Time to Race

Time once again for the Awana Grand Prix....and time once again for the Hackney car to finish in the middle of the pack.  That seems where we are destined to run.  Oh well, there was still plenty of fun to be had.

Ringing it in!

We brought in 2013 in traditional Hackney style.  Dusty brought me flowers for our anniversary...we made plans to go out and celebrate another evening...then we got everything fired up for the New Year's party.  Our 18th anniversary and we had the house packed with 18 people. :)  My Pinterest find along with my anniversary roses.

There was a massive nighttime snowball fight in the back yard - made even more massive with the snowball makers bought by the Painters.  

There was plenty of dressing up and fanciness in the back bedroom

After plenty of food and games it was midnight and "go" time for the confetti poppers and balloons.  We even had some guests from Colorado via FaceTime. :)

After plenty of noise, confetti, and punch the impromptu dance party broke out.  We even got Dusty to do it "Gangam Style"!

Ryan after his attempt at the worm!

Have a wonderful 2013!

Christmas in Illinois

Even though we had to come home a day early to avoid driving in a snowstorm we had a wonderful Christmas in Illinois.  First Santa came early to our house. (To avoid the Christmas Eve rush I'm sure!)

Some top rate gifts were to be had.  I mean you can't go wrong with a calendar with a different Chuck Norris-ism for each day of 2013....because you know..Chuck Norris can taste lies! :)

The winner for Aaron......ANIMAL!!!!

We headed off to Illinois where we got to see most of Dusty's extended family and had a nice visit with my Grandpa Lusk

Rachel with the thing that was at the top of her list.  A digital camera.  (Wonder where she gets that interest.) 

Then off to Peter & Mychele's new house on Christmas Eve.  For Levi's 1st Christmas he had his own group of paparazzi!

Time for nap time with Aunt Heidi.  This is where I discovered the magical power of "Let It Be" by the Beatles.  Put the kiddo right to sleep!

A full couch of grandkids!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

You've been "RACK'ed"!

What?? Sounds painful!  Not really.  Our Wednesday morning bible study finished up for the year last week.  Today we decided to meet for lunch together.  But first we decided to go out and do some random acts of kindness...or in this case Random Acts of Christmas Kindness.  Get it?  :)  Heather whipped up some yummy hot cocoa and cider.  The plan was to hand it out to the Salvation Army bell ringers.

I also made up some cards with a couple of verses on it and Christmas greetings.

We stuffed these in ziploc bags with $1 or $1.25.  We planned to tape these to vending machines.  So we loaded up our loot and headed out in Stevie the Dodge Journey.  (Car's name courtesy of Lisa Herrera.  Bonus points if you can make the connection)

Our plans hit a minor snag when we realized that there were NO bell ringers out at 10 am on a Wednesday morning.  So our 1st stop was at Wal-mart.   Carol and I taped some baggies to the vending machines and also left a hand written post-it note on the mirror in the ladies restroom that said, "You are special....You are beautiful!  Merry Christmas!"  While out in the parking lot Sarah & Heather left notes on car windows with Christmas greetings and a candy cane.

 Next stop...Meijer (still trying to find bell ringers....our hot cocoa is not so hot anymore!)  We ended up stopping a cart boy and offering him cider.  He looked at us funny and said that he was good.  We explained what we were out doing and that we couldn't find any bell ringers.  We changed our offer to some cocoa and that did the trick.  We left him sipping some lukewarm cocoa looking slightly bewildered!   Who knows where we would end up!

We spent the next hour trekking around Avon.  We left notes with money tucked into the toy bins at the dollar store for a kiddo to find.  We handed out quarters to Aldi's shoppers for their carts.  I left one of our baggies with the cashier at McDonald's with the instructions to give it to the next person who came in an ordered a coke or coffee.  (More slightly confused looks!)  We pulled up to a construction worker handed him a note and told him to have a soda on us.  We held doors open for people, returned carts, and had a wonderful time zipping around the town with Christmas songs playing on the radio.

A soda, a candy cane, a quarter, a smile.....it may not seem like a lot.  But to a world where evil and senseless violence exist (as we have so painfully been reminded this past week) that's full of people who need to know there is a God who loves them it may be just what they needed.  God's word says that we are to be a light in a dark world.  It's not hard...it just requires that you go. :)  Merry Christmas!

Santa for a Senior

Thanks to my friend Stacy, our family participated in a new project this year...Santa for a Senior.  Our local Walgreen's had these ornaments out on a tree with a gift list for a senior in a nursing home.  Nothing extravagant; simple things like lotion, socks, & puzzles.  We grabbed a couple and made the rounds at Wal-mart and picked out gifts for these wonderful people.  Wherever they happen to be....Merry Christmas from the Hackney 4!

School Program

Time once again for the all-inclusive school holiday program.  Tonight's selections included a traditional negro spiritual, a song about Santa, a traditional Swedish song, a Hanukkah song, topped off by "Here We Come A Wassailing".  No songs about Baby Jesus!  Disgruntlement aside....the kids were super cute and Rachel had a solo part with some other students.  I also managed to keep my streak alive of picking one of the few seats in the house where there would be a microphone between me and Rachel. :)

Shepherds, Sheep, and a Savior

Yesterday was the Children's Christmas musical performance at church.  Rachel played Mary and had a few lines.  All the kids did a fantastic job!  They had been working on the performance since September and all of their hard work showed.

Mary and Joseph :)