Christmas 2010 ~

Above: Christmas day with Grandma always begins with a hot cup of tea.

Below: Christmas day with Grandpa always begins with reading from the Word.

Brad and I took a hike in the hills. It was very cold and windy that day but it was so fun! It took us about two hours to hike that day.
It was so cold that day our bottle of water was frozen by the time we were done with our hike!

We saw a lady at a store who was wearing reindeer antlers and Ruthie declared a bit loudly and somewhat in awe, "Hey, a reindeer!" I think the lady was flattered.

Ruthie's prayer the other night: Jesus, please help Nae not to cry tonight. Amen.

Ruthie was reviewing colors with Naomi. After going through several colors, Ruthie picked up a chicken nugget and asked her little sister what color it was...Nae responded confidently, "Chicken nugget!"

Grandpa giving Nae appetizers before dinnertime. :)


Below: Check out Nae's expression in this picture...hilarious! Maybe her face is saying, "Okay, dad, put down the camera. I'm not in the mood."
Auntie, me and Ruthie getting ready for Christmas Eve service.
Goofing around with Auntie.

Brad ran into a store really quick so the girls were in the van playing while we waited for him to come back...Ruthie came up to me and said, "Mommy, I'm going to sacrifice to God in the back of the van." When I asked her what she was going to sacrifice (maybe a lamb), she replied matter-a-factly, "Mom, I'm just joking." Good to know, because the only thing alive in the back of the van was Nae. :)

Naomi was sick and couldn't go to church...Ruthie really missed her and said with tears, "I'm going to miss my beautiful Nae."

Below: Check out that shooting form!
Nae needed help shooting the ball.
Ben and Elizabeth.

Below: My amazing mom really did do this!

My dad likes to buy us all fun gifts for Christmas.
He bought himself and the girls these dentist-approved, no cavity or plaque-infested teeth.






We took a walk on Christmas in the ditch above my parent's house. In the below picture it appears my mom is lounging or sun tanning. Either way she's got it easy!
Below: Elizabeth, our best friend and I would hide treasures in the tree trunk every year growing up. It was neat to see that some of those "treasures" were still there. :)

Below: Life is good!
After our long walk Ruthie fell asleep sitting up...she must have been really tired.

Ruthie's First Christmas Play ~

Making Jerky Plus Christmas Play ~

Brad and I made jerky from the deer I shot last month.


Wally helped too.
Cheryl made me a wonderful and delicious birthday cake. Two sets of parents, two cakes...works great for me! :)
Ruthie was in a Christmas play at church this Sunday. She played Mary.



An unplanned quote Mary (aka Ruthie) made on stage while looking pleadingly at Grandpa, "Grandpa, I have to go potty." I doubt that was in the script.

Isn't she a beautiful actress?
While the narrator was reading "and Mary pondered all these things in her heart," Ruthie looked down at her baby and caressed his head. So cute.
She took her role seriously.

Thirty Second Difference ~

While Ruthie was being disciplined she began to sing, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!" Where? :)

Naomi kept saying, "I want Cheryl, I want Cheryl." I thought it was sweet she wanted her grandma, although I never knew when Nae started referring to her grandma on a first name basis. But then I realized she was saying "cereal." Sorry Cheryl, it was close though. :)
While exiting McDonald's Naomi usually says, "Bye bye chicken nuggets!"
Ruthie saw our wedding picture and said, "Mommy's an angel!" Sweet!
Elizabeth and her friend held a Christmas party we attended last week.
One morning we woke up to Nae under the Christmas tree with all the presents unwrapped. She's a curious little one.
Wally and Cheryl came to visit the other day. The girls were so excited to see them!
Nae came into our room with a huge bug climbing her arm and she seemed not to be bothered by that...she must get that ability from her daddy, not me.
Brad took me out for my birthday. We ate at Salad Creations and then went to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We haven't been to a movie since Fireproof so we were excited to finally go out to a movie together.
Me eating my delicious salad.
Elizabeth and I celebrated our birthday together. Ruthie helped blow out the candles.
I always say I should blow the candles out first, and then after 30 seconds Eliz can blow (I'm 30 seconds older than her...C-section). Anyway, she wouldn't have any of that and insisted we blow them out together. :)

Holy, Holy, Holy ~

While driving home one day, Naomi began screaming, "Horsey, horsey, horsey!" She yelled this several times but unfortunately we parents did not understand her reasoning for such behavior. We saw no horses outside (or inside) the vehicle. Eventually, I realized she was saying, "Holy, holy holy!" She wanted to listen to our hymnal CD and that song is her favorite. I must say, not a very "holy" way of asking to listen to it though! :)

It's been cold here. It usually takes twenty minutes (being sarcastic) to dress everyone and ten minutes to play in the snow before coming back inside. It's a lot of work for such a small amount of fun :)

Brad tried to tickle me and I retaliated...he tried to run...
but I finally caught him!


I just liked this cute picture of my nephew, Tommy.