Monday, December 31

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We went over to visit Nana on New Years Eve.  She surprised the kids with party hats and noisemakers!
(the kids at Nana's house)
Look at how funny Nick looks in those glasses!  Madison had Christmas ribbon in her hair and Savannah could not get enough of that horn.  After having some dessert with Nana, we went home got into our jammies, made a fire in the fireplace and brought in the new year in front of the TV watching the ball drop and then we all went to sleep!  Perfect New Years Eve!
Thank you, Father for all of our blessings and quiet evenings with the family

Happy 2013

Tuesday, December 25

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY JESUS

Here are some highlights from Advent and Christmas!  We feel extremely blessed this Christmas in more ways than we can even share.
(Madison, Savannah and Nicholas holding our Sweet Baby Jesus)

ELF ON THE SHELF
This is an "Elf on the Shelf".....I am not saying that we have one (because if you do have one, you are not supposed to tell anybody)
Anyway, if we were to have one....he would come at the beginning of Advent and stay with us through Christmas day.  He would watch us during the day and report back to the North Pole at night.  The kids would  just adore him (if we were to have one) and maybe even leave him sweet notes each morning.  Like this is one maybe written by Nicholas
Or maybe this one maybe written by Savannah (our elf might be named Willis....if we were to have one)
I love my sweet kids!

SOME MORE CHRISTMAS EVE AND MORNING PICS
 I just love when our home is adorned with Christmas decor in celebration of our New Born King....it gives me so much joy inside
 Twas the night before Christmas....
 I got my favorite perfume from the kids!
 Aren't these snow hats precious....Max (our dog) surprised the kids with these for Christmas!  He is just so creative
 Nicholas was SO TOTALLY excited when he opened the gift from Grammy and Oompa...a REAL Rifle for hunting!!
 Leaving out a plate of treats for St. Nicholas as his reindeer
 Here is Madison on Christmas morning.  Yes, that is a head mixed in with the gifts.  The girls LOVE to do hair and experiment with hairstyles.  They each got a head (the ones that they use at Cosmetology school to practice) so that they could play beauty shop and try new hair ideas out on someone who would be willing to sit as long as it took : )
 Here is little Savannah on Christmas Morning
 Nicholas got a train set and did not stop playing with it for 3 days straight!!
 The kids really wanted bow and arrows to practice target shooting in our backyard
 Getting dressed up for Christmas lunch with Nana at the Conservatory (don't they look so pretty)
I just had to add this pic of their feet. Look at the shoes that Savannah picked to wear with her Christmas dress...she has GREAT style!!
 Christmas lunch with Nana...They had a beautiful Harpist playing during lunch
 And just because He is God and He is Lord of all and because He can do ALL THINGS and He controls all things.....He commanded the skies to snow...ON CHRISTMAS DAY.....Just because He can!

 (From our front window)
(looking out from our family room window out onto our back patio)
 Thank you, Jesus for this wonderful Christmas gift

 It snowed ALL DAY and it filled the yard with thick and beautiful Christmas snow and the kids LOVED running and playing in it!!  Here is Savannah just before she sledded down the hill in the backyard
Here is Nicholas AFTER sledding down the hill in the backyard
Madison stayed inside close to the fire......Me too!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BABY JESUS

Thank You so much for coming to earth so small so that we could maybe begin to wrap our heads around Your greatness!!

Sunday, December 16

SAVANNAH IS SO FUNNY

Savannah is such a funny little girl......she is always making me laugh
She found this necklace at the store "Charming Charlie's"

Saturday, December 15

ANOTHER MADISON FUNNY DANCE (in a bathroom)

Another funny dance.....Savannah, Madi, and I were just laughing all afternoon
I just love our girl time!

GOTTA LOVE MADISON

We were waiting for Savannah in a bathroom and thought that we were being sneaky with our video and that no one would know that we were in a bathroom......until Savannah flushed!!

MY FAVORITE BRAVE HUNTERS


My 2 boys went hunting for Deer over the weekend.  They always have so much fun.  They make a GREAT team together.  There is nothing that compares to that Daddy/Son bonding time....especially over a campfire surrounded by God's creation and a 1969 Holiday Rambler Trailer, outfitted for hunting.  They love it because they are boys and that is how our beautiful Lord made them.
 Jeremy took this picture of Nicholas keeping watch out of deer in the distance.  He's just so tired!!
 Here he is all bundled up ready for any kill that comes his way.  He just loves this time with Daddy.  He never tires of what they are doing or complains about the work.  He is an amazing hunting buddy for Daddy.  They just adore each other!!
Can you even tell that he is a boy or is it is tree?!?!
Here are both of my brave hunters out of the trail of a deer.  They do look serious and brave!!  Poor little Deer!!
I am so thankful that they are great hunting buddies.  They are making memories that will last a lifetime!  Didn't our Lord create Boys to be amazing!  There is just nothing like them in the whole world.  I am just so grateful for the 2 wonderful boys that Jesus blessed me with!  What would I do without them?!?!

Friday, December 14

Thursday, December 13

GIRLS NIGHT IN

While my boys were hunting, us girls had a girl's night in

Both Madison and Savannah had a friend spend the night.  The girls had such a great time together  with their friends...making movies and riding scooters around the neighborhood.......here are some of the highlights
 Madison, Savannah, Kileigh, and Claire (making a Spy movie)
 The movie producers.....Claire and Madison

The girls NOT on spy character
 I ordered in Chinese and made a Chinese buffet on the kitchen island....it was SO YUMMY
 Have you ever seen this shake and pour cupcake mix....I saw it at the market and thought that I would give it a try after dinner
Just add water and NO MESSY BOWLS or SPOONS....5 minute prep time
 12 minutes later....fresh cupcakes!  I used paper liners so the cupcake pan wasn't even messy
 Here is Savannah trying the cupcakes (thumbs up)
 Madison thought that they were really good too
 Kileigh loved them too
Claire approved.... and they were so easy too!!
The rest of the night was full on giggling and chatting...little girls are so much fun!

Saturday, December 8

GIRL'S DAY WITH MY CHICKADEES

I had a GREAT girls weekend with my precious daughters!  Here are some pics of the highlights

Gettin' pretty manicures and pedicures.....what a treat!!

 Here are the girls feet getting pampered....I was next to them getting pampered myself!  I love being a girl!
 Manicure time for Savannah!  She got a really funky green color on her fingers....it was a super fun look indeed....Madison ended up with the same color too (they are sisters for sure!)
Savannah got her FAVORITE zebra stripes on her toes, while Madi opted for a snow flake for Christmas
 Here are all 3 of us enjoying our girl time, while our daddy and brother were out hunting food for the family....just like in "Little House on the Prairie"  Paw would go far into the woods with his rifle and hunt food for the winter, while Maw and the girls went to the Mercantile for Pedi's
We of course had to stop by the store for our favorite "girl's day" refreshment
A Frozen Cola!!

LATER THAT EVENING

After our salon appointment, we headed to 4pm Mass at St. Elizabeth and then we went out for dinner.  We went to our favorite Chinese Buffet (for the 2nd time in 3 days)  We are truly addicted!!!
(It is so yummy....but has nothing to do with football as the name might imply)
(I am in heaven...well not really...heaven will be much better, BUT this buffet is pretty wonderful to say the least)
They even have fresh Sushi!!....."Sushi at a buffet!!!" my mom would say I was crazy for eating it, but I would say "Please grab a clean plate when you go back for seconds at the buffet : ) "

AFTER THE BUFFET
We headed for home....got our jammies on as fast as we could lit a fire in the fireplace and watched a totally girly movie with all of the lights turned off, except for the Christmas tree (I love this time of year)

LATE THAT NIGHT

After the movie, we realized that we were STARVING and went to the kitchen for some leftovers and hot chocolate.
THEN...We got to laughing about something and could not stop!  We laughed SO HARD for so long that our bellies hurt!

IT WAS GREAT!!  I LOVE BEING A GIRL AND BEING WITH MY GIRLS

Thank you Dearest Jesus for Mom and Daughter time.  Time that can ONLY be shared by a mother and her daughter(s).  And just because you are our Most Powerful Lord of all, you created all things.....The world and everything in it.  Amazing scenic wonders, animals of all shapes and sizes, trees, oceans, etc...Who could not be in awe over Your Glory!!

But I want to thank you also for creating sisters and girly movies, hot cocoa with marshmallows and giggling!

ONE MORE THOUGHT

I just had to laugh because the next morning Savannah (who was in charge of feeding Max this week) was filling Max's outside dish and she caught my eye as she was leaving to go outside onto the back porch (right outside our kitchen door)
"Come here Savannah....What are you wearing?!?!"
She is just such a sweet and wonderful little person with her own ideas AND her own style.  She brings so much joy to our family!!
"It was so cold to go outside, mom" is what she responded.....She's so cute and just makes me laugh

I LOVE MY KIDS SO MUCH