thesellers.net

This year, our church participated in the day of service on MLK day. They had a bunch of service opportunities, both at the church and around the community. We opted to stay at the church, as they had a bunch of kid-friendly activities to participate in there.

Molly and Jen helped package meals for Kids Against Hunger. Molly’s job was to measure and pour the mixed vegetables. Our church packaged a total of 15,606 meals for those in need in the DC Metro area.

Leah wasn’t keen on the hair net, so she and I made cards to cheer up those away from home.

Once they were done packaging meals, Molly and Jen joined us in the card making room.

If you give our girls a choice of service opportunities, they’ll generally choose the creative ones if they exist. So, after making cards, we moved on to making bookmarks for Operation Christmas Child.

While Jen and the girls may excel at drawing, coloring, cutting, and the like, I do not share that talent. I mostly let them make these sorts of things, but I did contribute a single bookmark. Rather than putting a simple ribbon bow on it like the others, I gave it some curly hair.

It was a great day of service. Thanks to all who helped organize and put it on.

The day after the big family party, the out-of-towners wanted to see some of the sights. So, many of them headed out to D.C. to see them. We, however, headed to church. In addition to the family fun, I was also leading music that day.

After church and some lunch, we joined up with the rest of the crew at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Rick is friends with the brother of the Associate Director of Rowing there, and he arranged a special tour for us. So, we headed to Hubbard Hall to see some boats.

I had assumed we’d just see some boats and water, and learn a little. But the tour was much cooler than just that. We even got to do some rowing ourselves in their tank - a practice facility for indoor rowing.

After the Naval Academy, we all headed to Buddy’s Crabs & Ribs for dinner. Thanks to Mike and Mary for finding a place that could seat 27 of us.

That was the end of our time with most of the extended family, but we still had a bit more fun in store with a few of them. More on that to come.

As usual, our church had lots of of offerings around Christmas. This included a service on Christmas Eve Eve for those who wouldn’t be around Christmas Eve, five services on Christmas Eve, and a Christmas Day service. Two of the services on Christmas Eve were family services, led by and geared towards kids. Both Molly’s choir and Leah’s choir were involved, so the girls and I went to both of them.

Of course, fancy Christmas attire is not required for church but that doesn’t stop our girls. And fancy clothes deserve fancy earrings as well. Molly’s wanted hoop earring for some time, and Aunt EA and Uncle Scott were happy to oblige with a pair. They didn’t expect them to be so big, though. Of course, size matters not. Molly loves them.

Here’s Molly’s choir singing their special song. They also led the congregational singing.

I accompanied Molly’s choir with some fingerpicking.

Leah’s choir doesn’t use folders with music, which leaves their hands available for hand motions.

After church, we headed to Grams’s house for soup and sandwiches. Per tradition, we opened one gift on Christmas Eve.

Grammy gave both girls very nice backpacks.

After we got home, Jen presented the girls with their Christmas jammies. This year, she actually purchased the shirt, then made pants to go with it.

Here they are in their brand new jammies.

Cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for the reindeer.

We always read Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. This year, the girls got G’Mom and Grampa to read to them.

Then is was off to bed for the girls to get a good night’s sleep before the big day. Well, at least one of them got a good night’s sleep. The other... well, more on that in the next post.

We’ve had a lot of singing around here lately. First, Molly sang with her choir in church. Note that in her new older kids’ choir, she even has music in a fancy folder to read off.

The next week, Leah sang with her choir.

Lastly, the girls were a part of our church's Walk to Bethlehem. They were part of the heavenly host, and got to sing Gloria for each group that passed by. It was raining, so they wore ponchos over their angel outfits. Leah wouldn't go out without Jen, so Jen joined in the fun as well.

Ever since Halloween last year, we’ve had an ongoing conversation about costumes for this year. We all wanted to do a family costume and Jen was ready for a break from princesses after the last three years. Jen and I pushed for more creative costumes (e.g. a lunch box, sandwich, juice box, etc.) while the girls wanted something more common. In the end, they really wanted to be superheroes, so we decided to make up superheroes of our own. From left to right - the Caped Computer Crusader, Music Molly, Rainbow Girl, and the Super Seamstress. Together we are the Super Sellers.

Jen made all the capes, masks, and tutus and appliquéd the designs on their 3 shirts. She also cut the hole in my shirt and applied stabilizer in it. In that hole is an iPad running an app I wrote for this that types out computer code (complete with typing sounds). Also, Music Molly has an iPhone strapped to her leg playing music wherever she goes. Here are a few more pictures of us to enjoy:

Since Halloween day was going to be very busy and Aunt Caroline would not be home early enough to see the girls then, we decided to trick-or-treat at Grams’s house a few days early. We were already getting dressed up to go to Trunk-or-Treat at church, so Sunday made a good time to visit Grams as well.

We wanted to get a few pictures with the girls, but Leah decided to be stubborn and refused to take them. Eventually she came around.

The girls are superheroes, while Aunt Caroline and Grams maintain their secret identities.

Before arriving at the Trunk-or-Treat festivities at church, we already knew where the girls wanted to go first - the donut swing.

After some indoor fun, we headed outside to trunk-or-treat.

This car was our favorite - a prison cell with a little door to reach through for candy.

The girls were very excited about the costume competition, and even more excited when we won for best family costume (the Minnie Mouse jar full of candy was the prize).

All that, and Halloween was still 5 days away. Lots more fun to be had before then.

Molly assisted our guest preacher in church on Sunday by reading (along with another girl) an I Believe essay written by a 6 year old a few years ago for an NPR program. The girls did a great job.

Our church does a couple of weeks of Vacation Bible School (VBS), and last week was the week our family participated. I joined in the fun one day as the official preschool photographer, though I snuck upstairs to briefly check out Molly and the elementary kids before heading down to preschool.

I’m not sure what Molly’s shouting at the opening of VBS, but she’s definitely getting into it.

Jen taught Leah’s class. Here they are with everyone for opening singing.

Jen’s an expert VBS teacher. She even gets asked if she teaches in school year-round.

At the beginning of outdoor games, this counselor said the first two kids to tag him would start off as sharks. Leah was one of them. She isn’t the fastest kid, but she’s quick to move.

Jen’s not the kind of teacher who sits on the sidelines and watches. She’s right in the middle of the action.

The game they played was Sharks and Minnows (a land-based version). When they got the go-ahead, the kids made their break.

Run, Leah, run!

Leah wasn’t the only kid clinging to Jen.

It was a great week, and all of us had a lot of fun. The girls were sad it had to come to an end, but not too sad as they knew a new adventure started the next day...

Our church is now 60 years old, and we had a big celebration. We had a cookout, a DJ, an Irish band, and a bunch of other fun stuff. There was even a silly photo booth complete with props.

The celebration also included fun activities from Club Scientific like this rocket. It's similar to a stomp rocket, but uses a bike pump and flies a lot higher (up to 1,000 feet).

These screaming rocket balloons were a big hit with Leah and Molly. They just kept inflating them and then letting them fly over and over.

The balloons didn't fly too quickly, but they could go pretty high.

Leah also took a turn on the rocket.

I'm not sure what was so funny.

Ready to launch.

They also had a fossil dig set up for some junior archaeology, which Molly and Simon really enjoyed.

Leah and Matilda took a break from playing on the playground to watch a Chinese lion dance going on next to the playground.

The lion dance (and accompanying Kung Fu demonstration) captured the attention of the girls and adults alike.

The celebration was a lot of fun, and jam-packed with stuff to do. There was a lot more that we didn't have a chance to participate in (corn hole toss, dizzy bat tricycle race, kickball, and more). Perhaps we should celebrate like this every year.

The Cherub Choir sang in church for the last time this school year. Molly will graduate to an older choir in the fall, so this was her last time singing with the Cherubs.

I accompanied them, meaning that Molly, Leah, and I were all together. Hopefully we'll get to do it again in a little over 3 years, when Leah is in second grade and old enough to be in the same choir as Molly.

We made the trek down to Montgomery County to the home of the Kentobeans for a gathering with a bunch of friends. The Dunbars, our friends who moved away to Texas a couple years ago, were in town to visit. The party was lots of fun, but I forgot my camera. The girls got these party gifts, which they love. So, I photographed them after we got home.

Molly’s mad scientist and Leah’s robot look evil to me when seen up close.

Thanks to the Kentons for hosting such a fun gathering (and supplying such wonderful parting gifts). It was great to see the Dunbars (and everyone else).