Merry Christmas!
Late you say?
Where have you been you say?
We've been here, like everyone else, trying to stay warm and healthy.
Christmas was wonderful! The kids loved opening presents. In fact, Grey still asks for presents often. I tried explaining that we won't have Christmas again until next year. So he looked at me and asked me to get the Christmas tree out again. Smart kid.
All of Emma's gifts had a central theme: "My Little Pony". She is crazy about them. And I have to say that I also have learned most all of the ponies names.
Jarrah was a fan of her Christmas treat too. She was ready to eat the bag in order to get to it!
We were thrilled that Great Grandmother Vore came in from California again this year. She is 96 and still travels alone twice a year to see all of her kids this side of the country. We love seeing her.
I only got one short visit a few days before Christmas because I missed Jon's side of the family's Christmas. Santa brought me pink eye, bronchitis and pneumonia for Christmas. Boo-hiss as I say. My mom came over and helped me with the kids for 3 or 4 days because I was too under the weather to keep up with them. Jon was very helpful and took good care of me too. The best blessing in all of that was the Lord kept everyone else from getting anything! No one else got sick. The kids stayed healthy and I thanked the Lord for it daily.
The kids enjoyed playing with the Christmas lights. So I enjoyed capturing those moments.
The kids and I enjoyed making a snowman and playing in the snow.
We were proud of our little snowman. When it finally melted G kept saying "Papaw fix it!". He was certain Papaw could make the snow come back and rebuild the snowman.
I hadn't had this much fun in the snow since the old days when I lived with my mom and dad. We had a huge sledding hill and had sled riding parties every snow day. Good memories! I made more wonderful memories with the kids this day. We even had hot chocolate when we came back inside.
Like everyone else trying to find ways to stay entertained inside this frigid winter, we are pulling out all the stops. This is the indoor sandbox. It's actually beans but it works about the same.
One VERY big event was Emma's first loose tooth. She was playing one morning and realized it was gone! We suspect she swallowed it but it might be hiding in a nook or cranny somewhere in the house. Regardless, the Tooth Fairy read the note Emma left and still gave her money.
This is one of the few Sundays we have all been able to get to church this winter. I thought Grey looked so big in this outfit.
Emma has been finding lots of ways to entertain herself while stuck inside too. She pulled out this costume and loves wearing it. It reminds Jon and I of the costume she had when she was two. She wore it all. the. time. She wore it in the summer, winter, it didn't matter the weather. I'm glad with all the growing up she's doing that she's still my little ladybug.
Jon and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. He surprised me with a spa day at Charles Penzone salon at Polaris. When I got home he took me out to dinner. What a guy! I'm so blessed. Our marriage has grown so much in the last 12 years. We've been through our tough places and also our easy spots. I am thankful that now is a phase of joy and peace. I'm blessed to have him by my side everyday.
So, you see, we have been missing from the blogger scene but not from life. We are plugging away and thankful for all our blessings.
Oh, and REALLY looking forward to spring!!!
