Presents or Coal?

That was Kendall's fear for an entire week!  She received a video message from Santa that warned her she was on the "naughty" list!  She was so nervous to even listen to the part of whether she had been naughty or nice - she ran out of the room.  There were several times where she had been bad before Christmas that resulted in tears, more like sobs, for fear Santa was going to bring her coal.  Christmas morning found Andy and I up first.  We wanted to see the look on Kendall's face when she realized she made the "nice" list.  She was overjoyed!

 Anxiously awaiting Pappy's arrival - have to have coffee before anyone can open gifts, right?

 Santa DID bring her a Strawberry Shortcake bike!

What's In The Bible series 

Installment #5 and #6

Riley got a few new games for his DS:

Ninjago, Pac Man, Super Scribblenauts, 

A Barbie Princess Charm School movie

 They both love ripping through the wrapping paper

Long gone are the days when my Nanny Stauffer use to ask us not to rip the paper because she wanted to reuse it - who asks a kid not to rip wrapping paper?  I guess that happens after you live through the Great Depression.

 Look at that face - think he likes it?

Did you guess what it was?

A FOX chest protector for riding his dirt bike!

Can't get a new bike without a helmet, right?

A LeapFrog Tag reader for Kendall

Riley also made out with a ninja costume that he was wearing around the house all of Christmas day.  If it ever snows and amounts to something, Riley will be able to use his snowman kit that contains wooden peg coal eyes, carrot nose, coal mouth and a red scarf!  Both kids got some extra stuff in their stockings like new slippers, peg games, lip gloss, necklaces, etc.  

After presents Kendall and I put on our aprons and baked a cake for Jesus' birthday.  Ironically I realized afterwards that the cake box she picked out was a devils food cake!  Oh well.  Next year we'll try to remember to make an Angel's food cake instead!

I made us a traditional Hershock-styled Christmas dinner while my parents entertained the kids.  We had turkey, dried corn, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed tators, green beans, with pumpkin pie and chocolate cake for dessert.  We were all stuffed and ready for bed after all that!  We even ate dinner in the dining room off of my great grandmother's china.  

Andy and I exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve after everyone had gone to bed.  I was anticipating a new pair of cowboy boots for Christmas as well as maybe a new Bible that I was interested in getting, but Andy really surprised me this year.  The first thing he gave me was a beautiful ring that I had seen online weeks ago that I had mentioned to him.  It's a silver heart shaped ring with a cross in the middle of the heart.  It has a celtic style to it, which I love.  Then he really got me when I opened a box containing a new ipad2.  He said he knew I'd never ask for one (we had one for a few months while he was in grad school but had to return it when his work schedule no longer allowed him the time to complete his work) so that's what made him want to get it for me.  

Of course then I felt bad only giving him a few things.  He really wants to get an HD video camera to mount on his dirt bike helmet but hadn't picked out which one he wanted.  I was just going to contribute towards that camera once he knew what he wanted.  He did get a new Fox shirt, a new beer glass and a cool ring styled bottle opener.    

The best part of our Christmas wasn't the presents, nor the food.  It was hearing our kids talk about the story of Jesus birth throughout the entire month.  I did a new activity with them were each night we'd open an envelope with a picture and scripture in it - sort of like the Easter Countdown we do.  Each night we'd discuss the scripture and why that picture was included.  To make the story come to life even more, my parents shared about their adventures in Israel last month.  They brought them items from Israel and then discussed them with the kids - why they brought a camel and a donkey, the money they'd kept, the relationship between the US and Israel, going to see the cave where Jesus was born, etc.  What a great way for the kids to understand the story of Jesus.

I hope you and your family had a very blessed Christmas this year and keep that spirit alive all year long.  For unto us a child is born.  Unto us a son is given...

Christmas With Nanny & Pappy

We had a lot of fun with my parents while they were in town.  One things we did was take them to Gardner Village to do the Elf Scavenger hunt.  

We skied a few days as well.  Twice Kendall got to go along - once to Brighton and once at Snowbird.  The other day was just Riley and his Pappy at Snowbird.  He loved the one-on-one time with Pappy while the girls went shopping.

We also got out to see lights in Taylorsville where the entire street decorates as "Twas the Night Before Christmas."  That was fun.  We also took them to Vuz for dinner after we all went skiing on Friday.  The kids behaved themselves (thankfully) and we all had delicious meals - For those of you who don't know Vuz, it's a great (and fancy) wine bar, winery and restaurant right here in Draper.  

Here's Riley enjoying some skiing at Snowbird

Post skiing fun

We also spent a lot of time just hanging out and catching up with my parents about their recent trip to Israel.  Each day they had a new present from their trip for the kids.  The kids (especially Riley) loved hearing about it.  

Since my parents were leaving the day after Christmas, they decided to let the kids open their gifts on Christmas Eve day.  Both kids were so excited and couldn't wait to see what Nanny and Pappy Hershock got them for Christmas!  Needless to say, my parents spoiled the kids once again - but as my mom says, that's what grandparents are supposed to do.  Not only do my parents spoil them with gifts, they also spoil them with attention.  One night I walked into Kendall's room to check on her and found my dad asleep in bed next to her!  Mom was persuaded to play many games of Mario Kart and build numerous creations from Legos!

Opening a cute outfit from Naartjie, where Kendall loves to shop

Riley opening his 7th Hess truck!

Yay!  Wooden dolls!

What could be in this big box?

Doll furniture to go with her dolls!

Mario Kart!  Yes!

The Maersk Lego Train set he's been wanting since our trip to the Lego store in Orlando this fall!  It's for 14 year olds and contains 1,234 pieces!  And yes, it was finished in less than 4 hours completed mostly by my 7 1/2 year old son.  He really IS a Lego Maniac!

You can't have dolls and furniture without a dollhouse now can you?  We sent her up to her room to see what else was waiting for her.  You can see her enthusiasm in this picture.  She LOVES her dollhouse.

This dollhouse is bigger than either of them - she uses a stool to get to the attic where the baby (named Cindy Lou Who) sleeps!  I had this picked out a few months ago for her and my parents were kind enough to purchase it well in advance.  Thankfully it was a good choice!

As you can see my parents really do spoil their grandkids with presents, but the time with their Nanny and Pappy is what they will tell you was the best part of their Christmas this year.  The kids enjoyed waking up early and climbing into bed with my parents each day.  All four of them would be snuggled into bed together until the sun would rise - or until my dad was in need of his coffee!  Those are the things my kids will miss the most.  We don't know when we'll get to see my parents again since we are not planning an east coast vacation this year.  We are so thankful for the ability to stay close with my parents regardless of the distance.  My parents get to talk to the kids weekly either via phone or skype (and now via Facetime with my ipad).  We are glad that we can all get along so well and have my parents be an important part of the kids' lives.  I don't know how I'd survive without their support.  They have always been our champion with each new chapter of our lives.  They are so loving and caring towards our family and we are so grateful for them.

We miss you already Nanny and Pappy!

Riley at the 'Bird

Riley's on his second year of Mountain School at Snowbird.  He goes to ski school every Saturday for 5 weeks in a row.  He has the same teacher each week and same ski-mates.  He seems to enjoy taking lessons, but is just as happy to ski with Mom, Dad, Nanny or Pappy.  Now that he's got the basics down, it's so much fun to ski with him.  Last year he was all about speed and "pizza" or snowplowing.  This year he's more cautious with his speed and working on making his "snake" turns.  I love it that he tells me to watch him so he can show off how he jumps.  It's not terribly high, but he does get air and for my little, calculated risk taker, it's fun to watch!

Here's a video from Friday at Snowbird.  

All of us, including Kendall and Nanny and Pappy went for the day.  It was Snowbird's 40th birthday and they were offering lift tickets for $40!  We skied Brighton on Wednesday for less than $30 per adult because they were offering $20 lift tickets with a donation of a bag of food for the Utah Food Bank.  We lucked out this week with good lift ticket prices since we haven't had much snow this winter!  It was a fun way to spend our Christmas vacation!

Magic Carpet Ride!

Today I took Kendall up to Snowbird to ride the "magic carpet" a few times and get some more practice on her skis before her second lesson on Saturday.  We had fun together but I'm glad we're paying someone else to teach her!  She got her skis on and was headed down the slope before I even had mine on or had my camera ready!  She has no fear and would rather make it up as she goes instead of practicing the necessary skills for skiing safely.

Here's a peek of our first day of what will most likely be many practice days at Snowbird!  Thankfully their school is only about 8 miles from Snowbird!  I see a lot of mornings with Kendall up there after we drop Riley off at school in our future.

A Classic Christmas Song...

At least at our house it is! I remember the first time I heard this song. We were living in Albany, NY and it was on PYX 106. Their station was always a little on the edge...This same station use to air Larry The Cable Guy before he was really popular!

Hope you enjoyed this as much as my kids do!  Kendall has the lyrics almost memorized!  Riley prefers The Family Guy's version, but this is the original and like any good song, the original is usually the better version.  I think he just likes the cartoon version.

Being Pennsylvania Dutch

As most of you know, I grew up in rural (or at least what was once rural, now more suburbia) Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  My dad's family roots are traced back to Melchior Brenneman who was a Swiss Mennonite and started one of the first Mennonite churches in Lancaster County in 1717 - New Danville Mennonite Church.  But there are also very German roots on his side as well as my mom's side.  My paternal grandfather's side were German (from Alcase-Lorraine, but during WW1, that area was taken by the French).  The Hershock side married into the Brenneman side in Pennsylvania.  My paternal grandmother's (Stoner/Steiner) side can also trace roots back to the Brennemans.  My maternal grandfather was German and he told me that his grandparents never spoke English, only German.  (On a side note, my maternal grandmother's side is the only non-German/Swiss side of my family tree.  They are Scotch-Irish and when they came to the US, settled in western North Carolina, near where my parents currently live).

Anyhow, I have been a little homesick for all that Lancaster (especially Manor Twp) means to me.  The holidays remind me of the simple and wonderful childhood I had growing up there.  I found a book at a Walmart in Utah of all places called A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher.  So of course I HAD to buy it!  I just finished it and couldn't believe how much I missed my roots of Lancaster...I started to remember all those funny Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsylvania German) idioms and expressions my parents, grandparents, great aunts, and great grandma use to say...It got me thinking so I searched the web and came upon the site, Horseshoe where I found so many resources on the PA Dutch dialect/language.  I started reading through the list and realized how sad it is that I haven't passed some of these down to my kids.

These are some favorite sayings from my childhood:

You are so darn DOBBICH (or "doplich;" awkward).
DOPLICH - a family favorite for my clumsiness!
We must have some doughnuts tomorrow; its FASENACHT day (Shrove Tuesday).Mommy, I'm so KRONK (sick). (more like KRONKED because I had a hangover as a teenager!)
You never saw a baby ROOTSH (crawl or squirm) so much.
The people of the country aren't so RUICH (quiet, still), when election comes around.
The boy didn't want to SPRITZ water on the old man but he got mad anyhow.
The poor kids have such STROOBLY hair. No English words are equivalent to this in meaning and value. "Tousled" fails to express it clearly.
The candy is ALL. Definitely there is "no more," and it is so understood by all. 

Do you happen to have a directory of Harrisburg AROUND?

She'd rather be married to him AS (than) to keep house for him.  (My grandpa use to drive me around and show me where his family took up "housekeeping")

Now you kids must all "behafe" (behave) good or the BELSNICKEL (St. Nicholas, Santa Claus) won't come around. 

He BLABS (tells) everything he hears.

You're got the darn thing all BOOGHERED-UP. (mixed ,damaged).  (Andy STILL uses this phrase all the time!)

The BOOGIE-MAN (devil, or evil spirit) will get you if you aren't a good boy.

My nose itches like a BUGGER (meaning a tickling, annoying feeling).

Are you still CROSS AT ME (angry)?

You'll get my DANDER (spunk) worked up; then LOOK OUT.

Mom says I DASSENT (dare not) go out to play.  (My Nanny Hershock use to tell me I dassent touch her breakable vases!)

Give me some DIPPY (gravy, dressing)! I like DIPPY BREAD. (or dippy eggs - which I don't like but Andy does)

If you don't get away from under my window with your darn loud talking, I'll DOUSE you with the pot water! You need a little more ELBOW-GREASE (some additional strength).

You FAVOR her in that picture.

IT MAKES A BODY (a person) TIRED to hear of SUCH GOIN'S ON.

Don't get so LIPPY (smart)!  (Oh the number of times my mom said this to me!)

You are such a LUNK-HEAD (dim-wit). Do you think it will MAKE rain? 

Let me see it ONCE; or "onct." 

OUTEN the light; or, MAKE OUT the light. 

She said: "I PIDDLED around the house all day." She meant "loafed around'!---not "Piddled" (urinated). 

I PLUMB, or CLEAN (entirely) forgot. (I have said this to the kids and they give me weird looks!)

It's raining A'READY; or, she went to bed A'- READY (surprisingly soon, before it was expected).

Mom, he SQUIRTED (or "spritzed") water on me; literally: "turned the hose on;" 

A WEENY (tiny) bit is better than none, ain't it? Did you charge him for the book? WHAT FER book? 

DOONERWETTER (thunder-gust).

My goodness its MAKING DOWN HARD. (referring to a rain shower) The streets are PRETTY WELL dry now.We RUN OUT of space; i. e., we lack space.

Jackey (Chakey), you go now and THROW THE HORSE OVER THE FENCE SOME HAY! (CLASSIC! Mom use to say this all the time!  Funny how things don't always translate correctly into English, huh?)

Do you have any chocolate airnonds? No, sir; we're CLEAN OUT.

I'd SOONER (rather) not have it. (I have said this more than I realized!)

He knows which side his bread is buttered on (he knows what is good for him).

When you are in the culture, it's easier to use these sayings because they are second nature, but after so many strange looks in the many different places we've lived, I have sadly dropped much of it.  I remember a time I told my lacrosse team in Delmar, NY to "get off the macadam" and they were so confused as to what I wanted them to do.  They had no clue macadam was another word for asphalt or blacktop!  Check this out from Wikipedia:
Due to uses of macadam as a road surface in former times, roads in some parts of the United States (as parts of Pennsylvania) are often referred to as macadam, even though they might be made of asphalt or concrete. Similarly, the term "tarmac" is sometimes colloquially misapplied to asphalt roads or aircraft runways.

This is a bit about how to pronounce words with a PA Dutch accent:  

To obtain greater enjoyment of the range of the dialect, or the English used by the Pennsylvania-Germans, it is necessary to use some of the letters of the alphabet as, for instance "v". Here we find that these people almost without exception, say walley for valley; wollum for volume, etc. This causes no end of amusement among the people who do not stop to think that a "v" isn't always a "vi" It is sometimes quite amusing to hear English students try to pronounce "v" ("we") in the Latin manner.

Anyone who has heard a real, rural dialect-spoken "Dutchman" in conversation, knows how curious it sounds to hear these hard-to-pronounce-right sentences:

Chief justice Chase's child chews juicy cherries.

It is a job to chop Jane's chain.

Words starting with "ch" should not be sounded like "j" or "g," but when they are they are "musical" indeed. Likewise gem sounds like chem, gill like chill, general like cheneral! Jennie, Jerry, George, James, John, all sound rich-to the outsider-but to the German as common-place as the absence of "h", or its uncalled-for presence in words used by the English. 

I hope this walk down memory lane was as enjoyable for you as it was for me...For those of you who have no clue what this post was really about, some things like the culture of Lancaster County needs to be experienced in person rather than read about or seen in pictures.  It is the language, the food (ham loaf, pig stomach, chicken pot pie, shoo fly pie, whoopie pies, etc.), the scenery (horse & buggies, windmills, one room school houses, corn fields, road side stands), the smells (yes, cow manure, pig manure, and chicken manure are all part of the experience).  I treasure my family history and deep roots in Lancaster.  When explaining the reason Mary and Joseph traveled back to Bethlehem when Mary was pregnant with Jesus to the kids, we talked about where we would have to travel to "be counted" and both kids know that Lancaster is where our family roots lie.

Great Book - Highly Recommend!

I just finished a fantastic book called God's Word, Final, Infallible and Forever: Compelling Evidence for the Bible's Inspiration and Preservation by Floyd Mc Elveen.

After reading this book, all I can say is "WOW!"  It has been a valuable resource for life here in Utah.  Being a Christian has put me in a minority group - and one I'm not use to being a part of, but now I'm a proud member.  I have felt discriminated against living here because I am a Christian for numerous reasons.  There is a legitimate feeling of isolation for Christians living here.  I have had lengthy conversations with others who have experienced the exact same emotions.  

This book has given me the support and knowledge I need to head out into the "mission field" on a daily basis.  I make no secrets that I am a Christian and that my kids attend a Christian school, that I attend Bible study and that we are a part of a fantastic church.  I don't go wearing that information across my chest like a neon sign, but I don't back away from the topic either.

This book goes into depth about how we can know that what is in the Bible is the TRUTH!  It has not been misinterpreted or translated incorrectly by any means.  This book explains how science has proven the Bible is accurate, how history and archeology have proven it's accuracy as well as how literature has also proven it's accuracy.  As if that wasn't enough, the author explains how all of the prophets were 100% accurate in their messages from God.  In Deuteronomy 18:22, Moses says "If the prophet speaks in the Lord's name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message.  That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared."  

There are approximately 3800 accounts in the Bible where the it claims to be the words of God.  According to 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."  Paul was talking about ALL scripture, not just the Old Testament.  In 2 Peter 1:20-21 we find the author discussing how scripture is the words of God, given by the Holy Spirt and dictated through men who recorded them without error.  "Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding, or from human initiative.  No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God."

After reading this book, I have NO DOUBT that the Bible is the inspired and preserved word of God.  I have looked up the information and found it to be valid.  I trust the Bible to be accurate and will never doubt it's validity.  In Matthew 24:35, it says "Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear."

I have shared much of this book with my husband who has actually shown interest in reading it - he NEVER reads!  I have also lent this heavily highlighted copy out to another friend who also NEVER reads...I have a feeling she'll at least read the highlighted portions!  I would love to lend this out to anyone else who'd like to take a look at it.  I warn you, once you read it, you may never be the same.  It has just reinforced what I have always believed and now I feel even stronger about my beliefs.

Gingerbread Houses

Kendall and I invited a few of her little girlfriends over to decorate gingerbread houses.  I had made the houses in advance so that way the girls could just decorate them without waiting for them to be built.  We made them out of graham crackers which was a great shortcut!  The girls had so much fun and I think the moms did too!

Brynn with her beautiful house

All four of the girls gingerbread houses

Nat Nat's house

Paigey's house

The front of Kendall's house

The back of Kendall's house

Kendall showing us how proud she was of her creation!

Kendall and I are so thankful for such wonderful girlfriends here in Utah.  The best part is when your kids' friends' parents are also your friends.  We try to get these girls together every few weeks and do something special.  Next week the girls are going to a dance recital to see if they want to all do ballet together...I think for Natalie and Kendall it's a no brainer because they use to do ballet together, but we're hoping Paige will join them!  They are such sweet little friends!

Breakfast with Santa

Today we took the kids to Thanksgiving Point to have Breakfast with Santa and his friends.  The kids had so much fun and it was awesome to see their expressions as they got to see Santa, Buddy the Elf, Gingerbread Man, and Polar Bear!

After our yummy breakfast

They had games and activities for the kids

Pin the hat on the polar bear

They decorated cookies

The kids with Polar Bear

Writing letters to the North Pole

Like Plinko from The Price Is Right

Talking with Mrs. Claus

SANTA!  Kendall was nervous but once brother showed her how to do it, she couldn't resist getting closer!

We had a fun morning as a family - that doesn't happen much these days.  Andy's travel schedule has gotten crazy again.  He was gone all of last week and will leave again tomorrow morning.  He'll only be gone 24 hrs. then he leaves over next weekend only to come home and turn around and leave again for an entire week once more...Gotta get our family fun in while he's here.