Christmas!

Christmas was a lot of fun with lots of family time. Christmas with kids is so much fun.

Other Christmas Break Happenings...

We have had a fun, busy, two weeks off. Elie and I both started taking horseback riding lessons.



Elie had her first dentist appointment. They gave her a "Belle" toothbrush so she is a fan.



New Year's Eve we had a fondue picnic while we watched "Beauty and the Beast."



I found a dog and brought it home for my sister Heather. I then puppy sat for a week and am now cured from wanting a puppy ANY time in the near future.



Lainey got her first pig tail.




If Elie hears Lainey wake up from her nap before I do, then she runs into her room and plays with her for a as long as Lainey allows her to. It is so fun to hear their little giggles coming from her room.





Lainey is running everywhere. She is very mischievous, opinionated and independent.



Aunt Kari made Elie a cape which is multipurpose Belle, Little Red Riding Hood, Elf or Just Really Cool.



We went "sledding." We drove up to the mountain, got stuck in traffic and turned around to just play in the snow. The kids didn't seem to mind though.

Peak

After a weekend away (just Nick and I) of wine tasting and McMenamins, the first day of my break was spent in Corvallis with my girls. Friends of ours rented out Peak, a gymnastics facility, and the *girls* had a blast.

Doxology

I know I have blogged about it before, but lately Elie has been "sing praying" at night before bed. She tended to start out well and then just went in all sorts of random, nonsensical directions that ended up being less prayer-like. So, to give her a little more structure in her prayer life, Nick and I started teaching her the Doxology song. So this is what God hears from Elie every night-
"Praise God from who all blessing flow/ Praise Him all creatures here we low/ Praise Him above the heaven hoe / Praise Father, Son and Holy clothes/ Amen."

At least she knows who she is praising (for the most part)...

Our Week of Fun

So Thanksgiving week left us with a lot to be thankful for. Nick had taken Tuesday off because I had to work Tuesday afternoon and we didn't have childcare. THEN it snowed a centimeter and a half and I got Tuesday off!!! Nick and I already had Wednesday - Friday so we had SIX days off to spend as a family. It was absolutely fantastic and much needed. Here are a few of the highlights of the week (excluding Thanksgiving which we didn't get any pictures of).





Lainey Kate's first snow!



Fun with "Pretty Pretty Princess"



Forts



Coloring (an activity that can keep both girls occupied for at least an hour.)



We went to the zoo lights on Wednesday. It was soooo cold.



Oh, and Elie caught a few Yettis on our walk through the woods this week. Aren't they cute?

audience participation

So now that the last and (supposedly) final Harry Potter movie is out, I am contemplating reading the books. I read the first one maybe three years ago and wasn't impressed enough to read any more. I have also not more than a few of the trailers of any of the movies so I feel like I have the unique ability to go into the entire series somewhat blind. (I am not even positive how many books there are) After the last year of "reading with intention" I feel like I did a pretty good job of reading books that were mostly literarily (no, not actually a word) stimulating instead of guilty pleasure reads (although there were a few of those as well). Children's/ Young Adult fantasy is my closet guilty pleasure. That being said... dare I undertake such a colossal commitment as the Harry Potter Series? For those of you who have read some or all or even watched the movies- let me know!

Avery- I don't know that you have to bother with your opinion =)

And just because I love reading...

prayers

For the last month or so Elie has been singing her before bed prayers. The tune is always different as are the words- sometimes she is just making up nonsense stuff. Tonight her prayer was sung in monk-like chanting and this is what she said-
"thank you Jesus for mom and dad they are pretty cool and make my life perfect so I love them"

The Assissination of Imagination

I went to Target today to find play money for Elie. They didn't have any. What they did have was aisle after aisle of electronic toys, action figures and television/movie/video game paraphernalia. What kinds of empty, uninventive, unimaginative people are we turning our children into and how did I not notice how bad it had become? Even the dolls are motion activated.

Birthday Baby

I can't believe my baby is one. I don't know where the last year went!









The flower for the month of November is a Chrysanthemum. (And yes, I can spell that word without looking it up. Thanks to Anne and Gilbert.) So the cupcakes are supposed to be Chrysanthemums, not the best angle.

My morning commute

Pumpkin Patch