You Gotta Get up ~ it's Christmas Morning!

We have wonderful tradition of always being at home on Christmas eve and Christmas morning.

We always attend the Christmas eve service at church, but this year we got so much snow, the service was canceled. We were disappointed, but still had a nice evening. We stayed home, made chili, and opened our gifts to each other. The kids used their own money to buy gifts for each of us in the family.

Christmas morning is the best. The kids wake up, hide their eyes as they're walking by the living room full of gifts, and once in our room they wake us up. They wait as patiently as they can until we get the cameras ready. This year when they woke us up, it sure seemed early, but we looked at the clock and it said 6:45am. We figured that was a fair time! Once we awake and in the living room Alan noticed the clock said 6:00am. So they actually got us up about 5:45am. Our bedroom clock was wrong. Oh well.

And off they went. This year Selah and Charis got American Girl stuff, and Selah got some new journals. Bryson got a skateboard, and few other little things, and a Wii (which was really for everyone).

Alan got a new TV (how many plates did I paint for that one!?!?), and I got some new cooking gifts. The Pioneer Woman has soooo inspired me, that Alan was very happy to give me some new things for the kitchen.

Most of all, we love seeing the excitement in their eyes. We love telling them about how Jesus is the greatest gift that God gave to all of us. And we love that they are learning to give.

Notice how dark it is at 5:45am? Ha!


Set up the Wii in the living room on another TV so we could watch him play.



Lots and lots of snow!


Selah got Alan an OSU hat.


Bryson gave Selah a blingy phone for her room, and a cute fuzzy doorbell


Charis opening one of her gifts on Christmas Eve

James and Lydia came over late Christmas Eve to hang out with us. We iced sugar cookies, watched Elf, and played a game of Twister. After the kids went to bed, they helped us put together the kids' gifts and set them out for Christmas morning. The power went out RIGHT after the last screw went in on the American Girl tree house. What luck.
We sure do love Unkie James and Aunt Lydia!



Lydia and Charis making the calls:


Are you s-e-r-i-o-u-s? Did you have to call right foot red?!?!?!?


Dude... he's like Spiderman!


"Oh yeah? It's GO-TIME! Where do you think my son gets those sweet moves?"

Merry Christmas from the Aberles!! (we ARE the Aberles)

We are so blessed to get to be together with Alan's family each year for the holidays. I have so many neat memories of each Christmas with them, beginning with the ones in the South Dakota snow.
Every Christmas that I can think of (except maybe the one where Grandpa was vacuuming the floor under my baby WHILE we were all still eating ~ yeah, maybe not that one), okay... so almost every Christmas... is so relaxing. So enjoyable. So full of tradition. So full of fun, laughter, and as for as long as I've been around, full of kids! Which means, full of fun times with a Grandpa and Grandma.
I love spending time with my first Sister, Theresa! She's one of my favorites! :-)
All of us girls have fun in the kitchen. The kids have fun together. And I think the guys just enjoy hangin' out and a little relaxation.

The highlights this year were the AWESOME meal Theresa made for us with the authentic Lithuania flare; the Grandkids and the hand-bell show; the "his and her" nighties given to us from Adam and Theresa (Oh~My~Word!?!?), the family pictures (that turned out so cute) and the family sing-song, and for my kids ~ their first year to do a scavenger hunt for their gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. My favorite tradition is that each of us individual families plan, shop, prepare, and serve a meal to the rest of us. I LOVE this part! Alan made his famous omelets, and I made the Pioneer Woman's homemade cinnamon rolls. MMMM-MMMM-MMmmmm.
This year our time in Springfield was shorter than usual since Alan had more commitments at work, but still a sweet time together.

Tree Trimming Traditions

Owasso Tree Farm. It's a tradition. Our kids look forward to picking our tree here each year.
This year we picked a frazier fir. In the rain. I think I will want this kind of tree every year from now on. It was so pretty.

Destination: Cozumel

My youngest brother Daniel is [finally] hitched! Yay! And a destination wedding in Cozumel to boot! Yay again!
The wedding was beautiful! Overlooking the ocean at sunset. Breathtaking. Tasha was gorgeous, Daniel was handsome and happy! Selah and Tasha's little sister were the flower girls ~ adorable! My brother James performed the wedding ceremony.
The vacation itself with family and friends was so fun. We all stayed at the Iberostar Resort. The guys did some scuba-diving (2 day dives, 1 night dive). Selah and I swam with the dolphins one afternoon. I read a book, Selah dribbled her soccer ball around everywhere we went... even in the pools, on the beach, at the airport, even just walking to eat and back.

It was a beautiful wedding and a good time of celebration. I wish Daniel and Tasha the best in life ~ together!





and this one final picture, because it's so hilarious. Look at Dad and Daniel's facial expressions. Same. Now look at Tasha and her Dad's espressions. Same. Whatever James was preachin', it must have been intense! Ha!

Owasso Pride Takes 1st

Bryson's soocer team, the Owasso Pride, competed in their first state tournament this weekend. They took first place. We spent the weekend in Edmond, OK, and had a blast. They won all 3 of their games, and they scored the most total points of all the u6 boys.
It's been so fun to watch these boys play, and we are full of pride as we watch our little guy and his ball skills. He plays forward. He loves to score. He keeps track of the points in his head while he's playing. He looks at us and smiles when he scores. He is humble, yet proud! He's got great foot skills. He's gonna bite that tongue off one of these days. He's a little guy, but a pretty big soccer star!

GO PRIDE!!!

If You Give A Girl Her Stocking...

(A parody of If You Give A Moose A Muffin, written about my 7 year old Selah and her excitement to decorate for Christmas)



If I give a girl her stocking... she'll ask me to hang it on the mantle.


And when I hang it on the mantle, she'll ask me to clear off the fall decorations since pumpkins and stockings to don't go together so well.


And when I clear off the mantle, she'll think it looks too bare, so she'll ask me for some garland and twinkly lights.


And when I climb up in the attic to get the garland and lights, she'll see her box of ornaments and ask me to bring them down too.


And when I give her her own blue box of ornaments, she'll open up that box, and the JOY from with-in shines sparkly in her eyes! Then she'll ask if I can help her put her white Christmas tree in her room.


And while I am trying to decide if it's too early for the tree, her brother comes in and says "Mommy! I figured it out! The biggest part goes on the bottom, and the littlest on the top!" So since he pretty much had the tree assembled, I said she could go ahead and decorate her tree today too.


And while she was decorating her tree, she decided she needed more paper garland chain, so we took a break from decorating... and Christmas Crafted for a bit. And when we take a "break" it makes us think of drinks and eats, so hot chocolate for all, and a cookie too ~ after all, what's Christmas without some treats?


And while eating those yummy treats, it made her think of last Christmas when her stocking was full of candy... and she wonders if there might be a candy cane in the bottom of the stocking that was left behind, so she asks to peek inside. But I've got to keep in mind, when I give a girl her stocking....

Halloween 09

Dorothy. Elphaba (from the Broadway show Wicked). And the tin-man transformed into Optimus Prime.



neighbor kids


"Trick or Treat" at the England's... one of our favorite family friends, and one of our favorite houses to visit on Halloween.


We come back and end the evening passing out candy to all the kids that visit our front door. Well... actually... we end the evening EATING lots of the candy.