Our Christmas Card and Letter

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one

who believes in me should stay in darkness. John 12:46

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

to you and your family!

2010 was an exciting year for us. It started with Brian conducting a nationwide job search. He had interviews with companies from New Jersey to California. We had no idea where we would end up! However, in June, Brian began his new position in Houston and we were able to stay. Although his time without employment was stressful and difficult, it was such an amazing time for us as we grew closer to God and learned to trust Him on a deeper level, and grew closer to each other. We will always be thankful for that period of time and remember the lessons we learned.

The kids are growing so fast! Coleman started Kindergarten this year and is doing great! Next month he will turn six and is planning a Bible themed birthday party! One of his favorite activities is going to Kid’s Bible Club at church. He learns verses, hears Bible stories, and plays games. Spence turned four in November. This month he will be in his first Christmas performance at Mother’s Day Out. We’re looking forward to hearing him sing and seeing what kind of show he puts on! He definitely keeps up laughing with his made up words and crazy games. Allie, who is 18 months, is no longer a baby, but a toddler that enjoys getting into everything. It’s so fun to watch her little personality develop! She can be very serious like Coleman, but also goofy like Spence! She loves shoes but hates bows. You can keep up with Allie and her brothers at www.pikkula.com, our family blog.

May you experience all the love, joy, and peace of our Lord and Savior this Christmas and throughout the New Year!

Brian, Amanda, Coleman, Spence, and Allie Pikkula

Make Me Laugh, Please

Spence has been so whiny lately. I think it's a combination of not feeling great and being tired. We're working really hard on not being whiny and using manners like saying "please" and "thank you." Today I started a new method to try and get him to remember his manners. Every time he asks for something and whines or doesn't say "please" I set the timer for 5 minutes. When the timer buzzes he can ask again, this time using his nice voice and manners. We'll see how that works!

Last night was one of those nights I had "had it up to here" and was counting down the minutes until time to meet some friends at Starbucks! It was great to get out of the house for a few hours. I was refreshed for another day! And with a new day comes new funny sayings. Here are a few from today.

We dropped Maestro off at Petco to get a little doggie treatment. We were walking around looking at the animals.
Spence: Look at that clock in the parakeet's cage!
Mommy: That's not a clock. It's a thermometer.
Coleman: I didn't know parakeets could tell time.

Then we came home and I started a Netflix cartoon for the kids.
Mommy: We may have to restart the computer. I think it froze up.
Coleman: (blowing on the screen) There. I blew some hot air on it. It's unfroze!

I love the way they keep me laughing! It really helps balance out all the moments that I want to pull my quickly graying hair out!

Some Christmassy Pictures

Who needs poinsettias when a beautiful hibiscus is blooming right outside your front door?

The kids posed by the tree at Sugar Creek when we went there to play today. Check out the footwear!

Nana made Allie this adorable pillow case dress. She was not in the mood for a picture!

Today Was the First Day of What?

They say it was the first day of winter today. I'm not buying it though. Coleman wore a Santa shirt and shorts. Spence didn't even go that far. He had on short sleeves and shorts! We took a picnic to a park and I broke a sweat while pushing the kids on the swing. When we returned home I had to turn on the air conditioner. And later while playing out in the backyard, I kept swatting at mosquitoes. This is all just so wrong. I wish I had bought those Christmas tank tops I threatened to buy last year! I hope some of you are experiencing better Christmas weather than we are!

My Excuse for Late Christmas Cards!

Wow! This week flew by! Coleman is now out of school for Christmas vacation, Spence performed in his first ever Christmas program, and I still have not mailed out my Christmas cards! I spent one hour and six minutes on the phone with Wal-Mart customer service yesterday trying to get my order straightened out. I placed the order Tuesday and the pictures were supposed to arrive between Wednesday and Friday. They did not. I would have just canceled the order, but I had already printed out the cards with our Christmas letter, and I needed those 5x7 photos to go on the front. Luckily, I spoke with a very nice representative who was eventually able to get it all taken care of. You rock Allen! So our cards are now all ready to go and will be heading out Monday!

Yesterday was Brian's birthday! The kids drew some pictures that we put in a desk organizer/frame and I made a "dad" picture board for him to hang in his office. I had a cute little song planned for the boys to sing, but when trying to rehearse it we didn't get very far. Coleman was in some kind of mood that I thought was only reserved for teenagers, and Spence was feeling bad. Maybe, just maybe, I can get them excited about learning and performing it soon! Daddy and Spence chose to have dinner at Double Dave's. That may or may not have been the third time I had eaten there in a week. I will neither admit nor deny it.

Today is our 12th anniversary! Brian had to run some errands yesterday and came home with a bouquet of roses for me. So sweet! The lady at the floral department asked him who the flowers were for and he said, "My wife. Tomorrow is our 12th anniversary." She replied, "Wow! 12 years! You don't hear that very often!" What a sad statement!

This week I'm looking forward to spending some time with the kids, visiting my parents, then getting ready for Rita and Gale's visit right after Christmas! Have a wonderful week!

Experimenting With Similes

Spence is starting to use similes to help describe things. I don't think he quite gets it, but that makes for some funny statements! As we were walking into Double Dave's Friday night, he said, "I'm as hungry as somebody!" And this morning as he was waiting for his oatmeal to cool off he remarked, "It's as hot as a lion's teeth!" Brian said that when they were getting in the car this weekend, Spence told him, "I'm as cold as a polar bear!" Brian tried to explain that polar bears weren't cold because they had lots of fur to keep them warm. So Spence adjusted his statement and said, "I'm as cold as a polar bear with no fur!" Yay! He's starting to get it! But then he told me he wanted a drink with no fur. Oh well. He sure is funny!

If You Would Like...

...a decent Christmas card from us, please say a prayer! Tomorrow's task: get a picture of the kids that looks a little better than this!

Oatmeal for the Chocolate Man

This morning Spence was eating his oatmeal and told me, "This is gooder than I thought! When I sleep and have a dream of eating oatmeal, it tastes good. This is gooder than in my dream. So it's gooder than I thought!" It's nice to know that I make better oatmeal than he can dream up! And now for a career update: Spence has decided that he will be a chocolate man. The chocolate man directs people to the chocolate store up ahead. Sounds like a good choice to me, especially if he gets discounts on chocolate from the chocolate store! Coleman decided a while ago that he will be a missionary when he grows up. This was a pretty big upgrade from prairie dog shooter! I love these boys...

...and this little sweetheart!

After breakfast I found Spence sitting in the sun trying to make a batman shadow.

Using his imagination

Breaking the cute-o-meter

Classic Spence silliness

Then we headed to our MOPS Christmas party. Spence had so much fun running around with his friends. One of the activities was to decorate cookies. Spence put more sprinkles than the frosting could support, but decided he didn't want to eat the cookie once it was made. (Guess I'll have to eat it.) And Allie didn't want a cookie, just frosting on her finger to dip into the sprinkles!

Listening to the Christmas story

Sprinkle-icous


Spence and two of his friends

Who Knew Oatmeal Was So Funny?

Irresistible

Can anyone resist a Cool Mint Oreo? Not me! And not Allie!

Rearranging the Scene

I set up the Nativity scene on the buffet in the dining room. Spence saw it and told me I had set it up wrong. It didn't look like the picture on the box. I think that was just an excuse for him to take them all out and play with them. I almost told him not to touch them, but then I decided it was OK.

Spence playing with the Nativity scene

Allie just looking adorable!

Should I Even Admit This?

Right after Thanksgiving, I started thinking how we needed to go pick out our Christmas tree. You know, if we wait too long, why even bother? But we didn't go get it, and I didn't really mind. Then a few days ago I realized that I was already thinking about trying to keep Allie away from the tree, pine needles all over the house and having to vacuum those up, and then getting everything put back away after Christmas. It all put a sour look on my face. But how awful would it be to not put up a Christmas tree? Well, I'll let you know! We decided to skip the tree this year. I can't believe I'm even admitting that! I feel like a horrible Scrooge, but at the same time like a liberated soul! Brian and the boys put lights on a few bushes outside, so while the boxes were down from the attic, I went through all our decorations, threw out some things that were falling apart, and filled a give-away box of things I'm tired of or don't really like. With the money we saved by not buying a tree, I'm going to hit the after-Christmas clearance sales and get a few new decorations. I did put some snowmen around the house, set up our Nativity scene, and hung the stockings. The boys haven't even noticed that we don't have a tree yet!

Whew! It's good to get that off my chest. Maybe next year I'll want to go all out and decorate big time. Now we've got to get on the ball and get Christmas card pictures. That's just something I cannot skip!

Santa Clause Is In Town!

We saw Santa today! Coleman asked for a Star Wars Swamp Speeder, Spence asked for a Nerf Gun that shoots green balls, and Mommy asked for a dollhouse on behalf of Allie! As soon as we got up to Santa for our turn, the elves had something to take care of so we got to chat with Santa for about 4 or 5 minutes. This was pretty nice since we had just waited in line for 30 minutes! It turns out that Santa thinks that any cookie is a good cookie, and he prefers chocolate milk!

To pass the time, I had the boys practice their smiles

Allie was taking it all in

Her shirt says Santa Rocks, but obviously she did not think he did!

Now that they've told Santa what they want, the just have to try to be good for 3 more weeks!