Merry Christmas 2008!

I laugh when I see that two months have passed since I've recorded our daily "bustle" here on the blog. Would you like to guess when Lanman started walking? :) That's right... About two months ago and since then the "busy-ness" of our lives has kicked up a notch! :)

Since I'm sending out our Christmas cards today, and in lieu of a letter had our blog address printed on them, I figured I better visit the blog myself and do a little update on the past two months! Now I know why blogging daily, or weekly is so important... I had to pull my planner out to see what we've been up to! It's a blur in the midst of it all, but I wouldn't trade our flurry of activity for anyone else's life. We are blessed. :)

After our last post, we did, in fact, make it to my parent's house for a long weekend. Our van needed a trip to the shop, yes, we brought Joyce's Buick and it provided a very close family experience. It also helped us see that a mini-van will be a staple in our lives for many years to come. :) The extra inches are a luxury. While with Mom and Dad we took a day at a Mulberry Lane Farm- Very fun for all!
(I'm having trouble getting the photos to load... I will try later...)

The end of October brought the beginning of our small group at church, which we are very excited about, and Halloween, of course! Here are our little goblins:



Well, these are their jack o' lanterns. Here they are all dressed up as Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, Laura Ingalls and a frog. Oh, and Jaker. Dressed as Daddy of the Year. :)


I got to meet up with my sister a couple of times in October and November, which was SO much fun. Lanman enjoyed the time getting to know Auntie Lottie better, too.

November brought Noodle's second Bible Quizzing meet for the year, where he stepped up to Division B and is now quizzing with 6, 7 and 8th graders. He's doing well and loves to go to the meets in the Cities. Our Dear Friends came to visit for a weekend in November! We love company. And will love it even more when the rooms in our basement are finished off. :)

The week before Thanksgiving brought a stomach bug to the Dahl house which only Noodle and I avoided. :) It continued though, and nearly all of Jake's visiting siblings fell and fell hard to it. Our house felt like a big ol' germ, so the kids and I- Now a week removed from it and feeling well- bugged off to my parents for a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! :) It wasn't the same without Jaker there, but he stayed busy with family and the kids were great to travel with. We got to see all of my cousins on Mom's side (all three!) and their families and it was the best weekend of Canasta I've had in a long time!

Jake started coaching the Boy's Varsity basketball team the week of Thanksgiving. The head coach is taking a year off, so it is a "caretaking" position. He's enjoying it and trying hard to keep all his "plates" in the air and spinning until March. :) That's where the family teamwork part kicks in and I rely even more heavily on grace! :)

Christmas preparations are being made at the Dahl house. :) With just Lanman home during the day, and being settled in our new home I am truly enjoying them this year.
The cards are done, shopping is done (Thanks to Jake taking a comp day, we got to shop together!) and wrapping is finished. Decorating is done and we've been baking. Candles have been burning steadily and carols playing. I've been drinking boatloads of "peppermint mocha" flavored coffee. Ahh. :)

Tomorrow marks a big day in our house... our first Golden Birthday! Doodle turns Nine on the 9th and boy, is he excited! Don't tell him.. but there is a real bow and arrow set awaiting his handling hidden away. :) He's going to be armed... and thrilled. :)

I best be on my way... I hear a great stomping on the porch, which means the kiddos have arrived. We are expecting 6- 12" of snow this evening and all day tomorrow. I just love these days when we can cozy in and be together (can you tell I'm counting on a snow day? :))
Cheers!