ideas???

alright people, i need ideas!
starting january 1st, i'm starting on a 365 day journaling/scrapbooking adventure. it was started from a crafty gal named Becky Higgins. it's called PROJECT 365. the title explains it all. everyday in 2010 i will attempt to journal about the big & small events in the life of the Likkels. somedays it will be something that we have done as a family, other days in may something very random (i like random).365 days is A LOT of days to come up with creative ideas so i need your help. pass on your ideas, i'd love to hear them!

more christmas morning.....

tips???

don't even know what commentary would be better than this???
tips???
seriously??? this is what happens when a 10 year old has free reign on mom's computer!

5th grade love....

is this NOT the cutest thing you've EVER seen??
sam was So proud of this & with good reason. it is precious!
(max and jack made us sweet gifts too..i'll post those too.)

our crazy clan....

thanksgiving....

ya, ok, so i'm a little behind. still, i'm Thankful. Christmas day i finally uploaded all the Thanksgiving pics from my brothers camera. better late than never, right??
(thanks for a great day tim and lisa!)

homeless...

last night, we had the privilege of stepping into a world that was completely out of our comfort zone. my dear friend, kathy had a vision to collect blankets for the homeless. if you put a need out there, especially in this community, people step up. so, last night, after a wonderful dinner out (thanks wubbens) we hit the streets/back alleys/deep,dark woods/under bridges/in motor homes/in cars of bellingam with a group called 'salt on the streets'. they originated out of cornwall church. the couple from there has been doing this EVERY saturday night for the past 6 years. now THAT is being called. so, we, along with dale and kathy, kathy's sister shari and husband, derrick & 5 others spent about 5 hours out there. friends, i have never in my life seen such sadness. in my mind, homeless people somehow deserved to be where they are, right? well, last night, God opened my eyes to a whole world outside of my 'perfect little life'. many of these folks have no other choice. yes, some choose this life, and yes, maybe some even 'deserve' it but there were people out there who really where just down on their 'luck'. who am i to judge the reason they are there?? God simply calls us to take care of them. i have never seen a more thankful group of people! ALL of them, had pure gratitude for someone thinking of them on a cold night. 27 degrees to be exact. what an honor it was for me to have been able to serve them....it was a life-changing experience. i pray that i never turn my back again on these folks. they need us and we NEED to be SALT OF THE EARTH. everyone of them knew that we came in the name of Jesus and i pray that HIS name was honored. last night, as i crawled into my warm bed, with my electric blanket CRANKED up, my heart broke for those who don't have that luxury. it is my prayer, that not only in this Christmas season but throughout the WHOLE year, that you and i, make it our mission, to do something of significance in the life of someone who may otherwise not know HIM. That friends, is what really matters.

good day but missing our fam...

how is it that we spend 364 days getting ready for this day and in the blink an eye,it's over? i wish i could freeze frame this moment. my family is still here. the older boys are playing a roaring game of Monopoly, girls are reading, kids are playing. i love, love, love having a houseful. having a houseful of my favorite people is bonus! we've had a wonderfully relaxing day. slept in. coffee delivered to me while i watched my kids open their presents. this year we decided that our kids were needing for NOTHING. every year, we go ALL out, get them things they will NEVER use. we end up spending far too much money and within mins. they have forgotten what they've got. this year, we decided to get them a set of Lego,an iPod and a handful of stocking stuffers. that is all they wanted. and wouldn't you know it, it was enough. joy..joy...joy exuded from them. it was a good morning. we were proud at how thankful and genuinely happy they were.

2pm. cousins and folks here. a wonderful prime rib dinner (thanks mom) and an afternoon spend relaxing. the kids are at such great ages! the highlight of our day was chatting with our New Jersey family via Skype. it was like having them in our living room, only...they were 3000 miles away. i missed my sister more this year than any other year. maybe it's because i feel like our kids are missing out on life with each other. maybe it's because she's my sister and i just miss her. that's what sisters are supposed to do, right? either way, i know that this is the reality of our life. i am so thankful that regardless of the miles that separate us, she'll always be my very best friend, a constant in my life! my life is better because she is in it.
so friends, enjoy the last hour of your christmas. i hope and pray today was everything AND MORE than you anticipated! start planning now...only 364 days left....

p.s. i'm missing all the pictures from the likkel family party last night but i'll blog about that as soon as i get those.

some explanation of the pictures below would be nice now, wouldn't it?? last sunday, december 20, we celebrated eight years of jack's life. thankfully for me, he didn't want a big party with his friends. nope, he just wanted to spend it with his favorite friends and family (his best friend, kaiden and 'the cousins'. so sunday afternoon we headed up to Matsqui Wave pool in Canada(he was kind enough to let their siblings and parents come too!). for 5 hours these kids, and the 'brave' parents played their hearts out! we had such a blast! for you that live around here, this is the COOLEST, cheapest place for a party! ($11.oo canadian for the whole family!)every 15 mins. massive waves hit the pool, there's a big tunnel slide, a diving board and tons of floaty 'things' for everyone. it even has pools for the little ones. good times. thank you to the wubbens and cousins for spending the day celebrating jack! who's going to have the next birthday so we can go back???? :)

December 20, the same day as jack's birthday rye and i celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. it's been a good 13 years. not all perfect but good years just the same. i still choose him. (i'll post about that later). here's to another 75 years babe. i love you.

baby jack is 8!!

i know it's cliche to say but i can hardly believe my baby is EIGHT! in some ways it feels like just yesterday that he joined our family and yet, we don't know life without him. this boy is unique. a funny, silly little man. loud? yes, very loud. he thinks it's SOOO funny when he does his "glass breaking" scream. not so much. but a sweeter, sillier boy you will not find. he has brought so much laughter to our home. noisy or not, we love this little one and we wouldn't trade him for a lifetime of quiet. yup, we'll keep him. we are blessed beyond words to have him in our family!

happy birthday Jesus!

merry, merry christmas friends.
now that i put our blog address on our christmas cards, i must post. no more of this every two week thing.(happy sister? :)) it is my goal, in 2010, that i post EVERYDAY. for christams, i bought MYSELF (as mothers, we do this)a kit from Becky Higgins called 'project 365'. in a nutshell, it will journal our life in 365 days. i have been coveting my friend Becky's 'project' since last year. last year, it sold out but yeah for me,this year i hopped on the bandwagon in time! i will stick with it. i will stick with it. i WILL STICK WITH IT! so here's to new beginnings....


if you are reading this, chances are, you have our blog address from our card or you're a 'regular'. in that case, you are important to me. (if you found this by accident, stop stalking me. :)) it is my prayer, for you my friends, that this year you may come to know Jesus better. that you will embrace every moment you have here on this earth. in an instant, your life can change.
thank you for checking in with us. may God bless you in rich ways this year....

indoor grillin and good times.....

we love our house full of noise. we especially Love it when our house is full of noise, children, friends and family. then throw in a dash of food. it's all good.

out of order!

i never claimed to be a great blogger. especially in the way of ORDER! here i was, being all 'organized like'. typing up all my entries, then i was going to put them in order of the way they happened. well, didn't happen. now that i've posted i can't figure out how to reorganize. so,please start about 5 posts down and read up!
you can never say life with me is ordinary. stick with me kid,i'll figure out how to mix you up! it's my gift to you.

i build...

i built this. ok, so my trusty helper helped. oh, the fun that i have building Lego! having 2 brothers and now 3 boys, i have learned to master the instruction booklets. yes, MASTER them. in fact, last week, i was caught creating one while all my children were downstairs watching t.v.! yuppers, i love Lego. (for my birthday, can someone get me my very own pink set??? they actually make them ya know!)

sun shine in.....

although our weather here in the past few weeks has been bitterly cold, it's been SUNNY! from the west side of our house, we have the most beautiful sunsets. this day was no different. the light was stunning. i had to take a few shots. please don't mind the fact that in the picture of my kitchen, it looks like an elf threw up. look at the light people, and those cute little boys adorning it.....pretty, huh???

we're lit.....

this is one of my dad and rye's FAVORITE jobs of the season. OR NOT! thankfully, this year it wasn't raining. bit butt cold, yes. as you can see, many hands make the job more fun. even our cat, joe felt like she needed to get in on the festivities. (check her out up on the ladder,supervising). thanks dad and lik...the lights look awesome!!

helpers????

the time for decorating has begun. this year, my little elves were eli, zach and my baby jack. oh, bless these little ones.
"can we help??"
"sure, just make sure that there are no red ones next to any other red ones. NO circles next to any other circles. please, mix the sizes and shapes! NO stars next to other stars. snowflakes must be strategic placed by size. we CANNOT have any like words together. and please, PLEASE DO NOT clump the silver ones together. we must have unity PEOPLE! this tree is NOT for children, it is for mothers to enjoy! THOU SHALT NOT CLUMP!! LET'S SAY IT TOGETHER. LET US NOT BUNCH THE ORNAMENTS!! DO WE ALL UNDERSTAND ENGLISH?? if you can abide by MY rules, yes, YES, i would LOVE for you to help me decorate the tree!" (smile traci, SMILE!)

you should have seen them scatter in all directions. like mice with a cat looking to eat them for dinner!!! "RUN...let's get out while we can!!! PLEASE don't MAKE us 'help'!!!"
ok, seriously, in my mind, that whole conversation took place. in reality, it did not. (well, kind of). it took every ounce of my being to let them just hang. i have to say, they took my 'coaxing' very well. however, it didn't take them long before the box of extra decorations became much more entertaining than this silly old tree.
thankfully for me, they really didn't seem to mind much that i reorganized 'their work' as quickly as they could turn their backs. like i said, God bless them. sweet little things. :)
"hey, look guys, papa and daddy (uncle lik) are hanging the outside lights!! i KNOW they would L-O-V-E for you to come HELP them!!"......