Halloween on the Cheap

It seems like every year we get closer and closer to Halloween, before anyone has decided what they want to dress up like. I found myself, the day before Halloween, scheming on how to convince the children to be easy dress ups. No trips to the dreaded Wal-mart to scrounge around oversized and picked over outfits. I asked Tom Builder for a little support to encourage the kids towards my simple but wonderfully cheap and quick costumes: one mummy a la Tee-Pee, and on Tom Builder's recommendation, one sheeted ghost.


Grace went for the Mummy idea, and Jack liked the thought of being a ghost. Faith, took on the Hand-me-down costume with style, inheriting Jack's Gorilla suit. Somehow the ghost managed to escape my camera (don't they usually?), but I caught the other two before we headed out for an all out assault on the housing industry.


In about three houses, Faith had caught on very clearly as to what a doorbell ring could bring. It didn't matter how many stairs lay before that door, she would earn the prize! The candy booty in this family just got larger with the addition of a third qualified trick-or-treater. And in the tradition of my Father, there will be many "Tax Time" payouts to parents in each treaters future. I like to think of it as teaching our kids the importance of Tax Cuts.

Christmas Day 2006 - The Letter

I better finish up retelling our 2006 Christmas before the next one rolls around!

Christmas Day, was different. Very different. In fact, Ken and I weren't sure what to expect from the kids when they took a peek in the early morning hours under the tree. Both of Ken's sisters and families would not be arriving until the afternoon. Upon their arrival, Santa (Grandpa in full attire) would show up at the door a bit turned around after just returning from Germany. The problem was, in order to make it work, our children would wake up on Christmas morning with nothing under the tree. NOTHING.

Our hearts were torn as we both thought about how the children might feel in the morning, after days and days of counting down...

To soften the blow, after the kids had turned in for the night, Ken composed a letter written by Santa, informing the children that he would be returning that day to visit them in person. The letter was laid by the munched on cookies and carrots in hopes of being found.

In the morning, the children visited our room first, and after giving them the OK to have them peek under the tree, we huddled in our bed waiting for the children's reactions. We could here Jack and Grace whispering excitedly to themselves, and then there was silence. After a moment, they checked the plate to confirm if Santa ever arrived, and then to our relief there was great excitement as the children sped up the stairs announcing there was a note!

All in all, the children took it very well. And they were extremely patient as the day passed along. Here is Grace showing Grandpa "The Letter".


Grandma had the perfect idea of passing the time by baking a cake for baby Jesus. This we all throughly enjoyed over the next few days. And it smelled wonderful on Christmas day!

I have to say, it certainly was nice to be showered and dressed for once before all of the candid Christmas picture taking.

Staging Christmas

While we were in Colorado, there was a sub-plot simmering just below the Christmas hub-bub. Before vacation, Ken decided that it would be really fun to build rockets together with extended family circles and then to have a grand launch date on open acreage. His idea turned out to be fantastic. Every family had up to three rockets they spent time constructing, painting and detailing over the course of the vacation. A LOT of work went into each piece, with some rockets requiring multiple stages and high skill levels. It was difficult to tell who was more excited about the rockets...the children or the grown men.


Ken and Grandpa probably spent the most time together on this project. At times, trying to make heads and tails out of some of the very cryptic instructions. Perhaps the most challenging was Grandpa's rocket that was quite large. There were a couple of times when the room erupted in laughter over glued mistakes and short cuts gone bad.


The launch involved the entire extended family with successful launches for all but poor Grandpa's rocket. How I wish we would have had a video running! The big black two footer struggled its hardest to handle its own weight, losing to gravity after 40 feet and hitting the snow nose first. For added emphasis, the booster then decided to pop off in delayed fashion, which had us all in stitches.

If you have the open space, this is a wonderful way to spend time with family. And the kids love it...especially the part about chasing down their rockets as they float back to earth.

Snow, Snow, Snow

Our family couldn't have asked for a more wonderfully white Christmas in 2006. We spent 10 days in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains underneath a blanket of fresh snow. A Christmas dream. Hours before our vacation was to begin, Colorado was pummeled with more snow than they could plow, closing the Denver airport. We were extremely fortunate in that our flight was the first plane into Denver once the airport opened its runaways again. Our prayers for a snowy Christmas were answered...and then some.

As we waited for our baggage to arrive in the airport, the children stood nose to the glass outside, desperate to get their Georgian hands in the cold snow. They had ample opportunities throughout our visit, that included nature walks on the farm, a scavenger hunt across 25 acres of snowy fields (more on that later), digging a snow tunnel, chasing down descending rockets in the fields, and a snowy bonfire.

So imagine my surprise when after downloading all of our Christmas videos and pictures, not a single picture shows any of us doing anything in the snow in the daylight. OIY.

On one of our last nights at the farm, all of the extended family had left (except us staying beyond our welcome). Despite the post holiday exhaustion, we decided to build a bonfire and roast smores. Ken whipped up a blazing fire, capable of scorching nose hairs and anything else found within a 3 foot radius. The night was perfectly still and the sky was clear, except for the sounds of six silly voices singing belated Christmas jingles and playing rounds of the game "Operator". So here's us, in the snow...in the dark.

Three Ways to Give Thanks

What a difference a day makes. The next morning was gorgeous and warm, with not a single cloud in the sky. Faith took advantage of the weather change and decided that all human beings should arise with the morning dawn while staying at the grandparents' house.


Perfect weather could only mean three things...tractors, paintball and an awesome turkey dinner.


Grandpa A. has a reputation for babying his tractor. The tractor resides in the garage - not the family cars. Grandpa's favorite hobby? Driving a tractor. The children had a wild time taking turns riding the tractor. It was enough for Grace to sit on Grandpa's lap, (too nervous to take the wheel), while Jack was in complete driver's heaven zig zagging with enthusiastic over corrections (he might have the Adams tractor gene).


Ken was invited to an on site paintball match with Uncle Jacob and his friend. This apparently is serious stuff folks. We discovered Uncle Jacob has a past time of his own...digging giant trenches. Ken wore a fresh pair of Grandpa A.'s Marine fatigues (which wigged Mom out a little). But what a beautiful father, son shot this is (post paint war).


Grandma did an unbelievable job of putting together a jaw dropping spread during the day: juicy perfect turkey, stuffing, waldorf salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, peas, apple pie and pumpkin pie. It was a tasty ending to a happy day with family.

The Macy's Day Parade

It was a valiant effort. Despite continued winds and rain, most of the crew headed out in the morning to witness the one and only Macy's Day Parade. Faith had impeccable timing and decided that it would be a perfect morning to catch up on a good snooze indoors (Mom didn't put up a fight).

Meanwhile, the men buckled down and launched children on their shoulders for a better view, Grandma fended off rude Italian ladies armed with cameras and Jacob and Rachel blew bubbles to distract any child at ground level.


The crew returned back to the hotel in wet waves. Airing out in the hotel room and electing to watch the rest of the parade in front of a TV screen. Faith slept through the entire parade. Smart girl.

And so it was...home again, home again...good bye exciting and cold New York....hello peaceful and warm Asbury, New Jersey.

Planes, Ferries and Subways

This Thanksgiving, we hopped aboard a "New Jersey Plane" (as Jack would say) and headed out to the small quaint town of Asbury to visit Grandma and Grandpa A. But before we could enjoy quaint, the grandparents thought we'd hit something a little more grand. After an evening to recover from our flight into New Jersey, Grandpa A. and the Knucker Hatch clan headed toward the Big Apple in the mini van. The day was rainy, cold and overcast, but the children's excitement over their adventure kept things cheerful.

The first "new" mode of transporation to experience was the Staten Island Ferry. The children went out on the deck with Dad to endure a chill wind at the front of the boat, and snap a picture.

Meanwhile, Faith (donned in her super puffy fuzzy suit) and Mom stuck to indoors, preferring to keep an eye on the simmering melting pot.

As soon as our feet hit dry ground, we were off to ride the next new form of transportation...the delightful subway. The subway ride took us a short jaunt away from Radio City Music Hall. Miss Faith, was a complete champ, but exhausted. She slept sucking wind while wrapped on my back as we all trapsed through wind and the rain the last few blocks to arrive just in time to be entreated to The Rockette Christmas Show.


Grace loved the orchestra and Jack, to some poor soul's chagrin, couldn't seem to remove his chin off the back rest in front of him. After a cat nap, Faith had other plans, finding it more entertaining to crawl around the corridors and flirt with security.

With all the travel and entertainment, satiating an appetite was in order. We met up with Grandma A. and Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jacob for a feast at Bubba Gumps.



And since the night was still young (for the youth at least), we visited the giant Toys 'R Us near Times Square. Grace picked out a new "My Little Pony" and Jack landed his mits on his first GIJoe toy laser gun with about 25 different laser-y sounds. I can't recall if that was before or after he side swiped a lady with a stroller on the escalator and proceeded to wipe out, forcing the lady to exit the escalator over the top of him with the stroller. But I digress...

That night, every single one of the Knucker Hatches was in bed by 8:30pm.

Jack Lands On Planet Five

For at least three months, I have heard no less than twice a day, "Mom? How many days until my birthday?". Jack has been looking forward to his birthday for hours upon hours, and today, it finally arrived. He woke up with a smile on his face, and asked me as he stood in his Curious George PJ's, "Now am I five? Right NOW?" He could barely stay in his own skin when the affirmation came. And the day, was truly his to celebrate. This was the first time Jack was having a real birthday party with friends (not just family) and a nifty cake that mom actually baked for once herself:


After cheerios, there was much excitement, as he watched a giant inflatable rocket jumper unfold and fill up with air in the backyard. A beacon of happiness for the day ahead. The inflatable kept Jack and Grace rosy cheeked for the next two hours, until the guests arrived and it was time for Pizza.


Since Jack enjoyed our family's Easter Pinata so much, I decided to do the Pinata again, but in Rocket formation (there's a theme running here)...eventually it required a good wack from Dad to finally make the pinata relent to giving up its candy center.


Jack enjoyed all of the gifts from his family and friends, which included: construction blocks, cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and cowboy shirt, a green Bigens Ball, remote control solar system light, microscope viewer, and mini parachute men. A couple of other presents are still in a brown box on a UPS truck somewhere!


So what does a newly turned five year old say soon after his fifth birthday? "I wonder when I'm gonna be six?"

The Easter Pinata

Every Easter it is tradition in our house for the Easter bunny to leave or do something unusual Easter morning. Two Easter's ago, she door bell ditched our house and left us with two rodent gerbils to take care of. Do I sound like I am complaining? Really, what was she thinking? Anyway, last Easter she surprised the children as they were getting into the car for church with a rogue stuffed animal in each of the children's car seats.

This year, the Easter bunny was feeling quite festive, and hung a Pinata in the front yard, along with 10-15 hidden eggs hidden among the garden. She also left a blow up bunny in each of the children's rooms with new Easter clothing to wear to church. The Easter bunny couldn't wait to watch the children go a-hunting. All of the cameras were prepared. The Easter bunny had even left a decoy of two Easter baskets next to the door to the BACK yard (no hidden eggs), just in case the kids decided to take an early look in the morning.

Long story short, the Easter bunny was busy scrubbing with soap in the shower Sunday morning when her little darlings bust through the bathroom and raised their left arms to announce and display that the Easter Bunny had left them new clothes. Good! (The Easter Bunny thought.) The clothes and blow up bunnies held them over.

Silly bunny...tricks are for kids.

The children raised their right hands to also announce and display that they had discovered ALL of the Easter eggs already. And guess what Mom! She left a Pinata in the front yard!!!

Well at least we got pictures of the Pinata being beaten to a pulp. It was a beautiful day for a Pinata, and the children tried their best to break him, but he was strong. A third whack from Dad finished him off.

NEWS FLASH! I've finally figured out how to add video!! Warning: This will be choppy on the first run through, but once it has gone full circle, you'll be able to replay it again at regular speed. Remember when I mentioned that all of the cameras were ready? Well, we discovered in the morning that we didn't have any more discs for the video camera, so the little video option on the digital camera had to do. Forgive me for the quality, but this video is a bit humorous (or scary), as it displays our son's more aggressive side. Also, I must remember to shut up when I take video.

Happy 2006 Easter!

We hope you all had a blessed Easter with your families and friends. Here are a couple of pictures of the better four-fifths of the family before Sunday church service. This was one squeaky clean family that morning!

So What's The Story Behind The Girl?

For the unabridged version of Faith's Birth Story and more pictures you can visit In This Corner.

Three Days Old:

Our Little Baby Faith Is Here!!

UPDATE: For the unabridged version of Faith's Birth Story and more pictures you can visit In This Corner.

With much fanfare we are very proud to announce the arrival of Faith Alexa on January 31st 2006 at 6:20pm. She weighed in at a solid 7 lbs. 8 oz., measured 19 1/2 inches, and as predicted, came out with a good strong unbelievably cute cry. Everyone was doing so well that we were able to return home Wednesday. There is a birth story to soon write, but for now, here are a few pictures to hold you off.

The team an hour after Faith's arrival.
Faith wide awake 24 hours later.
Grace and Jack couching Faith.

Vactioning Breeds Pretend Play

Our vacation has been one of the best things we have done in a long time. Specifically, for the children. Ken and I were growing more concerned as we saw a drastic decrease in Grace and Jack's imaginative play over the last term. It was our impression that perhaps they were being entertained with too much multimedia time, so we reduced their time to only one hour --- the choice of what screen they wanted to sit in front of for that hour (TV, Computer, or PS2) was their decision. After a few weeks of this strategy, we still weren't happy with the results.

Then came Christmas, and my need to stop schooling and relax for two weeks. The first few days were really difficult. The children had an honestly hard time trying to adjust to the disappearance of routine. We weren't homeschooling, there was no AWANA, no gymnastics, nothing for them to grasp and count on except for church. They frequently requested those markers of routine back, especially school, but after a few days, the requests began to ease back.

What I saw over the next two weeks was remarkable. Pretend play began to ooze out of the woodwork. Grace and Jack are often imaginative and pretend, but the play is short and fleeting. This play was different: The children started pretending in overdrive, talking in various voices, with all sorts of props, people and trains. For HOURS they would do this, scampering off to one of their rooms to pretend and make up games. It was interesting that it took the removal of routine for them to break out into this type of play. Their days are not structured hour by hour, but it must have been enough to squelch the art of full blown imaginative play.

I will be watching this next term very closely. I desperately want to KEEP that side of the children alive and fluent and free. It was a real joy to watch them play so well and so freely with anything for long periods of time without interruption.

A New Year Come Full Circle

First off...Happy New Year everyone!

This New Year's Eve brought with it some unexpected sentimental feelings. After a marathon viewing of a few 24 episodes from season 4, Ken and I headed up to the green room to watch the ball drop. Our neighborhood was in full firework display for almost 30 minutes straight before midnight. The fireworks were really large and made enough noise to wake up our oldest, and bring her sleepy eyed downstairs with her favorite yellow blankie she has had since birth.

It was an odd feeling to have her by our side, as we explained the tradition of the ball dropping, and why people were lining the streets screaming and shouting. She counted down with us in the final minute, and we huddled together for a round of kisses and hugs. I get a little teary eyed when I recall that 6 years ago, we have pictures of us as brand new parents, both holding a little 2 month old in front of the TV while the ball dropped into the next century. And here she was now, a child I can barely pick up anymore, again by our sides.

How fitting to have an extra second to enjoy the moment. :)

Mandatory Vacation Instituted

After writing my post on little vacation time, I chewed on it for awhile, and decided that I needed to put my foot down and insist on a one week vacation. Baby Faith is four weeks away from arrival, and there is much to do before she arrives. I told the children that even though they might not need a vacation, sometimes Mommies need a vacation. With the children having plenty of games and new activities to play with, not having school has been less painful. They still asked for it today, but I am beginning to think that their reliance on it is more of a dependence on routine.

The tree is down, the Christmas cheer has been safely packed away, the house is relatively clean, and the projects are getting done...FINALLY. Hmm...Maybe a TWO week vacation should be instituted.

Christmas Un-Wrap-a-Thon

Christmas morn was greeted with a shadow of Grace in the dark beside my bed, asking if it was time to get up. As dark as it was, Grace had thankfully slept in until 7:15am. I mumbled something like "Go get dressed and make your bed first.", to stall and get a few more minutes of sleep under our belts. Jack was still out like a light when I managed to clammer out of bed, so I stalled Grace longer with a shower. Poor Grace, she was so good, but about ready to bust at the seams with the prolonged stalls.

By 8:15 everyone was pounding down the stairs to check the cookie plate for evidence that a foreign presence had entered the house. The children stampeded down one more flight of stairs, in search of a second confirmation - and lo, Santa had indeed been there and indeed found our tree in the basement. After unwrapping a few traditions hidden in the stockings (Christmas socks, Pez, and a Book of Lifesavers), we were able to con the children into one more stall. Ken let the children unwrap one special Santa gift which was a new Bible that had a good reading of the birth of Christ. So the kids snuggled with Dad as he read, while I cooked and iced the cinnamon rolls. After a doughy and gooey breakfast (took the buns out too early), we rolled our bellies back down the stairs.

Santas gifts are very special, so naturally, the kids wanted to open them first. Grace's gift from Santa was a very nice electric keyboard:


Jack's gifts were a motorized Percy to replace a badly beaten up and sandy motorized Lady:


Jack also received a child sized guitar. Can you see what plans the parents have in place for 2006?? That's right, music lessons here we come.


There were many, many, many good gifts this year. The children have enough board games to make them go cross-eyed, and they also a have healthy supply of outside supplies: soccer cones, a goal post, hopscotch mat, Jack's first ball and glove, batting tee. One outside gift, two hop-a-longs (large balls with a handle), have become a source of major indoor entertainment. The children are doing hop-a-long races around the house. It has been great exercise.

More highlights for the children include a Fast Lane car race track, a series of Paul Goble books, and a 2 foot long tank for Jack. Below is Jack revisiting his top rated book for 2005 "The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses", and pouring over the new sounds and songs of his tank.

The rest of the day was spent in recovery mode for the parents as we tag teamed naps in. By 7:00pm the children were toast and put in their beds for a little recovery of their own. Then it was our turn to play with our new toys (and the children's toys). And what would a relaxing night be for two homebodies without Sunday night football, a couple of episodes from 24 (series 4, Netflix style), and a sack of Starbursts at our side?

Thank you to all of our family for your generous and thoughtful gifts. We missed you greatly this year. But it sure was nice without any of you here. ** a little inside joke on Ken's side of the family. **

Christmas Eve...

Our final day of anticipation is here. It is Christmas Eve. After a day full of football, and preparing the playroom for a year's supply of toys and games, the family headed out to the 7:00pm Christmas service. Recently, Jack received his very first ties, and he couldn't hide his pride as he sat on the stage listening to the children's portion of the Christmas service. After a thorough cleaning of his nasal passages, he proudly pulled out his "power" tie from under his sweater vest to admire its sheen under the lights. I'm not sure what he said, but he was clearly enjoying displaying his new apparel to a captive audience. The children also had the thrill of holding their own candles this year.

Upon our return home, we popped some P-corn, set out some of Aunt Kristy's enviable cookies (only the best for Santa), and provided the reindeer with a power dose of Vitamin A (carrots). Mom prepared Christmas morning's cinnamon buns. And then we all headed upstairs for the treasured and long awaited 3 tickle hugs that only come on Christmas Eve.

Ken and I marathon wrapped the remaining presents for underneath the tree, bringing us to a chipper 1:00 am. Here she is in all her glory, surrounded by a splendor of gifts.


Earlier this week, Grace and Jack were told that they would be able to tell Santa's presents apart because Santa would wrap them in green paper with little Santas all over them. Here is the finished product, complete with special Santa tags and a personal letter in response to a letter Grace wrote Santa back in November.



This is the last year Grace will probably fall for "Santa". We were questioned if Santa's reindeer could really fly, and Grace asked Ken point blank if Santa was real. Neither one of us wanted tell on Santa yet. (Mostly out of fear that the news would reach Jack.) And so, for at least one more year, we hold on to the endearing myth of Santa, his reindeer, and his special gifts on Christmas morning.

Praise be to God that our family's true comfort is in Christ who's mercies are new and real EVERY morning.

Merry Christmas everyone! We love you!

Our Collosal Gingerbread House

Look what came in the mail two days ago! Aunt Christy and Uncle Mike sent us a giant (and I mean GIANT) gingerbread house they ordered through Eddie Bauer. Compare our graham cracker house, with this skyscraper!


The children have been hovering around it for the last two days and playing house with all of their little people. They have been so good about not picking, but today, has been MUCH more difficult. So far one frosting tree was extracted and brought to me by Grace. Later it disappeared from its temporary location, and ended up in the mouth of Jack. When questioned about the disappearance and the green line of frosting across his mouth, Jack asked with a sly smirk, "What Christmas tree?".


If they can hold off, the kids have been promised a grand feast after Christmas. They will then be promptly shipped to their aunt and uncle's house for sugar detox.

THANKS AUNT CHRISTY & UNCLE MIKE!!

This Is Just Plain Bass-Akwards

Yes. As you may have noticed we are still having our school time everyday. Christmas break? What is that??? I am starting to feel like the odd man out. While Mom is all for a week of vacation, the kids are completely opposed to the idea, requesting school as usual. In complete honesty, I can say that except for a few days during our vacation in Colorado this summer, a mandatory two weeks off before the new school year in August, and four days around Thanksgiving we have had no other breaks.

I have to admit that by abandoning the two week school break I had originally scheduled for Christmas, it has allowed us to catch up for Year 1 readings that have slipped by here and there. So it does appeal to the task list checker in me. However, there just seems to be something inherently wrong with the conversation:

Grace: Mom, when are we going to do school this morning?

Me: (trying to wrap up some advertising and design work before the holidays) As soon as I finish these last few things. Almost there.

Jack: (20 minutes later) MOM...I just want to do school.

Me: Guys, go play for a little while longer. I'll be done soon.

Grace: (5 minutes later) Are you done yet?

Me: WE DO SCHOOL WHEN I'M READY TO DO SCHOOL. WILL YOU TWO GO FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO RIGHT NOW!!!! (Sudden wash of guilt over me because I blow up over my kids wanting to do school.)

Nativity Abductions

Grace and Jack have taken to playing daily with our nativity scene, and various additional characters they wish to add. Lately these characters have been in the form of marbles rolling around the nativity.

Jack and Grace had a small tiff today, and it was impossible not to bust out in laughter as Jack wailed through his tears, "SHE TOOK THE BABY JEEEEE-SUS!!!!"