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)...