Christmas 2009

Lucille, Mercy & Joshua
Christmas 2009

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, "The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace"
-Isaiah 9:6

Random Pictures of My Monkeys

The children decorating their small Christmas trees.

Mercy dressed up in her princess costume. She loves this dress because she says it looks like the one that Taylor Swift wears in her Love Story video.

Lucy at Disneyland.

Joshua - a self portrait

Foto Friday

Joshua hunting for eggs at Papa & Mama's house on Easter Sunday

Lucy in her Easter dress

Mercy working in the garden with her daddy

Valentine's Sweetheart Dinner

This past Saturday, Jason & I attended a Sweetheart Dinner which was hosted by our homeschool group. The dinner was held at the McCoy Equestrian Center in Chino Hills.

The tables were beautifully decorated, and the food was delicious! We had an Italian dinner which consisted of lasagna, chicken fetuccini alfredo, penne, salad, and garlic bread. For dessert we had a choice of chocolate cake or cheesecake.

The night was set up to be a celebration of the love God has given to us in our marriages. We took pictures together (like in high school!). And we heard a talk encouraging us in our marriages by a couple, Lin and Barb Wells, who were celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary that night. The talk was a real blessing.

Overall, the night was very enjoyable. I was able to spend a romantic night with my wonderful husband, and at the same time hear about how God works in our marriage.

Merry Christmas!

We pray you have a joyous Christmas!

"For he that is mighty hath done to me great
things: and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him from
generation to generation."

-Luke 1:49-50

Thanksgiving Cooking

This past Thanksgiving, we spent with Jason's mother's family. It was nice in that we didn't have to travel far, they live just 5 minutes away. We enjoyed a nice quiet dinner.

The children, my sister Marina, and I had made pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, and cranberry-apple pie with a crumb topping. Everything was delicious! I also made Yams with Ginger and Scallions. I made these last year as well and they were a big hit. The recipe is from last year's Thanksgiving issue of Saveur Magazine. It is a simple yam recipe, with all fresh ingredients. The mix of flavors is amazing!

Reformation Night

As we do not observe Halloween, each year we look for ways to avoid the celebration of it. I find it increasingly hard as the children grow older to keep them from the holiday. Everywhere we go there are reminders of it. We couldn't go to any store without seeing decorations and people would ask the children what they were going to dress up as. I am so happy that that is over with for the year!

This past Friday, we went to our church's Refomation Night. October 31st is Reformation Day, a holiday in rememberance of the reformation. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the day in 1517 that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany.

RBCR had games and activities for the children to learn about the reformation and have fun.

This is Joshua getting ready to throw relics in the river.

Mercy and Joshua listen to Robyn tell how to spin the wheel to learn about the life of reformer John Calvin.

This is the St. Giles bowling game.

The children were able to make graham cracker churches, and decorate them with candy.

Joshua and I had trouble getting his church to stay standing.

At the Diet of Worms booth, the children had to knock down the books that were not written by Luther.

At this booth the children throw papal bulls into the fire.

Here is Mercy painting a picture of a famous reformer.

The children received tickets at the booths and then were able to trade them in for prizes!
I have to say that Melissa (pictured above behind the prize table) did an awesome job putting that night all together. Thank you Melissa for all the time, imagination, and hard work that you put in to give our family a memorable night!

Our Valentine's Dinner

Sorry, I have been remiss in my blog posting of late. We have been happily busy with activities.

This weekend is the Little League Opening Day and if the rain doesn't prevent it, Joshua will have his first ball game of the season. Go Tigers! Jason also is set to have a game that day. We are also looking forward to the Winter Music Festival of the Western Society of Chamber Music on Saturday night. It is a great way to introduce the family to classical music.

We had a very enjoyable Valentine's dinner. The children helped in the kitchen, and had a blast decorating the table. They did an awesome job.

They wanted lots of candles! So I lit up the candelabra and tea lights.

We had champagne and sparkling apple cider. The children were so excited that they got to use the glass champagne flutes.

Sugar Cookies!

The children each arranged a vase of flowers. Mercy decorated place cards. Joshua made construction paper hearts and wrote a Bible verse about love on each one, he then placed one under each plate as a surprise.

It was a special family dinner. We all agreed that we should make it an annual tradition. I am already thinking of ideas for next year!

Valentine's Dinner

The children & I have decided to cook a nice Valentine's Day dinner this year. We are planning on steak, baked potatoes, and asparagus cooked in white wine. We also will be making sugar cookies!

Right now, Joshua and Mercy are trying to decide what to make for a centerpiece. They love doing crafts! Joshua says there should be hearts. Mercy says that it should be "mantic." So we will probably have a romantic heart-shaped centerpiece!

Well, I hope that everyone has a very "mantic" Valentine's Day!