Knittel Christmas Pics

Christmas morning with the platter Janine gave me.

(ignore my hair please; just rolled out of bed)

Adam gets Uncle Chris time!

I love these kids.

A failed attempt at a "nice" photo. They insisted on including the toy guns.

**blows kiss**

I got to see my brother-in-law smashed to the gills for the first time last night... but so entertaining! However, Janine was not enthused.

He just downed a shot of Maker's Mark.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday; we did!

We spent Christmas in Richmond at Janine's (Stephen's oldest sister). It was relaxing; we spent a lot of time just hanging out, eating, and drinking. Last night gave new meaning to the lyric "red, red, wine, you make me feel so fine..." ... Stephen had to help me up the stairs come bedtime, and it was no easy task that's for sure! :-o! 

When we got home today, the house stank to high heaven. The kitties' bathroom door was closed the whole time we were gone, not permitting kitty access. The poor little furkids improvised the best they could, and used the rug in our other bathroom as well as the tub for their 2's. I applaud their choices, for the rug is cheap and easy to replace, and the tub is easily clean-able. Bless their hearts, I felt so bad for them. However, I wondered about their 1's, because I did not smell or see pee-pee anywhere. Did they hold it in the whole time?? I believed so, until I sat down on the spare bed to organize our files, and smelled IT. Yes, indeedy, the 1's were not held in, but were released on their kitty blanket on the recliner next to the bed. I soaked the chair in enzyme cleaner and their blanket will be going through the wash. I sure hope the smell is ousted before my sister has to sleep in there Sunday. If they whiz there again, the chair is going bye-bye.

Picture post (of Christmas, not kitty mess!) to come!

our Christmas and headaches

Stephen and I did our Christmas this evening. He received two sweaters and two long-sleeved collared shirts from me. He gave me Lost Season 3 on DVD and is making an appt for someone to come out and tune my piano. :-) I am watching the bonus material on the DVD right now.

I've felt a little under the weather lately, with a headache that is about 2 weeks old, and just will not go away. Some days are better than others, but today's was particularly bad, so Stephen let me take a dose of his vicodin. It is definitely doing the trick, but now my eyes are getting heavy. This is definitely a concern for a doctor. I can't decide if I should go in and have it checked out ASAP, or wait until after the new year when I go in for a physical. While today's was pretty bad, most days I am able to go through my daily routine without issue. I am 98% certain it is because of my stress/anxiety issues. Those who know me well know I can be sort of an obsessive worrywart, and I think this is manifesting itself physically. 

Seven swans a-swimming

I can't believe Christmas is a week away. December is going SO fast.

I am spending the evening finishing up my chocolate truffles, baking the last of the banana bread, and mixing the last few batches of hot cocoa. Hopefully I'll get to those Christmas cards. I had a heck of a time finding "Jesus" cards at Target. The closest they would come would be "peace on earth, goodwill toward men" but would not cite the bible verse. They were very pretty though. I ended up finding nice ones at Walmart. I make an effort to send cards with a Jesus-centered message, just to briefly remind my friends and family who should be in the center of all this shopping, gifting, baking, glitz, and bustling-- not us. ;-) Like the other 364 days of the year, it is never about what we do, but who God is. I don't really like the phrase "Jesus is the reason for the season" because Jesus is the reason for every season. 

The crunch and beauty of the snow, glazed smoothness of the ice, crisp and invigorating fresh scent of the the winter air remind me that Christmas is a time when we celebrate a Saviour is born, but also a time to celebrate that everything in the world, in nature, in my life, exalts the beauty and love of God. 

The celebration we call Christmas originated from pagan winter celebrations that have gone on for centuries (such as Roman Saturnalia and Scandanavian Yule) that were flavored Christian. Traditions, such as erecting a tree in the home (Germany) and gift-giving (Roman Saturnalia) have were a part of these pagan celebrations, but as a Christian, my celebration does not stop here; my appreciation for these traditions arises to a different level. I admire the beauty of our Christmas tree propped in our sliding glass door. Viewed from outside, I am enamored with the blazing twinkle of the lights. It is beautiful. The star on top, and the gradual expanse of the branches from top to bottom is symbolic to me. Each ornament, representative to some aspect of our lives, all culminates under the single Star. Behind, next to, and in front of each ornament is the glow of lights. Our lives our illuminated by the Light, we and everything in our lives is under the watchful love and mercy of the Star. Giving starts with the Star; we are able to give because he gave to us. Gift-giving also is of special significance. I am called to give all 365 days a year, but through the Christmas season I am reminded of this call as I contemplate what our Christmas gift to each of our family members should be, and as I carefully wrap each gift to look beautiful. Christmas is not just giving and receiving presents, nor is it about doing this because Jesus gave us a gift (though this is a wonderful start!). Christmas is a time to celebrate the life and love we are freely given by God the Father, to celebrate and appreciate this world we have received, the tradition we've received from our ancestors (whether pagan or Christian) and practice each year, and reflect on the impact of God's great mercy in our lives. 

Grades

Grades posted today. I graduated with a 4.0.

:D

Stephen's b-day dinner

Pretty much everything was odd. For starters, the wind gusted 30-40 mph in teen degree weather. Freaking cold (briskly walking from Old Navy to our parked car gave me a brain freeze!). We were asked 3 (4?) times if this was our first time eating at Texas Roadhouse. There were many birthdays, so we'd have to pause our conversation to give way to incoherent birthday announcements and raucous YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HAWWWW!'s (by the 2nd or 3rd birthday, we were rethinking our evil plan to subject Stephen to this craziness)

Our server delivered my diet soda unto Stephen's lap. This happened directly after we informed her it was his birthday (hint: humiliate him!... but not that way). And, the said shirt was merely an hour old, a birthday gift from me. Twice during supper, a server (2 different ones) came to our table with food we didn't order. And finally, Stephen got up on a saddle and swung a napkin around his head, while patrons gawked and my eyes lit up... then again, that is not unusual.

Good times.

3-6 inches

It's snowing!

Stephen's 26th: videos

eating his birthday tic tacs before commencing gift unwrapping

wee-tard Stephen pretending to blow on the wrong cupcake

26 years ago today

Stephen was born! 26 sounds so old. Not in a graying, wrinkled, crippled kind a way; 26 is very much "adult", which is weird because he and I are both still trying to get a grip on this "adult" thing. I suppose the pursuit of adulthood will be a lifelong venture, eh?

We went to his work's Christmas party last night, which was all put on by his boss. Drinks, appetizers, and food were all on him- nice! It was neat meeting his boss finally, he's an incredibly nice guy-  the party was a wonderful gesture. We left as we were finishing up our meals; the noise (we were in a bar), the cigarette smoke, and the crowd (I'm get very nervous in crowds) were really getting to me, plus my two drinks caused my head to feel like it was going roll off my shoulders, kind of a bad deal when said head was already afflicted with a recurrent bout of skull-pounding pain (this has gone on all week, I feel like I am getting sick) I was so relieved to get home to our quiet house (and I think Stephen was too)! We are not big party people. 

We went to bed fairly soon after getting home, and I was hoping to sleep through the night, but [alas] I am up wide awake. I would enjoy my owl-tendencies much more if my husband was likewise. I think I'll go ahead and get his cupcakes made (homemade German chocolate!) so when I get up [this afternoon :/] I can ice them. Tonight we are meeting up with Chris and Kim at Texas Roadhouse to celebrate the day of Stephen's birth.

I used parentheses a lot in this post (I must be in a parenthetical mood).

What I'm doing right now:

Watching The Bells of St. Mary's  and this:

Sleeping Babes (see previous post)

We love it when our kids get along

Howie and Zoe rarely hang out together for lengthy spans of time, but this evening they cuddled close, asleep, on the couch for the longest time. When Zoe woke up, she bathed Howie. He totally soaked it all up, with his face buried into her body, and a paw dangling in the air in ecstasy. They were so adorable that I left the dinner table to get video (unfortunately, it is not wanting to upload!)

Tonight

Furniture and addressing a most concerning issue

We have our furniture! It finally feels like a home here. 

Zoe seems quite afraid of the new additions to our living room and dining area... she's hiding in the guest bedroom. Howie, however, thinks it's pretty cool. He's being a good boy so far, staying off our new table.

Kim noticed an inequality in number between Howie and Zoe pics on this blog. It is an issue I am well aware of. The gads of Howie pics indicate nothing more than his availability. What can I say, my little girl is usually off by herself doing her own thing. As is the case with the most beautiful things in life, she is a tad difficult to capture on camera. ;-)

Italian Stuffed Shells

1 pckg jumbo-size shell pasta

1 pckg shredded mozzarella cheese

1 lb ground hamburger OR ground turkey

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

1 box frozen spinach, thawed, and thoroughly drained dry OR 1 bag of fresh spinach, chopped

1 large tub cottage cheese

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

1. Brown hamburger/turkey, drain, add spaghetti sauce, set aside

2. Boil pasta for 1/2 of the time directed on pasta package. Do not cook all the way-- it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain thoroughly and quickly toss in olive oil or they will stick together and tear.

3. Mix in a medium bowl parm. cheese, cottage cheese, a handful of moz. cheese, spinach, garlic, and a few dashes of salt and pepper.

4. Stuff pasta with filling (approx. 2 tablespoons a shell)... don't be afraid to overstuff! Place stuffed shells open-side up in a 9x13 baking dish.

5. Pour spaghetti sauce over entire dish, and then sprinkle with remaining moz. cheese.

6. Cover in foil, bake approx. 20 min. Uncover, 10 min. 

I made these for the first time last night, with Stephen, Kim, and Chris as my victims- er, guinea pigs- er, testers. It came out a bit watery because I cooked the pasta for the full time and did not drain everything thoroughly enough... but, we used a slotted spoon to serve them up, and they were fantastic! The ingredients are inspired by my Aunt Angie's lasagna. Let me know if any of your revisions work better than what I have here... I only explained how I did it last night, not what necessarily works the best.

Apartment Pics

KITCHEN

DINING ROOM

GUEST BEDROOM/OFFICE

OUR BEDROOM

LIVING ROOM

Whatta Cutie

Christmas-izing

The tree is up, as well as my village. I am rather upset with myself for the sloppy way I packed away my porcelain village pieces a few years ago; I had to whip out the glue gun, and my little ski resort was not repairable.

The kitties are in the Christmas spirit, as you can see by these pictures. ;-) So

far they are "respecting" the tree, but my expectations are rather low. Howie had a blast with the big empty tree box. He'd jump in and dash to the tub, jump in, then dash back to the tree box. LOL Zoe kicked around a small branch that had fallen off the tree

 as if it was a soccer ball. Needless to say the furballs had a

 blast.

 As we were finishing up, Kim and Chris came over for our traditional viewing of "Christmas Time in South Park" and we all

 pigged out on summer sausage, cheddar cheese, Ritz crackers and peanut M&Ms. YUM!

Missing: Kitchenware

I occurred to me as I was falling asleep that I have not seen our fondue pot- this is in addition to the crock pot and the stock pot. Ugh. I called our old landlords today to see if they were willing to ship the latter to us, and they were not too thrilled... they took down our address and phone number anyway, but did not say if they would or not. If the fondue pot is there as well, I wonder what else we left behind?? I'd sure hate to waste a day driving back to Pella, but I'd hate to have to replace everything even more. I knew I should've "double-checked" the kitchen. ***palmhead***

If we could just decide how this will be resolved, it would be no big deal. Instead, its all up in the air, and I'm concerned we will just forget about it. I wouldn't care if the missing items were merely a drawer full of wooden spoons or some stale cereal... but these are things that we actually use and are pricey. In fact, we need the stock pot for our shrimp boil New Years Eve....

Home and Church

The house is pretty much put away! My living room/dining room wall stuff is not hung up yet, and I have a few odd items out of place, but boxes are a thing of the past. Yaay! For the first time since the Elm St. house, we are able to have all of our bedroom furniture actually IN our bedroom, with plenty of room to spare. There is so much room in this apartment; I find myself overwhelmed with the many cabinets in the kitchen, the space in our closet. I barely hear the dryer from the bedroom. I forget where I have put things. I feel out of my element at times here, being so accustomed to the necessity of having to put my organizational and practical skills to work to make little spaces work. But, hey! no complaints here!

It is way below freezing outdoors and we don't even need our heat on. I flip on our gas fireplace for 5-10 minutes approx. twice a day, and it heats our whole house. I wish it didn't put out as much heat as it does (it is shocking, really); nothing beats a cozy fire all evening.

Stephen came home tonight and helped big time. I know he would have loved nothing more but to plop down in the recliner and go brain-dead until bedtime, but instead he hung our coat hooks, took down ALL of our boxes to the garage himself (!), helped me take down trash, vacuumed, moved his chest of drawers from the closet to the bedroom, and then moved our deep freeze from the dining room to the laundry room-- all done cheerfully with no complaining. I am totally in love with this man--- not because he does things for me (but that is nice) but because he is an innately thoughtful and helpful man. :-)

Wednesday we went with Chris and Kim to the advent service at their church. The pastor & wife were very eager to greet us, at some points in our initial conversation too eager, but whatever. It's so awkward going to a church for the first time, especially when you haven't gone regularly in ages. Stephen really likes it there, and I do not strongly object to anything; I think I need to go a few more times to really have an opinion about it. I'm going back with Kim Saturday morning for a breakfast-- I can't remember what she said it was for. I'm nervous, but genuinely interested... nervous because church is a big, scary challenge (at least the practical and doctrinal aspects... I am quite sensitive and find myself very uncomfortable with what, how, and why things are said/done), but interested because I really do want find a church family where I feel at home, can connect with other like-minded people, and can use my gifts. So, we'll see how it goes.

 

Congrats and Merry Christmas to Us!

We've waited a long time for this day and have managed our finances wisely. As we agreed when we began Dave Ramsay's Financial Peace, we would buy new living room furniture once we were out of debt. We officially paid off our debts last month, so our reward (and Christmas present to ourselves) comes in good timing for our new place.

We got out of Nebraska Furniture Mart with a big, comfy couch, an oversized matching armchair chair and ottoman, 2 end tables (that match our coffee table bought in 2005!), and a small breakfast table w/ 4 chairs a couple hundred dollars under budget. Everything will be delivered next Tuesday. I can't wait!

These are pictures from Nebraska Furniture Mart's website. The table we purchased is a little bit bigger than the one pictured here, but the style/color is the same. The chairs depicted are the ones we purchased. We don't intend to hang on to this set forever; we just need a dining table for small spaces until we buy our own home and hopefully have room for a larger piece. No more eating in front of the t.v... at least in theory!

Our end tables. I did not expect find ones that match our coffee table. I love them because they are small, but still functional. As with our coffee table, the end tables are heavy, solid, and have a worn, grooved surface... perfect for everyday living and future little Knittels. They will be around for a long long time.

Couch, armchair, and ottoman. Exact same style and everything, but we did not get them in green (yuck, btw...)! Our furniture is the brown color you see on the pillows. Those pillows come with the furniture. I like them, but not for our house... I want to sell them and buy ones we like with the money... clean lines, no frills. The couch and chair are soooooo comfy. It is not the kind of couch you "sink" into, it is more on the firm side (grandparents can pull themselves up quite easily!) This will be a very good couch for sick days because the cushions are so wide you can lay down without feeling claustrophobic. :-)