We started a tradition in California of riding the Polar Express at the beginning of the Christmas Season. It really is a magical adventure! I was excited to learn there was a North Pole Express just one town over from us here in Ohio. Last Saturday we surprised the kids with a little trip....
Scarlett wasn't too keen on Santa by herself, luckily her big sister was there to protect her.
Kate asked for a bike. She was getting Allie's hand-me-downs for a while, but now that the girls are the same size she really needs her own. Sure hope Santa comes through!
Roman says he wants a big Buzz Lightyear.
Allie asked for a Kindle! She is a reader-extraordinaire, so this could be very useful - but Santa better warn her about not reading after bed time!
Christmas, just isn't Christmas with out Buddy...as soon as the kids are out of school we'll watch The Elf (again!) and eat lots of goodies. Pics of the Christmas decor are coming soon - this has been a really fun house to decorate! Merry Christmas!
I was reading over some old posts and it was so fun reminisce. Reading
old posts made me want to recommit to blogging...not for anyone else, just
mostly for me to remember how great our life is. Right now I need an extra dose
of that because honestly, life is not turning out like I thought it would. It's
not bad but, depending on what perspective I choose it can be a little gloomy.
A friend today reminded me of a great lesson, often when we feel discouraged or
disappointed in life we just need to change our expectations. She said that
when our expectations are too high we aren't as happy as when we have low or no
expectations at all. I really needed to hear that. I think I've been expecting
life to be easy...for my trials to be "done" because I really didn't
think I needed anymore. Guess what? Trials are never done, this is life and we
choose our journey - there is no "Destination Happyville" but there are happy trails if we decide to travel them. (I sound so profound! haha)
Wow, I really haven't been a big downer...these are just thoughts that I've
wrestled with lately. During that mental battle here are some things we've done
as a family...
Sunday Candle-lit Dinners Are Back - it's a fun family tradition but only possible during daylight savings hours.
Allie and Kate were in the Nutcracker (working on getting pics in their costumes). Allie was a Soldier and Spanish Dancer. Kate was a party girl in the opening scene and a ginger (came out of Mother Ginger's dress). They both did a great job!
While the girls were at a Nutcracker rehearsal Darin, Roman, and I (Scarlett with a sitter) participated in the Christmas in Springboro Parade. It was a hoot! Darin was hilarious as Buddy the Elf - I wish I had video of him yelling, "Santa! Santa! He's here, I know him!" etc. The crowd went wild. Darin and I also made 500 jingle bell necklaces to give out at the parade. Whew...yes, that was the same day as the Nutcracker and it was C-R-A-Z-Y but fun!
Thanksgiving was a quiet day with Darin's sister Janell, her husband Chris and baby Aidan.
Allie and Kate had a piano recital recently too - I need to upload the video. They're doing very well in piano and violin - it's a lot to keep up with though!
I'm hoping to get Christmas decorations up and the cards out this week! We'd love to get your Christmas card so please email me if you don't have our new address.
I'm sure I lost my 5 readers after that long hiatus, haha ;-)...but maybe I'll go ahead and update Halloween, the Nutcracker, and the Christmas Parade for my own sake.
In this season of Thanksgiving, I cannot express my gratitude for my family enough...beautiful, wonderful kids and husband. I am blessed.
Happy Thanksgiving!
PS - We want your Christmas cards so please leave me your email address if you want our new address...I just don't want to put that on my blog. ;-)
I've been thinking a lot about stepping away from the computer for a while. I'm completely embarrassed at how much time I can easily waste here. It seems that once you check Facebook and Pinterest and Email and Weather and News Headlines, the day is half gone. While it is necessary for me to check email - school emails, church emails, etc...everything else is just for leisure.
So...I've decided to go on a 1 week media fast. I thought I'd better share this so I have some accountability - if you see me posting on FB, liking a status, or pinning away on Pinterest, you'll know I failed...eeekkkk! So there you have it. I'm excited to see what I can accomplish this week without the constant lure of the computer.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
I'll leave you with a few of my favorite finds on Pinterest this week...
not me. But that's okay! Really, I'm just excited that I made the dress and it was selected as top 15. I guess that means I'm more of a couture designer and not one for the masses. ;-) haha
I learned a lot through this process. First, it's important to have dreams, goals, and interests outside of the normal routine - that's what gives life its zest! Second, I learned that there are a lot of awesome people in my life who are so supportive - great cheerleaders! I'm amazed at how kind others can be - even those that I don't get a chance to spend a lot of time with. Love you guys! Third, I learned that there are some people who I thought would be supportive but they just disappeared...I've heard it said that you know who your friends are when the going gets tough, but I think you know who your friends are when the going gets good. When you're on top, some people will cheer you on while others feel that their silence is power over you. Do you know what I mean? Like I said, I learned a lot and I'm excited to make some more dresses.
Have you ever read the book, "The Hundred Dresses"? It's my favorite!!! It has been since I was a little girl. I think I might be Wanda...I have a Hundred Dresses living in my head...and they need a home so we'll see what the next chapter is for me.
Thank you soooo, soooo much for all your support - you've meant the world to me.
If you come from a big family, you know that the oldest child has 100 times as many pictures as the youngest child, the poor youngest gets all the hand-me-downs, the youngest never has anything special...blah, blah, blah. No, seriously - it is very difficult to maintain the same energy with your fourth that you had with your first...that being said, I'm definitely trying to make Scarlett's life as eventful and special as the others.
Scarlett's first red vines! Love at first bite.
We had a family birthday party for her. Darin's sister, Janell, and brother-in-law, Chris, and their adorable Aidan were able to come in town for the weekend...we love having them so close!!! Aside from them it was just our little crew. BUT...we decorated as if there were a host of friends coming too. It was so fun to see how excited the bigger kids were for Scarlett's birthday. They ooohhhed and aahhhhhed over every detail...well mostly over the red vines. Haha, you remember Scarlett's first taste??
We decorated while she napped. Kate got the honor of waking her up. She was too cute and excited over everything....
I made this "S" for her room...her bday gift I and I thought I'd decorate with it too. It turned out really cute but took like 6 hours to make!
I have NO idea what's going on but I like it!
Fer rilz...like I just dig right in and eat this by myself?!
Yay for cake!
yum, yum, yum.
Yes, she did this to herself. Luckily she didn't get it in her eye.
Someone needs a bath!
CUTEST VIDEO EVER!
Scarlett opening her gifts.
What a fun party!
We love our Scarlett....she loves...
1. Mom (it's my blog I can say that.)
2. Her dad and siblings (she'll only kiss Roman though)
3. Red vines
4. The "Balls" over her bed...pics of her room coming soon.
5. Jesus - she SERIOUSLY points to pictures of Jesus and says His name..just ask my SIL Janell. It's the sweetest!
6. All balls...always wants to kick a ball.
7. Baby dolls - she gives them sweet kisses.
8. Spaghetti, grapes, and cheese
9. Playing "Where's Scarlett" - hide-n-seek
10. Playing "Sweet Baby"..she lays her head on something soft and pretends to go to sleep while we say, "Ohhhh...Scarlett's a sweet baby." guess you had to be there, but trust me it's cute!
Ummm, Allie where's your sweater?! Oh well, I guess our party got too hot and crazy ;-)
We had to say goodbye to Janell, Chris, and Aidan but they promise to visit soon. Scarlett was on cloud 9 the rest of the night!
I fondly remember my mom or dad coming to the school to have lunch with me - I thought I was the coolest kid ever on those occasions. Darin had a day off so I had lunch with Allie - it was fun being on the other end of it. I'm looking forward to eating with Kate this week!
Speaking of Kate.....see her "before"
and "after" Can you believe she already has braces?! She looks adorable in them!
Saturday morning I went in the kitchen and there was Allie dressed and ready to go, quickly getting food for the little ones. I asked her where she was going and she said, "Home Depot of course. It's the first Saturday of the month!!!" Darin and I gave each other an "uh-oh" look and then told her that Darin had tickets to the OSU football game and so we couldn't go. She immediately looked at me and said, "But Mom can take us."
Whoah...what did she just say? Do I look like the kind of mom that takes four kids to Home Depot...ALONE...to do a woodworking project?!
Well apparently I do...and we had a blast.
Allie jumped right in and had 1/2 of her project completed before I even had the instructions out. The kids loved the project and came right home to paint them..oops, need pics of that.
The kids made cute white boards - perfect for love notes!
It was a fun beginning to our Labor Day weekend.
PS - You still have time to vote. Head over to http://blog.shabbyapple.com/2011/08/final-destination.html and vote for my dress, #4. If you already voted but someone else in your household wants to vote - you'll have to find another computer OR delete your cookies and then vote again. I'm not promoting fake votes though - IF I win, I don't want to do it by cheating. I think the results come out the 14th!
