101 update

It has been one year since I  began "the list", my 101 things in 1001 days.  And let me tell you it has been worth it times 10.  I have accomplished 34 of the 101, so that means I am a little behind but not by much, I figure I should have had 37 done by the end of the year but I mean really?  34?  Not bad.  I am feeling pretty good about things. I was trying to think of my favorite goal accomplished and I don't know if I could pick one.  Each one I crossed off gave me a great deal of satisfaction. I loved being in Hawaii with Troy, I fell in love with the Oregon coast with my kids, maybe I'm crazy but a road trip with my family is just about one if my favorite things. Hiking to Table Rock and seeing JT do so well was amazing. Wicked was fantastic, and quite frankly running a 5k was empowering. I'm excited that my journey is not even half way done. I did a lot if the "fun" goals this year, but there are so many more that will teach me and bring me new perspective.  2013, and the next 365 days is looking good, wish me luck.

Leendert Barendreght and Willempje Vanderwiel

 Leendert Barendreght

• Birth 23 February 1831, in Charlois, Holland, Netherland
• Died 25 August 1879, Charlois, Zuid, Netherlands

Willempje Vanderwiel

• Birth 9 April 1835 in Zwijndrecht, Zuid Holland, Netherlands
• Died 3 June 1907 in Rotterdam, Holland

I don't have any histories of these two, the Vanderwel side has very little information available

Bowl-a-thon

I have a love hate relationship with the bowling alley, I love it when the pins are falling and hate it when they aren't.  But we always love it when family is around and every Christmas the Thurgoods get together and do a little bowling.  The kids lasted for about a game and a half, so Spencer and Brent finished the game off for them.  There were some great scores this year, Brent - 172, Spencer 173, Dad - 177, I even pulled off a 161 not too shabby for not touching a bowling ball for a year.  We finished the evening off with shakes at Grandma and Grandpa's.  I think I've mentioned Grandma's shakes, they really are that good.

Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas!! 

We started the day being woken up at 6:30 a.m. to cute little voices wishing us a Merry Christmas, I am starting to understand why my parents would let us open our stockings without them, it gave them a few minutes more sleeping time.  We followed the kids out and made them wait by the sheet, they wait there while Troy and I go in, turn the Christmas lights on, and set the camcorder.  I can't help myself I always tease the kids, with a lot of ohhs and ahhs, and then I take as long as I can, making them sing a couple of carols before I tell them it's time to come in.  They are always responding with a very impatient, "MOM", but of course everyone is smiling.  Then they come in and the excitement begins.  First is the stocking, they don't have to take turns, they can dig right in.  J.T. has said the stocking is his favorite part because there are always things in there that he didn't ask for and it is always fun to see what he got.  I think Cambelle has got some sort of stuffed animal in or by her stocking since she was really tiny.  She loves stuffed animals, she calls them her pets.  It is obvious how much she loves them, she sets out stockings for them and Santa has filled them.  Then it is time for Santa's gifts, this is a lot of fun for me to watch, because at out house Santa always creates a different code every year for the kids to figure out.  They have to figure it out so they will know which gift is theirs.  Some years it has not taken very long and other years it takes more time than the kids would like.  This year was numbers coordinating with the letters of their first and middle name. It took them about 15 minutes, like I said I love watching them try and figure it out.  After the code is decoded we take turns unwrapping our gifts, I like taking time to watch their faces and I think everyone loves it when they get to see each other so happy.  I looked through these pictures and laughed because the open mouth is the prevailing pose as we unwrap.  This is the first year Troy did not pick up the paper as soon as we took it off the gifts, it left a HUGE mess,  I think I may like his way of doing things.  Favorite gifts this year had to be the password journal and the Holiday Barbie for Cambelle, 2k13 video game and Lego's for J.T. and the purse and i-pod for Sara.  It was a success, like most Christmas' are.  Until next year....

This is the pause after stockings and before the code is figured out, notice Troy sleeping in the background.

Can you hear singing in the background?  Seriously?  I make cinnamon rolls a couple of days before Christmas, freeze them before I cook them, and then Christmas Eve right before I go to bed I pull them out to defrost and raise.  Then in the morning while we are unwrapping presents they bake and fill the house with one of my favorite smells, the smell may even be better than actually eating them.

After we eat breakfast then we unwrap family presents.  I like that we separate them because I don't want the giving to each other to be lost in the day, I like it to be highlighted.  

I made Troy a book of all the pictures from our Hawaii trip, I think he may have liked it.

She really isn't asleep but she thought it would be funny to pretend to be like the kid in the Christmas Story, since Troy didn't pick the paper up.

I think they liked what they got.

1 day left - Polar Express, and EVERYTHING else

Christmas Eve...sigh...I have to admit, I like it better than Christmas day.  I love the focus on Christmas Eve, we are together as a family, we share memories of past Christmas', we eat and laugh.  The program the kids put together is always a highlight.  I love reading the Polar Express, if you have ever read the story you know that it is not sad at all, yet I find myself choking up as I read it.  I think that it has something to do with the fact that the Polar Express has been a part of my Christmas since 1995, that is a long time.  I also think that I love it so much because the first time I heard it was in the mission field and Sister Dibble read it to us and correlated the story to our testimony of Christ, and so every time I hear it I am reminded of how in every way Christmas is connected to Christ.  That is what I feel on Christmas Eve, before the presents are unwrapped before wishes are fulfilled, we take a minute and remember this individual who lived so long ago. We remember his birth and the simple circumstances of what his family had.  And most importantly we are reminded of the gift that a loving Heavenly Father gave to us by sending his son to live upon this earth.  I love Christmas Eve.

Our annual Christmas Eve dinner table, I loved the silver and gold this year.

Troy ordered platters, of shrimp and crab to share, oh my...SOOO good.

We had the first two platters gone in 7 minutes.

See those feet in the picture? Those are mine receiving a little TLC, thank you Brent.

I love this picture, they get along so well.

Cambelle during her Rudolph song.

Dessert was a highlight, there was a choice of three.

NEW PAJAMAS!!!

 

We did not have any cookies in the house so Cambelle improvised with the insane amount of chocolate we have in the house, I'm pretty sure Santa was okay with that.

This was our second year tracking Santa.  This year the kids were asleep before Santa hit Louisiana.

We always put a sheet up to cover the family room.