Searching Out the Small Blessings

Today is Christmas Eve. By looking out the window it looks more like the beginning of Spring but I'll take that sunshine! So our house has been hit with a nasty stomach bug that is sweeping through the entire family. We hardly ever get sick and when any germ enters our house it is usually always contained to just 1 or 2 people. So needless to say that today is not feeling very cheery. But today the Lord has shown me many small blessings.

1.) We are blessed to be able to have a house with 3 bathrooms. I don't think I need to elaborate on that one.

2.) We are blessed that Lovebird has had a very mild case so far and are praying it stays that way. Mommy is not up to taking care of an extremely sick baby......and neither is Daddy.

3.) We are blessed that our children have handled the disappointment of canceling all of our Christmas plans with complete understanding. I think I may be more upset than they are!

4.) I am so thankful for the beautiful sunshine. While I know that many are upset that we are not having a white Christmas, I REALLY needed to see the sun shine today.

5.) I am so thankful for Netflix and Apple TV.

6.) I am so thankful that my kids are just as excited for our Chicken Noodle soup Christmas Eve dinner than they were for the Turkey one.

7.) I am thankful that my mom risked the germs to bring over more soup, Gatorade, Saltines, and Popsicles. Mosheh and Gershom are thankful that she took them outside!

8.) We are blessed that despite everyone not feeling 100% we still get to spend the holidays with each other.

12 Days of Christmas

So I had read about a great idea on another blog about doing a "12 days of Christmas" for your spouse in the busy days leading up to Christmas. So I took a trip out and picked up gifts for every day. It has been a fun new tradition that I think I will add to our annual holiday happenings.

First Covering of White

As soon as there was enough snow to somewhat cover the ground the kids were out sledding.
Cuddlebug is actually doing much better in the snow and stayed out for about 20 minutes. Now she still always ends up crying and coming in because she gets cold but we are making progress.
It helps when you have a great big brother who always carries your sled back up for you.


And of course there was hot cocoa waiting inside as soon as fingers, toes, and noses got too cold.

Decking the Halls

"You need to put all the same color in the same group. See?!?!?!"

"I so got this."

"Daddy I don't think you are doing this right. Let me just get up there and I can show you the proper tree assembling techniques."

Pictures of the finished product coming soon!

You Know When Life is Too Busy......

......when your 3 year old walks inside and then lies down and falls asleep on the foyer floor. We must slow down.

Last Themed Cake

So B.W. informed that since he was 11 this would be the last year he would pick a themed cake. Now considering I still do themed cakes for Prince Charming we'll see if he sticks with that statement when the big 12 rolls around. B.W. wanted a Lego cake and I had some grandiose plans of what I could do but because of the craziness with remodeling and trying to get ready for the holidays I went with an extremely simple cake.......and B.W. loved it so that's all that matters. He also got to celebrate with some dear friends so that made it even better.

Legoland

B.W.'s birthday gift was a trip to Legoland.
The kids aren't too fond of spiders so they were very theatrical at the thought of a spider this big.
Ready to take on Darth Vader.
Lovebird loved this elephant. For her there weren't too many things to do but she just loved riding in the stroller and taking it all in.
The girls enjoyed the "Girls Only" area.
The kids took a little class on how to make the Sears tower.
Cuddlebug had a little help from daddy.


Everyone had a great time.

We then headed to Rainforest Cafe for an early dinner. We timed it just right and the restaurant wasn't busy at all which meant the noise was about 1/10th of what it normally is. It made for a much more enjoyable dinner!

Moments Like These

So the Thanksgiving didn't quite go as planned at Uncle B's and Aunt K's. The turkey was underdone, the stuffing was overdone, and Plan B had to be activated which was going and buying chicken at Martin's. But all of that doesn't matter.

It's moments like these that make a Thanksgiving meal.
The three kids enthralled with Great Grandma, her stories, and looking through the Christmas catalog she brought with her.

Operation Christmas Child

The kids were so excited to pack up their Operation Christmas Child boxes and send them off. Cuddlebug had been talking for over a week about "her friend" who was going to get her box. They all spent much time picking out the perfect gifts for each of their boxes.
Now we wait to see where each of the boxes final destination will be!

Why?!?!

"Why have they waited so long to give me this delicious thing they call a French Fry?!?!"

Thankful Party and Why I Can't Leave Prince Charming Unattended

So we don't celebrate Halloween and we were so excited when a fellow church family suggested having a "Kick off to Thankfulness" party a few weeks into November. The kids were to dress up in a costume of a Bible or book character. The kids were very excited about this.

B.W. decided to go as David.
Lovebird was his little sheep.
Curly Bear went as the woman who poured perfume on Jesus feet. She really wanted to be a Bible character since the other three were going with that theme and it took us a looonnnnggg time to come up with something.
Cuddlebug wanted to be a rainbow since that is her favorite Bible Story. So we made her into "God's Promises".

Now the days leading up to the party were absolutely crazy busy! I felt like I had about ten huge projects to get done in a few days time. So while I ran to make some copies for the kids folders for the church service I asked Prince Charming if he could fit the rainbow to Cuddlebug and put the ties over the shoulders so it was the right height. I wasn't gone for more than 10 minutes and was texted this picture.
I text him back and tell him I think he needs to loosen it up a little bit.

About 2 minutes later I get a text that says,"Oh shoot, I caught it on fire!"........"You better come home."

Thankfully by the time my few errands were done he had things under control and our little rainbow was running around the house. Now I still have never heard the whole story on how he set the costume on fire. He and the kids have been very tight lipped about the matter. Hmmmmm.......

Too Much Birthday

Well I think this picture doesn't need much explanation. Lovebird was a tad out of the ordinary the day after her big day and pretty much screamed every time I put her down to clean up anything.

The Big First Birthday

Lovebird enjoyed a very relaxing first birthday that included snacking on her favorite snacks, reading books, going for a walk, taking some pictures, and getting to eat her first slice of cheese pizza. We then had a few family members come over for cake and gifts.
The "easy" cake I had planned turned out to be a tad more difficult than expected but the end result was great.
The birthday girl changed into her "cake eating" outfit and was all set. Yes there were a few wardrobe changes throughout the night because mommy couldn't decide on just one outfit. So there was a "Meet my Guests" outfit, a "cake eating" outfit, and then a casual "End the Night" outfit. It did feel a little Academy Award but she was cute in them all.

"Ummmm......why are you setting my cake on fire?"

"Oh dear, now they're singing.....all on different keys."

"Maybe if I clap for them they will stop."

"Oh good, the clapping worked."

Now I wish I could say that she dove in.......but she barely touched the thing. It may have been she was full from her earlier dinner of her first piece of cheese pizza or maybe she just wanted to be a lady and not make a pig of herself but she didn't smear cake everywhere like I was expecting.

I think she was more concerned about getting back to work on her new laptop.

Lovebird is One!!!

Give me an O!

Give me an N!

Give me an E!

Lovebird is one!!!

3:04pm on 11/15/2011: Exactly 1 year old