Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Christmas time is here. . .

Christmas is THIS Saturday and I can hardly wait!  I’m not necessarily “ready” for it – there are some presents to wrap, some presents to buy, some food to make, etc. but somehow that stuff all gets done in time.

What a great season to celebrate the birth of our King!  What an amazing sacrifice He made to come down from Heaven for US!  I hope this is the thing that my kids will always associate with Christmas.  Yes, we love Santa and Christmas lights and opening presents from under the tree – but Christmas really is only about Jesus. 

This season is also one that makes me miss … him.  Dad – I think of you every single day (but you already know that).  I’m sure I can’t even imagine what a wonderful time you are having in Heaven.  LOVE you!

IMG_3288

(I just have the most adorable parents … best ever!  I hope that I can be to my kids a fraction of the example that these two people have been to me.)

Let the celebrations begin!   MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Making up for lost time

Okay, it seems that I’ve forgotten how to blog.  Actually, I have so much to update that I don’t know where to start.  And so then I just don’t post anything. (doesn’t make much sense huh?)

So … ummm … what have we been up to?

We took the kids trick-or-treating for Halloween.  Trevor  and Juli were ghosts, and Eli was Superman.  Brett actually didn’t go trick-or-treating, but instead went to the Hallelujah Party.  That is something that’s put on by Bridge of Hope church.  He went with a friend and had a great time!  Everyone got plenty of candy, that is for sure.  -  I don’t have pictures handy of Halloween, but maybe soon. *snicker* :)

In November, we took Brett & Trevor to Minneapolis for a little weekend away.  We got to Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon and checked in to our hotel.  We walked to the train station (which was by the Metrodome) and took the train to the Mall of America.  Wow – what a sight – SO many people!  We were there for a couple of hours and then took the train back.  I forgot to take my camera there though, so –again- no pictures.  :(

The hotel was hosting a tailgate party that night since it was a game weekend, so we went back there and watched some college football and had brats, burgers, hot dogs and nachos.  Brett & Trevor put the hotel pool to good use too.  We relaxed in the hotel all night on Saturday and watched “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. 

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, and then got ready to go to the dome for our first ever NFL game.  They had some concerts and other events going on outside before they let the fans in to find their seats.  The weather was amazing … especially for MN in November!  We were able to walk around without bundling up – this was a huge plus to not have to carry all kinds of coats, hats, gloves, etc. along with us. 

It was a very exciting game.  The Vikings were down by 14 points to start the 4th quarter, and ended up winning by 3 points in overtime.  Even though we were watching the Vikings and not the Bears – we still had a really great time. 

We are so blessed that Grandma Langstraat was willing to watch Eli for the weekend.  He had a great time with her (and I’m pretty sure she enjoyed it too).  We were very anxious to get back to pick him up though – we definitely missed him!  (Although I don’t think he would have really enjoyed the game … or the driving … very much)

Below are a few pictures of our weekend.

MN collage

(Holy cow – it just took me forever to make that collage.)  :)

Anyway, I just thought I’d do a quick update in order to remind myself that once upon a time I started a blog. 

And maybe I will maybe do more collages so that I get better (and faster) at it.  Good idea?  Yes?