The Prodigal Son- Win!

Christmas is magical for my girls. I love the anticipation, the excitement, and the joy they display when seeing the gifts Christmas morning. Of course opening gifts is also fun. They tend to love the cheap dollar store gifts as much as the expensive gifts. Matthew is just content looking at his hands.

I've included a picture of Erik's dad's train setup. It is multilevel and very cool. The girls get so excited they jump up and down when he runs the train. Sarah continually asks to see it, and Jenna likes to climb underneath the tables. Again, Matthew is more interested in eating his hands.

Because I love lists and this is the time we remember the birth of our Savior. I have composed a list of my top 10 favorite parables of Jesus.

1. The Prodigal Son. Luke 15:11-32. This is an amazing story. It really shows God's forgiveness. The song "When God Ran" by Benny Hester makes me cry every time I hear it.
2. The Persistent Widow. Luke 18:1-8. It tells me "keep praying." There are many things I've been praying for that I'm not sure will ever happen (ie, the end of abortion). But God says be persistent. So I will. Note: Erik empathizes with the judge in this one due to having a 3 and 6 year old (yes...you can have another snack just leave me alone).
3. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Luke 18:9-14. Pride can happen to anyone but a humble heart is what God desires. It is so easy to become prideful - we must constantly guard ourselves against it. (For those who read the Way of Kings - we need some humblespren).
4. The Good Samaritan. Luke 10:29-37. Not only is this a good story to show who is your neighbor, but it is a story telling us we should help those in need. Whether their car is broken on the side of the road or they are stranded somewhere. We can offer help.
5. The Lost Sheep. Matthew 18:10-14. This story is similar to the Prodigal Son in that it shows how much God cares for each of us. He is willing to go and find the lost sheep. He is the great shepherd.
6. The Sower. Matthew 13:1-23. Your heart must be open to hearing the Word when it is presented to you so that it can take root and flourish in your heart. Sometimes I think I need miracle grow.
7. Laborers in the Vineyard. Matthew 20:1-16. The laborers all receive the same salary even though some worked longer than others. This is good news for all of us - we are still valued by God even though we are not salting it up like Billy Graham.
8. Pearl of Great Price. Matthew 13:45-46. This parable is about the kingdom of Heaven. The pearl is worth far more than everything you own. Maybe you also need a bucket to carry the pearl. Hey I have one!
9. The Invited Guests. Luke 14:7-24. In this parable, Jesus tells his disciples to sit at a less honored spot when attending a dinner rather than taking the best place for themselves. Another parable about humility.
10. The Speck and the Log. Luke 6:37-42. This parable blasts all the hypocrites for their hypocrisy. I know I would be in that category too.

That's my list. Erik was dismayed to find that the parable of the Ten Talents was not on the list but I've never liked that one as much as other parables.

In a few days the brothers and their wives and Erik's parents will be here. I can't wait! Gaming and family and food! Mostly gaming!

45 points on Quiddler. I got stuck with the V and D!

McDonalds FTW!

Matthew is 6 months old. We took the obligatory baby/horse picture so you could notice his growth. He is HUGE! The outfit he is wearing is a 12 month outfit. The arms and legs are a little long but it is tight when snapping his onesie.

I also took some pictures of the girls in ballet. I'm amazed at the disparity between the classes. Sarah's class is doing basic jumps whereas Jenna's class does all these French-named moves (obviously Mommy doesn't know all the ballet words).

Erik and I have gone on an adventure the past two weeks. It has been a tough adventure - taste testing caramel mochas. We have gone to several places and bought a medium caramel mocha and rated them. Then we calculated the quality/price ratio to see which medium caramel mocha was the best. You will be surprised by the results (assuming you actually care).

McDonalds has the best taste/price ratio in both Erik and my opinion. What we were most surprised about is how good Caribou coffee is and how not good Tim Hortons was.

So now we have proof that if a cup of coffee is what you want McDonalds has the best deal in town.

I had been in the mood to do a taste test but all my ideas were shot down by Erik (really, what is wrong with getting a bunch of different apples and trying them to see which one is the best??)

81 points on Quiddler today.

My sheep and my angel

Unless you are ready for some SERIOUS cute do not click on this link: Christmas play featuring Sarah. Here is another one featuring Jenna. In this Christmas play Jenna was an angel and Sarah was a sheep. You will notice in the first video the only little kid dancing around and bouncing was Sarah. I laughed out loud! Jenna is way in the corner where it is a little dark. But you can see her singing in the second video.

Every year we make a gingerbread house together. This year we had a fun time and made a big mess which = fun time. See picture. Matthew should participate next year :).

With Christmas approaching I obviously was thinking of my favorite spices/herbs. I didn't include salt or pepper as a spice but looking back - maybe they should be.

1. Basil. Need I say more. I love all types of basil and think I should add it to every dish.... pasta, cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies - anything
2. Cinnamon. There's something about cinnamon and sugar together that brings you back home.
3. Garlic. I'm not sure if it counts as a spice but pair it with basil and some parmesan cheese and I'm in heaven
4. Rosemary. Rosemary foccacia bread - really is there anything better?
5. Cayenne pepper. I put this on my pasta. It add just the right amount of kick to relatively bland pasta.
6. Nutmeg. Nothing is the same without nutmeg and you only need a little for it to spice up any recipe.
7. Cilantro. I've made salsa with and without cilantro. Cilantro makes salsa yum!
8. Mint. Fresh mint really enhances about any dish - it's not just for dessert.
9. Dill. I just finished making shallot dill bread. It was so good.
10. Oregano. Pair this with basil and you've got a fabulous combination. Definitely a winner!

80 points on quiddler today!

Party on Sarah!

Sarah's birthday party at Recreations Outlet was a success. Several kids came to the party (along with a surprising number of Daddies!) and the kids enjoyed playing on all the equipment. Sarah loves trampolines and here is an action shot of her jumping on one. She also had fun pushing Emmerich and Grant in the tire swing. Yes all 27 lbs of her - pushing the other two kids!

Matthew has been sick. Early November we took him to the ped for wheezing and he had a breathing treatment and was given amoxicillin. On Tuesday of this week I took him back because he was wheezing. He was given two breathing treatments. These take 20 minutes. So I was crammed in this little room with 3 kids for 2 hrs. AAAAAH!

I eventually had to leave before they gave him the third breathing treatment (had to teach) but I was sent home with a prescription for albuterol. Yesterday I went to the ped and he had two ear infections. The ped said if he comes back with wheezing he will be diagnosed with asthma. My poor little guy.

I'm worried about him although I'm not sure if Erik is worried. For example, I called Erik on the way home from teaching the other night. Erik said as he was holding Matthew and he got worried. I immediately thought, "oh no - he was breathing ragged, wheezing, coughing, what happened??!!??". Erik finished his sentence to say he heard rumbling down below and thought he'd have to change a really nasty diaper. Really?? The baby is wheezing and you care about diapers? Oh my!

In other news:

1. I finished the Conqueror's trilogy by Timothy Zahn. This was a fun sci-fi trilogy. The story is easy to read, not bloody or graphic and you began to care about the characters - even the aliens :).
2. I am in the fourth book of the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone by Greg Keyes. I love this series and can't wait to find out how it comes together.
3. I am also reading Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. This book is something I've picked up numerous times but haven't finished. It starts out very bloody and the main character (Eragon) is a little whiney. However I do want to read it.
4. Besides reading we are also baking. I love holiday eating! The girls and I have been baking. Although when they bake mostly they eat the ingredients - yes they eat plain butter!
5. Erik bought me a new computer for Christmas. It is a wonderful gift - much better than the bucket I got him. However I have not copied over my data yet. In fact, I was looking at my data. I never copied it over from my previous computer. I just set up a mapped drive. Wow - that's laziness to the max. So rather than copying over all my data this time, I set up a mapped drive to my computer with its other mapped drive. I wonder how many times I'll do this.
6. 63 points on quiddler today - I lost the o and v.
   
   

Sock Money

Often I berate myself over stupid things I've said or done in the past. In fact, I go over these situations in my mind quite frequently. I'm not sure why I torture myself this way - you'd think I could let it go.

For example, in high school I was a nerd. Plain and simple. Glasses + braces + marching band + top academic student + spent nights reading sci-fi = nerd. Even so, I still wanted to impress the seniors especially the senior trombone player in marching band.

Well he was collecting money to give a gift to our band director. As he was collecting money I realized the only money I had was the money in my sock.

Let me explain something. Marching band uniforms are not absolutely flattering nor do they have a lot of pockets. So the only place I was able to store extra emergency money was my sock.

Oh yea....sexy!

Well without thinking, I flagged down the senior trombone player to give him my money for the band director and reached into my sock to pull it out for him. I handed him my yucky sock money and watched in horror as he gingerly held it with a look of disgust and said "umm...thanks?".

Oops.

53 points - terrible!

Gift Fail

So I'm officially the worst wife in the world.

I had planned on getting Erik the Google tablet for Christmas. However all of the reviews I read said that the cheaper ones (the ones I was considering) didn't work well. I thought I'd wait a few years to get him a good one.

Next I thought about getting Erik a nice sword. He likes swords, knives and other sharp implements. I found a replica of one of Drizzt's scimitars but it was a little expensive. I was looking for a replica of the sword of truth since we just read that book(or even a shardblade!) but couldn't find one reasonably priced.

So I bought him a bucket.

Booyah!

I found it on Amazon listed under "gifts men would like". After it came in the mail I realized that I bought him a bucket. Epic fail.

Today my present came in the mail. The box said "ibuypower". Yes. Erik bought me a new computer! It is a dual core 64bit Windows 7 awesome to the max computer.

And I bought him a bucket.

I'll trade my good wife card in now!

Edit:
Happy to oblige Jon!