Playdate with Tate & Jack!

Tate & Jack came over to play yesterday!

It has been so cold outside, and I'm quickly learning that the worst enemy of a stay-home-Mom of two small children is COLD WEATHER! Seriously, there's nothing more miserable than trying to explain on a 2-year-old level exactly why we can't go outside to play. Somehow, after about the 3rd day of indoor play and crafts, the words, "It's too cold to go to the park" just don't cut it. And-- let's be honest-- it's too risky for me to go walk the aisles of stores just to get out of the house because I've truly never mastered the art of "browsing." Buying, on the other hand, I have an honorary black-belt in.

Soooooo... when we got to have Tate and Jack over to mix things up and Avery & Julia didn't just have to stare at Mommy all day, life was GOOD and the girls were happy! :) What a blessing the Arnolds are. And Avery, by the way, fell head-over-heels in love with "baby Jack." I think she just didn't know how to stop kissing him, which is totally understandable because he's adorable.

Come back often, Arnolds! You're always welcome to come and play! :)

Julia's Growing!

Haven't posted one of these in a while... and we completely missed her 7 month picture! Too bad... :/ But nevertheless, it's documentation of how our littlest one is growing up! I can't believe we only have 3 more frames until she's a one-year-old! Time FLIES.

Decorating Avery

Gram came through town Saturday on her way back home from Sherman.

She helped Jen get ALL their Christmas decorations put away and organized, and Gram brought a few things that Jen no longer wanted... We put them on Avery. :) Well... not everything went on Avery, but the gold bead garland and the Angel napkin-rings were a hit. She wore the gold beads around ALL day, dragging behind her. VERY fancy... Girls are fun.


Avery making a funny face...

Please lift up our friends...

Today is a blessed day. Nora Ann Gustafson was born to our dear friends, Kristin & Nate Gustafson. By a miraculous work of God, Nora was conceived naturally after their journey through 2 years of infertility.

I don't know many details, but I am posting to ask for prayer for this sweet family. After 2 days of labor and 4 hard hours of pushing for Kristin, Nora was born and was taken to the NICU because she was showing signs of distress. Just received word that Nora is not doing well and that the doctors are concerned about possible blood on the brain.

Please lift them up. Kristin was one of my roommates in college and now lives in Minnesota where Nate serves as Youth Minister at their church.

Trusting in God's Sovereignty and praying that Nora will be their TWO TIME miracle baby.

Avery's turn!

I gave Avery her 2nd haircut this afternoon. I have an all-new respect for those who cut childrens' hair for a living. Getting them to hold still is near impossible, but even harder when there is a pair of scissors within 3 inches of their face and they keep trying to look. The last thing you want when you're the one holding the scissors 3 inches from your daughter's face is for her to make any sudden movements.

Sigh...

Thank the Lord for Goldfish and Veggie Tales DVDs. (There's a statement that only other Mothers who have been desperate for a moment of stillness and silence can relate to!) When finished-- all was well. Cute hair. Happy girl. No more bangs in her face. Success. :)

Why naps in the swing don't work...

She's really too big to use the swing anyway, but she fell asleep nursing this morning and we were getting ready to head to the park so I just set her in the swing while I cleaned up breakfast and got things together for that. I thought Avery was playing in her play room, but when I walked into the living room this is what I found: (Of course I'm laughing out loud and snapping pictures the whole time. Avery just kept laying toys on one-by-one and saying, "Here go, Joos" -- "Here you go, Jules." Hilarious.)

Julia says, "Little help here, Mom?..."


"...No, seriously... Put the camera down and get me out of here..."


"...Ok, can't see over the top anymore, Mom... Time to stop taking pictures now!"


"...You gotta be kidding me!.. As soon as I get out of here (and learn to walk) I'm totally running away. Take pictures of that, Mom!"

CD Dreaming

"Watch music, Mommy! Watch music!" she said, handing me a CD. (It must be confusing since CDs and DVDs look just alike and we use the DVD player for both.) I was feeding Julia and explained that when I was finished with Julia we could listen to the music she handed me, but she needed to wait for just a little bit until I could get up.

...Well by the time Julia was finished nursing, I walked back into the living room to find this scene:

Poor kiddo. We "watched music" after her nap.

A few people have asked...

"What were those little penguin things?"

SUCH a fun winter food activity for kids. Avery and Boppa entertained themselves for a while on Christmas Eve while Gram, Aunt Jen & I were busy in the kitchen. These are precious, easy, and pretty fun. Made from black olives, carrots & cream cheese.

You just take 2 black olives, one round slice of carrot, cream cheese in a piping bag & a toothpick. (I used the "garlic herb" flavored, whipped cream cheese in the tub because I thought it would add a little flavor and would be easier to work with.) Cut a little pie-shaped piece out of the carrot slice to create the penguin's feet and the beak. Cut one olive length-wise and fill with cream cheese. Wedge "beak" into one end of the other olive. Stack from the base up and hold together with a toothpick.

Almost too cute to eat, but if you like ripe olives they're pretty tasty too!

Happy New... Hair!

A new year... a new "do."

But this wasn't just any other haircut-- I cut off 9 inches! My leftover locks are carefully packaged and ready to be sent to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. The funniest reaction to the new look was Avery's. I had been talking to her about what was going to happen for a few days prior to the cut. I explained that, "Mommy has lots of hair... and since God likes us to share, Mommy is going to take her extra hair and give it for Mommies who can't grow their own hair..." She seemed to follow at least a little bit of the concept.

She was napping when I arrived home with significantly less hair, but when we heard her stirring we all went into her room. She didn't seem to notice anything at first, but then when I held her she kept touching the ends of my hair and started frowning. I gently reminded her that I gave my extra hair for the Mommies who can't grow their own hair and she said, "Take it off, Mommy! Take it off!" ...which we think meant, "Undo it!" I said, "Do you want it to go back to long?" and she said, "Back to loooong!!" :) She's adjusted a little more, but ever since the hair cut she still sees me from across the house and says, "Mommy's hair short now!"

And "short" it is! I'm loving it, though... and it's for a good cause so even if I look odd for a few months at least I can feel good about that! :)

Happy New Year!!

2008 was a BLESSED year. It brought our sweet Julia Kate and our precious nephew, Drew, into our lives... and we are a family with more joy, laughs, screams, hugs, diapers, tears, messes, giggles, bows (and boys!) than ever! 2008 also brought my sweet sister and her family closer (geographically) to us, which has already been such a joy to get to have "sister days" again! We thank God for every blessing, big and small, that He gave us throughout the year and we pray for His blessings on this new year as well.

We had a fun night celebrating the coming of another year. Here are a few of our pictures from New Year's Eve:

Dinner with the Mitchells...


Met up with my sister, her hubbie & their friends to ring in the New Year at Victory Plaza...

Frank!

...You know... Frank from "Frank TV?"

We got to see him LIVE at the WinStar Casino in Small-Town, Oklahoma, the day after Christmas. Jen and Andrew treated us and it was HiLaRiOuS!!! He really is talented in impersonations! Loved it.

Christmas in Sherman!

It was the most wonderful, holly-jolly Christmas! I can't believe how quickly the time passed.

We arrived Tuesday night and were fed an amazing home-cooked meal to start off the festivities. The Bossen house was absolutely beautifully decorated for Christmas from the outside in. Really spectacular! It was so much fun to be all together in their new place! On Christmas Eve we woke up and headed to IHOP for a feast (Thanks, Uncle Andrew!) and then went to feed the ducks at a nearby park. Avery and Drew LOVED feeding the ducks up close and personal, and Julia napped through the entire experience. It was a little bit chilly, but it was so much fun to be outside getting some sunshine.

That night we got dressed up and went to the Christmas Eve service at the church Andrew and Jennifer have joined. It was a very worshipful candlelight service focused on the true meaning of Christmas. After coming home and getting the kids in their matching PJ's and tucked in tight, we watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" while eating bowls of Jen's taco soup. (An Ellison family tradition) THEN... came Santa. :) It was a late night, and playing "Santa" is hard work! But it was fun setting everything out in preparation for that magical experience on Christmas morning. And magical it was!

Avery got golf clubs! Julia got a "Learn and Groove" table! Drew got a big ball pit that looked like so much fun that even I was tempted to crawl inside! ...and that's just what "Santa" brought! These kiddos are definitely well-loved, and Collin & I felt like we brought home more than a sleigh-full of toys. TONS of fun for all of us.

Here are our favorite pictures from the days we spent in Sherman, and then a slideshow with MANY more pictures than most of you will have endurance to make it through is forthcoming... but for now here are just a few that have been randomly selected: