Christmas In a Nutshell

First of all, I just had to post a picture of what my little one wrote, all by herself. I spent $6 on a letter video and she loves to watch it, and she just might get to skip kindergarten (ok, that's a little far-fetched). She just wants to be like the big kids. Anyway, just had to brag.

On to Christmas. We decided to jump in the car on Friday night and look at the lights in the neighborhood. We weren't disappointed. Of course, the kids had to bring food with them (the story of my life...when do they stop eating??)

 These 2 were some of our favorites.

 Before we opened presents Christmas Eve night, because daddy had to work that day, we all enjoyed a little hot chocolate. The gifts were exciting for all and the next day, we headed over to my parents for a little family celebration.

 Dad did an amazing job on the steak and M had about 4 pieces. Here she is giving some kind of peace sign for the photo.

 Mom and L while dad read the Christmas story and sang some Christmas carols.

 A and T on the chair. They won't be sharing a chair for too many more years. They're both growing so fast. Nana joined us this year for Christmas which was such a special treat!

 Dad read the story with E's help. He did a great job. M was too afraid to read. She thought she'd mess up a few words.

 ...and then we sang. It was a fun night full of family. What would Christmas be without family? I guess we have to start the school routine all over again and my kids go back to their friends and their social lives. I sure do miss these times we spend together when we get back to being busy.

Hope all of your Christmas's were Merry and Bright, and full of Christ!

Merry Christmas Everyone...a little late.

The Party

With child number 3, a few things have changed when it comes to birthday parties. The invitation list has shrunk a little, the decorations have been pared down, and the food is better for the grown ups than for the kids, but the amount of fun is still the same! Oh, and the cakes have gotten better and better, thanks to my friend Aly. Check out the beautiful, Rapunzel-themed, mini cake she made for my Lynnea. I didn't even want to cut it...but I'm glad I did. It tasted amazing (and I should know, I finished about 1/6 of it all by myself).

For her special day, Lynnea told me who she wanted to invite and almost all of them were able to make it. They even kept themselves busy without any planned games and it made my heart happy to see these friends thoroughly enjoying one another.

Lynnea with her cake before we sang to her.

 Later that night, Grammie, Gramps and Nana came and gave her something she's been wanting for a while, a new Tangled doll. She was so excited! What a fun birthday! Now it's on to Christmas...gotta get those Christmas cards done.

Lynnea is 4!

It seems like only a moment ago that I welcomed my third child into this world. I must admit to you that I kind of hurried it along due to the fact that she was due around Christmas (that was not my plan, I'll have you know, but you don't question God, right?), AND because both of my other children had decided they didn't want to set a food "outside" until I was pregnant with them at least 42 weeks. A few drugs and a night of luxury in the hospital to get the labor going (I hope you know I'm kidding here), forced me to make a deal with my doctor that Lynnea either came out the week she was due or we were doing something about it...pronto. So, the night before I was scheduled for yet another induction, she thought she'd do it her own way and fought to get out a day early. How sweet of her, right? So, on December 14th, 2007, I gave birth to my smallest...and last...baby.

She is funny, crazy, loving, dramatic, kind, energetic, passionate, and she rounds out our family in the most perfect way. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos of her as she's grown up to a beautiful 4 year old princess. Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Nae-Nae!!

Almost Missed it...

There are a lot of things we have to juggle as moms. For me, it's 2 school schedules, an almost 4 year old and her need for food at all times during the day, and my own "to do" list, and that's just for starters. So it's no wonder that, this morning, I completely forgot about my kid's school Christmas performance. Yep, the one that they perform for all of the parents. The one that your camera goes into overdrive because you're recording every second. Yes, the very same Christmas performance that required my youngest to be in his Kindergarten class an hour earlier than normal. The one I almost missed.

After leisurely walking my oldest and her friend to school in the morning, I came home and actually picked up Tyler's homework folder (I usually never do this at 8:40 in the morning) to look over his corrected homework. I suddenly realized that the teacher had tucked a little note in there. The note said, "Remember that all Kindergartner's are on the early bird schedule tomorrow for our Christmas performance (and tomorrow was now today!)." Cue panicky mom moment...and, boy, did I have one!

After taking about 30 seconds to chastise myself for being an awful, unorganized parent (a slap in the face of my perfectionism), the whirlwind began. "Change the child into something green or red, cram some shoes on, pack an adequate snack, and shove everyone into the car to get to school by 9:00 - oh, and Riva, try to retain that loving holiday spirit."

What resulted from the morning's tornado of activity? Well, I'm proud to say I actually made it to my children's Christmas program, took a few pictures, and was able to at least put a little mascara on to take care of the "just rolled out of bed" look I'd been sporting on the leisurely walk to school I described earlier. Oh, and I also vowed to always check the homework folder the night before so I had adequate amounts of time to make sure that my child wasn't the only one in a short sleeved green shirt and sandals for the WINTER Christmas program (can you just see me rolling my eyes?). That's my Tyler!

So, for your enjoyment, here are the few shots I took..

 And here is Tyler and his summery, short sleeve shirt...gotta love it

Christmas Boulevard

We have a Christmas tradition at our church called "Christmas Boulevard" that includes a snow sledding slope, a rock wall, cookie decorating, caroling, smores, and many other fun ways for kids and their parents to celebrate the season. Here are a few pictures of our time tonight...

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

A Fairy Party

My friend, Talitha, threw a party for her little girl today and she went all out when it came to food, fairy fantasy, and friends! There was a table for the kids filled with all kinds of goodies, a "pin the fairy wings to the fairy" game, and a beautiful table full of treats! Needless to say, I had my fill of good things while watching all of the kids play. There was a scavenger hunt and a 3-legged race, which Talitha's daughter won with ease. Meanwhile, the boys played baseball and watched the festivities from a safe distance. I guess "fairy" themes are for girls, right? However, they were quite excited about the scavenger hunt which ended at a box filled with ring pops under the playground slide.

What a fun day at the park! It was good to see Talitha and my sister (and take a few shots of the kids, enhanced with photoshop, of course). Here's a few shots from today...

The dessert table...

Three legged race!

 My sister and me...

 The boys taking a break from baseball for a minute.

 Posing, and eating.

 And a parting shot of the ring-pop tongues. What could be better than a whole mouthful of sugar?

A little, bitty tradition

We don't have many traditions when it comes to Christmas, besides the fact that we decorate a tree, set out some stockings, and play holiday-themed music whenever we can, but every year I have good intentions to start creating them. This year was no different. This year, however, my mind was more creative, for some strange reason, and I remembered one of the things I had done with the kids a few years ago as we decorated the tree...we drank hot chocolate smothered with marshmallows. Decorating the tree and drinking hot chocolate, a perfect combination. And so, this small thing has become a tradition. I'm proud of myself. Yes, I am. Now let's see if it continues next year.

Oh, and one more thing...Evie. Yes, "Come on Ring Those Bells," Evie! My parents had the record when my sister and I were growing up. It was something I looked forward to hearing every year, even though I wasn't aware I was looking forward to it. I know, confusing, but I really didn't realize how much of a part of Christmas that record was until it was NOT a part of Christmas for so long. One day, my sister had come across the record in an old store and told me about it. I decided to purchase it online, already recorded onto a CD, and I gave her a copy last Christmas to bring back old times. So now the kids let me reminisce for the length of the CD as they sing, "Light the Christmas Tree!" and sing praises to the King of Kings.

I think I'll stick with this tradition. It's small. But small things are comforting and special too.

Here's our completed tree. Yes, the star is large, and precarious (that thing is metal!) but it was such an important part of Christmas such a long time ago so I thought that its size was perfect.

Oh, yes, gotta have a few toys in there too. What's a house with 3 kids without them?