Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful and relaxed Christmas Day this year. We woke up and had a birthday party for Jesus with a delicious chocolate cake for breakfast...yum! We talked about why we celebrate Christmas and lit a candle to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world. We opened presents at home then headed to Mimi &  Pop's for brunch. After a delicious brunch we headed home for naps and then to Nana & Bampa's for dinner. Kiki created an amazing dinner of Prime Rib, Twiced baked potatoes, Wedge Salad with homemade blue cheese and Roasted Brussel Sprouts. It was out of this world! The kids had a great day and got a lot of fun gifts. We are so grateful for the opportunity to spend the holiday with our families. We hope you all had a great Christmas too!

Santa Pics....Finally!

After 2 attempts at waiting in a 2.5 hour line for our yearly picture with Santa we finally got them done thanks to Nana. After running errands downtown Nana graciously waited in line for over an hour for us at which point we met her and endured the last hour of waiting with her. We got the pictures done with Eleanor screaming on Santa's lap but we got them done. And I am sure the emotional scarring she experienced will be gone by next year.

Christmas Fun with Friends and Family

This Christmas season has been fun-filled with outings to see the Gingerbread houses, Teddy Bear Suite and carousel in downtown Seattle with our good friends the Paks and the Reinkings. We baked and decorated sugar cookies and of course made a Gingerbread house. And for Mimi's birthday, Adeline and I took her to see the Olympic Ballet performance of the Nutcracker. We have had a lot of fun so far and are looking forward to Carter and Adeline's choir performance at church on Christmas Eve. Here are some of our favorite pics. Merry Christmas!

Adeline's Choir Rehearsal Video

Carter's Christmas pageant video was so adorable I had to take one of Adeline yesterday at rehearsal for our church's Christmas Eve Service. She just LOVES to sing. Remember to pause the playlist at the top right hand side of the page to hear her singing. 

Words to meditate on this week...

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
-Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)

Carter's 1st Christmas Concert

*HIT PAUSE ON MY PLAYLIST TO THE RIGHT TO HEAR VIDEO*

   I wanted to share a video of Carter's 1st Christmas Concert at school. It is so great that Carter is at a school where he gets to sing and learn about the real reason for Christmas, Jesus. Carter has been singing around the house for weeks in preparation for this concert. He used to despise singing in all forms but since he has been at King's he loves it. He has an amazing music teacher who makes singing fun for him.    Carter is on the top row next to a boy in a green polo and a girl in a red dress. Carter is wearing a red argyle vest with a white dress shirt.

Thanksgiving in Snowy Coeur D'Alene

With an early snow in Seattle we headed east of the mountains to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho for Thanksgiving with Great Grandma Mag and Robert. We thought we had a lot of snow in Edmonds with our 3 inches of but boy were we surprised we stumbled upon a good foot of snow on Nana & Bampa's deck in Idaho.
The kids had so much fun sledding and building igloos. The snow was too soft for snowmen but that didn't stop us from getting out and enjoying it all the same. Eleanor was apprehensive and didn't enjoy the snow too much but Carter and Adeline loved it.
We had a great dinner at the Coeur D'Alene Resort and the parade and fireworks the next evening were really fun to watch as the snow was falling. Saturday night we took the big kids on the Santa Cruise from the Resort to the "North Pole" where Santa read off the names on his good list (both Carter and Adeline were on it this year). We had hot cocoa and cookies and got to see all the Christmas lights from the lake. The kids posed for pictures with Rudolph and friends. We love spending Thanksgiving in Idaho and are excited for next year.

Super Helpful & Edifying Sermon

Coeur D'Alene with Friends

With Carter out of school for parent-teacher conferences we decided to head out of town with our good friends, Doug and Martina, and their son Bennett. Mom and Dad generously let us stay at their place in Coeur D'Alene. So we spent a long weekend introducing our friends to our favorite Coeur D'Alene hangouts.

We were blessed with great weather and had lots of fun walking around town and going to parks with the kids. Eleanor had her 1st carousel ride at our favorite toy store, Figpickels. They have a mini-carousel with 3 horses and for $.50 cents the kids get a short ride which they all love. We are excited to head back over in a few weeks for Thanksgiving.

Halloween Fun

With Brandon in Texas for the World Series, Halloween for the Cox family just wasn't the same. But luckily Nana came over to hangout and keep us company and Mimi made us a delicious lasagna dinner to come home to after trick-or-treating.

The kids had a lot of fun over the weekend going to Carter's school carnival on Saturday and Sunday we had fun going to our friends house for a little Halloween party, downtown Edmonds for trick-or-treating, and to Westgate Chapel's Harvest Carnival for all sorts of fun games, bouncy houses, etc.

Unfortunately the excitement of the day prohibited my kids from sitting still long enough to get any really good pics, but what can you expect from a holiday dedicated to the consumption of sugar! Needless to say my Texas Ranger, Cinderella & Ladybug had a great time with all of their Halloween activities.

Wise Words for the Worriers

I found the following article on one of my favorite blogs to follow, Girl Talk. It is so applicable to all of us at one point or another in our lives. When I am reminded to turn back to God I can immediately feel the twinges of anxiety and worry lift from me. God takes our burdens from us and gives us His peace. Isn't it reassuring to know we have a REAL God who loves and cares for us so much? There is no problem or worry too big for our God.

"“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

For the anxious mother, God has provided a solution in His Word.

It is simple: Pray. Give Thanks. Repeat.

It covers all of life: Don’t be anxious about ANYTHING. Pray about EVERYTHING.

And it comes with a promise: God’s peace will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Yet I sometimes treat prayer as if it doesn't work. I do this by not praying or thanking but by worrying instead.

“I’ve tried praying before,” I excuse myself, “and God’s answer was different than what I asked for. So what’s the use?” Or, “I tried praying and didn’t feel more peaceful. I must not be doing it right.”

But the peace of God is more than a flimsy feeling of peace. It is a knowing, a settled confidence in the sovereign goodness of God that will guard against all anxious feelings.

As we pray and give thanks IN EVERYTHING, our trust in God deepens and His peace pervades our lives. Anxious thoughts don’t have the same sticking power, and eventually, they go away.

So lately I’ve been trying to simply obey God’s Word in Philippians 4. I still have a lot to learn about prayer, but I can tell you this: my faith, peace and gratefulness to God have grown, and my temptation to anxiety has decreased.

Scripture is true, and as anxious mothers, we would do well to believe and obey."

Carter the Soccer Star

When I asked Carter if he wanted to play soccer this year he answered, "I guess. It's not my favorite sport but I'll play." It is amazing to see the difference since playing last year. He has become an incredible soccer player.

He is an aggressive player, not scared of going after the ball or getting dirty. We did receive an email in the first few weeks of practice from the coach asking us to talk to Carter about his use of slide tackling. He told us that it was good skill to have and that Carter used it appropriately but in the age group Carter is playing in it would get him a red card and thrown out of the game. We talked to Carter and explained that he had a few years before he could break that skill out again.

He is looking forward to trying out basketball this winter with his school friends. He will start playing on a team in January. Look for a basketball post to come soon after.

Pumpkin Season

I love fall in the Northwest. It is my favorite season up here. I am constantly reminded of God's beautiful creation during the fall months with all the leaves changing colors and the crisp, cool days. And it always seems to be pretty sunny in September and the first part of October which is why we enjoy going to Pumpkin Farms so much. Every year around this time I post pics from our annual trip to our favorite pumpkin farm, The Farm at Swan's Trail. This year was especially fun because Auntie Kiki joined us on our family outing.

The kids had so much fun exploring all the different activities the farm had to offer. Eleanor's favorite activity was throwing hay. She thought it was so fun to throw handfuls of hay at people. She was cracking herself up every time she let a handful fly. It was so fun to watch.

Adeline enjoyed the pumpkin patch itself immensely. She went around searching for all the baby pumpkins. She carried each one around as if she was carrying a baby doll. She sang to them and rocked them. She even made a little orphanage for them all and sat on them as if they were going to hatch. She brought 2 home and named them Lewis and Go-Go (no I don't know where in the world she got those names).

Carter loved the hay pit. He jumped off the sides into a big pit of hay and loved throwing the hay around. He also loved the long tunnel slides and was always so sweet to catch his baby sister at the bottom when she went down. We are grateful that God provided us such a beautiful afternoon to spend together as a family.

5 Years of Marriage Bliss....

and a much needed getaway to celebrate! Bran and I took off to Palm Springs for our 5th Wedding Anniversary the first weekend of October. It was the 1st time we had left all 3 kids for anymore than a night. We stayed at an amazing resort called, Rancho Las Palmas courtesy of Steve, a great family friend. We had so much fun laying by the pool playing Gin Rummy, our favorite game. Bran went golfing twice and I hit up the spa one day for a facial and massage. We enjoyed delicious food and enjoyed visiting with Alana and Taryn, family friends who live down there!

Instead of anniversary gifts we decided to copy an idea we had seen on our friends, Melissa and Daniel's blog in which they each planned 6 months worth of dates for a year as an anniversary gift to one another. It was so much fun planning for fun and unique date ideas. I don't have the time to list them all but some of the best ones Brandon came up with were a couples cooking class, mystery dinner theater, and bowling. I was very impressed with Bran's presentation too. He had created an entire Powerpoint slideshow with images of everything. It was super sweet and creative! Some of my best ones were an Argosy Christmas Cruise on Puget Sound, Bingo night, and Brandon's favorite...Lebowskifest 2011.

Circus, Circus

One of our latest and greatest family outings was to Barnum & Bailey's Funundrum Circus at the Everett Events Center. Bran and I took the 2 big kids on a Sunday afternoon and got to go in early to see the pre-show. Carter even got picked out of the crowd to go onstage with the clowns and help them with their act. Adeline was fascinated with the whole circus experience, especially the clowns. This is the 2nd year we have gone to the circus and it is definitely going to become a yearly tradition for our family.

Birthday Morning

I am trying to get in the habit of surprising the kids on the morning of their birthday with special decorations for them to wake up to in their room. Carter loved the dozens of balloons I filled up in his bedroom on his birthday morning. For Adeline I decorated her doorway with streamers and curled ribbon and tied her birthday balloons to the end of her bed. I don't know who thought it was more fun her or Eleanor.

She spent her actual birthday at the dentist (which she thought was so much fun), then to McDonald's (her choice) for a special birthday lunch alone with mommy. That evening she got to go to dinner by herself with Nana, Bampa and Kiki and to Baskin & Robbins for a clown ice cream cone-yum!

Adeline's 3rd birthday has made me reflect on what a true blessing she is to us. She is the happiest child I have ever met. She is so easy going and can find joy in anything. She loves ballet and all things princess. She is usually singing about anything and everything and if we're lucky she'll gift us with her ballet dances. We are so grateful to have Adeline in our family. We love you so much Adeline!

Happy 3rd Birthday Adeline!

We celebrated Adeline's 3rd Birthday with a Princess Tea Party for her and her friends. We even had Tracy and Elliott up from Texas to help us celebrate. This party was so much fun to plan. The grandmothers helped me collect china tea cups from Goodwill and Value Village over the past few weeks. The girls got to serve themselves tea (pink lemonade) out of little china pitchers and snacked on "princess crown" tea sandwiches, chocolate & sprinkle dipped pretzel rods, fruit kabobs, and cheese & butterfly crackers. I also provided an array of pink and purple candies and to top it off, Trophy Cupcakes for dessert.

They decorated princess crowns for a craft and the weather ended being nice so they even got to play outside for a little while. In their treat bags I put cupcake lipgloss and nail polish, a cupcake hair clip I made, a candy necklace, bracelets and princess stickers and they got to take their china tea cups as well. All the girls had a great time, especially Adeline.

North Idaho Fair & Rodeo

I know you are saying to yourself, "Is she really still posting pics from their Idaho trip?" Yes, yes I am! We had too much fun not to share all of our great adventures, but I promise this is my last Idaho post (from this trip at least).

Our last adventure was to the North Idaho Fair & Rodeo. This is definitely one of the most fun fairs we have had the privilege of going to. They had so many great activities for the kids. Some of their favorites were the face painter, digging for jewels, camel rides, petting zoo, firefighter obstacle course, carnival rides and of course mutton bustin'.

Beach Time in Idaho

We went on a special beach trip while we were in Idaho thanks to Grandma Mag. We took a day trip to Sandpoint (about and hour away from Coeur D'Alene) to an awesome beach and park. The kids had so much fun and Carter loved swimming out to the little dock to jump off. Another super fun Idaho adventure!

The Pirates of Coeur D'Alene

Adventure #3 was a pirate cruise on Lake Coeur D'Alene. The grandmothers and I took the 2 big kids on a special outing while Eleanor stayed with daddy. The cruise took off from the Coeur D'Alene resort and took us on a 90 minute ride around the lake while actors entertained us with a pirate play and songs. The kids got involved as the crew and had a great time playing pirates.

Rockin' B Ranch

Another great adventure we got to go on while in Coeur D'Alene was to the Rockin B Ranch (which is actually just across the state line in Washington). It is an awesome cowboy supper show with a cowboy shoot out skit for the kids before dinner followed by some of the most delicious BBQ you've ever had then finishing the night with a bluegrass music show. It was really fun and the big kids even got on stage to sing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" (video attached of course). If you are ever visiting Spokane or Coeur D'Alene it is definitely worth your time and money to check this show out!

Carter's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Some of you may be saying, "Haven't I seen this blog topic before?" And the answer is yes you have! Carter started his REAL 1st day of Kindergarten at his new school today. Last year was a little warm up as we knew that he would be attending kindergarten twice. This is not based on his academics but on his age, and the recommendation of his pediatrician and every other mother of boys with a summer birthday.

Carter is attending King's Elementary, a private Christian school not far from our home. It has amazing academics, computer lab, library, safety, etc but the quality we loved most about the school is that every subject is taught with Jesus at the forefront. God is intertwined into every subject and every aspect of learning! They incorporate service projects and missions throughout the year and we are so excited to watch Carter grow in his walk with the Lord. His teacher this year is Mrs. Uhrich and his buddy, Jack, from church is in his class.

I know he looks a little mad in the photos but that is because he is at the age where he doesn't want his picture taken or to give mommy a kiss or hug in public. I am so sad! Thank goodness I have the girls to love on who always want all the extra hugs and kisses.

Mutton Bustin'

We just got home from a wonderful family vacation to mom and dad's place in Coeur D'Alene. We had an amazing time as always but this trip in particular we got to go on some pretty amazing adventures. I will chronicle them in over the next week as I have recently learned that you can have your blog made into a book and am so excited to see my little pet project get turned into something tangible my kids can have to look back on their childhood.

And as most of you with multiple children know the baby books get less and less attention with each subsequent child. So Carter's is filled in for about the 1st year of his life, Adeline about 3 months and Eleanor is lucky if she has her name in hers. But now that I can turn the blog into a scrapbook for them I can move the updating of the baby books a little further down on my to do list.

For now enjoy this video of Carter doing Mutton Bustin' at the North Idaho Fair...(push pause on my playlist before playing the video so you can get the full thrill of Mutton Bustin'...I would take the playlist off but I can't figure out how)

Operation Christmas Child

Last year during the Christmas season we started a family tradition of putting together shoe boxes filled with gifts for the kids of Operation Christmas Child. It is such an amazing organization and has been around since the 1970's. The "mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ." You just create your box and then enter your zip code on the website to find drop off stations near you.

It was such a fun way to get the kids involved in serving others in a tangible way. Both Adeline and Carter picked the age and gender of the child they wanted to make a shoebox for. We then took a family shopping trip to Fred Meyer to pick out all the treasures their selected children might enjoy. By paying for and printing out the shipping labels online we were able to track our packages and find out they were delivered to children in the Philippines. We then read up about the needs of the children in the Philippines and located the country on our world map. The whole service project has been a great learning opportunity for the kids in terms of researching the children we helped and doing geography lessons on our world map that decorates our playroom wall.

We are starting to plan for this Christmas season as the Collection Week is November 15-22. It is early so they can get all the shoe boxes organized and delivered in time for Christmas. I urge all of my readers (the 2 still following) to check out this organization for a special way to get the kids involved in giving. If you would like to donate but don't have time to put together a shoebox you can donate at Samaritan's Purse or give your donations to us by October 31st and we will put together extra shoe boxes in your honor. I am sure the kids would love to shop more!