Christmas Preparations

Just like all of you, we have spent the last few weeks preparing for Christmas. We have tried really hard to keep Christmas as simple as possible; however, it still seemed a little overwhelming at times. Why is it that way? What else can we cut out? What are the important things of Christmas and what are the things that are just "extra"? We had very little in Guatemala for Christmas last year (mostly because I forgot about packing for Christmas). It made me think about the things that are important to me at Christmas time.

My mom, my sister and I all have the same Nativity set. This is something that I look forward to getting out every year. I missed it last year.

We put up our tree after Thanksgiving. It is a fake tree that we have had for probably 8 years or so. It is alot of work to put up and decorate but it is a big part of Christmas for the kids.

I didn't realize how important it was until we didn't have a tree last year. In Guatemala, you can't just go to the local store and buy a Christmas tree. We ended up improvising and had a branch that served as our tree (see blog entry "Christmas Eve"). It was a little different than our "normal" tree but I realized that it was more about working together as a family than it was about the actual tree.

We went to a "Christmas Pageant" this year with my sister and her family. They had a whole Bethlehem scene that included camels, sheep and a donkey. Hannah took this picture as we were waiting for it to start.

Samuel, Bethany, Naomi, Hannah and Julia as we waited to go in and find seats.

Caleb was not really interested in anything called a "pageant" until he saw this part of the set. It was set-up to look like a scene from an army base including an "anti-aircraft gun".

We enjoyed the pageant but it was really about doing something with my sister and her family.

Our friends, the Kolars, came over and surprised us with Christmas carolling. We really enjoyed their singing and the treats but the best part was just spending time with them.

We celebrated our family Christmas last night. One of our traditions is to read a Christmas book that we bought when Caleb was very young. We did not have it last year because I forgot to pack it and we really missed it. It doesn't seem right to open any presents until Don reads to us!

The "homemade" gifts were a highlight of the evening especially for the "makers" of the gifts.


Christmas Eve is in two days. As I think about the preparations and things that we have done leading up to Christmas this year, I am finding that the time spent with family and friends along with the things that help us to focus on the true meaning of Christmas are the important things. We are trying to teach our kids that we give gifts at Christmas because God gave us the greatest Gift of all in His Son, Jesus. We want Him to be the focus of our Christmas. We pray that He is the focus of yours as well. Merry Christmas!

The Zoo??

Yes, it has been a while again since we posted. Time just seems to fly!



Last Tuesday was Bethany's 10th birthday and being the animal lover that she is, she wanted to go to the zoo. We were reflecting on the fact that last year for her birthday we also went to the zoo (see post). Needless to say, the weather was quite different this year!

It was perfect for the polar bear!

There are lots of buildings to go inside to see the animals. The acquarium had pengiuns in conditions similar to outside of the building. Maybe they should let them out to play!

We went into the cat house.

This is actually Samuel inside the gorilla house. However all the gorillas were inside. Only this lone duck was outside of the building!


We actually went to the zoo on Monday. Good thing, because on her actual birthday (Tuesday) we were hit with a huge blizzard. Close to 10 inches and lots of wind. The schools were closed for 3 days. My kids felt sooo blessed that they could continue their school since we don't have to go anywhere! Ok, not really, but they will be happy when we get to play next spring instead of staying inside to finish our school! :)

Fall Work

We arrived home from St. Louis in the early evening on Thursday. We had such a good time seeing Duane and Leslie, their son Ryan and his family and Craig and meeting other people that have been a part of their ministry for a long time (especially Connie).

It was back to work and school on Friday. Then on Saturday we headed to Don's mom's house to help her rake her yard. Her house sits on about an acre in the middle of Omaha surrounded by lots of mature trees. Although there aren't any pictures of Hannah, she did work as well. She was the photographer and no one took over to take a picture of her!!

This is Hannah's action shot of me lifting leaves to the trash can.

Samuel had the job of packing the leaves down into the cans so we could fit as many leaves as possible!

Caleb and Don working??

We brought our 4-wheeler and attached a sweeper to help us pile up all the leaves. Hannah took this picture during Bethany's turn.

We focused on the front yard. Then we moved to the side and by the time we got to the back, Don and I were working alone and the kids were off doing something else. We were all exhausted. We didn't get all of the back done - maybe another day!

Leavin' on a jet plane . . .

I keep thinking that it has been way too long since we blogged but I am not sure why we haven't taken the time. It is not like we don't have anything to blog about. Hannah had her 8th birthday. Isn't she cute??


Don had a trip to the ER for his heart. (It went into Afib and had to be shocked to get it into the correct rhythm - He is fine now and will have another check-up at the end of this month.) Don and Caleb rebuilt Caleb's carburetor on his dirtbike (newsworthy? to some maybe!). I am looking at our calendar since we last posted and it is full of stuff. So why haven't we posted? Maybe because the calendar is too full of stuff!

For those of you that are wondering, our snow melted very quickly here. It was gone in just a couple days. The weather has been a little bit more mild but still chilly. We have been getting ready for winter. Don and the kids cut back bushes and plants and cleaned the garage. They took the mower deck off of the tractor and put the snow blade and bucket on it. You would think that we would all be used to this kind of activity around here. Yet we are all a little melancholy.

Caleb told me the other day that I was "homesick" for Guatemala. I think we all may be. Don wanted "Guatemalan" food for lunch on Sunday after church so we drove to a place that has the closest we can find here. Often when we are in the grocery store, we linger in the "hispanic" section and just look at what things they are selling here now. We get excited to see "Jumex"

and "Maseca"

or some Mexican hot chocolate that we bought when we went to Tapachula to renew our visas. We didn't really like it but it is fun to see it in the store!

When we have our family devotions, one of the kids always prays "help us to get back to Guatemala soon". We are waiting on the Lord and seeking His path for our family.

In the meantime, Don and I are flying to St. Louis tomorrow to meet with Duane and Leslie! (were you wondering about the title of this entry??) We are so excited to see them again. It will be a very short trip for us but it will be so fun to see them and have a little time away. We have communicated with them via email and on the phone a couple times since we have been home, but there is nothing like face-to-face! Anyway, we will be "leavin' on a jet plane . . ." Blessings to you!

Early Snow!

We were suppose to get about half an inch! Now they are saying it was closer to six. The kids were beside themselves this morning. I guess missing a winter will do that to you! As I was getting Samuel ready, he said, "This is the first time I will be outside when I am five!" I knew what he meant!

Throwing snowballs, eating the snow.

I had to dig for winter coats and boots. We were not prepared at all!

Caleb had to "secure the perimeter"!

Even Shadow was having fun!

Oh, I almost forgot - the mini pumpkins were good but a little too "cinnamony". We will have to alter the recipe and try again! Only 3 dozen more to use up. :)

Harvest Time!

We are predicted to have a big freeze here tonight and possibly snow flurries in the morning. I am so not ready for winter!

We have had to get everything that we could out of the garden. One thing that I didn't mean to plant was mini pumpkins. We had purchased some pumpkin vines that were supposed to be pie pumpkins. We did have one or two vines of those but we mostly had mini pumpkins. They are so cute but it would take quite a few to make a pie!

I found a recipe online for a quick pumpkin treat. We decided that we would turn on the oven and try it out. The kids picked out 6 of the pumpkins and I cut the tops off for lids. Then they had to clean out all of the seeds etc. with spoons.

Bethany did one for me and her. Caleb did an extra for his dad.

Hannah and Samuel worked hard too.

Then we added some butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Notice Samuel's heaping spoonful of brown sugar - maybe not the best idea to let him do his own!

Six cute little pumpkins ready for the oven. They smelled really yummy while they were baking. We will have them later with our supper (made mostly from garden produce as well!).

We have been doing other things besides harvesting the garden - Last weekend, Bethany had her first horseshow. She had so much fun - she wants to be a cowgirl!

Thanks for reading - we'll let you know how the pumpkins turned out!

Such Irony!

My niece, Julia, had her 4th birthday last Friday. Isn't she cute?!

We gathered with my sister's family and my parents to celebrate on Sunday. Julia wanted to go to a pumpkin patch and see the animals. . .

Here are Hannah and Naomi (Julia's big sister) with the baby chicks

Bethany wanted to take this bunny home with us.

We also took a hayrack ride out to the pumpkin patch.

There was an old silo with corn where the kids could play. Kind of like a sandbox but with corn instead.

Samuel has just finished burying Caleb in corn up to his neck.

Now it is Samuel's turn.

As I was looking through our pictures and thinking about posting a new entry, I was struck and saddened by the irony. There is a desperate need for corn in Guatemala and my children are "swimming" in it in the US. What a picture of the abundance we have in this country! There is no shame or guilt in going to the pumpkin patch - we are blessed in this country and "every good and perfect gift" is from the Lord (James 1:17). However, He also desires us to be good stewards of the gifts that He has given us. So what are we to do??

I can't pack up the corn that my children were playing in and ship it to Guatemala. As much as I would like to, I cannot go to Guatemala with suitcases filled with corn.

I can pray. I can trust in the Lord's plan and provision for the people of Guatemala. I can spread the word about the Corn Project and how little it would take of our abundance to supply a Guatemalan family with corn for a year. I can give out of the abundance that the Lord has given my family so that another family can "taste and see that the Lord is good" Psalms 34:8.

Moto-mania!

Since well before we left Guatemala, Caleb had decided he wanted a Honda motorcycle (just like Craig and the Ficker boys). Well, after months of searching and searching, saving and saving; we finally found the perfect bike. Here are a few pictures of Caleb riding - very soon after we brought it home.



I asked him for a ride, but he didn't think it was a very good idea.

Finally, I did talk him into letting me have a ride.

I am not sure he thinks he made a very wise decision. At least not after seeing me make the first jump!

Dinner?

Yeah, I don't think so! The kids have been finding snakes in our yard lately. On Friday it was a snake like this but much smaller. They captured it and then school turned into researching "Snakes Native to NE" on the internet to find out what kind it was and what it eats. The little snake managed to escape the confines of a 5-gallon bucket. This much larger one, probably the little one's mother, was found on Saturday (the date is wrong on the pictures) by Caleb when he was picking up dog poop. It was quite entertaining to watch them all (from the safety of the back porch!). We have determined that these are bull snakes (or gopher snakes). They are often mistaken for rattlers and even have a little "rattle" when they feel threatened. (Like when Don hit him with the rake!) I have decided that I am no longer interested in going to the garden by myself!