From Our Family to Yours

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe it's time to write the annual Christmas letter again! Where did the time go? Once again we've had a year of making memories. Here are some of the highlights:

Luke Corban – I realize that Luke's arrival was closer to the end of the year, but we all agree that he is, by far, at the top of our highlight list. With this baby Jeremy wanted to find out what we were having. I wanted to be surprised. We didn't think we could both get our own way, but that's what happened! We found out we were having a girl and then were surprised by our baby boy! Luke is the perfect addition to our family... we are all crazy about him!

Canada Day – We've been wanting to spend Canada day in Enderby for a long time and this was the year it finally happened. The kids were thrilled to ride on one of Papa's Massey Harris tractors with Jeremy in the parade. After the parade we enjoyed a BBQ and an afternoon of tractor pulls and lawnmower races. Having lots of cousins and friends around only made the day better.

School – Sam graduated from preschool and started kindergarten. He loves everything about school (especially recess!) and has a great, caring teacher. One of my highlights was being able to drop Sam off on the first day without crying (a small miracle really)! Since the start of school we have noticed that Sam has a new love... coloring! We never thought we'd see the day when he would sit still for hours and color! We miss not having Sam at home all day, but are happy he is enjoying school.

Ballet – Maartina went though a phase when she would tell us she wanted to be a ballerina when she grows up so we decided to register her for ballet lessons. She is learning a lot and loves to line up the kitchen chairs for us so she can give us a “ballerina show”. It's very entertaining. It has also clarified for her that maybe she doesn't want to be a ballerina when she grows up after all... her goal now is to be Rapunzel!

Water skiing – Jeremy still loves to get out on the lake with the boat. This year he enjoyed a water skiing/camping weekend with some of his friends. Despite not being able to sleep on the hard ground he had a great weekend away. I'm quite sure Jeremy will make sure this becomes an annual trip.

Beth Moore – I also had a weekend away with friends this year. My sister and I and two of our girlfriends went on a road trip to Tacoma to attend a Beth Moore conference. Our weekend also included lots of shopping and Starbucks. We all came home refreshed, encouraged and making plans to do it again sometime!

Hockey – In March some friends invited us to join them to watch a Vancouver Giant's game in Michael Bublé's BC Children's Hospital suite. We had a great time and felt very spoiled! That is definitely the way to see a hockey game! We also enjoyed the NHL playoffs... every time the Canucks won there would be a parade of honking cars in front of our house and the kids thought it was the best thing ever! They enjoyed standing on the front steps (usually in their pajamas) waving flags and shouting “Go Canucks Go!”.

Laughter – We have laughed a lot this year. Our kids are funny hilarious and they add a lot of joy to our lives. Not too long ago Maarti walked into our room, early in the morning, and yelled “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” (Lucky for her, we were able to see the humor in it!). Sam recently got a new Donkey Kong shirt and after wearing it to school he came home to report “All the kids in my school love Mario so much that they were all giving me hugs! ...even the girls! ...BEST. DAY. EVER!!”. And just the other night the two of them were explaining to us how “Terry the Fox skipped across the world on his stick leg”. Even when we have hard things we are dealing with the kids help to keep things light and we are thankful for them. Children truly are a blessing from the Lord.

Birthdays – We love to celebrate birthdays and we were especially grateful to be able to attend our Granny's 93^rd birthday party! Granny is an inspiration to us and she continues to teach us about having a positive attitude in every circumstance. Almost every time we visit her she reminds us that “With God all things are possible”.

So there you have it... the best of our 2011! I love to write these letters each year as it forces us to think back over the year and remember all the blessings that it held for us... something that we don't do nearly enough. We really have so much to be grateful for.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and much joy in 2012!

With Love from,

Jeremy and Leanne

Sam, Maarti and Luke

Activia Yogurt with Fibre

Sam has an opinion about that:
"Mommy, I don't like this kind of yogurt because I don't like the bits of hay in it."

Help From the Almighty

Maarti is still at the age where she needs a little direction before getting dressed in the morning so yesterday when she said she wanted to get dressed I told her to wait a minute and I would help her find some clothes. I finished what I was doing and went to help her and what did I find?... she was already dressed... in shorts and a t-shirt (Notice today's date... DECEMBER!!!)! Before I could say anything she had an answer for me: "Jesus helped me pick out my clothes".

EDN Studios Presents...

A Tropical Christmas Recital!





We loved watching you dance Maarti!
What a beautiful ballerina you are!

Our Picky Eater

Last night was Mom K's birthday and to celebrate Dad took us out for dinner. Chinese.

I'm not really a fan of taking kids out to eat at a restaurant anytime, and one without chicken and fries on the menu had me more than a little anxious. Sam is especially picky and I wasn't sure he'd eat anything besides the fortune cookies. As I went through the buffet I filled his plate with some fruit, skipped all the veggies (don't judge me, I just wanted a peaceful family dinner) and then looked for the least Chinese type foods that they had... deep fried battered cod, grilled chicken breast and deep fried wontons. As I cut it up I prayed that he wouldn't notice the absence of ketchup.

As is often the case, I worried unnecessarily. All through supper he was making enthusiastic comments:
"I love this Chinese fish! It's so good"
"This Chinese Chicken is awesome!"
"These are just like chips... Chinese Chips! I love them!"

At the end of the meal Sam enjoyed his Jello. And, in case you were wondering... apparently Chinese Jello tastes pretty much the same as Canadian Jello!

Angels According to Maarti

Maarti ran into the livingroom this morning wearing her tutu and a frisbee on her head and exclaimed "Look at me Mommy! I'm an angel!"


She then went on to tell me a few things about angels. It was quite educational and I thought you might like to be enlightened as well:

• "Angels wear tutus so they can spin."
• "Angels give out toys and money. Actually just money."
  
• "Angels can fly and they don't usually have babies or dolls or toys."
• "Do you know they have hats that have bigs holes in it?"
• "Winnie the Pooh doesn't belong with Angels."

My Next Birthday Party

I think our kids are normal... they start planning their next birthday party the minute their last one is over. It's all about the theme parties too. Next year Maarti wants a "Dora Hockey Party" (I think that means she wants to go skating and have Dora treat bags). Sam is waffling as to what he wants, but it's okay... his birthday is still 8 months away... he's got some time to decide!

Tonight at the dinner table the kids asked me what kind of birthday I wanted. So I told them to guess. (I never give my birthday that much thought... I'm just happy if someone orders pizza!) They threw out a few ideas and then all of a sudden Sam's face lit up and he exclaimed "I've got it! A Beth Moore Party!!". Can you believe that option had never occured to me?! The thought intrigued me so I asked him how we would decorate for a Beth Moore Party. Ummm... does anyone have a life size cut out of Beth Moore we could borrow in early May?

Terry the Fox

Way back in September I was channel surfing and paused for about 2 minutes on a movie about Terry Fox. The kids were with me and apparently were quite intrigued. A couple of days later we were driving to school and the conversation in the car went like this:

Maarti: I want to pray for that guy with the broken leg.
(I was entirely confused until Sam cleared things up for me...)
Sam: She means Terry Fox.
Maarti: Ya, Terry fox. Dear Jesus, please help Terry Fox's leg to get better. Amen

They hadn't mentioned Terry Fox again and I assumed they had long forgotten about him. They hadn't. This evening at bedtime we could hardly hold it together when they were telling us how "Terry the Fox skipped across the world on his stick leg."

Oh... such funny kids!

More of Our Sweet Baby

Special thanks to Judi for capturing our tiny boy so beautifully.

Oh Brother!

The kids have been going to bed fairly nicely for us lately so I should have known it would only be a matter of time before we had a night of "bedtime stalling".
Tonight was the night.
First it's always trips to the bathroom and then they have to get creative. Sam's second attempt was pretty pathetic... he wandered out into the livingroom looking all sad "Maarti broke my heart by hurting my feelings. She took a book right out of my hands without asking." We sent him back to bed and then it was Maarti's turn. She usually copies her brother, so we'll give her some credit for coming up with something all on her own this time: (Yelling from bed) "Dad! Dad! My hands are freezing! I need mittens!".
We're keeping our fingers crossed that Luke won't follow suit tonight!

Easy to Please

Today was errand day and as we were walking out the front door Maarti very sweetly made a request... "Can we go to the store that has 'Hortons' in the name?". She apparently had a hankering for a "round donut with sprinkles on the top".
How can one possibly deny a request like that. So... We did all our running around, came home for lunch and then Maarti went on a date with her favorite person in the world... Daddy.

It's a Boy!!

Welcome to the World
Luke Corban Konrad!!

October 25, 2011
7 lbs, 15 oz.
20 inches

Luke surprised us by coming early, fast and by being a boy! We were told he would be a girl so we were stuck at the hospital with a suitcase full of pink clothes for him!! I guess he's a practical joker... typical last born!



We're all crazy about you Baby Luke!

*Sigh*... Lesson Learned

This afternoon I noticed a puddle of water under Sam's backpack. Turns out in Sam's hurry to get out of the car and into the house he forgot to close his waterbottle when he threw it in his bag. I feel pretty bad about the library book, and I was hoping we could keep his planner looking nice until at least Christmas. Oh well... I'm sure it won't ever happen again, I could tell he felt badly about it:
"I'm really sorry Mom. I sure hope they don't fire me."

Pumpkin Scones

I got this text from my sister yesterday and when she recommends a recipe it's always good so I googled "Starbucks pumpkin scones" just as she told me to.

This is what I found:

Taste’s Just like Starbucks Pumpkin Scones Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg
6 tablespoons cold butter

PLAIN GLAZE:

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

SPICED ICING:

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch ground ginger
pinch ground cloves

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ginger in a large bowl.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half-and-half, and egg.

4. Cut butter into cubes then add it to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry knife or a fork to combine butter with dry ingredients. Continue mixing until no
chucks of butter are visible. You can also use a food processor: Pulse butter into dry ingredients until it is the texture of cornmeal or coarse sand.

5. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick
rectangle that is about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide. Use a large knife or a pizza wheel to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal
portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough.

6. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes on a baking sheet that has been lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper. Scones should begin to turn light brown.

7. While scones cool, prepare plain glaze by combining ingredients in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Mix until smooth.

8. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint a coating of the glaze over the top of each scone.

9. As that white glaze firms up, prepare spiced icing by combining ingredients in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.

Mmmm... they look good, but still had to pass the taste test.

And the verdict:

Two out of two kids enthusiastically approve!

Thanks for the recipe Susan!

It Runs in the Family

Sam has been super creative lately. It's a little strange to see him want to sit still and color or play lego for more than 2 seconds. He recently came up with this idea for a police robot. Pretty cool I think.

Then... this idea for a party potato fish won him a third place ribbon at a little country fall fair.

I know where he gets his talent from. Meet my Granny:

My Granny is the most crafty lady I know and I love that I have little pockets of her creativity all over our little house. She turned 93 this summer and doesn't craft anymore which makes everything she has made us that much more of a treasure.
Today I was sorting through my cedar chest... it is full of kitchen towels and placemats and potholders all made with love by Granny. There was also one extra special gift wrapped up safely in there and the minute Maarti saw it she was in love!

This china doll was one that Granny made for me when I was a little girl. I was allowed to hold it when we went to visit her, but she didn't actually give it to me until I was much older. When she did eventually give it to me she told me not to tell her if it ever broke because it was so much work she might cry.
One day I will give this doll to you, Maarti, but until then I will just let you hold it occassionally, because if it ever gets broken... I might cry.

Maartina Ballerina

Ballet has finally started and Maarti loves it. Almost everyday she asks if she can go to Ballet and I have to explain that it's not Tuesday and then explain how many sleeps before it is Tuesday. We are so glad she is enjoying it so much.
BUT...

I have wondered...

If perhaps she likes the tire swing just outside of the studio more than she likes ballet!


What a girl!

Betcha Didn't Know...

that kids who are experiencing car sickness can be instantly cured. It's true.
Simply pull over beside a lake and let them throw rocks in the water for a few minutes. Works like a charm!

Phew... We made it...

This was the week Sam started Kindergarten. It's a bit of a process with all the gradual entry stuff, but today he finally got to go to class!! He loved it! (and the bigger miracle... I somehow managed to hold it together!!) He had a fantastic first day and spent the whole evening singing "Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?". The "Triblets" in his class seemed to make an impression too as I heard quite a bit about the three brothers.

You are going to have a great year my son! I'm so proud of you!!

P.S. Anyone wanna buy some raffle tickets? All the procedes go to support a great little school!

Ballet Classes....

they cannot start soon enough for one little girl that I know!

p.s. We will try and get that firetruck tattoo off her hand before classes start!

Project Popcorn

I'm not entirely sure how this exactly started, but I have an idea. It probably happened at supper one night when one or both of the kids didn't want to eat their food. At that point I'm guessing either Jeremy or I launched into that famous speech that every single parent in North America has used at least once in their lifetime. You probably know the one I'm referring to because every single person who grew up in North America heard it at least once when they were a kid... "You should just eat your food and be thankful for it! Did you know that there are kids in Africa who don't have any food at all and they would be so happy for what you have on your plate?!!"

Fast forward to a couple of nights ago. We were eating our supper and visiting when Sam all of a sudden blurted out, "I feel sad for the people in Africa who don't have any food." Jeremy and I both picked up on the cue that this was one of those "Teachable Moments" so we started to talk about it. We asked the kids what we could do for the people in Africa and this is the plan we came up with:

1. Make a bunch of Caramel Popcorn (the kids call it "Brown Popcorn")
2. Divide it into small bags
3. Sell the popcorn at a rather high price (and since the kids helped in the making and packaging of the popcorn our target market is people who are more concerned about kids than they are about food safe!)
4. Donate the proceeds to a non-profit organization who is helping in Africa (a couple that we trust are Global Aid Network and Food for the Hungry)



I know it's just a little thing, but so were those five loaves and two fish that Jesus used to feed 5000! Who knows what He'll do with our few bags of popcorn?!!

If you want to join us in this project here is our recipe for
"Brown Popcorn":

1 cup of popping corn, popped (dump into a large oven safe container. I use a big stock pot, but a roasting pan would work well too)
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup margarine
1/2 cup corn syrup
bring to boil over med. heat stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
Pour over popcorn and stir well. Bake at 250 for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on table to cool. Store in airtight container.

Humbled... again

Recently overheard...
in the car...
on the way to church (of course!)...

Sam: "Mom, aren't you going to say sorry to the family for talking mad to us when we kept waking you up in the morning?"

A Baby Pool of Sorts

Not sure I've mentioned this on here yet, but this is what we are super excited about these days:



The kids are over the moon about this new baby! My belly gets hugged and kissed about a million times a day. They have even tried giving the baby a high five on occasion! It's so fun that they understand what's coming and it's really fun to hear their thoughts on it!

Sam thinks:

• we are having both a Boy and a Girl! (he's wrong by the way... we are only having ONE baby.)

• Name Suggestions: Justin and Emily (Sam has a different name for the baby every. single. day... his name choices are getting much better he started out saying "Obi Wan Kenobi" for a boy and "Obi Jo Kelobi" for a girl.)

• Birthday: October 2 (that's nearly one month early, but by the time October rolls around I may be hoping he's right.)

• 100 lbs and 100 inches long (If he's right I'm sure we'll get our own TV show... you can watch for us on TLC!)
  

Maarti thinks:

• we are having both a Boy and a Girl! (again, in case you missed it... JUST ONE BABY!)

• Baby Names: Sheriff and Lightening McQueen (obviously, we are open to other suggestions!)
  

• Birthday: November 3 ( I guess that's reasonable. Actual due date: October 30)
  

• 14 lbs, 14 inches long, with lots of purple hair (I guess that explains the heart burn!)

Family Day at Giggle Ridge

Sam has been wanting to try mini golfing for a pretty long time and yesterday was the day! Our favorite mini golf place in the area is Giggle Ridge... lots of nice shade, beautiful landscaping, not too busy and well maintained.




The kids approach golfing with with different techniques. Sam likes the hockey method... chase that ball around and keep hitting it until goes in the hole. He got the highest score in our family.

Maarti likes to be efficient... hit the ball once, pick it up and place it two inches from the hole and hit it one more time.

This method allows the golfer to enjoy everything else the course has to offer like climbing on the rocks and jumping off of them over and over again. Maarti pretty much got two on every hole and ended up with the lowest score in the family.

Jeremy and I landed in the middle... his score a little closer to Maarti's and mine a little closer to Sam's.
What a fun day!