Have You Heard?

There's a new version of the alphabet song! Here's a video of Mallory singing her ABC's. Pay close attention to the very end. Mallory is very possessive of whose ABC's they are. And don't be offended when she disinvites you to sing with her next time. . . . .

Children, Children What Do You See?

What are they looking at?













THE SNOW!!

The snow has been so fun! We are loving it! Yes, it's quite a bit colder than what we are used to, but it's great! The kids love to watch it fall and are constantly begging to go play in it. Everytime we go outside to go somewhere Chase is the first one to pick up a snowball and isn't shy about throwing it at anyone! He's even hit random strangers in public with snowballs. He got the missionaries real good one night. It's probably not the best thing to throw cold, wet snowballs at the Lord's servants, but they were really good sports about it and started throwing them back at our little snowball machine boy! The kid's got good aim too! Mallory's favorite part about the snow is catching the falling flakes on her tongue. And Clark likes to swat at the snow. He waves his hand back and forth and makes excited noises as it falls!

The snow doesn't tend to stick in huge piles here. Sometimes a light layer will stay on the grass for a few days, but the sun always seems to melt it away too quickly! We had a cold front from Alaska move through last week and it got REALLY cold here. The high was 17 degrees one day. When I took Chase to pre-school that morning it was only 11 degrees outside! 11 degrees people!! That's just too cold. We've gotten to the point where the 40's feel great; we only need a sweatshirt when we go out. We completely bundle up for temperatures in the 30's - hats, scarves, mittens, the whole deal. It's not too bad. The 20's are pretty cold. My big winter coat I bought when I got here doesn't cut it for temperatures in the 20's. Anything less than 20 we hibernate inside becuase it's really just disgustingly cold outside! You can't hardly breathe when the wind blows in your face. We had stalactite icicles hanging off the bumpers of our cars last week. When Chase's pre-school class plays outside he always tells his teachers he's freezing. They call him their little Arizona boy! Our bodies have started adjusting to the difference in temperatures. But we are hoping for thicker blood next winter! The snow really is pretty. When everything is covered in white it makes the earth look very pure and clean. Somehow it brings a peaceful feeling. It's been worth all the shivers to appreciate God's creations covered in blankets of white.

Here are some recent pictures of snow play. Chase was at school when I took these so it's just Mallory and Clark. The bottom pictures are of a pond in our complex. We normally feed the geese that come to sit in the water here. But right now it's half frozen over and snow sits on the ice. I love the picture with snow on the fence posts!

Christmas 2008

This Christmas has been very different than Christmases in the past. It was our first Christmas alone. Out here all by ourselves. Usually we go to about 4 houses on Christmas Day visiting family and eating food and opening gifts. It's crazy, busy, and fun, but we are exhausted at the end of the day! (As well as the kids who miss their naps!) We knew this Christmas would be a bit more relaxed and less scheduled.

Mallory was the first one up. She got up at 5:50am. The kids have been sleeping in until about 8 or 8:30am so I really didn't expect our day to start so soon! I tried to get her to go back to sleep until Chase and Clark woke up, but she wouldn't have it! It was fun to see her eyes filled with the anticipation of finding gifts from Santa downstairs! To let the boys sleep a little longer I had her "help" me put makeup on and do my hair. The distraction only lasted so long and we made enough noise that the boys woke up. Our tradition is that we all go see what Santa brought together, as a family. The kids were so excited!

Chase did end up getting his goat. Chase wants to be a farmer when he grows up. Well, technically he wants to be a "cow-milker". But he would love to be a farmer and take care of animals. I think that might have something to do with why he wanted a goat so bad!
And Miss Mallory has been OBSESSED with Rudolph this year. I don't know what got her started on Rudolph, but that's all she talks about. She can sing the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer song almost word for word. So she was ecstatic when she saw Rudolph sitting next to her stocking. He even sings his own theme song if you squeeze his ear. We can't wait till Rudolph runs out of batteries. If we have to hear that song one more time. . . . . .
Clark didn't really have any requests for Santa this year. He loves toys that light up and sing songs so Santa brought him a fun little Leap Frog table. Clark was really more interested in the candy that Santa stuffed in every one's stockings. He definitely has a sweet tooth! I actually posted a cute video of him teasing Craig with some M&M's that Santa left. It's 2 posts below if you want to check it out :)


We got Chase and Mallory those bouncy balls with the handles on top that you bounce around the house on. I loved these things as a kid! I gave them a proper demonstration on how to bounce around. It was a workout! I was out of breathe after bouncing back and forth across the house a few times. Wow, I'm out of shape! Chase picked up on it right away and loves it, but Mallory is a little too short for her ball. She's going to need to grow a few inches to bounce on hers!


Another hit was the umbrellas that Santa brought the kids. It rains here at least 3 days a week. When it rains - it rains all day! A nice, steady rain. So umbrellas are actually a necessity here. The kids have been begging for their own umbrellas lately. So we let "Santa" take the glory for fulfilling that item on their wish list! Here's Mallory with her Ariel umbrella:
Who's cuter? Mallory or Craig?
We went to the movies and saw Bolt in 3-D. Chase loved it! Mallory cried all the way through it. I guess all the stuff jumping out at her was a little scary. She would shrink down onto the floor of the movie theater and put her hands over her ears and cry! She didn't like it very much. We didn't have any family's house to go to so we came home and took naps and played games with the kids. The missionaries came over in the evening for pie and ice cream. And we've just tucked the kiddies into bed. We missed being with our families. We got to talk to every one on the phone, but it's not the same as being there. Nevertheless, it's been a fun and exciting day with the kids. I'm a little bit sad though. The days leading up to Christmas seem to be more fun than Christmas Day itself. I love the anticipation and having something to look forward to! I guess what we have to look forward to now is making our list of New Year's resolutions. . . . . oh boy, oh boy. . . .

Christmas Outfits

So every year we get our kids a formal outfit for Christmas. It was a family tradition for me growing up. It's good to get extra dressy every now and then! Here are the kiddos in their outfits:

CHASE
I can't hardly get this kid to smile nicely for a picture! Doesn't smiling look painful for him?!

MALLORY
I couldn't pass this dress up! It was a smokin' deal on sale too!

CLARK
Couldn't get him to hold still for a picture. So I had to snap the picture with him walking around.

The Little Teaser

Clark was obsessed with the Christmas candy that Santa left in our stockings! He started to feed it to Craig and then he would put it in his own mouth. He was so cute! Sorry the video is sideways. I couldn't figure out how to tip it the other way.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very merry Christmas!

Much Love,
The Kurtzeborn Family

Dear Santa. . . . .

Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is a goat.

When I tucked Chase into bed the night that we saw Santa I asked him what he talked to Santa about.

Chase: I told Santa I wanted a goat for Christmas.

Me (very puzzled): A goat? I thought you wanted Star Wars stuff for Christmas.

Chase: No Mom. I just want a goat.

Me: Where are we going to put a goat? We don't have a backyard anymore.

Chase (eyes glowing and face lit up): Right here in my bedroom!

Me (trying to figure a way out of this): Oh, you want him in your bedroom. He might be too big for your bedroom. I don't know if he'll fit. What are you going to do when your goat has to go to the bathroom?

Chase (eyes rolling and very exasperatedly): Not a REAL goat Mom. Just a toy goat.

Me (very relieved): Oh! Just a toy goat! That sounds great! Santa would love to bring you a toy goat!

Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and princess stuff.


Dear Santa,
For Christmas I desire nothing more than to be off your lap!