Well, we finally have a covering of snow that is going to stay, I believe! (I've been waiting to put up this neat picture Jess took until it actually looked like winter here!)
Now that it is feeling more like winter (or I should say looking more like winter - it's been feeling like it for a while!) I have been thinking about some winter and Christmas activities we have enjoyed in the past. As Seth and Haddie grow we find that we are implementing some old family traditions, as well as seeking out some fun new ones to use with our little family. : ) I thought I'd share some favorite winter activities and Christmas traditions that come to mind off the top of my head...
*Hockey was a favorite winter past time for Steve's family. Steve played through 9th grade, his dad played and coached, and he even has an uncle who was recently inducted into the High School Athletic Hall of Fame in hockey!
*When I was little, my siblings and I loved it when my dad pulled out his old El Tigre snowmobile and a huge inner tube from one of the tractor tires to give us a ride. (We were also kind of nerds. Another favorite winter pastime was running around our yard pretending that we were on dogsleds. Of course, we had a name for each of the imaginary dogs that pulled our sleds!) ;o)
*As I got older, I enjoyed riding horse bareback in the snowy fields in the winter time. It was too cold to mess with saddles! (These were actual horses, not imaginary ones this time!)
*In our teen years, Steve and I both had lots of fun playing pep band for winter sports - I played the flute and he played just about every other instrument in the band! (I was also on the dance team. Whoa... there's no way I could do the splits anymore! Hehe!)
*A Christmas family tradition on Steve's side was to have a candle light steak dinner on Christmas Eve. Their family worked hard to be frugal all year long, but on that night they celebrated the importance of Christmas with a very special meal.
*My family had a tradition of going to the candle light Christmas Eve service at church, and then taking a long route home to look at all the lights in the near-by towns. Once home, my mom took out her good China - usually for a meal of wild rice soup and bottles of Coke (the glass Christmas edition kind)!
So, those are a few that came to mind. Anyone have any winter activities or Christmas traditions they would like to share? (Especially if you have any that include kids. We're looking for some fun ones Seth and Haddie might enjoy!)
Now I have to jet. I have LOTS of laundry to fold! ;o)
Good Night! (Or Good morning or afternoon!)
~Natalie
We have some exciting news! We are expecting a new member to the family this spring!
Christmas night Jason proposed to my sister Jessica! (Congratulations you two!) We are very happy for them and looking forward to their wedding! It's going to be a fun spring!
Merry Christmas to each of you!! We hope this finds you all healthy and happy. We have had a very sweet Christmas season so far (I always think it goes by too quickly), and tonight we enjoyed the Christmas Eve service at our church. We are thankful for so many things this Christmas... wonderful children, our marriage, great extended families, jobs we both feel called to, friends near and far, a warm home, and so many more, but especially the fact that our God loved this world so much that he sent his only child, his son, so that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. A perfect reason to celebrate, in our opinion!
This is Seth's "Are we done with pictures yet?" look. 
The kids and Steve waiting for me to bring them the Christmas story. (Perhaps some day they will both be able to sit through it. Tonight we had Seth doing somersaults half way through the story and Haddie shouting "No, no, no!" to no one in particular. :0)
I've been tagged! (Below you will find the explanation for this picture!)
Megan sent us her 6th photo from her 6th file... It happened to be Seth on his first birthday!
After supper tonight we (or more accurately, Seth) came up with a creative idea to pass some time indoors. He asked us to pull my salon chair into the dining room. Then he proceeded to have a seat on the foot rest and let out a delighted "wheeeeee!" as he spun himself around.
The chair was a great source of entertainment off and on for about two hours.
Haddie decided that she needed to get in on the fun too! Seth and Haddie both sat on the chair and were giddy about spinning in circles. Seth never did seem phased by the spinning, but after a little while we took Haddie down because she was starting to look a little dizzy (you can see it in her eyes in this picture). ;o) Silly kids!
Well, we finally have a covering of snow that is going to stay, I believe! (I've been waiting to put up this neat picture Jess took until it actually looked like winter here!)
I thought it would be fun to share a couple resources we've been enjoying for the past few months. The first one, which you can find at http://www.starfall.com/ is a great online site full of educational games for children (and it's free to use!). Seth is starting to enjoy learning about letters and their sounds and this is a really neat place to have fun practicing those skills. We've only used the preschool level portions, but it looks like there are learning games for older children too. We love Starfall!
The second item we wanted to share is the "Valley of Vision" CD by Sovereign Grace Music. It can be found at http://www.sovereigngracemusic.org/albums. This CD has been a favorite in our home since Steve brought it home last spring. The music is beautiful, and the words are inspired by Puritan prayers. We think Sovereign Grace Ministries does a fabulous job producing great music combined with lyrics that are doctrinally sound!