Boo's First Fishing Trip

I'm back tracking here big time, but we have to get this documented. Back in August, Boo got to go on his first fishing trip with Uncle D and PawPaw and Uncle D's father. To say he had a blast would be an understatement. He will tell you he caught 100 fish! And his witnesses say he wasn't far from it! Lol.
Uncle D works with a fella who has a fish pond. It's very well stocked so nearly every time you drop your line, you get a bite. Uncle D just sent us a CD with these pics and videos, so I had to share. I can't even remember wearing crocs! Lol!

Not even the rain can stop these fishermen.

Boos' new best friend?
This is not Bella, for those of you who are wondering. I think this dog belongs with this pond.
He/she's got an eye on that fish though.

Videos!

That voice you hear is Uncle D!
He's behind the camera so there are no pics of him.
This trip wouldn't have taken place without him.
Thank you so much Uncle D!!!!!!

Wait for it...

Advent Calendar and Wreath

This year, we started a new tradition. We have our own Advent wreath at our kitchen table. I'll be honest, we got off to a rusty start. The candles were late arriving in the mail, so we missed the first Sunday of Advent and had to double up on the second Sunday. And as I was explaining it to Boo and Bit at supper on our first night to use it, our conversation went something like this...

Me: This is our Advent Wreath; Advent is the season of preparation. Do you know what we're preparing for?
Boo: I don't.
Bit: Birthday cake!! Cake!! Cake!! (we've had a few b-days here lately that involved candles...)

Me: Well, what do we celebrate at Christmas. Do you remember?
Boo: Hanukkah?
(He just learned about Hanukkah in school; B-man and I steal a glance at each other)
Me: No, not Hanukkah. Whose birthday are we celebrating at Christmas?
Boo: (thinking...........) JESUS!
Yes!! There it is!
Lol.

Just proves that we need to be doing this advent activities, don't ya think?!

So far we have lit the Candle of Hope and The Candle of Preparation. And as I explained to Boo about our hope in Jesus Christ, he said, "Mom, can you tell us more about Jesus?"
Perfect! Mission accomplished.

So although they were not paying attention as I read the scriptures, and Boo thought Christmas was about Hannukah (he knows better, btw, lol), and Bit kept asking for cake, seeds are being planted and that is why we are starting these traditions with them at an early age. They might not get it all, but they are getting something. And that warms my heart and brings me joy. It really does. I feel joyful after our advent activities. And you know what, they do too.

I saw this evergreen wreath at a little gift shop in town and when I saw it's beauty and simplicity, I thought...this would be perfect for an advent wreath.
Three of the candles are purple. They are traditionally purple because purple is the color of the vestments worn in the church during Advent. There is a single rose colored candle (typically pink, but this reddish pink is what I could find) that is lit on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent. Rose colored vestments are worn that day. And we included a fifth, white candle to be lit on Christmas Day. The white candle, of course, represents our Lord, Jesus Christ.

There's a lot of information about advent wreaths on the internet and there are a lot of variations.
This is just what we've chosen for our family. First Sunday (purple): Hope
Second Sunday (purple): Preparation (I've also seen Peace)
Third Sunday (rose): Joy
Fourth Sunday (purple): Love
Christmas Day (white)

For a while, I had been wanting an Advent Calendar. But, I wanted something specific.
I wanted one that told the story of Jesus' birth.
BeBe and I found this one in Texas right before Bit was born.
Remember that, BeBe?

They love doing it and make sure we don't forget! :)
We start at the begining of the story  and add just a little bit more each night.
And Boo immediately starts playing like he's at the Inn and there are no rooms.

Boo: "Excuse me, we've come to Bethlehem to be counted. Do you have any hotel rooms?
Me (as the inn keeper; Boo calls it housekeeper): Nope, we're all out of rooms. But, if you really need a place, you can stay in the barn.
Boo: Okay, we like animals. Do you have two sheep? My baby sister loves sheep!
Me: Oh yes, we do.
Boo: Do you have TV in the barn?
Me: hahahahahahahahaha!


Seeds people. Seeds.

Aloha!!!

We ventured into the world of Space A travel this week! The Air Force was flying from AK to HI and they had 53 open seats in there C17. So, we packed our bags and began our version of the Amazing Race! We made the cut and boarded the C17. It's HUGE!!!! Plenty of leg room! We're not sure how or when we'll get back but we're going to soak up the sun and warmth while we can!

Letters to Santa and Snow Play

First, I want to say that my heart is broken and sobs with those families whose babies were shot and killed this week in CT. It is an unimaginable, revolting, and totally devastating tragedy. I think of those little children going to school and my soul shivers when I think of what they encountered. How terrified they must have been. I just can't even imagine...

It definitely makes you hold on tighter to the ones you love, doesn't it?

I pray for peace for those families. Peace, Dear Lord. Wrap them in Your arms so that they feel You and Your love. I think it must be the only thing that can begin to provide solace at a time like this.
.......................................................................

Boo has been working on a letter to Santa for quite a while now. He finally finished it up last week and was so excited to address it and put a stamp on it. Well, once Lil Sister caught on, she HAD to write a letter too.
So, we sent them off in the mail earlier this week. And Boo can't wait to get one back from Santa. Hopefully our little Elf from the North Pole will bring one back soon. ;)

We also had some snow last weekend. We've been in a snow drought this year. So, it was nice to get some snow so that we could get out and play.

This makes me smile.

Boo's letter says:
"Dear Santa, I loved seeing you at the mall (last year). I would like LM (Lightning McQueen) racers this year. Love, Grady"

I'm not sure what Lil Bit's letter says, but it's quite colorful and I'm sure Santa can deliver something fun for her too.

Boo's envelope.

B-man playing with his new snow toy!
4-wheeler and snow plow combo.

Looks like fun! I'm just glad he's here to tackle the job!

Lil Bit headed down the hill!

Here she comes!

She's a little unsure on the way down but all smiles once she gets there!

Boo's ready to go!

WIPEOUT!

No tears!
Hallelujer!
Seriously.

She's too much!

Cuteness!

Big boys have to figure out how to get themselves and their sleds back up the hill.

Whoa!

B-man took this pic right before Boo went between his legs at the bottom of the hill.
Haha!

A little concerned, but having a blast.

She loves it, but she can't move or hold on with all of those clothes on so it's hard for her to handle.
I got a new sled for her that I think will work better to help contain her.

Moving on down the road to try out another hill.

B-man was taking the pics for this day.

O Christmas Tree

We decided to take advantage of the AK wilderness this Christmas season by going out into the woods to cut down our Christmas tree. Sounds like fun, right? Well... we did have fun, but it was a l-o-n-g day! And Boo spent 95% of our time in the woods crying. I'm still not sure why. He really cries a lot and I'm kind of having a hard time with that right now. Anyway, we made it to one of the designated tree cutting areas on post to find, well, not much in the way of Christmas trees. The underbrush was grown up and it was quite difficult to traverse the area with Boo and Bit being shorter than the brush. And, most frustrating was the lack of trees.  We were hard pressed to find a suitable or near suitable tree. Thankfully, B-man forged ahead in different directions scouting out possibilities for us. It was pretty cold too, so we weren't going to doddle too long making a decision. And he finally came across a few possibilities. Hooray! So, we picked one and he cut it down for us and he dragged it back to the truck. We got it home and up in the stand. The trunk is so skinny that the eye screws almost didn't hold it in place.
It stood there for several days. I finally trimmed some of the more wild branches to give it a Christmas tree shape. But, I didn't want to trim too many, or we wouldn't have anywhere to hang the ornaments!

So, here she is...

Decorating the tree. Boo is wearing camo jammers.
Do you see him?

Ta-dah! Here she is in all of her glory.
She is perfect! I love her and we will remember her always!
And although Boo seemed totally miserable out there, he tells about it like he had a wonderful time! Go figure.

Last night we braved the bone chilling temps to attend the Christmas Tree Lighting on post.
It was C-O-L-D! We experienced temps colder than I have ever felt before. Ever.
The temp was -10 but the wind chill was -23!!!
Our nose hairs were freezing in our nose!

There was a SURPRISE visitor from the North Pole!
Boo was beyond excited to see Santa and really, really, really wanted to sit in his lap.
So, we waited. :)
Look at how happy he is! For a little guy who had been under the weather earlier this week, he was finally smiling again.

Bit was mostly interested in the candy canes they were supplying.
Lol!

 Santa even brought his reindeer with him!!
I've never seen his reindeer before!
This is DASHER. They really are so cute. Short little deer with those big antlers.

Boo really loved it, so I had to put in all the pics of him smiling.

 After we walked through the door back home, Maggie lay on the floor and said, "I can't get up!"
All that gear! It was worth it though.

Boo is getting to the age where he might remember this for the rest of his life. I hope he does remember meeting Santa's reindeer! So magical.

We're doing special things to demonstrate the true reason for Christmas as well, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I will be posting about them soon.

Today in Numbers

Temperature Outside: -15 degrees 
Sunrise: 9:55 a.m.
Sunset: 3:47 p.m.
Boo's temperature: 100.5 degrees
Days of confinement due to a sick Boo: 3
Magnitude of the earthquake earlier this week: 5.8
Bit's wake up time today: 7:15 a.m. This is actually a good number! She's been getting up so early lately.

This Carolina Girl is COLD! I do love Alaska, but I do NOT like temps below zero. The bears have a good thing going with this whole hibernation thing. I'd love to snuggle in a warm cave until spring!

Brrrrrrrrrrr!