Elbert the Elf 2015

So I talked with Jayla's parents to see if they planned on doing Santa, because if they did and they had any hope of her believing it, we would need to do the same for the older three and clue them in to play along sense they are typically outspoken and quick to set you straight on story tales.
They decided they did want to do the Santa thing.  So I decided then we needed to do Elbert the Elf too! (our version of elf on the shelf ;-) )  Two years ago Elbert joined our family as we did Kindness Elf-- charitable giving mixed with kind deeds on a level the kids could understand.
Kindness Elf Part 1
Kindness Elf Part 2
Kindness Elf Part 3
Aunt Chris and Uncle King had given the kids some Christmas money so I used that at Michael's to but supplies for each kid to have a craft for 26 days and 2 family crafts.  I had to hide so Jayla wouldn't see it so it could be a surprise our magic friend Elbert would bring us each day.

 Elbert even knew when our friends were coming so Alonza, Tabi, Mateo, Payden and Tivon also got to join in on our Elbert the Elf Family Time.
Family time was what I thought to be the most valuable to teach my four kids this year.  We are a newly formed family and I want them to know that they aren't just here to have a roof over their heads but because they are loved and I want to be an active participant in their life, not just a financial provider.  Jayla joined us after spending 3 months with only a little time with her bio parents so this gave her time to bond more with her new siblings of sort and an activity to do with her parents when they weren't working or dealing with adult issues.
So on Nov 30th Elbert the elf appeared along with our Christmas coutdown.

Elbert the Elf appeared on day 1 with ornaments to make, one penguin ornament already done and a box for each kid to put their ornaments in after Christmas.

You can see our Christmas coundown.  we added a cotton ball each day to either the angel, tree, stocking or Santa's beard-- each kid had their own

We managed to do a craft every single day except one day we didn't have the time so we did it the following day.  When any of the kids were at a sleepover or activity away from home we saved their craft for them in their ornament box.

I decided we would turn each small craft into a Christmas ornament.  These precious babes of mine, especially our 2 newest won't be here forever, but this will give them a jump start on their own tree one day.  So after each craft was done (and dried) i would super glue/tacky wood glue a christmas hook onto them so they had over 30 ornaments by the end of our days with Elbert.

Their initial ornaments

Elbert brought extra crafts to do with our buddy Alonza

 Elbert was a star visitor for our mini party for Tabi's birthday too.

a special birthday dinner playdate with Alayna, Andrea and Adrianna for Tabi's bday at our house

 The following day Tabi's mom treated her to a special birthday dinner while her brothers joined us for some Elbert the Elf fun!

Dec 25 4:45am, Dec 26 4:45am

On Dec 26th after work, I  took the tree down, separated the kids ornaments, put them in their boxes and then into a Rubbermaid tote for safe dry storage.  After all with a tree overflowing with ornaments and now two curious cats with free access combined with the fact our family grew hugely, that space was needed for more important things---- 

sorting

boxed all up

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

One of the activities we planned about a month ahead of time was a trip to the Richmond, VA area to attend a live nativity.  Mom has a facebook friend who told her about their church's nativity so it was not only a fun family event, and the only cost was gas to get there, it also allowed mom to finally meet this friend face to face.
The only downside is that we are a blended family so although the timing worked well for my work schedule, it was a Saturday and Angela was having a visit with her mom and sister so she couldn't come too.  That was a bummer, but she had a good visit too.
After a morning of fun at the Lynchburg Community Market doing the Christmas activities we met up at mom and dad's around 1:30.

Downtown Lynchburg's Mistle Toe Market, complete with Jayla loosing her first tooth from the apple I bought her there from a Vendor!

Then we all headed to Richmond.  We got to the Nativity about 3:30.  There was already quite the line even though it hadn't even begun yet.  Nearing 5 it was our groups turn for this amazing walk thru Nativity.
Our journey with our tour guide, Matthew who warned us of the Romans and what to expect.  It began with us traveling to Bethlehem for the census and having to pay our shekel tax.  Mom (and others with walking difficulties) got to ride in the Chariot (aka golf cart) The Romans weren't very nice,  Roman centaurians were there to ensure there were no issues, like police officers of that time era.   The tax collector was a thief over charging us all by double the amount owed, but there was nothing we could do about it.

Jayla and Jayna playing around while we waited our turn, Our shekels, Our tour guide, The Romans and finally the tax collector

We entered Bethlehem.  There were all sorts of shops and people selling goods, but we couldn't afford any of it, although the tried their best to sell to us.  Some of the shop keepers told us how drastically their jobs had changed recently.  Like the blacksmiths who now make nothing but nails for crucifixions and the furniture makers who make mostly just crosses for the same.

Selling fish, blacksmith, the weaver trying a scarf on Jayna,basket making and spice sellers, the butcher.... Anthony visited family in jail,and he wanted an apple, the town pub where we all danced outside.

The lady at the well, a lady gave us a "prophecy" paper (bible verse) to take with us, the furniture makers building crosses, Grandma Joy in her chariot surrounded by grandkids

Then some of the townspeople told of the prophecies of the coming Messiah.  The video is mom's friend.   The background noise (singing) is the dance the group behind us was doing (we had just done it before visiting the lady at the well).  You can hear our tour guide and Dad saying yes too.


As we were leaving town square a very pregnant couple were hoping for a room in the Inn, but the inn keeper said there was no room so he told them they could stay in the stable.  As we were leaving town a few of the people in our group were taken for labor since we din't have any more money.  They were later released ;-)

Next we went through the fields and met some Shepards who told us they heard baby Jesus had been born.

We heard/saw the Angels singing which led us to the Manger where a newborn baby Jesus had just been born.

The angels, the scene at the Stable with Mary singing to baby Jesus-- silent Night and our 3 kids watching intently

Next we found the wisemen.  We told them we had seen Baby Jesus. They taught us about the gifts they were bringing Baby Jesus, even letting us smell the frankincense and myrrh.  They pointed out the HUGE shining star they were going to follow to see the Baby Messiah.

The wise men and the star

Eight days later we were at the temple where Mary and Jospeh had brought Baby Jesus to be dedicated and to meet Simeon and Anna at the Temple who had been waiting years to see Him.  Anna sang Mary did you know.

At the Temple

Then we went through some of Jesus' years as the greatest teacher, and met his disciples and watched him heal the sick.

We found ourselves at the cross next, where Jesus was crucified.  

Three days later we were with Mary Magdalene at an empty grave.  Jesus had risen from the dead.

Finally we met Nicodemus who told the purpose behind all of this.  The hope we have and the Power of the cross and it saving us from eternal suffering.

At the end of the Bethlehem we all got to enjoy some homemade cookies, hot chocolate or coffee.  There were prayer counselors and cards to fill out w/ prayer requests.  We were there for quite a while.   We waited in line a bit longer than an hour.  The walk itself was just under an hour.  and we were in the building at the end of the walk for quite a while too.  This far surpassed what I was expecting.  It was super interactive and fun for all ages in an over-commercialized Santa filled December we also got to experience the real reason for Christmas.

an almost complete family shot

On the way home we stopped for a family dinner at Wendy's.  Of course Dad was at the kids table ;-)

Via the Bethlehem Walk's facebook page:

Here are the final numbers for Bethlehem Walk 2015. We welcome 158 new believers who gave their life to the Lord. We also had 239 people rededicate their lives to the Lord and living for Him. These are the numbers we celebrate and make all the long hours worth it. Pray for these brothers and sisters in Christ as they start their walk or renew their walk with the Lord.

We also collected 1,447 pounds of can goods as well for the local food banks. Thank you all for your donations.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES... IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES...

Yeah that title should cover our year.  I am still 3 blogs behind, but It's time to post our year end letter and card.  Hopefully all the ones we mailed arrived .... and well if not here it is anyways, Because postage is too expensive to mail out more than 50 and everyone should be equally entertained or bored by our life (or at least the summarized version with the positive highlights!)

December 2015

Dear Friends and Family,

            I am forcing my fingers to get busy and not skip out on my annual Christmas letter and card like I did last year.  Our life has been plenty busy, full of change, adventure and blessings.  However, that won't be an excuse not to reconnect with you all this season.  As we have learned all too well, time is not promised; and we want to take this time and share our life with all our loved ones, near and far.

            In December 2014 Beth changed jobs.  After three years as a crossing guard she held her last stop sign and wore her last silly hat in the middle of the street and as the school closed for Winter Break she ventured out into her newest endeavor as a Dietitian Aide at our main local hospital.  She kept doing the part time job at the answering service on weekends until June.  Now she happily is a one job girl and enjoys her work at the hospital.  Marko and Beth are celebrating their 12th year of marriage this December.

            Marko is still with the same company and doing mostly security work in the IT field.  His biggest workplace joy was getting his top level security clearance which has opened doors for him to work on more projects mostly on military bases.  He travels about 25% of the time and he enjoys getting to travel.  He can now check California off his list of states he has been too.  He found that pretty exciting.

            Anthony turned 11 in February with a Steeler's Football themed sleepover with his two best friends.  He is in the 6th grade and plays spring soccer with his School as well as being on the school's cross country team.  Away from school he enjoys video games too much and has really gotten into bicycle riding.  We have done many longer rides as a family (ok minus Marko) and just Beth and Anthony throughout the summer.  Anthony managed to break two bones in two months last year; First his nose and then his arm.  He got to sport a black cast until March.  Yes, we even consider injuries noteworthy accomplishments in our Christmas letters!

            Jayna turned 10 in April with her cowgirl themed sleepover with 5 friends.  She is in the 4th grade and does gymnastics, drama and art club at her school.  She is also on the Cross Country team and says she is doing soccer this spring.  We will see.  Her passion is the arts; both drama and arts and crafts.  She added an interest in rocks and science this fall too.  Her highlight of both this year and last, is easily the school Christmas play where she earned her role as a main character both years.  Next week she will star as Greta Van Popcorn, a reporter in their play, A King is Coming.

            Our life got a lot more exciting this summer as our family grew for the first time in over 10 years.  Our sweet Angela joined our family and immediately fit right in.  The summer didn't come without some heartache for her, but she is a strong young lady and knows how to be optimistic which will take her far.  In August we gained full legal and physical custody of her.  We celebrated by lunch just Beth and her at the Olive Garden, which was a first for her.  She is 17 and in the 11th grade.  She is taking nursing at school and when she graduates she will do so with her diploma and a CNA license.  The household is now filled with endless giggles and selfies!

            Our family grew by two more in July.  This time they were hairy kids.  We adopted Sampson from the local Humane Society and Phoenix from a litter of kittens about to go to the Humane Society.  We aren't typically pet people and I wasn't even a cat fan, and yet these two furry critters have won over all our hearts easily.

            We were able to enjoy several summer trips together.  We went to Pennsylvania twice to visit Beth's sister, her husband and their 4 boys.  We went to Chincoteague Island for our beach vacation along with Poppy and Grandma Joy.  Beth and the three kids were able to visit her brother Zach and his wife Rebekah where they are stationed in Baltimore and even went on a day trip to D.C. together.  Our final summer trip was to West Virginia to celebrate Papa's 90th birthday, Nana's birthday and their anniversary too.

            Life stays plenty busy now a days between school, work, the younger two enjoying Pathfinders Club and the oldest babysitting 4 days a week after school.  But apparently we still had room for more love and more things to do.  Sadly we did receive bad news in August as Beth’s mom was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.  She had surgery to remove the tumor and part of the colon in Oct.  Unfortunately, that didn’t remove all the cancer, so she starts chemo Jan 4^th.

            In early November, little Jayla joined our family.  She is 4, and will likely be with us through the winter.  She has brought a lot of new excitement into our family.  She's in Pre-K and enjoys learning and playing at school.  The three girls wasted no time creating her her own bedroom upstairs in the girls room. Then after beloved Thanksgiving trip to WV and time with our cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents, it was decided it was in Jayla's best interest to have her parents here full time.  So her parents are enjoying our living room suite as temporary sleeping quarters, until they get back on their feet.

            This year has been an exciting one filled with many new adventures, a lot of love and a little bit of adjustment pains as we entered each new phase that life handed us.  We hope you too can look back on your year with smiles of blessings remembered throughout your year.

Love,

The Sykes Family; Marko, Beth, Angela, Anthony, Jayna and Jayla and Sampson and Phoenix too of course

For occasional updates: http://busybethblog.blogspot.com/

Thankful for Thansgiving

My favorite holiday of the year has come and been gone.  But life with 4 kids is more time consuming so no blog.  Unfortunately I had to work this year and for the first time since having kids I missed Thanksgiving dinner with my grandparents and extended family.  As soon as I got off work I headed to West Virginia.
I had given Marko strict orders to go on Wednesday with the kids.  My little sister Karlee drove from Florida to Virginia to surprise my parents, daughter and grandparents.  After she visited with friends and visited mom and dad around 6:30 she came by and Jayna was thoroughly shocked.  Jayna rode to WV with Aunt Karlee while Marko took Angela and Anthony.

I got to Nana and Papa's about 2:30, just in time for annual dish duty with the cousins.  Then we all relaxed in the living room a while chatting and searching the black friday adds, yet another WV cousin tradition.

Beth's Thanksgiving morning paperwork

I may have missed the eating, but I still captured my annual Sr, Jr Thanksgiving nap picture!

At 5 all the cousins hit Walmart!  It was the madhouse of fun and excitement Black Friday always is for us!  We all made impulse purchases but more important we were together having fun.  Together.  Next was Big Lots so Amanda could check out the DVDs and Izzy could check out the Christmas decor.  Then we parted ways.  Anthony, Angela and I headed to the mall in Beckley: JCP bound mostly and finally KMart.  Supper took place at Sheetz where the kids and I waited forever.  Poor employees had the joy of computer failure on the worst possible day. We made it back to Nana and Papa's around 2:30 or so.

Too  much fun at Big Lots while Izzy and Vicki shop

Friday morning started with a fabulous Pancake breakfast from Nana!  Lauren's eye was hurting so we made a pit stop to the best dr in tow, Dr. Laura who was kind enough to allow us a drop in visit at her house complete with a prescription for eye meds to treat her eye infection.

 And then it was time with our annual fun with Uncle Alden.  Since we grew again from last year we had to upgrade from just Uncle Alden's truck to us both taking our vehicles.  We went down below the Big Bridge.  We stopped about half way for a hike, a climb, and then to watch a serious climber.

Then we made it old bridge underneath of the New River Gorge Bridge.

Then of course it was time for our Annual lunch at Dairy Queen.  Thanks Uncle Alden for always spoiling us and treating us to these most fun traditions!  I can handle working on Thanksgiving and missing food, but not missing out on all this fun togetherness with my family!

Then we headed back to Nana's where the kids entertained themselves:  watched tv, climbed trees, lots of laughter, one even took a nap, played outside.  We gave Nana and Papa their Christmas gifts.  Then it was time to help Nana start dinner.

Our good friend Kelvin joined us for dinner. He quizzed the kids and they questioned him right back.  And Angela finally figured out her favorite holiday! (Kelvin's last name is Holliday)

Then we headed to Josie, Aidan, Dr. Laura and Special K's house with the kids.  They played on the trampoline, took 4 wheeler rides, played in the game room and even roasted marshmallows.  The adults mostly sat around the fire.  It was actually quite relaxing and nice to get to know the cousin's best friend-family better.

When we took all the kids back to Nana's it was bed time.  Saturday morning started off with more of Nana's from scratch pancakes and with Marko and Angela going on a secret mission to Walmart.  While they were gone I did all the packing up and straightening up of bedrooms.  While Nana made lunch and Papa relaxed in his chair, Tricia, Amanda, Marko and I were assembling project new home phones.  Recently Nana and Papa's phone company made them upgrade their phones from their old beloved rotary ones.  So they quickly dropped from 5 phones to two at home.  The cousins informed us they were  frequently loosing their cordless phones so we bought them a new five phone system and now all the rooms that used to have a phone in it, once again do.  And we installed it without being noticed!  I even snuck behind Papa's chair to plug in one phone--- claiming i was getting Jayna's sock haha!  After we left we had Tricia and Amanda spill the beans.  They are now enjoying their new phones, we are told.

Lunch, like every meal was fabulous.  We had our choice of Nana's home made chili or veggie soup and grilled ham and  cheese sandwiches.  The kids all tried custard for the first time.  2 of 3 like it.

I went outside to capture some cousin shots in the leaves.

And then sadly it was time to say our goodbyes :-(

On the way out of town I saw Aunt Chris's car at her preschool.  So of course we had to stop and say goodbye!--- and get the tour of the best preschool in all of West Virginia and likely the USA.

IN THE INDIAN ROOM

ENJOYING THE COOLEST SAND SHE'S EVER PLAYED WITH