Hart Christmas

We didn't get the kids into bed until 10:30 on Christmas Eve - we were having too much fun at Mom & Dad's! So Matt & I were not looking forward to waking up early on Christmas morning. We figured they'd all be up at the crack of dawn! We were very surprised when they started to wake up at 8! That was good enough for us!
This year, we decided to simplify things and got each of the kids 1 big gift (up to $50). We looked in the stores in October and the kids had a few weeks to decide on what they REALLY wanted. With the money that we saved on gifts, we will go away for a long weekend this winter. We're looking forward to finding a waterpark/resort for a relaxing and fun time - spent together as a family!
Also, this is the first year with all 4 kids going shopping at the Awana Christmas store. They all came home with a garbage bag full of gifts for everyone. Matt's parents send money to purchase the kids what they need/want. So this year, we chose a gift that goes along with their big gift. No one lacked for gifts to open!

After singing happy birthday to Jesus, we passed out presents and opened them, one at a time.

Maddie received these triplet baby dolls as well as some clothes for the babies from Grandma & Grandpa.
Will had "all my wishes come true". His joy was (and is) apparent this Christmas season! He tells everyone who asks about his Christmas present and his wish coming true! Alex's favorite doll is Belle (from Beauty & the Beast). She wanted this 18 inch Belle doll. The extra outfit is from Grandma & Grandpa.
Katie was a little surprised by her gift. Take a minute to watch the video - it's worth your time! (click on the sentence to take you to the video).

Matt & I got a lot of fun stuff from the kids. I love Matt's new Bling! Can't go wrong with Coke, right Brad!!! I got lots of fun lotions and perfumes...including a big set that was in this box.
After opening presents, we ate a yummy breakfast - monkey bread, egg casserole and fruit. We got cleaned up (as well as cleaned up the front room!) and headed over to my sister's house for a few hours. On the way home that evening, we stopped at a house in Davenport that has "dancing lights"...a big display of lights coordinated to music. It was a great finish to our Christmas day!

Happy Birthday Jesus - thank you for coming to Earth, for the many lessons you provided us and giving the ultimate gift - yourself on the cross. We will forever be greatful!

Barman Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Becki's family on Christmas Eve. We attended Mom & Dad's church to celebrate the birth of Christ! It was wonderful to worship as an extended family. Everyone then went to Mom & Dad's for dinner, the annual Christmas pageant and presents.

Mom found these tree skirts on clearance a few years back and used them as "robes" for the kids as they sang. We all had a good chuckle, but they worked out well in the end. She had all of the kids sing a song or two and then broke them up by ages to sing a song from their school programs.

Will, Judah & Maddie singing a song...

Alex did her "plate" performance. No singing just plate tapping to "The March of the Nutcracker".
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Katie sang a song from her school program...Then it was time to present the Christmas story, complete with sheep, angels, doll angels, Joseph, Mary & Jesus!We ended our time together with presents. Maddie loved her new doll and apron outfit!Next was Will. He was so surprised!!! He saw what it was and then RAN over to Grandad & Grammy to give them a big hug & kiss and tell them thank you (I love it when it is geniune and unprompted!!)Alex and Katie loved their gifts too. Katie received some things for her LIV doll and Alex got lots of fun things - Littlest pet Shop, My Little Pony, etc!

Mom & Dad received a Carhart coat & a jewelry box from us girls.

Brad & Matt continued their Coke/Pepsi rivalry with their gift exchange...

We are blessed beyond words!! We celebrated the birth of Jesus with a family that all loves Jesus and follows Him daily...and we love each other! No greater gift than that!

Christmas with Barb & Willy

We celebrated Christmas a week early with Aunt Barb & Uncle Willy. They were heading out of town to visit family. The kids had gifts for them from the Awana Christmas Store. They earn points all year long and get to shop with these points for Christmas presents. The kids asked if they could give Grammy & Grandad their presents from the Awana store at the same time.

Alex showing us her gift from Barb & Willy

Grammy, Katie, Barb & Willy

I couldn't resist! We had a good laugh when we saw this picture! First of all, it's funny...Second of all, Dad is an IOWA fan!! Alex found this hat at the Awana store...brand new with tags on!!...and got it for Dad. She was so excited for him to open it and wear it. I hate to burst her bubble - some day she will learn that Orange/blue doesn't mix with Black/Gold!!!

Peoria - Letterboxing and Christmas Lights!

I was so excited to read an ad in Midwest Living about the Festival of Lights in Peoria, IL. We love light displays and don't mind having to drive to see them. We drive to Clinton every year, as well as Dubuque to look at their lights, so Peoria didn't seem much different!

We looked up the Festival info online and found out that the parade was that day! We decided that we had time to make it, but looked at the forecast (it was raining at the time) and found that it was going to rain all day/night! So, we opted to skip the parade this year and see the lights sometime in December.

Between holiday parties, Matt's on-call schedule and church committments, we had ONE weekend that allowed us to spend a day in Peoria. So, we put it on the calendar and we prayed that we wouldn't get hit with snow!! The day turned out to be a great one! It had rained quite a bit the week before, so one of our letterboxing hikes was scratched. We got to Robinson Park to look for Shorty's "Egyptian" series but found the trail extremely muddy & steep - not a good combination with kids (or us for that matter)! Matt was able to grab one box before deciding against the others. I took the kids to the playground where we played for a while.

We then headed to dinner at Tyroni's! We wanted to find something good - local to Peoria. A collegue had suggested Tyroni's and it was just what we were looking for! We look forward to going there again next year, as we continue our "Festival of Lights" tradition.

We left Tyroni's around 5:15 and headed to see the lights. We quickly realized that the bumper-to-bumper traffic that we were in was the line to the lights! Here we are towards the top of the hill - almost to the entrance. Reminds me of "Field of Dreams"! An hour and 15 minutes later, we drove into the park to see the lights. While the wait was long, it helped to build our anticipation...and our bladders! By the time we drove in to the park, both Will & Maddie had announced that they had to go to the bathroom "really bad"! We all used the restrooms at Tyroni's...but that had been a long time before! Luckily, they were able to "hold it" and there were no accidents!! Half way through the light display, Maddie announced that she was ready to go home!! I think she was tired of sitting! The lights were fun & we enjoyed them. Next year, we're hoping to see the parade too.

Homework Time

I found Katie working her homework...all the while, Pollyanna was reading a book!

Grandma Barman's 90th Birthday

The kids & I went out to Woodhull, IL to celebrate Grandma Barman's 90th birthday! She looked wonderful - it was great to see her out of the house!

After service, the church celebrated her birthday with coffee & cake.
After this, we headed to Homestead restaurant.

Teri, Deb & Becki with their dad (Ron) and Grandma Bev
Becki's parents Ron & Rose with Grandma Bev
Grandma with her 4 boys - Denny, Ron, Randy & Doug

Our Picture Won!

One of our vacation photos was chosen for the AtlasQuest calendar! What a nice honor! Check out the calendar - we are the month of October!

Continuing to Look for Lincoln...and Letterboxing!

We were blessed with very mild weather this fall - warm temps almost every weekend! We used these weekends to our advantage. One Saturday we headed down towards Macomb, Carthege and Nauvoo, IL to look for Lincoln. We were successful in finding what we were looking for!

The day started out with rain, but we were armed with umbrellas and paper towels (to wipe off the water on the medallions). The rain did let up as the day went on. Here are Becki & Will working on one of the rubbings in Carthege, IL.
Becki & Maddie in Nauvoo, IL

The kids right along the Mississippi River in Dallas City, IL - it was unbelievable how low the river was!The next day, we headed to the Amana Colonies to grab a few letterboxes...

The kids at a rest stop on the way - aren't those sculptures neat!

There's a letterbox somewhere around here!!

We ended November with a trip to Iowa City to find a new series based on Veggie Tales - on of our favs!! It was a great hike and wonderful stamps!! The special thing about this letterboxing trip - it was our 5th year anniversary of letterboxing!!!

Chick-fil-A Family Nights and Date Nights

We LOVE Chick-fil-A! Great food, great service, family friendly - it is a wonderful place to eat! Our local Chick-fil-A (the one that I work for) has family nights every Thursday night. This works out great with our small group schedule. A few families from our small group eat together and then head over to church (less than a mile away) for group. Some of the family nights include an option for the kids to dress up and receive a free kids meal.

Here they are dressed up as turkeys (thanks to my sister Debbie for the VERY last minute idea!!) -

A few weeks later, they dressed like pilgrims & Indians -
They also host date nights throughout the year (mother/daughter, mother/son, father/daughter, father/son). These dates are very special to us and we try not to miss them! Here I am with the girls in November.

Matt with the girls this summer...

For the mother/daughter date night, Chick-fil-A hires a horse drawn carriage. It is generally cold, but so much fun!