St. Patty's Day

the simple way...

A leprechaun trap...
courtesy of Katie.
(mind you that she actually built this 2 months ago)

The good news, the leprechaun came;
The bad news, the leprechaun escaped;
The best news is that he left a treasure...
Hugs & Kisses (of the tasty variety)

We ended our day by having Mint-Chocolate-Chip ice cream.... MMmmm......

The Simple Life
of
8~







VALENTINES DAY style....

A handmade Valentine from Katie-girl...

A hand-knitted garland & paper hearts....

Dinner of steak, mashed potatoes, corn, & these biscuits...

I attempted a Velvet Cake... decorated by the kids!

We are blessed with a houseful, and oh-so-thankful...

All the kids took turns making heart-shaped cookies,

Yes, even Joe is joining the fun!

The grandparents enjoyed steak dinner w/ us, but now are tucked away in their room for a movie night...

while the rest of us play some good ole family board games. =)

I *HEART* FAMILY!

Got love?

Valentines' Day is a holiday with such mixed messages.

I love the decorative-ness of it. Red is simply my favorite color. Hearts, lace, roses... This is when I am grateful for having a daughter, one whom squeals with glee at decorating for any holiday, but this one definitely has a feminine flair to it, don't ya think?

I do not care for Valentine's Day in itself. The commercialism, the pressure it puts on men, the expectation of 'want' that is pushed for us women. The idea of a holiday telling my husband that this is the day he HAS to tell me he loves me, that he should be getting me a mushy card, that he is suppose to buy me flowers, balloons, and a fabulous child-free romantic dinner out... this whole idea makes me nauseous...

this is when I hear all the wonderful stories of woo-ing that other husbands do. This is also when I hear of hurt feelings of a wife that didn't quite get what she was hoping for. This is when I cringe at the store that seems to scream at my husband to not forget his wife on this oh-so-important-holiday...

this is when I smile...
as I reflect at all the ways my husband tells me he loves me on a daily basis.

~He works hard everyday, both physically & mentally- always without complaint.
~He is incredibly patient, even on the days when he is exhausted.
~He is the one that originally initiated me to stay home to be full time mommy! WOW, that in itself was probably the one most important gift he has ever gave me.
~He knows how to make me smile with the simplest of a whisper & a glimmer in his eye.
~I love when he takes all the kids out to play- all.of.them.- great bonding time with the teens, and the littles run off a lot of extra energy, and I am finally able to get things done in the house. =)
~It is wonderful when he participates in our family reading time in the evenings.
~I appreciate that he never balks at my lack of skills in the kitchen (really, I am quite pitiful at cooking).
~I love that he is fully supportive of our children having a home-based education!

He loves me as-is~ the frumpy days, the energetic days, the pull-my-hair out days, the have-it-all-together days, my roundness days, my fitter fitness days, my house-is-a-disaster days, my compulsive-clean-every-nook-and-cranny days... through it all, Fred always loves me.

So as Valentine approaches, and the sweet nothings of romance begin all around us...

I'll quietly whisper thanks to the good Lord for this amazing man who completes me...

For ever, for always, and no matter what.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS


from our home to yours....

My parents with their special
'Sugar'.
Oldest brother, Joe, conquers bop-it in one try!

My lil sis, Joe, & me.

My sister Janelle, & her husband Chris.
He was the chef of the day!
Prime rib & potato soup... Yummy!

Katie-girl made me a necklace, finger-knitted a lil scarf, and gave me a self-made coupon book FULL of helpful things!!

My sister-in-law Chanelle, & her friend Jeff.
He is reading about finger-knitting, along with all the many other ideas in "How to be the Best at Everything" book.

...and what do we do with a house full of children... send them outside to play!

Christmas evening,
when everyone went home,
my older boys had a blast outside...

with all the many gifts between all the children,
the one simple thing that entertained them most was...
mini-nerf guns & venturing out in the dark backyard. =)

May your New Year be full of Grace, Health, & Joy;
and may Jesus Christ's gift of eternal life give you much hope throughout the year!

Blessings to you & yours,

THE HOLLINGERS

A Season of Grace

Shopping done,

Christmas dates done,

Internet down.

hmmm... what to do...

be home-bound & happy, of course!

We started our Monday with sugar-cookie cut-outs. Just ignore the messy floor & hutch, along with my no make-up face; hey, at least we were out of our jammies! ;^)

Monday afternoon we watched
"Elf",
then proceeded to finish up our Jesse Tree ornaments. We use our own devotional style, but I have had these ornaments to create with for the last several years. Katie loves for me to read the details for each of the ornaments, then let her "remember" what ornament goes with the story; and the older brothers love to pipe in the answer before she can. I love to see my children grasp the ancestry tree of Christ, following God's promises along the way.

Our week is full of simplicity, leaving chaos at the door. No more perfection-wanna-be out of me. No more hustle & bustle, rush to do everything, as the peace of my attitude speaks more clearly to those dear to me. Our daily agenda: baking, craft, movie, and a detailed jurisdiction.
(after all, I want our house smiling at us come Christmas morning!)

Tues- Snowball cookies, Christmas chains, Mickey Mouse's Christmas Carol, & bathroom detail.

Wed- Fudge, paper snowflakes, The Christmas Story, & living room detail.

Thurs- Peanut Butter Blossoms, Angel ornament crafts, Charlie Brown's Christmas, & kitchen detail.

Friday- It's Christmas Eve! Our oldest son, along with my sister, her husband, & their 3 boys should be here by evening! We will visit, laugh, enjoy popcorn and watch The Nativity Story.

May your Christmas be blessed with peace, laughter, & His love!

Tis the Season ...

for thought pondering questions.

Like...

Why does everyone else seem to pull off fabulous family pictures during the holidays?
seriously, we pile everyone together and hope for the best...hmmm, maybe there is a better technique to it?

Why does there always seem to be an underlying thought that I am forgetting to do something during the holidays?
making a list, checking it twice... should I just let Santa worry about such things?

Simple or elaborate? decorations, that is.
I love the twinking lights, nativity scenes, & trinkets of glimmer... yet, does simplicity seem to bring Christ more into focus?

Presents! We keep it simple, sibling buying/making gifts for each other does bring meaning...
but what are other ways for us to display "we care" to the other people in our lives that we love?

The Christmas Letter!
I actually enjoy creating our Christmas letter. It is fun to ponder about blessings amongst trials in our year... although I am thrilled to read other folks message, who really actually likes to read ours?? (I can just picture someone rolling their eyes while reading my musings ;^)

Christmas Day! My hope is for joyful celebrations; a day filled with family, fun, fellowship, & food... yet how best can my actions display the most precious gift of this day,
the love of Jesus Christ?

Thankful for....

my kids!
Nick,
TJ,
Andrew,
Katie-girl,
Joe, &
Bryson.

The in-laws family-
this would be Fred's stepmoms' family. Cindy is sitting by the beautiful Husky. They are all lovely to visit with!

The Turkey Bowl?
My dear husband & the older boys play football with the hometown folks every year...and every year "something" is dramatic. This year? Fred's face met up with someones head...knocked out, dislocated jaw...no worries, some guy on the field popped it back in place...and he was good for eating the Turkey Dinner!

Xbox 360
A few games of spongebob & teenage mutant ninja turtles kept Bryson busy while we were setting the table.

Jenna!
This is Fred's little sister. We all love spending time with her. She is the same age as our Nick; and yes, she is loved on and picked on as much as with our own kids. =)


Dad (aka Grandpa)
Fred's dad is always a hand-on Grandpa. From marbles to rough housing to croquet to playing golf at the local golf course, he always finds ways to spend time with the kids.

I am so very thankful for family, to be able to spend a relaxing time with them, and to continue to make wonderful memories...

Thank you God for each simple gift that lays within our days, and may our everyday moments continue to be filled with your Grace...Amen.

~

H
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~
PERFECTION?

Oh, I had some lovely intentions...really I did.
Our school studies for Thanksgiving week were outlined w/ purpose. And oh, the grand plans I had for our "Thankful for Each Other" party... crafts, games, prayer, snacks, & a movie.



Yep, I sure did... then it snowed. Who keeps kids inside studying when there is fun to be had?
Not this mom!
Frigid temperatures insist on icy roads, so when we were going to have our party, we now are hitting the road to stay with family a day earlier than planned...

We will open our Thankful letters before we go. Each child wrote a word to each sibling. Anything from "she's ok" to "He's crazy, I like that" to "I'm glad I'm bigger" to "He's funny & outgoing". Ha, did you expect it to have more meaning? Heartfelt & thought pondering? Oh, I did... but hey, welcome to our simple world. ;^)

Does anybody struggle with the attempt at a perfect holiday?

Does this effort rob the joy out of the intent?

I am a planner, a type A personality, I want things perfect. What I have discovered over the years is that to strive towards perfection steals the desires and efforts of pleasing others.

Holidays are not about the clean house,
not about the decorations,
not even about the food,
it is about the people.
Those whom we care about, adore, love.

So during this holiday of Thanksgiving...
I will slow down to...
embrace a small child,
listen to a talkative young lady,
pay attention to a quiet guest,
hug the host,
& whisper a grateful message into each ear that is near me this day.

Give thanks to the Lord, His love endures forever.............

We do not celebrate Halloween!

I have found that this statement brings about 2 things:

Curiosity...
or defensiveness.


Curious? How did we come about this decision? You would think it would be obvious by the claim that we are a Christian family. Would you be surprised to know we are very much in the minority of this choice within our Christian community?
Halloween is celebration of a darkness, period. We can fluff it w/ cute costumes, fun games, laughter, & reasoning... but the underlying purpose is dark. Yes, there is plenty of good argument to go around (All Hallow's Eve, Saints fest, etc), & yes, we did our homework, extensively. Ultimately, we, as a family, are led not to give our attention, our time, our talents, or our treasures to glorify this event.

Defensive? Are you offended by my initial statement? or does it make you feel uncomfortable? I find this common among our Christian friends. My friends, we are not judging others of their choice to celebrate this holiday or not. We are accountable to God for raising our children; God has led us down this path. Funny enough, non Christian folk don't seem much bothered by our decision not to celebrate Halloween. They may think we are strange, or roll their eyes at us 'church folk', but will shrug us off with a live/let live attitude.

It does sadden me. I gently express this. Our kids are exposed to so much darkness this particular month. The commercialism is geared toward our young. "It's just for fun" Witches, blood, vampires, and the thrill of a scare factor... all for fun.
But is it?
Satan is having a blast, I am sure... but is God pleased?
As with any other day, is our choice of actions pleasing to God?
These are the questions I am responsible to ask myself....

I
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DAY....

FREE to eat,
FREE to play,
FREE to do many things,
most importantly, FREE to pray.

RED, WHITE, & BLUE cupcakes...

and a tasty steak...

Yep, these are the days....

Katie-girl being funny;
Grandpa being funnier...

SMOKE BOMBS- Um, yeah, not sure how healthy inhaling all that smoke really is, but the littles thought it was super cool.

SPARKS
are not my thing...
I was sent in the house...
they had fun with out me...
it was probably a good thing.

DAD was not probably the best example of safety...go figure.


Must be why
the boys
like the fireworks
so much....

~FREEDOM isn't FREE~
So don't forget to thank those who serve our country or have served our country, & respectfully remember those whose lives were lost so that we may live with the freedoms we have.

~GOD BLESS AMERICA

CHRISTMAS '09

Katie n me havin' some lovely tea...

Dad n Bryson;
playin' tinkertoys,
n havin' some fun!

Brothers! To not play games would be such a shame, although if they lose, the baby will get the blame. =)

*note: poor quality pics are from my phone ;^)

Christmas Light Festivities $75
Hot Cocoa/Spiced Cidar $10
Kettle Corn $7

Laughter & Love amongst family...
PRICELESS

Tis the Season to be jolly...

~Life is fun...enjoy the ride!

~Best Pals forever! Aria and our Andrew!

~Life IS a ball!

~Joe's Sarah... our luck!

~Miss Mikayla (aka... our Katie-girl)

~Life is like a bowl of "Cheery-O's"

Fa la la la la....

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Note: the kids are enjoying their slushy 'snow' cones, yet for the picture, TJ is in bare feet for the picture outside our back door...brrr! ;^)

Oh, such abundance of snow we have! It is so beautiful! I can't help but smile when I go outside... really, lol. Now, I am fully aware that when this stuff starts to melt we are in for a muddy, slushy mess... but for now?...

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas... yep, that will be most likely in our area, simply amazing for us 'rainy day folks'.

Christmas is quickly upon us, yet I can't help reflecting on "gifts" already received this blessed season!

Things that are making my heart smile this week...

*seeing T.J. rock baby Bryson to sleep.

*fresh made "snow" cones from my honey!

*My Katie-girl singing 'Away in a Manger'

*having Nick help put chains on my van.

*Andrew's expression as he recognizes the Charlie Brown Christmas theme song on the radio.

*T.J. cookin' up tasty hamburgers all on his own! Yum!

*Friends who call 'just because'!

*Fred & Nick shoveling our driveway; phew! That was a lot of snow!

*sharing weather reports with Joe (although, admittedly, I rather prefer if he were here with us already, Christmas IS in a few days)

*curled up on the couch with family and a warm fire, giggling about good times!

Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights James 1:17

Thanksgiving Day photos

above: Nick w/ mom (me)

above: our family piled on the couch ;^)

Joe and Dad (Fred)

Katie, me, and T.J.