"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." - St. Augustine

He Said, She Said - Christmas Interview

*Photo taken last night (late, late, late) while wrapping gifts. Aron's pose is a tribute to all the boys in Thailand in the House of Blessing (the orphanage our church built & supports). A team from church just returned from there, and the boys loved to pose like this in every picture. Our friends would say, "Lookin' good!" (in Thai), and the boys would all spontaneously strike this pose. We love it!

Favorite Song?

Aron: Too many to pick just one, but here's a few: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "So This is Christmas (War is Over)", "Christmas Canon", Transiberian Orchestra's "Carol of the Bells", "The Night Before Christmas" by Steven Curtis Chapman, "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day" by Casting Crowns, and all the carols.

Erica: "Oh Holy Night" (when Berni sings it), otherwise, "The Christmas Song" (Nat King Cole)

Favorite Tradition?

Aron: Two things: 1.) Definitely, the ornaments we make for each other. 2.) Singing majestic carols...ie "The first Noel", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", "Angels We Have Heard on High", etc.

Erica: Making ornaments for each other every year (we're up to 10 a piece).

What bugs me most...

Aron: Two things: 1.) Santa Clause often receives more glory & praise than Jesus. 2.) Really cheesy, fluffy music that means nothing and has nothing to do with Christmas (i.e. "Grandma Got Ran over by a Reindeer"

Erica: Perhaps the giant inflatable lawn decor? Or when churches have wise men bowing at the manger in their lawn nativity sets. It seems like they should be way off in the parking lot or something.

Lights - Colored or White?

Aron: White.

Erica: Big Fat Colored or small, glowing white

Favorite Memory?

Aron: Christmas at 4 years old: It was a Sunday morning, and I opened a cowboy hat, a karate outfit, and my first guitar. And then we went to church.

Erica: Reading the Christmas Story before opening gifts each year.

Christmas in a cup?

Aron: My wife's Christmas latte

Erica: Egg Nog (ie. instant weight gain in a cup!)

Fruit Cake or Popcorn Tin?

Aron: Neither.

Erica: ummm...they're probably both going in the garbage when we get home. Eeeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo...

Most Hated Song?

Aron: "Santa Baby".

Erica: "Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer." I get angry just thinking about it.

The nativity character I most identify with?

Aron: the shepherd on a hillside at night.

Erica: the angels (wink, wink). No, I kid. I really meant the wise men. (HaHa.) I kid again. Hmmm...probably Mary. Just trying to wrap my mind around the miracle of the tiny babe inside.

Christmas in a bite?

Aron: Oh, there's lots! Fudge, Grandma's Peanut Butter Bars, Buckeyes, mom-in-law's Date Pinwheel cookies, mom's BIG noodles, Denise Timm's whipped cream cookies, and walnuts.

Erica: Date. Pinwheel. Cookies. enough said.

Favorite Movie?

Aron: tie between "The Nativity" and "A Christmas Story" (my family watched this every year growing up)

Erica: "Elf"; "Polar Express" is a close second. Both for sentimental reasons.

A Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Fanfare for the Common JudahMan

Right in the middle of an ordinary Pancake Saturday,

Fanfare for the Common JudahMan...

Fanfare for the Common JudahMan from Aron Kirk on Vimeo.

He was making every shot he threw up, then we grabbed the closet video camera (on the MacBook), and he didn't make one (he was a bit distracted as he could see himself on the computer screen). Basket or not, he didn't care. Every shot was worth celebrating!

merry moments - way past the hour of sleep

Snow

Appropriately, this song is echoing in my heart today.

Thank you, Jesus.

You came.

This world will never be the same.

I. will. never. be. the. same.

Blanket me with your presence,

ejk

Five reasons for this post

In no particular order:

1. Its 'steal your heart for all time' adorable when Judah pulls himself up to the piano & plays and sings his own little tunes.

2. Poor little fella has had a nasty cold, as evidenced by the raw face from constant wiping. I'll be putting vaseline on it tonight before bed...any other remedies out there, mommies?

3. Belle is a little fashionista - she even designed her own dress made out of left over tissue paper and tulle and modeled it for Aron and I.

4. One last look at the Mo-Mullet before it gets a little trim. Emphasis on little.

Aron insists this look is all the rage among the European soccer stars, but is in agreement that the tail is getting out of control in proportion to the hair on the sides of his head. We don't want our son to be mistaken for offspring of Joe Dirt.

5. And to wish you a beautiful Friday, full of love & joy.

much love

ejk

The Perfect Little Package

I love hearing Aron's stories about his adventures with the kids when its just the three of them. Last night I was away for a few hours at a very lovely Christmas banquet, and this is what transpired while I was gone:

Aron took the opportunity with me out of the house to wrap up the ornament he made for me this year. When it was complete, with wide eyes Belle asked if she could place it under the tree. He recounted that she caressed the gift and slowly approached the tree with all the pomp and circumstance that a royal crowning might deserve, and kneeled to place the first gift under the tree.

Turning, and with a gleam in her eyes, she asked Aron, "Daddy, will you wrap me up for Christmas?"

Once she was packaged, Belle excitedly exclaimed, "Now you have to put me under the tree, daddy!"

Most every Friday I work, I come home to a camera full of pictures telling the story of their day.

Thanking God for the blessing of a man who delights in his children,

ejk

How Lovely Are Thy Branches

Our faithful species - ye Ole Douglas Fir -

has taken its rightful place in the Haven of Kirk.

We almost deviated to a Fraser Fir this year, but sentiment wouldn't allow us.

"What? Mess with tradition? What you talkin' about, Willis?"

A little sibling King of the Mountain match

"I saw. I conquered...the rocking chair." Good thing Santa (read, Grandma) will be bringing another one this Christmas.

The beads were by far the favorite among the natives.

And what cute, friendly natives they are.

And one new addition this year.

Do you see them?

Look a little closer!

A whimsical little duo. Salt and Pepper never looked so charming!

They belonged to my Mammaw, and I can't help but smile everytime I look at them.

Aron told me, " I capital L-O-V-E' them."

That makes me capital G-I-D-D-Y with delight.

I love that my hub cherishes a rare treasure as much as I do.

FaLaLaLaLa, LaLa La LA!

ejk

cozy

Your Kingdom Come: Beautifully Disturbed

Our Go-To Photo Company of Choice

Christmastime is glorious.

It really is.

There is more twinkle in your heart, more joy in the air.

And its the only month of the year that we actually enjoy fetching our mail.

The photo card is a rather recent phenomenon. And though at times I've often wondered to myself, "Are we being narcissistic? Are we blindly vain? To place our own portrait on the front of a card instead of that of the baby King or angels or wise men following a star?" Sometimes I still wrestle with the thought, but I can't deny the joy we feel as the cards start to arrive in numbers, and we fill our fridge and drape our doorways with the faces of so many precious ones we've met along the way.

And a beautiful new tradition (I believe we got the idea from the Bramletts) - every night we take our cards to the dinner table & say a special prayer and blessing over the families who've sent us a card that day (we pray for you even if you don't send us a Shutterfly photocard...hehe).

When it comes time for making our own Christmas cards, Shutterfly has our business. Each year I look forward to choosing from the many designs, and they offer such great discounts ($10 off, 30% off, free shipping), I find they are more affordable than competitor sites. And you can't beat the quality. Here are a few from years passed:

We've also chosen Shutterfly to create calenders as Christmas gifts. Check it out here to make your own.

Hey, and while we're on the topic of Christmas gifts from Shutterfly...Santa, I've always wanted one of these...

I love photos. I love photos of you on my fridge. I love photos on Christmas cards in my mailbox. And, I love Shutterfly. They've even offered a promotion to us blogger fans - 50 free photocards for confessing to all of you our die-hard love for them. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

So now the secrets out. Shutterfly is the place for your Christmas Card Magic Making. Super cute, ultra-easy, & very affordable.

Watching for your face in my mailbox,

ejk

Love this Moment

The babies couldn't have been more adorable in the tub.

Or afterward when they danced in circles and skips to their daddy's praising.

The evening has culminated in this moment.

Snuggling together, watching the Grinch (aka 'The Greener Meaner Cat in the Hat" as Belle calls him).

Where are you Christmas?

Right here. In our hearts.

ejk

NOW we can begin celebrating!

One of our favorite artists

Singing one of our favorite Christmas songs...

Now all we need is a nice crackling fire and a steamy cup of holiday goodness.

enjoy,

ejk

Yes, this just happened

I needed to roast a few pumpkins for some Thanksgiving baking.

Last time I roasted these Sugar Pumpkins, Aron was gone at work. It took me well over a half an hour to cut one open and then down the center. And I was lucky not to have sliced a finger off (I have bad luck with sharp objects).

Turns out, I'm not as weak as I thought. After about 30 seconds of attempting to 'cut' open my pumpkins with our run of the mill kitchen cutlery, Aron brought out his big dog - his Grandpa Howard's saw. And it worked like a charm.

Love my Macho Man,

ejk

creepy

Jesus?!

Oh, wait, that' just my husband

*oops, I forgot a few!

*addendum to previous post, for your viewing pleasure

Judah, trying to ride Charlie from his crib

And, again, trying to escape after a nap.

Pajama 'mama madness

I have sorted, refolded, reorganized, & put away Isabelle's jammie drawer 3,

count them three, times in the last 12 hours. She has a lot of pajamas.

Because a certain Miss thinks she's a mermaid & changes her tail every five minutes (two legs in one leg of tight pajama pants equals a super sweet mermaid tail complete with flippers made of her two feet at the end). Anyways, because this mermaid wanna-be leaves her pajama drawer open, Mr. Texas Tornado empties it in about three minutes flat, scattering pajamas all over the house.

Most recently, after emptying the drawer, he then brings me the pajamas, a piece at a time, wanting me to put them on him.

Not to worry though -

even in pink hot pants,

Judah is still all boy.

See?

Additionally, this young adventurer has moved on from climbing on tables (that is so conquered and over with), to scaling the armoire full of toys. He can get up, just not down.

So when I hear a sudden, panic'd whining, I know just where to find him.

And he still runs to mama to tend to his bruised little ego.

At last, Judah found a pair of sissy's pj's that suites his taste.

My hands are full (and so is my heart),

ejk

Sicklings

Our sweet little chick-a-dees are sick, sick, sick.

Boo for fevers, sore throats, and vomiting!

But we are thanking God for healthy bodies to fight off infections!

And three cheers for getting sick the week before Thanksgiving (instead of while we are traveling!)

Although, I'm not convinced Judah is fighting the same thing as Belle just yet. He had a low grade fever yesterday, but seems fine today. Belle, however, is on day 3 of can't get off the couch sick.

Judah has been such a sweet brother. He keeps gently rubbing Belle's back and giving her hugs around her waist.

We're praying our girl is back to herself soon!

And Judah stays well, so we can venture out...

Over the river and through the woods,

To Grandmother's house we go (hopefully, pretty please?!)!

Trying to fight off cabin fever (we've been taking turns being sick since Sunday!),

ejk

That's Amore

We had SO much fun last week on our trip to Italy,

we HAD to go back this week.

Belle glowed with excitement when I told her she could dress up for a fancy dinner.

The Italian Limbo song beckoned us to join in just before dinner.

As you can see, Judah did NOT get dressed up for dinner.

You will see why.

And a little pre-dinner dancing seemed more than appropriate.

At last...the moment the boys had been waiting for!

(Aron got wrapped up in writing another song and forgot to eat...

all day. It must be an artist thing, cause I never, ever forget to eat.)

Rose was more interested in her fancy glass of water than her food.

And...a little bonus (*read 'I'm too busy/tired to write another post or find a creative way to narrate it in') random moments!

As I washed dishes after dinner, Aron & I were talking, engrossed in the importance of what we were saying. I looked up and burst out laughing at the site of Belle squeezed into Judah's 12 month lion costume.

Rewind to Sunday morning.

This is a pretty typical morning.

Belle's vanity is right next to my bathroom, and she likes to sit and put on her "sparklies" and "lips" as I get ready for church.

Judah begs for her "lips"...so he can eat the flavored lipgloss.

Aron confessed he used to sneak into his mom's purse and eat her lipstick.

Judah sipping sissy's milk...

Aaaaaannnd you are lucky if you are seeing this last picture, because Aron will likely make me delete it once he sees it. (hehe!!) I put Belle's hair in rollers, and she took it upon herself to roll judah's mo-mullet.

My father-in-law would say this is exactly why Judah needs a haircut.

I would smile and agree, but say how if I cut his curls, they'll be gone forever.

ejk