the year in review

i like days like today. days when i am forced for whatever reason (today the reason being that it is the end of the year of course!) to reflect a bit on the things of the past. it is good to look back and see the faithfulness of the Lord.

we perhaps started a new year's eve tradition this morning by going out for breakfast. we never do that so it was a real treat and so yummy! john received a gift card from one of his fellow teachers that gifted us this rare treat today. the boys even reminded me to take a picture "for the blog."
and they are sporting their new hats compliments of some very generous Christmas money from uncle jimmy. thanks uncle jimmy! burrito has really become interested in watching football games on tv, and it is so funny to hear his running commentary of the game. noodle loves basketball so he's adopted the mavericks as his team.

so back to 2009...i am thankful that the Lord has given us another year to be together as a family, to be healthy, and to be a part of a great church community and a great school/work community. i am thankful for His faithfulness in sustaining john through the completion of his graduate studies.

we are blessed.

praying the Lord's faithfulness and blessings to you in 2010!

airplanes, vacuums, snow and the wii

this past week was the first time for the boys to ride in an airplane. well, burrito rode in one at 5 months but of course has no memory of that time. but he's quick to tell you that this was not his first time and quicker to point out that this was noodle's first time, as if riding an airplane more times makes you more famous or something. boys can be so competitive!

burrito is such a people watcher and the airplane ride was no exception. i packed all sorts of fun things to do while we are on the plane but he was not the least bit interested. the people and the sprite he received from the flight attendant apparently are way more interesting!

noodle sat next to me and had his leapster to play but instead asked me one million and one questions instead. i failed to have much patience for these questions in my dramamine-induced state. i am not much of a traveler!

the flight there was uneventful, but the flight back home was delayed at the gate, delayed on the runway due to the need to de-ice the plane and right in the middle of dinner time. not a good combination. but we survived and are glad to be back home.

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part of the glory of being home on christmas break is sitting in bed, drinking coffee and watching good morning america. i love being able to do that. and today was no exception. and i was pleased as punch to see my favorite vacuum featured on one of their segments. it was a consumer reports piece about some of the best products on the market for the new year and our vacuum received the best marks! it was redemptive for me to see my research paid off. not only do i LOVE my new vacuum, apparently so does consumer reports!

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it's snowing outside right now. the third time in a month in our part of texas. highly unusual! we just love it but 3 out of 4 of us have scratchy throats and runny noses (i think complements of the aforementioned airplane ride) so we are loving it from the warmth of the inside of our home.

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i received a wii for christmas (i know, we are so behind!) and we are loving it! it has been so fun to do as a family, and john and i have had fun bowling against each other after the boys go to bed. we all bowled together as a family the other night and burrito smoked us! he threw 4 strikes in a row. we couldn't believe it and he was so humble of course! ha!

hope you and yours had a great christmas. check back soon for our new year's resolutions!

the makings of a gingerbread house

because we've never attempted the assembly of a gingerbread house before, i thought an easy gingerbread house kit would be the way to go. as you will see with our final product, not even an easy kit helped us out!
first, we laid everything out on the counter.

then, we piped icing into the foundation.

burrito piped icing into the spot for our christmas tree.

then noodle squeezed icing onto the side of our house pieces.

once the house pieces were together, we had to ice the tops for the roof.

then came icing for the top of the roof.

i failed to take pictures of the roof pieces sliding off of the house and little gumdrops sliding down to the inside of the house. after about 3 more attempts at getting everything to stick together, this is our final product.

the great thing was that the boys didn't know any better, and all they cared about really was eating as much candy as they could before we used the candy to decorate the house. i am not sure if this one will become a christmas tradition or not!

SNOW!!!

john read yesterday that 2/3 of the country had a white Christmas. i still cannot believe it. there's something about snow that brings out the kid in everyone. i loved the snow but not the 10 degree wind chill.

hope you enjoyed a white christmas too!

Advent Reading Day 25 ~ Merry Christmas! He is Here!

advent reading day 25

scripture reading: the birth of Jesus, from luke 2*

symbol: baby Jesus!

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

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merry christmas! we are celebrating the best gift given to us, jesus. and enjoying giving and receiving presents with those we love.

Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Advent Reading Day 24

advent reading day 24
scripture reading: the King of all kings: the story of the three wise men, from matthew 2*
symbol: the three wise men and the star

*we are using the jesus storybook bible by sally lloyd-jones for our kid-friendly readings

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this past sunday night marked a milestone in the rutherford family. our boys were able to participate in their first church choir performance for our lessons and carols service. this service has been a favorite of mine for years. it is full of Scripture and songs foretelling the coming of Jesus. they sang this sweet, sweet song called "the friendly beasts" which is a song sung from the perspective of the animals in the manger. the boys chose to be donkeys. quite fitting, if i do say so myself! aren't they the cutest donkeys you've ever seen?



this was the "dress rehearsal." there were also cows, sheep, and doves.

and here is the actual performance. i was so proud that they sang and didn't get stage fright!



and to switch gears a bit...
we LOVE going to this coffee shop with the boys. i love home-grown coffee shops, as opposed to big chain coffee shops. unfortunately many don't survive, but this one has and we just love it, especially on cold, wintery days.


it is in this cute little downtown area of town. check out the christmas tree right in the middle of the street.



burrito loves hot chocolate and was proud to drink it out of a "real" glass!


seeing as how noodle only drinks water (no exaggeration here!), the draw for him is the games.


and taking pictures of me and john with our coffee drinks!


and just when i think i have my children figured out, they never cease to surprise me! have you seen these little bungy jumping areas in the malls lately? burrito insisted that he wanted to do it, but i was convinced he would chicken out in the end. boy was i wrong! he loved it and made me so proud (again!).


noodle was not interested at all in doing the bungy thing but jumped (no pun intended!) at the chance to ride this two-story carousel. he chose the sea horse and burrito chose the tiger. i chose to stay off. i don't do well with things that move in circles!

and this is how we like to spend our Christmas break! how about you?