and the winner is...

My friend Bridget is the winner of Christmas book giveaway!  Here is what Bridget suggested...

My suggestion would be The Tale of Three Trees. I think it's a folktale, so I'm not sure who the author is. I would check but it's Nora's room and she's asleep. It's not your traditional Christmas book but it has a great message, that includes Christmas. You'll get it when you read it! :) I love a good giveaway!

Bridget, just get back to me with which book you would like from my post and I will get it to you as soon as possible.

Thanks to everyone who commented with book suggestions.  We have actually already checked some of them out from the library and are really enjoying them.  That being said, I will suggest one more...

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski  

a couple of you made this suggestion so I had Peter look for it when he took the girls to the library this past Saturday (sadly, I stayed behind to catch up on housework.)  He found it and we read it that same night.  I had tears streaming down my face at the end - such a sweet story that I would highly recommend.

10 days until Christmas...

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Christmas Reading...

I haven't done a book post in a while and there seem to be so many titles in my head right now that I want to share.  This post will be Christmas/Holiday themed as there is such a short period of time to read these books in before they go back on the shelf (or not) for another year.  We have also been enjoying some new ones from the library but we have to read them quick since holiday books are only on loan for one week at a time.  Here goes...in no particular order.

Oh, I should also mention that these are children's Christmas/Holiday books, just in case you were wondering if I ever read anything at my own level.  I do...occasionally.

You may remember this giveaway I did a couple of years back.  I gave away this book and we still consider it one of our favorites.  The Christmas story with big fold-out pages and the scripture to go along with the story.

My Giant Fold-out Book Christmas by Tracy Harrast, illustrated by Paula Doherty

I purchased this at Walmart this year.  I was just browsing through their Christmas section and came across this book.  There is a little devotion to read each day along with a verse and an occasional activity to go along with the reading.  We have been reading them at dinner time and even though we are already behind (UGH!) the girls seem to be enjoying it and interacting with the discussion and activities.

Countdown to Christmas (My First Read and Learn) by Dr. Mary Manz Simon, illustrated by Siobhan Harrison

We have this book on loan from the lirbrary this week.  Man is it hard to find good Christmas books at the library.  I bet I spent 20 minutes looking through their section of Christmas books, only to come home with three that I felt had the true message of Christmas portrayed in them.  I almost put it back on the shelf but boy am I glad I didn't.  This is by far the girls favorite book right now.  The book contains illustrations to go along with the song, 'The Little Drummer Boy' - the girls love that I sing it to them instead of read it.  Olivia asks me to read/sing this book to her at least three times a day right now and I often find he singing "rum-pum-pum."  I love the story of it too and the girls and I have been able to talk about giving our best for Jesus - we don't have to have extravagant gifts, just a genuine heart to give Him all we have.  The illustrations are beautiful as well.

The Little Drummer Boy by Henry Onorati, et al., illustrated by Kristina Rodanas  

This is also from the library.  I got it more for Olivia since it is more basic but now that the girls are sharing a room we do most of our reading together and Abbie really likes this too.  It is a bright, cheery book that takes you through the whole alphabet and each letter has something to do with winter but in a way that reminds us of God.

S is for Snowman by Kathy-jo Wargin, illustrated by Richard Johnson

Ok, I must first admit that I haven't read all the way through this but I have really liked paging through it and am pleased with what I have read so far.  Each page focuses on a character from the Christmas story - Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zechariah, a Neighbor, The Innkeeper, Shepherd, Gaspar, Herod, Melchior, Simeon, Anna, Balthasar, and us.  It takes you through each person's journey as they witnessed the Messiah's birth.  There is also a CD that accompanies the book and I am hoping to listen to each one (maybe one each night) with the girls once Christmas gets a little closer.  This one is also from the library but I may consider adding it to our own library.

Voices of Christmas by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Eric Velasquez

This is a more simple book that I checked out more for Olivia and I wasn't sure of it in the beginning but I was pleasantly surprised in the end.  It is more about nature and animals but still talks about the true gift of Christmas.  I think the illustrations are really sweet in this book too.

Silent Night by Juliet Groom, illustrated by Tim Warnes

Another library book that I may add to our own collection.  This is a beautiful little book about how all of creation rejoiced in the coming of Jesus.  Again...great illustrations!  (Can you tell that is important to me?)  (On a side note, this book is by the same author of our very favorite children's bible - The Jesus Storybook Bible.)

Song of the Stars by Sally Loyd-Jones, illustrated by Alison Jay

This next book was another book I found at Walmart (who knew?)  It was recommended to me by my friend Missy and I just love it.  I say "I" because the girls are actually getting as a gift and haven't read it yet.  They will probably get it early so that we can read it several times but I love that it discusses "Santa" in a way that doesn't ruin it for kids (yes we do the Santa thing at our house - quite limited though.)  But most importantly it talks about Jesus being the most important reason we celebrate Christmas.

God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren, illustrated by David Hohn

This is the other book the girls don't know about yet.  I bought this through a fundraiser through their daycare center earlier this fall.  It focuses on the "silent" night and what noises might have been heard on the journey to Bethlehem and the miracle of Jesus' birth.  More beautiful illustrations...

Listen to the Silent Night by Dandi Daley Mackall, illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher

If you get a chance to read any of these I would highly recommend them.  What about you?  Do you have any favorites not included in this list?

Now a surprise for those that made it all the way to the end of this post (whew - don't you love surprise surprises?)  I will be GIVING AWAY one of these books (of your choice) if you leave a comment about a Christmas book that you really enjoy, and would recommend, that isn't already listed in my post (it doesn't have to be a children's book even though all of mine were.)  So to enter the giveaway, leave a comment that states your recommendation, why you recommend it, and what book off of my list you would like me to send you your own copy of if you were to be the winner of the giveaway.  Make sense?  You have one week until I will do a random drawing for a winner.  (Drawing will be next Thursday evening, December 15th.)


Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!

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9 days...

The girls and I just returned last night from 9 days away, visiting family in Ames and Clear Lake.  It was wonderful to be with family but too long to be away from Peter.  Thankfully, his family took off right after we left to come here and have Thanksgiving with him since he had to work all of last week.  We do this every year since, I typically have most of the week off, and typically, he works the whole week.  Maybe someday we will spend Thanksgiving together but for now we both agree that it is a great opportunity to let the girls get some extended time with grandparents.

I wasn't great at taking pictures during the week but got a few here and there.  Here is a random smattering of photos from our week.

On Sunday (Nov. 20th) we went to my cousin's house in Bondurant (only a 20 minute drive from Ames) to celebrate their daughter, Lexi's, 1st birthday.  Yes, she liked her cake, and the frosting even stained her skin.  Could she be any cuter?

Monday night we all decided to hit up the dollar theater in Ames to see The Lion King in 3D.  This was the first movie theater experience for the girls and I decided the dollar theater was the best option since I wasn't quite sure how it would go.  There was hardly anyone in the theater and the girls did great.  Olivia kept her glasses on for at least half of the movie and Abbie did great until the scary part at the end of the movie.  Overall I would say it was a positive experience and it was fun to see a movie in 3D.  The last 3D movie I saw before this was a Michael Jackson video at Disney World when I was in 3rd grade.  Hmmmm.

Olivia sharing popcorn with Grandma Peggy.

Tuesday we headed to Clear Lake, Wednesday my Mom and I went to Minneapolis to go shopping for the day (a BIG thanks to my dad for watching the girls), and Thursday was Thanksgiving.  We had my grandma and my brother and his family over for brunch in the morning and it is getting more and more crazy as the kids get older but it is SO fun to watch them play with each other.

Olivia with my nephew Samuel.  They actually play really well with each other and both of them egg Abbie on a bit.  They are only a month a part in age so they make a good team.

My grandma Rosemary with my niece Eliza.  We all missed my grandpa Chan on Thanksgiving day but took a little time to remember him before we ate brunch together.

My cranberry upside-down cake I made for Thanksgiving dinner that evening.  I got the recipe out of a Hy-Vee mailing and it was SUPER good.  I will definitely make it again.

Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Cranberry Upside-down Cake, and Chocolate Covered Caramel Apples.

My Grandma Charlie and Grandpa Don with my girls and some of the other great grandchildren (5 of the 9).  (L to R:  Sophie, Gma Charlie, Rowan, Abbie, Olivia, Gpa Don, and Quinn.)

My niece Eliza - isn't she a beauty?

Saturday night (maybe Friday night - I can't remember) we all got in the van after the girls had their baths and got their jammies on and we headed over to Mason City to a house that was decked with Christmas lights that were programmed to music on a radio station.  It was really cool and a fun way to kick off the season.

and on the way to the light show we ran into this...I COULD NOT believe it.  I am definitely THANKFUL for gas being below $3.00 a gallon!!! (at least up North, still above $3 in Iowa City area.)

This doesn't do it justice at all but you get the idea.  The house was small but the show was big!

We had a great time visiting family - family that we are very thankful for!  What a blessing it is to have them live only a couple of hours away.  Sometimes I wish we lived closer to them (ok, a lot) but it could be a lot further too and so I am thankful that we can hop in the car and get there so easily.  I am also so thankful for Peter, who had to stay home and work, but who works hard to provide for our family.  We have so much to be thankful for this holiday season.  And to those that read this and care so well for our family, I am thankful for you too!

Hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving!

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TV, Pinterest, Projects, Planking and Thanking

(Today's post is brought to you by the letters P and T.)

I would normally be at work today but am home with Abbie who is fighting a cold and high fever - pretty sure it is the same thing Olivia had last week.  Boo!  Just want my babies to feel better.

Some of the topics on the docket today aren't really worthy of their own post so I just decided to combine a bunch or random things together.  With the infrequency of my posts this is probably a better idea anyway.  So in no particular order...

We made a big move and took the TV out of our living room.  We only have one television and only basic cable but I'm not gonna lie - it was really nice to be able to use cartoons and videos to occupy the girls from time to time...ok, maybe more than that.  But Peter and I both agreed that they were probably watching too much.  Plus we came across a couple of problems - Abbie's behavior was starting to get out of control when it came time to shut the TV off and Olivia (the one actually needing the occasional distraction) really doesn't care about TV at all.  I realize the second thing isn't a problem, but there is no point in using the TV for distraction if the one that needs to be occupied isn't watching it anyway.  So, we moved it upstairs to our bedroom.  So far it has been fine, and the girls actually did much better during the day with it turned off.  It is now strictly used as a privilege for them and if they have been obedient, and kind to each other during the day, then they can watch one video after their nap in the afternoon.  I know that many of you have varying thoughts on TV use and I would love to hear your feedback.

Moving now to another form of electronic media - the internet.  I try to be careful how much I am "online" during the day.  Some days are better than others.  The time I have with the girls is precious (especially because I work outside of the home 3 days of the week) so I don't want to take up time that could be spent with them, on the computer.  I must admit that much of my time online lately is on...

 If you don't have time for anything else in your life right now, don't go checking it out.  I resisted for a long time but finally gave in.  It is an online "pin" board - a place to keep all your cool finds and ideas in one place and to glean inspiration from other people too.  I love it - I have found so many great recipes, DIY projects, home deco ideas, activities to do with the girls, and a bunch of random goodness.  You can check out my "pins" here.

Speaking of pinterest, I found a neat idea to do with the girls in preparation for Thanksgiving.  I printed out a "Thanks" and a "Giving" tree for each of the girls and every day at dinner time we talk about something they are thankful for and then write it down on a leaf to put on the "Thanks" tree.  Then we talk about something that they did for someone else and put it on the "Giving" tree.  It is fairly easy for us to come up with things we are thankful for but it has been a little more challenging to come up with things that we have done or could be doing for someone else.  A good challenge for ALL four of us!  We only started this last night but I really like it and it will be neat to look back on each year.  (Found this idea on Pinterest but it's original source is here.)

Here were the first things that went up on their "Thanks" trees.  I'll let you guess who said what =).

Another little Thanksgiving project I did yesterday was this:

I got the idea of painting on burlap off of Pinterest but the banner itself was my own idea.  So I guess it was maybe 80% original?!?  I am really happy with how it turned out plus it was SUPER cheap and maybe took a couple of hours start to finish, including drying time and hanging.  Here is another view:

Oh, and if you look close you might notice another little big project I am working on.  (Hint:  look on the wall to the left of the mirror.)  See it yet?  Here is a different view:

I made a stencil and have been tracing and painting (and tracing and painting, etc, etc.) in order to give the look of wallpaper.  I am using a champagne colored metallic paint and so far am happy with how it is turning out.  It just takes a LONG time since I have to trace it all first and then hand paint.  I told Peter that I would be happy if I finished by January.  I'll post again when it's finished.

And lastly, on a totally unrelated note compared to the rest of this post...

Have you ever used planks in your exercise routine to strengthen your core?  (I am not referring to the kind suspended in the air, like Abbie below...pretty sure that if I tried to do that the end result would not be pretty...for either person involved.)

  I am thinking more like this...

It's harder than it looks...which is why I always give up so easily when trying.  Peter and I used to try to see who could hold a certain plank position the longest, or try to hold it during an entire commercial break.  UGH!  This must also be the reason I have never been a fan of yoga.  BUT...I am willing to give another go of it and incorporate some of this into my workouts.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.  Anyone else do these and like them?  

And for anyone who is a fan of "The Office,"  I couldn't help but include this little clip about "planking" from this season's premier.

Happy Friday!  Have a good weekend!pinterest.com

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Family Pictures...

Our good friend Missy took some family pictures for us last weekend and I couldn't be more happy with the shots she got.  She is so laid back (hence the name of her blog, 'The Laid Back Lens')  It was great to hang out with her for the morning and have her capture so many candid moments for our family.  I am not so much into "posed" photography so I love how Missy just caught us being "us."  I tried to pick a few favorites but have had a hard time narrowing it down.  I will number them so if you have any favorites I would love to know.  We will probably be hanging a few of these up in the house so the more help we have deciding the better.

1.  Olivia was helping Peter get ready for the photo shoot.

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12.  (this is one of my FAVORITES!)

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14.  (I just love this one of Abbie - so natural.)

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18.  (I know the last 3 are pretty similar but I just love the light on her hair in these.)

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22.  (Abbie found this caterpillar and she named him Sam.  He hung around with us for about a half hour and then we freed him on the beach...and this way he wasn't in EVERY picture.)

23.

24.  (I can't believe how tall they look.)

25.  (Another favorite.)

26.  (I love how Missy captured so much of the girls' curiosity.)

27.  (At this point we changed into play clothes and threw around some discs since we were on the disc golf course.  And we couldn't have Chidister family pictures without something disc golfish in them.)

28.

29.  (Peter thought if the girls could get in the basket then he could too - not so successful.)

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31.  (We had to get Missy in on the fun too - we all look a little ridiculous but it was so great to have a friend taking our pictures.)

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40.  (We had to throw a few at Missy too.  The girls even dumped a bunch right over her head and she didn't care.  At first glance I couldn't even tell Olivia was in this picture.)

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44.  (this is what the Chidister fam does for fun.)

45.

46.  (sister love!)

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So I realize that this was a crazy number of pictures to look through but now maybe you can see why it is SO hard for me to choose just a few.  Tell me your favorites - I would love to know! 

And a HUGE thank you to Missy Isbell for taking these pictures for us.  I truly think they would not have gone so well had it been a photographer that we didn't know and love.

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