They Just Want to be Close to Mom

This is what is under my desk at my feet this morning as I check my email.....

Playing on the Back Steps in Pajamas on a January Afternoon

random.

Ice Skating

We went ice skating with a group of friends last night and had a blast! Emma is a great skater and was learning to turn and go backwards by the end of the night. She had fun racing off with her friends. Lila had no hesitation. She's never been on ice skates before, but hit the ice running - literally. She didn't want to use the kid-walker thing or hold the wall. She just wanted to be able to do it by herself. And my barely 4 year-old sure did! Here are some pictures and video to prove it.

The Last Week of 2008

Here's how we spent the lazy last week of 2008. Happy New Year!

A Little Scary

If I didn't know this guy really well, (he's my baby brother) I'm not sure I'd let my children be around him. :) He doesn't always look this creepy - must be the birthday hat!

New Tree

We have a very big artificial tree in our living room every Christmas for the last 3 years. Fake trees kind of go against the grain with me, but I love BIG trees. Once we started looking at cut trees that cost over $100, we knew it was time. I admit, I love being able to put the tree up for Thanksgiving and not worry about it dying before Christmas. I love the "pre-lit" aspect, although we still put large colored bulbs on too. I miss the adventure of finding the tree and the smell of the fresh pine (thank you, Yankee Candle). This year, we got a live tree too! I mean a real, live tree - with a ball on the bottom and everything. According to Ryan, it weighed about 400 lbs. It sure looked nice in our family room for two weeks, though. We decorated it with popcorn, ribbon, and all of our homemade angel ornaments from over the years. It's now enjoying its new spot in our yard where we lost a tree last summer. I hope we started a new tradition!

Reunion

We got together with some old friends over the weekend. These couples were in our minichurch back before any of us had kids. It was great to see them all - the ones we see weekly, annually, and rarely! Emma was the oldest child present, so she got to be the photographer - which explains the only picture that I got (lots of ceiling).