My 9-year-old

Believe it or not, Karissa is now 9. I don't think I've totally come to accept it myself, since she still wears some size 6 pants. It also means that we've been in Michigan for 9 1/2 years! Having a birthday right between Christmas and New Years has it's ups and downs, but we've come to include it as one of our "holiday" traditions.

She enjoyed helping me make her breakfast pancakes (hers was a huge chocolate chip one), opening presents first thing in the morning, and playing with her siblings with her new gifts from Christmas and her birthday. Since Karissa loves to read, I took them all to the library to pick out some books and videos. While Jason worked on the basement, the boys entertained themselves while the girls and I went to get Karissa's ears pierced, something I didn't think she was ready for last year, but I think she is now.

She got a lavender scented warming buddy that she loves to sleep with.

Before piercing

After piercing!

While I helped Jason in the basement, the kids watched Cinderella (the new one), that we got from the library and Erik graciously let them watch as opposed to Wild Kratts.

We had coupons for Dave and Busters, an arcade/restaurant that we thought would be fun as an early New Year's activity and birthday bash, so decided to try it out. Well, Wednesdays are half off day, which was good, but we couldn't use our coupons and I think all of Detroit was there, it was pretty busy! The kids had a great time, even though they aren't really experienced at arcade games, though Austin would love to be, I'm sure! The food was good, but it took a long time to get it! We'll see if we end up using the coupons later.

Watching Austin play a video game.

Birthday cake and the our traditional birthday song by the Beatles were our final celebrations when we got home, then Karissa got some quiet time with her new Legos, crafts, and books before going to bed.

Karissa has really enjoyed being in the TAG program this year. She gets to ride the bus home with her BFF Olivia every day. She doesn't have a ton of homework, but she is a perfectionist, so it takes her longer to get her work done than it should. She also gets distracted by wanting to make a craft or write a story before completing her work. Sometimes, she will wake up first thing on a Saturday morning, turn on the computer, and start writing a book. She has a series she's working on right now called Ice Cream and Oatmeal. You'll have to look for it one day at the bookstore when it's published! And the crafts... she will take any scraps and make something out if it. She thrives on that! When she's not making a craft, she's playing a make-believe game with Austin or dolls or Shopkins with Victoria. She also enjoys reading. When she finds a chapter book she likes, she'll read the whole thing before I knew what happened! She still plays the piano and is going to be involved in a sewing class and a tennis class soon. Both are short-lived and I'm not sure when the sewing class is yet. Hopefully it doesn't interfere with the tennis class I just signed her up for!

Crazy fun!!

She is still very cuddly and sweet, but if you catch her when she's tired, look out! She's always the first to help someone when they're hurt or sad and has lots of patience with little ones. She will be a very good baby-sitter one day!

I look forward to our traditional mid-January birthday party coming up!

Season of Giving

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already! This year we had a great opportunity to bring the blankets that our Relief Society made to COTS (coalition on temporary shelter). I was in charge of the activity in November, so I decided to wait until the kids got out of school so they could help me deliver the blankets in downtown Detroit. While we didn't come in contact with any of the residents there, I could tell the experience humbled us all. We also delivered handmade headbands for the missionaries here that the Relief Society had made. While on Erik's preschool field trip to the fire station in November, I learned that the hot commodity at the fire station here is peanut butter, so we brought two huge Costco jars of peanut butter to the fire station on the way to go caroling at the nursing home on Christmas Eve. It was great to see the smile on the face of the fireman who took our gift and the nursing home residents as we sang. Oh, and I almost forgot about the best gift from the kids. When Yoda died, Karissa put together a jar for them to donate money to help other animals. They all took a fair amount of money from their own allowance and put it in the jar. I wanted to donate it before it lost it's meaning to them. We counted it up and they had collected $39.14, so Jason and I matched it and donated to the humane society.

 While we have these opportunities to serve those around us and each other, sometimes we still forget on Christmas day as we get caught up in opening our own gifts. There were a few complaints about not getting this or that on Christmas, but I was impressed at how excited they were to give their own gifts to each other. Victoria made an American Girl doll bed for Karissa and gave her old tablet to Austin. Karissa made a picture collage for Victoria and Star Wars armor for Austin. Austin had bought some things at the dollar store and was so excited to purchase gifts for his siblings with his own money. They gave some of their old favorites to Erik and I helped him by stuff for them. Handmade pictures for Jason and I and Victoria wanted to pick out a new sweater vest for Jason that she said he had mentioned needing. I was touched by their eagerness to make each other happy.

Blankets we donated.

Headbands for the missionaries and some necessities.

Jar of money for the Humane Society.

Erik allowed me to take one picture with all four of them after church. Luckily,  it turned out okay!

Ours didn't turn out too well, though. That's what happens when a 6-year-old takes it....

 Fun faces of surprise on Christmas day.

After the gift giving and receiving, it was back to work for Jason, and me when he needed my assistance and when I wasn't doing something with the kids. Remember our basement project? It's still going, slowly, but Jason is doing a great job. The foam boards are up and the framing has been painfully slow with all the windows and the slant of the floor. Jason has been getting in some good math and puzzle time. I've been sticking around to help him here and there, so the kids have been mostly home, but playing so well together! We'll be glad when this is done! It is our final gift to ourselves!

Ice Hockey

One of the things I have always loved to do is ice skate. I'm hoping to take the kids over the break. I will definitely enjoy skating with Austin. He's been in ice hockey since September. He was involved last spring for a 6 week free program. Now they improved it and it's a free 6 month program! (When we have to pay for it later, if he sticks with it, I won't be bragging then!) Every month there is a game and every week they get a free juice box at the end. It's called Juice Box Ice Hockey, after all.

Our computer has been updated, so I'm not sure where the video is of his last game, but here are some great pics of this boy who is really enjoying this sport with his friend Dallin.

He's the one in the red shirt and white helmet.

Mr. Juice Box himself.

The dynamic duo.

These boys are pretty intense! They're excited to go each week and come up with their own strategy before going out. There is less time on their bums now, and more time skating! This last week, they jumped over a hockey stick. Two out of the three they both did it without falling! Way to go!

Crafty Kids

My kids have been really excited to make each other Christmas gifts this year. I don't "require" them to give each other a gift, but some years I see if there is something small I can help them buy or make for each other. This year, on her own accord, Victoria started making gifts for her siblings, two weeks before Thanksgiving! Then Karissa and Austin started to follow suit. On Sunday, when Victoria realized she had two things for Austin and only one for Karissa, she started on Karissa's other gift (an American Girl doll bed). Karissa started a project for me that she wanted Jason 's help with. It turned out that she was in charge of the family activity for Family Home Evening, so she decided to make it a family affair. She wanted to make a nativity. She had already made Mary, Joseph, and the stable. Then when we all joined in, she made the star, Victoria made Jesus (Austin made one too, but he's keeping his. That was a sore spot in the activity.) Victoria also made the sheep. I made a wise man and Jason made a shepherd. It was a great project to do together! Even though I get annoyed with the mess my kids make (and don't clean up very well) when they get into their crafty modes and with the junk I have to store so they have resources (toilet paper rolls, boxes, beans, fabric scraps,....), I am so glad they have these talents and are able to put their creativity to use. They are pretty great!

Oh, yeah I forgot about the angel. We just took it from the tree on a last thought. Either my mom or I made it when I was in high school.

Erik wanted to be a photo bomb.

A close-up. You can tell where the kids get their artistic abilities from.... (not from me!)

Thanksgiving in Phili

We took advantage of a parent living only a day's drive away. How often does that happen to us? Only this year! My mom and her husband are in Philadelphia for their mission at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania scanning family history documents. We decided to see what Phili has to offer over Thanksgiving weekend. As it turns out, it has lots!

The drive there was longer than we hoped because of holiday traffic (lots of cops!) and tolls that we decided to avoid. (We used to have an easy pass from when we lived in Maryland and it did make everything easier!) Luckily, the stay there was smooth, fun, and exciting!

We stayed at their apartment, in a different room, right down town. We were on the 18th floor! The first day, Thanksgiving, we got to see the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade, the longest running parade in the US. We just had a quick jaunt outside from the apartment to get there!

The Philadelphia Temple is being built just outside their apartment and behind where we were standing for the parade!

 Swimming in the pool was a must! We swam and had races until it was time for turkey! We enjoyed all of our favorite fixings, on a smaller scale. Still just as good!

Erik didn't eat any Thanksgiving food:(

Another quick jaunt took us to the Museum of Art, and yes, we ran up the stairs, Rocky style!

Tree at the top of the stairs.

Just thinking...

The next morning we caught a ride with the apartment shuttle to Independence Hall. History in the making! We've been to a lot of church history sites lately, but not many US history sites. It was wonderful to be where our freedoms first started. We sometimes take them for granted. It was a spiritual experience for me. That is until I was majorly rebuked by a security guard for trying to take a short cut to the bathroom for some tissue for Austin's nose. Poor guy (and Jason) was suffering from a cold and needed to blow his nose. They have security guards and rails there for a reason. I was able to demonstrate to our kids how safe we are here (they've been wondering about our safety in the US after what happened in Paris).

Erik loved the shuttle!

Independence Hall

Let freedom ring!

The horses on the street were a big hit.

We walked to the Reading Market to enjoy soft pretzels which are very popular in Phili, a sandwich place Jason said was on some top list, and the local crowds. Then we went to the Mint. The kids sure did like that! No encounters with security there, luckily.

Swimming again and a football game with turkey noodle soup, a must after Thanksgiving, was our wind down time. Then we went to see a Christmas video/light show on a huge wall at the Comcast building.


On Saturday we went to Macy's to see their grand light show and huge Christmas tree. Karissa got her bear re-stuffed at Build-a-Bear and we saw the Charles Dickens Christmas display (display and a half, actually!) It was like Disneyland, except we were walking instead of sitting in a boat, and it was free! We even got to visit with Santa Claus himself!

Erik didn't want to sit with Santa, no surprise there.

This is the only picture that really turned out. It was dark in the Dickens display.

Charlies Dickens

We went to the German market and had some German foods, but it was more crowded and crazy than we liked, so we didn't spend too much time there. It was at Love Park, though.

Having fun downtown.

After another football game we got some Phili cheese steaks at a local place. The only place we drove to so we could get the best! On the way back we saw some lights on boat row.

We enjoyed every minute of it! Being with family, seeing the building of the Philadelphia temple, the big city experience, and the few moments of down time with the kids playing chess (or checkers). We have a lot to be thankful for!