holidayz

It's been a busy couple weeks as we've headed full steam into the holidays! This was the year that my sister and her family came into town at Thanksgiving rather than at Christmas.  So, it was family overload time with the Steenwyk's and we had a lot of fun.  We have to soak it up and spend so much time together that we get sick of each other since it won't happen again until summer.  :) 

On Thanksgiving Day we had the whole family together for a turkey and ham dinner, then later on in the day we started our Christmas celebrations with our annual Bingo game.  It was a beautiful day, and several of us were able to go for a walk in the evening.  A brisk walk with my family out in the country?  Yes, please! 

Friday evening was a first for us - we split up for a Guys and Girls Night.  The guys hung out at Eric & Lea Anne's house, and the girls were at my parent's.  Mike even took Jackson with him, and all of us girls could not get over how QUIET it was without any of the males present.  We had a nice time as my mom laid out a bunch of jewelry (nothing valuable, just fun stuff) and knick knacks that were my grandma's, and we were able to pick out what we wanted.  I added a few things to my Delft collection, and now I have the bug!  After a fairly obvious hint to Mike, I'm pretty sure I'll get another piece at Christmas.  :) 

On Saturday we had our family Christmas party.  Of course we had breakfast (at lunchtime), sang carols, read the Christmas story (I think.  I was putting Jackson down for a nap...), prayed, and opened way too many presents.  :)  There were also a few birthday presents given, so basically, my kids should be all set for a loooong time.  We squeezed in another walk before dark, and just had a fun time together. 

Since we hadn't had quite enough, we got together Sunday afternoon, too.  :)  It's such a blessing to have family we enjoy being with, and to see how much our kids love being with their cousins. 

Last Wednesday was Caleb and Logan's 8th birthday!!!  They brought brownies to school for their birthday treat, and I heard something about the whole hallway singing to them after the older sister of one of their friends heard it was their birthday.  (Yay for small schools!)  Thursday evening we met up with all the grandparents at Pizza Ranch to celebrate. 

Friday during the day Mike had a crane here to take care of the dirt pile left from our basement project.  Yes!!!!  It is so nice to have that gone - the view out my kitchen window is much improved.  Friday evening Mike and I went out for a date.  Woo-hoo!  Jackson almost cried when we were about to leave, but I think he ended up doing fine.  We had dinner and walked around downtown Holland.  And I spent $8 on some ridiculous cookies (long story).  It was a fun evening and a beautiful night to be out.

Saturday morning the three older boys had practice for the church Christmas program, and in the afternoon was a Christmas party for the Tiemeyer's at my mom's. 

Sunday evening was the church Christmas program, and all the boys did great!  It was Jackson's first program, and he definitely isn't shy about being up on stage.  :)  He was happy to see his brother's watching him, and he was also pointing out other things he saw (light, clock, Papa, etc.).  Levi did well with his 4's and 5's class, and then he was also in the big kids' program as a sheep (so cute).  Caleb and Logan were dressed up as Bible times travellers for their program.  All the kids did a nice job.  This weekend we're going to be helping with the Live Nativity at our church.  Eeek! 

I've been busy rearranging rooms around here, and I'm trying to remind myself it's okay if it doesn't all get done at once.  Levi moved into Caleb and Logan's room, and Jackson moved into Levi's old room.  I got the extra bedroom cleared out upstairs, so it's actually useable as a bedroom now.  Now I've been working on getting Jackson's old room turned into an office/workspace/music room.  I got a lot of my crafty type stuff moved in there, but have some serious sorting to do, I know there's a lot I should get rid of.  The "open room" upstairs (the former home to my crafty/office stuff), I'm hoping to turn into a reading/play area for the boys.  It always feels good to do something like this and have the chance to go though things and get rid of a lot, but of course I'm doing it at a time of year when there's a lot of intake here.  I feel like it's two steps forward, one step back right now!

Tomorrow I get to go to the dentist to have a tooth worked on (he tried last time I was in, but I have issues with numbing up good on the side that needs to be worked on).  :(  And then Thursday I have two orthodontist consults for Caleb.  I hope it's clear which orthodontist we should go with.