Merry Christmas to All!

What a joyful, chaotic, loud, fun, relaxing day we have had! Christmas was definitely busier this year than it ever has been, with a new child and everyone else a year older. There were squeals of delight, fights over sibling's gifts, too much candy, mouthfuls of wrapping paper and fun had by all! Here are a few highlights from the day:

princess slippers on Christmas Eve





I hope y'all had as great a day as we did and found joy in celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Snow Day!

I missed this day of fun with my family because I was in Kansas City, shopping in the snow, with a good friend of mine. We had so much fun, but I'm not sure we had as much fun as these guys!

Glamour Girl Birthday Party

M's party was so much fun! How I wish this was around when I was having my 5th birthday party :) The girls made necklaces, picked out princess dresses, got their hair, make-up and nails done, worked the red carpet and ate cake...what more could a girl want?!

M getting her hair "did"

Makeup & Nails...the "star" treatment!

E getting her hair "did"

E getting her nails done

Princess E

Working the red carpet

Party Like a Rock Star!

The White Man's Soulja Boy!

We went to Kris' office Christmas party last night. About every other year Kris and his buddy Joe do some sort of comedy routine. This year it was Soulja Boy...and it was ghetto fabulous! Check it out!

And Now We Have a FIVE Year-Old!

What a great day it has been for our little five year-old! She awoke to balloons and presents filling her spot at the table...with her hand over her heart, she said, "My heart can't believe it!" How sweet those words were to hear!

She enjoyed a chocolate covered donut with sprinkles from Krispy Kreme for breakfast and then headed off to school in her new outfit and boots; pink cupcakes with sprinkles in hand! This is her week to be the line leader at school as well...so you really cannot imagine a more exciting day!

We met Daddy and Aunt KK for dinner at Red Robin...chosen not for the fantastic burgers but for the video games! We had a great dinner, played a few games, and then headed home for more presents, cake and ice cream. This year M requested a butterfly cake...I thought it an odd request (mostly because I despise butterflys...not the insect itself but anything decorated with them) but proceeded to make it anyway and ended up having lots of fun myself!

All in all...a very good day to turn five!

Happy Birthday my precious little love!

Oh Christmas Tree, First Snow, and an Extra Tooth

So we decorated the house for Christmas last weekend. The kids got very excited and were extremely helpful, as you can imagine. M actually did put the angel on top of the tree and was very proud of herself!

Today we're having our first snow of the season and again, the kids are very excited. We've been having the conversation that it is not actually winter until Dec. 21. So M asked me today as it started snowing, "How come it's snowing in the fall?" Good question...I had no answer! Here the kids are all watching the snow, which you can't really see in the picture. But you can see the light dusting of snow/sleet in the 2nd picture :)

M also had her first visit to the dentist today. She did great...no cavities and the dentist said she is a good brusher! The dentist also found an extra tooth!

We had noticed a few weeks ago that her gap between her two front teeth was getting larger...now we know why. This is not very unusual and we will just watch it and see how it goes. The dentist may pull it at some point to allow for her adult teeth to come in okay.

Here's to Birthmothers...

...for giving the most selfless gift ever!

...for wanting more for their children.

...for choosing life for their baby.

...for carrying their babies for 9 long, uncomfortable months, only to give that child away.

...for loving their babies enough to give them up.

...for giving others a chance to have a family.

Here's to Angie!

We had a meeting with the girls' birthmother, Angie, yesterday. It was wonderful! We wanted her to meet our new addition and we wanted E to "meet" her so that she would have a "point of reference" when we refer to Angie. We spent about an hour together and the Lord really did bless our time. The kids all did great, even showed off a bit :)