Snow!

Luckily we haven't had much snow at all this season. My biggest fear was that we'd be hit with tons of snow while Blake was away and I'd have to snow blow our driveway on my own. Thank goodness we've only really had one snow storm that gave us about 6 inches. So, my dad came over and helped me dig out. Of course, I couldn't keep Ethan out of the snow so once we finished up, pops agreed to do a few sledding runs with him. Here are some cute pics of the two of them getting some speed down the front lawn!

My Baby Sister is Getting Married!

This last November, Emily shared her exciting news with us that she was engaged to our friend, Taft Sandbakken. So, as the big sis, I got to do the bridal shower for her. My mom and I had so much fun pulling this together for her. Em's biggest worry seemed to be that we would embarrass her. So, I made it my goal to do my best to make her uncomfortable!

My mom made the favors which turned out really cute!!

We did some fun games including advice cards, writing stories with candy bar names, and how well to you know Taft questions for Em. Then Em got to open some really fun gifts (which, of course, included some lingerie from some of the gals.) She was so embarrassed. It was great!

Em's friends gave her some really great gifts that will help her get started out. We laughed a LOT! It was a lot of fun!

Christmas 2011

This Christmas was a little different than most. Blake started his new job in Indiana just a couple of weeks before the holidays so we were on our own to get ready for Christmas. So, we tried to have some fun while daddy was away. The kids favorite thing to do was to get into their jammies, drive through Burger King for dinner, and drive around looking at Christmas lights while listening to their two favorite songs, Jingle Bells and Feliz Navidad.

I had to admit, I really enjoyed this time with the kids too. I also took the kids to see Santa which they were SO excited about. However, when we got to the mall, Addie suddenly became much more suspicious of this white bearded man. It was all I could do to get her to stand by him for a picture. Ethan and Grant on the other hand were all over it!

We also do an advent calendar so that each day they get a little treat or surprise. One day they got a ginger bread kit. Oh my gosh - they were so excited. I have to admit, I was secretly dreading it. But, they had a blast digging into the candy and frosting.

We also kept busy by doing little Christmas projects. Here are the Christmas chains they helped make. We had fun landmarks along the way like when Emmy came home or when Dad came home. It helped make the days a little more exciting for them.
I only wish Blake could have been here to enjoy the time with us. But, we were able to enjoy the few days we had with Blake when he was home for Christmas. The kids had a lot of fun getting ready for Santa. We made reindeer food and gave some to our friends. They had a blast sprinkling it over the lawn.
Never in my life did I see three kids fall asleep so fast. I told them that if they weren't asleep and Santa happened to come by, he wouldn't be able to leave the presents. Boy, that was the easiest bedtime ever!
We had a wonderful Christmas with our families. We spent Christmas Eve with Blake's family (and had fun holding our new little nephew, Ryan) and spent Christmas day with my family. We feel so blessed to be able to spend Christmas with our families. We are going to miss this so much when we move!

Christmas Catch Up

This Christmas, we had a special visitor come to our home. He showed up in early December on the bookshelf in the office and took us all by surprise. Beneath him was a book that explained his purpose and how he had arrived at our home. Mommy first discovered him and immediately called Ethan into the room to ask him if he knew where this mysterious elf had come from. He looked at me with confusion and amazement in his eyes. After mommy and daddy reassured him that we did not put him there, our only conclusion was that he must be a REAL elf! After we read the book the elf brought, we knew FOR SURE that he was sent to us from Santa to keep an eye on us to make sure we were behaving and deserved Christmas gifts.

The first day I caught Ethan in the office several times, quietly whispering his Christmas wishes to our elf (Ethan decided we should name him Santa Elf). He even left him a goldfish cracker in case he got hungry. Sure enough, we were all amazed to see that the cracker had been eaten while we slept. All day Ethan kept saying, "I CAN'T BELIEVE we have a REAL ELF in our house!" It couldn't have been more precious!

Soon enough, Grant and Addie caught on and were equally excited about it. Each morning when they woke up, the first words out of their mouths were, "Let's go find that SNEAKY elf!" The race was on to see who could spot our visitor first each morning.

Every day we were shocked to find him in the strangest places. We found him in Addie's stocking, hanging from the chandelier, in the brownie pan (caught red handed eating brownies)...
stuck in the chimney (apparently his descent back into the house had some tactical errors), on top of the Christmas tree, in the wreath, etc., etc.

One morning the most amazing thing happened. He brought a note and some "snowman seeds." The note was directly from Santa - it even had his signature and letterhead. Santa said that since we had been so good, he wanted to send a special treat for us. He explained that if we carefully planted the snowman seeds in a bowl of sugar and sprinkled with a little salt, the seeds would grow into snowmen!


The kids were SO excited! We immediately planted the seeds with care and watched carefully. All day we waited. Ethan must have checked every 30 minutes to see if there was any new growth. I had to explain that the seeds were probably growing underneath the sugar but hadn't emerged yet. Finally, the next morning came and he raced downstairs to see what had happened. To our AMAZEMENT, this is what we found...

A Christmas miracle! The kids devoured the snowmen and are still, to this day, wondering how such a thing could have happened.

We did have a close call once. The elf was hanging from the chandelier and Ethan noticed that he had a tag. He thought...he must not be real. But, I quickly assured him that Santa gave each of his elves a tag so he could know which one they were and where they were assigned. That way, there wouldn't be any elf confusion. Phew! Close one.

Anyway, getting ready for Christmas this year was such a blast with our daily visitor. And, it did help the kids behavior when they were reminded that Santa Elf was watching.

So, if you don't have one yet, I'd highly recommend you buying your own, Elf on a Shelf. Best invention ever!