A Christmas Eve Letter...

DEAR Missionary Grandparents,

Christmas was just NOT the same without you HERE.

Although you were sorely MISSED, we did our BEST

to celebrate the season (the way you would if you were here)

surrounded by food, fun and FAMILY.

Pre-dinner activities ENJOYED by all,

kids, parents & great grandparents alike.

The tables set to HOLD the entire family.

Everyone FIT quite nicely.

The food was DELICIOUS!

The family GATHERED for a Christmas Presentation.

Tonight it was evident, that the Christmas TRADITIONS

you have shared THROUGHOUT the years have touched

and planted in the HEARTS of your grandchildren.

Without any parental assistance, THEY re-created the Nativity Story.

You would have been PROUD of them. It was BEAUTIFUL.

THE CAST:

• Joseph - Thomas
• Mary - Abby
• Baby Jesus - Libby (who loved being in the manager)
• Donkey - Kelsie (who carried Mary on her back around the stage)
• Inn keepers - Jessie, Sydnee & Kate
• Stable animals - Riylee, Emilee & Luke
• Shepherd - Carter
• Angels - Sydnee, Kate & Jessie
• True Wise Men - Kelly, Paul & Brett (who gave Baby Jesus a football)
  
  

  

Joseph & Mary with baby Jesus in the manager.

The Nativity scene ended
with the CHILDREN singing "Silent Night".

Our very own ANGELIC Choir.

Thank you for the MEANINGFUL Christmas gifts, you so thoughtfully sent. We appreciate the time you spent choosing such MEANINGFUL tokens. They bore to us the STRENGTH and COMMITMENT of your shining TESTIMONIES during this Season of Celebration.


The rest of our evening was filled with general MERRIMENT and cousinship FUN, which included...


Racing Cars

Hanging Out!

DESSERT!!!

Lego-MANIA in the corner

TWISTER - always MORE fun with Uncle Paul

LOTS of Basketball

Puzzles AND Games

Coloring, paper airplanes & other crafts


and MORE dessert!!


Our clean up crew did a TERRIFIC job

So, although we significantly MISSED celebrating with you THIS year, we are GRATEFUL for the sacrifices and SERVICES you are RENDERING in Germany and throughout Europe. AND just think of the CELEBRATION we will have NEXT year, when YOU are in the CIRCLE of our arms, and not just our HEARTS.

Hugs & Kisses,

Your ETERNAL Family

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

I have ONE word (besides the obvious - SHOVEL)

to say about ALL this snow

we have recently RECEIVED in such great abundance.

(Kelly shovelling on Christmas Morning)



And that one word is...

POOP!!

(a month's worth of dog poop to be more specific)




I'm soooooo glad

I'm not on POOPER SCOOPER duty for Rosco.



When the snow finally melts,

it's going to be just like EASTER

COMPLETE with buckets and shovels

only instead of HUNTING for eggs

the KIDS will be hunting for POOP!!

And when that day arrives

my ADVICE to Rosco (as well as myself) is...

HIDE!!

On the Road to Nowhere...

Innocently performing one or more of the following actions

• Picking up my purse
• Wearing shoes in the house
• Walking past the garage door
• Opening the key drawer
• Putting on a sweater

Will PROVOKE a response from Emilee

in the form of this question,

"Mom, WHERE are you going?"


To which I ALWAYS reassuringly reply,

"Nowhere. Mom is going NOWHERE!!"

After repeating this cycle a hundred times (in one day)

Emilee has rephrased her question,

"Mom, Are you going NOWHERE?!?"



So, since you are probably wondering

where I HAVE BEEN lately (obviously not blahging),

I thought I would SHOW you

what going NOWHERE looks like...






FHE - Homemade Soup &

Gingerbread houses

with FRIENDS

Singing at the Mall with

"Kelsie & the Elementary School Choir "

Spending HOURS and HOURS

in the kitchen baking (and tasting)

yummy things

for the neighborhood

Planning,Organizing & Executing

ANOTHER

3rd grade Class Party

Riding the Polar Express to the North Pole to visit Santa:

Performing in a SUPER cute

"Preschool Program by Emilee"

Wishing You a "Merry Christmas"


Receiving a Reflections Award & Trophy

at an EXTREMELY boring awards ceremony

Brock was quoted to say, that if he wins again next year,
"Please don't make me come to another awards ceremony.
I'd rather the office just hand it to me during school."

This is NOT THE END of the journey.

It goes on and on and on...

So check back frequently for further glimpses of our family...

Travelling the road to nowhere... fast!!!!

November - Sunday Family Dinner

ANOTHER month, ANOTHER Atkinson Family Dinner.

The hosts for the month were US. We served Chicken Alfredo Pasta with homemade rolls (thanks Rachel), a green salad (thanks Sheri) and yummy homemade cookies (thanks Mindee).

This month we celebrated Great Grandpa Meredith's Birthday. It was so fun to have him and Grandma come and hang out with us. We hope to see them every month at our family dinners.

The dinner was very similar to the fairy tale

Goldilocks & the Three Bears...

The BIG size kids ate at their own table in the entry way...



The MEDIUM size kids ate at the snack bar...

And the WEE little kids ate on the plastic picnic table...

Open for Business...

The final phase of our Marriage Counseling project

was completed in mid November

just before the first snow storm hit.

We spent our last Saturday together

working side by side

(more like one on the roof and one up and down the ladder)

preparing the roof

and laying the shingles.

Come spring our plans include

dressing up the exterior

and planting several garden grow boxes,

one for each of the kids

and one for our berry patch.

(strawberry & raspberry jam here we come)

After several hours of reading

the installation instructions for the garage door,

we happily hired it out to the professionals.

After all our hard work,

we have decided to celebrate our success

by spending a night

(testing our below freezing sleeping bags)

in what we now affectionately call

The Love Shack...