Merry Christmas!

We've had a wonderful Christmas season--click on the play arrow to enjoy the highlight video! We wish you all of God's blessings in the new year.

On the eighth day of Christmas...

We love to take Christmas light drives in December, and didn't get to it until last night. We went to some new places and hit the jackpot--TONS of really nice lights! Bethany provided the running light commentary. "They're ready!"... "They get a lump of coal!" This house is my personal favorite, thanks to my husband who is not only industrious, but also is not afraid of heights. We're ready!

The kids wanted to sing the 12 days of Christmas while we were driving around. They couldn't remember all of the words. Lee would prompt them a little, and when we got to the 8th day, he said, "eight maids a ...." to which Ben said, "uh...dusting?" So from now on around our house, it's eight maids a dusting. I hope they get here soon.

Joy!

We had such a fun day of celebration last Sunday. Our family all sang in the Christmas musical at church both Saturday and Sunday. Since we were all dressed up, I hoped we would go someplace nice for lunch afterwards. It just happened that the kids were dying to visit with their friend from children's choir, and that her family was going to brunch at a lovely French restaurant. I'm not sure which was more beautiful, the musical or the brunch. Wow!!

"Love was born on Christmas morn

Precious Jesus, God's own son

Sent to earth from God's own heart

Jesus, perfect, holy one

Grace and mercy, joy and peace

Wrapped in love upon the hay

The passion of God's heart for man

Jesus Christ has come to save

Love came down on Christmas day."

Let it snow!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...and the kids took advantage of it the other day.  They had their friends over to build this fort, which has quite the amazing little labrynth inside.  Just another reminder of how they are growing up!

Thankful

What would Thanksgiving be without a handprint turkey and a construction paper turkey?  This year five (5) handprint turkeys graced our kitchen, but we did not receive the variety where each feather has something we're thankful for.  The kids went crazy writing when I mentioned the idea of MAYBE listing the things we're thankful for.  So Lee and I got on it too. Let's just say we stopped before we were really done. Lord, you have been good to us!  Thank you so much.

Guess what!

Someone out there is bound to recognize this.  Who has the first guess?

Refreshed!

Lee and I just got back from a wonderful getaway to visit our good friends in Florida. We walked along Clearwater Beach, and enjoyed the sunset and a "dolphin cruise". We also went to the beautiful Busch Gardens, where we rode wild roller coasters and saw wild animals. And of course, we played several games of dominoes and Phase 10. (I finally won the last night--good thing or we would have had to extend our stay until I did.) More photos here!

Trick or treat!

There was no small amount of excitement around our house yesterday. Our little Detroit Tigers mascot ("Paws") and cowgirl had a costume parade and parties at school, and then a big trick or treat adventure at church. It was so much fun--lots of the adults dressed up, and every door in the church had someone behind it with treats for all who knocked. There was more than enough sugar to go around, and LOTS of laughter.

There are so many adults in our kids' lives who go the extra mile to have fun with them. What a blessing!

Fifty and Fabulous

October 31 was an extra scary day in 1957. I'd be scared to give birth to twins ANY day, Halloween or not. But my mom was a brave woman, and apparently wasn't too traumatized. After all she was brave enough to have me afterwards. Of course, that was SO MANY years later, she may have forgotten the realities of the experience. Now, fifty years later, I am blessed with a truly fabulous brother and sister.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

DAVE and DAYNA!!!

We love you!

The little things

We had a fun weekend. Nothing big, just enjoying the little things. We had lots of leaves to rake up, and the lawn needed mowing. And Bethany needed something to do. So Lee used her as a "yard waste compactor". He would add some more leaves and bounce her up and down on them. You should have heard her giggling her head off.
















Then it was time for Ben's basketball practice. Yes, that's right, a new sport for Ben. I cannot believe these second graders can play so well and make so many shots. They are a blast to watch, and these dads are such great coaches.






Lee and I got something special in the mail--a love note from our little girl. She very secretly found an envelope and addressed it and took it to the mailbox for us to find. How lucky are we!

Autumn arrives!

It's here!! Despite the fact that local weather guru Paul Douglas was explaining why we weren't getting much fall color on the news last night, I'm calling it gorgeous as of yesterday. To top it off, a week full of rain gave way to sunshine today, and made the landscape all the more breathtaking. Thankfully we were out much of the day. We topped it off with a drive to a river bluff overlook. To check out the rest of the pictures, click here, and then click on slideshow to view them full-size.

Awaiting Autumn

We've been waiting for fall to get here, and it is coming, slowly but surely. Usually we are beyond the peak before now, but there are still plenty of green leaves on the trees. Will they still turn, or will they just fall off?

We enjoyed a beautiful walk around the zoo yesterday. Funny how the kids still run to each statue and hop on, as though they've never seen them before!

Indian Summer

The kids pretended to be some of their favorite animals today, in celebration of the gorgeous weather. See if you can find a bat, a sloth, a panda, a monkey, and a bird (with a "bird's eye view")!

Thank God for Grandmas!

Grandpa Jack and Grandma Jeannie are in town from Florida. Grandma brought her usual goodie bag of little fun stuff for the kids. Which once more goes to prove, it's the little things that matter! We are blessed with two grandmas who know just how to spoil our kids. We're thankful!

Sunday afternoon at the Dome

Today was so much fun! After church we headed down to the Metrodome to watch the Twins play Ben's beloved Detroit Tigers. Now if you've followed our blog, you know things didn't go well when we went to see the Braves at the Dome. We went to one more game this summer against the Angels, and Ben actually cheered for the Twins! But of course this time, they lost.

So today we headed down, and Lee and I actually quietly rooted for the Tigers too, because of the sheer fact they might still have a shot at the playoffs, and the Twins...well, let's face it, they don't. And guess what? Ben finally got to see his team WIN! It was a nail biter, but the Tigers scored on the third pitch of the game, and never trailed. Phew!

Sundays are awesome days to take a kid to a Twins game. The kids get in free with a paid adult, there are all kinds of activities for them to do out on the plaza beforehand, they get a free children's book, and there are free Twins autographs if you care to wait (although there is no guarantee you will have ever heard of the players that are signing). And today, TCF was even giving away free Twins shirts. Then after the game, they get to run the bases and get autographs from T.C. the bear. T.C. is a very astute mascot, and he took Ben's Tigers cap and stuck it in his big furry mouth. VERY cute.

By the way...do you notice anything different about Ben? (Click on the picture to see a bigger view. Click here to compare if you still can't figure it out.)

Zoo Day

We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the zoo that I loved to visit as a little girl, but we live so close to the big zoo that we rarely go up there. The kids loved seeing lots of animals they don't have at the big zoo, and Ben was excited to learn that BOTH have tigers! For more photos of our day, click here.

Smile and say "Cheethe!"

Benjamin thought the week hadn't been eventful enough, so he pulled out his front tooth. The surprising thing was that it was the left one--he's been wiggling the right one all summer.

The BIG Day!

Today is the first day of school, and Ben's 8th birthday. The kids were SO excited that they pretty much leaped out of their beds. They even MADE their beds! (Of course, that's because we pay them for completing all of the steps on their checklists.)





Ben took a few minutes to open his birthday cards from us. The gifts had to wait until after school, because Mom has not had a chance to go shopping--but now all of that has changed! :-)





Ben and Bethany both got ready in record time, with plenty of time to pose for photos. Even then, the bus wasn't here, so they played hopscotch. When the bus pulled up to the corner several minutes early (we are the first stop), the kids grabbed their backbacks and made a mad dash. Forget the ceremonial goodbyes! I did what any self-respecting mom would do. I followed them down and got right on the bus and gave them a hug. They didn't seem to mind!

For my reflections (and a few more photos) on this new chapter of life, click here.

Happy Birthday, Tiger-r-r!

Today we had a fun family gathering. We celebrated Ben's birthday, along with a couple of his cousins', with the whole Decker side of the family. Although he was in and out of the house while I was decorating his cake, he avoided seeing what I was doing because he wanted it to be a surprise. I guess the unveiling is an important part of the tradition. He was very pleased with his tiger!

When his cousin Kyle heard that Ben's birthday is the first day of school, he thought it was a shame. Ben, on the other hand, thinks it is going to be one giant party, and he can hardly wait. I hope that after it's all said and done, his teacher will share his enthusiasm!

A special project

My family thought they had hit the jackpot when they helped me unpack the groceries today. Let's face it...it's not every week I come home with Oreos, Little Debbies, Fruit by the Foot (gross!) and chocolate sprinkles. They should have known I was up to something. One of my favorite projects of the year. Stay tuned!

Game Day Central: Where heroes are made!

It's the week we've all been waiting for--Vacation Bible School! It seems there was this boy who caught a glimpse of a catalog with the Game Day Central (SPORTS!) theme and talked his mom into being the director so our church could have VBS. He started listing all the kids he could invite because they would LOVE it! How could she say no?

That was sometime in the spring, and I've been planning and scheming ever since. Well, it's finally here, and we've been taking a van load of energetic kids every night, and listening to them enthusiastically sing the theme songs all the way home. I'd say it's been worth it! "Run the race! Keep the pace! Keep your eyes on Jesus!"

Off with the training wheels!

For those of you who haven't been following the comments, Bethany has made a big achievement. We took her down to the park, removed her training wheels, and voila! Big girl!


I just have to say that my kids are SO blessed to have Lee for a daddy. He did an awesome job of giving her the confidence boost she needed, and if you watch the video, the giggles say it all. Priceless!

Try again!

OK. Lee thought this might be a little too easy. But after all, he's the one who did the project, so it's obvious to him. So here's a little more information. Hmmm...

It's YOUR turn!

Guess what this is! No, really, you have to guess. Because I'm not telling until someone guesses correctly. To enter your guess, click on "comments" below. If you are not a registered Googler, you can type your answer and click on the circle next to "anonymous". That's it. Then check back later to see if you or anyone else has solved the mystery. Good luck!

Fun Day for Mom

It's a homemade birthday, with a special cake and cards. Don't you love the cake? Well, it's the right shape, and it has a PICTURE of something sweet and delicious. And only one candle so I can stay 29 for another year. Simple and to the point!

P.S. I didn't have to eat the sweetened condensed milk. They took me to the nearest waterpark to enjoy the slides and the lazy river AND some really yummy ice cream on a waffle cone.

As good as it gets!

Little fish!

Do you hear my heart going pitter patter? Benjamin and Bethany just finished a session of swimming lessons, and they are really swimming! I mean, jumping off the diving board and then swimming down to the shallow end. Both of them! They can do the front crawl and back crawl (well only Ben has the breathing down on the front crawl)...it's amazing!

So what's the big deal? Doesn't everyone take swimming lessons in the summer? Aren't they supposed to actually learn how to swim when they do? Well, I suppose. But if you know how much time I spent in the pool growing up, you probably assumed that front and back crawl were what my kids would be doing before they walked. So, it sort of seemed like a long time coming. Seriously, seeing Ben swim across the pool without breaking his rhythm once on the front crawl is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

You know what, though? When Aunt Dayna suggested that he might swim in the Olympics someday, he said, "Uh, I don't think so," but the look on his face said, "Uh, Aunt Dayna, how in the world do you think THAT would fit into my Major League Baseball career?"

I see his point.

A Day at the Lake

A peaceful end to a great day with the Decker side of the family at Balsam Lake. For more of the fun, click here.

The top ten ways to know you've had a great vacation

10. Your baseball fanatic has swung the bats of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth at the Louisville Slugger Factory
9. You've stood on a mountaintop
8. You've taken your family on a tour of your alma mater, and they enjoyed it almost as much as you did
7. You've discovered that your campground offers all the mini-golf you can play for free!
6. You can now relax poolside with your spouse while the kids swim their hearts out
5. Your kids disappeared for hours with their cousin and all you heard was giggling--and all you discovered afterwards was a cool fort they built and filled with stuffed animals
4. You've consumed enough sweet tea to keep you sweet for the next year
3. You've seen several old friends, and picked right back up where you left off
2. Your kids have enjoyed their grandparents as much as their grandparents enjoyed them
1. Your kids thank you multiple times for the fun trip

Besides safety, health and rest, these were some of the major highlights of our 3400+ mile vacation/odyssey through eight states between here and Florida. For more photos, click here.

Bethany is SIX!

We had a very fun celebration today! Bethany's birthday party was a garden tea party with several of her friends from school. They made table decorations and most of the fancy foods. It was beautiful. Then we had Bethany's favorite babysitter teach the girls a dance. They made sweet garden fairies! And there was a certain boy who joined right in there with the rest of them.

A great thing about the day was having Dave and Mary and the boys join us, newly arrived from Africa a few days ago, along with Dayna, who helped keep everything going! Bethany felt very special, and she kept saying, "Mom, that was a good idea you had!" I wonder who had more fun...

For more photos, click here.