watching the Gering Girls Grow up

Merry Christmas!

lizgering — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:48:03 +0000

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas letter to you in pictures.

Checking Facebook

Ready to get on the plane!

Dizzy!

New Friends

Smallworld with Gramma Donna

Sisters!

Easter Sunday

Warm summer day!

Sunshine!

Blowing Bubbles

Warm summer coming to an end

Oregon Coast Aquarium

Sitting in the leaves

Fairies

Suzy Snowflake!

Cutting down the Christmas tree

Staying warm at Zoolights

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:11-14

Our Christmas Card

lizgering — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:42:40 +0000

Merry Christmas!

Christmas in front of the fireplace

This year to get ready for Christmas the girls have been counting down the days with an advent calendar, reading the Christmas story, baking with me, and watching lots of Christmas specials!

Silly girls in front of the tree

We have attended Zoolights, driven around to see Christmas lights, decorated the house and sang lots and lots of songs. (Lilee’s favorite is We Wish You a Merry Christmas).

: Christmas at the Gering’s

During this busy season of advent we want to be certain to remember why we celebrate. We want to focus more on giving than getting, more on worshipping than just singing, and more on relationships than material things.

: Zoee, 4 1/2 Lilee, 2 1/2

We wish you and your family all of the hope and love that we celebrate this time of year!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Spring

lizgering — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:52:57 +0000

The Spring is speeding by and I’m not sure where it has gone! We have done the typical, work in the yard, play outside with the girls, stay inside and watch the rain.

Easter afternoon was spent at the Gerings and the evening with the Corcorans. The girls happily wore the dresses I made for them!

One nice evening we had a fun family outing to Sheridan’s Frozen yogurt! The girls loved the frozen treat and Lilee was a mess!!

We are looking forward to better weather so we can be outside!

Disneyland

lizgering — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:58:53 +0000

With over a year of anticipation behind us, we set out on our trip to Disneyland! It was a trip of many firsts; the first time to fly and the first trip to Disneyland! We took ‘Gramma Donna’ with us and celebrated the girls’ birthdays on our trip.

Waiting for our plane.

We were in Disneyland for 4 1/2 days. Zoee found a love of roller coasters! We started with the small roller coaster in Toon Town and worked our way up to Big Thuder Mountain Railroad. Lilee’s favorite rides were Small Word and Winnie the Pooh. There were many things we all got to ride together; Pirates of the Caribbean, Dumbo, Rockets, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Autopia, and Nemo Submarine. We also went over to California Adventure where the grownups road California Screamin’ and the kids enjoyed Bug’s Life and the Toy Story Ride.

Riding the tea cups.

On Zoee’s birthday she got a pin that said “Happy Birthday Zoee!” Every crewmember who saw it said, “Happy Birthday Zoee!” She ate up all of the attention! We rode lots of rides and she got her dinner of choice at Outback that night – grilled cheese sandwich and an ice cream sundae! She also had a cupcake when we got back to the hotel and Lilee had a rice krispy treat, not to be left out!

Cupcake face for the birthday girl!

Yum!

Zoee had her picture taken with many characters. Her love for them showed as she threw herself into the hugs she gave them.

Zoee and Minnie Mouse.

The whole family, plus mouse.

Darin and Zoe with Woody and Jessie

We thoroughly enjoyed having Gramma Donna with us on our trip! What a blessing it was to have another adult along!

We had a lovely time and could not have expected the girls to do better! They slept well and had wonderful attitudes the whole time! Darin and I got to go out to dinner for an early Valentine’s Day thanks to Gramma Donna. We are looking forward to going again in another two years or so. Here are a few more pictures from our trip:

Playing on the fire engine in Toon Town

In front of the castle

Zoee waiting for Bug's Life Show

Lilee bug

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Merry Christmas!

lizgering — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Dear Friends and Family,

December is upon us! Zoee has written her letter to Santa, the Christmas tree is decorated, and the shopping is well underway. Here I am writing the annual Christmas letter and I am not sure what to write. Since this is my blog, you can see what we have been up to all year. What else do people write in these things?

Darin is now in his ninth year as a cardiac RN. I am still staying at home with the girls. The girls keep us busy! I have been homeschooling Zoee this year for preschool. She is loving learning and would like to know how to read. She enjoys playing hairdresser and kitchen! Lilee enjoys coloring and playing with baby dolls. She is a noisy little thing and comes up with new words and phrases everyday! The girls are growing by leaps and bounds and keeping us busy.

We are looking forward to Christmas this year as the girls are learning even more about the Lord and the real meaning of Christmas. They are learning Christmas songs and singing them around the house. Talking about the Christmas story and playing with their nativity scene is thrilling to me as I discover just how much they are understanding! It is a wonderful way to get a fresh look at Christmas when seen through their eyes.

One of my favorite songs this Christmas season is found on Chris Tomlin’s Glory in the Highest. It is called Winter Snow. It reminds me of how the Lord chose to send His son to earth in a quiet way, rather than with a parade and fanfare. Here are the lyrics:

Could’ve come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could’ve come like a forest fire
With the power of heaven in Your flame

But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

You could’ve swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we’ve scarred

But You came like a winter snow
(Yes, You did)
You were quiet
You were soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

Oh, no, Your voice wasn’t in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind
It was still
It was small
It was hidden

You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

Falling
(Oh, yeah)
To the earth below
You came falling
From the sky in the night
To the earth below

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Much love,

the Gerings

Veteran’s Day & Carousel Riding

lizgering — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:22:10 +0000

Veteran’s Day was a beautiful day! We prayed for the people that protect our country, hung our American flag outside and made star shaped sugar cookies.

Patriotic Cookies

We also went to Jantzen Beach and rode the carousel. You might consider it a trial run for our Disneyland trip in February. I was prepared for Zoee to be nervous in true Zoee fashion. Nope, she loved it and was very excited. Lilee was nervous at first, but soon loved riding the horse. Zoee was very excited to tell Darin all about her ride this morning when she woke up!

Girlies riding the carousel

Sweater Weather

lizgering — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:16:56 +0000

Typical fall weather is here – mid 50s, rain, and grey. I love to put on a warm sweater and snuggle up with a good book and a pumpkin spice latte!! Knitting is also another way I fill a ton of my time. So, as I have for the past few years, I made the girlies each a new sweater for this fall. Last night I finally finished them!

For those of you that are knitters, this pattern is the Wonderful Wallaby. I have found this pattern to be a wonderful basic hooded kangaroo pocket sweater. It includes sizes from a child’s 2 up through XXL adult. I have made modifications and added things on occasion as well.

October – Nature is All Aglow

lizgering — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:17:17 +0000

“Just before the death of flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season
When nature is all aglow.”
- Author Unknown

I love this time of year! Chilly mornings, gorgeous sunsets, crisp afternoons running through crunchy leaves. The pumpkins are wonderful this time of year as well! We grew lots of pumpkins this year, over twelve! We carved some, gave some to family, and put some on the porch. Papa Gering even carved Zoee and Lilee’s names on their special pumpkins.

First of Many Playdates!

lizgering — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:09:04 +0000

Yesterday was the first play date with Zoee, Lilee, and their new cousin Emily. Emily was adopted from China by Karen and Gregg (Darin’s sister and brother-in-law). They arrived home just short of 2 weeks ago! The girls had so much fun playing kitchen, dress up, and coloring. We played outside, blew bubbles and decorated fall sugar cookies. Despite a language barrier, they played and played. It takes Emily a little bit to warm up, but after that she is all smiles and giggles. We look forward to years of giggles with the girls!!!

Fall is here!

lizgering — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:09:01 +0000

As we drive around town Zoee will shout, “Mommy! Those leaves are yellow! Those leaves are red! It’s fall time!” I too, am looking forward to leaf and pumpkin cut-out cookies, apple cider, crunchy leaves under my feet, and pumpkin bread. I won’t think about the tons of leaves we have to rake every weekend in the front yard or the endless rain.

We are enjoying playing outside in the late afternoons with the warmish breeze blowing. A large portion of our yard seems to be a pumpkin patch. What fun those will be to carve, paint, or decorate. The girls have already selected their Halloween costumes and love to wear them around the house as well.

This fall also brought the beginning of the school year and the first year that I am homeschooling Zoee. She is always excited to do her preschool work and loves to learn. She is eager to memorize her memory verses and can spout them off readily. I am sure there is not a better sound than hearing children quote God’s words.

I am thinking a cup of tea and a piece of pumpkin bread sounds good… Happy Fall!