More Moments

Christmas Day was also a day of playing games. It is really fun now that the grandchildren are getting old enough to join in. Sam and Grandpa played "Missing Match-Ups," a favorite game when our kids were young. Even Sophie tried to play "Connect 4." "Charades for Kids" had even the adults using desperate measures to act like a dragon (my personal unsuccessful attempt). We should do these things more often.

Moments to Remember

Here are a few random pictures of Christmas moments--the making and eating of the gingerbread houses at our family party, Lydia's delight at getting a 10-piece manicure set as her "white elephant" gift, the visit to the Critter Barn to see and hear the live nativity story, and Elinore's favorite gifts, a big box to sit in and bubble wrap to pop.

Definitely of the Devil

I just finished shelling 18 hard boiled eggs. I had a bunch of extra eggs and thought I would make devilled eggs for the Wolthuis/Goote Holiday party tomorrow night. Usually my hard boiled eggs turn out decent. Sometimes they are a bit hard to peel. To say this batch was hard to peel would be a vast understatement.

I began to peel the first egg and was discouraged at how difficult it was. I moved on, in hopes of finding a good one. It's always good to start off with a few easy ones to get in the groove, right? Well, there were no easy ones to be found. The peels weren't just coming off in tiny pieces...they were coming off in tiny pieces with big chunks of the white attached. I started to understand, perhaps, why there are called "devilled eggs" and began to think of several more sharp nicknames I could give.

At first I got frustrated. Thought of cooking another batch. Pitching this one. Making egg salad and subjecting my family to it for 6 days straight. Are cooked eggs compostable? But then I just started to laugh. This is something that would have thrown me a year ago. I would never have even considered serving these imperfect eggs at a party. Christmas party, no less! But I decided that I will. I'm sure Joseph and Mary weren't feasting on the finest of fare. As a testimony to what God has done in this recovering perfectionist, I can serve way imperfect food...as long as there is enough white left to hold the filling!

Sophie

Sophie, age 16 months, reminds me so much of her father, Brian, from her bright eyes to her curious nature and rather daring lifestyle. I chose the second and third pictures because they illustrate her ability to multi-task (suck on the dog and check out how the toy works) and then to use the toy in another, more thrilling way. Although the toy is called Sit 'n' Spin, Sophie tries to stand 'n' spin. Brian also led a very active, rather dangerous life as a toddler. The beautiful red hair is another similarity.

So often when I see Sophie doing something, it is deja vu for me. I can go back thirty years or so and see Brian. He surprised us, delighted us, and always kept us on our toes. Sophie is sure to do the same. "What goes around comes around," and in this case, it is very good. We love you, Sophie!!

Jingle Dance

This video is from when we had our family party for Sam, Lydia, and Elinore. The girls loved the jingle slippers that Eric and Ang sent, and they all joined in a little dance. We just wanted to share that with you.