Christmas in Lynden-Part 4

Now it is Tuesday and Kristi and her boys are going to be leaving later in the day and Uncle Josh will be heading out that night. Josh and Darin are still making their way back up from Seattle with a load of Josh's stuff, so the rest of us head to the beach/ocean. My mom, Kristi and I drop off my dad and the kids so they can take Pebbles for a little walk. After making sure they were all bundled up, I left my camera with my dad and the three ladies took a little drive and waited for the kids and Papa to catch up.

Papa, Gage (10), Tyson, Jori Gram and Sawyer (9)

The kiddos

Pointing at the bald eagle

Showing off a rock

Buddies

Another shot of Tyson peeking around Pebbles

The Eagle has landed

After we met up, Darin and Josh called to tell us they were back in Lynden, so we drove off to meet them at Bob's Burgers. We were all HUNGRY so the food tasted extra good.

Kristi and her boys left for home, so we had to say more good byes. Ugh! So not my favorite thing to do. Then we headed back to my parents house and hung out with Uncle Josh and Pebbles.

Loving on Uncle Josh

Snuggling with Papa

Josh left Tuesday night to finish cleaning up his house and moving his stuff to his temporary residence. It was a good thing he left when he did because we woke up to a light dusting of snow on Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, Jori and I headed over to my friend Kelly's house so she and Addie could play together. It was nice to visit with a friend and I know Jori loved having a little girl to hang out with! We hung out that night and spent more time together on Thursday. It is pretty pathetic that it is only Sunday and I already can't remember what we did! I know we had an awesome steak dinner on Thursday. Sorry sissies, but there were only 4 steaks, so mom and dad saved them for me : )

Then it was Friday. We had to be up and ready to head to the airport by 8. Darin had left his backpack at Josh's house and our van keys were in the backpack, so we had to make a little side trip first. I made sure to take some pictures that morning, but I could tell that I was already starting to dread saying good bye again.

Gram and her grands

We love you Papa and Gram!!!

I wish I could say that the ride to the airport was uneventful, but it was not. Tyson was complaining about not feeling well and a little over half way through our trip he threw up oatmeal and blueberries. Poor kid. Then we stopped in at Uncle Josh's, changed Tyson's clothes, got the van keys and back pack, then headed to the airport. Then it was time to say good bye to my parents. I finally let myself really think about how long this goodbye could be for and when I was hugging my dad I lost it. Bleh. It's not that I don't like crying. I actually am a big fan of letting it all out, but saying good bye to loved ones is almost physically painful, and I am realizing that we have a lot more goodbyes to go. I am so thankful that my mom is coming out here at the end of January, so I didn't have to say the hard goodbye to her yet!

We had a wonderful time in Washington and I was reminded again and again of how blessed I am to be a part of my family and how much I love each person in it!

Christmas in Lynden-Part 3

On Sunday, we all got up and headed to church. Then we spent the rest of the day challenging each other on the Wii, playing cards and just hanging out. Jori loved spending time with Kelsey, the only other girl cousin on my side of the family. On Sunday, Gram and the Aunties let the girls use their makeup to get dolled up. I would have let them use mine if I had more than powder and chapstick to offer.

All dolled up

When they came down after almost an hour of getting ready, you could tell that Jori had been busy. I think Kelsey might have been hoping Jori would be her model so she could pretty her up, but Jori wanted to do a lot of her own make-up. If you click on the picture above, you can a larger image. I think she actually did a pretty good job, but her face and neck were two totally different tones and the purple (and pink!) eye shadow and dark lipstick were a bit much for a Sunday afternoon.

Did I mention how much we all love Pebbles the dog? Well we do. Even I love her, and I usually push people's pets off the couch if they try to sit by me, or kick at them if they get to close to wear I am sitting! I just love this dog. 

Hoping to find Pebbles twin in South Africa

Me and my baby

Then Monday rolled around. Laurie was going to be leaving later that day, and Darin and Josh were going to be heading to Seattle to pack up some of Josh's apartment, so they were going to be heading South as well. We (the ladies) decided to go to the mall and have Darin and Josh bring Laurie's loaded up van with her 4 kids to the mall so she could leave from there. That meant the kids had to say good-bye to their Auntie before we left for the mall.

Laurie DiAnn and Jori DiAnn

Three lovely ladies

Papa and Darin were going to take the kids to the park while we were gone, and the kids were so eager to go that they loaded themselves up and sat in the van for about 30 minutes while we finished packing Laurie's van.

Even Pebbles is buckled in

Since Laurie wouldn't be coming back with us, it was time to take a few more pictures. I knew it was going to be time to say good-bye soon and that really stunk.

Me and my "big" sisters

The 4 of us

We had a great time at the mall, and I managed to keep it together saying good bye to the Molan clan in the Kohl's parking lot. I know if I had let myself really think about how long it might be til I see them again I would have been crying, so it was just easier to stay in denial.

One more part of our Christmas vacation to go!

Christmas in Lynden -part 2

Ok, we left off with the cousins and Aunties and everyone else arriving. It was wonderful to have so much of the family together in one place. It would have been great if Danny and SooHee could have been there as well, but I am just glad we saw them this summer!

Being in a house with so many people, things are bound to get a little silly. The kids found Papa John's wig and decided to try it on:

Tyson in the wig

Pebbles looking like one of the Beatles

Maybe it's better that he doesn't have much hair...

Jori with her thick, dark locks

On Christmas Eve, Darin and Josh arrived with Pebbles and all the girls went to church with my parents that night. On Christmas day, we all kind of laid low (at least that is how I remember things) and then we had a really nice ham dinner that afternoon and then it was time to open presents.

New gloves from Papa and Gram

Barbie clothes from Kelsey

Money and a free hamburger coupon from the Molan's and Auntie Kristi : )

Thanks Uncle Josh!

Molan kids unwrapping their present from Papa and Gram

Papa and Gram getting hugs for the new Wii

Mario Cart and a new Wii fit for the Fey's

We all made out like bandits. I think my favorite things to watch people open were the gifts from Josh. He is in the process of moving (eventually to California) and had recently cleaned out his house. Darin and I received a meat thermometer, which will be handy when we braai (grill out) in South Africa. My parents received a down comforter that Josh was allergic too (I'd have snapped it up if we were staying in the states!), a duvet cover and a mattress pad. My sisters received the best things. Laurie got some swiffer wet pads, with no swiffer (although my mom later dug it out of Josh's trash) and a really nice insulated cooler bag and Kristi got a wine aerator and some spices. I loved laughing with my whole family as each of us opened our gifts! My parents made all the kids (and parents) happy and gave Wii's and Wii fits to everyone. Gage and Sawyer got theirs on Sunday, so they weren't left out. My sisters gave me a necklace, which I absolutely love.

It has parts of two Bible verses on it-Deuteronomy 31:8, which says "The Lord Himself goes before me and He will be with me" and Deuteronomy 30:19 "Listen to His voice; Hold fast to Him". I love it and if I had been forced to read the verses when it was given to me, I would have broken down in tears. So if you didn't know before, I love it and am so touched by the words on it!

The rest of the night was spent hanging out, playing the new Wii games and just relaxing.

Mario Cart

Our favorite pooch

My husband

Christmas 2010 in Lynden, WA

After 3 years of spending Christmas with Darin's family, we finally spent Christmas 2010 in Lynden with the Van Schepen's. Don't get me wrong, I wish we could be two places at once, because we missed being in Edgerton, but we sure had a lot of fun with my family!

On Friday, December 17, we headed for Chicago to stay at a hotel. Early the next morning, Darin took the kids and I to the airport and our adventure began. My Uncle Herm and his wife Libby picked us up at the Sea/Tac airport a little before 11 Saturday morning and we were in Lynden before 2 that afternoon, happy to be back with Papa and Gram. Tyson and Jori were eager to run around and I was glad to have some extra hands to help me with the kids!

The kids and I were the only ones at my folks until Thursday. We hung out that weekend with my parents and the Korean students that are staying at their house this year. My mom and I did some shopping and my dad entertained the kids at home and took them to his church so he could try and get some work done on his sermons. That was not going to happen! The kids just wanted to keep seeing what Papa was doing. Papa and the kids also went to a farm that a family from their church owns. They saw cows, donkeys and more. I think my dad took his camera along, so I might be able to add some pictures of their time there later.

On Wednesday (or was it Tuesday??) we drove to Canada to go to the indoor pool. We took James, one of the Koreans, along as he did not get to go home for Christmas this year. It was wonderful having so many adults to look after the kids as they didn't want to wear floaties. We were all happy that Tyson AND Jori were both able to go on the water slide. When we were in Canada this summer, only Tyson could go on the slide and he had to have a floatie on. They must have changed their rules, because as long as an adult went down first, both kids could slide down on their own. They also took turns jumping off the diving board. Jori even jumped off the 3 meter board (10 feet) but got hurt after landing in a belly flop. That ruined any chance of getting Tyson to go off the high board. We all liked being in the hot tub and the kiddie pool.

You'd think I'd remember more of what we did, but the older I get, the harder time I have adjusting to the three hour time change! I tried to sleep in a lot and went to bed early for the first few days. I am sure my parents were thrilled to have me around : )

On Thursday, Laurie and her kids got in around dinner time. Tyson and Jori were so excited to have some kids to play with and I finally took out my camera and started taking pictures. Auntie Kristi got in about an hour later, but her boys didn't come up til Sunday. Friday afternoon, which was Christmas Eve Day, Darin and Uncle Josh came up along with Pebble/Pebbles, our favorite dog!

Here are some pictures from the first couple days that everyone was around.

Tyson (6) and Carson (8) snuggle with Pebbles

Hanging out in the den.

Auntie Laurie and her 14 year old, Caden.

Early Christmas presents from the cousins (what happened to the NO gift exchange rule??)

Jori and her new Barbs from Kelsey (10)

Jori and Cameron (12)

Uncle Josh chilling

Jori and Pebs

More to come later...

Christmas Programs 2010

This week both kids had their school Christmas programs. Tyson's was Tuesday night and Jori's was Wednesday morning. It was fun to see them both up on stage performing. They are still young enough that they are excited about what they are doing and actually want to be there!

Here are a couple videos from Tyson's program. He is in the second to top row, far right side, second kid in wearing a blue shirt. 

I love this version of "How Great our Joy". It was a little peppy and upbeat and I love to see kids dance!

Darin couldn't make it to Jori's program, so I made sure to take plenty of video for him to see. I tried taking pictures, but because of the Christmas lights on stage, they all ended up looking pretty blurry.

This one is a little fuzzy, but I love watching her do the motions:

 I love this one too, especially during the second verse when her "no" is a little ahead of everyone else.

And one more, just because she's so cute:

I wish we could have been this close for Tyson's program, but it was CRAZINESS in the church and we are just glad we didn't end up in the balcony. 

Giving Gifts-2010

Tonight we exchanged gifts with the kids. This next week is going to be a busy one and the kids and I are already flying out on Saturday morning for Washington, so we figured today was the least busy day to do this, and it gives our kids plenty of time to play with their new stuff. 

Our leaning tower of tree-za

 A couple weeks ago, when I was wrapping some presents, the kids asked for some wrapping paper to wrap things up for Darin and me. They worked very hard at their wrapping and had been waiting patiently for us to see what they chose for us.

One of the presents they wrapped

 We let the kids take turns photographing us opening our gifts. Here is the most flattering shot of me and a headless shot of Darin.

 Jori gave up 2 of her bears, Tyson sacrificed a reptile book and a compass, we each got a stem from a broken pair of glasses, some cardboard "computers", a bookmark and the most useful gift of all, a pack of gum.

Our little pile of goodies

A pack of gum the kids swiped from our drawer : )

Next, it was time for the kids to open their gifts. They each started out with something small, but as you can tell, it doesn't take much to make these kids smile!

Tyson and his new pill box

Love these kids!

Next is Tyson with most of his "big" gift. He is now the proud owner of a harmonica and instruction book, a motocross shirt, and a NASCAR racing outfit. The pill box and harmonica set are a couple of the things that Darin and I picked up at our small group white elephant gift exchange earlier this week. Thanks Louzons!

Our harmonica playing race car driver. What a combo!

Now it was time for Jori to open her gifts. First she opened her own package, and while she seemed to like it, she was also kind of ambivalent. Then she and Charity (her doll) opened Charity's gift and she got a little more excited. See for yourself!

Matchy match fun!

We all had a wonderful night, complete with an excellent dinner that I will post about later! Enjoy the videos, but please ignore my impatient sounding voice!

Boo. For some reason I can only upload one video! I've tried several times, but it is not working. Just imagine Jori opening up her little outfit and kind of tossing it to the side, then opening Charity's little outfit (after first having Charity try to open it herself) and still not really getting it, then Darin saying "Doesn't that look like something else" and then she realizes they are matching little outfits and she is happy. Hopefully we'll get the video up another time!

Update 2010 (also known as the annual Christmas letter)

It's that time of year again. Time to update you all on what the Fey's have been up to over the past 12 months and what's coming up for us in the new year.

As most of you know by now, our family is going to be experiencing some big changes in the coming year, we are just not sure when these changes will be occurring! In April 2010, Darin started corresponding with an acquaintance in South Africa and over the next couple months, a plan was hammered out that has brought us into a business partnership that will eventually see our family moving overseas. Yes, we are going to be business owners, once the business is built! We thought we'd be heading over to South Africa already in January, ready to figure out how to run a petrol station/convenience store, but as with most plans, things come up and the "plan" goes right out the window. Now we are hoping to head over sometime before June, but you'll just have to keep checking the blog to see what happens!

So that is our BIG news, and even though moving overseas to start up a new business is a life changing event, there really isn't much more to say about it at this point because we are kind of facing a world of unknowns. As of right now, we don't know where we are going to live, we don't know what it will actually look like to own part of a petrol station, we don't know where the kids will go to school, we don't know what else we might get involved in. What we DO know is that God has all of these details and many more worked out already, and we are trying to daily rest in that thought! We are excited to see what He has in store for us in South Africa and we look forward to renewing many friendships that we made over there in 2008.

Now, how about a glimpse into what our daily lives are looking like now.  We'll start with the littlest Fey, who is not so little any more! Jori will be 4 1/2 on December 18. She is so excited to add that "half" to her age! In September, Jori started preschool at Georgetown Christian. She absolutely loves it and it has been such a joy to see her learn and grow in this new environment. Jori loves to sing and dance. She also loves to play with her "guys", especially her special doll, Charity. So far Jori is excited about moving to South Africa. She has informed us on several occasions that she gets two suitcases to pack all her stuff, and the rest of us may have one. Jori still has the big belly laugh that we have come to love so much, and she is generally full of smiles.

Tyson will be 6 1/2 on December 16. He is in first grade at Park Elementary this year and is loving everything about school, especially recess and snack time. Tyson started reading over the summer and hasn't stopped! He loves learning and you can almost see the wheels turning in his head when he is trying to figure out how something works. This fall, Tyson started Cadets at one of the local churches. He absolutely loves being part of this group and enjoys telling us about the fun things that happen on Wednesday nights. Last week Tyson came home with his first badge and he was glowing! Tyson is excited to move to South Africa to see his friend Fetsi again and he also has big plans to help Darin build the petrol station.

After being at Innotec since graduating in 2000, Darin took a position with a new company in January 2010. After 9 1/2 years of dirty hands and greasy clothes, Darin is now a purchasing agent at Nuvar Inc. This new position has been a perfect fit for Darin and his love for this new job has made our upcoming plans to move a little bittersweet. Another big change for Darin is that he sold the vending machine business that he started way back when we were first married. After years and years of trips to Sam's Club to stock up on candy and treats and many Saturday afternoons spent filling the machines, this has been a big change for our whole family.

In many ways, I have probably changed the least of anyone in our family of four. I have enjoyed helping out at Tyson's school this year and doing "girl" stuff with Jori on her days off. I am still part of a wonderful Bible study at our church and have loved getting to know all the women this year. The past few months have turned me into a much better house keeper, but that is only because our house is on the market and it needs to be ready for possible showings. I'd say the biggest change I've experienced is that I finally feel content with my life. Funny how getting ready to move to a different country away from friends, family and all things familiar has caused me to have such a great appreciation and love for the life I am living right now.

God has been so good to us this year and we know that He will be going with us as we head into whatever He has in store for us next. This year, we anticipate the birth of Christ as snow falls around us and temperatures dip below freezing. What a joy to know that, next year, even though we will now be celebrating Christmas during the summer (opposite hemisphere=opposite seasons) we will still be celebrating the same Emmanuel, God with us, that we do right now.