It's been the MOST WONDERFUL time of the Year

So, I guess you all have been wondering where I've been for the past couple of months...clearly we have been enjoying all the fun and activities that come with the "most wonderful time of the year."
Obviously, I'm extremely behind on my blogging, but here is a "brief recap" of the rest of October and November.  Not sure I'll get to December in this blogging session...but that will be coming soon!

We had a birthday celebration/gathering at Grandpops house for his birthday.  The girls always have a great time when we go there, especially because they get to hang out with their cousins, Jillian and Joshua.

As Cousins...Jillian and Alexia are becoming such great friends, too :)

October brought our only significant snow fall so far this season...and it was a big one (for us anyway).  Thankfully the girls had their cousin Autumn here to join in the fun of playing out in the snow.

Of course, top priority as soon as the snow started to fall was to build a snowman :)

The girls absoutely LOVE their big cousin, Autumn.  Alexia "secretly" aspires to be just like her some day.  And we don't mind that one bit....Autumn is one pretty amazing young lady.  She is so great with the girls...she loves on them so much and takes on any challenge they put before her...like teaching Alexia to do a cartwheel.  I love that they look up to her so much...Autumn will tell Alexia the same things that I do to encourage her and she will actually LISTEN TO and BELIEVE what Autumn says.  I guess that's just how it works!

This Fall...Alexia joined the Kids Worship Team at Daybreak.  This ministry has been a perfect match for her.  She absolutely loves it.

Here she is leading worship for the first time during the Kids Worship Time on a Sunday Morning...I was so proud of her.

Megan, unfortunately is not old enough to be on the Kids Worship Team yet, but God has created a heart for worship in her, too.  The girls love to put in the worship practice DVD and worship God together at home while Alexia practices her songs.  It brings joy to my heart every time they do it....I don't think it will ever get old in my eyes.

October wrapped up with some trick or treating...however it was freezing cold that night, so I didn't get any great pictures (as I was sitting in the car watching the girls as Daddy took them from door to door)...I think that is a sign that I am getting old...yikes!

As November hit...so did all of the holiday celebrations and activities.  The first big activity was participating in Daybreak's annual food drive to collect food for New Hope Ministries.  This year the girls helped me collect food and buy a few extras at the store.  They were so cute when we were shopping for the food..."I bet the families would like to eat this", the girls would say as they kept putting different food items in the cart.  I love that, although they are still very little in many ways, they are learning that when you get involved in helping others, you can make a BIG impact...no matter what your size :)

Each year, the ECC holds their annual "Thanksgiving Feast," where all of the kids dress up as Pilgrims and Indians and enjoy a "feast" together.  This year was extra special because Grandma and Papa from Erie were able to join us at the feast.

Megan was such a cute little pilgrim...

Megan took a moment to pose with her teacher, Mrs. C...who has been such a great teacher for Megan.  I am very thankful for Mrs. C because she loves on Megan, but also challenges her to "try" and believe in herself that "she can do it"...which is a message that Megan needs to hear on a regular basis.

Alexia also enjoyed a special visit that day from Grandma and Papa when they showed up at her school to

have lunch with her.



This year we headed back down to North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving at Rich & Donna's house.  I didn't take very many pictures (for a change), but here are a few of the girls enjoying their NC cousins :)

This first picture was of Alexia holding Caleb's snake...that girl is so much more brave than I ever was at her age...snakes still make me squirm and run the other direction.

Of course they did some Wii "Just Dance Kids" with Grace.



LOVE the expression on Alexia's face!

We played many games of pool during our visit (I'm pretty sure I lost every one I played)

Caleb humored Megan with several games of Hide-n-Seek...her favorite game these days.

Grace taught Alexia how to make "duct tape flowers" which Alexia found fascinating.

And, of course, Thanksgiving dinner found all of the younger ones at their very own "Kids Table".  The girls had a ton of fun and made some new friends on Thanksgiving, too.  And, of course, Caleb refused to cooperate for the picture...oh well...kids will be kids!

On our way home from NC, we stayed overnight in InnerHarbor in order to visit the Baltimore Aquarium.  Here are just a few pics of our time at the Aquarium...

Part of the fun of going on vacation is that we now stay at a hotel (thanks to Grandma and Papa)!  It is one of the best things about vacation in the girls' minds.  They enjoyed it so much!!
There are so many fun things you get to do at a hotel that you don't normally do (like go down to breakfast in your PJ's) :)  The girls thought that was very cool!

And, of course, there was a ton of jumping on beds...

Being silly with Daddy...

Playing video games in bed...

Swimming late at night in their heated pool...

Not sure what Megan was doing in this next picture...we just looked over and found her hiding under these pillows and blankets...there may have been an iphone game involved somewhere under there!

Playing a baby grand piano in the hotel lobby...

Eating Carrot Cake Cheesecake in bed at 9:30 pm...only on vacation...that's all I'm saying about that :)

And, a perfect way to wrap up our vacation...Snuggling with Daddy while we watched the movie "Elf"  Megan was pretty tired out by this point and I think had fallen fast asleep.  She didn't have any of the cheesecake...maybe that was the problem :)

We truly had a Wonderful Family Vacation!!!