The Last Christmas in Cali

I once heard a sermon about the heart's condition apart from Christ that went something like this, "Your soul is an appalling dump heap overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment or deplorable rubbish imaginable; mangled up in tangled up knots". The preacher of that sermon was Traever, and the original source of that quote of course is from none other than Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch stole Christmas. Never did I think that I would hear Traever quote Dr. Seuss in a sermon. Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon sure... but Dr. Seuss? Yep, Dr. Seuss. He has a way with words.  This real state of the human heart is what makes the news of Christmas so very good, so glorious, and so bright. 2 Corinthians 4:6 says, "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." This is why we celebrate Christmas- because Christ, the light of the world (John 1:9) has come to deliver us, the captives, from darkness (Isaiah 61). He has come to bring us, the hopeless, hope. To give us, those who were once hostile towards God, peace (Eph 2). He has come so that we might have joy and that our joy might be full (John 15). 

Making, baking and taking Gingerbread cookies for our friends and neighbors.

Adalai and Remy creating some original artwork to hang above the fireplace.

The stockings that Traever and I made together this Christmas. What can I say, I have a husband with many hidden talents and he has taken full advantage of his 7th grade Home Ec. class that taught him how to sew.

A little video of Thatcher singing his new favorite Christmas song. He asked that we sing this song nearly every night before he went to bed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeB1WLsIhRo&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share

His love for trains continues...

As does his love for his little sis.

Craziness and love abounds...

Mid December Traever finished another semester! We have never been happier to be done with a semester as we were this time. It was a hard one. Praise God for getting us through! 5 semesters down and only 1 more to go! After getting very little sleep nights on end it was time to crash. Baye was content to crash alongside him :)

Thankful to have a little more time with Dad :) Reading a favorite "A Christmas Carol". Adalai also read an adapted version to the family during the month of December. It has been fun seeing her progress with reading!

A few days before Christmas Traever's siblings started to arrive. Blake flew in from South Korea, Torey from Chicago, and Bryce from New York City. So thankful for siblings/aunt and uncles who are willing to travel and who love our kids so well.

Skyping with the grandparents.

Adalai and Rem in their new Christmas pj's (thanks Grandpa and Grandma!) and night caps (Uncle Blake's idea with a little help from Traever on the sewing machine).

Reading the Christmas story on Christmas eve.

With a little extra family in town sleeping arrangements were especially cozy and the kids loved it.

Christmas morning, Baye was waiting with bells for the festivities to begin.

Christmas morn!

Christmas brunch with these two and their silly straws.

Let the opening commence.

Thanks to Uncle Bryce these two are now ready to join the small fleet of neighborhood kids on scooters.

Adalai with her new roller skates and home-made butt pad courtesy of Traever.

A house full of family, a good movie, and a warm fire. Nights don't get much better than this.

Putting together new legos and k'nex sets from Aunt Tor and Uncle Blake.

A trip to the Safari Park with all of the big and small Guingrich kids.

So thankful to have family willing to visit and for another great Christmas with this bunch!

Christmas Began Early

Christmas started early in the Guingrich household this year... as it does pretty much every year :). But this year it started off with an unexpected phone call in early November. My cell rang and the screen read "restricted number"... I reluctantly picked up and the lady on the other end said, "Is this Andrea Gin-ger-ich?" still a bit annoyed I replied, "Yes". She continued, "Congratulations! You just won a family pack of tickets to Disneyland." Still thinking this was a classic telemarketing scam, I replied "I'm sorry, what company did you say you were with?" another moment and it dawned on me that she was connected to a drawing that our local grocery store was having. It was a drawing that I had thrown my name into. I got off the phone and trying to contain my excitement shared the news with Traever. We decided to keep our little upcoming Disneyland trip a secret from the kids until the day of. The day came soon enough and they were surprised and of course super happy for the opportunity to go to the "happiest place on earth". They were slightly confused as to why we were going at night but happy none-the-less :). The catch was that the holiday party tickets that we won only provided park access from 9pm-1am. Disneyland would shut down to the general public and only allow the contest winners in to the park from 9pm-1am. So Traever and I were taking our 4 very small children to Disneyland essentially at their bedtime. I covered the night in prayer that we wouldn't have tantrums and over-tired children. And we played it up to them by telling them they would get to stay up later then ever, that the whole place would be lit up with thousands of twinkle lights (it was) and that the park would be closed to the public so they wouldn't have to wait in long lines like if they would have to if going during the day. It ended up being all of that and more. It was an awesome night together. The kids got to ride on lots of rides with no wait at all.

If you look closely you can see Adalai and Remy sitting in front of Traever. Haha! They loved every roller coaster they had a chance to ride.

The kids got to meet some characters. The Mad Hatter told the kids that he loved "their chariot" (stroller) which the kids thought was hilarious.

They had a parade and with so few in the park we got to walk up just a few minutes before it began and had amazing seats.

After the parade a man and his wife pushing a stroller with triplets approached Traever and I and congratulated us for being the only ones at Disneyland that night that had possibly experienced less sleep then them in the past 5 years.  Probably true :)

The kids did absolutely amazing. Adalai and Remy rode their last roller coaster at 1am and then we called it a night. And the kids slept soundly the whole way home.

Thanksgiving 2015

November has to be one of our family's favorite months. It holds our wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving, and the entrance of the holiday season. Every year we try to do some sort of thankful tree that encourages us to count our blessings every day. It's always fun to see what our kids are grateful for. As the days of November passed and more leaves made their way onto our tree it seemed that there was a common theme coming from the kids- that they were especially grateful for each other.

So thankful for the friendships and close bonds that they are forging during these early years!

Thankful for this little brood :). We definitely stick out here in SoCal culture and even more so since Baye was born. A few weeks ago as 3 of my kids and I filed out of a bathroom stall at Trader Joe's an employee burst out laughing and told me that we looked like a clown car exiting the stall. I just smiled in agreement, I know we look ridiculous, I didn't  even bother mentioning that I had another child at home with their dad. A week later an owner of a local consignment boutique who owns/manages 3 other businesses looked at me and my 4 kids and told me I must be crazy for having 4 she continued to tell me that managing 4 businesses is easier then managing her 1 child (a toddler). These conversations happen nearly every time I'm out with 2 or more kids. It appears that either I'm crazy or our culture is. :)

There are definitely moments, sometimes days, that seem unmanageable, but in the end we always conclude that it's worth it. Without question it's worth it. Outside of our relationship with Christ, being the parents of these little ones is one of the Lord's greatest blessings to us, they are our wildest adventures, our greatest joys.

Thankful for this man too! The month of November Traever was immersed in studies and working his way through his hardest semester yet. However, he still welcomed the kiddos into his office anytime of day or night and was always happy to have us meet him on campus for a picnic. 

This November brought some changes for our Adalai. After a tooth extraction and a visit to the orthodontist she ended up having to get braces. Just looking at the picture below makes me feel like my sweet 6 year old is nearly a teenager. Please stop growing up so fast!

Thanksgiving Day was spent with a table full of food and a house full of dear friends.

 

So so thankful for these kindred spirits and that God crossed our paths during this season of seminary. They have become some of the dearest friends I have ever had. Our family away from family.

We are unworthy of the Lord's mercies and goodness towards us but so thankful that He has chosen to "forgive us all our iniquity, heal us, redeem us, crown us with steadfast love and mercy, and satisfy us with good"

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."  Psalm 103:1-5