MENU - SECOND HALF OF DECEMBER 2012

We tried one new recipe that was worth keeping on the last menu.

* slow cooker Asian short ribs - Easy, yummy, great leftovers

We're staying home for Christmas this year and I have no desire to spend the day in the kitchen.  So the plan is to sit down as a family tomorrow and come up with a breakfast we love and a list of easy foods to graze on throughout the day, then shop accordingly.

BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts x3
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, raisins, fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and energy mix as optional toppings x10
* baked oatmeal (prep previous night)
* oatmeal pancakes (using leftover oatmeal from other days)
* wheat germ whole wheat buttermilk pancakes

DINNERS
* leftovers x3
* tacos x2
* Dad's treat
* Christmas (undecided at this point)
* cheesy green beans/rice
* new recipe/garlic green beans/rice
* rice, kale, & eggs
* quinoa patties/roasted cauliflower
* Cajun sausage & beans (crockpot) 
* chili dog casserole/carrot and celery sticks
* burgers/potato wedges
* broccoli tomato salad/beans (crockpot, from the freezer)/toasted English muffins
* grilled salmon/winter fruit salad with lemon poppyseed dressing/rice

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* produce
* big soft ginger cookies

TIM + BETHANY - KIDS = A FUN MORNING

Our friend Kelli recently asked if she could come hang out with the little Ws so that Tim and I could have some time alone.  Is that sweet or what?  She came over after breakfast this morning and we took off.  We had no plan in place, so we ran a couple errands, then sat in a parking lot trying to figure out how to kill some more time. 

The weather was cruddy, so hiking or doing anything else outdoors was out.  We didn't want to spend a bunch of money.   We have a gift card for a place we could have gone, but we really want to save it for a family outing.  So, Tim fired up the engine and took off down the road.  Where did he go?  Aurora.  Why?  Because I've said a few times over the years that I'd love to spend a day looking in all the antique shops there. 

We didn't have all day, but we did have the morning, so we went to one small store and three big ones.  Oh my!!!  I love, love, love browsing antique stores!  Pretty glassware and dishes don't excite me at all, but there are always so many other interesting things.  It's like a history lesson and it's so fun!  I always find a few things to covet and tons of things I think are cool, but wouldn't actually want to own.  I'm also finding that the older I get, the more things I recognize from my own childhood.  Seeing things you grew up using being sold in an antique store is a bit of a reality check, but it's still fun.

We stopped at Hwy 99E. Antique Mall, Main Street Merchantile, Aurora Mills, and South End Antique Mall before it was time to head home.  Some day I'm going to go back and look in all the rest of the stores, but that may need to wait until the summer. It was pretty chilly walking around today!

Here's a picture of Tim and I in Aurora Mills, followed by a blurry (because I want to post it now, rather than wait for natural light tomorrow) picture of two-inch piece of aluminum that Tim splurged on.  True love.

I'm thankful for Kelli's thoughtfulness in offering to watch the little Ws and her grace under fire when the morning didn't go quite as planned.  And, no, I'm not blogging about those details.  We'll just leave it at "Kelli's awesome, even when it's hard to be awesome". 

I'm thankful for Tim's thoughtfulness in picking something to do that he remembered me mentioning in the past and commemorating the occasion with a souvenir W. 

Such a fun morning!

2012 - CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

Three of our kids were in our church's Christmas program a couple Sundays ago.  They had five weeks of Sunday rehearsals and a few extras thrown in toward the end, practiced constantly at home, and did their very best during the performance.  I was sooooo proud of them!!

Here are a few pictures of them onstage.

I know I already linked this on Facebook, but the church recorded the performance and I wanted to link it here for my non-Facebooking friends. 

Naomi's group starts at 10:38. She's in the center of the middle row.  You'll recognize her as the one pulling her hair out of her face 5.7 million times and falling off her step once when she loses her balance while fixing her hair. (Note to self: Don't let Naomi have her hair down when she's going to be rocking out onstage.) It's hard to understand her group on the video, but at least you can see her.

The boys come on at 25:29 and are there until 31:30, second row from the top and just right of center. They come back again at 35:42 with Silas in the front on the right and Devon in the center of the back. Silas is a soloist on that last section.

A friend snapped a couple pictures of us after the performance, so I'll wrap this post up with those shots. 

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

I took several pictures of the Christmas sights in our home a couple weeks ago, then never got around to posting them.  Better late than never, right?  The tree now has more gifts under it and the wall has more cards, but here's a little glimpse of the Christmas season in our home.

The Advent stockings a friend made for us, which are strung across our mantle.  I stole someone else's list of Advent verses from a random blog last year and wrote them all on little strips of paper.  Each day one little W gets to eat the candy in that day's stocking and read the verse(s) on their piece of paper.

The big bell that I like to see more than hear, so it hangs from a piece of furniture instead of a door.

 

The bin of Christmas books, both ours and a rotating collection from the library.

 

The interactive nativity set that we use each year. 

 

 

An old, carved candle from Granny.  The carved part goes all the way around and stays intact, but the center can be lit.  I've never lit it, though, and am thinking about doing so this year.

 

The wall of this year's cards and newsletters.

 

 

The basket of Santa hats.  We don't do Santa, but we do like to wear festive hats from time to time.

 

A wooden nativity figurine on the mantle.

 

 

The stack of Christmas puzzles.  A steal at Dollar Tree several years ago, they get put together multiple times each year.

 

The snowmen collection.  Not to be confused with the Sneaky Snowman, who must have been in some other part of the house when this picture was taken, these snowmen are just for looking at.

 

Just a pretty decoration from Granny.

 

The tree.  A free tree cut from the property of a family from church, then decorated with years and years of memories. 

 

12/14/12 FORMING FAMILIES - ONLINE AUCTION (FUNDRAISER)

Ryan and Robin are a couple from our church who are adopting from the Congo.  Wednesday night they kicked off an online auction to help offset the cost of the adoption and I want to send you guys in that direction.  Some of the things they're offering are services or lessons that will only work for people in the Portland/Vancouver area and many others are items that can be shipped to other locations.

Here's a sampling of what they are auctioning - carseat, haircuts (Battle Ground, Vancouver, & Portland - though they all have the same photo), hair clips, yoga (Vancouver), Dutch Bros. gift cards, photography sessions, private equestrian lesson (Wilsonville), guitar lessons, house decor, photography and paintings, dance classes (Vancouver), jewelry, baby items, restaurant gift cards, stroller, custom hats and children's clothing, handmade cutting board, and more.

This is a great opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done, purchase some things you need for your family, or just to indulge yourself with whatever that strikes your fancy and help bring a child home to their family.

Are you ready to go check out the auction now?  The bidding stops at 8:00pm (PST) on Sunday (12/16), so don't procrastinate!!!  Click here to go straight to the album with photos of each item.  You can bid by simply leaving a comment on the item you want with the dollar amount you'll pay. 

Happy shopping!!  Happy forming of families!!

12/13/12 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that Dad and Ashley are visiting this weekend.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER - 2012 EDITION

Life is a super busy and we're being super frugal.  Those two things have nothing to do with each other, but the combination of them means we're not doing paper copies of this year's newsletter.  So here's your electronic copy .... hot off the press.  Sorta.

You'll also find the little Ws' annual pictures, taken the months of their birthdays, and our current family picture after the newsletter.  That's the best part, as our kids are stinkin' cute!

2012 - A WEATHERSBY YEAR IN REVIEW

Agriculture - We enjoyed the thornless blackberries, ever-bearing raspberries, and strawberries that came with our home.  We also picked blueberries at someone's house and apples from a park, and gathered nuts from the neighborhood.

Basketball - Tim chose to take last season off, but worked summer tournaments and recently started his tenth season of officiating high school basketball.  He was also able to attend a Blazer game.

Coast - Bethany was invited to spend a weekend in Lincoln City with a small group of ladies and enjoyed the time to rest, laugh, shop, and walk on the beach.

Devon - He is almost always the first to help when there's a need and frequently does so without being asked, remembers all sorts of trivia and other information, loves climbing, and enjoys the thrill of hiding, whether household items, little gifts, or himself.

Education - Tim is not teaching this year and has returned to school as a part-time student with the goal of getting his administrator's license.  Silas, Devon, and Naomi are all being homeschooled.

Festivals - We had fun at Wooden Shoe Farm's Tulip and Pumpkin Fests, the Hubbard Hop, and our church's Harvest Festival.

Grade School - Silas and Devon have done all sorts of fun things with their class at church - forts & floats, water wars, movie nights, summer camp, and more. 

Healthy - Bethany used My Fitness Pal to figure out some ways to take better care of herself and dropped the rest of her baby weight in the process.  Tim used Take Shape For Life to help him lose about twenty-five pounds that he'd been carrying for eight years and then decided to become one of the program's health coaches.  Now they're both going to work on exercising more regularly.

Injuries - We had our regular share of scrapes and shiners, but this year's top medical drama was when Devon's teeth went through his lip and required stitches.  

Jesus - He loves us and we love him.  We're thankful for a Savior, a church that's committed to teaching the entire Bible, and the privilege of living in a country where everyone is granted the freedom to believe and worship as they wish.

Kids - We still have a desire to foster or adopt, but are waiting for the timing to be right.

Lessons - Silas, Devon, and Naomi took three sessions of swimming lessons.  The boys can now be found swimming all over the pool  and Naomi swims well enough that she no longer needs a life jacket or someone holding her.

Music - We went to several outdoor concerts at the library, a Kutless concert, a Tim Hawkins performance, and will be ending the year listening to several artists at the A Christmas Together concert. We had loaned our piano out for a couple years while we lived in an apartment and got it back this year.  The kids enjoy playing it, whether teaching themselves from a book or just plunking keys.

Naomi - She learned to read, tie her shoes, and ride a bike, loves anything pink, randomly tells us she loves us, and collects pigs.

Ownership - We've been in our home for a little over a year now and we love it.  We didn't mind renting, but it's been nice to paint walls and tear out bushes when we feel like it. 

Painting - Tim and Bethany painted one of the bathrooms in a neutral color the previous owners of the home had left behind, then Bethany painted the living room cobalt blue and the kitchen area lime green.

Questions - We often go around the table during a meal and have each person ask a question of the rest of the family.  The only rule is that the questions can't have yes or no answers.  We also end each evening by asking everyone what the hardest and best parts of their day were.

Road Trip - Devon headed south for a weekend and spent a couple nights with Papa and Nana.

Silas - He hit double digits this year, can be counted on to do things completely and correctly, has become addicted to mystery and adventure books, and dreams of living off the land in the wilderness someday.

Tyler - He smiled, laughed, rolled, sat, crawled, climbed, took a step or two, and will take off walking any minute now.  He's a happy kid who loves everyone, but his world revolves around Tim.

Ugly - We have blue counter tops in the kitchen, which came with the house.  That 80's country blue.  And lime green walls, which we chose.  Bright and cheery walls.  Someday the counter tops will be replaced, but meanwhile it's not a very attractive combination.  Just keep your eyes on the cheery walls and you'll be fine.

Visitors - From dinner guests to marshmallow gun wars, from birthday parties to weekend company, we had a lot of people come through our home.  Our most frequent visitors were the Moffits, Bethany's sister and her family, and the person who traveled the greatest distance was Sonja, who came from Arkansas.

Working - Silas entered the world of paid employment and did various jobs for a handful of people.

X = hugs - Naomi is super affectionate and frequently gives us spontaneous hugs.

Yanking - Several salmon pulled on Tim's fishing line this year, which means our freezer is full of fish.

Zinc - "Zinc on the pink" is our mantra when our diaper-wearing kids have a rash.  We've had to bust out the zinc a few times since Tyler was born and discovered that carrying the container around is one of his favorite things to do.

Merry Christmas!!!

The 6 Ws