Assembling the christmas present.... 

A Christmas picture of mom and dad... 

enjoying the playing together... 

Sisters cooking togehter... 

Chef Grace in her kitchen... 

Bailey opening presents.. 

Ryan opening a train set... 

Snuggling on Christmas eve.. 

Christmas morning 

Papa and Bailey making Santa's cookies. 

Decorating cookies together.... 

Concentrating.... 

Making Christmas pictures for Grandma and Papa. 

Angels and monsters together in one?

It's that time of the year when everything has a beautiful glow. The kids are happy, the lights are twinkling... even the dog seems to be anxious about Christmas! It's so much fun! Bailey and I have made about 100 cookies so far, and how much fun is that to bake with your daughter at Christmas?

Then there's the angels...or monsters depending on the moment we are talking about! It is so amazing to me as a mother, because one minute they are sitting side by side playing and talking and smiling to each other,Christmas music playing in the background, and the next, Grace is SCREAMING and CRYING and Ryan is running away fast! Today for example, Grace is yelling to Ryan, "stop rupting me while I am telling on you!, Okay, Mom, Ryan is being foo rude to me, and he shouldn't be rude to me 'cause I'm a grill!" (I try very hard to hold back my smile for fear that she will think her feelings aren't important to me. ) I turn to Ryan and say, very mother-like, "Now Ryan, why are you being rude to your sister?" He responds in mid-flight over the sofa, 'cause she always bees mean to me, and I am tired of her always going first!" Defusing the bomb, I reply, "Grace, you are right usually, the girls go first, but sometimes Ryan should go first,"and she looks right at me and says, "Then he need to bees a girl!" So much for our manners lesson 101 which has just backfired on me!

Bailey, as I write this entry is applying make-up remover because her and her friend Fiona, wanted to play make-up, and look like big girls, but oh my goodness! Should the make-up drip down one's face to be a grown up?

My husband, in the meantime, today, sent me an email for the first time in years! I was so excited thinking, how romantic, what a hunk! Only to break out in laughter over his two sentence email! He had to email me because he couldn't remember our phone number and he had forgotten his cell phone! Cracked me up! That auto dial can be a blessing or a curse. Once you use it all the time you don't remember anyone's actual phone number, even your own! What's also funny is how we, women, set ourselves up thinking all these thoughts, and men are so concrete, bless his heart, he just needed a phone number, while I needed a love letter! In his defense, he has been a real hunk lately! He took me out on a date earlier this week and treated me to dinner, which we choked down in the car, so we could get to the children's toy store downtown before it closed. Then we walked hand in hand through the downtown under the Christmas lights, and shopped for our children. He hugged and kissed me tons during our Christmas shopping date, and I did feel so special! He is so cute the way he has to play with all the toys, ya know, to make sure the kids will like them and everything...:) Right! I can't believe after all these years he still actually thinks I am cute enough to kiss in the street, wow, am I blessed!

A Christmas Parade with a Lawnmower?

Yesterday it snowed here! Whee!!!! We had such fun! Scott came up with this really neat idea to pull out the riding lawnmower and pull the kids, the dog and me in the wagon using the lawnmower! He drove us around the town like that. The kids were all bundled up in their snow suits and the only thing showing was their cute little pink cheeks and their red noses. They had so much fun! Grace kept clapping her mittened hands together and saying, "It's Christmas, momma, isn't it fun? It is soooo fun!" And just laughed and laughed. As we drove past houses, kids were running to their windows and watching us, it was like we were on parade! Truly! Then we pulled into a restaurant parking lot to turn around and there was this huge float all lit up with Santa, his sleigh, and his reindeer! It was so wonderful to watch the kids faces as they saw Santa!

When we were done with the "Parade," we came home and warmed up with some Hot Chocolate, jammies and a movie. We watched my favorite movie that started my love of horses called, "The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit." The kids loved it! We opened up the sleeper sofa and camped out to eat and watch movies, what fun!

I am so thankful to be on Christmas break. I love just being able to be home and be mom, and take care of my husband, children and home. It's nice to be relieved of school and grading and lesson plans! Praise God for the time to relax and catch up. We are so excited about Christ's Birthday! The kids are waiting on pins and needles. We have had several Christmas parties and programs, and plenty of opportunities to dress up and enjoy the cold and the festivities of the Holidays. Just like a little taste of heaven.... huh? Just think if we can have this much fun anticipating Christmas, how much more fun will it be to be in Jesus' presence all the time in Heaven?

An encouraging sister...

Ryan..."Hold on I need to put my guessing hat on."

mom..."Look at those birds, wow!" (Tons are flying over the pond.) Bailey responds very matter-of-factly, "Yeah, they must be hibernating." We look at each other and laugh as I correct her and say, "migrating."

Grace, "Mommy, make my hair big!" (Which means, put her hair into a ponytail.)

Driving home the other day from work, Gracie starts singing to us... She says, "Ring Ring Ring the bells, ring them loud and clear, tell the world everywhere, Jesus Christ is here," she is teaching her older brother whose class is also singing this same song for their Christmas program on Tuesday night. Ryan responds, "Hold on Grace, slow down I think I am getting it!" Grace continues to encourage, softly says, "Keep trying Ryan, you've almost got it." :)