We are now in the second year of our new tradition of my trying to be kind of creative with our Christmas Cards. I wrote about it last year, it’s an idea I got from pastor Steve McCoy, whose blog I read. He just posted their Christmas Card, and once again it’s pretty cool and enjoyable – check it out here. It’s been pretty fun, and I say that as a person who does not at all enjoy getting together for a family picture, so if nothing else, I’d like to thank Steve for making an annual photo something I don’t dread. This year we had an addition to the family, so we went with a Christmas morning – opening presents theme. Here you go: Continue reading “The Croel Christmas Card – 2010”
Christmas Card
Steve McCoy is a pastor in the Chicago area whose blog I read. Besides checking out his musical recommendations, I also have enjoyed his photography. One of the neat things he has done with his family the last few years is to pose in a fun and creative way for the family Christmas card. You can check out this year’s version here. On that post you’ll find links to the previous two years cards. This year we decided to follow suit and create a fun Christmas picture that captured the essence of what the Croel household is like with a 3 and 1 year old. Now, I must admit the McCoys are a tough act to follow and we have room for improvement. For example – they look much more festive and seasonal. But boy we had a lot of fun posing for these pictures. So, here is this year’s Croel Christmas card. And thanks to Steve McCoy for the idea. We plan to do it yearly. It’s a lot more fun than just posing for a picture. Continue reading “Christmas Card”
Some Halloween Links and Pictures
We were up late carving Jack-O-Lanterns on Friday night. Anne did the one on the left, and I did the other two. We have fun with it. Usually we watch a Halloween movie while carving and this year it was “Monster House,” which is a favorite of ours. It’s an animated movie and if you haven’t checked it out you really need to.
Last year I wrote a series of posts that had some thoughts about Christians and Halloween. I thought I would repost them again this year, so here is part 1, part 2, and part 3. Also, there is an excellent piece about the history of Halloween in regards to its Christian celebration that is a must read for anyone curious about these things. Also, I’ve added a few pictures to my flickr photostream, so if you want to see some October pics (mostly dealing with pumpkins) check it out.
Finally, we got a new book in the mail today from Amazon.com (which is always exciting). It’s called, “Goodnight Goon” and is a parody of “Goodnight Moon.” It’s hilarious, and Elijah has loved it. I’ll put a link below.
Albi and Elijah
Alright, so I guess a few people may read this blog now, so I am going to try to do a better job posting. I have some theological thoughts I’ll put up soon, but before that I had to write about something even more serious. Elijah and I have had some pretty good playtime lately. He’s getting closer to 2 and developing a personality right along and it’s been pretty fun. This week we’ve spent some time on his new bed, which he’ll have to move to eventually when the baby gets here. We’ve played by building pillow forts and hiding from mom under covers and things like that. We’ve also discovered that there is a dragon cave at the head of the bed between two pillows, and in the cave is a dragon named Albi – just like the “Flight of the Conchords” song below. The major difference is our Albi is not racist, well… not anymore. Oh, and also Albi is really a green stuffed giraffe, but who’s keeping track.
What usually happens is I build the dragon cave and stick Albi inside and ask where he is. Elijah quickly finds him, throws him out, and then destroys all that I have built. Sometimes I’ll yell, “oh no Albi!” and today Elijah yelled out “Albi” too. Anne heard him in the other room and it was funny since she didn’t want the giraffe to be named Albi the dragon. Then, when mommy came in to check in on us Elijah started headbutting the headboard because Daddy laughed when he did it. Mommy became concerned.
It was good fun. Here is the video for the Albi song below.