Away in a Manger

This time of year is full of fun Christmas programs that the kids get to be involved in.

All three of the kids sang or had a part in our program at church last Sunday.

Kiptyn singing Little Drummer Boy!

The kids did a great job of singing for us!

 

The boys had a few practices during Sunday school hour or after the church service for a couple of weeks and little Miss Chloe was not going to miss out!

One Sunday when the kids had practice, Chloe went up, sat down and listened to the instructions and got up and sang all the songs....with the actions!! It was so cute!

We were excited to see her sing with her brothers the following week in front of an audience....

But, I had to bribe her with candy and gum just to get her to go up front on the Sunday of the program! So, she didn't sing but she did stand up there the whole time...and she was so proud of the new pearl bracelet that Grandma Bear had given her to wear that morning!!

 

After the little kids sang, the older kids did a skit about what Christmas is all about.

Is it about food, family and presents? Well, those things are nice around the holidays, but the true meaning of Christmas is the birth of Jesus!

Kieran had a part on the "gift" team!

I guess he got bored after he opened the gift?!

 

Fast forward from Sunday to Thursday....

Kiptyn had a preschool program!

 

He did a great job of singing....

but didn't want to do any actions!

Playing his instrument that he made!

 

In years past, the preschool did their Christmas programs on Sunday afternoon. But this year they did them during the class time. Chuck and I were able to go and do a craft with Kiptyn, watch the kids sing and then enjoy cupcakes and ice cream to celebrate Jesus' birthday!

It was a very special time with our Little Squirt!!

 

It is a joy to watch the kids sing and be reminded of the reason for the season!

Merry Christmas to You!!

 

Wordless Wednesday!

Wish Lists for Santa

Our local John Deere Implement Store had an open house last weekend so we all went as a family and it was a very good time!

The weather was nice, a very short line to see Santa and free tractor rides!!

We took our neighbor friends with us too!

Sitting in a tire and eating cookies while we waited our turn to talk with Santa!

Santa was impressed that we had a list to give him! :-)

It was interesting for me to see what Kieran had on his list...good thing our kids know that they don't always get what they want!! Ha ha!

Chloe didn't want to get anywhere near that man in the white beard!!

Hence the reason she is not pictured with Santa!

The kids all LOVED the tractor rides!!

 

The kids are counting down the days until Christmas!!

Gingerbread Festival

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Agnes came out to visit us for a few days.

It was great to have her here to spend time with us, help us around the house and do some fun things together!

The weather was wonderful on Saturday for doing outside yard work, putting up Christmas decoration on the house, cleaning out the garage...and so much more!

 

After church on Sunday, we all went to a Gingerbread Festival:

There were some amazing gingerbread creations!!

Three Gingerbread Bears!

 

Thanks, Grandma Agnes, for coming to visit!!

Thanksgiving Day

Our Thanksgiving involved some traveling, eating, relaxing, more eating, a little more traveling and then probably more eating!

The boys started their Thanksgiving morning off with some cartoons at home!

 

 We traveled to Des Moines to join Jim and Cordie for a Thanksgiving day meal.

The décor, food and fellowship was very nice!

The kids filled their afternoon with movies, coloring and playing games!

Our Family!

Kieran and Ron...a friend of the Bear family and a Thanksgiving day guest.

Playing marbles with Cordie.

 

We spent the night in Des Moines and then traveled down to the family farm on Friday so that Chuck could help his dad and brother build winter fencing for our cows.

After some fun with Bear cousins at the farm...sorry, no pictures, we traveled back home to get ready for company the next day!

Wordless Wednesday!

Halloween Fun!

We had lots of fun celebrations for Halloween last week!

 Here are some pictures of our Halloween Memories!

We provided the sweet treat for Kieran's class party on Thursday!

Kieran playing the mummy wrap game at his class party!

There was no school here on Halloween day so we had a little party on Friday with some neighbor friends...we ate pizza, did crafts and had treats!

Pumpkin Crafts!

What do you do at the end of a Halloween party?

Look at the Christmas toy catalog, of course!

The boys making our special treat holder for our front porch!

 

The finished project!

This worked out great since we were out trick or treating and couldn't be home to give out our candy!

 

Spiderman, Batman and Tinkerbell!

Trick or Treat!

 

Our cousins joined us again to walk our street together for treats!

We love this Halloween tradition!

 

Alumni Gathering

As you probably know, the Teens For Christ organization in my hometown was a huge part of my life when I was in high school. You could actually say they saved my life by introducing me to Jesus! So, we were very excited when they asked us if we would host an Eastern Nebraska Alumni gathering at our home!

The weather was beautiful....it was nice being able to sit outside and catch up with friends!

We met at Runza for lunch and then headed back to our home for some afternoon relaxation time on the patio!

Janice, Kari and I

The boys loved having my friends' son, Jarod, here to play also!

We reminisced about mission trips, camp and rallies by looking at old pictures and telling funny, memorable stories!

A few other people were able to stop by later in the afternoon too!

Matt provided lots of fun for the kids too!

Matt playing cards with Kieran!

Janice and Chloe!

More card games!

 

I'm so thankful for this special day we were able to have and for the ongoing ministry of TFC!