happy birthday Jesus!

happy-day-after-Christmas.
this morning, we decided to forgo the 'normal' church service and have our own service here in our home.
we had an amazing time of worship.
pastor grant, from CTK Bellingham has been ministering to us thru his 'another way home' sermon series. please, check it out by going to http://www.ctkbellingham.com/
you WILL be blessed.
we were!

one of my favorite songs this season has been the song by Audrey Aaad called Winter Snow.


you could’ve come like a mighty storm
with all the strength of a hurricane
you could’ve come like a Forest fire
with the power of heaven in your flame
but you came like a winter snow
quiet and soft and slow
falling from the sky in the night
to the earth below

could’ve swept in like a tidal wave 
or an ocean to ravish our heartsyou could have come through like a roaring flood
to wipe away the things we’ve scarredbut you came like a winter snow
quiet and soft and slowfalling from the sky in the night 
to the earth below

no, your voice wasn’t in a bush burning
no, your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind
it was still, it was small, it was hidden

i have known this message my whole life but just now, this season, it hit me.
he could've come ANY WAY He wanted.
we may have heard him better.
then again, sadly,some may choose to never 'hear', regardless of how he speaks.
i'm incredibly thankful that he choose THIS way to be born.
it shows me how human He was.
what an amazing God to be THIS creative in choosing a way for HIS son to be born.
so in this season, take a minute to remember what an phenomenal GIFT we were given 2000 years ago!

7001

7001 days, 16 hours, 15 minutes and 30 seconds.....

that's how long i have been blessed with this wonderful man.

Happy Anniversary babe. i am honored that you choose me.

i'll love you forever.

3,285

3,285 days we welcome son number three into our lives.

3,285 days ago, this world became a better place because Jackson came into it.

i am continually amazed at how amazing this boy is.

let me tell you about him.

~he crazy about Lego.

~he is stubborn.

~he is loud.

~he is kind.

~he is loyal.

~he is funny.

~he has the highest pain tolerance of anyone i know.

~he loves the Seahawks & anything football.

~he acts likes he hates being the baby, he doesn't.

~he is a wonderful addition to our family. we would not be complete without him.

~we love you so much baby boy.

happy birthday son.

these are a few of my favorite things......

it being Christmas and all...thought i'd show you a few of my favorite things....and people.

onward we go.

in late august, my dear hub was in EARLY morning traffic, in Seattle, minding his own business when disaster struck. THANKFULLY, no one was hurt. well aside from the pride of the girl who hit him from behind.

bummer for her, she was fell asleep at the wheel, her boss in the passenger seat. 

now that's a crappy way to start a morning. 

luckily for us, she was insured.

unlucky for us, she's insured with the government. 

need i say more??

lik has FINALLY received the check in the mail to have it fixed!! 

happy new year to him! 

 our first snowfall!!!

which means that EVERY. SINGLE. piece of winter apparel MUST come out.

this is what my laundry room floor will look like until the spring flowers start blooming.

 this is Megan.

she's my nail girl.

and i adore her.

one hour, every other week, a LOT of ground can be covered. we know A LOT about each others life. (good & bad).

she's kind of like my therapist, only cheaper. since i can't afford a 'real' therapist, she's a great fill in.

i just love her.

 the Christmas lists begin. you must read this close. super cute.

 don't ask. i have NO idea what he is doing. at least he gave me a sweet smile.

 after this picture was taken, he gave me a desperate plea to help him out.

 this was taken at the tree farm where we cut down our tree. (i don't know why i don't have ONE single picture of our own family.) this picture makes me smile.

 i love the light above their heads.

it's Christmas. perhaps it could it be the star to Bethlehem???? (that was lame)

.

 using the Sunday paper ads to start their Christmas lists.

after all, "if mom & dad actually have a picture of what i want, SURELY i'll get it."

sorry children. i don't care how many pictures of i-pads, i-touches, or pictures of sandy beaches you paste to a white piece of paper, it isn't happening.



 trimming the tree.

they're usually good to help for about the first 15 ornaments then they get tired of me moving them and head out to do something else. (please tell me i'm not the only mother that struggles with this??)

this year, i went to Rite-Aid, bought a artificial tree, with COLORED lights (i'm sentimentally attracted to colored lights), and let them go to town decorating it any way they please.

i have to say, they did a great job.

plus, it's upstairs so i'm not tempted on a daily basis to rearrange.

 Sam claims that EVERY year Jackson gets to put on the star. it's true. when you're the baby, you usually get to do EVERYTHING!  (according to my oldest two).

this year we let him do it. since before we know it, he'll be off to college.

sadness. 

plus, next year he'll be too big for lik to hoist him up.

more sadness.

.

 again,sorry son but there is only ONE thing on there that your parents can afford.

it's under the tree.

it's not a gun, remote control car, a paper jam, an i-touch or a mp3 player.

shhhhhh.

don't tell him.

 jacks list made me laugh. notice the side note stating that we can get him ANYTHING.

that's mighty nice of you, son.

oh, and he's using his good manners. (take note of the 'thank you')

so...maybe, just maybe i'll get him ONE thing on his list.

good boy.

our first trip to the orthodontist.

ugh.

don't even get me started on how well Dr. Yeh and our checkbook will be getting along at the end of this! 

                                                          still, so thankful that my hub has a job.                                                             

   max AND jack will be needing work done. 

 they think this place is awesome.

video games,drinks in the lobby, i-pods, Sonicare toothbrushes,etc....

and "good news mom, it's ALL FREE!"

OK. whatever.

 we have just discovered 'Five Guys Burgers'.

oh. my. word.

be still my heart.

no really, i keep eating them and my heart will be still.

 found this sign at Grandiflora a few weeks back.

it will be mine.

 i was at Best Buy the other night and i ran across THIS!!

a Judas Priest RECORD!!!

i was never a fan of this group but still, a RECORD????

for a min., i was back in 1982.

 i had to make some sort of treat for a cookie exchange last week and i choose Corn Flakes wreaths.

i don't hardly ever see them anymore but when i was a kid, these were the BOMB!

my mouth still waters when i think about them. 

Jackson was kind enough to help me with them.

i now understand why people don't make these on a daily basis.

messy-smessy.

they are a TON of work but worth EVERY min!

making them with my boy was an added bonus!

i know i have talked before about my BFF, Kathy http://www.wubbenworld.blogspot.com/.

this past week, she showed up at my doorstep with THIS beauty!!

i cried.

it is incredibly beautiful and equally precious to me because i know she picked it out with love.

love her.

 i'm not bragging but my son's (J) basketball kicked some serious boooty last week on the court.

ok, i'm braggin.

they're good.

 thought i'd do away with the normal pictures and come up with something a tad bit crafty.

my kids didn't understand why i would want to frame a bunch of Christmas paper.

i don't really understand it either but hey, it works.

front door wreath.

from boring white to......

this.

one of my FAVORITE Christmas possessions.

 what to do with all those extra Christmas balls that never made it to the tree.

put um in a bowl.

ta-da.

 instant centerpiece.

vintage Santa's and my new FAVORITE book!

the farm chicks!!!

 and the stockings were hung but the staircase with care. and yes, sister, there's a stocking there for our cat.

shut up.

wax figures from my childhood. i used to have a set but most of them have either melted into a blob up in the attic or were nibbled away by me when i was a youngen.

that's a whole blog post in and of itself.

my siblings get it. :)

 i tried to do something different this year and do away with all the red.

i couldn't do it.

it's in my blood.

ha. ha. get it?? 

 in my blood.

blood is red.

(it was really funny in my head.)

 since i didn't have 2 cakes and a chunk of cheese sitting around, i figured I'd put these beauties to another use.

i like it.

 jack's teacher, miss Bierlink got married over the weekend. to celebrate her new life, myself and a few other mom's (lis, shannon, roseann) threw together a bridal shower for her. all the kids brought in a few bucks, lis and i went and spent it putting together a lovely kitchen gift basket for her. she loved it.

she is amazing! she was kind enough to invite ALL the students to her wedding.

even the boys were excited!! 

 finally, Christmas break!



 i just had to add this one of Sam.

he's such a goof ball.

one day while hanging out at rye's office, he dug up these glasses and this hat.

honestly, he's SO his dad.

home

i like my kids.
i like having them around.
they make me laugh.
sometimes i threaten to set them out on the curb.
Christmas break is here which means...more blogging time for mom. (how does that work??? i'm more productive when they're home?  again, how does that work? whatever.)
we have NOTHING on our agenda.
oh wait, we do. it's the holidays. who doesn't have SOMETHING on their 'to do' list?
seeing Narnia.
celebrating our baby's birthday. (9 years old!)
celebrating our anniversary. (14 years!)
celebrating the birth of Jesus!!
yup, it's going to be a full, FUN Christmas break. i'm a self-admitted 'homebody' and i'm not afraid to admit it. it's where i feel the most comfortable. being home makes me happy. being home with my kids makes me super happy.
here's to slowing down and enjoying those you love.
i'll be blogging more.....ya, you've never heard THAT before.

a quick note to my regulars....

'some people' check my blog only once every 365 days.
once. a. year.
gasp.
when our Christmas card comes to their door (which,btw, Will be SOON), they see our blog address & dutifully, check my blog , HOPING that SOMETHING new has happened over the year in our lives.
not much has.
unfortunately for you, my FAITHFUL readers, you're going to have to suffer through some redundant facts about the Likkels.
bear with me folks, this 'all put together' bit WILL pass.
it always does.

blogging sometimes stinks

today i decided that i am OVER the blogging guilt.
you won't hear me apologize for not doing it.
life is too short.
i have decided that the guilt alone keeps me from blogging.


speaking of guilt.....or lack of.....
i'm eating Doritos right now. actually i'm just starting in on my 5th handful.
i ate 3 cookies at 11:45 pm last night.
i had another one at midnight.
i haven't shaved my legs in 4 days.
i don't really like eating turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing.  gasp.
yesterday i took a tiny little piece on my plate just so i wouldn't have to admit i didn't actually eat turkey on Thanksgiving!
i don't know why i feel guilt that i prefer Ham over Turkey. how dumb is that??
oh, and i haven't been on the treadmill in a few weeks.
 i don't really feel the need to hop on tonight.

now that i have ALL THAT off my shoulders i can go on eating my Doritos guilt-free.

it's also been over a week since i added something to my 'thankful' list. please know, i am thankful. yesterday was a wonderful day of fellowship with the likkels (and a few others!).  unexpected snowfall made for hours of fun for the kids. oh, and the big boys too.
we laughed much.
we are all healthy.
we were well fed.
we were thankful .
our cup runneth over.
it was a good day, remembering how GOOD & FAITHFUL God has been to our family this year.

the boys always love to have a part in the decorating for the festivities. of course, their mother didn't think about all the name place cards until late on Wednesday night. ugh. what could we pull together that would make it look like we gave it MUCH thought?
let's see.....
hhhmmmm....
PINECONES!!!!
in spite of the snow, we dug around, in the frigid weather and came up with 36 of um. i won't even mention all the little spiders and bugs that came in with them. oh wait, i just mentioned it. whatever.
jack wrote out all the names on card stock.
i (and beppe) tied them on with colorful ribbon.
wouldn't you know it, they turned out really cute.
problem averted.

max and jack also decided that the tables needed 'thankful verses'. so we Googled 'thankful' passages and wrote a few out for each table. great idea boys!!

sam contributed a 'i'm thankful for' list.....
my family
my fish
my coat
my room
my house
my alarm clock
my toliet (can't argue with THAT?)
my air soft guns
my DS
my ipod
my pellet gun
my friends
my teachers
my legos
my school
the snow
my bible
music
my snowpants
my gloves
my bed
and most of all, i am thankful for Jesus Christ and God and that He sent his only son to die for us and that Jesus went to heaven and took our sins with.

be patient

hold your horses.....i'm just waiting for a snowy day to hunker down and blog. :)
i'll be back.

really, i'm thankful.

i'd be a horrible leader. in any sense of the term.
here i challenged YOU, my faithful blog readers to a challenge and i skipped out.
let me just make THIS very clear, i'm thankful.
i've been thankful for something EVERY day since i posted on the third. i've just been too lazy to write about it.
let me recap. (minus the pictures)

the 4th. thursday.
thankful for an unexpected coffee date. i 'quick' ran into kathy's, my bff, to answer a question. about 2 hours & a big-ol-mug of java later, home. love u kathy sue. thank you for a wonderful break from my everyday 'norm'.

the 5th. friday.
today i was thankful for pizza lunch. although i'm 'in charge' (kath http://www.wubbenworld.blogspot.com/ & amy http://www.vandalenclan.blogspot.com/ are EQUALLY partnered with me!!), i still LOVE a day that i don't have to make lunches!!

the 6th. saturday.
a PERFECT stay-in-all-day-have-nothing-planned-day. i'm so thankful for a hub that lets me sleep in, makes breakfast to keep the whipper snappers quiet, THEN makes me coffee! ahhhh. yup, i'm thankful.

the 7th. sunday.
i am SO incredibly thankful to belong to a small group at church that helps to direct parents in the right direction. i wish i could sum up all the amazing things i learned in this class this morning but don't know where to begin. in a nutshell, we are learning how to teach our children (and ourselves) to center their/our  lives around scripture. we are learning MUCH.

the 8th. monday.
i'm thankful for the opportunity to spent most of the day shopping with a 'new' friend. we are kindred spirits in the shopping/decorating world. thanks to miss A for a GREAT day out!! check out her crafty little blog over at http://www.vintagedutchgirl.blogspot.com/ . she's inspires me!

the 9th. tuesday.
thankful that i have a home in which to wash toilets. a weird thing to be thankful for, but it's true. if i didn't have a home, i wouldn't have toilets to clean.
as the day wore on, i started feeling crappy. went to bed at 8. spent the next 10 1/2 hours sleeping. awww. thankful again for a hub that can handle things on the home front while this mama is down.

the 10th. today.
today i am thankful that i am feeling a little better. missed small group this morning. sadness. pulled myself together to make it to my meeting at school. had a good afternoon with fellow 6th grade mom's watching our kiddos practice for their upcoming musical. come check it out on Thursday afternoon or Friday night. (next week). it'll be worth your time!

there you have it.
i'm current.
yeah for my fellow bloggers who are also doing the Thankful Challenge. a shout out to Emily http://www.2boys2girls2ofakind.blogspot.com/  and Emily http://www.ghettobarbiegab.blogspot.com/
way to go girls!!!

working to be a 'YES' mom!!

i stumbled on this story from someone's blog and it made me think....am i a 'yes' mom?
 most days, not so much.  that is one thing that i struggle with. i really WANT to be a mom that let's her kids, well, be kids. MOST of the time, my reasons for saying NO are purely selfish.
i'm working on this.
i would LOVE to hear your stories.
do you consider yourself a 'yes' mom?
if not, why?
give me your stories!!



Last week my boys ran inside and said, "Mom, mom...it's so hot outside! Can we see if it's hot enough to cook an egg on the sidewalk?"

The practical side of me started to say no, but then I caught myself. What would it hurt for them to try it? Why couldn't I say yes? Is it "wasting" an egg, or simply using it for a different, but just as valuable, purpose?

After that quick argument in my head, I finally said, "Sure. If you want to try it, go ahead! Just make sure you wash off the sidewalk when you're done." They got an egg from the refrigerator and ran out of the house to try their science experiment.

Over 24 years of mothering, I've finally learned how to be a "yes" mom more than a "no" mom. It wasn't an easy transition...but it was an important one. For years my interactions with my kids looked more like this:

"No, you can't fingerpaint." (It will make too much of a mess.)



"No, you can't bake cookies today." (I just mopped the kitchen floor!)



"No, you can't have a friend over today." (I don't want to go anywhere today and I'd have to go get them.)



"No, you can't play in the sprinklers." (I'm not in the mood for wet swimsuits, towels, and grass tracked in the house.)



"No, you can't go out and play in the snow." (I don't want to deal with the snowsuits, boots, gloves, scarves, and hassle of it all.)


Over time, however, I started paying attention to the "no's" and my reasoning behind them. It usually had something to do with my selfish reasons. I didn't want to deal with a mess. I didn't want to be inconvenienced. I didn't want to have more work to do.

That's not fun to admit, but it was true. My selfishness was robbing my kids of some of the joy of just being kids!

I remember one afternoon many years ago when a couple of the kids asked, "Can we blow bubbles in the house? I initially said no because bubbles have always been an outside activity. But then I thought about my answer. Why couldn't they blow bubbles in the house? We even have the bubble cups that don't spill! Why do I always say no so quickly? Finally, I called my kids back into the kitchen and said, "Yes, you can blow bubbles in the house. Have a blast."

And they did.

And I started being more of a "yes" mom, than a "no" mom that day.

Now I'm not talking here about permissive parenting. I'm not talking about the times that we need to say no because our kids really do need us to set boundaries. I'm talking about the times that I say no out of selfishness, or default, or habit.

please, SHARE YOUR STORIES!!!

thankful~day 3

are you doing it? come on, are you WITH me? did you even read about my 'challenge'? if not...read it people.
you need to be in the know.
if you aren't the next 27 days on my blog page will mean nothing to you. if you are in the 'know'...
here you go...my day three.

today i am thankful for my 'wednesday morning girls'.
every week, we get together to study God's word, chat much and share our lives with each other.
some weeks we chit chat about nothing. some weeks we do a lot of sharing. some weeks we do a little crying.
every week, i feel that God is honored, i hope He is, by the way we are seeking to KNOW him better.
i love these girls because i know that each and every one of them would have my back, no matter what.
i know that i can count on them to be prayer warriors for me.
i am humbled that i call each and every one of them friends.
some wednesday mornings, Satan works overtime to keep me from going. 'i'm too tired. i have shopping to do. i need to clean my house, blah, blah, blah'. but each week, i leave there feeling blessed!
truly filled up.
in fact, my cup runs over.
so today, i am SO grateful for my girls. my sweet, wonderful girls.

sorry, i totally cut off a few peoples heads. (sorry, kath and shona!) oh well, it was an old picture anyways. plus, we have some new members. i'll work on getting a new, uncropped one.

our busy week....

 grandma likkel just bought an Erector set for the boys at a garage sale. i LOVED what my baby came up with. a true masterpiece!

 ~J and M~

maxwell's science project. we could have used ANYTHING to build a 'cell' but my dear boy choose cake. if you know max, this doesn't surprise you. :) great job buddy....i think it's a SURE A+!

while i don't particularly ADORE our cat, i have to say, whenever she kills (and disassembles) mice, i always give her an extra pat on the head. one time i even went and got her a fresh piece of ham out of the fridge. just so she knows that dead mice are ALWAYS better than alive ones. (notice the head on the right hand side?) good job, Joe. you've done well.  now go do some more killing instead of sleeping your life away!

my hub LOVES a clean, shiny vehicle!

 carving the gourds.

 really now, could they BE any cuter? i think not.

 heading out to begin the 'teeth rooting process'.

 my buddy, alex dale.

 hailey sue, i love you.

 the gang heading out. we spent the first part of Saturday night in my friend, kathy's subdivision. since they live in town, my kids always hit the 'motherload' of candy.

 sambo and his buddy, cameron insisted on breaking away from the crowd. (i let him) could it be that my baby doesn't actually NEED me to supervise him ALL. THE. TIME?? awww. say it isn't so.

 TEAM LIKKEL

we were invited, for the second half of our night out to attend another party at the Turners. it was a wonderful time of getting to hang out with old friends and even make a few new ones. the boys had such a GREAT time. oh, we did too!

max is bobbin'.

 J & daddy watching the Seahawks get spanked on Sunday afternoon.

 please get down from the tree.

 no, really, GET DOWN.

 the boys have come up with a new game. they huck (yes, ed, it's a real word!) the football toward the peak of the house and then attempt to catch it.

this is a FULL-contact game. someone usually gets hurt. but hey, they're outside running off steam. better outside, than in.

 election day. interesting picture, huh? didn't even realize what it said when i took the picture. but i have to say, i agree.

i'm 100% Republican and i'm NOT afraid to admit it. :)

 my other limb.

 one of my favorite times of the day. what i'll hear, 15 seconds after  taking this picture is:

"i'm starving!! what's to eat!"

it's the same thing....every. single. day.

 love u babe.

 my mom just found this little gem in her storage. this will mean NOTHING unless you grew up in my home OR spent a lot of time there. when i sent my sis a picture of it this week, she cried. isnt' that funny how just a little thing can bring back such incredible memories!?  thanks mom for letting it grace my counter. sister, i'll share it will you....next year, it can grace yours.

 since jack & sam were playing at the Veenings for the afternoon, maxwell got to go pick apples with my dad and i. we didn't really NEED anymore apples but the dutch in my dad & i could NOT let them just hang there at .33 a pound! really, i'd rather have them rot in my garage than know i let a good deal go. oh, wait, that isn't really a good deal then, is it?

 isn't this precious??!

 yes, this was my hubs doing. he actually ORGANIZED the kid's candy. i'm not really sure what to make of this.

i ended up giving them permission to eat every last piece on Sunday. "what the heck? you'll probably get sick (they didn't!) but go ahead and eat it ALL in one day. be done. be done asking me ALL day if you can have just ONE more LITTLE piece." you would've thought they won the lottery.

all the candy was gone within minutes of my giving permission to do so.

(i should have hid some of those snickers bars cuz now i have NOTHING!)

boo.

 this is my latest wall word. my friend, mel came and helped me put it on canvas since we all know, i'll change my paint color long before i get sick of the saying. you must read the words. it's a sweet, sweet saying! a great eBay find!

 jack and Beppe helping me peel all those CHEAP apples. the ones that they're peeling here are the ones that my mom got for  free this past weekend! (my mom is really dutch too!) you'll all appreciate it when you're eating FRESH applesauce and apple crisp at my house in the middle of January!

a bountiful harvest!