Bumper Bowling

The weather is cold and our play groups have been meeting inside. Today, we went bumper bowling! It was a riot to watch the kids bowl and be so excited when they got just even a few pins down. It took about 2 hours but we finally made it to the 8th frame (we didn't get to finish out the last two frames, we ran out of time!) and Ainsley rolled an 82. Not bad for 8 frames and a roll speed of almost nothing.

Here she is with her 5 pound ball!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

She has some great bowling gene's in her. Mom, Papa, Great Grandma Annie, and Great Aunt Barb are or were all good bowlers.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Andrew wasn't quite sure what to make of the morning. There was a senior league their while we were and the kids all got an overdose of attention. It was hard, but I managed to keep him from chasing the ball down the oiled lanes.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning at our house was filled with fun, excitement, and a lot of anticipation. Ainsley kept wondering if she would see a Bolt ornament (found at the very tip toe of her stocking), or Bolt anything! We were curious to see if Andrew would get the concept of opening presents. But most of all there was a lot of anticipation on my part to see if Ainsley would like her gift this year.

Getting going Christmas morning....we had a delay. Since winter storm 2009 dropped almost a foot of snow on us, dad was outside shoveling and helping a neighbor push their car out of the snow. Later that day the favor was returned as we tried to venture out to go to Papa and Gigi's. But we were all patient and waited to start opening presents until we were all warm and cozy together.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

It didn't take Andrew long to figure out how to get into his present! He loved ripping the paper, sand he had a huge smile on his face, much like the one here when he saw something come out of the box!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Ainsley's present this year was a puppet theater complete with handmade puppets by mom! (I was curious to see if she would like the puppets and realize who made them.) Well, she likes the puppets but I must say the puppet theater has seen a bigger hit. It has doubled as a play house, ice cream stand, theater, and store front. It has been a huge blessing to her and we give thanks to the wonderful couple who handed it down to us.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

This Christmas has been so very special because we have been blessed in so many ways...Andrew is with us, Ainsley is with us, the Lord has continued to provide for us, and we have been blessed by the many generous friends we have in our life.We hope that you too have had a joyous holiday with many blessings.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Christmas Traditions

It's important to have fun things to remember about your Christmas. Special moments, special gifts, and special family traditions. This year we carried on an old tradition and started a few new ones. The most exciting tradition we started this year was Christmas Cookie baking. Now, yes, I've always made Christmas cookies. Good old stand by's, cookies I grew up with, and perhaps one new trial cookie each year. This year though, Ainsley joined in the fun. I purchased two magazines full of holiday cookies and let her go through and pick out the ones she wanted to make. Eight different cookies in all (we only conquered seven.) Here's a picture of the cookies we made this year:

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Little did I know she would pick out cookies that required some serious decorating. We had spritz cookies, grandma's classic chocolate sandwiches, spice x-mas packages, butter stars w/ butter frosting, red velvet shortbread cookies, peanut butter blossoms (my grandma's recipe), and christmas sandies. I told her that each year we would carry on with her picking out the cookies (Andrew will join in as well when he's old enough.) My hope is that she continues to have a love for baking and that we have a fun time together in the kitchen. Not to mention, we will have a wonderful selection of cookies to share with our friends and family.

Another tradition we started this year was a birthday cake for Jesus. Ainsley really focused on the fact that we were celebrating Jesus' birthday at Christmas time. Naturally, she wondered if we could bake a cake for him. So, we baked together again and sang happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas Day. It warmed my heart to hear my family singing to Jesus. I hope that this is a tradition t hat we continue through the years. Here's our first Happy Birthday Jesus cake.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

And last but not least the tradition of Christmas PJs carried on! This year the kids had christmas PJs with dogs on them. Ainsley loved them and Andrew was just as happy as usual. I wonder how long I will be able to keep them matching.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Christmas Catch Up

The holidays are passing by and the trips to see family and friends are slowly coming to an end. Mom has caught the blog up on the events leading up to this joyous season where we celebrate the birth of Jesus; now, it's time to get caught up on what we did throughout the season. We will be posting soon about the new traditions that our family has started, the fun we had with our families, and the exciting new blessings that we have received.

As you wait to see what has gone on throughout our holiday, we hope that you had a joyous one! The Rankins.

1st Snow 2009

We are beginning to see winter here in Kansas City and I couldn't wait until the first snow. Today it came in true midwest Missouri form. We had rain, than ice, than the fabulous snow! I forgot how many clothes mom had to put on me before I went out. It was cold and bright! I think we need to add sunglasses to the winter wardrobe.

From The Rankin Family

It wasn't the right type of snow for snowmen, but I had fun making snow angels with my neighbor! Mom even took us on a trek through the woods looking for animal footprints. This is my favorite thing to do when it snows, I love the adventure. I can't wait for some more big snows and the chance to make a snowman!

Movie Star

My sister loves her sunglasses. She has red ones, blue ones, pink ones, and funny shaped ones. Today, mom caught her sharing with me. I thought it was great and had a huge smile on my face. My sister always makes me smile especially when she is being so kind.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

I really loved it, but wasn't so sure about the yellow world I saw through these lenses. So even though the sunglasses only lasted a few minutes in their proper place, we sure had fun together and lots of laughs.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Mom just loves these moments of happiness between the two of us that she captures on camera.

Trimming the Tree

We started putting out Christmas this week. Last night the tree, the tree lights, and the angel went on top. Dad lifted me up and I got to top the tree. So this morning while Andrew was sleeping, mom and I trimmed the tree. I couldn't wait to get started and get our special ornaments out. Last year my favorite was the Little Einstein rocket ship and it's music. This year it was the first to go on the tree.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

The tree is done! I stepped back and looked at my work and thought it was pretty good. Mom did have to space a few ornaments out for me and we were careful to not put many at the bottom where Andrew could get to them. We are looking forward to what he thinks when he sees this new addition to the family room.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Andrew likes it! He's fascinated by the lights and he has spied some of the shiny ornaments. He stared at the tree for awhile and mom wishes she knew just what he really was thinking. With some of my funny antics I got his attention and mom got a great photo!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

After that great picture, I had to let Andrew know that touching was a no, no. Mom enforced this as well as the tiny little fingers kept inching closer to the tree. Andrew took direction well and we have been playing happily near the tree. Mom took a quick snap of the two of us. We love the joy this season brings in so many ways.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin