Christmas at the cabin is about...

... the stockings on the mantle.

 ... playing lots and lots and lots of games.

... being together. 

... visiting Grandpa's workshop. 

... reading! 

 (Did I mention LOTS of games?!)

... making pizza with Grandma.  (Check the new Christmas nail polish!)

 ... cousins getting into mischief together.

 ... doing puzzles.

 ... rain puddles!  (Rain puddles?!  Yes.  Sadly, there was hardly any snow.)

... keeping the woodpile well stocked.

... eating cinnamon rolls!

... and driving Grandpa nuts by decorating his animals.

Merry Christmas

By:  Ally (age 5)

Generosity

I have spent the better part of this morning trying to find a book, or rather, a certain paragraph in a book.  I was not successful.  But SOMEWHERE I remember reading a good illustration about generosity, so I'm going to have to paraphrase it for you here.  Now, maybe it means a little bit more to me because I lived in Israel for several years.  As a kid, I floated in the Dead Sea and swam in the Sea of Galilee.  (How cool is that?!)  But I think that you'll still get the point.

"There are two lakes in Israel and there are two kinds of people in the world." 

The Dead Sea in the south has an inlet, but no outlet.  It receives but it never gives.  The land around it is arid and lifeless.  Although its water is rich in minerals it is not suitable for drinking or sustaining life.

The Sea of Galilee in the north has both and inlet and outlet.  The landscape around it is green and refreshing.  Animals and humans alike benefit from its supply of fresh water.

And so it is with people.  There are those who always receive and yet are like a parched wasteland.  They never give and therefore the landscape around them dries up.  And then there are those who have a constant outlet for their blessings.  They give and give and give, yet they never run dry.  They are refreshed and they bless those around them.

My sister is one of those people.  She never comes over to our house without some kind of blessing - usually a cute item of clothing for the girls that she picked up at the Other Mother's 25 cent sale or a super-duper couponing bargain item for my pantry.  In fact, she has a whole closet in her house called "the gift closet."  It is full of baby items, clearance clothing, toys, lotions, etc.  If you looked up "generosity" in the dictionary, her picture would be there!  For sure.

I mention this because lately our family has received one blessing after another.  I posted about the beautiful Christmas tree that someone delivered, but I haven't told you about the card that someone left in our church mailbox yesterday.  $100 cash - no signature.  Or, how about the large Scrip gift donations through the families at Marc's school?  One blessing after another.  It's been so encouraging and so humbling.  I just hope that we never end up like the Dead Sea.

My Flammy

I love these people - plain and simple.

I love that we enjoy being together. I love our dumb family jokes. I love that my kids beg to spend time with their aunts and uncles. I love that my girls don't know whether to call my dad Grandpa or Pastor. I love getting to hear Dad's teaching every Sunday! I love that Sierra and Ally are taking piano lessons from Grandma Phyllis. I love the vicious love-hate relationship that Valerie and Riley have right now. I love to watch Annie and Ally become completely engrossed in the Polly Pocket world. I love my mom's Bible study lessons. I love that we play board games together - even if Benjy usually wins. I love that we get to spend these years together in Idaho. Who would ever have imagined that all of us would be living within 20 miles of each other?! We've been spread across the country and across the world for a long time. This is a very blessed time.

PS - Happy Birthday to Missy and Susie this week!

Thank You!!!

Someone rang our doorbell after church this evening. They didn't stick around to see our reaction when we opened the door and found this:

So, "Secret Santa" - in case you read this blog - here's a glimpse of the excitement that you brought to our home with your special gift.

We already have our beautiful tree all set up and decorated. Thank you for your thoughtful and generous gift. We appreciate it so, so much.

P.S. It smells WONDERFUL!!!!

May this Christmas season be filled with...

It just gets better...

Are you tired of reading posts about the good times we have up at the cabin? TOO BAD! Cuz' here comes another one. That place just gets better and better! I can't decide which I love more: the long, warm summer days by the river or the short, cozy winter days by the fireplace. I guess it's ultimately not really about the place itself - just the people that we love to spend time with while we're there.

We kicked off our week-long Thanksgiving break with two days at the cabin. From the minute we got there - which was LATE on Sunday night - Valerie started doing the happy dance. Tradition dictates that we must do certain things while at the cabin, so we popped some corn and watched "the sillies" (Funniest Home Videos) before collapsing into bed that night.

Tradition number 2 is eating Grandpa's pancakes for breakfast.

Then there's the trip to town in Grandpa's truck.

Next, in a traditional cabin day comes pizza making with Grandma. Valerie's creation was beautiful, but I had to scoop up a whole dustpan full of flour off of the floor by the time she was done.

The rest of our time was filled with coloring, games, fort building, puzzles, books and movies.

Oh! And the girls made their first two snowmen of the season. It was getting dark by the time they finished it, so I don't have any good pictures of the final product.

Unfortunately, I also don't have pictures of: early morning story time on Grandpa's lap, sledding down Thunderbolt Road with Grandma, the 7 mule deer that walked right in front of our dining room window, or my three sleeping beauties all snuggled under down comforters for a winter nap. But, I'm sure that you get the picture...

One night while we were all up in the loft for a movie, Valerie turned to Grandpa and blurted out, "You best my friend." Her syntax may be a little off, but I love the sentiment that even a two year old can express. And I am so very, very thankful for the wonderful memories that the girls will have of this happy place.