Keeping it real...

This is what dinner looks like post holidays when mom has a cold and dad isn't feeling well... In case my blog ever makes me look like I got it all together ;)

Instafriday

Someone special turns 3 today!! Happy birthday Faith Cara Joy!

Saying goodbye to Christmas until next year...

Noah trying out his first real frying pan - making a pancake!

Snowman pancakes with chocolate chip eyes and bacon scarves for our Christmas Day breakfast!

Eating snowman pancakes with construction utensils in a new transformers robe - life is good.

Great grandma and grandpa sent Noah and Faith some Christmas money - so I took them to Toys R Us to spend it :)

Grandpa gave Noah a flatbed truck - today it is carrying a wide load of building supplies for a house.

Getting some pre-Christmas dinner golfing in at the putting green

Faithy getting her giant pink dog for her birthday. Noah has had a large dog named Clifford for 4 years - he sleeps with him and takes him whenever we go on trips. He is loved on and squished and perfect. Faith has been wanting her own "pink clifford" - and this year she got one. She quickly named it Clifford 2.

Clifford and Clifford 2

A taste of a Jenson Christmas

A rousing rendition of "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer" spontaneously breaks out when Santa comes to visit.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

Merry Christmas!

Heading to mom and dad's about to get our JOY on!

How Justin Bieber destroyed a Christmas Carol

So the Little Drummer Boy, an amazing song that exudes humility and a sweet offering, has been overhauled by none other than Justin Bieber. And I hate to say it, but he has ruined the song for me forever.

It's not just that it has a fast beat, or has rapping in it - it's the words that he has chosen to mash up with such a beautiful song about a poor boy who brings the only offering he has to the King - a song on a drum. In this song it is clear that Jesus is King and worthy of our worship.

But in Bieber's version, there is no humility whatsoever, there's no honor to the newborn King.

Here are some of Justin's lyrics for his version of "The Little Drummer Boy"

I'm so tight, I might go psycho.

Christmas time so here's a recital.

I'm so bad like Michael, I know I'm still young but I go I go.

Stupid stupid love like cupid,

I'm the drummer boy so do it, do it.

I I I I... Hmmm, not so much about Jesus.

Oh and there's more - a rap included by Busta Rhymes:

Lemme get straight to it. Yo.

At the table with the family, havin' dinner,

Blackberry on our hip and then it gave a little flicker.

Then I took a look to see before it activates the ringer;

Came to realize my homie Bieber hit me on the Twitter.

Then I hit him back despite I had some food up on my finger,

Sippin' eggnog with a little sprinkle of vanilla,

Even though it's kinda cold, pullin' out a chinchilla,

Bieber hit me back and said, "Let's make it hot up in the winter."

I said, "Cool." Ya know Imma deliver;

Let's collaborate and make the holiday a little bigger.

Before we work I gotta get this off,

See the other family members and drop gifts off.

Then I'm headed to the studio cause ain't nothing stopping how

You know we bout to turn it up and really get it poppin' now.

People everywhere and all our Twitter followers,

"Merry Christmas, Kwanza, happy Hanukkah! "

Hmmmm, a song about Jesus coming as a baby to save the world - so happy Kwanza? happy Hanukkah? Neither of these celebrate Jesus, so why include them in a traditional and beloved Christmas song - about JESUS?

I am more than annoyed and just had to blog about it. And I don't recommend you listen to it or it might ruin it for you too! You're welcome :)

Instafriday!

It was the instafriday before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. For daddy had taken the kids out to breakfast, with plans for adventure and Christmastime cheer, and mommy was content all alone on the couch drinking coffee and reading - um what's that I hear?

Mommy's alone? in her jammies? drinking coffee and updating her blog?

Merry Christmas to ME!

My girlfriend made the kids homemade playdoh with glitter in it - it is seriously the most amazing playdoh I have ever seen! It is so soft and pretty and molds great :) Thanks Kiki!

The kids had a cold for a few days so we stayed inside most of the time. But kids can get stir crazy - as can mommies - so we went for a walk through the field behind our house. Noah made his Christmas deliveries in his UPS costume from when he was 3, and Faithy took her giant elephant for a ride.

Two kids with colds means lots of bed head, blow up mattresses, and eating whatever I can get them to eat. My husband thinks that they will have great memories of this kind of stuff when they grow up - I do to. Man I love my kiddos!!

Again during pre-christmas sick week 2011, I was looking for things to do indoors with the kids. My sister-in-law Amy had a great idea for me - making snowmen out of marshmallows and various candies I could find around the house. It was perfect!! I set up a little snowman making station and made the sample snowman so they would get the gist of what to do (or maybe I just wanted to make one!) They had fun and enjoyed the treat after. Thanks Amy!

Noah's

Faithy's

We have an awesome kids play place near us that hosted a Christmas Tea in their princess castle room. Noah has always wanted to go into the castle room but it's for parties and such so we never went in. He was so excited to go in - and then of course disappointed that it didn't have stairs to a second level and the big doors didn't really open. But, he got to dress up like a knight, Faith was a princess, they decorated cookies, ate pizza, met Santa, sang songs and had a great time.

Faithy learning how to curtsy like a princess

Noah showing his knightly muscles (he was 1 of about 5 knights)

Always hugging.

Faith's blow up mattress was an early Christmas present from Jenny - because what little girl doesn't want a princess bed in which to be served when she isn't feeling well?

I have great memories of my mom making a dozen different cookies and treats around Christmas time and delivering them to our neighbors on pretty platters. It doesn't seem like that is done anymore! So this year, Darren and I made up cookies, fudge, peanut brittle and candied pecans and packaged them up all pretty for our neighbors. I never want to become so self-focused that I forget to connect with the community around me and bless those people that God has put in my life!

Faithy playing with Noah's playdoh transformers set. It's so funny to watch how girls with older brothers turn out differently than girls with older sisters.

For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only SON, that whoever BELIEVES in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to SAVE the world through him. John 3:16, 17

Thankful for Immanuel, "God WITH us", this Christmas!

GOD'S BLESSINGS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Santa Claus on a helicopter

This is a song you may hear at the Rogers house around Christmas time :) The kids are especially fond of it and Noah sings it with gusto.

Don't hate me if it gets stuck in your head!

Instafriday

Faith had a come-to-Jesus meeting with Lightning Mcqueen and Sally. They thought he was pretty great :)

A "beaver coat" and a fire hat. 'Nuff said.

Who needs Pinterest? This is an original by ME!

I love having a girl. I picked out the black pair for her Christmas dress and she picked out the red sparkly pair of course.

Girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice... most of the time.

Noah: "Mom, after this I wanna play that mom thing"

Apparently the mom thing is a fat redhead that you feed balls to.

Great.

I've never done a Santa pic before, but when the kids cuddled up on his lap and Noah whispered to me that he thought this was the real Santa - I couldn't resist.

Heck yes.

The black widow that was inside Noah's firetruck. Ugh.

Noah's first ever school pic - quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Give This Christmas Away

I heard this song and it changed our Christmas... just think what could happen if everyone took some of what they have budgeted for their own Christmas and gave Christmas to someone else.

Instafriday

The magic of Christmas has arrived in the form of an unbreakable(ish) snow globe.

The jeep that God blessed Darren with at JUST THE RIGHT TIME.

The money that we saved up to BUY the Jeep that God blessed Darren with - thank you Dave Ramsey for teaching us about not being in debt!!

This is what a cool mom looks like I guess - I used the kids' alien goop to blow huge bubbles and they must have told me they loved me 10 times - they loved it!

Hmmmm, good thing my kids have colorful vitamins, because it appears they are in a bland and beige phase!

Making an under the sea mural for homeschooling lesson on Octopus!

My perfectly organized box of very small craft supplies... that I tipped upside down :(

Attacking not 1, not 2, but THREE junk drawers. YIKES!