A year curlier

I guess this is the last picture I will take in 2009. And a good one it is. L's curls are now long enough for pig tails. She isn't crazy about them, but I am, they make me giggle. Maybe she will be a good girl and let me enjoy the look of her with them every now and again. To think about it, last year at this time I think she just had fuzz. My, what a year can do. We have done much more than grow some curls this year and I can't even begin to imagine what the next year will bring. We shall soon see...

Construction zone

We have spent the last 2 days at home in lego land. I really just got Ek and L some so they would have some to play with while H played with his. Silly me. Ek did nothing several days ago except build her house. She was so focused and determined to get it done and I think she really liked it. L about pitched a fit to join in and I was so glad she had her set that was so quick to get together. H was very pleased with his as well and I had a great time building it all with his assistance. Once completed, the have continued to play and play with it. Ek's family visited L's house and H's farm today. I am always grateful when they are all happy and playing together.

A dog-gone good weekend

We were very excited to arrive to meet W's new best friend.

The kids were a bit anxious, every time we spoke of Coco, L would say, "I wan pops hold me." Thankfully she was kept to the kitchen and yard so the kids were happy inside. We had some wonderful play high lights including baseball on a real field and in the yard,

a hike in the neighborhood and at a state park,

and some wii flying sword fights and ping pong. The guys also took the kids to the movie. We loved going to their church, we had an encouraging message to get to know more of God this coming year- I always love a good pep talk. J and I also enjoyed running in the dark cold fog while almost being eaten by a huge dog and taking a wrong turn on our way home. good times. But really

New ride

After we celebrated a bit, we loaded up our new gift and headed north. It took the kids a few days to settle into having their own space. But it is amazing how much of a difference a few feet of space has made in our lives! We really enjoyed riding along together. We had some great conversation and even had fun playing in our own seats. I am so grateful.

Celebrating

We really wanted Jesus to know we were celebrating him. With these young people we wanted it to be a lot of outward celebration and looking forward to the inward celebration. We wrapped Jesus up under the tree to add to our calendar, we packed wise men traveling bags, we let balloons go, we made a cake and prayed "Happy Birthday" in song. Ek had a bit of a hard time giving her balloon away, which was so strange, but we will keep praying and talking and encouraging our sweet kids.

the morning

Christmas morning was quite fun. Ek opened a few outfits and a new bag for her dolls, a lego dollhouse set and a plasma car. H opened a guitar, a few boxes of legos and a new bike. L opened a new doll dress, a duplo house set and a ladybug scooter. The big hit was a cash register that mom and dad gave. J was happy about his new run shirt and his journal and my new ipod was pulled into sync before the wrapping paper was thrown away. I was quite tickled 2 days before Christmas the kids said to me within 2 minutes: Ek-- mom, I need a scooter that I can sit on and do my feet, H-- mom, my chain keeps popping off my bike, I can't ride it, L-- mom, where is my bike? Hopefully these new toys will be a blessing to all.

Beautiful night

There is something very sweet about Christmas Eve night, even if you aren't waiting for Santa. I remember growing up, that was the only night mom would leave the tree lights on all night, so of course I did too. Unfortunately no one other than me saw the glorious sight of a lit tree in the dark house. It was so beautiful. I thought so much this year about waiting. What a wonderful thing to practice. So much of me wanted to open those gifts and start loving them. The other part of me wanted to love the waiting. Waiting for a new ipod does not even begin to compare awaiting to hear from God. Waiting to see his plan unfold. There was no lit tree to gaze at and know the next morning Jesus would be born, but that sky must have had some show for the wise men to pack their camels. And I cannot begin to fathom what the sight was like for those shepherds when the angels woke them up. So many sights and sounds surrounding Jesus' appearance. I have to wonder too how the angels felt about their beloved Jesus coming to earth. As the warriors and protectors I wonder if they were pushing up their sleeves getting ready to help him along. I wonder what his knees looked like as a toddler. Did Jesus keep a skinned nose like Henry did for a while when he was one? Although tired and late and a bit overwhelmed, I did really enjoy gazing and thinking as I was getting ready for Christmas morning. But again could not of compared what was happening the first Christmas Eve.

C Eve

The kids were so excited to remember that presents begins Christmas Eve. Grandma, Pappa, Dave and Smokey are so so generous to give toys and clothes and flashlights and so many things to the kids. We usually all change clothes to go to the family gathering and usually have a hard time deciding what to wear. L quickly told us that she did not choose an adorable pink skirt/pants combo. She wanted Grandma to take it back. She is going to be a funny one to watch grow up! Ek was so excited to have Ruthie in her arms and I quickly built H a new lego tractor. I can't wait to see L take off on her new pink trike.

It is always nice on Christmas Eve to see John's family. We had a great bbq dinner and lots of great people to enjoy while we ate. It took a minute for the kids to warm up since they could hear the barking dogs who were kenneled in the bedroom but they had fun playing with their second cousins. Ek played with her new Ruthie with Grace and Shayla, she shared her Kit with Shayla and Grace brought Julie. H stuck close but enjoyed Grant mostly. L and Sophie seem to be cut from similar molds, they were both full of life and spunk. We were also very glad no one was sick. Did I mention how grateful we were to drive down there in our new car. Look for a pic very soon!

Break so far

We have had so much fun since being home for Christmas!! Monday we went to visit Ronda and see her adorable white fluffy puppy. She sent us home with frames to make "gingerbread house" or graham cracker houses that are covering milk cartons. They had a ball. I only bought gumdrops, I think gumdrops make gingerbread houses. The rest of the candy we used was all the candy they came home with in their Christmas treat bags. Note-- great way to use up candy. They enjoyed eating candy along the way but I did keep telling them to stop!! or you will get a tummy ache. I was so tickled to have them in the kitchen while I was getting food ready for our annual friend party.

The friend party was Monday night. We had so much fun. The kids played and played and we ate and ate. What a blessing to have such wonderful friends. The women had fun, the men had fun and the kids had fun. All in all-- good!

Other things the kids have been up too...

the Little people have been out again! Gracious my kids love those houses, animals and people. They have mostly been playing 'neighbors.' Wonder where they got that idea? They get together and play and have dinner. There also has been a lots of fence building and animal containing. Love it!

Ok the other day, I was in the kitchen cleaning (surprise surprise) and the kids were coloring (another shocker), L climbs onto the counter (again, ordinary day), she climbs over to the fish bowl and throws in a few crayons. Then she said "go get it Emma!" hahahahaha L was trying to teach her fish to fetch. hilarious.

The kids have also been building forts, playing pretend family and today they played veterinarian with the Littlest pets. I am so happy that they have been enjoying each other so much. We are having a great time.

Sing everyone!

Sunday night we were delighted to have Ek and H on the same stage singing about the birth of our Savior. Rehersals had not gone quite as well as we would have liked. H wasn't always cooperative and Ek was usually dancing. But they had learned the songs so well and loved singing them. Ek was so excited to get up there and sing. H was a bit more anxious, but I finally convinced him that I would stand next to him, behind the curtain, and he was ready. They sang great. I really love when they can learn through music. One song was about how the best thing about Christmas was that the whole world is singing the same song at the same time. On our way home Ek was talking about that very thing, that her favorite thing about Christmas is that some people even about Jesus that don't even know him. very true. It is a wonderful time of year. And it was wonderful to see my sweet kids singing together.

C parties

We ended our last day of school before Christmas with Christmas parties. I began with H's party. We finally delivered our star crayons that had turned my kitchen into a crayon factory for several days.

H was pretty cozy to me, in other words, wouldn't let me leave his side. When I got there he showed me which chair to bring over to sit next him at his little table. He wouldn't even let me help fix plates. So I sat and learned more about his little friends, the 2 little girls that sit at his table want to be a cowgirl and a super hero when they grow up. His a bit more practical, he still wants to be a dentist and live in Dublin. No objections here. I had a wonderful time with H. Then we were off to Ek's class.

I was a bit sad that they do not have a teacher that was at the party since was had a sub for the last 12 weeks. sigh. But so so grateful that their are amazing mothers in her class that love our kids and gave them a great morning. I love this picture of Ek, she seems so comforable around her sweet friends at school. It was so nice to party with the kids and so nice to get them home.

Nut at the Fox

I had the amazing blessing of accompanying my dearest mom and adorable daughter to Atlanta to go see the Atlanta Ballets performance of the Nutcracker at the Fox. Oh. my. It was, in a word, wonderful. Simply wonderful. We had a delightful brunch across the street from the Fox. directly across the street. Ek fancied the steak with her eggs and Shirley Temple, whereas I was a big fan of my cranberry scone. Mom enjoyed her fruit. Dad enjoyed the coffee.

The girls were about to jump out of their seats and leave us for the Fox they were so excited. The Fox is so amazing and so beautiful. Stunning, really. I was a bit gawky at all I could see. I hadn't been since mom took me to see Cats when I was in middle school.

Ek was so excited about the performance and was tickled to sit on a booster to see better. She peaked all around in binoculars while she nibbled on her popcorn and waited for it to begin. I love that she knows it so well she knew what was coming and even noticed the differences between ours and theirs. No cherubs. No sugar plums. She also made me giggle during the battle scene. First of all, she thought their rats were too skinny. ;) She began squirming a bit and said, 'this is getting a big scary.' I reminded her that she knew how it would end up, that Clara would be fine and she would get that ole rat king. And get him she did! The whole performance was so beautiful. I personally loved the doll and the dew drop. Just fabulous. Can't wait to go again. I told J it was like our team won and no one dropped the ball. Wonderful. And super fun to go with our dear dear C and C. Here are C and Ek with their soldier cheeks.

Almost- go!

Christmas break starts tomorrow. I can't wait. To clarify- break for the kids. wink wink. But I am so excited to get them home. Today I got tidied up and ready. I walked in with the kids this afternoon and the house was warm and the lights on the tree were twinkling and I thought Lord, help this be our break- warm, cozy, and happy. It is my prayer that the kids go back to school knowing more of God's love and mine. Remember several weeks ago when they were all dressed up in their hats and gloves and I wasn't quite sure what they were ready for- well I hope its this, ready to come home and snuggle up and have some fun. Ready, set, ...

Delightful morning

At first realization, I was a bit nervous that H and L had their Christmas music programs on the same morning one hour a part. Turns out, it was delightful. Both of their programs were great. H was up first and he was a 'cute,' I'm sorry 'awesome' shepherd. He clarified that last year, he was cute, this year he was awesome. And last year his program may have been cute, but his year is was "cool." Good to know, good to know. This year the program was focused on believing the angels to 'not be scared.' It encouraged the children to trust God and not fear. The kids seemed so engaged in the program and really seemed to enjoy it. H sang with great enthusiasm and was such a joy to watch. We were also quite pleased that Ek was able to come, along with the rest of the elementary school.

Then Grady, Emma Jean and I dashed off to L's school because there was no chance I was missing a moment of seeing this...

L was not a huge participant. She did try to sing along a bit at times but the absolute highlight was when she laid her head on her hands at the appropriate time during "Away in a Manger." priceless. She did stand nicely and not cry. Oh and look adorable.

My beautiful tree

I did not share all the amazing love in generous kindness mom and dad showed me this weekend. Saturday morning Ek was not up for a birthday party. J was not up for going out and cutting down a Christmas tree. So mom and dad took Ek to pick out a Christmas tree while we were at the birthday party. I hope she remembers it forever-- "The year she got to pick out the Christmas tree with Pops and Mopsey." They not only got it for us, they strung lights and decorated it. I felt like I had been visited by Christmas elves. And I don't even celebrate such things. I do love my tree. It is festive. It is full of memories. It is sparkly. It is very happy. It also makes me think of my little elves every time I look at it. I'm so grateful for my mom and dad.

Hazy

The world is all still a bit hazy from the Nutcracker overload this weekend. But still in a really wonderful dreamy way. I have the opening song from the snow scene in my head and I actually like it there. I would love if I could float around the stage like all those sweet angels. Maybe tomorrow I'll be a bit more in touch with reality. Ek said today that she would love to dance the Nutcracker everyday for the rest of her life and when she is in Heaven. I know we will dance with the angels there. I wonder how floaty it will be.

Wonderful

There are really just a hundred wonderful moments from this weekend- I only know that I should start typing. So here I go...

I love that Ek loves being a part of the Nutcracker so much. When we pulled away from the cast party today she said that she just wished she was leaving the first practice and not the last. Sweet girl. I love when my kids find something they love. She may not love it in 3 years, but she loves it now, so I do too. It was wonderful to see how happy she was especially after she performed. i didn't think she would ever quiet down and get some rest last night. She asked so often to go early and stay late. They must be doing some good things around that theater! I love how she smiled on stage, so joyfully! She performed with such purpose and such determination and such calm. I pray the Lord will use that in her life all of her life. She and the girls were such a hoot to watch backstage. They would play their video games, watch videos, color and put on lip gloss until we would call them to get dressed and they would pop out of their seats and run to put their costumes on! They would all ask at least once if it was time to get dressed into the costumes before it was time. Ek was no exception, she loved wearing her costumes. She was an absolute joy to watch.

It rained again. Rain does not make the weekend easy. The tents were in place to cover the walkway from our dressing room to the theater but rain sneaks in. I walked over to our door yesterday and mud was covering the floor. I called Dad and J to come to my rescue with a mop. I jokingly said that they would probably mop all afternoon if they thought they needed to. They did. They were not ever asked, but they stayed the entire performance, moping and carrying girls to and from stage. Amazing. Mom came with Dad to the night performance so J could stay home with the kids. I am so overwhelmed by that display of love. When we were sitting down last night after we all took some Tylenol, we could see that Dad had a few sprinkles glimmering off his jacket. He said he was proud of his sparkles, I know he was. Then he took Ek is his arms and told her he loved her much more than a little bit. I know he knows that is true.

We all had a ball seeing Ek perform. J, H and I came Friday night. J's family came Saturday. J looked at me Sat morning and told me he really wanted to come again to see it. H was begging to see it again. So Sunday, mom, dad, J, H, L and I went to the show.

Sweet little L fell asleep during party scene and woke up 15 minutes before finale. I tried to show her Ek during the battle scene, but she was too far gone. I hope I never forget what she looked like lying in my lap in her beautiful soft red dress with her black shiny shoes, curly hair and sweet lips, lying with her little head on puppy on my shoulder. sigh. One of those sweetest things ever. H had so much fun watching. He was a bit over it by the time the professionals came out, but everything else, he loved! He was so proud to not be afraid of the Rat King, and wanted to keep up with who she was the rest of the show. I loved during Friday nights show he was concerned that Clara had lost her shoe. And I love that he hummed along to the music at times. He sat so still, stayed so engaged and asked the cutest questions. J even watched with a grin on his face. Today I brought Ek out before she got dressed so she could see where we were sitting. When she was playing her horn, she looked down the row and saw every one of us. That is the advantage of sitting on the 3rd row!

It was just a fabulous, sparkly, joyful weekend.

Ready

Well after months of joyful practice, the weekend has arrived! Ek had her first dress rehearsal tonight (but I still think it is more for us mommas who will be dressing them). We have one more night of rehearsal before the curtain opens on Friday. We are all very excited. Ek said she had great fun tonight and is very excited about the weekend. I sure am!!

Kicks

From the time H could appreciate shoes, he has called his running shoes his "fast shoes." It probably began with me wanting him to be motivated to put them on-- fast. I got him a fun pair when school began and he wears them everyday. So well in fact, that he has worn holes in the toes. Good work H! I like well worn shoes. We were riding on the bus last week on our way back to school after a field trip and I pointed out that our seat mate had Nike's on too. She said, "Yes, but H's are very old." Well, not especially true, but well loved. H got a new pair of fast shoes this weekend from his generous Grandma. He was so excited. He just knew he would be much faster in his new ones-- probably the fastest on the playground. He said this like 5 times before he went to school Monday. He was disappointed to learn that was not quite true. I told him it was the muscles in his strong legs that made him fast and the more he ran the faster he would be. He didn't look like he fully believed me, but oh well. I love that he loves to run. And I hope he has many fast runs in his new kicks. And I guess this is true for many things in life, we want to just get something new to be better, but really we need to exercise what we've got- read our Bibles, pray, trust, hope, expect, love.

Double shift

H now has 2 building projects each day. Now he builds a nativity scene each day in addition to his every day fort. This one was before school. He worked on it for about 30 minutes. It included a fence in front of the manger and a covered barn for the animals behind, which cannot be seen in the pictures. He doesn't just build, he plays all along the way. The shepherds helped herd the sheep in one at a time and the wise men rode donkeys all over the kitchen on their way to see Jesus, the played a bit along the way as well, I was told. At one point the donkey fell and the wise man was on top of my bike all alone (see picture) and the wise man said in a real high voice, "oh no! my donkey!" The building is more fun than the preserving, thankfully, when he is done, he announces that L can come destroy it. And she does.

The afternoon fort today consisted of the striped chair in the living room with the little stool next to it and pillows extending the fence to the wall under the window. He had an empty laundry basket from chair to stool to protect him from the elements, I guess. The other side of the side table was blocked with the red stools from the counter so the puppy could not escape that way. Unfortunately the puppy (H) escaped many times and L was quite afraid although her mother (Ek) and I (I'm not sure who I was) reassured her that he was a kind dog and occasionally H would cease barking to interject that he was kind. I told him to please stop being a dog so L could be at peace in her own home, so he turned into a kitty cat, which was a bit better.

Ready for Something

H keeps asking about snow. He wants to know when its coming and if it snows in Dublin. He also thinks there is a connection between Christmas and snow, like it will snow on Christmas. I remember thinking that thought as a child too. They obviously found the winter accessory box the other day and had a ball finding everything they needed to (pause) (thinking) play inside. Yeah. Not much cold around here right now. which is fine. But when it comes, they have practiced getting ready and will be ready.

Notes

Several days ago, on our way home, 2 cats passed in front of our car, they passed to L's side so I let her watch them for a minute. She said she would tell Daddy when he got home and honestly I didn't put much thought into it. But the second he came 6 hours later, she gave him a hug and said, "Daddy we saw 2 kitty cats cross the road!" Wow that she can hold a thought like that for that long. J kinda looked at me like "what?" He was so pleased that she had thought of him.

Ek has been so sweet with L lately. She is quite the big sister. Friday J took H to school, Ek was staying home with fever. L fell apart. I rocked her for a few minutes and she was calming down when Ek offered to read her a book. So they cured up on the couch and Ek read her all the books that L wanted. how sweet.

Ek is also leaning the art of distraction. While sick and lounging on our bed, L came to see what was going on. Because she was not sick, she had a bit too much energy for Ek. Ek said "L, will you show me your forward roll on the floor?," in her sweetest, most encouraging little voice. Good one Ek. I don't think it worked, but I appreciate her kind attempt to get her off the bed.

H is doing so much better at choir. He doesn't love going but he loves singing and I just have really encouraged him to share something that he is so great at! He has been almost leaning on me while he sings, but tonight I was able to sit in a chair and watch him sing. It was so fun. He is adorable when he sings. I hope he will sing in front of the crowd for the performance (insert fingers crossed).

Our weekend Nutcracker rehearsals are over. I confess I am sad. I just love it. I am so excited about this week and cannot wait for Friday night!!!! And I promise you, I am not a stage mom, Ek is equally excited.

Parties

J and I did some good partying this weekend. We had his office party Friday night and our church leadership Saturday night. We had wonderful food and wonderful fellowship. Friday night we did the same gift exchange that we do every year and every year it proves to be so much fun. We laughed and laughed. I had a bit of trouble wrapping my singing penguin for the exchange. My first attempt had to be immediately unwrapped. My second attempt had the help of H's boot box and it had the shape of a house. So I completely got carried away and used all colors of ribbons to turn it into a house including a chimney with a silver ribbon to be smoke. Really, K? Really. And it was the fourth present choose out of 29 with my other present being the second. silly me. I am so grateful that J has a amazing group of people to work with that genuinely seem to enjoy being together and I know their patients receive that kindness and joy that they share. Saturday night while all the championship football games were going on, we enjoyed time with dear friends from church. It was really nice to have some time out with J.

Christmas pondering

Today we were listening to Third Day's Christmas CD in the car. There was a line in a song about Jesus crying for the world. I have often wondered over the last 6 years what it must have been like for Mary to raise a child that was without sin. I wonder what his cries sounded like and what he cried about. When I heard that line today it really struck me. s Jesus cry for the world? Did the part of him that was fully God ache to live as a baby in our fallen world? Did he feel the helplessness and depravity of man? I know my soul aches eternal glory. My soul aches for crying to be done. I treasure the verse in Revelation that our tears will be wiped away. Jesus was temped in every way, yet was without sin. He has passed through the heavens and is our great High Priest who sympathizes with our every moment, he's been here. as a baby. Can you imagine going from Creator to helpless? dependent? I sure can't. What did his cry sound like?

Also today, my Christmas present came. It was delivered in little box this morning. It was not identifiable so I had to open it and see what it was (that is my story and I'm sticking to it!). Once I saw what it was, ohhhh I want it. But its not time. Israel waited 400 years in silence after the last prophet waking for the arrival of their Messiah. It does not compare to waiting for a Christmas gift. But a lesson and reminder in waiting is good for me, for all of us. I also can't wait to give. I begged J last night to let me give him his gift. Nope, he wants to wait. Can you imagine what heaven felt as it waited for the birth of Jesus, it must have been humming. The angels were so excited that night that nothing could hold them in. What must those shepherds have thought. One day we will know more. There has got to be big screens in Heaven with replays. Those reruns will not be filler for a new season I'm sure.

Talent

Tonight L was practicing her newest trick- her forward roll- in the living room when Mopsey called to check on the kids (Ek is coughing her head off). L wanted to talk to Mopsey and the first thing she said was "Watch this Mopsey" while she held the phone on her ear with her shoulder and did a forward roll. Then she said "I roll." Now that is talent. I look forward to cell phones having live picture.

Long ago

We just began out advent calendar for the 6th straight year. This may be one of a few times we actually began on December 1st ;) but we have gotten to it within the first week... or so. Anyway, we got it on the right day this year. It is quite fun to hear those words again "Long ago in a little town named Bethlehem..." I am hopeful Ek and H will have a good bit memorized this year, but more importantly hope that they learn well what all the celebration is about. It is really quite astounding that our Messiah was born a baby. Here is a picture with our baby 6 years ago in front of our advent calendar the first year we used it a long time ago in a little town named Temple (and I do not forget who took this picture).