My Little Stars

My little stars, quite literally, Londyn anyway. Tuesday afternoon despite the icy conditions, the girls had their school play. It was quite short, but there's just something about watching your kids perform, however small the part, that just warms your heart. I get teary eyed at nearly any perfomance involving kids, even if they aren't my own. It's sort of pathetic really. It's just one of those things that makes me genuinely happy. Londyn was a star and sang some carols. (She hates the star head thing, it is apparently pretty uncomfortable, but isn't she an adorable little star?)

Skylar played the part of Mary in the actual play. She took her role very seriously. She always wanted to make sure she was at practice and she talked about it frequently. It's funny to me that she likes being on stage because she is extremely shy, but she LOVES it. The interesting thing is that she was very concerned about practice and getting it all right, but she didn't even have any lines, she just had to know where and when to go on the stage. She made a wonderful Mary if I may say so. She was very proud of herself and very anxious for us to see her perform.

And, of course, the mommy and girls pic after the performance. Londyn is obviously a little distracted by something.

What Did We Do Before the Internet?

Ok, so Kevin decided to "upgrade" our phone, tv and computer services for a better deal which resulted in no internet for three days, and still no phone service. Great upgrade! Anyway, this really shouldn't be that big of a deal, but I was home all day due to ice and couldn't do anything on the computer. I was beside myself. It's ridiculous that I was in such a tizzy, but I just couldn't stand it. I needed to blog about the play the girls were in, compulsively check facebook, and my email. Not that there is ever anything life altering on there, but you know what I mean, you know you do it too:) But, thankfully the internet is currently working. No wireless, but at least I can connect. Therefore, I will now blog about the play......

Kids Say.......

Yes, this is my fourth post today. How pathetic. I can stay up late tonight because I'm off AGAIN tomorrow! What else is there to do? Perhaps I should prepare for bunco that I'm hosting at my house tomorrow night. No, blogging is a much better option, right? Anyway, I just wanted to post a few things that Skylar has said and done lately that have cracked me up, and I didn't want to forget them.

"When I sing it's like a piano in my mouth."- I gathered by a few questions that this means she thinks she can sing well, hmmm. I hope that works out for her.

The other night she was adamant about quitting dance. She didn't want to have anything to do with it. I was ready to pull her out to avoid the recital fees and several months tuition if she really didn't want to do it. After several attempts at discovering the reason, I found that she wanted to quit because she is not allowed to wear panties in the recital in MAY! This has apparently been bothering her for like 2 years, and I guess she just couldn't take it anymore. I assured her if that was the real problem that she could wear panties to the next recital. Problem solved. Now, she loves it and wants to be in the Nutcracker. Go figure.

She currently refuses to take her backpack to school because it is a small backpack, and she doesn't like me to fold the papers to make them fit. No papers are allowed to be folded. Mind you, we're talking about a daily sheet that tells what she ate and if she slept. I try to keep her "masterpieces" of art in mint condition.

I was driving through McD's today to get my daily dose of Diet Dr. Pepper, and Skylar asks me why I don't ever like to drink anything healthy. I assured her that I do, and she got quite firm in saying that I ALWAYS drink soda and soda is unhealthy. I had nothing. She was completely accurate in her accusation. I've never smoked, never drank, but my daughter is after me about my soda addiction. I don't stand a chance.

Cookies, Cocoa, and Christmas Stories

I had today off due to ice, but the girls went to school anyway. They have a play tomorrow, and Skylar felt she needed to be there to practice. However, I did pick them up early and make them some hot cocoa and let them eat some cookies. I love making homeade hot chocolate at this time of year. Add a little whipped topping, and I can't think of anything better. I also enjoyed the girls reading me their versions of a couple of our Christmas books before bed. We have quite the selection of Christmas books, so we try to read some every evening between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tonight was slightly different in that they wanted to read the story, and I was just to listen. My sister buys them a Christmas book every year, and I know it is something they will always treasure as one day they can read the same stories to their kids. Christmas stories never grow old.

Not So Small Group

We got together last night with our small group at church that has actually grown into quite a large group. Rather than meeting at someone's house, we decided to go ice skating and then out for pizza. It didn't quite work out as planned, but it worked out. The skating rink was closed due to warm weather and high winds. Of course, by the time we left the pizza place, it was about 20 degrees. Anyway, there are about 14 kids in the group, and they can get pretty wild when they all get together, but thankfully we had the back room of Joe Momma's Pizza, so it didn't really seem to bother anyone. All of the kids are relatively close in age, so they all get along well. It's been so nice to have a small group to get together with and to know that you have a support group and that the kids will grow up around a lot of christian friends. The kids

The girls

The guys-none of which are interested in a guy picture

We love all of you, and are thankful that you are in our lives and the lives of our kiddos.

Elf Yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

All Things Christmas

This is the one and only weekend since before Thanksgiving that we will be home before Christmas, so we are trying to squeeze everything Christmasy into two days. (For some reason now when I load my photos, they upload opposite from how I wanted them to, but I'm sure you can figure them out.) We started this morning with a visit to Santa. The girls were not exactly thrilled. They were pretty shy, and didn't tell him a thing they wanted. They are going with the theory that Santa already knows and will take care of it. I guess that's not so bad considering Santa is done shopping. At least there were no surprise gifts that he wasn't able to get. We then went to The Children's Nutcracker. One of my students was performing, and I thought the girls would enjoy it. They did, and now want to be in the Nutcracker. They don't understand that they can't even try until next Christmas. And we closed our busy day with my absolute favorite Christmas activity, cookie baking. We get dress up in our Christmas aprons, blast the Christmas music and roll out the sugar cookies. This has turned into a tradition, and every year is so much fun. The girls dance a little, Skylar gets very serious about her cookies, and Londyn just tries to sneak a piece of dough every chance she gets. Every year, these are some of my favorite pictures. I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season!

The Cookie Baking

The Nutcracker

Me and Skylar excitedly waiting for the show to start.

This is the best I could get at the Nutcracker since you can't take photos during the performance.

Around the House

These girls LOVE their daddy, and as we were watching some old home videos, I was once again reminded of what a great dad he is.

This mommy LOVES these girls!

A Visit to Santa

The not so excited Santa photo.

Flashback Friday

My friend Melinda does a flashback Friday picture on her blog each week. A few weeks ago, she invited everyone to join her. I thought this was a great idea, but this was the first week I actually remembered in time. I also don't have any photos that are that old. They are all at my parents house. But, for the sake of posting, I'm posting one from Skylar's first Christmas. It's about the oldest I have available. She was 3 months old, and this particular photo was taken at my parent's house. I can't believe how quickly time flies. (I think I may have said that before.) To see the other flashback Friday posts, click here.

Running Late

I know you don't actually care to see an ugly picture of me, but I just can't believe I actually went to work looking like this today. I use my cell phone for an alarm, and I have misplaced my charger since the Oregon trip, so I have no working phone. I asked Kevin to set his alarm and wake me up this morning because I had to be at work early for chess club. This is a perfect example of when you want something done, you should just find a way to do it yourself. When I finally woke up this morning, it was 7:20. There was no way I could even get there on time, and I wore my hair a day dirty yesterday, so I HAD to wash it this morning. So, I washed my hair, put a hat on and ran. Wet hair, no make-up and all. I arrived at school with about 30 kids waiting on me. They of course had to comment on my unusual appearance. Some of the teachers thought I was dressed up for my decade unit. (If only I had thought of that excuse a little earlier.) What a way to start the day! Tomorrow can only be better, right?

It's Christmastime!

I always get so excited about Christmas, but it seems like it got here so fast this year, and it's totally passing me by. We've been gone, and away from the girls, and it just hasn't felt like the most wonderul time of the year.I feel that I hardly have any time left to enjoy all the things I love so much about this time of year. I haven't even watched a single Christmas movie yet. Anyway, I think we are beginning to get with it, and start enjoying this wonderful holiday season. We have a few holiday things planned for the weekend, and are listening to lots of Christmas music. I hosted my first two holiday events at my house last night, so it's finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Lawrence house. I of course had to make the girls pose for a few pics before church tonight because I haven't had an opportunity to annoy them with my camera since we were apart for so long. I'm so happy to have them back and get to see their smiling faces and hear their giggles.

Uncle Kevin

We are having withdrawals from being away from our girls for so long, but I'm sure they are having the time of their lives. In the meantime, Kevin's getting the opportunity to play with his nieces he rarely gets to see. We met Lilly for the first time, and got to spend some time with Jade.

Snickers

We had to be at the airport this morning by 5:00AM, and I had a million things to do last night so we opted to just pull an all nighter. I am not particularly fond of traveling, especially at wee hours in the morning with no sleep. As we were on the four hour flight from Dallas to Portland, I was tired, squished in a center seat separated from my husband, and gettting very hungry. They no longer treat you to a free snack on the airline much to my disappointment. It was pushing 1:00 our time, and I hadn't eaten anything since a very early breakfast. If you know me very well, you know that that can be dangerous. All of that to tell you that this nice man sitting beside me obviously noticed my hunger pangs and offered me a snickers bar. Most people probably would have turned it down, but again if you know me, you know I jumped on it. I haven't eaten a snickers in forever, and it was absolutely divine. That man has no idea how happy he made me today not only because he gave me a snickers, but because it reminded me of how kind most people really are. So, if you ever get stuck beside me on a flight, I'll have a snickers bar to offer you:) Have a good day!

Information

In order for the next few posts to make sense, I should explain that Kevin and I are currently in Oregon, while our girls are in Missouri with my parents. I'm missing them like crazy. Kevin's grandmother passed away, so we made the trip to Portland to be with the family and attend the memorial service. I've avoided really posting about it because I'm not really good with that sort of thing. Anyway, things could get confusing if I didn't mention that.

Typical

What is wrong with this picture? (Besides the ghost boxer shorts in December) I don't claim to be neat freak by any stretch of the imagination, but seriously? The clothes on the floor are actually touching the hamper. Is it weird that when I noticed this I went to grab my camera and take a picture rather than just picking them up and putting them in the hamper. Actually, I think they are still there......

The Classifieds

This adorable apron could be yours if the price is right.............. Or, if you are willing to pay $39.00 for a fabulous apron that would make a great gift for the females on you list, or for yourself if you shop like me. I started a blog posting some of my mom's aprons. If you are interested in seeing more, click here. There are two different styles and several fabrics. All the aprons are lined and will wash up well. You'll have to excuse the fact that I'm the model in all the pics. I'm the only one home, and I work for free. It's just hard to see what they look like unless they are on a person. Anyway, check it out when you get a chance, and I'm sure she would love any feedback you are willing to give.