Friday, December 31, 2010

Christmas 2010

Here's a few pictures from our Christmas.....
Christmas Eve our family always attends the service at church, eats taco soup (yummy and simple), and opens our gifts to each other.
Jud has been smiling lately with a scrunched up nose like J.R. :)
For the past few years our boys have been drawing a brother's name to buy a five dollar gift for. They love to give gifts but we were realizing that the Dollar Tree gift they would buy for each brother didn't always hold up too long. This way they can spend a little bit more and be surprised by which brother bought for them.
When the tongue is out, Jared means business!
An arctic circle gift card...my hubby is in love with that greasy place. He already knows most of the workers by name!

A few Christmases ago we started giving each boy a book for their future library. I don't know if any other parents out there can relate, but sometimes the gift thing can get over rated. Sometimes you even feel like you are trying to find anything to buy to reach a certain dollar amount. Enough of that! The past few years we have cut back on the amount of gifts for each boy and now include a book for future use and a few well thought out family gifts. It seems every year I am worried that our boys will be disappointed, but again they were thrilled with their gifts. Jesse, who is always very appreciative, even put his "boring" book as one of his top three. :)

Justin was really into these. For the rest of the evening he would hold out him arm and push the "button" on his jammies to shoot his laser beam. :)
Christmas morning, after stockings and breakfast, we headed to BJ's parent's home for a delicious lunch and Christmas fun.

Of course the only shot that turned out was the silly one!

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Ring-a-ling

The 23rd was a marathon bell ringing day for Jared and Jesse. Our family signed up to ring from 2-4pm. Later we found out their Sunday School class had a shift earlier in the day with a pizza party afterwards. BJ and I (along with the little boys) took advantage of this time to run a few errands and eat at a place other than McDonald's!...Really stepping up by dining at Carl's Jr. :) By the time our shift was up, everyone was exhausted. Jud and I skipped out on ringing since he fell asleep in the car. Although the shift was a little long, a lot of money was raised for a very good cause. :)
There wasn't a "large tall" apron available for Beege!

Christmas Sunday

The many faces of our boys.
BJ is behind everyone holding Judson up. He obviously enjoyed it!

The family band

Here's a few pics from the Fritzler Family Christmas Band.

Uncle Ike, I tried not to sway. :)

A wonderful night

I think our hide-a-bed is shrinking! "It's a Wonderful Life" movie night might need to evolve to sleeping bags on the floor for 2011.

Jesse is 8!!!

Jesse Michael turned 8 years old on December 18th. We had a fun day celebrating his birthday the day before since Big family Christmas was scheduled on his special day. We had such a great time together as a family and were glad to have Grandma Sally and Papa along for the fun.

Our first stop was a trip to the children's museum in Salem. We bought a family pass for the year since it is a good deal for our family size and includes OMSI. The boys had a blast. They excitedly ran from room to room. Hopefully on our next visit they will go slower and learn a little more!
Spotting plastic snakes and frogs is great fun for little boys.
After the museum we ate lunch at Red Robin....yummy. Red Robin and Pizza Hut are probably our top two favorite special eats as a family. :)

Jesse really wanted a powder horn this year. You know, for all the muzzle loaders he plans on shooting in 2011.



Our afternoon ended with presents and cake at our home. Happy birthday Bubba-lou-hoo. You are growing up to be a fine young man...full of spunk, energy, and character. We love you!

Lynchwood's Live Nativity

This year we participated in my in-law's church's live nativity. All the boys, except J.R., were okay with the outfits, but they were all a little weirded out by the make-up. Now they know what us girls go through! The boys did a great job...including the big one with a very thick, dark beard. :)

BJ, Jesse, Justin and J.R. were in the Jesus and children scene. Jared played the part of Jesus in the temple.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

2010 Christmas Letter

This has been another exciting year for the Kuykendall family. 2010 was a different year for our family, to say the least. Here is a list of our highlights.....

-The boys got involved in 4H this year, something their parents had long desired for them to be a part of. We started them out with rabbits, not wanting to scare mommy. The boys joined a club (the Hip Hoppers) and ended up learning a lot about rabbits. They placed 1st and 3rd in their respective classes at the SW Washington Youth Fair.

-6 more months of construction experience for BJ. Much knowledge (about building and about life) was gained. Thank you Marv Jamerson.

-We enjoyed the annual Kuykendall Reunion at Chief Timothy State Park in June. It was nice to see the Kuykendall side all together again AND celebrate Grandpa and Grandma Kuykendalls' 90th birthdays. They are both healthy and active. We are so thankful to have them.

-June brought another blessing. After a season of uncertainty as to what the future held in vocational ministry, BJ was invited to candidate to be Pastor of the Hoodview Church of
God in Woodburn, OR; a church he had served as youth pastor 8 years earlier. The church and the Kuykendalls felt that this was the work of the Lord and we agreed to come September 1st.

-July was mostly spent getting the house ready to sell (still not sold), packing belongings, and BJ picking up a few seal coating jobs.

-In August we were blessed to take a big road trip to Colorado. Connie, Elaine's mother, had been wanting to get the family out to her old stomping grounds for years and 2010 seemed like as good a time as any. We, along with the Freemans (Elaine's sister's family), trekked to Colorado Springs first and took in Pike's Peak, a cool western museum, and even did some gold mining. We were also able to visit with Elaine's dad for a day. Then we drove over to Wray to meet up with the extended Dickson family for a family reunion. The next day we took in Vernon days and even went on a hay ride. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the family members we so seldom see. Thinking it would be a shame to not see Yellowstone when we were so close, (not that close, really) we decided to re-route our drive home. We didn't spend much time in the park but enjoyed it...the boys were impressed with the buffalos. Thank you Grandma Connie for making the trip possible.

-As soon as we got home we were in rush mode to get ready for our move to Woodburn. We would have NEVER made it without the help of all our wonderful Centralia friends. Our years in Centralia were a tremendous blessing to us. We learned so much about family, ministry, and living the Christian life. We want to thank all of our friends who were there for us as we were seeking God's direction for our lives. We love you.

-September 1st (8 years to the date from when we left Woodburn) we officially began our ministry at the Hoodview Church of God in Woodburn, OR. The congregation has been so warm and welcoming to our whole family. Many people have asked me (BJ) how things are going and I usually respond, "It feels like the Lord is in it." That is truly how we feel. We believe that the Lord placed us here and we are going to give it our best and trust HIM for the rest. Shortly after we arrived in Woodburn, two men who had a deep impact on BJ's life and who had been two prior Pastors of the Hoodview COG went home to be with the Lord. Their memorial services ended up falling on the same weekend in the same church sanctuary. BJ is humbled to be following in their footsteps. We pray the Lord blesses the work at Hoodview and is honored by His people in and out of the church.

-We the Kuykendalls are blessed people. Life isn't always easy and sometimes we have our doubts, BUT God has given us a wonderful family, amazing friends, led us to a beautiful congregation, and best of all has saved us from our sins and awakened us to His eternal kingdom. Thanks be to God.

"And every virtue we possess,
And every victory won,
And every thought of holiness,
Are HIS alone."

May the Lord graciously bless you this Christmas Season.
In Christ,
The Kuykendalls

(September 2010)

Gingersnaps

I grew up on our family's recipe for gingersnaps. I love them. For whatever reason, as an adult, my gingersnaps always bake up flat. I found this recipe here. It is pretty much the same recipe with just a little bit more flour and a pinch of cloves. I was happy with how "fluffy" they turned out! Remember not to overbake these.

Gingersnaps
1 c. sugar
1 egg
3/4 c. butter
1/4 c. molasses
a pinch of cloves
2 1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
2 1/2 c. flour

Cream the sugar, egg, and butter until fluffy. Add molasses, beat one more minute. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture. Roll in 1 inch balls then roll in sugar. Place on greased sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. (look for cracks on top)

Enjoy!

Mummification

Scary, I know.
We read about early Egypt in our Mystery of History lesson and this was the suggested activity. We are really enjoying our history this year...I am learning so much!



Justin...the scariest mummy of all!

Friday, December 10, 2010

So delicious....

Compliments of Gary and Connie....they are delicious. Thank you, thank you!


Thursday, December 9, 2010

O Christmas Tree

I didn't get very good pictures of our tree this year. Oh well, this documents the event! We opted for a "yittle tree" (as J.R. would say) because of lack of space and the ceilings of our home are low. The boys got a kick out of how yittle it was!

With my personality, I usually like to do things in a very orderly fashion. However, these boys are teaching me to relax a little, take a deep breath, and "fix things" after bedtime. :) They do have so much fun unpacking each ornament...how can I resist?

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Yee-Haw

Last Saturday we were invited to ride the Wilhite's horses. The boys had done this once before and loved it!
I think the funniest part about this little adventure is how much the biggest boy, daddy, loved it! I could tell he was itchin to go fast...and finally he took a turn by himself. It is always funny to watch a grown man have as much fun as the kiddos. :) Usually BJ tells me how much a horse tears up a field, but after this afternoon he admitted a horse would be a lot of fun.




Happy trails to you......

Monday, December 6, 2010

Our Thanksgiving Christmas

Our family had a nice time in Florence this Thanksgiving. Since we can not get together during Christmas, we do a Christmas celebration after our Turkey meal. I always get the best shots of these two.

And now Gracie is old enough to participate in silly pictures with Justin. She is a lot of fun! :)

Paisley Mae and Judson had a great time getting reacquainted.

For my mom's gift this year, Amy and I made her a digital scrapbook of our Colorado trip. Making the book was quite an undertaking. Earlier in November Amy found a special online that expired midnight of the day we would be together. It took us over four hours to complete mom's book. I worked on my book next, also taking four hours. Amy finally started her book right after dinner. She thought she could complete it in only two hours, but four hours later we ordered the books...with 30 minutes to spare! We were computered out! Thank goodness the books turned out great. Now I only have 10 3/4 years of our life left to scrapbook. Yikes!


Notice his hat. My mom bought Vernon Days hats for Isaac and BJ. So cool.
The kiddos made place cards for the meal. It kept them occupied for a while. We were thrilled to have Grandma Alma, Bill and Gee with us this Thanksgiving. As a young girl, I remember many Thanksgivings spent at Bill and Gee's house in the Bay area. The more family around the better!


I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Blessings!