Home for the Holidays

Well, the Holidays have come and gone and now it's time to share with all of you the fun things we did and the memories we made. We followed up Thanksgiving with attending the downtown tree lighting ceremony, which of course, got us in gear to get our own tree up and decorating done around the house. The girls are getting big enough to help with alot of the Holiday prepping which makes for special memories for all of us. Lem also continued his tradition of doing 25 Days of Christmas for me. This year he gave me encouraging words and scriptures for each day, and threw in a treat or two here and there too.

We had lots of special events this year (most of which got their own blog entries) including our Annual Wheeles Christmas Party (for grown ups only), Sycely's dance school's performance of Nutcracker Sweets, our Church's Children's Ministry's Christmas musical production and my participation in the Christmas skating show at the mall (all the same weekend, and Sycely had two birthday parties that weekend too!) You can see more pics and read up on the skating show on my Mrs. Alaska blog at: www.mrsak2010.blogspot.com. We were sure to get in plenty of time drinking tea and hot chocolate, watching Christmas movies and enjoying our fire place and hot tub though.

We got to enjoy lots of time with friends visiting Anchorage for the Holidays. The girls had fun playing and visiting with our friend Christina's kiddos, Cailey and Caleb, who were up from Texas. After sharing dinner they decorated a gingerbread house together. We also did our annual Christmas light looking with a dear friend Alaina who was up from Portland. Looking back, we realized we've been sharing this tradition for probably 7 or 8 years now.

The girls enjoyed helping me with the Holiday baking and fudge making. We made about 5 batches of fudge (trying our hand at peanut butter this year for the first time), coconut, candy cane crunch cookies for Santa and gingerbread cupcakes. Lem had the stomach flu on Christmas Eve (likely courtesy of Ella who had it two days before) which gave us lots of uninterrupted (for the most part) time in the kitchen for being girly.

On Christmas Eve we also made reindeer food to sprinkle on the driveway. The girls did well choosing their colors and working together, sharing the glitter. Sycely was a very good helper to her little sister. It was a frigid night, but we got our Christmas duds on and headed over to Nanny and Papas for a family feast of homemade pizza. We went to church after that for our candlelight service. Lem was feeling mostly better, thankfully, so he was able to enjoy those holiday traditions with us. When we got home from church we quickly (did I mention it was -10 degrees!) sprinkled our reindeer food on the driveway and came in to warm up, put out cookies and milk (and apples, at Sycely's insistence that last year she heard Santa was trying to eat healthier-hence the coconut/oatmeal cookies as well) Once the girls were tucked in for the night Lem and I got to "play Santa" and get ready for Christmas morning.

Christmas morning was, as always, a joyful delight with the girls. We opened stockings first and took a break to get our cinnamon rolls into the oven (and a very special LIVE present under the tree) Santa got the girls bunnies this year. They came to us from an adoption/rescue farm in Wasilla and are about 4/5 years old and a father-son pair, even though they look nothing alike! The box was wrapped and ready under the tree so with the girls otherwise occupied we slipped them into the box before we started opening presents, and of course, the girls opened them first. They enjoyed checking things out and exploring their new home while we opened the rest of our presents. Sycely has decided to name her bunny, the white Holland Lop, Mr. Hopps (and I'm thrilled by the originality of the name as it was the name of her pre-school class' bunny last year!) Ella, on the other hand, decided on Silly Billy for hers, the Netherland Dwarf with the black and white dutch markings.

After we finished up with our family Christmas here, the rest of the day was spent at Nanny and Papa's celebrating with them, Unlce Ian and Aunti Kathryn (now that there's a wedding date set we've officially added the Aunti title.) We spent several hours opening presents and stockings there and played some games, napped and watched Christmas Friends episodes until it was time for our Christmas dinner of tasting steak fajitas. That night I ended up with the stomach bug and spent the night NOT sleeping and the next day trying to make up for the lost rest.

Our post Christmas time was spent enjoying our time together as a family, playing with new toys, having fun with new presents (like the bunnies), breaking in the backyard sledding hill, more hot tubbing, and taking in some yummy Tastee Freez ice cream. I did take Sycely to the doctor due to a linger and nasty sounding cough, but they sent us home assuring us it was super common right now and should, as I expected, work itself out, which it did in a matter of days. Sycely and I went on a movie date with Kathryn to see Tangled and then did a trip to the bridal store for a little looking, too.

We shared New Year's Eve with Ian and Kathryn. We had a yummy Mexican dinner at a restaurant downtown then took in the City's New Year's celebration fireworks. We headed back to our house, had some scrumptious cheesecake, then enjoyed sipping pina coladas in the hot tub while taking in a pretty spectacular neighborhood fireworks show. This year the muni allowed fireworks for a few hours on New Year's Eve (they are usually illegal in the city) and though we saw a pretty good (illegal) show in our neighborhood last year, this year was even more festive. We literally were surrounded on all sides by fireworks as we had a relaxing soak.

2010 was a pretty great year for us and we're exciting to see what God has in store for us in 2011. So far, we're already enjoying the abundance of His blessing and provision as Lem has taken on an online class for some extra money (think trip to Hawaii). We're excited to be welcoming a new member to our family on March 11th as Ian and Kathryn start their married life together, and we are certainly looking forward to celebrating our 10th anniversary with a cruise to the Bahamas in just a few months! Hope that your Holidays were warm and that 2011 brings you many blessings of joy!

ACC Christmas Musical

Sycely was part of our church's children's ministry Christmas production. Miss Terri, our children's ministry leader did a great job putting this production together in just a few short weeks. She played the part of a Townsperson, performing int her first three song/dance routines with the whole cast. Then she was part of the "host of angels" announcing the birth of Jesus. Her lines were: "Tidings of joy, tidings of joy, tidings of joy, tidings of joy! Fear not! For I bring you good tidings of great joy. For unto you, this day, in the City of David, a Savior is born who is Christ the Lord." After the performance there were Christmas craft projects, goody bags and birthday cake for Jesus for families to enjoy together. It really warms out hearts to get to see Sycely be a part of Children's Ministry, growing in her knowledge of God and the Bible as well as forming strong bonds with her teachers and making lifelong friends.

Nutcracker Sweets

Our little ballerina got to be in her first production of Nutcracker Sweets, her dance school's annual performance. It's an adaptive version of the classic Nutcracker ballet that includes all the dancers Kindergarten age and up. Sycely's been looking forward to getting to be a part of Nutcracker since she started ballet so it was very exciting for her to finally get to be doing it.
They had a full dress rehearsal with two run throughs on Sunday, then performed on Monday for School Disctrict field trip kids. They took the bus from the dance studio to West High where they were performing then returned via bus to be picked up at the dance studio. We grabbed some quick lunch and got her on to school for the rest of the day. It was the first time she's missed school, but at least it was for a good cause! They performed again Friday night for family, friends, etc. Hannah, Miss Theresa's daughter, home from college walked Sycely to her staging place beforehand. She offered her a piggy back ride, but Sycely opted for just holding her hand. It was so precious I just had to snap a picture of them heading off down the hall. Sycely's group was the Babydolls and they were super adorable, especially walking out (led by Sycely) in their little babydoll pose. Afterward, we gave her a ballerina nutcracker and she got flowers from Nanny and Papa and a special ballet slipper ornament from Kathryn. Here are some pictures of our little Babydoll at her first Nutcracker Sweets performance:

Annual Wheeles Christmas Party

We had our second annual Wheeles Christmas party in December. We had a slightly smaller crowd this year, still hosting more than a dozen other couples for a night of kid-free fun. Everyone brought a snack and/or drinks to share and we played some Christmas games.


Most of all, it was a great time for us grown ups to enjoy some fellowship without being interrupted by the needs of our kiddos. Ian and Kathryn missed out, but we cut them some slack as they were enjoying their first evening as an engaged couple!

We’re so very blessed to have such an amazing church family full of great friends who are at the same place as us in life. Four other couples at church are celebrating their 10 year anniversary this year, within months of us. Two of them were at our party, and us girls even snapped a photo of our 10 year upgraded rings :)

Our evening was full or laughter and we made some more great memories with our grown-up friends. With such a fun, successful party two years running, we’re sure to keep the tradition.

November

November's been a full month for us. We have of course, gotten plenty of snow, as well as our first below zero temperatures. We got a short visit from my Dad as he heading down the Highway to the States for a hunting adventure with his dog.We've also gotten some visits from our neighborhood twin moose. Sycely and Lem are hitting the home stretch of second quarter at school, which for Lem means lots of grading, We the People and Model UN, and a Spirit Week. Sycely's learning lots of new sight words, building friendships and got to go on a field trip to a local play of Click, Clack, Moo, one of favorite books. She's got a few more rehearsals before her Nutcracker performances and the Church Christmas Pageant in which she plays a townsperson and an angel. Both her and Lem got 2 extra days off from school Thanksgiving week, giving us a 6 day weekend due to icy roads. The temperature warmed up drastically, melting things during the day and dropping to just below freezing at night which turned Anchorage into one giant skating rink! Can't complain about getting extra time with my fam though. Especially during the Holidays.

Bonnie and I wrapped up our Bible Study on Esther, so my Tuesday nights are free again, just in time to spend them wrapping presents, when there's not a Dimond Hockey game. Ella and I have been getting lots of shopping and errands done during the day so we're pretty close to being done with our Christmas prepping. I also got a decent amount accomplished on Black Friday. I spent the morning (starting at 3:30am) with Kathryn and some with Bonnie and all the other die-hard crazies braving the snowy roads and chaotic crowds to score some good deals. We met up with the "Elmore Girls" for brunch to wrap up our morning.

I've got to be a part of several fun Mrs. Alaska events this month- the Miss Alaska United States pageant (with Mrs. AK 2009, Renee Scott), the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast where I was tasked with the Old Testament reading (and a dessert reception the night before), the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony at Town Square, (I spent the couple hours before doing crafts with kids at a reception for military families at the Performing Arts Center.) Lem and the girls joined me for the outdoor ceremony where we got to watch the treelighting, see Santa arrive in his sleigh, pulled by reindeer which we got to meet and pet afterwards. You can read up on all the details and see pics on my Mrs. AK blog at: http://www.mrsak2010.blogspot.com/.

For the second year, we hosted Thanksgiving here at our house. We kicked off the day with cinnamon rolls and the Macy's parade where Lem and I spent an hour engaged in a "Where's Waldo" type activity trying to spot Mrs. United States, who was in the crowd. We took a family soak in the hot tub before lunch and naptime then finished prepping our part of the meal. This year we were joined by Nanny and Papa, Ian and Kathryn, and Marybeth, one of Lem's fellow Dimond teachers. My cousin Danny and his family, came over for dessert and games while the girls enjoyed some playtime together.

Lem and I got to have a night away down at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, and it was a beautiful, crisp fallish weekend. We had a delicious dinner at Double Musky, pastries from the local bakery for breakfast and brunch on our way out of town at Jack Sprat's. The drive home was gorgeous and we enjoyed the majestic, breathtaking views we Alaskans so often take for granted.

We fell victim to a gang of hoodlums that made sport of shooting out over 100 vehicles' windows with an air gun. We just happened to leave the explorer out one night so we didn't wake the girls pulling into the garage, and of course, it was the wrong night for that. So, a $500 deductible and a whole new back window, and lift gate panel and paint ($1500) later we got our car back in drivable condition.

Ella's keeping us entertained with her cute little self. She was under the weather for a bit, just before Thanksgiving, but is doing much better now and is back to being the life of the party. She's a bundle of energy and laughter and says the funniest things, like "Daddy has a sparkly chinny-chin-chin" while she snuggles with him, noticing his stubbly morning face. She's also obsessed with washing her hands after every time she eats, which apparently is supposed to be a good thing, but just feels annoying as she insists on climbing her own stepstool up to the kitchen sink to "do it all by myself." She's really gotten into imaginative play and has taken to referring to her (imaginary) Grandmother and her Granddaughters (whoever they are.) It's really a joy to watch and listen to her and Sycely play together, Sycely even following Ella's lead sometimes.

My big fun this month came via a new wedding ring set from my hubby. We'd been talking about upgrading for our 10 year anniversary this year and did a little looking. I was surprised how quickly I found something that was perfect and everything I wanted- sparkly, sophisticated and elegantly beautiful, and did I mention it just happened to be on clearance? The saleslady even swung us two additional discounts which brought it down to about 20% the regular price. It was a deal we just couldn't pass up. What I was getting wasn't a surprise, but when and how certainly were. Jim Anderson, owner of Anderson's Bride (my former math teacher and Lem's colleague and friend) asked me to come in (and bring a friend- maybe Kathryn?) to try on some dresses for the upcoming bridal fashion show I was going to be modeling in. The show isn't until January and usually we don't do fittings until a week or two before, so I was super surprised they were so ahead of the game this year. That morning I was part of the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast and we just happened to see Jim there. He confirmed times with me, gave me some instructions and said he'd pulled a few smaller size dresses he wanted me to try. He mentioned they really wanted to push the pocket dresses this year, since they're a new fad and super trendy this season. So, Kathryn and I headed over there for our "fitting" while Lem had Ian over to play some Star Wars Lego Wii. Kathryn and I pulled a few bridesmaid dresses and a couple gowns and started trying things on. Jim came to check on us and told me he'd pulled a dress and put it in the dressing room for me. He said it was brand new and they wanted to see how it looked on and how it would "model." So I worked my way into the sparkly, gigantically puffy (but gorgeous) gown and came out to show him. And there was my handsome hubby, waiting for me in a suit and tie. He complimented the dress and then said, "Are there pockets in that dress?" As I slid my hands down and into the pockets, I discovered my new rings, stealthily hidden in the pocket! Kathryn snapped a few pictures as Lem "re-proposed" on bended knee asking me to stay his wife forever. I was super impressed by the plotting he'd done that that would have been more than enough, but he didn't stop there. He informed me Ian and Kathryn were going to watch the girls and we had dinner reservations at Crow's Nest, one of the fanciest restaurants in town. It sits atop the Hotel Captain Cook and offers breathtaking views of the city, mountains and inlet. He even brought me a few dress choices (all matching the one pair of shoes he'd brought along) and my whole jewelry box so I could change and get myself ready right there-yep, he thinks of EVERYTHING and knows his wife quite well. We enjoyed an amazing evening. We had our own private corner in the restaurant and it was so romantic. The food was great too, but not as good as the conversation. We finished off our date with Bananas Foster, prepared table side, flames and all. The whole thing was definitely spectacular and memorable. Sometimes I feel like I need to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming this amazing blessed life I live.