Making Christmas a bit brighter for another Family - Our Extended Family Tradition

The Holidays are a time when traditions are both formed, and played out.  Going to grandma’s house, baking cookies, cutting down the family tree, etc....and our family is no different.  For as long as I can remember we packed up and headed to my Grandparents house on Christmas Eve for a BIG extended family get together. We shared food, fun, games, and of course gifts.  As we got older, some people moved away and the crowd got smaller some yeara, but we still had our tradition of getting together and sharing the Holidays with each other.  

After a number of years of just exchanging gift cards with each other, and following the passing of my Grandfather the summer before, we started a new tradition, a tradition of adopting a family in need and spending our time and money on making their Christmas a little brighter.  We worked with our Church that helps hundreds of families each year, and picked from a handful of families that they felt would be the best fit for us.  Over the years we have helped single parent families, families going through medical issues, and families that are homeless.  Each has their own story and circumstances that we embrace and do the best we can make things a littler better.

Usually right after Thanksgiving we contact the Church to let them know we are “in” for another year and they give us a few options to pick from.  This year, they started with one, knowing that our family would be the best fit to try and help.  It was a family of 8; Mom, Dad and 6 kids - ranging from 2-16.  They have landed on tough times, and have been living in a homeless camp.  Their needs were minimal; some clothes, blankets, gloves and maybe a bag to put their belonging in.  

So, let’s just stop here for a second.  Can you imagine this?  A family of 8 with no home...a bag for their belongings would be great?

When we heard this, we knew we wanted to help, but a family of 8 was big commitment.  Even for our extended family, we were concerned if we could make an impact.  Sure, all they wanted was a bag for their thing, but we knew we wanted to do more than that.  We reached out to the family and everyone agreed that we COULD do this, so we made it happen.  Over the course of the next few weeks, we accumulated clothes, toys, blankets, etc.  We also went to a local custom print shop that was able to help us order duffel bags at cost.  They also dipped into all their “seconds” and was able to provide even more clothes for the bags.

The above picture are the 8 bags filled to the brim with all their goodies the day before we delivered to the church to then get to the family.  Seeing the product of our hearts coming together for another family was pretty cool.  I can honestly say, that this is one of the best traditions we have started.  It is something we will continue to do...and I would encourage anyone reading this to start this up as well. If you think it might be too much to take on, think through it again....you can make it happen!  

The Stretch Run

We are officially in the stretch run of the Holiday season. We have had a variety of Holiday parties, family gatherings, christmas performances, etc.

This coming week marks the arrival of Ryan, Stacey and baby Haas. Maddie and KK are already taking about reading stories, and sharing toys with Haas.

Sunday we will mark Steph's 34th visit to see Santa (minus one year - but I guess we dont ever talk about that) We have Maddie and KK's pictures out and it is cool to see how they have changed over the years. We think that KK will be ok with Santa this year...we shall see. Kenzie's wish list is comprised of "a dolly and a chocolate bar" while Maddie would like "anything Hannah Montana."

Anyway, that is it for now. Hope everyone else is enjoying this busy time of year. We will have some more Holiday posts in the coming days.

Nice Lights Clark!

The weekend we finally got out lights up. There hasnt been a free weekend since Thankgiving, so this was really our first change. We switched it up a bit with red and white lights along the gutters, then our traditional white lights in garland. Anyway, here is a pic to share. Also, we finally got hooked in "Elf" dance. Click Here to see our family "elfed"!

Thanksgiving Recap

Sorry for the delay in posts....It's been a bit crazy the last week...and here is why:

Thanksgiving - Had a great day with our friends (The Doerrs). Mom and Dad J were in Long Beach, while Mom and Dad C were in San Jose. We had a fabulous dinner and enjoyed just taking it easy. We did mix in a little Turkey Bowl at the viewpoint. Thanks Cary and Julia for a great Thanksgiving.

Black Friday - Well, normally I have ventured out on black friday for one of the sacred bargins. However, this year nothing really jumped out at me. So, there was no waking up at 4am to get that bargin. We did venture out to a mall, but it was to Bellevue for a movie. We took the girls to Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium at the new Lincoln Square. Maddie invited her friend Makalya along as well.

Saturday - This was reunion night...Reunion of the Meyers, McAllisters, Doerrs and Jensens trip to Vegas for Dave's BDay last October. We enjoyed a great dinner at Racha Noodle, then headed to Chopstix Piano Bar. We had a awesome time hanging out, singing songs, etc. Good times for sure!!

Sunday - After a late night on Saturday, we laid low at home on Sunday. Ran a few errands here and there, and found ourselves back at Bellevue Square. On the way home, the kids fell asleep (no nap) so Steph and I improvised for dinner. We picked up Angelinas chicken parm and ate dinner in the Suburban at the Hamilton viewpoint. While there we had the opportunity to see a super cool "moon rise" over the city.

So, that was the holiday weekend...never a dull moment. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

4th of July Recap

"Wow...That's all I can say about that is Wow!"



Our day started out early, with a 7:30am wake up call. After getting our stuff together, we headed down to Krispy Kreme for Red/White/Blue sprinkled donuts. From there we headed to the Doerrs to decorate our scooter/bikes for the annual Admiral 4th of July Kids parade. Our "vehicles" were decorated with ribbon, cords, etc. Thanks to the moms for all the great decorations. The parade was bigger and better than ever. Rumor had it that there were over 800 kids there with their bikes. As you can see from the picture below, that might be about right.



After the parade, we walked "all the way" back to the Doerr's house (it is like 200 yards from the end of the parade) for Popsicles, pool time and lunch. We played a little hoops and just hung out. The weather was awesome...sunny and over 80 degrees.




After lunch we headed home to prepare for the 2nd part of our day. The kids went down for a nap while we made brownies and some secret baked beans. We headed over to Nana and Papa J's house for a BBQ. All the great grandparents were there as well. It was quite the feast with Red/White/Blue Jello, chips, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, etc. The kids had a great time playing as well....almost too good of a time :-) But it was great to get them together...they really enjoy their time.



After things settled down at 9:15, we thought about going home, but then Maddie asked about watching fireworks...So, we made our last stop at the Landskov's 4th of July bash. We got there just in time for the impromptu fireworks show. Technically fireworks are illegal in the city, but from the sound of things on 49th street, that must not be the case. It was great to see everyone there and the kids loved their 4th of July Finale!

Thanks to the Doerrs, Mom and Dad and the Landskov's for hosting all the festivities!!!