Merry Christmas From Our Family to You

Thank you Melinda Brookshire Photography for the photos and card design for our annual Christmas card!

Class Christmas Party Marathon

I spent last Tuesday, making a stop at each of the kids' class Christmas parties. Between 1:45 and 3:00pm, I managed to watch a Lincoln's preschool performance, hang out while he had a party snack, visit Skylar in her class (much against her will), and swing by Londyn's party to say hi as well. I always thought that if I weren't working, I'd like to be at their parties and help out. I think I was wrong. I mean, I love being there to see them, but it's very awkward for me. It's hard for me to be the parent, and not the one in charge. I don't really know many people that are there, and it's just way out of my comfort zone to stand around, not really knowing what to do. I tried not to embarrass my kids too badly though. Lincoln's class sang a few songs, but he had just woken up, so he was pretty groggy and didn't make a peep even though he actually loves singing Christmas songs. By the time he got back to his class, he was awake enough to enjoy a couple of cookies and his first present of the season which he is quite fond of.

Skylar tried to ignore me as much as possible, but did like having Lincoln there. They had lots of activities in their class, in this particular one, they are being given directions as they try to draw on their head. Skylar takes things like this pretty seriously, and loved every minute of it.

Londyn's class had a variety of activites as well, and she also loved having Lincoln there to help. You would think (or I would think) that I would have at least walked away with some decent pictures, but not so much. Oh well! At least I got evidence of my attendance and hopefully that puts some deposits in my good mom bank:) I have to say I was dreading taking Lincoln to both parties without much of a nap, but both girls really wanted him to come. I was pleasantly surprised that he was wonderful. He just went and sat quietly by the girls and stole a few of their goodies.

My Little Gymnasts

This week, we got to sneak a peek at what the girls have been learning in their gymnastics class over the last few months. I tried to take a picture of them in action, but none of them turned out very well, so a posed picture in their sparkly performance leotard will have to suffice. We cut back our activities significantly this year, and gymnastics was what both girls chose to participate in. They are both working toward their back handspring, and love the time they get to spend practicing at the gym.

Gingerbread

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon in Londyn's class yesterday helping make gingerbread houses. It's funny, Skylar doesn't want me to come to school to see her at all, and Londyn wants me at every event. I'm pretty sure she had a great time, mostly playing in the icing. I heard several of the students comment about how it was the best day ever! It's a lot more fun being the helper than the teacher in charge of these projects. Much less stressful:)

On a whole other note, I can't believe Chrismas is only a week away! Once again, it has completely snuck up on me before I have been able to schedule all the things I want to do!

Londyn's Christmas Performance

So, there aren't many pictures of the actual performance because there were eight million kids and we were sitting pretty far back in the audience. I was glad I dressed her in green though because otherwise I'm not sure I would have been able to pick her out of the crowd. She happens to be in the second row in the middle behind the boy in the plaid shirt if you are trying to find her. It was an adorable performance, but it's times like this that I miss a smaller school, and being a teacher where I don't feel bad about sneaking up to the front to take a photo. Oh well, she had fun, and it gave us an excuse to celebrate afterwards.

Lincoln looks pretty rough, but was thrilled to take a picture with one of his big sisters.

As Planned...

I really LOVE it when things go according to plan. I don't know about you, but that just doesn't happen very often in my world, but every once in a while, I get lucky! Sunday was one of those days. Last year when we tried to see the BASS PRO Santa, there was an insane line, so we left. (I really hate crowds and lines. I also had a one year old at the time. It totally wasn't worth it.) This year, I wanted to try again, but I needed a better plan. I thought we could go right after church and then eat afterward at the restaurant there. I already warned the kids that if it was too crowded we would go somewhere else on another day, and thankfully, I have very flexible children. But, it worked out perfectly! We got right in. Got a free Santa photo (theirs was much better than mine) with a perfect backdrop, and at the end of the visit they gave the kids free meals at the restaurant which was an added bonus! It made me happy the rest of the day. I do believe though that three's a crowd! Not enough room on Santa's lap. Maybe we'll go back next week for individual pictures and another free meal for the kids. (I was kind of joking about the last part, but the more I think about it, that may not be such a bad idea...hmmmm)

Christmas Parade

We have never been to the annual Christmas parade, but the girls gymnastics team decided to participate this year, which resulted in us being forced into going. Not that I don't like parades, but not particularly in December, and it's just hard to get everyone up and going on a Saturday. Anyway, the girls were beside themselves excited about being in a parade for the first time. They had been talking about it all week long. When we arrived, we didn't see anyone from their team for a while, but finally ran into a few others. However, apparently the decision was made not to participate due to the weather, and those of us that were there hadn't got the message. The girls were super disappointed. I felt so bad for them. We decided to stay and watch the parade anyway, and managed to salvage the day with the promise of lunch of their choice and hot chocolate.

Tis the Season

Well, Christmastime is officially here! The weekend before Thanksgiving, we cracked open the holiday bins and decorated our tree. The kids were excited to dig through all the Christmas stuff, they especially loved the headgear that they came across as they were rummaging through everything. We had a wonderful evening that started with everyone's favorite, breakfast for dinner followed by a little tree trimming, and of course, hot chocolate!

Deer in the headlights!

Lincoln LOVED decorating the tree, and was a very active participant. It did take a bit of training for him to understand that even though some of the ornaments looked like a ball, that you don't throw them onto the tree. After the first few, I tried to encourage him to hang the starts and other odd shaped ornaments.

Lincoln enjoying his "coffee" after all his hard work. I am really looking forward to Christmas with him this year. Well, with all of them of course, but you know what I mean. He's really getting into it, and loves Christmas lights, Santa and just about everything else Christmas! He's constantly excited about all of the festivities going on around him. I hope the start of your December and Christmas season is going well! It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I'm also proud to say that my Christmas tree doesn't have a waistline this year. If you remember my idiocracy last year! One thing about me is that most of the time, I feel like I can learn from my mistakes. Lucky for me, I have lots of learning opportunities! Anyway, this year, we eliminated the bottom piece, so it worked out a lot better.

The Little Cousins

So part of the fun of any family gathering is watching all these little ones run around and play. They are a bit of a rowdy bunch, but I'd dare to say they have a pretty good time together! Lincoln and Anastyn took a bath together for the first time, and were being super silly.

Lincoln-just because I love how happy he is here.

Malachi 1, Natalie 1, Lincoln 2, Anastyn 3

All the little cousins about to jump out the window to get to the dog outside. This is probably the only picture we will get of them all together for a while. Unfortunately, we probably won't get one with all of their faces for quite for a few more years. They move way too fast!

Thanksgiving

It is becoming increasingly harder to take photos on holidays because of the large number of children running around, but we did manage to snap a few of our family before the festivities. (By managed to snap a few, you understand that I mean I forced everyone to take a picture with me, right? I thought so!) We celebrated at my mom and dad's, and enjoyed a perfectly traditional turkey dinner and then thoroughly enjoyed the unbelievably beautiful weather we got that day!

Our attempt at a family picture. We're all in it, everyone is looking. Really, what more could I ask?

I really don't care for this picture of me, but I am pretty sure that this may be the only picture to date of me and Lincoln that he is actually smiling. He usually has a disgruntled look on his face and his arms outreached looking for his dad.

Anyway, I couldn't be more thankful for this crew that makes my life so crazy and wonderful all at the same time. They are all extremely forgiving, and put up with me and my craziness without too much complaint. I know I have been tremendously blessed, and am also quite certain that most of the time, I probably don't act like it. I should probably practice be thankful a little more all year long. I hope you and your family enjoyed some time together over Thanksgiving and are eagerly anticipating the joys of Christmas, I know I am!

Beauty and the Beast

The first weekend in November, we traveled to the Oklahoma Christian Homecoming for the first time in forever. I think we have only been one other time, but now that we are more involved in our Alumni Chapter, we thought we would go. We enjoyed a great dinner Friday night, and the girls and I, along with my mom went to the play on Saturday. It was amazing! I was impressed with everything about the performance! We all look a little rough because we were hanging out in the city all day shopping, and the show wasn't until 8:00PM. Nonetheless, we had a great time!

The girls were probably verging on being a little too old for tea with Belle, but they definitely liked getting the light up rose.

They were super excited that we were near the front, and could actually see the actors. (not typically what they're used to apparently) We lucked out though, and had great seats, which made the show that much more enjoyable.

50th Day of School

So, is it really already December? That is just crazy! I have so much to write, but can't seem to keep up with things. Shocking, I know! I only write that on every other post. Anyway, I thought quitting my job was supposed to give me more time to do things like this! Moving on... I finally uploaded the photos from my camera, so I guess I'll start there. A while back, Londyn's class celebrated the 50th day of school 50's style. I've always wanted an excuse to dress the girls up in Fifties attire, but it was never at the top of their list of Halloween costumes, so this was the perfect opportunity. Londyn was a good sport, but did take off her glasses and scarf as soon as she jumped out of my car. Silly girl! She had a great time, I think they had a little sock hop and enjoyed rootbeer floats at the end of the day!

This last picture is a bit sassy....I can't believe how grown up she is getting.