Pay it Forward

The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).

Our hearts are heavy as we send loving thoughts and prayers to the families in Newtown, Connecticut.  It is heartbreaking and inconceivable to absorb the evil of this tragedy.  My mind and heart have been with the parents of the poor young children whose lives were cut far too short on December 14th and are left grieving the loss of their sweet babies.  Despite all of the well wishes in the world, the parents are left with despair, grief and a void that must somehow be overcome.  I can hardly believe that a month has passed.  I am praying so hard that the parents and friends/family of the victims are somehow able to find peace.  

In order to create hope in the midst of horrible tragedy, Drew's school has put forth a challenge.  In light of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, journalist Ann Curry has proposed to spread 26 Acts of Kindness, one act for each of the 26 victims killed at the school.  Drew's school is encouraging all families to participate in this challenge.    

What is the best way to fight evil?  Do good.  In honor of those sweet little children and devoted school staff, our family can absolutely step up and honor those precious 26 lives.  As Robbie Parker (father of one of the victims) wrote:

"Remember these beautiful children; keep them close to our hearts. Do not let their bright shining faces become extinguished. Let us do everything in our power to ensure their light will continue to shine brighter and brighter in all we do to remember them."

In order to contribute, we have thought through things that the boys can do, what mommy and daddy can do, and what we can all do together as a family.  We're not done yet, but here is our plan.

26 Acts of Kindness

1.)  Give hugs randomly - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
2.)  Give one brand new Christmas toy to charity - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
3.)  Bring cookies to surprise Grandma Markus with a visit - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
4.)  Light a candle at church to pray for the grieving families - ENTIRE FAMILY
5.)  Add an extra offering envelope at church on Sunday - MOM and DAD
6.)  Cover the restaurant bill for the car behind us in the drive-through - MOM and DAD
7.)  Place a deposit at Ahne's bakery to cover the purchases of the next few buyers - MOM and DAD
8.)  Plan a surprise visit to Grandma's Kloepper's house - ENTIRE FAMILY
9.)  Surprise Grandpa Dave with some family time and fun exercise - ENTIRE FAMILY
10.)  Write a letter to a good friend (no email, no text but 100% handwritten) - MOM
11.)  Give staple food items to local food pantry - ENTIRE FAMILY
12.)  Smile at everyone - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
13.)  Adopt 3 children for Christmas Angels - DREW, OWEN and EVAN
14.)  Say a family prayer for the 26 victims - ENTIRE FAMILY
15.)  Say, "I'm sorry" to brothers - DREW, OWEN and EVAN  
16.)  Rekindle a lost friendship - MOM and DAD
17.)  Volunteer in a leadership capacity for a church/school event - MOM and DAD
18.)  Give away toys to contribute to the Kids Rummage Sale at SPPCS - ENTIRE FAMILY
19.)  Do a nice thing for someone at work completely anonomously - MOM and DAD
20.)  When negative words are about to be spoken, replace with positive words - ENTIRE FAMILY
21.)  Verbally tell friends how much you appreciate them - ENTIRE FAMILY
22.)  When the kids ask to play (esp with things that make a mess) - say "Yes!" - MOM and DAD
23.)  Drive the speed limit and be friendly on the road - MOM and DAD
24.)  Be the friend that you would like to have; which means SHOW UP! - MOM and DAD
25.)  Turn anger into joy at frustrating moments - ENTIRE FAMILY
26.)  Say "I love you" every moment that it enters your mind and never once take for granted the amazing privilege of parenthood that God has bestowed upon us - MOM and DAD

Although we are not done (and these tasks may take us some time), here are a few images of our efforts thus far:

#6.)  One car behind us in the line at McDonald's was pleasantly surprised to learn that their bill = $0.

#7.)  Maliyah Phillips helped to showcase our sign for free Ahne's doughnuts!

 #5.)  Add an extra offering envelope at church on Sunday . . .

Many of our acts will be private, but they will be real.  They will serve as tangible evidence that despite evil and horror in the world, generosity, love and kindness will prevail.  God - please bless the precious 26 lives that were lost on December 14th.  They will not be forgotten.

Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas, my sweet angels.  What a heavenly Christmas.  There really aren't words for how much I enjoyed our Christmas together this year.  The Christmas season, particularly in light of tragedy endured in other parts of our country, begged me to hug on my babies and love on them so much that there was no other focus in our lives.  Our family is the only things that matters.  Period.  Thank you God for this gift of family.  

Our kids are such a fun age for Christmas.  They enjoy all of the traditions, squeal with excitement and believe with all of their little hearts that Santa will know exactly what to deliver to them on Christmas morning.  I know that this won't last forever and I want to soak up every minute of it.  

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care and now it is time for a long winter's nap . . . . 

Of course, our Drew Bear is the early riser and the first one down the stairs to report on his findings!  Santa was here!  

Let's go wake up everyone else!  

My morning coffee and the magic of Christmas.  This is definitely my happy place.

 

The boys gifted us with thoughtful and heartfelt homemade gifts from school.  I adore these.  

This one is from Drew (in case you couldn't read his gift tag:)

A handmade calendar with his handprints for each month!  So creative and thoughtful!  Dan and I will fight over who gets to take it to work.  I'll win.  

Our "little bits" (a.k.a Evan) is generally up to no good, but is so unbelievably cute that he gets by with a lot (he is sooooo lucky that he has this compensating trait).  "Evan - what are you doing climbing in the refrigerator?"

When we weren't preparing for our two birthday parties (or playing Super Mario Brothers on the Wii), this is how we spent the week of Christmas.  Snuggled up in the living room.  LOVE IT!

Grandma Patti has beautifully decorated Christmas trees.  She always does.  The boys hit another jackpot at Grandma Patti and Grandpa Dave's house.  Our house is going to implode.

Drew has declared himself as the "Lego King."  Between Christmas and his birthday, he was the lucky  recipient of A LOT of legos.  A LOT.  Immediately after Drew has the legos unwrapped, he wants to put them together.  And his attention to detail on these legos is amazing.  He will sit at the table and focus on the assembly without moving until the entire set is complete.  Not sure where he gets this skill from . . . . check out his handiwork from the past week.

 May the miracle of Christmas bring you happiness and joy!

Waiting for Christmas

We are sooo fortunate to have a direct line to the North Pole.  Every year, as long as the boys are on the "nice" list (which can be very iffy this close to Christmas), we are blessed with a personal visit from Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus themselves.  And for the first time ever, each of our boys anxiously awaited Santa's arrival and jumped on his lap without fear or hesitation!  A BIG thank you to Santa and Mrs. Claus for their generous donation of time and love.  

I know what I want for Christmas . . . a clean house!  Check out the dirty window in the back - urgh!  

Santa comes to our house - 2012! from Lauren Niebruegge on Vimeo.

Owen speaks with Santa - 2012 from Lauren Niebruegge on Vimeo.

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Our year of 2012 was very blessed.  We enjoyed family togetherness and experienced some milestone events.  We went to Gulf Shores, AL for a beach vacation in May; Drew started Kindergarten in August; and Tony and Amy were married in October (and we were all involved in the wedding).  To reflect the happy year, we went with a timeline Christmas card to share all of these happy times.     

With all three of the boys attending different schools this year, the volume of "teacher" gifts on our Christmas list is almost overwhelming.  I have to share this cute idea that I found on Pinterest; I immediately fell in love with it and was determined to recreate it.  It is a package of nail supplies (OPI "Bubble Bath Polish," an emory board, etc.) all packaged up with a label, "For your MistleTOES!"  LOVE it!  Totally practical, fun and budget friendly for volume purchasing!  

Like our two oldest boys, the technology bug has bitten Evan (even at his itty bitty age of only 2).  He must keep up with his older brothers and he does so by repeating their behaviors; such as, playing games on mommy's kindle.  The crazy thing is that he is actually pretty self-sufficient on it.  He knows where his games are saved and plays them independently.  I LOVE this picture of my little baby kicking back and relaxing on the couch while reading a good book ( . . . .or playing a good game of monster trucks).      

The Elf on the Shelf has been fun this year.  Our elf has a fun sense of humor and apparently, enjoys playing with the boys' toys.  And he likes sports too.  And wine.  He fits right in.    

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We celebrated Christmas early with Dan's family this year and whoa! did the boys hit the jackpot!  They are all still very little (as far as I'm concerned) and they were asking for very BIG things.  Owen wanted his "very own kindle" (just like mommy's).  Drew wanted a Nintendo 3DS (just like Grady's at school).  Evan didn't ask for much but wants to play with whatever his older brothers are enjoying.  

When Drew opened his 3DS, he was thrilled!  He also got "Star War Legos" and the kid could have jumped to the moon.  He has declared himself as the "Lego King."

And Owie's dreams were granted as well when he opened up his very own kindle!  Holy Moly this kid is only 4 years old and has his very own kindle!  I LOVE when his dimples show so distinctively when he smiles . . .

 . . . .Unfortunately, Owen's happiness was short-lived once Drew opened the "Star Wars" legos.  He was so upset that Drew got "Star Wars" legos and he did not, he decided to spend the ENTIRE day pouting and crying about it.  Dan and I were in shock.  We could have never anticipated that Owen would respond so poorly to such a generous gift.  He actually asked Grandma Darlene, "How come you get Drew all of the cool toys?????"  WHAT??????  We had a LONG talk with Mr. Owen later that day.  And fast forward to the present time, said kindle has since been returned for a black 3DS.  If Drew has a 3DS, then Owen must have one as well.  Owen said, "I never really wanted a kindle, Mommy.  I was just tricking you."  

The family gold mine of electronics that we left with that afternoon.  For someone that is not "into" video games (yours truly), it is so fun to play Super Mario Brothers again on the Wii U!  Dan bought us 4 controllers so that we can all play together at the same time!  We all really enjoy it.  A BIG thanks to Grandma Darlene and Grandpa Bob!  

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A Fun time with Cousins

Our cousins are so much fun and we love when they come over.  This time, when they came over, they got to spend the night!  For the first time!  We loved it, so we must do it again!  

Against Dan's will, I declared it to be "Everyone Paint in the Kitchen Night."  Dan doesn't much like it when things get messy or even threaten to be messy.  I'm not sure why 5 kids (aged 5 and under) all painting together in our kitchen bothers him . . . . 

After painting was over, we got into our jammies and hopped in the van on a search for the most vibrant Christmas lights in town.

We had to place a large order of hot chocolate first! 

And since Evan is two (only for a few more days), we must deal with the daily ritual of Evan's displeasure with something (note that I will actually miss his statement, "Mamma, I not like you anymore,"when he grows out of his terrible twos (since I hear it quite often)).

Goodnight to all!