Friday so we could get away.
If nothing else to talk without being interrupted, eat an entire meal while it's still hot and sit in the jacuzzi without being splashed in the face. Ha! Ha! It's really the little things that keep a marriage in tune.
I am thankful that I have a husband who is willing to do this multiple times a year "just because" and a family that is willing to help out with our kiddos. The BIG, GRAND moments in marriage are great but really the "just because" stuff is what feeds my soul. :)
Then when he tells me things like,"honey I won't be home for 4 days" I smile and wave. Ha!
Just a reminder to do something without the kids with your hubby this holiday season.
*Call a friend for free babysitting and go Christmas shopping.
*Surprise him at work with a lunch date.
*Put the kids to bed early and have a popcorn and movie night.
*Arrange for a quick coffee date down the street.

The holidays are stressful; friends, family, shopping, decorating, baking etc. It's just nice to remind your spouse that all that is secondary. :)

Just Sayin.......

Yesterday morning my dad sent me these funny questions. For example: Why are tug boats called "tug" boats when they push? or "Why do we sing take me out to the ball game if we are already there?" Lastly, "Why does fat chance and slim change mean the same thing?"

So because my life is well, my life I have come up with some of my own questions that need answering.
For example: Why does this sweet, kissable, simply irresistible pooch wake me up to go out to pee at 2am only to decide it is to cold, run back inside and pee on the floor?

Or why would this sweet, angelic, kissable child get into the play make up, put on bright red lipstick and then proceed to kiss my light colored silky curtains in my bedroom? Really? Why?

Yet another mystery. Why do my hormones shift once a month only to make me crave things like these babies? I mean on the outside they are good, sweet and oh so yummy but then after eating 6 I don't feel so great. Oh and yes they are gluten and dairy free. I made them. Which means I had plenty of time to think through my actions. LOL!

And lastly; the cold weather......does it beacon any one else to NEED comfort food? I mean at least we make the good majority of our comfort food so I know its relatively healthy but still. I don't think any amount of healthy makes up for the 3 bowls of homemade mac n cheese I ate the other night!