Christmas times 5!

Christmas is a busy 4 days for us. 

We start off with the Huckestein Christmas the Saturday before the 25th. It is full of food, family, and blessing our adopted family.

The 23rd we have our Linder/Inman Christmas with Jer's parents and sister. More food, family and presents.
When we get home Jer and I get the kids tucked into bed wait for them to fall into a slumber and load up the tree.
The 24th the kids wake up to a tree full of presents and its an early morning wake up call. My parents join us for breakfast and gifts with the kids. Boy are these kids spoiled!
 In the evening we head off to Coastline for our Christmas Eve church service.
Our friend Jody sang Joy to the World take a listen here
The 25th we get to drive up to Mount Vernon WA. to see our Inman family. This year was Jer's grandma Viv's 93 Christmas! We love her so much.

Here is our Christmas in pictures.

   Sister loving daddy.

Jameson got some cool farming books

  

  

Overnight bags from Gr. & Gr. Hucks

Jameson got a scoreboard clock

Kids are excited!

 

LEGO'S

Sis excited about a cursive book

Bella enjoying her cushy new bed

Mount Vernon bound

 We love going up to see the Inman family. The
kids have their "own room" at Aunt Shelah and Uncle Fritz's house and there is so much to do there. Unfortunately this year Mad came down with the stomach flu, so we decided it best to head home just in case one of us got the bug. It was sad to be leaving our favorite place, but for the best.

Sister not happy to be heading back home

Jamesons sock monkey co pilot

Two peas in a pod

My very favorite part of our drive to and from The Farm (Mount Vernon) was listening to Jer and Jameson talk about everything from the new tractors being hauled to how much it costs to have a horse. Jameson is really not letting up on wanting a real live horse.
Today while Madalyn rests on the sofa I will be taking all the decorations down and boxing up our tree (yes it's fake) and reflecting on the small moments of Christmas and how lucky we are. So many things to be thankful, but most of all thankful that a baby was born to be our Savior in a humble manger, so we would have everlasting life.

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:31-33

Blessed is me..

Dear...

A few weeks ago I was helping Jameson clean out his bedroom which is FULL of "treasures". Both of our kids love office supplies and notebook and as I was cleaning I kept finding notes that Jameson had written. Some were sweet little musings about who he loved "Mom, Dad, Madalyn, God, Grandma, Leslie, Bella (our dog), Papa and Grammy, Papa Moo and Grandma Debbie" Some were about what he did at school, and some made me sad like the one that read "I need you to love me."

It made me realize that since Jameson is so sensitive to how WE feel he may never come to us with his true feelings, tough questions, or moments to celebrate. He would rather write his feelings down.

Madalyn also loves to write notes, make cards and draw us pictures. She is more obvious that she has written one tho. She will either had it to us or put it on our bed and then come tell us that it is there then bug us to go get it until we do.
She wrote a note and gave it to Jer that read "mommy and daddy are in love" and she drew a picture at school of me dressed in Beaver colors.

We love all the notes that the kids give us, but they are everywhere and we can't possibly keep all of them. I got the idea of doing a back and forth journal with them.

Both kids have a notebook that is just for us (Jer and I) and them. Jer and I have one between us also.
We told the kids that they can write anything they want in it. They can ask questions, they can let us know they are sad, mad, happy etc., they can draw pictures. Nothing is off limits and then we will write back to them. We also write them notes and they reply back to us. I personally have loved it and it has turned into way more than I had hoped. I can't share what is in the books cause we told the kids there were only for us, but I can tell you a few of my favorite things:

Madalyn's phonetic spelling

She signs her name Maddie (which I don't love and she knows it)

Jameson signs is name "bud" cause that is what Jer calls him

and he is very detailed when he is explaining something.

When I initially thought of this it was because I know that at this time Jameson isn't always going to share his feelings with us, but what I didn't realize was that Madalyn isn't always going to share. She will become the teenager who thinks that her parents have ruined her life. Since we will have this writing dialogue in place I hope that she will still write to us freely.

Our notebook project has evolved into something more than I thought it would and I love finding them on my pillow with a little note inside. These are items that I will forever treasure.

Blessed is me...