So, with two little boys, I spent hours today taking all of their toys out of their packaging. There were twisty ties to untwist, wires to unwind, strings to break, and those little clips to turn so they unlock. Oh, and yes, their were even toys that had screws holding them to the packaging. As I worked on the packages this song ran through my head . . .. .have you heard it? It is by Sara Evans and is called "Toy Packaging" - I've searched for a video or MP3 I could attach but can't find one so this link at least gives you the lyrics!
Sara Groves - Toy Packaging lyrics | LyricsMode.com
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas !
I thought I would share our Christmas Card and Letter today since, for the most part, everyone has recieved them. So, Merry Christmas from Our Family to yours!
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| I couldn't get our actual card to load but this is the main picture :-) |
Christmas 2010
Merry Christmas! Isn’t it great that it is once again time to catch up with all of our family and friends – some we see often and many that we do not! Our year has been filled with excitement, unexpected changes, and lots of laughs!
When I sent out our letter last year, we were awaiting the birth of our second little boy! Nathan Adam Koll arrived on December 22, 2010. He is quickly approaching his first birthday and it is so hard to believe! He was our “stocking stuffer” last year and this year, he just wants to eat the stockings J Nathan is our bundle of e.n.e.r.g.y. He never stops when his eyes are open – he always has to be moving, chewing, grabbing, crawling, climbing . . . . you name it! He is taking all those teetering steps and is just itching to be able to race after his big brother! Nate always has a smile on his face and loves to play with anything his brother doesn’t want him too!!! Joshua turned 2 on October 22. He is our thinker. He can sit and play with his cars or look at books for hours. He is also the one that will line up all of his cars across the living room floor, step back to take a look before moving one or two just slightly so that they are perfectly spaced. He is very neat and likes things to be in their place. He doesn’t enjoy having anything on his hands (like sticky food!) and cleans off the table for me J Josh is also extremely happy and content and loves music, both playing and listening to it.
With the birth of Nate, we made the decision that I would stay home full time and it has been the absolute best decision we could have made. I love being able to be with the boys all day – playing, reading and teaching them each day. Josh and I have “Mommy Time” each day where we work on flashcards, read books, color, sing songs and more. So, I resigned from Independent Bank in January after working there for 7 years. This decision was one of true faith and God has provided – Darryl was able to take on a second job doing something that he has done on and off for 25 years (wow!). What is he doing? He drives a cab in Grand Rapids! It is something he really enjoys because he is technically his own boss and he has met some interesting people along the way. This sacrifice has meant long hours for him – between the two jobs he often put in 80 hours a week, working 6 days a week. He was still working at Clothing Care here in Ionia as a Route Salesman but this has also recently changed. After 8 years, he was laid off on December 2, 2010. We knew that this was more than likely going to happen but we had not expected it quite yet. The good news is that he was able to switch to full time at the cab company for the time being which will help us meet all of our needs. God works that way, doesn’t He?
So, lots of changes for both of us over this past year with jobs! I was able to start babysitting for a friend in November who returned to work after having her first baby. I enjoy watching the little guy and he is well entertained by my boys too!
Our animals are still doing well. China has learned to enjoy the boys as they have gotten older but she still likes her couch potato life. Misty would prefer to not have any children in the house J but she has adjusted well and knows how to keep away. Ironically, her favorite place to sleep is on the floor in Josh’s room which is right where the boys can get her. Don’t really understand that one but, she’s a cat, what do you expect? Strat’s favorite activity is still to sleep. So we let her to do!!! She does enjoy the boys which is a little surprising.
Darryl is still playing guitar in the group Alive! With the two jobs, it has been more stressful this year especially on weekends where concerts often fall on his only day off, Sunday. But, it is still a great pastime for him and keeps him playing. He has also started recording some of his own arrangements which is a hobby he loves even more. I enjoy listening to his creations! I still love to Scrapbook and spend as much time as I can trying to get current with my photos. I also sell Creative Memories on the side but do most of it online so it is slow growing!! Otherwise, I have gotten into writing my own blog and really enjoy it. It gives me an outlet to write and share things. Along with that, I also love to read blogs J It is fun to find ideas, recipes, crafts, and teaching helps out there in blogland. Both Darryl and I have gotten involved in our church Praise Band once again and it feels good to be back plus it gives me a night out every few weeks for practice! I’m also back to playing piano there as well – I wish I had more time to practice but what can you do?
We did accomplish one house project out of necessity. When we moved in, there was a slight crack in the bathtub. Over 7 years, it slowly got bigger until it needed to be replaced. In March we stepped into a small bathroom redo with putting in a new bathtub, painting and redecorating. If I say so myself, it looks very nice J I think (those of you that have read my letters all of these years will laugh at this) my kitchen may actually get its small make-over this next year! Remember? That was the room that was supposed to be done FIRST when we moved in so long ago!!! We are also hoping to be able to get the house painted next summer too (we had planned to do it this year but that pesky crack in the bathtub took its place) so, as always, lots and lots of plans but who knows what the next year will bring.
Along the way, we also enjoyed some fun times throughout the year. In May, we took our first family vacation and rented a small condo in the Upper Peninsula near Marquette. We thought it would be cool in the North . . . but instead, they broke records and it was pushing 100 degrees most of the week. Who would have thought that we would have stepped foot into Lake Superior at the end of May? Well, we did!! It was a very relaxing time with lots of afternoons spent on the beaches playing in the sand. I will confess that making an eight hour drive with two kids under 2 was a little bit of an adventure in itself but we learned quickly that Darryl fit very well in the back seat between two car seats and is a fantastic entertainer J From home, we also enjoyed a trip to Frederick Meijer Gardens – we had no idea they had such a fantastic Children’s area and we look forward to returning often in the years to come. Of course, we visited the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids to see all of the animals (who were sleeping because it was so hot the day we went!) and we found a fantastic Splash Park! On a very hot Sunday (this summer was EXTREMELY hot) we drove to Millennium Park in Grand Rapids planning on getting in the Lake there but instead, we found this (very neat and clean) Splash Park. If you have never been to a Splash Park– it is a big cement pad with all kinds of water “things” (for lack of a better word) that shoot water everywhere – out of the ground, through spray guns, and even buckets dumping water as you run under them. We spent hours there and the boys loved it. (Mom loved it because there was no sand, dirt, weeds, or bugs crawling on me!) Along the way we also visited several local parks and, of course, went to a huge Pumpkin Patch to run through corn mazes, pick pumpkins, drink cider and get our wagon stolen. What? Yup! We came out of the Cedar Mill to find out wagon stolen. Apparently, the thief heard my wailing (seriously – I was so mad, I was very loud!) about how anyone could steal from children, and turned around. They did return it after making up a not very good story but at least we have a story to tell now J and yes, our wagon will be clearly labeled as belonging to The Koll’s before we take it out again!
We are looking forward to what this next year brings us; it is exciting to be starting some new things and see where it all leads us over the course of the year. Some of those exciting things are: My brother Kel and family will be returning to the states in the spring from Brazil; The McMaster Family reunion that will be coming up this summer; our big family Christmas with all of my brothers and their families this year and, of course, lots of fun activities with our boys! More than anything, we enjoy our little family and are trying to take in every moment with the two little boys that have blessed our lives.
May you and your family enjoy the True Meaning of the Christmas Season and make time for each other throughout this very busy season!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Darryl, Jackie, Joshua and Nathan Koll
(China, Misty and Strat too!)
Friday, December 24, 2010
Traditions
What a great time of year to talk about Traditions. I'm a firm believe that Traditions only happen if you create them and keep doing them. I would gather that most of us have great memories from our childhood based on traditions - no matter how silly they seemed!
First, I thought I would share our current traditions for Christmas time. On Christmas Eve, we normally go to my parents and attend the Christmas Eve Service at my brother's church. After that, we gather at my parents for snacks and laughs. Growing up both Darryl and I opened one gift on Christmas Eve and we are starting that with the boys this year - they have one gift to open :-) . Christmas morning starts with some special food. From my family tradition, we have Eggs, bacon, and toast than, from Darryl's side, we have cinnamon rolls and Orange Julius. It is a very yummy breakfast!! We also open stockings Christmas morning - usually just before breakfast. We aren't allowed to do anything else until all the dishes are done from breakfast - granted, now my mom has a dishwasher so their isn't near the wait that there was when we were growing up!. Finally, we get to open presents and we follow my family tradition - we open one at a time - it is not a free for all. It makes the morning last so much longer and you get to watch everyone else receive those special things too!
Second, I wanted to share some traditions we are starting this year. I already mentioned the Christmas Eve gift. We are also going to start reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the boys before bed on Christmas Eve. What a perfect story for that night!! Than, we will also add reading the Christmas Story on Christmas morning. I should clarify that my dad read the story often on our Christmas mornings too but as adults, we don't always take time to read it. We want to make this an important part of the morning for the boys, though.
Third, we've been doing a lot of thinking about Christmas and how we can instill into our boys the true meaning of Christmas; teach them about giving back; and yet still have the excitement of receiving gifts too. I did a little research on where the "gift - giving" idea came into Christmas and was surprised to learn that it really came into play during the Victorian Era but the idea was being done as far back as before Christ's birth. During the Victorian Era, people where filled with friendliness and Charity and gift giving goes hand and hand with that so gifts were given to show kindness. They didn't just hand out a pile of gifts though - they did things like a Cobweb party where each person was assigned a color and than shown a room with different colored yarn strung through the room. They had to follow their color to find their gift. This is just one example. It wasn't until the 19th century that Christmas met with commercialism and merchants took full advantage of pushing the idea of gifts. Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing away with gifts :-) I think it is fun to shop for my family but I just wanted some back ground on this! So, here are some of the ideas we are planning on incorporating over the next few years (many of these ideas I shared in a post here):
To Teach The Real Meaning of the Season: Taking an idea from here, we will be doing a the Jesus tree next Christmas. I plan on picking up a small tree for the dining room to use for this and we will use the lessons on the names of Jesus for our family devotion time. I look forward to making this more in depth each year as the boys grow and eventually having each of them do research to talk about the different names. There are also some teaching units I want to use in the coming years that focus on Christ birth so that the many of our lessons will revolve around the Christmas story.
To Teach the importance of giving: We will be doing two shoe boxes next year for Samaritan's Purse. I plan on doing one for each of my boys. We will do a box for a boy that is their same age group so that they can pick out the items for the box. Who knows, in years to come, we may have the means to do more than just those two. We will be doing goodie boxes for our neighbors. We'll back some goodies and maybe include a small gift but I think it is good for the boys to walk to the neighbors (with us of course!) and say "Merry Christmas" and give something away. Another thing we will do that is also fun - is go light hunting. Once we find the best of the best, we'll come home and write Thank-yous.
To Count Down to the Big Day: What better way to build excitement than to count the days? This is where the "just for fun" stuff comes into play. Again, I've stated some of this before. I want to incorporate the "Elf on the Shelf" game. I'm also working on a better book list based on the two blogs I follow to do a book a day for December along with an activity for each book. We love to read so I think it would be fun for the boys to have a book to unwrap each day as a surprise for the day. I also am planning on making some advent bags - if I plan well enough, I'll make them big enough to put the books in too - so we can open the bag and take out a small gift each day and maybe have an activity we can do each day.
Gift Giving: We will still do gifts without a doubt. What is more fun that letting a kid look through the Toys-R-Us Christmas book and picking out things they like? Or seeing their faces (or my face for that matter - I love gifts too!) What I do want to do though, is encourage my kids to also be creative in the gifts that they give - to pick out things for family because it is something they know they will love. I guess, to teach them that it REALLY is just as much fun to give as it is to recieve, especially when you take time to think about what you are giving.
Yes, those are lots of ideas but, a lot of the items double up or take just a few moments each day and yet build so many memories! AND I plan on having everything made for all projects for December by the end of July so that we can just have fun in December.
So, what are your tradtions? Do you have one tradition that you love? Enjoy your Christmas and make lots of fun memories to look back on for years to come!
First, I thought I would share our current traditions for Christmas time. On Christmas Eve, we normally go to my parents and attend the Christmas Eve Service at my brother's church. After that, we gather at my parents for snacks and laughs. Growing up both Darryl and I opened one gift on Christmas Eve and we are starting that with the boys this year - they have one gift to open :-) . Christmas morning starts with some special food. From my family tradition, we have Eggs, bacon, and toast than, from Darryl's side, we have cinnamon rolls and Orange Julius. It is a very yummy breakfast!! We also open stockings Christmas morning - usually just before breakfast. We aren't allowed to do anything else until all the dishes are done from breakfast - granted, now my mom has a dishwasher so their isn't near the wait that there was when we were growing up!. Finally, we get to open presents and we follow my family tradition - we open one at a time - it is not a free for all. It makes the morning last so much longer and you get to watch everyone else receive those special things too!
Second, I wanted to share some traditions we are starting this year. I already mentioned the Christmas Eve gift. We are also going to start reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the boys before bed on Christmas Eve. What a perfect story for that night!! Than, we will also add reading the Christmas Story on Christmas morning. I should clarify that my dad read the story often on our Christmas mornings too but as adults, we don't always take time to read it. We want to make this an important part of the morning for the boys, though.
Third, we've been doing a lot of thinking about Christmas and how we can instill into our boys the true meaning of Christmas; teach them about giving back; and yet still have the excitement of receiving gifts too. I did a little research on where the "gift - giving" idea came into Christmas and was surprised to learn that it really came into play during the Victorian Era but the idea was being done as far back as before Christ's birth. During the Victorian Era, people where filled with friendliness and Charity and gift giving goes hand and hand with that so gifts were given to show kindness. They didn't just hand out a pile of gifts though - they did things like a Cobweb party where each person was assigned a color and than shown a room with different colored yarn strung through the room. They had to follow their color to find their gift. This is just one example. It wasn't until the 19th century that Christmas met with commercialism and merchants took full advantage of pushing the idea of gifts. Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing away with gifts :-) I think it is fun to shop for my family but I just wanted some back ground on this! So, here are some of the ideas we are planning on incorporating over the next few years (many of these ideas I shared in a post here):
To Teach The Real Meaning of the Season: Taking an idea from here, we will be doing a the Jesus tree next Christmas. I plan on picking up a small tree for the dining room to use for this and we will use the lessons on the names of Jesus for our family devotion time. I look forward to making this more in depth each year as the boys grow and eventually having each of them do research to talk about the different names. There are also some teaching units I want to use in the coming years that focus on Christ birth so that the many of our lessons will revolve around the Christmas story.
To Teach the importance of giving: We will be doing two shoe boxes next year for Samaritan's Purse. I plan on doing one for each of my boys. We will do a box for a boy that is their same age group so that they can pick out the items for the box. Who knows, in years to come, we may have the means to do more than just those two. We will be doing goodie boxes for our neighbors. We'll back some goodies and maybe include a small gift but I think it is good for the boys to walk to the neighbors (with us of course!) and say "Merry Christmas" and give something away. Another thing we will do that is also fun - is go light hunting. Once we find the best of the best, we'll come home and write Thank-yous.
To Count Down to the Big Day: What better way to build excitement than to count the days? This is where the "just for fun" stuff comes into play. Again, I've stated some of this before. I want to incorporate the "Elf on the Shelf" game. I'm also working on a better book list based on the two blogs I follow to do a book a day for December along with an activity for each book. We love to read so I think it would be fun for the boys to have a book to unwrap each day as a surprise for the day. I also am planning on making some advent bags - if I plan well enough, I'll make them big enough to put the books in too - so we can open the bag and take out a small gift each day and maybe have an activity we can do each day.
Gift Giving: We will still do gifts without a doubt. What is more fun that letting a kid look through the Toys-R-Us Christmas book and picking out things they like? Or seeing their faces (or my face for that matter - I love gifts too!) What I do want to do though, is encourage my kids to also be creative in the gifts that they give - to pick out things for family because it is something they know they will love. I guess, to teach them that it REALLY is just as much fun to give as it is to recieve, especially when you take time to think about what you are giving.
Yes, those are lots of ideas but, a lot of the items double up or take just a few moments each day and yet build so many memories! AND I plan on having everything made for all projects for December by the end of July so that we can just have fun in December.
So, what are your tradtions? Do you have one tradition that you love? Enjoy your Christmas and make lots of fun memories to look back on for years to come!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Weekly Song - "I need a Silent Night"
Sunday, someone at my church sang this song, "I need a Silent Night" by Amy Grant. I loved it when I first heard it last year but really haven't heard it much this year and had forgotten about it. It is just such a great reminder of what we really need during the busy season. I know that I planned for a less stressful holiday season but somehow, that didn't happen. (I think I've talked about this a few times already) One thing I will be adding to next years planning list is this song - it will be my "theme" song that I think I'll listen to each morning to remind myself of what is really important!!
Scroll to the bottom of the blog and listen to this song (make sure and pause the other player) and while you are there, take time to listen to other Christmas songs too!
Scroll to the bottom of the blog and listen to this song (make sure and pause the other player) and while you are there, take time to listen to other Christmas songs too!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Happy Birthday Nate!
An now? Look at how much he has changed!!
Nate loves cars, trucks, and anything that his brother is playing with at the moment. He is starting to enjoy playing by himself and is figuring out all of the toys around the house. He sleeps through the night and takes one 2 hour nap a day (like clock work). He loves feeding himself but still enjoys his bottle too. Nate is walking but still crawls when he really wants to get around. He is always happy and has a smile on his face most of the time.
We are truly blessed with this little guy in our family!!!
Happy Birthday Nate!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Too Cute Not to "Toot"
Isn't it amazing that Christmas is just a few days away? I love the holidays and work each year to try and make them relaxing and enjoyable. I started out strong this year but the last week has been down right crazy and out of control. Making notes on how to not let that happen next year!
I thought I would start this episode of "Too Cute Not to "Toot"with a great new food blog that I found recently. What Megans Making has some great looking recipes such as:
She offers tons of cookies and "sweets" recipes plus many others. I don't often hook up with food blogs but she seems to have a lot of ideas we would actually enjoy.
Since I started out with food . . .how about this great recipe for Chicken Pot Pie from craftomaniac.
I really like these tree picks that A Glimpse Inside shared this week. They look so pricey but are so easy to make. I think they will make a great addition to my tree next year!
I never did post pictures of my porch, mostly because it didn't turn out like my vision and a little because I never get a chance to get pictures! With that said, I do already have ideas for next year to make it better and it includes some crafts. I saw this recently at That Village House that would look awesome with the other ideas I have - now my mind is working on how to make it waterproof (she used cardboard boxes and wrapping paper . . )
That is it this week. I've seen tons of ideas but with holiday things as well all of the latest with my sister-in-law I haven't had as much time to search blogs as I normally do for great ideas. I'm looking forward to things slowing down a little come January, as they usually do, so I can catch up on lots of things and get back into a more normal routine!
I thought I would start this episode of "Too Cute Not to "Toot"with a great new food blog that I found recently. What Megans Making has some great looking recipes such as:
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| Cranberry Relish |
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| Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies |
Since I started out with food . . .how about this great recipe for Chicken Pot Pie from craftomaniac.
This is such a cute idea for a little Nativity set - I think it would make a fantastic gift for a Sunday School Teacher or a Pastor's family. Craftily-ever-after gives a great tutorial.
Update on Nora
I thought in this post, I would copy info from my brother Jeff, my sister-in-law Nora and my niece and nephew - all who have written some informative and even encouraging posts as they walk this journey.
First, from Brittany, my niece:
First, from Brittany, my niece:
Today we found out that my mom, Nora McMaster, has stage three lung cancer. She has never smoked in her life, so you can imagine this was a shock to our entire family. On December 29 she will meet with her cancer specialist and her surgeon ...who will be responsible for removing part, if not all, of her left lung. We know that God is in control, but we also know that this will be a hard battle for all of us to face. We ask for your continued prayers and support throughout this time. Any comments of encouragement you wish to leave on this wall for Nora would be greatly appreciated and I know would help her get through the rough days ahead
Than, my brother has posted the following:
Thank you all for your prayers. Nora had her biopsy on the mass in her left lung, and the doctor told us after the procedure that she has stage 3 lung cancer (we are still dealing with the shock that, of all places, its in her lungs when she has never smoked). Next week, on Wednesday, Dec. 29, we have our first appoi...ntment with both the oncologist and the thoracic surgeon so they can prepare the plan of attack
as well as this
Looks like treatment will involve chemotherapy, radiation, and the removal of at least part of a lung. God has been wonderful in directing us to good doctors who are being proactive and thorough, and He is continuing to do so by giving her the same oncologist that treated Lance Armstrong. Our God is awesome and is gi...ven her the best that there is! Please continue to pray that God is glorified as we walk this road
And Nora wrote this:
just got home from the biopsy (still loopy from drugs)....The dr has informed us I have stage 3 lung cancer. They have made an appointment with a thorastic surgeon and an oncologist(one of the best in the world, he was lance armstrong's dr) next wednesday..I know God is in control, thank you for your continued prayers
And finally from my Nephew Brandon
For those who dont know, my mom cancer is stage three, and will know have to be endure chemo, radiation, and eventually surgery to remove part of, if not all of her left lung.........
I felt the need to share each of those so that you have the "story". Pray for each one of them as they walk this road. I will continue to post updates as we learn more after her next appointment.
Again, if you would like contact info for Jeff and Nora please feel free to let me know. I know that they would appreciate prayers, cards, and any other encouragement. Nora enjoys reading, decorating (so magazines she would enjoy!), and Coffee
Thank you!
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