Sensing a Theme

Ok, a few pictures of our Christmas decorations. Not because you asked. Or even because you care. But because I've been sick since we got home, and decorating is pretty much the only thing I have managed to accomplish all week, and I want to show it off!

The tree!

The twins and I hung snowflakes up all over - in their room, by the front door, and on the random bar hanging up in our living room!

My favorite addition! Our piano!

The twins' tree. They decorated it pretty much all by themselves (I put on the lights, higher ornaments, and bow at the top).

Please, notice the incredible amounts of tinsel. They like the sparkle and they could put it on by themselves, so I let them go to town :)

But the most beloved decoration in our house?

The train.

I would say that, if we were to pick a theme for this Christmas, it would be trains. It was un-intentional. First we got out our toy train from last year - which has been a favorite toy since it came out! Then we went and saw the trains at the living nativity - cementing their love. The train under the tree? It has become their favorite thing.

Stop!

Giving rides.

Yes...this derailed the train...

I don't mind the theme. I think its great that they love trains. I always liked them too :) I do feel a little badly that this is where it ends. I have have no more fabulous train surprises up my sleeve. Had I known the train under the tree would be SUCH a huge hit, I might have saved it for closer to Christmas!

There Are These 2 Kids...

...and I'm pretty crazy about them.

They make my world go 'round.

They come hopping into my arms and proclaim, "Mommy, I LIKE you!" and I melt.

They dance over to me, give me the biggest hugs, and say, "Mommy, I'm so happy I have you!" and it makes me so happy I almost burst.

Their laugh makes me laugh. Their tears make me sad. Their enthusiasm fills my days with excitement and joy.

Life before them was good. Life with them is incredible.

I'm so thankful I get to be their mom! What a blessing!

December Adventures

Our December has already been quite full...I just haven't had a camera to capture much of it! Between my adventures in trying to charge the stupid camera battery to my cell phone being lost in Nebraska, I've been really at a loss. Borrowing Lucas' phone...when he is around...has had to suffice.

For starters, this is one of the things that I'm most excited about this year. A couple years ago I read about (and LOVED the idea of) a tradition where they read a different Christmas book each night leading up to Christmas. The problem was that we didn't have enough books. I have been slowly collecting each year, but figured it would still be a couple years before we had enough. Then I was reading one of my favorite blogs, and she had a post about her book advent calendar. Not only did it seem like a great way to combine a tradition I thought would be awesome with my lack of an advent calendar, but she also had the suggestion of using the library to fill in the gaps until you build your Christmas stash. Genius! I wrapped each of the books and we are already having so much fun!

The best part was that, the first night, I was trying to explain to them why we were doing this. I said, "Today is the first day of December. Do you know what that means?" Without missing a beat Ryan said, "Christmas-time!" Surprised, but trying not to show it, I said, "Do you know what we celebrate at Christmas?" Allie chimed in with "Jesus' birthday!" I was floored. I had never sat down to talk about this with them, but they picked it up somehow. I got all choked up. They are getting so big! So we call this tradition our "Countdown to Jesus' birthday!" They are doing pretty well with not opening the entire basket full of wrapped books when I'm not paying attention...and they certainly keep perfect track of whose night it is to open the book!

I was expecting a lazy Friday night, but Lucas was in the mood to do something festive. He suggested the Living Nativity at the local campground. We decided we didn't have enough time to do the whole hayride through the Living Nativity (Lucas had a meeting), but they have an indoor portion with hot chocolate, decorate your own cookie, yummy treats like popcorn and roasted nuts, AND model trains!!!

The twins were in love! Not only did they stand they spend the majority of our 40 minutes there watching the trains, but even yummy snacks could barely pull them away (but we had to because other kids wanted to see too)!

I thought it would be fun for the twins to have their own little tree in their room, so while we were out shopping, I took them over to pick one out. I have always secretly wanted one of the shiny, colored trees. They are so delightfully tacky :) I was thrilled when that was what the twins picked (because kids can pick out tacky, and its just cute)! But they couldn't decide on a color. Allie wanted purple, Ryan wanted blue, no one wanted to compromise. Then I looked up and saw mini trees - 2 were the same price as one of the size we were looking at! So they each got their OWN tree in the color they wanted! They are so thrilled!

For our main Christmas tree, we went and got a real one this year! We weren't going to. I had a plan where we would save our money and use the fake one we were given last year until the twins were old enough to remember and appreciate the experience of getting a live one. Then we discovered that we only packed half of our fake tree stand (and couldn't find the other part). Since we didn't have a tree that could stand up on its own, and the twins seem to be really clued into Christmas this year, we decided to spring for the live one. But, Lucas and I had no clue what we were doing. And we went on their busiest day of the year. And it was a bit of a disaster. But there was a kind lady who walked us through the different trees, and the process. It was late in the day, so we decided to go for one of the pre-cuts rather than do the wagon ride out to the field to cut our own. We decided to save that part of the experience for next year :) Because of the craziness, and us feeling out of place, we only got one picture...the kids with Santa.

Their very first picture with Santa!

They were very unsure about Santa. Who wouldn't be? At the time, I was thinking that there was no other circumstance in which I would encourage my children to endear themselves to (let alone sit on the lap of) a strange man who was trying to earn their affection by offering them candy! They didn't sit on his lap, but they got close enough to get this picture. They now refer to Santa as "the guy that gives them suckers." This could lead to future disappointment should another Santa offer them anything else!

Getting the tree in the house was an adventure. It was too fat for the tree stand. And then when we got it upright, the top branch brushed the ceiling! Our tree that had been one of the "small" ones at the tree farm had to have the top branch cut down in order to put on a topper! Yikes! Then the majority of our lights from last year didn't work, so we had to go buy new lights. I half expected a squirrel to be living in there!

The twins helping decorate the tree.

They tended to bunch up the balls in one spot so the tree looked like this:

We finally got our tree decorated (sorry, no after pictures...yet. My camera is currently full of some other pictures...). I was surprised to discover that we had enough ornaments to fill the whole giant tree! And our little tree (decorated almost entirely by the twins...pictures to come later, I'm sure). I was also surprised to realize that we have 5 Christmas trees of varying sizes in our house! At least it looks festive! It has been really fun having the twins help decorate this year. It is taking me so much longer, but I love pulling out a box and asking them where things should go, and letting them put the things they can't break wherever they want. Decorating was one of my favorite traditions growing up, and I love that they can finally be a part of that now!

Hope your Decembers are full of festive celebration too!

Thanksgiving!

I'm actually going to start with the day before Thanksgiving...because I finally got the pictures from Lucas' phone. Why were the pictures on Lucas' phone? Because I discovered my camera battery had died when I went to take the following pictures. The camera battery is still dead because I keep forgetting that it is dead until I'm trying to take another picture...

Anyways, remember the combine? Well, my family's business also deals with some pretty large farm machinery, and once Papa heard that the twins were into such things, he promised our next trip to Nebraska would include the opportunity to climb in one. He delivered! We got a tour of the brand new building (that is almost finished). I have to say, it was pretty cool, for me, to see the building alone. My grandpa and his brother started the business, and it is amazing to know how it began, see how far it has come, and think, "The people I love did this." Anyways, in the shop there was a big sprayer, so Papa took each twin up for a chance to "drive."

Ry-guy, so focused!

"Come on, Papa. How do you REALLY start this thing?"

To show you what they were actually in and give you an idea of the size. Oh, wow. Cool, cool. To quote the twins :)

Now to Thanksgiving day. I still can't figure out how it worked, but my camera took a bunch of pictures (part of the reason I wasn't prepared for the battery to be dead at the reception, when I would have loved to have taken pictures of the twins playing with my cousins). Mostly outside. Nic & Ariel were kind enough to take the twins out (in the beautiful weather) and play. I tagged along for pictures, but they did all the work. Huge props to them. I was actually feeling miserable and trying to pretend I didn't. This was a welcome break!

A ladybug ball!

While they aren't in focus (as they were in other similar pictures), this was the only one where you could see the smiles on both their faces. They were having so much fun! Allie loves her uncles, but she seemed to especially have Uncle Nic wrapped around her finger. I know he would probably deny it, but I found that she frequently went to him when she wanted something that she knew Daddy or I were likely to refuse...and he usually gave it to her without hesitation.

Ryan seemed equally enamored with Aunt Ariel. While he had a tendency to act shy in her presence, whenever she was gone he was asking for her. She was the one he wanted to make sure he hugged before bedtime (or show his cool cars underwear). She has a loyal fan :)

Playing normal catch wasn't enough. They transitioned to passing the ball over the bushes!

Buses don't drive in bushes? Are you sure?

The classic ring and dash...only they didn't dash and nobody answered!

It started to get a little too silly, and then we went inside to eat.

I imagine that none of my family is going to love that I am posting these pictures of them passing the plate, but they are the only pictures I got of them the entire week I was there. So I am posting them anyways!

My mom always managed to hide...

When we couldn't have Thanksgiving with our families, we had a tradition of having Thanksgiving with friends who became like family. We were lucky enough to be able to skype with them in the afternoon. If we couldn't be with them in person, it was good enough. I'm thankful for dear friends, wonderful family, and all the time I get to spend with them making memories. I am so blessed.

the twins just weren't quite sure...

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Catching Up

I'm woefully behind on Thankfuls. Basically, we traveled, and then we got sick, and then I stayed sick. I'm beginning to despair of ever being able to take a full, deep breath ever again. I'll be fine. I've just reached the over-dramatic stage of sickness :) To make matters worse, I didn't document our thankfuls very well in the moment to record here later...I sent myself text messages...when I remembered (which was only 3 or 4 times)...and then I lost my phone in Nebraska. So, I will speed record what I can remember, and resolve not to make the same mistakes next year!

Ryan & Allie's Day with E - while we were at the game.

Ry & E in the closet...they have a tendency to like to go off together...alone...a problem if this continues into the jr. high years...

November 17th, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan: Cars Jammies - he loves those things.

Allie: My flashlight. We had just bought a couple of these, and the twinners are in love. Me too. I want to go back for another dozen!

Kim: Uncle Duck (and Aunt Duck?) - who let us crash at their house while we waited for my parents' plane to arrive.

$1 parking - at the airport. A delightfully small airport where you can watch the planes. We decided to park & go in to meet Papa & Gigi. Quite possibly the best dollar I've spent ever.

Safe travel for my parents!

In the interest of catching up, I'm leaving Lucas off from now on. He does a "Thank You" book of 5 things he's thankful for every night, and always had trouble narrowing it down to 1 for the blog anyways!

Playing "Wonder Pets" - E knows what to do!

November 18, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan: Gigi

Allie: Papa - it helped that Papa & Gigi were right there doing bedtime with us when we asked!

Kim: My dad fixing our house. Especially since he never gave us any projects in his house to do in return (which was supposed to be the deal). Thanks, Dad!

Wonder Pets, Wonder Pets, We're on our way...

November 19, We Are Thankful For:

Allie & Ryan: I forgot to ask, but I have to assume they were thankful for an awesome day at E's house!

Kim: I was certainly NOT thankful for the outcome of the game. But I certainly was VERY thankful for dear friends who watch my kids for an entire day, think up lots of great activities to keep them entertained, and take pictures so I can see all the fun they had!

Ryan protecting the stuffed Wonder Pets that E has. They ended up having to hide them from him because he got a little too protective...

November 20, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan & Allie: I totally forgot to ask. In my defense, I had been up most of the night with a sick kid...yes...this was when the plague began...

Kim: The Twilight books. The day before, upon mentioning that I had actually never read them, my brother's mother-in-law loaned them to me. They are like candy - quick to read, hard to leave alone, and delightful. I read the whole series in 4 days...much to the dismay of my husband...

Playing outside!

November 21st, We Are Thankful For:

Allie & Ryan: This was a day that I didn't record well. I know they were thankful for something...I just can't remember and don't have my phone...

Kim: Safe travels, a quick and easy trip (ok...13 hours isn't quick...but it could have been worse), and my first taste of Runza in months. Yum!

A big, BIG ball!

November 22, We are Thankful For:

Ryan & Allie: I can't remember. Epic fail.

Kim: A massage. My mom gave me a 30 minute massage. It was the most relaxed I have been in months (and it didn't last long...both kids were sick by this point and I was sick by the next morning).

Collecting sticks for a later project.

November 23, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan & Allie: Mommy & Daddy. I remembered this one. It melted my heart. Right back atcha, Kiddos!

Kim: Hanging out with my siblings. It was the first time we have all been together with time to actually hang out and talk...since last Christmas maybe. We were all together for the wedding, obviously, but it was a little hectic. I have such cool siblings (and sibling-in-law), and I thoroughly enjoyed all the time we had to just hang out.

They love playhouses...

November 25, We Are Thankful For:

You may have noticed that I skipped Thanksgiving. This was purposeful. Thanksgiving deserves its own post, I think.

Allie & Ryan: Bah! Another I don't remember! I do remember asking...

Kim: Sleep. After many nights interrupted by sick kids, I was in rough shape. Lucas let me take Nyquil and sleep in the other room. It was heavenly. Although I am still sick...

Coloring fishies!

Note: Notice the red spot on her cheek. You might think it is paint or marker, but it is actually facepaint. It was once in the shape of an N. My children love having their face painted on game day...

November 26, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan: Cars Underwear. Do you sense a theme? He knows what he loves...

Allie: Marvin K Mooney. Do you know the book? They discovered it at my parents' house and it is their new love.

Kim: Family. Part of the reason we went to Nebraska for Thanksgiving was to have a reception there for my brother & his wife (since a lot of family & friends couldn't make the trip to Michigan for the wedding). I have this amazing extended family that I don't get to see enough. I really enjoyed the all-too-brief time I got with them at the reception.

November 27, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan & Allie: I forgot to ask...

Kim: To be honest, I was really sick this day. I was so bummed because I didn't get to enjoy the last day I had with my family. But, Ryan and I being the sickest, we stayed home from church in the morning. 1on1 time with my little man is was the bright spot in a bummer day.

FISHING!!!

(see the sticks and decorated fish! They brought the whole day together in a cool way!)

November 28, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan & Allie: McDonalds & Pizza. When we travel, they get to visit their favorite places to eat (McDonalds because of the slides, and any place with pizza). Thank goodness they are so easily pleased?

Kim: A safe trip home. We were sick. I was miserable. It could have been a lot worse (remember this trip home? Not our worst by far!) I was just so relieved to be home!

Fishing Fun!

November 29, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan & Allie: I forgot. Is there a fail larger than epic?

Kim: Lots of things accomplished. Still sick, but feeling overwhelmed by all of the "post-vacation-catch-up" AND holiday preparation, I plugged along slowly. Doing whatever I had the energy to do. I managed to get a lot accomplished, and this helped relieve a little of the pressure.

November 30, We Are Thankful For:

Ryan & Allie: SNOW! We had our first snowfall that stuck, and the twins had a blast playing in the snow - sliding down the slide, riding their sleds, and wallowing in the snow. They also enjoyed their first taste of hot chocolate! Unfortunately, my camera battery wasn't charged so I didn't get pictures of any of it...

Kim: Angel children. Seriously, I've been sick and I was dreading how bad it might be after 10 days of multiple adults to cater to their every whim. They've been an absolute joy. Practically perfect. I'm so lucky!

And so, aside from the Thanksgiving post, another 30 Days of Thankfulness ends!