Merry Christmas from the Riedl's

Merry Christmas!

Kylie: Kylie started 1st grade this fall and is doing great. She is in a multiage class which consists of both 1st and 2nd grade students and is eating it up. She is our little book worm and always has a book or two going at at time. Her report card was excellent to say the least and she is apparently a little social butterfly! At home, she loves dancing and doing many different arts and crafts. She is one little creative girl! Being the "big sister" suits her well as she loves playing and helping out with her siblings. This summer she was a huge help with the baby and continues to step in when mommy and daddy need some assistance. Kylie is such a kind hearted girl and we love watching her grow into the beautiful young lady God created her to be.

Cooper: Cooper started preschool two days a week this year and loves it. Every morning he asks if it is a preschool day. Although he has LOTS of energy, he is very well behaved at school and we have only heard positive things about him. He loves to write books and has a creative side as well. Overnight he decided to start writing his name and letters to everyone in the family. His new love is for building. Almost daily he asks to go over "to the shop" and build something. It is too cute to watch some days. And for all of you who know Cooper, he continues to melt our heart with his big blue eyes and sweet little voice. God has truly blessed us with a handsomely sweet little man (or big guy if you are talking with him).

Addison: Addy has grown up so much over the past year. We have entered the stage of "terrible twos" and they seemed to hit right around her birthday. She is one strong cookie and makes sure everyone knows what she wants. Even so, we have discovered a goofy side to her. Out of all of our kids, she seems to be the comedian. She likes to dance and sing in silly voices while making goofy faces. It is too cute to watch. She loves her baby dolls and has taken on a little mommy roll. You can usually find her feeding, changing or putting her baby to bed. At the end of the day, she just wants to cuddle and give kisses. What more could we ask for?

Kallen: We welcomed Kallen into our family this July! What an awesome addition he has been. He is such a happy baby and is always smiling. Just the mention of his name and he will flash a famous Kallen smile! We could just eat him up. His newest accomplishments are eating rice cereal and rolling over. He also started sleeping a lot better (which is more of an accomplishment for mommy). God blessed us with this little handsome man and we couldn't be more grateful!

Zach: Zach is still working at the bank which has worked out great for our family. He is right in town and able to bring Kylie to school each morning along with attend a lot of school functions. It's ideal to say the least. He has also started building furniture! Our house has been blessed with many new pieces and let me tell you, they are AWESOME. He would love to start selling some of his work and I am sure he will be pretty successful with this! That being said, golf wasn't a priority this summer and he didn't get to go out much. Being a family man has defiantly

put a dent in his golf game. He is hoping to get Cooper into golf so he can have a little golfing buddy!

Kara: Still staying home and loving that God has allowed us to live on one income. Each day, I think of how blessed we are and how God continues to bless us daily. To say the least, he surprised us with Mr. Kallen this year to add to our already large family. Wow...I am thankful! In my spare time (hahahahaha) I like to run, cook, and sew. This past November I was finally able to run in my first post baby 5K again. Hopefully this spring I will be able to get back into running more! I have dealt with a lot of illness over the past year as well and it looks as though my tonsils will be coming out the first of the year. Not looking forward to being down and out for a few weeks but am very grateful for family who will be helping out.

“ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-2, 14

Rudolf?

Christmas is in the air

The decorations are out. The kids are crazy. The tree will be up this weekend and baking will begin on Monday....Yes, it's Christmas!

My kids need a countdown. We always try to do the Christmas chain but there are way too many arguments over who gets to take down a ring. So this year we decided to do a book a day.

I got this fabulous idea from pintrest! Oh my gosh...I am addicted! We wrapped (or shall I say "I") 24 books. Most of the books were from our personal collection while my friend, Sarah, picked up a few new ones for me. Seriously, the kids will have no idea we had these...we have A LOT. Anyways, each night they can open a new book for us to read . How fun! Wish I would have thought of this one on my own.

Next on the list....Christmas email/picture!

Thankfulness

We try so hard as parents to instill a thankful attitude in our children. "Now Kylie (Cooper, Addison), did you say thank you for...", is something that is said at least 3 times a day in our house. The older kids get it. They say thank you almost all the time...but Addy...she still needs a little help. When they come home from playdates, I hear, "your kids have the best manners", and it makes me feel great as a parent...I DID IT. Yes, I instilled "thankfulness" in my children.

Then it's 5:00...

They are hungry...

They are sleepy....

They are just grumpy and irritated and the "I wants" and "give me" starts! As a parent, you should correct your child's statements with a, "Mommy can I please have..." and "mommy, thank you for...". But sometimes that just doesn't happen. As a mom, that 5:00 hour is just a painful for us as it is for them. How many times have I neglected to say thank you? How have I shown a thankful heart when I just don't feel like it? Well...to be honest, I don't all the time. So today I decided to start living in a "thankful" home. To be thankful all the time. Of course we are commanded in the Bible to be thankful. Colossians 3:15 says, " Let the peace that Christ gives rule in your hearts. As parts of one body, you were appointed to live in peace. And be thankful.".

Being that it is the season of "thankfulness". I decided to instill this in our home...starting today. Although we have done this in the past, we will start again. At dinner each person will say one thing they are thankful for. We will change it up nightly to be someTHING or someONE or something about someone else...you know what I mean. I decided to bring out the "thankful bowl". As a teenager we had a bowl that sat our our table with a pad of paper and a pen. We would write down something we were thankful for and throw it in the cup at the top. It would then "overflow" and we would pick some of the papers out and read them. Anyone who came to our house was allowed to add to the bowl and it was great! Seriously, it was great...even if there were a few funny ones in there:) But now that I have 2 kids who can write and express their thankfulness, I figured it was time. Cannot wait to start this tonight!!

And yes, I NEED TO START MODELING thankfulness. As a mom, it is crucial that our children know what a gift they are to us. Psalm 127:3 says, "Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from him.". So why don't we always treat them as such? I never want my kids to feel like they were a burden or that I did not value them. Each day I think of how thankful I am to have 4 beautiful children. 4 children who daily surprise me. 4 children who tell me how much they love me. 4 children who make me laugh more times than I can count on a daily basis. They need to know these things. So...because I am such a visual person, I am going to start leaving notes in their Christmas trees (yes, I said Christmas tree...we put them up last week in their rooms), telling them how thankful I am for them.

And my husband....wow am I thankful for him. He married an imperfect person for sure! But guess what, he still loves me! He works so that I can stay home with the kids. He showers me with love! He is a Godly example of what a daddy should be to our children as well. This morning Cooper said to me, "when I grow up, I want to be a daddy....and a paleontologist" . He said he loves his daddy so much and he will be a good daddy just like his! How sweet (and one for the thankful bowl...).

Anyways, just a thought for today. Who/What are you thankful for and how do you instill a thankful heart in your children?

Zach's creations

So my awesomely talented husband has been playing around in the wood shop for a while now. He has organized our house more than I could ever imagine and is finally starting to sell his creations. They are VERY sturdy and well built! Let me know if you are interested!!

2x3 goes for $80

2x4 goes for $100


3x3 goes for $100

I love this table! It has a "secret" shelf to hide my ipad/laptop.


And the sofa table! This is GREAT for those of us who need a place to work while relaxing! They come in all sizes to fit all sofas.

Look for more creations in the near future!!

Oh and just in case you wanted to see my cute little babies face again...

The best gluten free apple cookies!

I wanted to make some apple cookies...

BUT...

I also wanted Cooper to be able to enjoy them...

The recipes for GF apple cookies were just weird. Really, really, really weird.

So I made it up...

And to my surprise, they were great!

Here it is folks. The best ever gluten free apple cookies.

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
  
• 1 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup oats
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped apples

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream the coconut oil and brown sugar together. Mix in the egg and milk. Stir in the apples. Add the oats, corn starch, rice flour, baking soda,cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg.
   
3. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet Bake for 13 minutes.
   

Growing up...

Cooper is officially a preschooler...

*and Addy thinks she is too!