Back in the Swing

I realize that I'm such a blog slacker that I can't actually catch up on all that's gone on in our family this month, so I'll just start with this week.

We had a crazy week as usual. It started with a Girl Talk event at church (that I had the privilege of coordinating) with over 240 women in attendance! Then, Wednesday, we hosted Pastor Ghassan from Baghdad for dinner. What an amazing man! It was an honor to have him in our home and at our minichurch.

Thursday and Friday were the funeral services for my dear "old Aunt Dotty" (that was how she signed all of our cards). She passed away suddenly last Sunday, and she will be missed so much!

Aunt Dotty was my great aunt. She never married or had any children, but all 100 people in attendance at her service Friday morning called her "Aunt Dotty". She was a sweet, loving lady who endeared herself to all who knew her - familhy, church family, community, etc. Thanksgiving (Dollar Store) presents wrapped in newspaper was my favorite Aunt Dotty tradition. She always brought several for everyone, plus extra door prizes we raffled off! She also sent cards and notes for every occasion possible - lost teeth, report cards, new fish, etc. She was the only east coast great-grandparent my children ever knew - and they loved her! In fact, at her service, during open sharing time, Lila kept raising her hand. I, of course, kept pushing it down, afraid of what she might say. I'm so glad I finally gave in and let her share in front of 100 people. Lila stood and loudly proclaimed to the audience, "She was my great great Aunt Dotty, and I just loved her so much!" There was a collective sob through the room, and Ryan and I were so proud of our extroverted, bold, loving daughter. It was a rough week dealing the girls' emotions and questions - you can only imagine the wondering that went on! :)

We came home in time for a minichurch leader's dinner on Friday night. Saturday we had a little baby shower here for my friend Faith. So today, after church and a birthday party that Lila attended, we're enjoying some down time as a family. We're looking forward to life settling down this week.

December Blizzard

You've got to love getting over two feet of snow 5 days before Christmas! At least "Trudy the Wonder Dog" does....

The kids had almost as much fun as the dog....

That's a whole lotta snow!

Christmas!!!

Well, I'm finally getting around to blogging about our wonderful holiday. At first we were so busy, and then we were just busy relaxing together as a family, so I've been a total blog slacker. Part of the problem is that we got a very exciting New Year's gift - a new iMac! I love it, but it's taking some getting used to. I've been working on transferring my laptop photos into iPhoto so I could update my blog.

Our holiday was full of blessings including: fun gifts for all, time with friends and family, church fun, down time with Daddy, and celebrating Jesus.

Obligatory Santa photo:

We waited in line forever to see this guy. Lila told him she wanted real pixie dust so she could fly - great, that'll happen! She also asked for Sprayza (a cool marker set advertised on Nick) and an Easy Bake Oven. Emma wanted a bell from his sleigh - hmmm, watch Polar Express much? She also asked for Blendy Pens (another marker set as seen on TV) and an mp3 player.

Christmas Eve:

The girls sang with our Kingdom Kids choir at all four church services - 1, 3, 5, and 7!! We were at church from 12:30 until 7:30, but it was great to celebrate God's gift to us with our church family. The kids had a super time with an all-day Christmas party in one wing of the church. They had food, movies, activities and games with all of their friends all day. Ryan and I helped manage the kids and enjoyed the company of our closest friends. Emma sang a solo for the last two services. She sounded as beautiful as she looked, and we were so proud of her. Lila was a trooper and entertained the congregation four times with her adorable-yet-emabarassing, scarf swinging shenanigans.

We went to Aunt Becca's house after church for our traditional Christmas Eve "snacks for dinner". It was nice to relax with family after a high-strung day!

Christmas morning:

Emma woke up not feeling well, but rallied after a ginger ale and some presents. Gappy and Grammy came over at 8 for the festivites. Aunt Becca came a bit later, and we had a yummy breakfast and played with new toys - wii games, games, books, doll stuff, art supplies, movies, electronics - wow!

We ended the holiday with a fabulous dinner at my mom and dad's. Uncle Rob and Aunt Meghan joined us, as did my Uncle Barry and his family.

Ryan took off a few days over the rest of break, and we did pretty much nothing. That was wonderful - and very unusual for us!! We stayed in jammies, played with the girls, worked on projects, and stayed low key. Ahhh...

PreK Christmas Pageant

Lila attends preschool at a Lutheran church. They really do their Christmas Pageant right - they start the story in Genesis with original sin and the need for a savior. Then they talk about how long God's people waited for the Messiah, and end with the birth of Jesus. It's an adorable show, and guess what part Lila got to play..... the serpent.

I kid you not!! I asked the teacher if there was some typecasting going on, but she denied it. ;) Lila also got a New Testament role - the Innkeeper, "because she has a nice loud voice", according to her teacher. Super. Here are the pictures - so cute!






The video of her walking in is priceless!!

My Five Year Old

Lila turned five last week, and I still can't believe it! What was life like before her?! I have no idea - calm and uneventful, I'm guessing. She sure does keep us on our toes!

She is a wonderful preschooler who thinks she is ten, at least, just like her sister. She loves to play with Trudy, dance (to Radio Disney songs, of course!), and watch movies. Her "new" bear (to replace the completely disgusting and worn out one), Henry, is still her favorite toy. Lip gloss is her addiction - she spends hours transferring ALL of her lipglosses from special boxes to purses and back. Lila is also very good at puzzles and can recognize and write most of her letters - if she's in the mood. ;) She is full of happy mischief and makes us all laugh with her shenanigans. We love you so much, Lila!!

Her birthday was a whirlwind week of celebrating. Tell me why, again, I decided to have a baby the week before Christmas?! Oh yeah - I had very little to do with the timing. It's craziness! We started out with a family party on Monday, because that was literally the only day before Christmas that everyone was available. Lila requested pizza and red velvet cake, and I appreciated the simple menu. She got books, Disney princess Pollys, E.T. (a favorite), and a camera (number one thing she asked for), among other things.

Aunt Becca comes up big... costume for Kit!

How old are you, Lila?

Tuesday, we celebrated her birthday in her class, and I was the helper. We brought her absolute favorite, soft pretzels, for the snack. I also got to watch the reharsal for the Christmas play - hilarious!

Calendar time with Mrs. Olson

Wednesday, her real birthday, we did a bit of shopping and had lunch at Burger King. We had to rush up to church after dinner for the kids choir (both of our girls) to practice for Christmas Eve.

My beautiful 5 year old
"Thanks Tanta!"

Thursday was her kid party. We had four little girls over for a "Mermaid/Under the Sea Party". It was pretty low key, all that mattered to Lila was that there was a pinata. :)

Kit Kitteredge showed up in her mermaid costume

Get out of her way!

Lilly and Lila

So Busy

We are still here. It's just that life has been a bit busier than normal lately. Since my last post, we've had:

A birthday party for Emma - she invited four friends and we took them all to the movies to see Disney's A Christmas Carol in 3D. It was a good movie and a great time. We stopped for pizza on the way home, then had cookie cake and presents at home.

The Women's Christmas Banquet for church - I'm the coordinator of this two-night event for almost 500 women, and the business of it all was even crazier than normal this year! Phew! It was a beautiful night, but I'm so glad it's over!

The Living Nativity at a local church - a very cold, but very wonderful night. A local church does such a wonderful job of telling God's story. The girls love this highlight of the season, so even though Ryan couldn't attend (he was serving at our church), the girls and I went with friends.

A Gingerbread House night - at our house with good friends - but a very sticky floor! :)

Shopping
Crafting
Decorating
Cleaning
Wrapping
Shipping
Etc.
Focusing on the reason for it all

-Oh, and then our normal busy daily life. Lila's birthday is tomorrow, so I'll post about those events soon.

So Thankful!

Once again, I'm overwhelmed with all I have to be thankful for. God has blessed us beyond measure, and Thanksgiving is the perfect day to reflect on that. We had a relatively small (11 people), but bountiful dinner at our house yesterday. I had lots of help with people bringing things, so the head chef was able to relax and enjoy time with family. The girls had a splendid time with my cousins - what could be more fun for two little girls than two men in their late teens/early twenties?! We enjoyed the warm day out on the patio, watched a little football, ate way too much, and had fun chatting. A great time was had by all! We are so thankful!

Ryan carving and Sissy gravy-ing

Getting ready....

... to eat this yummy feast!

My momma and me

Mom (with kooky eyes) and her girls

Traditional After-Dinner Polar Express Party

The end of a great day!