Date Night!!!

The kids have played Wii and watched movies today. I just hung out and didn't do much. Then this afternoon Hope had an appointment with a friend of ours who is a dermatologist. Sara has been a regular at Cheryl's office because of all of her skin issues. The kids love Dr. Cheryl. She's kind of a celebrity in our house. (I think I might have said that before in a different blog!) She is so wonderful and sweet to our kids. We had dinner with her and her husband recently and Hope took to Don! It was hysterical!

But today Hope had to see Cheryl at her office. She has some bumps all over her face and neck. Turns out they're not that big of a deal, but Lance wanted Cheryl to check them out. All the way there, Hope kept telling me, "Momma, I tell Dr. Cheryl not to poke me with a needle." Bless her heart, she was scared! I took a couple pics on my phone, so they're not great but here she is.

Sitting on the "princess chair"

Her true personality! It's hard to see, but she's pouting really hard trying to make a face for the camera!

We got home and I packed up all the kids. Leah (my sister in law) wanted the girls to spend the night at their house with her brother's daughter. And I asked Mom and Dad if Luke and Emma could spend the night at their house so Lance and I could have a date. Woo Hoo!!!!

We met some good friends for dinner and then we went to see Avatar. It was amazing!!!! We were so glad we went. We were sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start and both of us were about to fall asleep. But when it started, it kept our attention for almost 3 hours!

Now we're at home and about to head to bed. I don't have to worry about anybody walking into our room in the middle of the night so yea peaceful sleep! And I plan to get some good cleaning done around the house in the morning. It's snowing outside right now, so who knows! Maybe we'll get to play in the snow again this week!

Merry Christmas! (a day late!)

Well, Christmas has come and (almost) gone. We are getting together with Lance's mom's family tomorrow and then it will officially be over. We had a great Christmas this year. It was a short Christmas season, and I felt rushed the whole time and was looking forward to Christmas with a little bit of trepidation. We had a lot of things scheduled. But I think the Lord knew I needed some down time with my family. We didn't make it to 2 extended family get togethers because of SNOW! and we had a relaxing Christmas. The kids loved it.

Luke was ecstatic to get a Nintendo DS gaming system and a camcorder. He has bugged us for months about wanting a DS. He has had his head buried in it since he opened it!

We got the girls a Cinderella castle when we were in Disney and Sara LOVES it! She has played with it for hours. And Santa brought her a magic glow board. I thought she would have loved it, but she was just ok with it.

Hope asked Santa for a Fur real cat. The thing is freaky! It is life size and moves and meows and purrs. It is SO lifelike! She is in love with it. The only problem is, Sara and Emma love it just as much! There have been many tears involved over who can play with it!

Emma has really enjoyed the season! She loved opening her presents. The funny thing is, she really wants Hope's cat!

We had a white Christmas this year! The first one I can remember in years! Mom and Dad came over for breakfast and then we went out in the snow! The kids had a blast! Even Emma! I didn't think she would like it, but she cried when we made her come in.

It's been a great past few days. We've made some great memories. I am so blessed to have the family God has given me.

The proudest time for me was Christmas morning. All the kids spend the night in our room. When we all wake up Christmas morning, Lance reads "THE Christmas Story" from the Bible and then we open the first present. Luke opens it first and in it is another wrapped present. Sara opens it and there's another present; then it's Hope's turn. Finally there is the last present and Emma opened it this year. Inside is baby Jesus. We take him to our manger. He hasn't been there all Christmas season. He is THE Christmas gift. The whole reason we have Christmas.

My kids were so excited to open baby Jesus. It was such a thrill for me to see them get so excited about it. What special gifts He has given me!

I'm Baaack!

It has been a crazy couple weeks. I've started a home business and I have had so much business the past couple weeks that all of my spare time has been filling orders. I love it, and it has given me a great creative outlet, but I have been overwhelmed the past few weeks. I'm ready for the Christmas rush to die down. :)

We have had several memorable things happen the past 2 weeks. The most memorable of which was this...

We are so blessed. Words cannot describe the emotions while watching your child be baptized. And we were doubly blessed because our dear friend Mark Maier baptized Luke. Mark, Lance and I went to college together and he and his wife are some of our closest friends. He is the worship pastor at our church and was able to baptize Luke for us. It was such a special day.

It has been such a privilege to watch Luke grow in his faith already. To see the Holy Spirit speaking to my son is such a humbling experience. The Sunday afternoon that he was baptized, we went home after lunch at my parents, and were having rest time. Luke was in his room watching a movie on our portable DVD player. When Sara got up from rest time, she went to his room and wanted to watch it with him. He was being ugly and didn't want her to. So I told her to come in to the living room with me. In a couple minutes, Luke followed us and said, "Sara, you can come watch it with me." I looked at him and asked him, "What got into you?" His response? "The Holy Spirit." Just as serious as can be. It was so cute and so pure.

I checked his book bag yesterday after he got home from school for Christmas break. I found a folded piece of construction paper. On one side was Jesus on the Cross. Lance and I couldn't make out the other side. When I asked Luke what it was, he said it was Jesus on the cross and baby Jesus. (then I could make out a manger scene :) ) I asked him why he drew it and he said that his teacher told them to. I asked him, "Mrs. Powell told you to draw Jesus on the cross?" He said, "No, she told us to draw a Christmas picture."

PROUD MOMMA!!!! If only everyone understood Christmas like he does.

We are looking so forward to the next week. Luke is home for 2 weeks. I have sugar cookie dough, gingerbread dough, we're going to do our family Christmas baking tomorrow, and we're going to have several movie nights! Can't wait!!!

What a Weekend!

I have been so busy lately, I can't see straight! I'm beginning to realize that my life is just going to stay in a state of constant chaos and commotion! It's starting to wear on me, but I hope after we get through this weekend, I'll be able to get more control on things.

Our church is presenting "Christmas Lives in Me" this weekend. We had two performances today and one tomorrow. I'm singing in the choir, Luke is in the children's choir and sings a few songs, Sara is an angel popping out of a wrapped Christmas present during one of the children's songs (and is the absolute cutest little thing!), and Lance is a shepard and leads a live donkey through the church. It's been a lot of fun. I love that most of my family is involved this year. Emma was baby Jesus last year. So Hope is the only one who hasn't been in a Christmas program. Next year! :) And my Mom and Dad are in it also. A true family experience!

Tomorrow is another big day. Luke is being baptized! I am so proud of him. Several family members are coming and he is going to be so happy. Then Mom is fixing lunch for everyone at her house. It will be a wonderful day.