January Happenings

SO...another month has gone by without any blogging, so here is what we've been up to this month! 

Here are the girls kicking off New Years Day, 2012...we did go to church that day, so they were excited to get dressed up for church a little more than normal.  These girls are getting so big...it is just crazy to me how fast time is flying by!

January has brought us 30 degree temps and most recently 60 degree temps...and our activities have definitely reflected that.  The girls have spent a lot of time with indoor play dates and have had a few days of going to the playground and riding bikes.  Although like all siblings, they do have their moments, these two really have become such good friends.  More and more, Megan is entering that stage of wanting to be just like her Big Sister. 

Last month, Alexia began taking a Hip Hop Jr. Class at a local Christian Dance School.  She really enjoys it :)  A few weeks ago, they had Parent Observation Day, where we could sit in and watch them practice.  Of course, I had to snatch a few pics...

This next picture turned out blurry, but her smile when she caught me taking pics of her was priceless.  She just finished her 2nd month of classes and I'm really proud of her for sticking with it.  She started this class 4 months after everyone else in the class and she has done a great job of catching up.  She's still trying to figure out where she fits in socially since many of the girls had already developed friendships, but she refuses to give up.  She is kind, friendly and outgoing towards all of the girls and I'm confident she'll have a new BFF in the class before too long.

Despite how fast these girls are growing up, they still always enjoy "Daddy Time."  Reading books together with Daddy has become one of Alexia's favorite parts of her day...and of course, a spontaneous silly moment and tickling attack with Daddy before bed ranks at the top of their list as well :) 

We did get some snow a couple of weeks ago, which the girls enjoyed as well.  Megan only wanted to "enjoy" the snow for a short time here at home, but Alexia went sled riding Saturday and Sunday that weekend.

I just love that little face (and the precious girl to whom it belongs) :)

On Saturday, Alexia went sled riding with Daddy at "Cemetary Hill" over at Messiah.  Then on Sunday, I took Alexia and Alayna back for some more sled riding fun.  Megan opted for a play date at Grady's house, which was probably a good decision, given the size of the hill.  The girls had a fantastic time and climbed that hill at least 10 more times than I thought they would.  They loved it :)  They did have a few crashes and flips, too (which I did manage to catch on video), but no major injuries occurred, thankfully!!

Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to have a house full of kids and company the entire day.  Alayna and Grady spent the day with us until about 7:30 pm and then Megan went to Grady's house for her first "friend sleepover" and Alayna spent the night here with Alexia.  Later that evening, Grandma and Grandmpa, Steph, Jillian, Josh, Tracy, Andrea and Chuck came for a visit.  So, we definitely had a full house and the kids all had a great time.

Here is a breakdown of their activities for the day:

It started with a tea party on the back patio (no, it was not warm enough to be having a tea party on the back patio...but they had their minds set on it...so, yes, they froze out there, yet refused to admit how cold they were...crazy kids!)  I'm sure I never did anything like that when I was a kid...

And then they came inside and warmed up with some jumping on the trampoline...

Megan and Grady warmed up by dancing and doing the motions to a worship CD together.  This is something that they always want to do when they get together at our house.  It is priceless to watch!!

Then it was time to play dress-up.  Grady wanted to put a princess dress on so badly, but the girls all talked him out of it.  I think I will have to invest in a Prince Costume to have on hand for when Grady is over to play.

After playing downstairs for awhile, the girls came upstairs to do bead necklaces and bracelets.  This seemed like a precious moment to catch on camera.

Megan and Grady wanted to paint...this is probably one of Mommy's LEAST favorite activites, but they did a great job overall, with only a small amount of paint ending up on the walls and floor. 

Then, we did a round of board games...Connect 4, Operation, Eye Spy Eagle Eye, and Megan's favorite game of all...Zingo!!

The girls got a Karaoke Machine for Christmas...Megan and Grady had fun with this as they took turns singing different parts of their favorite Dora songs.

Here Alexia and Alayna are proudly posing in front of their finger painting creations.  Alexia took her painting to church the next day and gave it to her Sunday School Teachers, Coach Mike and Coach Brandy, who were very touched.

So, if all of that wasn't enough fun for one day...we still had an evening of more fun with Grandparents, Aunts and Cousins.  Here are the kiddos bombarding Aunt Andrea with hugs when she arrived!

We made hot dogs and french fries/tater tots for the kids to eat and here is a reflection of how dinnertime went...

Finally, we wrapped up the day with some painting nails...

Some more karaoke performances with glo stick necklaces and bracelets...

Even Josh tried to join in on the fun...although I think he was starting to fade a bit by this point.

While our disco party was going on, Miss Laura came to pick up Megan and Grady...it was a strange feeling sending my little Megs off to her first friend sleepover.  Fingers crossed that she would make it through the night!!

And, after saying good bye to Megan and Grady, we ended the evening with a few rounds of Uno with all the girls and Aunt Tracy :)

Wow...just blogging about that day made me exhuasted...lol.  Ya know, sometimes when I take on this kind of a day I think I must have lost my mind, and yet...the kids played so amazingly well with each other all day and I know I am helping to create wonderful memories for them that will last a lifetime.  I feel thankful to have a home where we can enjoy the company of such great family and friends!!

So...you may be wondering how the sleepover went?  Well, it took Megan quite awhile to settle down to sleep and Alexia and Alayna must have layed in Alexia's bed chatting and giggling until almost 10 pm...but all 4 of them had a great time and have asked to do it again very soon!

Here are two sleepy girls, who decided they needed to get up at 7:02 a.m. on Sunday morning because they were starving...really??  I was hoping for at least another hour of sleep.  Oh well, such is the wonderful job of being a mom!!

Christmas Celebrations

A good friend of mine commented the other day that all of their Christmas celebrations are spread out so much over a few weeks that it feels more like Hannukah than it does Christmas...that made me laugh, but it has been true for us, too!
December was one very full month of many different celebrations of the season!

Of course, we kicked it off with decorating our house and our Christmas Tree!  While I was off with some girlfriends for our annual Christmas wreath-making event, Scott and the girls headed out to pick out our tree.  Scott let them make the final selection and they brought home a pretty nice tree, I must say!
So, that evening we put on the Christmas Music and began the process of decorating our tree.  I say "began the process" because it took us 4 days to finally get it all decorated...between non-working Christmas lights, tired girls and a missing tree topper...we had to decorate the tree in stages :) 

Nonetheless, our efforts resulted in one beautifully decorated tree!

The next big event to help us get into the spirit of the season was the ECC's annual Christmas program.  This was the first year that Megan was in the program by herself and I think she enjoyed the extra attention! 

Next on the celebration activity list...making and decorating Christmas cookies!  This was one of the kids favorite activities and we actually had a night where we could all sit down together as a family to decorate these yummy treats!

Here is the final display of cookies...they had some pretty impressive creations, for sure!

And...although it was well past their bedtimes...it was a Friday evening, so we let them each pick two cookies to eat that night.  Here they are enjoying their creations!

Once the tree was decorated, shopping was done, gifts were wrapped, cookies baked and decorated...we began to gather with family and friends to celebrate Christmas. 
I, of course, have a bunch of pictures and video footage from our gatherings, but here are just a few pictures to give a quick snapshot of our fun times together :)  Hopefully I will soon learn how to post video footage, since I have more video than pics this year!

Now, while we had a great time as we always do with our Christmas celebrations, I have to confess that this year felt a little "off " for me.  As I have reflected on this the past couple of weeks, this is the conclusion I have come to...it's not one that everyone will agree with and that is okay...it's just how I feel...

As it happens each year, our girls received more gifts than they could possibly know what to do with...they are always thankful for everything they receive, but I have to say that the amount of gifts that came into our home for them this year felt a bit excessive (and I was definitely guilty of falling into the over-indulging in Christmas shopping this year).  It's not that I don't appreciate the gifts for them or want them to receive special gifts, I do...but, as a parent, I feel convicted to try and maintain a balance for them so that we don't lose the focus of what this season is all about...the celebration of the birth of our Lord!  There are many traditions and discussions we have to help keep the girls centered on the true meaning of this wonderful holiday, but it's a challenge at best to keep that at the forefront of our celebrations!  Next year I will be more aware and more intentional of setting some good boundaries and expectations so that the girls can TRULY APPRECIATE the gifts they do receive from family and friends...and we can keep our focus on JESUS...the TRUE REASON for this holiday season!

As I reflected on what I LOVED about this Christmas season the biggest thing for me was having extra time as a family.  With Christmas falling on a Sunday, Scott had some extra days in a row off of work, which was so nice and just helped things to feel more calm and relaxed.  I loved experiencing Alexia lead the adult worship service in some Christmas worship songs...watching her and seeing the joy that poured out of her on that stage was simply priceless!  We enjoyed having my parents come and stay with us and didn't have a lot of running around to do, so we were really able to just enjoy some quality time with them...we enjoyed our annual Christmas Eve services and small celebration back at our home...this year a new friend, Jodi, joined us for dinner and it was just really nice having her come and spend time with our family.  The girls LOVED having her here and begged her to stay longer. I think we'll have to invite her to come back again sometime soon!  
The biggest message I always hope to have shine through the different activities, gift-giving and gatherings of the season is a message of LOVE...at the end of day...at the end of the season...if we have nothing else but LOVE in our lives...We are TRULY BLESSED!  I think these couple pictures of the girls together sum up this message better than I could ever say it...