Corps (Church) Christmas Decor

Some Fellowship Hall decor...

I hung these up and down our Hallway.  Cheap and easy ;)

Chapel Foyer

Chapel Decor

This (below) definately had a "wow" effect. 

It's what I heard over and over again when people entered the Chapel last Sunday. 

I got it from Oriental Trading.  The boys helped me hang the big stuff.  The rest of it hand to be individually cut and hung (I didn't know that when I ordered!).  What I thought would be a 1/2 hour project turned into a 2 1/2 hour project.  Yikes!  But anyways... well worth it!  I love it!

I bought all new tree decor this year.  I've never had 6 Christmases at one appointment.  Didn't know how sick I'd be of using the same decorations 5 years in a row.   So I sold all of our silver and purple decorations in the Thrift Store and picked out all of these goldish colors instead.  I think it looks prettier in person.

Glass door with window clings Ann hung up

I decorated for the children  upstairs too.  They have their own fiber optic tree and everything.

What a wonderful Celebration the Birth of Immanuel is!! 

I hope our Corps (church) building is setting the mood!

What's Good...

How good and pleasant it is

when brothers (and sisters) live together in unity!

-It is like precious oil poured on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron's beard,

down upon the collar of his robes.

-It is as if the dew of Hermon

were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the LORD bestows his blessing,

even life forevermore.

Psalm 133:1-3

Parade Float!

Where we live, The Dalles, does a Starlight Parade every year the day after Thanksgiving.  We have always loved watching the Parade, but have been getting a wee bit frustrated that there is rarely ever a mention of why we're celebrating "the holidays" the "seasons greetings" the "santa claus" etc. 

In fact the last two years we didn't even see a "Merry Christmas". 

So... it has been our hope all year long to be able to do a Nativity Float for the parade.

Paul headed it up.  One of our AB members lent us his trailer and warehouse.  And another gentlemen built the (huge!) stable.  The local music store lent us their sound system.  It was a LOT of work,  especially on the tail end of the Thanksgiving Dinner and in the beginning of all our Christmas activities.

All I can say now though is...

It was

F-U-N!

Naturally, we recruited our family to work on it .

They were eager to help and be a part of it.  

Among many other things,

David and Elijah strung the lights.

Just when we were quite aware that it was serious crunch time, the carpentar, *M*, who built the stable, showed up at the last minute to help Paul drill our figures to slabs of stabilizing wood.  Thank God!  I swear God must've whispered to him to get over to the warehouse and help the Chouinards. 

Ann helped Momma hang up our banners. 

We had the local sign shop make them, saying "The First Christmas".

Hannah took sister for many walks in the warehouse and outside through the puddles too.

There's my hunk of burnin' love. (Carrying a wiseman ;)

Momma measuring and cutting.

We ran out of little kid jobs,

so the girls played in the van and pretended to pick up kettles and church kids! LOL!

Here we are! Bright and shiny faces!

Two others from the Corps (church) joined in on the 3 mile parade march.

 I was glad to have an adult on both sides of the float. 

Paul drove. 

Mary and Hannah rode in the van and waved, well Hannah did. 

Mary slept all through it (she had a busy day).

 Ann and I walked (and ran too!) along one side of the float.  Ann got pooped after halfway, so she rode in the front seat waving and shouting "Merry Christmas".

David, Elijah, *C* and *O* walked/ran on the other side. 

We gave out SA lollipops, War Crys (magazines), and Brass Band Christmas CD's.

It was such a blast!

And now, I leave you with a qoute I have loved for many years...

"Be the change you want to see."

Merry CHRISTmas!

Thanksgiving Week

Some of our Thanksgiving Week Happenings:

Decorate the Corps (Church) for Christmas

Ann was such a big help to me this morning.  She is ready to take over! (and she's only 4).  I so enjoy having a daughter just like me;)   Hannah went to school this morning and Mary crawled underneath the pews.  I lost track of her several times, having to duck under all the pews to find her.  Anways...we bought several new decorations for the Corps since I am not into a "tacky" looking building and some of our things were getting pretty old.  I went with a goldish pallette.  I will post pics when we're all done. I am grateful for all the different areas this ministry takes me into... including decorating!

Christmas Party Invitations

Advisory Board/Staff, Women's Ministries and Church.  Three separate parties, 3 different invitations.  I have fun planning and creating.  I just hope everyone else has fun!!  I still have much prep to do for these, but got a real good start.  I am grateful that I get to celebrate Christmas over and over again!

Almost done with all of our Advent Sunday program plans and sermon outlines.  Yay Advent!  I am grateful for my church and the privelege to lead.

Several "pep talks" and "checking-in" with Staff regarding all of our Christmas services at the Corps.  We are almost done taking applications, which has been time consuming.  Lots of other miscellaneous too.  I am grateful for our awesome, get-the-job-done, good-attitude Staff and volunteers.

Trying to take very good care of my hubby who is working so very hard to keep our Community Meal going.  That is mainly his gig, while I raise the children (hee!hee!) and keep up with the Church work.  I know we'll see him again soon ;)   I am grateful for such an amazingly capable, dedicated, and hard-working partner in ministry.

Winter Gear

Yesterday I finally finished up readying our winter gear.  Now everything is washed.  Every child has boots, gloves, hats, scarves, snowsuit/pants.  I only have to buy ONE pair of snowboots this year!! (for David).  Everyone else fit an old pair.   Bring it on snow!  I am grateful that our needs are met and that we have snow to look forward too.

On Thanksgiving the kids and I will make Deviled Eggs and Ritz Crackers with Canned Cheese.  A tradition.  We will munch while we watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and then head down to eat with 1000 other people at the Community Meal.  Paul will try hard to help me with the kids, but the volunteers and the people will need him more so I'll say "Paul, we're fine, go do what you need to.  What do you think I do when you're not here?  I can manage, I promise!"  That is my usual mantra when he is "over-helping" me ;) He's so good to us.  Then I'll take the kids around to see what all is happening.  They will probably serve bread rolls, or milk cartons, or dessert or something else that won't turn into catastrophe if done wrong.   I am grateful that even though I don't get to share Thanksgiving with mine or Paul's family, God will still provide a loud, crowded and busy Thanksgiving for us that is almost like family (tee!hee!). 

When we get home we'll do another tradition which is to make a gingerbread house.  I will have to play referee to keep Hannah from eating the candy, Elijah from looking to catch someone eat the candy, David from forgetting what we're doing with the candy  (?!)  and Ann from getting hurt by the candy (she likes to get hurt).  I am already giggling.  Oh my, these kids are way to funny!  I am grateful for the uniqueness that each of our children bring to our family.

Friday I will be up and out by 5:00am to go to the Fred Meyer sock sale for my yearly stock-up.  I already scanned the store this morning for my game plan.  Paul will stay home with the kids for this venture.  I just need to make sure I'm home in time for kettles.   I am grateful for a good sale so my kids can wear socks all year long.

Later in the evening we'll be doing our Nativity Float in the parade.  We are all looking forward to it!  Especially the kids who just love being in a parade.  People are always staring at us anyway, it's like being in a parade everyday.  Smile.  I am grateful for the fun we're going to have and the pride my children (and I) feel being a Chouinard and part of The Salvation Army.

I'm hoping that on Saturday I can cook up a Thanksgiving just for us Chouinards.

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for it all!

Thank you Most High,

you've outdone anything I could've come up with.

I'll be back here in a few days.

I hope your Thanksgiving is everything you hope for!

What I've Learned These Past Couple of Weeks

The past couple of weeks I've learned...

.... when you force things to fit, they will break.  People too.

... I should never get so distracted that I forget to put the lid on the blender for my morning -berry/yogurt/ flaxseed/soymilk- smoothie.  It only takes longer to clean up a big red mess.

....when you buy a loaf of bread from the Bakery at Freddy's that they will slice it for you!

.... for every 100 things I do get done, 50 don't.

.... the reason I've been going through hairspray like crazy is because my 2yod has been using it on her barbie doll.

.... there is nothing like a good meal with comrads.

..... that I so enjoying holding hands with my hubby during church and getting preached at :)

.... my children are quite capable to pick something off of my "to do" lists and do it themselves.  (my newest wicked tactic!)

.... to quit making my "to do" lists longer than my "can" do!

.... that there is only one person who can PEE all over my husband's desk and important papers, but still get kisses and cuddles

.... that I shouldn't change Mary's diaper on Paul's desk (woopsie!)

.... the thing below the drain at the bottom of a shower is called a Pee Trap (learned that one in Home League!)

.... what Suet is and how to make pudding from it.

.... that as soon as you sweep all the leaves off your back porch, more are sure to come

... that being joyful sure feels a lot better than not


And now I'll leave you with a quote about complaining that I recently overheard one of our Advisory Board members say to another...   

"When you complain... half the people are glad it happened to you and the other half don't care."

That one just makes me laugh, because it's probably true!

Thank you, Lord, for teaching me!  I know it takes a lot of effort on your part.

Last HooRah

There have been some tough things lately, just the usual Corps Officer PRESSURES...  (AAAAA!!!)

BUT.... As always, there are plenty of great things going on like this: 

Last weekend, we did our traditional "Last HooRah".  We call it that because it's our last few days to totally be together and have some F-U-N!  (I have no pictures, the kids wore out my camera battery)

Thursday morning we all loaded up in the car to "take the boys to school"  only when we got there to drop them off, we took off instead and announced to the kids "we're going to Portland!".  They were SO SURPRISED!! (even though we do it every year?!?!)  They were so full of excitement.
David was a little suspicious this time though.

We went to the Zoo first. (We have a family membership)  It was the best time ever!  Because it was so cold and a little drizzly, hardly anyone else decided to go that day.  We really savored each exhibit and as a bonus, I was told that the kids were on the Portland news!  When we were in the new Africa exhibit, we had seen a camera and cameraman but didn't think much of it... and then a friend's mom said she saw them on the news when they were goofing off with the Lion Statues.

After the Zoo, we squeezed in a little Corps (Church)  business looking at outdoor Christmas Stars for our Float and going to the Christian bookstore to find the exact kind of Christmas Christian music that we want to play for the float.  This float has ended up being A LOT of work!

We stayed at a hotel for 2 nights, but only payed for 1 due to a free hotel stay we had earned.  Plus free breakfasts.

Friday, we did some more Corps business by going to a Resturaunt Supply Store in Downtown Portland.  We do a Community Thanksgiving Meal for almost 1000 people.  It is also a LOT of work, mostly the preparations.  So we were at the resturaunt supply store looking for some additional cookware that we just couldn't find in The Dalles.   That store was a BLAST!!!  We went through every single aisle and the kids learned so much about what it really takes to run a resturaunt (and the Community Meal!).  I found a stainless steal bowl that was so big, all 5 kids sat in it at once.   We found a whisk that was almost as big as me.  To many amazing things to list! 

Then we went to OMSI (Again, a family membership.  With a family like ours, by the time you pay admission for everyone, we might as well pay the extra ten bucks to be members and go all year.  Free fun and learning!)  OMSI was great, as always.  There was a new exhibit there called "Scream" about the science of fear.  Guess who screamed??  Yep, me.  Over and over again.  I truly didn't mean to, but I got scared several times with the "put your hand in the black box and feel a snake and spider" and the "listen real quietly for the loud sound" and the "put your head in the guillatine".

After that was Chuck E Cheese (with coupons!).  This time we went to the one in Vancouver and it is definately our new favorite.  Tons more games.  That place had it going on.

Saturday morning we went to the RV Show.  (Buy one get one free adult tickets.  Kids under 16 free) We go to one atleast once a year.  My kids know what a class C, A, and B are.   They know 5th wheels, trailers, campers, pop up, hard side, soft side, weights, lengths, and on and on.   Mostly we just drool though.

We also did lots of swimming, a secret mission to the vending machine, late night giggles and even hide and go seek in the motel room.  Very fun.

We got home with plenty of time to finish Sunday School lessons, sermon, and church prep.
We call it our last HooRah because Christmas season just takes a lot of extra busy work (and that's just when things are going good.)

Thank you Lord for allowing us such a great 2 days off in a row!!  And for sharing six incredible people with me!

A Day In The Life

Up at 5:30am (this time I stayed up)  I was  also up at 12:30am and 2:00am.  Ooooh Mary.

Morning getting ready and fed routine.

Dropped of boys at school.

Went to Fred Meyers to p/u the rest of Advisory Board Lunch. (girls in tow here on out)

Finished setting up for Advisory Board at the Corps.

Quickly finished up some paperwork and some christmas stuff.

Went to Community Bible Study. 

Rushed home to change into my uniform.

Took Ann and Hannah to Brown's to play, play, play!

Mary and I back to the Corps for AB and other tasks.

Set-up, Meeting, Clean-up, quick chats with some folks.

P/U girls from Browns.  Chat (not long enough ;) with Stacie)

Drove to a single moms house to drop off leftover cake and chips from AB mtg. Quick visit.

Got pizza. Rushed home to be home before the boys.

Home- chores, computer work, stories read, baths, homework, guitar lessons, phone calls, shopping list, etc....

No hubby tonight--- waaay to much work to get done.  'Tis the season!

I'm looking forward to watching "The Office" at 9pm.  This show makes me LOL!!!  And I'm not ashamed to admit it!!! It's the only network show I watch and I love every minute!  There's just something so crazy, yet realistic about it!  

And, now that I tried to steal a moment away downstairs... all 5 of my children have made their way down here.  Elijah, who is playing the flute, brought Mary who is crawling around jabbering.  Ann is behind me on our old computer playing Dr. Suess phonics.  David is standing behind me.  He can't stand to be away from Momma for to long.  I just know it, but he'll never admit it.  Go take your bath David.  I know you're reading this over my shoulder.  Okay kids, back upstairs.