An Enchanting Eve

Christmas Eve was magical. The Moorpark air was crisp and cold as a California Winter's day should be. Our 3 lil' tumbleweeds danced and pranced all day long in anticipation of gifts. And Mima, Papa, Uncle Andrew and Grandma Gladys descended upon our LED lit home for our deGrassie family celebrations and a sleep over (minus John, Kelly and our precious baby Anna of course).

Late in the afternoon we dolled up the kids and hurried off to church. We sang Christmas carols and heard a beautiful message from our Pastor about the REAL gifts we've received as Christians, and should remember at Christmas: Peace, Hope, Reconciliation with God, Everlasting Life, The Word and the Person of Christ....Then we assembled in the dining room for the traditional Eve meal of Buca di Beppo fabulousness. And then the wrapping paper went flying. Among the favorite gifts for Zach were a new Radio Flyer scooter, an 'Armor of God' dress up ensemble, and a book all about trucks. Jayden squealed when she caught the first glimpse of a new baby doll complete with diaper bag and accoutrement, and winked at Uncle when she discovered he'd given her 2 books about Princesses. Ollie acquired some excellent developmental toys and books, but of course found the most delight in a balloon from Trader Joes. Jesus was our central focus throughout the month, and Jayden especially latched on to every detail about His birth in the manger --from the Angels glorious proclamation to the Shepherds in the field, to King Herod's fear that this baby King threatened his rule. The biggest challenge is trying to get the kids to understand the connection between God's gift to us and our worldly practice of gift giving...all they see is "more stuff for me"!

They've definitely figured out, however, that there is great JOY at Christmastime...the spectacle of lit houses, the fun of school performances, the fellowship with family and the privilege opening of piles of presents.

Costco Christmas Tree

We finally summoned the strength

to tackle the adventure of getting a tree,

taking the ornaments down from the rafters,

and letting our noisy-happy-little-people put up the decor.

Talk about letting go of creative control!On our way to the tree farm

we stopped for gas at Costco

and realized we could save a fortune

by purchasing one there.

The photo op was not what I had envisioned,

but it was still fun for our kiddos.

Especially the hot-cocoa at Starbucks afterwards.

Christmas Performance

Yesterday we attended Jayden's preschool Christmas performance. She and her classmates donned apparel from the Creche scene -- she was a glittery Wiseman.

The songs were short and sweet and rich with Biblical truths. I particularly enjoyed listening to Jayden practice around the house a song about the meaning of a candy cane.

"J is for Jesus and I do believe.

Red is for His blood He shed for me.

White is for holiness and setting people free.

The staff is for the Shepherds.

I'll follow as He leads."

Afterwards we sat outside on the grass and had an impromptu picnic of Starbucks snacks .

Crafty-ness

Every day Jayden asks me if she can do an art project. I
love her creativity
and want it to flourish in our home,

But
(and it's a big, neurotic, selfish but)

I often say "no" simply because
I don't want the mess
that follows a 4 year old and a box of Crayolas.

Lately, however, I've been letting the perfectionist in me yield to the reality of my God-ordained calling.

I'm the mother of 3 small children.

And this means my home will be filled with clutter, dirty clothes, grimy fingerprints and the like.

After all, shouldn't childhood be messy, muddy, noisy fun?

So now many morning or after-nap hours are spent with paints, gluesticks, rolls of tape, and fancy scissors.

Cleaning can wait.

This month we've been able to make things with a purpose.

The 1st was a birthday card for 1 of Jayden's preschool teachers.

She chose watercolors and glitter as the medium.

And carefully fashioned a stack of artful masterpieces, and then selected her favorite

which she described as "The
cross where Jesus died. To remind us."

Our 2^nd project was a Thanksgiving-themed craft .

We had a friend gather pine-cones from her yard so we could turn them into turkeys.

They will be the place-cards at our family feast.

Howdy Halloween

I was super duper excited about dressing the kids up this year!

Mainly because my friend Amanda introduced me to OopsieDaisyBaby
pettiskirts

and I couldn't wait to see Jayden in hers

(which I found on e-bay for a fraction of the price!).

And then we found the hats and boots (thank you Janie and Jack!) and the sheriff badge.

And the final touch was Marty's round-em-up rope.

Oliver happily donned a bee costume for a photo-op – he is so yummy!

Instead of waiting around for the doorbell to ring and risking scary costume sightings,

we corralled our western-wearin' kids

and headed to a carnival at the
EV Free Church in Newbury Park.

Fun games, friends, jumpy houses, plenty of candy

all in a safe, family-friendly atmosphere.

I think we'll make this a tradition (including the pit stop at In-n-out for dinner)!

Fall fieldtrip

Jayden attends a fabulous school in Thousand Oaks called Bethany Christian.

The entire staff is dedicated to serving the Lord, instructing the students with a challenging liberal arts education (from Spanish to Science), equipping them with a Biblical worldview, AND creating a super duper fun educational experience.

During the month of October Jayden's class focused on the character trait of faithfulness
and the concept that God is always with me.

Their memory verse was Joshua 1:9 which Jayden had learned at home back in August of 2008.

The highlight of the month was an all-preschool visit to Underwood Family Farms.

First the kiddos hopped and leaped atop bales of hay.

Then the "Older 3s" gathered for a Class Photo with Mrs. Houston and Mrs. Sylvester.

Next was a Pumpkin Tutorial under the big tent, followed by a Tractor Ride through the fields.

Celebrating our Daughter

Jayden Malia Sarkisian

was born 4 years ago and for an entire week we celebrated her

beautiful countenance, radiant joy, tender compassion, intelligent creativity, and over-all yummyness.

She is an amazing person with a giant desire to know and do what is right and to understand things of God. She loves scripture and singing praise and worship.

She delights in all things girly -- make-up, high heels, jewelry, princess gowns and crowns -- dress up is her normal routine!

She is most assuredly a generous gift from our loving Creator and we love her to bits.

*****

Her actual birthday was October 10th, and when asked what she'd love to have for her birthday she responded with exuberance,

"Can we have bacon!!?"

This awesome reply solidified the notion that a big-jumpy-house-piñata-petting zoo-million-dollar birthday-party just wasn't necessary.

Instead...

**on Thursday we baked letter "J" cookies with pink frosting and pink sugar sprinkles to share with her class.

**on Saturday she received a special delivery of cup-cakes from the Dewey girls and Dad made her requested "hard" (aka well-done) bacon for breakfast.

** on Sunday she opened gifts and ate Chinese food with Grandma, Grandpa and Ron and Stella.

AND
** one week later opened more gifts and ate home-made ginger snaps with Mima, Papa, Uncle Andrew, Uncle John, Aunt Kelly, and brand new cousin Anna Moniz.

Rainy Day Fun

Yesterday the rain poured and kept us cozied up inside.

The kids wore their pj's for most of the day and we entertained ourselves with puzzles, organizing all their toys, and finally hours of creativity in the garage.

I am painting Jayden's and Zach's closet doors with layers of magnetic paint and then finishing with a coat of chalkboard paint so I will be able to hang their school work and they can doodle on them -- no more tape and tacks!

While I worked on this project I set the kids up with a huge piece of paper and some water colors and Oliver chilled in his bouncy seat.
We had a blast!

My Bio

About Me

I'm a stay-home mama of a 4 year old talk-a-holic named Jayden, and an extremely sensitive, adventure seeking 2.5 year old named Zachary. And the most precious 4 month old, Oliver Josiah. I LOVE my role as homemaker and child-rearer (is this a word?), but I couldn't do it without the continual flow of God's AMAZING Grace in my circumstances and entire being. Without Him my joy would diminish in the repetitious daily grind. Instead, I am able to laugh at the toddler messes, and marvel at their creativity.

Evacuation or mini-vacation?

Two weeks ago the hills surrounding our Moorpark home were on fire! Having been through a fire-induced evacuation before my mom and I decided to grab our bags and head to her Encinitas home to avoid any drama and/or danger.
Marty and my dad were in India so we didn't need any permission for our fun-on-the-run.

It turned out to be a super-duper time with the Ermanis' family and Montgomery family -- we had a ginormous playdate at Amanda's new home in La Costa AND we went to Legoland for the first time.