Krispie Treat Houses

Last Christmas we started something that has turned into a family tradition...instead of making gingerbread houses, we make rice krispie treat houses. Using mini-loaf pans, I mold the rice krispie treats into blocks, then cut them into "house" shapes. They hold up better than the traditional graham cracker version of the gingerbread house, and they taste a lot better (in my opinion!). Last year only Riley and Kaiya made one, but this year, all the kids were in on the fun.

Kassidy

Kaydence---the only one who didn't really get into the activity. She liked having a house, but she didn't want to put any frosting on it, and hence most of her decorations fell off!

Rustin--what a clown!

Kyndall

Ryder

Kaiya

Riley

Krispie Treat Houses

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

Here is a cute video that Jayson took of Kaydence and Kyndall singing "Jolly Old St. Nicholas". They know the words better than I do!

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

Ho, Ho, Ho...Who Wouldn't Go?

Last week was "Polar Express Night" at Riley and Kaiya's elementary school. The kids got to dress in their PJ's and sit on Santa's lap. They were soooo excited. They are really getting into Christmas this year---even more than I expected them to be. I even made the mistake of taking them shopping and letting them explore the toy aisle at Walmart---I had no idea how opinionated they would be about what they want for Christmas! The girls told Santa that they want a doggy in a pink purse, and they will not be swayed (no matter how hard I have tried, since that was not what Santa was planning on getting them!)

The quints LOVE singing all the Christmas songs and I have been amazed by how well they remember the words. Kyndall and Kaydence can sing all the verses of "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and Ryder can tell you what his true love gave him on all twelve days of Christmas.

They also love all the Christmas decorations, but I have had to be careful about what I put out this year----the temptation is just too strong for them to touch everything! They can strip the tree bare in less than three minutes.

In my pre-quint life, I loved dressing up the kids in cute holiday clothes for church. Having seven kids just makes it all the more fun! Here are some pictures I took of the kiddos in their holiday church clothes a couple of weeks ago:

Riley, Kaiya, Ryder, Kaydence, Kassidy, Kyndall and Rustin

Ryder, Kaydence, Riley, Kassidy, Kaiya, Kyndall and Rustin

Riley

Kaiya

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

My in-law's were in town the day I took pictures of the kids, so we thought it only fair that they endure a photo shoot as well. I thought this picture of them turned out really great!

Grandma & Grandpa Wilkinson

Ho, Ho, Ho...Who Wouldn't Go?

The Twelve Days of Kindness

Several years ago my sister, Tiare, came home from her Sunday School class with a challenge—to perform at least one act of kindness for the 12 days before Christmas. She talked the rest of us into doing it with her and every night at dinner we had to report on the kind deed that we had done. Some deeds were bigger like helping with the children’s Christmas party at church. Others were simple like leaving an anonymous note on someone’s pillow or letting someone go ahead of me in line at the store. It was easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas and I really had to make a conscious effort to remember to do the kind deed. Overall it didn’t require a lot of time, but I loved how the challenge really changed my focus during the holiday season.

Since that first year, I have tried every year to do the “Twelve Days of Kindness”. Some years I have been better at it than others. One particularly memorable experience happened about six years ago. Kaiya was not quite one and Riley was three and a half. Jayson was out of the country on a business trip so I was doing the “single mom” thing. As luck would have it, I came down with bronchitis. I made an appointment at the doctor’s office, but when I showed up at the appointed time, the office was packed. The receptionist was VERY unfriendly, not just to me, but to everyone who came in. After waiting for over an hour, I knew I would not be able to see the doctor that day and still make it on time to teach my class that night. I felt miserable and frustrated and I started drafting a letter to the doctor in my mind, telling him how awful and rude his receptionist was. It was about that point when I remembered the “Twelve Days of Kindness”. My heart softened, and I knew that sending an angry letter would not make anything better. Instead, I remembered that in my car I had small wrapped ceramic snowman that I had planned to give to friend. I ran out to my car, grabbed the snowman and took it back inside. I explained to the receptionist that I would not be able to wait any longer and then I handed her the gift and said, “Merry Christmas!” The next day when I went in for my rescheduled appointment, the atmosphere at the doctor’s office had completely changed. The lobby was still full, but the receptionist was smiling and pleasant. I could see the snowman sitting in the corner of her desk. The small act of kindness had helped to change her attitude, but more importantly, it had changed MY attitude.

Today is December 13th and hence the first day of the “Twelve Days of Kindness”. I am going to take the challenge again this year, and I want to challenge each of you, my friends and blog readers, to do the same! Your mission, (cue “Mission Impossible” theme) should you choose to accept it, is to perform at least one act of kindness, big or small, everyday until Christmas. In the words of Yo Gabba Gabba, "Try it, You'll like it!!"


***Christmas Tree Update***

I have had several people ask me how the quints are doing with the Christmas tree this year. Last year I used a gate around the tree which worked pretty well for keeping the babies out and the presents and ornaments in. This year the quints are older and more clever and it only took seconds for them to breach the sccurity gate and begin dismantling the tree. Rustin attacks the tree every time I turn around. I've been putting them in time-out, but they are so fascinated by the tree, that I think they think it is worth it to go to time out if they can satisfy some of their curiosity. We only put ornaments on the tree that couldn't hurt them and that we didn't care about (I am tired of my snowman themed tree anyway, so secretly I am hoping they destroy everything and I *have* to get new stuff.....) so it really isn't that tragic when they do get to the tree. I actually think it is cute that they are so excited about Christmas and all that goes with it :-)

The quints checking out the tree for the first time.

Ryder, the ornament thief

The tree---I finally gave up putting the ornaments back on the tree and just left them in a pile underneath!

Time Out Jail: Ryder, Rustin, Kyndall, Kaydence and Kassidy

SNOW!! It rarely snows here in central Texas, so the kids were so excited when the forcast gave a 50% chance of snow. Riley and Kaiya prayed every day that we would actually get snow. I watched the forcast change from 50%, down to 10%, then down to 5% and I was so sad because I knew how badly the kids wanted it to snow. I was amazed when I looked out my window and saw that it WAS snowing!!! It was brief, and it didn't stick, but it was snow! Riley and Kaiya were at school, but fortunately their teachers let them out to see it. The quints were all taking a nap, so they missed it, but I did manage to get a few pictures to document the moment :-)

The Twelve Days of Kindness

Virtual Christmas Card 2008

Since there is no way to reach all of you via the regular postal mail, I am instead posting a "virtual Christmas Card". Thank you for all your support and have a Merry Christmas!!!



And now for the story of 2008...
The Wilkinson family will give an update.

We'll start with the quints, who this year turned one.
They're five times the work…but five times the fun!
They walk, they mumble, they laugh, and they stumble
Play games with their parents and then take a tumble.
They poop and they play, they party and pray;
And they love watching Wiggles at the end of each day.
They pose quite a challenge for Mom and for Dad,
But their smiles and cuteness make everyone glad.
Healthy and happy, is what we all love--
And for that we still thank the good Lord above.

Rustin and Ryder, the two goofy boys
Take turns at the trouble and stealing the toys.
There’s Kassidy, Kaydence, and Kyndall too
Who like playing with dolls and trying on shoes.

Now Riley and Kaiya, they’re lots of fun too!
They like to play piano and go to the zoo.
Kaiya loves dancing, and Riley, his bike.
Having adventures is what they both like.
Riley does swimming and likes to create.
This year he was baptized because he turned eight.
Kaiya likes reading and going to school,
And playing with Riley 'cause she thinks he's cool.
They star in their own YouTube video show,
Might one day be famous (but let's not let them know).

As for Mom and Dad, they'd like a good rest--
A cruise or a trip to get out of the nest.
Well, for that they’ll simply just have to keep waiting.
But, because of good friends, they still do some dating!

Now that just sums it up. Yes, it's been a good year.
Thanks to our friends from far and from near.
Now if you want more, you will just have to log
Onto your computer to check out the blog!

Merry Christmas!

Virtual Christmas Card 2008

Getting Ready for Christmas...

I love Christmas. I love the decorations, the music, the lights and just the general air of excitement and anticipation. I love reading Christmas cards from friends and family. I love the sappy Christmas movies they show on the Hallmark Channel (and other similar stations). I love wrapping presents. I love taking my kids shopping and seeing what creative things they come up with to give people. I love baking goodies for the neighbors. I love all the special foods that we make only at Christmastime. I love dressing the girls in their Christmas dresses and the boys in their Christmas ties. I especially love all the family traditions associated with Christmas.

One of my favorite traditions is reading Christmas stories. We have three different “Countdown to Christmas” story collections, so every night we sit by the Christmas tree and read stories. A couple of my all–time favorites are “The Tale of Three Trees” and “Trouble at the Inn”. Although I have read these stories many times, I still get choked up every time I read them!

Unlike many families, one of our traditions is that we don’t cook on Christmas Day. Instead we have our nice dinner on Christmas Eve. Since we did not live by family when I was growing up, we always got together with friends on Christmas Eve. We eat dinner and sometimes go caroling or out to look at Christmas lights. Then we don bathrobes and towels on our heads to reenact the Nativity while reading the story of Jesus’ birth from the bible.



Last year's Nativity Reenactment---Shepherd Riley, Angel Kaiya, Wiseman Alec and Cora as Mary

On Christmas Eve, after our dinner is through and any guests have gone home, we sit around the Christmas tree and we each choose our favorite Christmas song to sing. Then we take lots of pictures by the tree---we take the girls together, the boys together, the whole family, the kids, etc. We always finish with a “pile” picture. Growing up, I had four brothers. As you can imagine, this was NOT their favorite part of the evening. I think it has actually become part of the tradition for them to whine and complain the whole time.

Group Shot from Christmas Eve 2007 (Wow, I forgot how bald all the babies were!)

After pictures, we each open one present, which is always pajamas. After putting on the new jammies, we of course have to take a couple more pictures before setting the milk and cookies out for Santa and jumping into bed.

For breakfast Christmas morning, we always have those little single-serve boxes of cereal. My grandparents started this tradition when my mom was a young child. They couldn’t afford to have cereal all the time, so having cereal on Christmas morning was a special treat. Even though we have cereal for breakfast almost every day at our house, my kids still love getting the little boxes for Christmas. In fact, if you ask my kids what traditions we have for Christmas, the little cereal boxes are usually the only thing they remember. With our little cereals, we also have cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk.

Christmas this year should be a lot of fun. We have had to be a little bit creative with our Christmas decorations. The babies are that stage where they are curious about everything, and don’t quite listen when you tell them “no”. Our Christmas tree has a baby gate surrounding it, and all of our other decorations have been placed out of reach. I am sure the babies will like opening presents and playing with the paper and boxes. Riley and Kaiya are a bit concerned that the babies will attack all of their presents as well.

The Christmas Tree

Ryder, Kassidy and Rustin attempt to overpower the barrier--So far their attempts have been unsuccessful!

The Mantel---Check out all those Christmas stockings! (Which fortunately are too high for the babies to reach.)

Creative measures to keep cords and decorations out of reach of little hands!

Today was the Sunday before Christmas and all the kiddos were dressed in their Christmas clothes. I attempted to get a picture of each of the kids in front of the Christmas tree, but not everyone wanted to cooperate!

Riley--"All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!"

Kaiya

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

Kaiya and Riley

The Boys: Rustin, Jayson, Ryder and Riley

The Girls: Kassidy, Rachelle, Kaydence, Kyndall and Kaiya

Jayson and Rachelle

My brother Colby and his girlfriend Neeha stopped by this weekend for a couple of hours on their way to Arizona. I made them pose for a few pictures. Colby said that he thinks I may have become worse than our mom when it comes to taking lots of pictures-----I think I will take that as a compliment!

Ryder, Rustin, Kaiya, Kassidy, Neeha, Kaydence, Colby, Kyndall, and Riley

Getting Ready for Christmas...

Virtual Christmas Card

It's Christmastime---that time of year when we attempt to be clever and create cards to send to friends and family with photos and updates on our year. This year, we have been blessed to have the support of many people, many of which we will never meet. Since there is no way to reach all of you via the regular postal mail, I am instead posting a "virtual Christmas Card". Thank you for all your prayers, love and support and have a Merry Christmas!!!

Twas 2007 in the Wilkinson home,

A crazier year we have never known.

We started the year by selling our house,

Then went off to Disney to see Mickey Mouse.

On Jan 23rd life turned upside down,

We went to the doctor, couldn't believe what he found.

"You're expecting!" he said, "...and it's going to be QUINTS!"

And our lives have not been quite the same since.

We searched for a doctor to find the best,

Which led us to Phoenix and four months of bedrest.

We stayed near in Gilbert with Rachelle's Aunt Jeanie,

And good Uncle Rick, (who isn't a meanie.)

Meanwhile in Austin our new house was done!

But without all the help, it would not have been fun.

They cleaned and they painted, they worked without rest!

Yes, our family and friends are really the best.

Five babies were born at the end of July

At 34 weeks, their weights were quite high.

Kassidy, Kaydence and Rustin were first,

Then Kyndall and Ryder had their birth.

We moved back to Austin on September one

The life we call "normal" is really quite fun!

They're all doing well and growing up fast.

It's hard to believe how much time has passed.

Riley and Kaiya have been champs all through.

They both love to help, and know just what to do.

Riley's in second grade and at a new school,

He really likes reading and thinks LEGOs are cool.

He made a short "film" for the Reflections Contest,

The judges agreed that his was the best!

Four-year-old Kaiya loves dancing and dolls,

Dressing up pretty, and drawing on walls.

This year we'll remember—for we've really been blessed.

Thanks to friends and family, it's been a success!

Love,

The Wilkinsons

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

Kaiya and Riley

Virtual Christmas Card