On the Hunt

It's becoming a tradition that when we spend Christmas with my parents, they wait to get a Christmas tree until we arrive. Sometimes, like this year, that means they don't get a tree until Christmas Eve. Sad for them, but fun for us! =0) We have a fake tree, so we miss out on all the fun of searching for one. I love that! Being outside, tromping through snow, and hunting... Can't be too tall, Can't be too bare, has to be just right. And inevitably when we get it home, it looks a lot bigger, or looks a lot smaller, and always, always looks more bare than it did in the woods! But the fun is not so much in the perfection of the tree, but the adventure of finding it. Sure it take a lot more maintenance than a fake tree, and it's messier than a fake tree, but nothing beats the smell of a fresh pine tree...

We have a family friend who owns tons of property, every year they invite us to come up and find a tree, and when we're done they warm us up with hot chocolate and cookies. Can't get much better than that! This year the snow was so deep we left Madelyn in the car, and took the older two kids with us to begin the hunt. In the past, it's been a fun "family" event, but about 5 minutes into it, both Brad and I were wishing we would have left them ALL in the car, and done it ourselves! The snow was so deep, they both kept falling, and whining about how hard it was to walk. We ended up carrying them most of the trip! And at one point, after we found the tree, Brad was carrying Josiah on his shoulders, pulling the tree behind him, and trying to trudge through 2 feet of snow! Incredible Hulk! I had a hard time just carrying Reagan and walking in the snow! But we found a great little Christmas tree, and created fun memories in the meantime! =0)

Fox Family Christmas Newsletter

So my original idea this year was to skip sending out Christmas cards, but I had no idea how guilty I would feel as the Christmas cards came rolling in... (Thanks to all who are faithful and continue this tradition no matter how crazy and chaotic your lives are - we absolutely love catching up with you and your family!)

Let me start off this letter by saying, one of the main reasons I didn't want to do Christmas cards this year was because we have no good pictures of all of us! Family pictures are always a source of turmoil in our household. I've enclosed a few to give you a glimpse of the fun we have trying to get everybody to look in the same direction with a smile. Madelyn is particularly peeved at her mommy for forcefully placing her on her bottom after repeated attempts at escaping... the others were on strict orders to keep smiling and looking at the camera no matter what. They're actually pretty comical, now looking back... =0)


Brad is heading into his fifth year as Youth Pastor here in Coeur d' Alene, and loves working with teenagers. He has had a busy year -- as always! He amazes me with his ability at multi-tasking! There have been several times where I have been out for the day and have come home to a clean house, loads of laundry folded, and dinner hot and on the table -- something I've yet to accomplish! He's a superstar in all of our eyes! His ability at multi-tasking is seen not only by his family, but many others, as he serves in a variety of different areas in the NW Ministry Network: Youth Rep, Youth Council, Camp Director, Student Leadership Conference Director, and is in his second year of serving on the Board of Directors for Silver Lake Camp. And if that wasn't enough, he even found time to pass his ordination test! Next spring he will be ordained with the Assemblies of God.

Me =0) - I'm enjoying life as a stay-at-home mom! This summer I've been busy trying to create a "home". We moved two times within 3 months, going from our original house, to a townhome, and finally to our new house. We've almost doubled the size of our home, so I struggle to keep up with it at times. For some reason I thought if our house was bigger, it wouldn't get as messy.... I don't know what I was thinking?!? We just have more room to make bigger messes! We've had a steady stream of company almost every week throughout the summer and fall, and have enjoyed every minute of it. A couple of friends and I started a vinyl lettering company (www.decorthatsticks.com) this summer, it's been a fun "creative" outlet for me, and nice to enjoy adult conversation every once in a while. Another avenue of getting out of the house has been volunteering in Reagan's school. It's been nice getting to know her teacher, and classmates, and see what takes place during her days away from us. I've also made a few trips over to Seattle this spring and summer visiting my sister. And this November my brother moved back to Seattle from Arizona! It's so fun having family within driving distance again!

Reagan has probably gone through the most changes of anyone - it's been a year of landmarks for her! She started Kindergarten this fall, and is loving it! The first week of school she was already talking about a boy named, "Mason", and we've been hearing about him ever since... We're definitely going to be keeping an eye on this one! "Boy-crazy" is an understatement! In October, Reagan was given the "Star Reader Award", and she continues to amaze us with how well she cruises through reading books. (Which means mommy and daddy have officially had to find other ways to communicate secretly, spelling no longer works - rats!) She's had many other firsts this year which include: learning how to ride a bike without training wheels, playing soccer, riding the school bus, catching eleven fish, cutting her own hair, entering the world of sleep-overs with friends, and just today she wiggled her very loose front tooth, so even as I write, it looks like we have another "first" in the making! Reagan is full of drama, she loves to make up songs, and role-play all day long. She is often found "teaching" Josiah and scolding him about things that are "inappropriate" for him to do. She has a soft tender heart, and an eagerness to please others. Which means she is an excellent helper for mommy!

Josiah - I wish I carried a video camera around with me all day to video tape this funny little boy. If the words coming out of his mouth aren't funny, his excitement and facial expressions will have you cracking up! He is so enthusiastic, and full of life it's hard not to smile when you're around him. He talks non-stop about monster trucks, and anything else that has wheels. He knows more about tractors, and machinery than either Brad or myself. I used to make the mistake of calling everything a tractor, but after constantly being reprimanded with, "That's an excavator mom!" or "That's a back-hoe!" I've now learned to name things properly! =0) Not only does he have an awesome personality, but he also is our "sweetheart". He loves to hug and kiss, and gushes compliments every day. Josiah is my self-esteem booster, some days he almost brings me to tears. Especially on those rough days when nothing seems to go right, he seems to have an uncanny sense of when mommy needs some encouragement. He'll come running to me with his arms open wide and give me a big bear hug. Then he'll say in his sweet little voice, "You're beautiful mommy, when I grow up I'm going to marry you!" He's definitely a keeper!

Madelyn brings so much joy to our lives! She is a happy little girl with a smile for everyone. She already has the makings of a great sense of humor! We often find her popping around the corner of the stairs saying, "Boo!" to anyone that will listen. She squeals with delight when her older siblings chase her around the house, and cries in frustration when they smother her. She is such a mixture of personalities it will be fun to see what this next year will bring. Maddy is playful, happy, tenacious, feisty, and adventuresome. She is our climber of everything, digger of garbage cans, squealer of delight, splasher of toilets, kisser of faces, and our sweet baby girl.

As this year comes to a close I can't help but reflect on the goodness of God. He has blessed us over and above anything we could have asked or imagined. He is not only our provider, but our source of peace in times of turmoil, our comfort in times of sorrow, our joy in times of sadness. We hope that this Christmas season you will know that Christ longs to be your peace, comfort and joy too! We love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

~The Fox Family

Mother/Daughter Christmas Tea

This year I took both girls to the Mother/Daughter Christmas Tea, because Brad was out of town. I was worried that Madelyn would be too squirrely to last the whole time, but she did very well for the most part. Reagan performed in the bell choir at the start of the program -- she did a fabulous job and takes it very seriously! We had a guest speaker, cute video, and amazing food! All in all it was a very fun morning! I tried to get a sweet Mother/Daughter picture of all three of us, but Madelyn was trying to leap out of my arms the whole time, so it looks more like a wrestling match than anything... =0)

Keepin' us on our toes...always!

Madelyn is crazy! Plain and simple. Oh, she's also sugary sweet, super happy, and has an amazing sense of humor... But, she's crazy. Seriously. I don't ever remember having this panicky feeling with any of the other kids when I couldn't see them. With Madelyn I never know, she could be splashing in an un-flushed toilet (a daily occurence at our house - Reagan needs some serious "re-learning" of toilet etiquette), she could be eating food out of the garbage, she could be climbing UP tables, IN bath-tubs or OUT of her highchair. She could be eating latex paint (yes, that happened!), or like the other day pouring milk on her head...Where she comes up with these things I'll never know! I was doing dishes, and heard her squealing...I glanced back at her, and there she was have a grand ol' time pouring milk on her head. I ran towards her shouting "Noooooooooooooooooo Maddy!" (The older kids have this phrase down to a science.) She looks over and beams her big toothy smile and continues to pour milk on her head AGAIN! Giggling as it rolls down her face. She's having a blast! The damage is already done, she already needs a bath and a new set of clothes. So I get the camera and think, one day little rascal, when you have your own kids, and you're complaining about them doing wild and crazy things, I'm not going to say a word, I'm just going to slide this little ol' picture across the table and let you see yourself in action! Maybe the others were like this, I don't remember. Maybe I was more organized or had it more "together" back then. It's possible. Maybe I could have so much going on with everybody else that my scatter-brained little head can't keep tabs on her like I should. Or maybe, just possibly, she's a little crazier than the others. Whatever the case, Madelyn definitely keeps us on our toes!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow...

We had a record-breaking amount of snowfall here in Coeur d' Alene this past week. The previous record for snowfall within a 24 hour period was 16 inches, we smashed it with 25 inches in a 24 hour period!!! Combine that with the snow we already had on the ground, and we have almost 3 feet of snow! Gotta love it! I think I'm an "extreme girl", I love either a LOT of snow, or I love hot toasty 90 degree weather. I really don't care for the in between stuff, a "light dusting of snow", or weather in the 70's where you can't decide if you should put on a long sleeve shirt and be a little warm, or put on a short sleeve shirt and be too cold... I'd rather have one or the other.... Thankfully I'm not the only one that loves all this snow! Madelyn did too! She kept squealing and shrieking watching the snow fall out of the sky. She was having a blast. She even did a face plant in a snow heap, and popped her head out with a big smile on her face! If the wind wasn't so biting cold I would have let her stay out a lot longer, but it was freezing, so I brought her back in the house after about 10 minutes. And as soon as her feet touched the ground she was off and running for the door....

Everybody loves daddy!

Every morning when daddy leaves for work, kids come running from all directions, "Daddy, Daddy! Give me a hug!!!" And if they don't get 5 hugs, and a million kisses a hundred different times before he leaves the house, inevitably there are tears from somebody, "But I didn't get to say good-bye!!!" Even after I remind them that they said, "good-bye" several times, and got tons of hugs and kisses, it's still a traumatic experience, which usually results in a phone-call to daddy while he's driving to work. In which he responds, "I'll see you in a few hours, when I come home for lunch...." But to them, it's as if daddy will be gone for a month! And this happens every morning. It could be one of those things I think are annoying, or bothersome, and there are definitely those days, but for the majority of these mornings, there's a piece of me that is secretly glad my kids adore their daddy. Secretly glad that daddy is their hero. Secretly glad that he is so loved. Of course, I put on the act of, "Boy, I sure wish they acted like that when I left the house!" But the truth is I wouldn't have it any other way. Out of all of the husbands/fathers I've seen out there, I have to admit, there is none more deserving of all the hugs and kisses he can get! He is an amazing daddy that loves them, and shows them that DAILY by wrestling, reading stories, building forts, giving baths, tucking them in, praying with them, and kissing them goodnight. I'm glad they have a daddy that is so involved in their everyday life. Glad they have a daddy that changes diapers, cleans up throw-up, and sings them songs. Glad they have a daddy that isn't so heavily absorbed in his work that he misses out on his kids growing up. Glad they have a daddy that takes the time to show them everyday that they are important, loved and cherished. So, I hope this little ritual continues. As they go into high school, college and their adult years, I hope they continue to adore their daddy, and keep running to him for help, running to him for hugs, running to him for love.

Carving pumpkins

Daddy was gone for a few days, and the kids were missing him, so I decided we needed to do something fun.... we'd had our pumpkins just sitting outside our door, so we brought them in and carved them. Josiah wanted to know what we were going to carve, so I said, "Oh, we're just going to put some silly faces on the pumpkins." I emphasized silly rather than scary... Our neighbors all have tombs, skeletons, spiders, ghosts, and Halloween lights all over their houses, which kind of creeps the kids out. I've never lived in a neighborhood that goes this crazy about Halloween. No joke every house on our street has more decorations for Halloween than most normal people do for Christmas...seriously. Anyway, Josiah immediately said he wanted a pumpkin with his tongue sticking out... Notice there are no shots of the actual pumpkins. Mommy is not the world's best pumpkin carver!

A few good ones...

I did manage to get some cute ones though! Here are a few...

Fall Foliage

Every year I try unsuccessfully to get cute pictures of my kids playing in the leaves. This year was no exception. I should have known better... truly. Madelyn missed her morning nap due to a Women's Bible Study, and had just fallen asleep for a much over-due nap when we arrived at our destination. I let her sleep for a few minutes in the car while the kids ran around, and then hoped she would be okay with a short catnap. No such luck. She was not a happy camper. Did I mention she's stubborn? She literally had a show-down with Josiah without speaking one word! I told Reagan and Josiah I wanted them to walk Madelyn up a big hill of leaves so I could get some cute pictures of the back of all three of them. So they obediently grabbed Maddy's hands, and tried to walk her up the hill. Madelyn wasn't in the greatest of moods to begin with, so having people pull her where she didn't want to go was not a good move. She jerked her hands out of their grasp and then proceeded to yell at them in baby gibberish. I told them to try again, and this time not only did she pull her hands away, she dug her heels in as well. Reagan and Josiah are both getting frustrated, and so is mommy. I tell them to try AGAIN, (I really want this picture!), Madelyn gets so frustrated she pulls her arms away, sits on the ground, and cries. Now Josiah is extremely frustrated, and he mumbles, "I'll just walk MYSELF up the hill!" and he marches up the hill with Reagan trailing behind. Not exactly the picture I had in mind...