Its Christmas: 2011

"For to come to know Jesus intimately, as he is, as he wants to be known, is to release a redemptive landslide in your life."
-John Eldredge in Beautiful Outlaw

12.21.11

Oh what fun the last few weeks have been!

Belle and I made cookies for her class Christmas party today. I have had a blast volunteering in her classroom twice this week (once to paint their Christmas party shirts and again today for the party)!

 Ever the nurturer, Belle grabbed an extra cookie to save for Judah...in case her classmates ate them all up and left none to bring home for him!

 We made gingerbread ornaments, macaroni wreaths, gift bags, snowflake ornaments, and reindeer food!

 When I walked in the classroom, several of her classmates exclaimed, "Its Belle's mom!" This is new to me...to be known by my child's name, but I liked the sound of it ringing off their excited little voices.

 and because I simply cannot emasculate my son any longer, bookended as he is by his lovely lady siblings, I am trying to neutralize their bedroom a little at a time. I've posted enough pictures of him dreaming in pink...I had to even the score a little.

 He is ever the boy, pink sheets or blue. But for the sake of his tiny man ego which may very well one day resent me for allowing the pink to go on so long...I post a shot of penance. 

ejk

"Christ became what we are, so that we might become what he is."
-Athanasius in On the Incarnation

snapshots 12.10.11

judah, aka: rudolph

because every saturday night needs a little family game time

mom & dad: the first and second losers

judah: the 'jump around the board and confuse the gumdrops out of us' player

belle: victorious!

judah: aka: a monkey

time to squeeze the gumdrops out of him!

no good reason

there is no good reason for this video. just a whole lot of muscle flexing by judah, silly singing by belle, and a little glimpse into their sweet selves. thursdays can be long with daddy gone all day (usually for the 2nd or 3rd evening in a given week...so things can get a little wacky trying to keep ourselves entertained).

if we don't scare you away, hope you enjoy!
Untitled from Aron Kirk on Vimeo.

decking the halls

 quietly, unspoken dread filled my heart when I thought about decorating this year.

another year, another tree in our tiny rented condo.

i thought if I had to decorate against a backdrop so not me one more time, I might implode from creative frustration. 

but the time had come, and I knew we needed to...for the kids.

and wouldn't you know...

it was the 'fun-est' year ever decking our halls.

ugly mirror and all.

 we were completely unprepared for how ecstatic the kids would be...the whole time

the kids went diving into bins pulling out tinsel and ornaments...aron and I could have sat back and let them do all the work!

But then there were several, several broken bulbs!

and rather than hang ornaments from the tree, judah insisted on hanging ornaments from other ornaments.

"I hold on TIGHT" he said (after flipping over the ladder into the tree). mercy.

We were so excited to pull out everyone's stocking...

but then...Belle found an extra stocking at the bottom of a bin, pulling it out exclaiming, "Is this the baby's stocking?!"

Aron and I jumped to our feet, excited and laughing and in disbelief. I have been looking for several weeks for the perfect stocking for baby girl, to no avail. I had completely forgotten that I purchased this one on clearance last year...for one day. After looking it over, we all agreed this was the PERFECT stocking for our baby girl...so now 5 socks dangle from our hearth (oh so unattractive as it is). aron is ready to choose a name so I can get to work embroidering! I can't take that kind of pressure, though! Once I stitch that name, we're not going back. So I'm doing my best to persuade my husband that I will have plenty of time this winter or next to etch her name in our traditions.

We tried to get a picture with all 3 of our babies...which was completely and entirely impossible with as crazy hyper as they were:

i give up!

how about i tickle you instead?!

we filled out hearts with the best of the christmas song and remembering and laughter and shimmering smiles by glowing tree

and pumpkin cookies...lots of pumpkin cookies.

do you see that empty plate in the center of our table?

there were layers of the moist delicacy for our decorating snacking pleasure.

every last one...gone! (i think the fresh pureed pumpkin took them to a whole notha level of sinfulness)

sorry, Santa, maybe next year!

ejk

sleep in heavenly peace

With all the space of a big bed, sweet Belle finds herself crowded no matter where she positions herself... 

It's a good thing she tolerates (and secretly enjoys) her bubby's snugglely ways. Cause he can't get close enough when its time to sleep.

The kids have been sleeping with the el cheapo stuffed pig & unicorn they won at the county fair lately...according to Belle "because every time I look at my unicorn it reminds me of the fair, and I feel happy!"

 Sweet fingers embracing enchanted memories.

 Speaking of sentiment and fingers embracing sweet memories...

I keep seeing this photo of 2 day old Judah and finding myself unable to grasp its about to happen again. 

 The welcoming committee is growing ever more excited too! They did such a good job with baby Judah, and now he will be joining them in ushering in the joy of another life!

Infact, this morning, Judah was cuddling with my belly, gently stroking it and rubbing his face on it, when I asked him what he thought we should call baby sister?

To my surprise he answered "Baby_______"...

A name Aron and I have had on hearts for a girl middle name since before we knew a little lady was growing inside. But we have been careful not to speak much of names around the kids until we know for sure what she will be called.

Perhaps it was a God inspired moment

(heaven knows we struggle with indecision in the naming department).

We shall soon see...

ejk

days like these

 days like these nourish the soul.

togetherness.

quality time is my love language through and through.

so if you speak in moments and presence and life lived out together, no matter how simply,

you awaken a language native to my heart.

the most beautiful songs of worship i think I have ever heard,

in subtle christmas flavor,

have been working themselves out in husband's heart,

flowing up and around and canopying our moments.

he revisits them tonight, and i wish i could bottle them up and share them with you.

do you see it?

its the moment. and i want to share it with you too, because i love you so.
(assuming you're one of the dear friends/family that keep up with us here...but if I don't know you personally, I'm pretty sure if I had the chance to know you I'd love you too, special as we each are to Him).

we savored a humble meal, sloppy joe's - a homemade recipe - and diced garlic potatoes.

but we enjoyed it like the best strip steak you've ever tasted. you should have heard husband's growns,

"Hun! This is amazing. Write this one down. This has got to be the recipe you use from now on!"

after second servings and "I could eat this all night!",
aron spotted brown sugar and butter laid conspicuously on the counter.

"Babe, are you making cookies?!"

I answered, "Yep! Oatmeal chocolate chip."

"Can we rent a movie?" his most favorite relaxation activity.

"Sure!"

"This is the BEST day. AND Thanksgiving is THIS week! (insert very masculine, manly squeals of excitement)"

little helpers paraded in the kitchen, bringing aprons and dragons and germ filled fingers digging in delicious dough (it seems our bodies would know a holiday is coming, and hence it is now time for the four of us to come down with a cold...and we have been so healthy now for weeks! hopefully with a good night's rest and our super vitamins, it will be short lived!)

belle's horse little voice excitedly repeats ingredients, and she cannot help but lick every measuring spoon she touches, despite my pleas to keep her germies to herself!

judah skips the spoons and goes straight for the bowl, wedging himself behind and around his sister for the best seat in the house.

12 minutes later 

cookies - still warm and gooey - and ice cold milk

join Polar Express to make a moment in the hearts of my little ones.

blessings and good gifts poured out and overflowing.

i hope years from now when they're far from my arms,

curled up with a warm cookie and glass of milk,

a familiar song will play in their hearts:

mommy's love and daddy's art echoing in moments and memories

too numerous to replay in one sitting but all flooding back in a bite. 

ejk

and for my daddy:

you would be so proud of judah-man, helping aron to grill burgers the other night, representing our bucks in full gear!

11.17.11

When big sisters have a day off school, you never know what kind of fun the morning will bring.

Her imagination is way cooler than mom's.

 Who wouldn't want to spend the day riding their sweet horse, Sapella?

 (wild man insists on putting his own undies on now...often inside out)

 Steady now, Sapella, and I will feed you a carrot.

 I think the kids finished off half a bag of baby carrots along with 2 whole apples playing horse...and all their idea too! I may be using this trick next time we're having some resistance eating our fresh veggies!

 More carrots - these are the lunch portion they divvied up.

 Neeeeeigh! 

 Judah couldn't decide if he was a cowboy or a horse

 Who miraculously turned into cheetah cubs.

oh what fun!

ejk