Merry Christmas 2013

Did Darth Vader move into our house?

Not the typical Merry Christmas photo you'd expect to see first.  To kick off our two week break from school, Lukkas got a cold.  About two months ago, we learned that he has cold induced asthma.  So, when he gets sick, his breathing becomes asthmatic - like you'd see from someone with exercised induced asthma.  Anyways- it's a blessing that we know what causes his labored breathing when he gets sick - as he has had this since he was an infant.  Previous doctors told us it was just part of his cold symptoms.  Now, that we have the treatment - it makes a world of difference for this little guy as he gets through his cold.  

Christmas Eve -

I think we've started a new family tradition of opening one gift Christmas Eve that holds new jammies.  Grandma Julie found cute pj's that came with a matching set on a doll.  Lukkas received a pair as well, but I couldn't get him to sit still long enough to capture a good picture.

So, once the kids were all snug in their beds with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads...

Yes Leif - assembly required!

He did a nice job - only took about 30 minutes to put together the kids trampoline.  Both of them love to jump and we'd been letting them jump on Leinna's bed, which also serves as our guest bed.  Well, the guest bed needs to be replaced with all the jumping they do and our friend Ruth as a similar trampoline to this one, which the kids loved.  So - Merry Christmas kiddos!

 They were so excited and love it!

Our Christmas morning was filled with many blessings.  We were spoiled by Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles.  Leinna truly understood the idea of opening presents - Lukkas - well, he was more concerned with collecting all the bows. 

So, Leinna would open his presents for him and then bring him the gift. We have more trucks and tractors now than I ever thought possible. 

Leinna enjoyed receiving a new baking apron and couldn't wait to make our first batch of cookies. 

She also enjoys singing her little heart out this days. What a perfect gift from Grandma - you push a 4 color code and the microphone plays a familiar tune while you can sing into the microphone. 

She even got Papa to take a turn!

Let's not forget out beloved dog Bailey.  She was caught snoopying in the presents on Christmas Eve when I told her she had to wait until morning.  Well, Bailey was the first one up - sniffing under the tree again.  I love that she has the Christmas spirit too!

As I've already said- we were spoiled and feel very blessed from our family and friends.  One would think with all the excitement of the day, we would have taken naps and just enjoyed a quiet afternoon.

Not with these two!

  I turned around from cleaning up Christmas dinner dishes and look who was hiding in the cupboards!  Such silly kiddos - I sure am thankful for the time we have over Christmas. One of the blessing of being a teacher. 

Has we wrap up 2013 - we anticipate Grandma Cynde and Pope coming down from Fairbanks for visit.  We also hope to get some outside playing time in as we are now gaining sunlight!  It's less than a minute each day - but we are gaining it back!!  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Is it Christmas yet?

Is it Christmas yet?

Not yet, my precious little ones! 

But, we are on Christmas break and looking forward to some quality family time. 

Merry Christmas Everyone ~ 

We'll post our Christmas and other adventures later in the week.

Entertainment in the big city!

Catching glimpse of the winter sunsets -

We have 7 more days of losing sunlight- but whose counting right? WE ARE!! 

It's nice that we get to see the sun more now compared to our time in Cordova, but it's still dark in the winter and we look forward to gaining our sunlight back. 

Cultural Extravaganza!

Clark Middle School Social Studies Department puts on an annual afternoon of showcasing our school's diversity. Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to see our students perform dances and songs from their cultures. It was fun to see the variety of cultures represented.

I'll give you 3 guess as to what this could be?

In Cordova there is not a car wash because of living on the coast and all the rain we get. So, big city entertainment - taking the kids (and the car) through the car wash!  Oh my - Leinna had the giggles the whole time and Lukkas wasn't quiet sure what to think.  The picture is this rainbow soap that covered the car- it smelt wonderful and Leinna really wanted a picture of it! Ha, ha.... Now Leinna asks when we can go to the rainbow car wash again. 

With all this big city entertainment, we often find Lukkas asleep on the floor by his door after we put him to bed in his actual bed.  Silly kid...

Christmas Decorations Are Up!

Due to warming weather (yes, it's still winter, right?) we had rain mixed with freezing rain this week.  Thursday we were surprised with phone calls around 6am saying that school had been cancelled due to the poor road conditions.  Some may say this is coincidence - I say it's an answer to prayer. I had a particularly challenging day on Wednesday and I do believe God heard my prayers and gave me a wonderful day of rest.  

So - what did the Jacobsen family do on this unexpected day off?!?  Well, Papa went and hid in the bedroom to watch TV while the kids and I decorated for Christmas! 

Up First - decorating the tree ofcourse!

After tree was decorated, they pretty much lost interest in decorating the rest of the house. So it was time for a snack and a show while Momma finished up.  They did however find this little Christmas tree I received as a gift when I was a Sunday School teacher in high school quiet entertaining. 

Okay- this one really has nothing to do with the blog post- I just thought it was so funny the smile he gave me - such a crack up these days!

Since we decorated on Thursday, we were able to do our official home photography Christmas photos today.  Some will not be shared until our Christmas card arrives.  I will share a few from the mornings photo shoot. 

This one is probably one of my favorites- not because they are holding hands or that they are both actually looking at the camera. I like this one because you just have to wonder, "Are they being naughty or nice?"

The rest of this icy Saturday was filled with finishing the annual Christmas letter and last few gifts to buy. I think tomorrow we'll spend the day baking- not sure what - just feel like baking.   Have a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Please forgive me for belated Happy Thanksgiving wishes dear blog readers.  I hope that each of you that take time out of your busy day to read my little blog know that you are greatly appreciated and blessing in my life.

The reason for my tardiness in posting this week's blog is due to family - such a great reason for tardiness :o)

Wednesday right after school, we picked up the kiddos and made the trek north to Fairbanks to spend the holiday with Leif's parents.  The roads were not the best and we appreciated the prayers from friends and family who knew we were traveling.  The kids did great which makes the trip so much better.  The picture above is a view of the sunrise from the in-laws' house.  So breath taking...

 

Future floor installer! 

The in-laws had a project for Leif to assist with. They took up the carpet in their dining room and installed a laminate wood flooring.  The floor looks great and Lukkas really enjoyed helping bring pieces to Leif. 

The kids also had fun helping Grandma clean up the floor!

What better way to end a busy day? Stories from Grandma and Pope.  I'm sure I've blogged why Leif's dad is called Pope - but here's the story again.  Leinna was listening to Leif talk to his dad and Leif calls his dad Pop.  So, when Leinna tried to say "Pop" and it came out as "Pope" we laughed and it has been his name since.  

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are blessed to be able to make the trip to spend time with our family.  

The kids did great on the drive home today.  It's hard to see, but the kids are holding hands - so stinking cute!  They did a great job traveling home today.  The drive is about 6 hours with the roads being a little icy and needing to make longer potty breaks so the kids can move around and such.   I'm so thankful they traveled well - makes the trip so much more enjoyable.

We had beautiful skies on the drive home today.  

Feeling rested and ready to tackle the next 3 weeks before Christmas Break!!

Hot Coco and Temper-Tantrums!

I'm blessed each day after school to see such a beautiful setting sun.  The amazing displays of colors gives me a sense of peace and renewed energy to head home and be mom for the evening. 

We had freezing rain and then snow Friday afternoon.  Thankful we made it home safely and snuggled in for the night.  Saturday morning - no more storm so we headed out side to play!  It was a bit chilly so what better way to warm up - hot coco!

First cup of the winter season! Leinna was beyond excited and kept calling it chocolate hot milk! 

While Leinna enjoys her treats, Lukkas can be found having a temper-tantrum over something. 

Yesterday he was too funny - he'd throw his fit...

and then peak to see if anyone was watching him or going to give him what he wanted. Leif and I couldn't help but laugh at him - and oh - did this make him even more mad.  

So hard to be 1 1/2 years old!

 Thankful for a visit from Mrs. DillyDally this past week and looking forward to our friend Shannon visiting this weekend! Then we are headed up to Fairbanks for Thanksgiving.    

May you have a week full of thanksgivings and blessings!

Winter is here to stay

 Winter has finally arrived in our part of the world and it looks like it's here to stay.

I love the setting sun in the winter time! I love the way the colorful sky reflects off the snow. I had Leif snap this photo as we were driving home from school.  The picture doesn't come close to how beautiful the sky was.

Have I ever written about how much the kids like to be outside? 

Needless to say, Leinna especially is delighted to have snow to play in.   Her love of the outdoors makes me smile.  It reminds me so much of my dad (her grandpa).  

Lukkas had fun too...

I think the shovel is twice the size of him, but he had fun helping shovel the driveway. 

With our first true snowfall, many of the neighbors have turned on their Christmas Lights.  

Leinna asks when we can have our lights up and we told her when it turns to December.  She's got a count down going and informs me every day that it's just a couple weeks until we can turn our lights on.  She's at such a fun stage where holidays are starting to mean something to her. 

 With winter's arrival it is also season of static!

I think we'll be buying a humidifier soon!

A new month begins...

Sunset in Eagle River

As we turn the calendar to November and set our clocks back, I'm finding myself in a new place.  The transition to city life and new school system was extremely challenging and continues to be a challenge.  However, I find myself in this new place - missing what use to be, but adjusting to what is now.  As we continue to adjust, I'm reminded daily through my quiet morning time, to keep my eyes focused on what really matters.  I'm learning to let go of the challenging school day in the 15 minute drive home, so I can be a good mom to my kids.  I'm learning to find the blessings in each day - even the small ones, such as the student who is always tardy, actually made it to class on time today.  I'm learning that life isn't going to slow down, so I'd better take care of myself so that I may enjoy each and every moment of it!

A view from Leif's classroom

  I'm learning to embrace the buildings all around me and look beyond to see the beautiful place we live.  I sure do miss the sunsets on Ocra Bay - but learning to appreciate the same setting sun in a new location.

Leinna helping Papa make sour-dough pancakes for breakfast.

Seems with the first week of November behind us, the kids are ever changing...

Miss Leinna (aka - Leinna-Bug, Leinners, and Sister) I believe has grown another 2 inches.  She's a bottomless pit these days - even asked to have a bowl of cereal for her bedtime snack because she was so hungry.  She ate really well for dinner, so we let her eat a bowl of cereal too!

She's quiet the musician these days!  She's been listening to This Old Man in the car on our way to daycare.  Here she is banging out the rhythm for This Old Man and singing every word accurately.  Man, I wish I had 1/4th of the memory skills she has!

She also impressed us with this -

 writing letters all by herself!  She's very proud that she can write the letter "A".  

What's Lukkas (aka Mister, Brother) been up to?

Who me?

Yes, you! 

He's busy doing what 19 month old boys do! 

As we go through the month of November, I hope you will take time to learn more about yourself and be thankful for the many blessings in your life!