December 20

Sunday was the Christmas program during Sacrament meeting. Bill was in the choir so I was wrestling the 3 little ladies on my own. Surprisingly I was still able to get the spirit of the talks & songs, it was wonderful. The sister who spoke referred to Mary, the Nativity character who has been on my mind the most this month. I was reading in Luke 2 the other day and noticed that it refers to Mary "pondering these things in her heart" twice during the chapter. Obviously I identify with her because I also have young children. I wonder; exactly what she was pondering?, and for how long? did it bring her peace & understanding to ponder? This I do know; that she was chosen to be the mother of our Savior. I will be forever grateful to this fair & righteous woman who had the faith to do her Father's will.

That evening we spread some Christmas cheer. First we delivered some goodies to our friends & neighbors and then we drove through a neighborhood of lights. My girls had the idea to roll down the windows, stick their heads out, & sing Christmas carols. And so we did. It was memorable.

{I apologize for the terrible photos- but with no flash I was trying to make do with the dome lights.}

December 21

Today Madisen got to attend The Nutcracker with grandma Carruth. Due to some terrible traffic, they only made it to half of the performance. I'm sure it was a perfect way to ease Madisen into the world of theater. She LOVED it! Upon returning home she promptly changed into her pink ballet outfit complete with tights & her own version of a bun in her hair and then pranced around our living room. Her favorite part was the girl in the pink sparkly outfit with the pink tiara- pictured below- and the lady dressed like a strawberry.
Caitlyn was disappointed, to say the least, that she didn't get to go, too. I decided she needed a special outing so I took her here for a new do. Sweet and Sassy is a fancy, frilly, froofy place for young divas. She was greeted with a pink sparkle star for her cheek & hand. And they sprayed sparkles in her hair after it was cut & styled. The experience was complete with a 'gourmet' turquoise blue sucker. I think she felt pretty special!

{Sadly I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any action shots...}

As for Brooklyn, she has learned to get herself from crawling to sitting. She's so clever!

You had to be there

After a night of musical beds, I was awakened (from Caitlyn's bed) to her serenading herself in the hallway. She crawled out of our bed, about an hour after Bill left for work, and apparently couldn't find anyone. I just giggled to myself at her innocence and confidence. The second verse of the song was about Brooklyn being awake... When I tried to tell Bill about it last night the novelty of the situation wasn't quite the same, but I don't want to forget her sweet song.

Letters to Santa

Can't let the month go by without writing to the Man in Red. We hope they make it to the North Pole in time!

All Things Gingerbread

Pine, peppermint, cinnamon & home made gingerbread are smells that remind me of Christmas. When I was little we decorated gingerbread houses the first Monday of every month. We also had gingerbread people hanging on our tree. And my mom has the softest & tastiest gingerbread cookie recipe- not too gingery & not too sweet- it's perfect!

On Saturday we got together with our Texas cousins to decorate homemade gingerbread houses at grandma's. The girls enjoyed choosing their candy, squeezing the frosting & carefully placing the candy.

Look at these adorable girls, and one handsome David!! (If you look carefully you'll see that Brooklyn was there, too. She enjoyed from her usual perch.)

(Yes, that's red snow by Madisen's house.....)

On Monday the 14, we had some friends over for dinner and FHE. The kids got to decorate their own gingerbread cookie for dessert.

This afternoon we rolled out the rest of our dough- in our gymnastic outfits, of course.
Well, Madisen & I were rolling out the dough. Caitlyn decided the flour looked more interesting than the dough. And it lasted about 4x as long! Madisen joined her for a few minutes, but Caitlyn was in heaven!
In fact, it snowed before we were through! It's not often that I 'allow' my kids to make this kind of mess. But she as so delighted today & was even quite helpful when it came time to clean up!

Look who found our tree

I mean, look who can't stay away from the tree! She's mostly drawn to the colorful packages tied with bows. But tonight while I was cooking dinner, and the 2 big girls were coloring in the kitchen, I heard the quiet tinkling of a bell. Knowing that sound did not belong to one of her toys, I ran to find Brooklyn SO DELIGHTED with herself as she was ringing the bell. Who put that ornament there anyway? It was quickly relocated. And so was the grinning girl.

Christmas Countdown

Bill and I got a 'jump' start on our Christmas plans in early November. We wanted to make sure that our December wasn't too busy to truly enjoy the spirit of the season. Last year was W-A-Y too crazy & the month was over before we knew it. This year we get to stay in our own home and current home town for the whole month- for the first time in 6 years.

Dec. 1: Played Christmas cards with Grandma Dodds

Dec. 2: Christmas Tree and Decorations
It was so fun (and chaotic) that I didn't get any pics of the process. I love going through the boxes & re-discovering our holiday treasures! The kids were most excited about helping with the tree & I did the rest after they were in bed. We even got to hang our stockings this year!
While we were at my mom's house, she had her tree & my sister's train & village up for the kids to enjoy. And they LOVED it. I decided to put up my train, but it wasn't as exciting as Aunt Kellie's b/c it doesn't sing Christmas music.

Dec. 3: Red and Green Day; we painted our toe & fingernails red & green, then ate a festive dinner of spaghetti pie & green beans.

Dec. 4: A SNOW DAY in Houston
It's true! It has only snowed 35 times since 1850 in Houston, and it had NEVER snowed this early in the month. The girls we elated about the prospect of making a snowman. I wasn't hopeful, so we had snowman pancakes for breakfast. Later we watched a few old Christmas movies for our Friday night movie.

Dec. 5: Attempted to visit a Nativity Exhibit, but the traffic thwarted our plans.
The girls got to tell Santa what they want for Christmas at the ward party. Madisen would like a bigger bike & Caitlyn is wishing for a car garage for her cars.

Dec. 6: Decorated and secretly delivered some sugar cookies. The sweet aroma of homemade sugar cookies is certainly festive!

Dec. 7: Took pictures for the Christmas card....

I did it!

2 flights, 3 hours each with 3 girls & 1 mom- PHEW! People always did a double take when they saw that I was alone. Some facial expressions were disapproving while others were in awe. I heard more than once, "Wow- you have your hands full." I just smiled because there is nothing I'd rather have my hands full of- 3 angelic girls!

Brooklyn is 7 months

{Mmmmm, sweet potatoes-on Thanksgiving.}

Oh how we love this girl! She is so sweet and content, happy to play on the floor, and skilled at getting things to her mouth. Paper is her favorite. In fact she protests quite loudly when it's taken from her. Lately we've noticed how determined she is. She scoots her little body ANY where she wants to be & now can get all the way on her knees where she rocks back & forth. Brooklyn has found her voice; she babbles, grunts & even screeches at an ear piercing level. Her 2-toothed smile is contagious & her sisters still elicit the best giggles. She has this cute little tuft of long hair on the back of her head, the rest is slowing catching up. We love, love her!

Happy Birthday Caitlyn

Today she is free, I mean three! Where did the time go?

In keeping with our new tradition she got to choose the pizza and movie the Friday before her birthday. She is our olive lover... and then we watched "Cars". (A first time for my princesses!)We celebrated her birthday on Monday, since we'd be in UT for the real day.

Presents in the morning.

Caitlyn was been really excited to have a birthday party with her friends... just like Madisen. She wanted a Leap Frog Letter Factory party, perfect for a girl who loves green! Turns out that's a unique theme- as far as decor & favors go. Since the weather has been beautiful & parties with 2-4 year olds are entertaining, we decided to have the party at our neighborhood park. The plan was to play a few games, enjoy the play structure, have cake and call it good. I got this idea- almost exactly- from my amazing friend Laura. (She had a green ABC party for her son when he turned 3).

But the weather didn't cooperate so we moved the party to our house. It was a bit crowed & chaotic, but that's the way we like it!

The Balloon game was a hit, definitely the favorite.

The Course

She chose frog cupcakes. I forgot to get a picture the night before. This tray went for a ride to the park so some got smooshed.

Our 10 little guests.

The birthday girl!

Grandma & Grandpa showed up right as the party was ending. The girls were enamored with grandpa and each girl wanted to show them their party bag treasures.

And of course, Chick-Fil-A is the place to be for birthday lunches.

Write On!

For FHE this week we had a lesson on gratitude. Our activity was to write things we are thankful for and then we hung them in the toy room.

I was so delighted with Madisen's list! She came up with ALL of the ideas on her own, helped me sound out the words & then wrote them.
She sounded out Jesus & had the G written before I could correct her.

This is my favorite. She did it ALONE while I was putting Brooklyn down & Bill was helping Caitlyn. Translation: I am thankful for Madisen. (she only left out the word thankful & the n for her name is on the back.)

I am so proud & excited that she is enjoying writing & learning! The teacher in me is loving this progress.

On the move

Feelin' Lucky

Some of our best friends from Las Vegas came to visit this week. OK- they didn't come just for us- they have a new cousin who lives 2 hours from here. So we picked them up from the airport on Tuesday afternoon & headed east.

Meeting Sophia Rushelle for the first time. I love that Keira wanted to hold 'Baby Blooklyn'.

Caitlyn's favorite thing about the trip was riding in the golf cart with 'Aunt Wendy'.

{Madisen does not have a black eye. She's just sporting the make up that cousin Emma shared.}

Could they be any cuter or blonder?
And how about that back yard?

Makayla and Madisen were fast friends again; riding bikes, playing babies, putting on make-up, sneaking into gum & candy, coloring pictures and more.

{The Wizard of Oz music comes to mind with this photo.... }

Brooklyn even got to ride on the cart as we explored the wide open spaces & beautiful places in Vidor.

And of course, it was wonderful to be with Jen. She is a dear friend! You know, the kind that can finish your sentences, laugh & cry with you, help you host your family, vacation with, make 1200 caramel apples with, our children were like siblings, our husbands were buddies, and boy do we know how to have a GREAT & LONG conversation. We solved the worlds problems a million times over. It was an action packed, fun filled and comfortable 48 hours.

{Photo courtesy of Caitlyn.}

A Hike & Ice Cream Cones

When we were dating we spent a lot of time hiking, tandem bike riding, skateboarding, etc. We enjoyed these productive activities that allowed us to get to know each other.

Here we are 6 years and 4 states later & both eager to find a hiking trail- the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary. (Because we can't go to Hawaii every year!) We found some near Bill's parents house, in the Sam Houston National Forest. One of the locals pointed us to a trail that is 350 miles long. As we started on (not up or down) the trail, we realized that it was forged right under the telephone poles. Seriously? It was a little disappointing and felt a little less like 'nature'. But we'll take what we can.

What a pleasant surprise to discover this rickety old bridge.I'm sure that a week ago there was some wild water running under there.

There were no vistas, or meadows, or lakes to mark 'the end' of our hike. We did, however, feel we had 'arrived' when we saw these yellow leaves.

Our celebration was topped off with an ice cream sundae from McD's. With caramel, of course.

A good reason

Not to leave the almost 3 year old in charge of the 6 month old.

Even if you are just taking out the trash & starting the dishwasher.

Jump-A-Holics

These girls are in HEAVEN with their birthday trampoline. Thank you grandma & grandpa! Oh, and please excuse the commentary from the camera lady.

6 Years and Counting

Happy Anniversary to the man who swept me off my feet with his irresistably charming good looks!

Halloween 2009

Friday, October 30.

Our princesses 3: Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and the ballerina princess. Our ward broke away from the traditional chili / trunk-or-treat party. Instead they hosted a lively indoor carnival with activities held in almost every room in the church.

The YW painted nails & faces.

The primary had pumpkins for painting.
Our happy observer!

Bill & I broke the princess trend. He dawned his annual 70's get-up and I went hippy-style.

Can you tell that we made Caitlyn put down her cupcake for a photo?


Saturday, October 31.

A few weeks ago the girls found some beans in the house that they wanted to plant outside. I kid you not, they have only been in the ground for 14 days. Check them out! They also found some more seeds to plant. It was a beautiful day so we we enjoyed being outside for a while.

Before we left to go trick-or-treating, we lined for a photo. Only to discover that the flash on our camera is broken. Thus, the only picture we have of the evening is blurry. Argh.