So 2003

Kevin's mom gifted us her old (amazing) vacuum cleaner. As I hauled our old one to the curb, I was reminded of how we'd had it for almost 12 years. It was a replacement for the one we bought off our wedding registry. Kevin used the original to clean up broken glass in the bottom of our apartment dishwasher a few weeks after we got married. That's how we learned that dishwashers have standing water in them, and water kills vacuum cleaners. We also learned, though, that Bed Bath & Beyond has a great return policy.

That reminded me of when I was a kid, and my mom and dad would always say things like, "we got that toaster/towel/pillowcase/bowl" as a wedding present. I would be all like, "geez, this is 15/20/25 years old? Are you going to keep it forever?" I couldn't imagine owning stuff that long.

But as we approach our 12th anniversary, I can look around and see that most of the stuff we own is about 12 years old...and that doesn't seem like a long time! Our towels are frayed, the shower curtain has been retired, and the vacuum is no match for four kids and three dogs, but the rest of it is hanging on. I love our Christmas decorations, most of which we received as wedding and shower gifts. I'll admit that I surveyed our mantle today and thought how outdated it looked compared with the pictures my friends are posting on Facebook.  It's so 2003. The stockings don't match and I noticed mine has a tear at the bottom. The stocking hangers Kevin and I bought on our first anniversary are a little tarnished and there aren't enough letters in the word "Peace" to hold all our stockings anymore. (Nor does the word describe our general Christmas experience!) 

But it's our outdated mantle decor, and it's perfect. 

Thanksgiving 2015

I'm not sure we took a single picture this weekend, so I'll just have to paint one! The first half of the weekend was full of cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. We threw in a little laundry and cooking for good measure. Then the families arrived...we hosted nine Wernets (and friends) for Thanksgiving brunch in the morning and 14 Tuinstra/Wacyks in the afternoon for dinner. It seemed like a good idea to host two events in one day the month before, and right up to about noon on Wednesday. Then it seemed like a silly idea. Once we made it to dinner, it was fine again!

The day was a bit of a pleasant blur, and it was lovely to have (almost) everyone together during the day. We were especially blessed to have Dave, Laurel, and Roger there, because it's been awhile since we saw them on Thanksgiving, and who knows where they'll be next year! The kids--eight and eight, now--are mostly old enough that they kind of disappear before and after the meal, and giggle endlessly during it.

Annie searched for "pilgrim girl" costumes and created her own. She also led everyone in her Thanksgiving prayer from school:

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day

We bow our hearts to you and pray.

We thank you Lord for all you'd done,

Especially the gift of Jesus, your son.

When I finally sat down (late) that night, I thought I'd never get up again! Luckily, we got to enjoy the fruits of our labor for the rest of the weekend. That is, we got to eat leftovers in a relatively clean house. We mostly sat by the fire and watched White Christmas, Charlie Brown Christmas, and football. After a long stretch of school without breaks + hunting season, it was great to be together for so many days. We saw The Peanuts Movie at the Sun, taught the girls how to play Scattergories, played many rounds of Uno (Annie tries to sit strategically because she doesn't like to play Draw 2s and 4s on me!), and made cookies without an electric mixer because we forgot we loaned it to Laurel. Kevin and I went on a date (the shooting range and the mall - something for everyone) while the kids played at his mom's, and--with lots of help from the girls--we decorated the house for Christmas.

It's back to school and work tomorrow...sniff. The especially wonderful thing about Thanksgiving break ending, though, is Christmas break right around the corner--and all the fun in between!

More fun with DJisms

All day, DJ has been telling me, "Mom, I just prayed. God made this holy ground. Take off your shoes." It's sweet, and funny, and weird.

After bath, Eddie was in the lion towel and DJ was in the butterfly towel. DJ said, "Knock knock." (His cue that he is going to tell a joke.) "Why did the butterfly cross the road?" "To get some nectar?", I guessed. His response: "No, to eat the lion."

This morning I woke up to find that DJ was already up, and had gone to wake up Annie. He was standing at the top of the stairs wide-eyed. "Mom," he said very seriously and calmly, "Darth Vader is in Nellie and Annie's bedroom. I can hear him when I lay down." I went in to listen with him, already guessing the source. We listened for a minute. It was Nellie sleeping in the top bunk, deep-sleep breathing, and DJ didn't know she was there. He was so relieved.