Let it Snow~!~!

YAY...snow!! I can't remember the last time it snowed before Christmas! Danny spent the entire morning outside with the girls today. They made an igloo, a giant snowman, & a sledding ramp by our driveway. What a fun snow day!!

Breakfast with Santa!

Sadie had breakfast with Santa & Mrs Claus on Monday. She asked for sidewalk chalk, a wooden doll, and a Polly Factory (what that is I still don't know! I think Santa will have to get creative on that one!)

Sadie's Christmas Pageant

Sadie's school had a cute little Christmas Pageant last weekend. Her class dressed as Innkeepers and sang, "We've got no room left here."

We took the girls ice skating last weekend! It was Sadie & Anabelle's first time. Anabelle & Elise were off & skating around the circle within seconds! Sadie wasn't too happy at first, but once we got some buckets, she was all smiles. She really liked it when Danny & I would ride behind her and go really fast! After an hour or so, we took a break, but Elise wanted to go back on for a few more laps. So, I took her back out & wouldn't you know it...on her last lap, she fell in front of a man and his skate cut three of her fingers. We back tracked to the exit & I was SO worried she was going to need stitches! Thankfully, she was okay despite the fact that I had to perform first aid in the girl's bathroom without soap or paper towels!

Santa Visit!

Our neighborhood had a grand illumination night and Santa came to visit! The girls told them their lists, played with friends, and enjoyed making smores at the bonfire, and yummy hot cocoa.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...right?

We've been really busy doing all sorts of things preparing for Christmas. The decorating is done, the shopping is almost done, Santa pictures have been taken, and we've even done a little baking. Then I think about all that still needs to be taken care of...wrapping, wrapping, & more wrapping, more baking, Christmas cards, & preparing the menu for Christmas day. Some days when I'm running around with multiple lists, receipts pouring out of my purse, and feeling stressed because I only have 20 minutes until preschool pick up to run into one more store, I think..."Where is the joy in all this?" Then I have my moments where I'm I'm able to slow down, reflect, and enjoy. I'm always teaching the girls about the true meaning of Christmas. We sing songs, read scripture & devotions, & stories that remind us of our reason to celebrate, but as an adult, it's SO easy to get 'wrapped up' in the wrong things. Every year I tell myself, I'm going to get all of the not so fun stuff early this year so I can enjoy, but it never happens! I had some things done before Thanksgiving this year, but there was so much more to do. The funny thing is, as I write this I can hear Danny's voice in the back of my head..."You put a lot of stress on yourself." Yes, I do. I want to take the kids to the Nutcraker ballet, I want to have an ornament party, I want to make gingerbread houses, bake cookies, string popcorn, visit a live nativity, do the elf on the shelf, do our family advent calendar, plan fun crafts, watch Christmas movies as a family, etc, etc! I definitely enjoy those things, but in combination with normal everyday life and the added Christmas stresses, my head is sometimes left spinning. At church a few weeks ago, someone sang the song, " I Need a Silent Night." I think that was sung for me.

I Need A Silent Night
By Amy Grant
I've made the same mistake before
Too many malls, too many stores
December traffic, Christmas rushIt breaks me till I push and shove
Children are crying while mothers are trying
To photograph Santa and sleigh
The shopping and buying and standing forever in line
What can I say?
I need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent night
December comes then disappears
Faster and faster every year
Did my own mother keep this pace
Or was the world a different place?
Where people stayed home wishing for snow
Watching three channels on their TV
Look at us now rushing around
Trying to buy Christmas peace
I need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent night
What was it like back there in Bethlehem
With peace on earth, good will toward men?
Every shepherd's out in the field
Keeping watch over their clock by night
And the glory of the Lord shone around them
And they were so afraidAnd the angels said fear not for behold
I bring you good news of a great joy that shall be for all people
For unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord
And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace
I need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent night
To end this crazy day with a silent night

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Northern VA! We were able to enjoy brunch at my mom's house, dinner at my dad's, and dessert with the Dow's. We had full tummies all day! We have so much to be thankful for!

When we got back from our trip, we decided to decorate for Christmas. As usual, I took care of the inside, but this year, Danny decided to take care of the outside! I wasn't sure what he was up to, but after seeing him crawl in & out of the upstairs' windows and watching him take three trips in one day to Lowes, I knew it was going to be something big! By nightfall, I wanted to call him Clark (Grizwold that is). The end result was beautiful!

Anabelle's Crazy 8 Party~!~!~!

Anabelle had a Crazy 8 sleepover for her birthday and it was a lot of fun! I decorated with some crazy 8 cards on the table, lots of crepe paper & balloons, and simply blew up 8s in different fonts and posted them around the room. When the guests arrived in their wackiest attire, we had "It's Your Birthday" by the Beatles playing in the background. The girls were really creative with their outfits!!! Anabelle was so excited about this part! First we ate pizza and then we began the games. We started out with a balloon game called Dough Girl. The girls were split into two teams and they had a bag full of little balloons and one volunteer from each team to be the "Dough Girl" and she wore an oversized tshirt. In thirty seconds, they had to see how many balloons they could stuff into the shirt. They LOVED this game! It was hilarious to see how the girls looked with all of the balloons! Anabelle said, "Mom, we should have called it football girl!"

The next game was Cookie on a String. We simply tied a cookie on a string to a broom stick, blindfolded the girls, had them put their hands behind their back and asked them to eat the cookie as fast as they could. This one got a lot of laughs, too!

For doing such a good job, I gave them all stick on moustaches. Here's a photo of us looking very serious & getting ready to play Blindfolded Chef. In this game, the kids were blindfolded, a chef hat put on their head, and then they were given a big bowl of marshmallows & a spoon. They were asked to fill the other bowl with as many marshmallows as they could in 30 seconds. Let me tell you...the marshmallows were FLYING!!!

After picking up hundreds of marshmallows, it was time to do a calm activity. I gave them each a piece of paper that was folded into four parts. First they were asked to draw a head. When they were finished, we flipped the paper to the second part & passed it to the next person. Then they drew the stomach & arms. Then we passed again & the next person drew the legs and then the feet. When we were finished, there was a silly drawing of a person! They really enjoyed this, too!

Next, it was time to decorate their cupcakes...crazy of course. The had lots of different icing and sprinkles! When they were finished, we sang happy birthday and ate!!

Our last activity, was punch balloons. Instead of giving the birthday girl 8 spankings, they had to give her 8 punches with their punch balloons. Here's Anabelle under the big heap of balloons! When they were finished playing with the balloons, the girls got their jammies on & headed upstairs to get ready for a movie. The movie didn't end until 11:00, so when it was over, it was definitely time to get them to sleep. After an hour of giggles, sleeping bag rearranging, and lots of bathroom trips, they finally fell asleep. I know I had fun and I think the girls did, too. Happy Birthday to my sweet crazy 8!! We love you Anabelle!!!

~Anabelle's New 8 Year Old Room!!~

Anabelle has been asking for a new room for a while, so I suggested we redo as her birthday present! She's been watching Trading Spaces for Boys & Girls lately, so she really liked the idea of a big reveal on her birthday. I did have to remind her that her room probably wasn't going to be like the ones on the show...you know...ice skaing rinks, revolving doors, climbing walls, etc!

I moved her out of her room for a week and a half & asked her to sleep in the guest room. I decided to leave the walls light pink to save time & money and I started by painting big graphic hot pink flowers to spice it up a bit. I was doing this on a budget, so I had to be frugal. I also got her new curtains, new bedding, a fuzzy rug, and gave new life to a few things I found at Goodwill. Reuse...right!!! I also made some hanging paper bag flowers that I found on Martha Stewart's website. They turned out pretty cute & added a lot of color to the room. I also got rid of the little girl daybed & replaced it with a new headboard I found at The Market Place for $25. I spray painted it white and also painted some pink polka dots. Lastly, I recovered her chair in a polka dot fabric that matched the colors in the room & used the same fabric on her bulletin board.

She woke up early on her birthday and wanted to see the room right away! She was very excited when she saw it and kept saying, "It's pretty!!"

Anabelle won 2nd place for her photography!

Anabelle came home a few weeks after school had started and said she wanted to participate in the Reflections contest at school. Reflections encourages children to use different art forms to express themselves. Each year they choose a theme and the children can choose to express it through visual arts, photography, or music. Honestly, I wasn't thrilled with the idea because we had SO much going on, but how could I say no? She had made up her mind that she wanted to enter in the photography portion because she thought it was the easiest. She quickly learned that it wasn't just as simple as taking a photo. She also had to think of a title and describe how her photo showed beauty. This required some thinking!!

One nice afternoon, we went outside and I told her to take some pictures of things she found beautiful in our backyard. I told her that beauty is all around her. You don't have to drive far to find it :0). She took some great shots of flowers around our house & the lake. She also took one of a knot in a tree that was in the shape of a heart. I showed her how she can move her body & the camera in different ways to look at one object from different perspectives. After many photos, we went inside and looked at them on the computer. She narrowed her favorites down to three:

After really thinking about it, she chose the red rose (which was my favorite as well). A few days later, she had to come up with a title and a reason why it showed beauty. This was the hard part!!! She ultimately decided on the title being, 'Rose of September' and she said it showed beauty because "The color just popped out and I couldn't take my eyes off of it."

Last weekend we got a call that she won 2nd place! We went to the awards ceremony last night and we were all very proud of her. After they called her name she said, "I had butterflies in my stomach!"

Here's the video:

Here's Anabelle with her photo and her proud Dad.

Sadie Turns 4!!!

This Sunday we had a Fancy Nancy Tea Soiree for Sadie and a few of her friends. We kept it small this year and it worked out perfectly. For some reason, I still stress over the details, but it was all worth it. We started out by having them decorate paper purses, then after painting their nails, I read them the Fancy Nancy story, and we played a Fancy or Not Fancy game using items around the house. Then I had drawn a picture of Fancy Nancy on posterboard & had them try to pin a cupcake on the tray she was holding. Lastly, we gathered in a circle and played 'Pass the Purse' which had bracelets inside & when the music stopped, whoever had it, got to take a bracelet. Once the games were over, we began our tea soiree! The food consisted of dipped pretzels, little sandwiches, fruit kabobs, and of course, cake! I served them birthday tea and they all remembered to point their pinkies up! I had boas & sunglasses waiting for them at the table, so they looked quite fancy! After our tea party, we danced to the Fancy Pokey and opened presents. By the look on Sadie's face, I'd say she had a great time! Happy Birthday Sweetie!!

Happy Halloween!

Here are my little trick or treaters! Nanna was kind enough to make the girls' costumes again this year. Sadie was Glenda, Elise was a fairy, and Anabelle called herself 'Spider Girl'. We had a great Halloween with friends and the girls came home with a giant bag full of candy. I met someone recently who told me about the candy fairy and how she comes around to collect candy & will give children a book in return. Mmmmm...I like that idea! Of course, I'd have to get their permission first!

Danny & I actually dressed up this year, too! We decided to go as Deadheads which really wasn't that hard to do. I went into the attic to find some old clothes, slipped on my very old Birkenstocks, and Danny bought a dreadlock wig...then VOILA! All we needed was some music and my old bongos :0)!