NYC bound

On Friday we're beginning our adventure into NYC for New Years Eve. Earlier this week the trip became a reality for Danny & I when Christmas was over and we had to start making plans for getting up there. At one point, we both agreed that this was crazy and maybe we shouldn't have planned it. Some of you may not know this, but I have a little bit of city phobia. Great...right? There is absolutely no way I could ever drive up there. I would totally freak out. Danny offered to drive, but after lots of thought, we decided to take a bus from Philly. We can visit my brother & his family, spend the night, get up early, and head into town. Plus, it's cheap and takes us two blocks from our hotel!

This New Year's Eve will definitely be different from years past! Phobia or not...New York & Phish...here we come! (oh and yes...that is a giant flying hotdog with the band members in it from last year's show)

Calvin's First Christmas

The girls are wondering if Santa will bring Calvin presents this year. He sure is a good boy when it comes to wearing a Santa hat or reindeer antlers. He also doesn't mind when we prance him around the neighbors in this attire while everyone giggles and calls him Max. Maybe Santa will bring him something!

Core Value Kid

I completely forgot to post Sadie receiving her Core Value Award at school. They choose one student per class for each month. The woman reading the teacher's comments about Sadie is the school's new principal Mrs Cooper.
We are so proud of you, Sadie!

I like this~

Our preschool is doing a Random Acts of Kindness bulletin board for January and is encouraging everyone to do just one nice thing for someone else each day. That's easy enough...right?

Victorian Christmas at Maymont

Anabelle's girl scout troop took at trip to Christmas at Maymont today and I took all of the girls along. It was such a great time! We took a carriage ride and a tour through the Dooley mansion. The inside was decorated for Christmas and was absolutely amazing! My friend gave me a Victorian book a few years ago and I love flipping through to see what neat activities & decorations they did for each holiday. Seeing the inside of the house they way it was in 1890 was just fascinating. I keep thinking about this Tiffany stained glass window that had the sun shining through in the stairway that had every color in the rainbow. I desperately wanted to snap pictures, but it wasn't allowed. I was a little unsure about the tour holding the girls' interest, but they were all enthralled. On the grounds outside, they had people dressed in period clothing, horse drawn carriages, Christmas music, and beautiful greens with big red bows. As the ladies and gentlemen told us today..."Happy Christmas!"

Sadie Loses Her First Tooth

I completely forgot to post this...it's from a month ago, but I got Sadie pulling out her first tooth. She was VERY excited! I just love the look on her face~

What am I thankful for?

I'm feeling very thankful today~ The breeze is blowing over the pond in my backyard and through the open windows into my well stocked kitchen while I cook yummy food that we can afford. My loving husband is healthy and hard at work at a good job that can support our family. My smart, beautiful, and also healthy children are playing with their friends in their rooms that are filled with toys and treasures. Tomorrow we will drive our reliable car to see family members that are excited to see us and love us for who we are. I have an email box full of messages from friends and a December calendar full of activities. We have doctors to see if we are sick, money to fix something if it breaks, and a church community, school community, and neighborhood community that would help us if we needed it. We are amazingly blessed in so many ways that it's a bit overwhelming to compile a list. I know that all of these things are blessings from our Heavenly Father who loves us and will never leave us. I have to admit though that underneath my grateful heart, there sometimes lies anger and bitterness for things that are challenging, painful, or at times just overwhelming. We all have that...don't we? Sometimes it's easy to forget all that we have and complain. In these moments, I take comfort in knowing that, "...in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 and that we must give thanks in all circumstances whether it be good or seemingly bad. "Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Thessalonians 5:18.

I hope you & yours have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!