in search of the perfect shot...

otherwise known as....the many smiles of elizabeth...just couldn't resist after going through about 25 shots from this particular before Christmas eve service attempt to capture libs in her Christmas dress and bows....this girl definitely has personality!

an overdue glimpse of our Christmas

what a lovely week we've had....delighting and rejoicing in the reality that our Savior came to earth...and that He came as the King of kings...to die on a cross to save us from our sins. we have simply enjoyed being together...relaxing and enjoying one another. here's a glimpse of our celebration...i managed to take 202 pictures in the course of 3 days...so even if you think, whoa! this is too many pictures...know that i actually pared it down quite a bit! :)

the girls open their Christmas PJs on Christmas eve!

can you guess whether mommy or libs decorated these? cookie decorating was our project after Christmas eve service....

elizabeth's decorating creations...including one for daddy, one for grandmommy, and one for poppy...and we did save the ones for grandmommy and poppy and gave them to them when they arrived Christmas day!

daddy savors his super-iced, oh so sugary it will rot your teeth out, cookie libs decorated JUST for him

the stockings were "hung" by the "toy box" with care!...apparently they got a little heavy for that!

the calm before the storm!

most likely the last time we will ever see these 26 books all in the same place!

sisters!


kate really LOVED opening...especially helping mommy...and i must say, daddy was full of delightful surprises...including this under the cabinet stereo for the kitchen (since you all know i LOVE spending time in there)

and even better....a new vacuum....apparently mike's co-workers warned him again and again, that buying his wife a vacuum for Christmas would definitely be a bad idea...but clearly my husband knows me MUCH better than his co-workers...and he knew the vacuum would be a highlight. i have wanted a new vacuum for a quite awhile now! even better...mike is the one who has run it 4 or 5 times since Christmas morning!

and we definitely needed it after the "storm" of wrapping paper and craziness!

the girls just liked playing the box...really, what Christmas is complete without a big ol' box!?

i'm comin' in!

kater in the apron i made her...elizabeth received a matching one

grandmommy and poppy arrived around 11 o'clock Christmas day and stuck around until friday...which was, of course, a fabulous treat! mike and my dad had LOTS of fun playing the mariokart wii game i got mike....

"ho ho ho!"

kate sitting at the picnic table GG sent the girls popping bubble wrap...such exciting stuff!

perhaps the favorite game elizabeth received..."let's go fishing"....and i simply love the sight of daddy, poppy, and libs gathered around the picnic table (and of course, you most definitely NEED the umbrella up...even inside!) playing away!

our birthday cake for jesus...

kater gators doggie slippers...hand knit and felted by grandmommy...while wearing them she likes to bend down, touch them, and growl "woof, woof"...hilarious!

enjoyin' some of Jesus's birthday cake...red velvet!

elizabeth is LOVING her letter and number tracing books...AND her apron

like father like daughter...check out their hands resting on their cheeks...no, this wasn't planned...they really are just that much alike! :)

ten smile tuesday (playing catch up!)

this isn't your typical ten smile tuesday. i'm not sure how many there actually are! our days have been so full...and i simply wanted to share...so it is more like a collage of pictures than anything, but surely you get the idea of what we've been smiling about!

just a few glimpses of our Christmas decor (and yes...the photo on that shelf is from way back when elizabeth was kate's age...apparently i need an updated photo!)

the tree

mr. magnetic snowman...our door greeter...a gift from grandma f.

the stockings...hand knit and felted by grandmommy...aren't they fabulous! (and of course, there is my nativity as well...but i've already shown you that)

these incredible placements and napkins are compliments and dawna and the happy handmade Christmas swap over at domestic bliss

incidentally, they match my table decor PERFECTLY!

our grinnin' gator...all decked out in her Christmas outfits...the tights are my fav part of the ensemble...would won't love chubby little legs toddling around in Christmas trees!

the bean bags i whipped up while enjoying a few hours BY MYSELF (can you believe it!) at home...while mike and nathan worked on a super secret project at the lewis' house...and jill, bless her heart, offered to play with the girls so i could have a few hours off! lovely! granted...i did have to take mugho to the vet...which was also a much lovelier trip without the kiddos!

stampin'...libs LOVED this...i think she equally loved getting to wear daddy's undershirt as an "apron" of sorts (good thing she's getting an apron for Christmas!)

advent calendar time...

my baby is growing up...and so quickly...yogurt, yogurt everywhere...except in her mouth!

hot cocoa anyone?!

and here they are...the girl's dolls....elizabeth's are on the left (the yellow haired one and the one with the brown top and blue skirt)....kate's are on the right. the big ones are made from the wee wonderfuls pattern...and the small ones are black apple dolls. i absolutely can't wait for the girls to open these Christmas morning...in fact, i'm perhaps a bit more excited than they will even be! (as a note...i used felt circles for eyes and then embroidered the nose and mouth with thread...just liked it a bit better than the suggested face for the black apple dolls).


Christmas-y Libs...

eating her special Christmas waffles....elizabeth and i woke up a bit earlier than everyone else saturday morning, so we whipped up a batch of waffles (adding a wee bit of green food coloring just to be festive...AND because, of course, green IS elizabeth's FAVORITE color...as she LOVES to remind us!) and then topped them with strawberries, whip cream, and sprinkles.

our little crafter in training...i'm sure there are many new adventures in crafting to come with kate. as of today i think we're officially done with her morning nap...meaning she'll be up and at 'em during elizabeth and my typical craft time!


she just wants to be like the big girls!

moments of happy together play...i must admit, these aren't always that frequent these days...kate has a mind of her own...a mind that happens to believe "EVERYTHING IS MINE!"...and elizabeth...sweet elizabeth....well, yep, she has that mind too! they are definitely keeping us on our toes...but in the midst of the "ugh!" moments (and sometimes hours or days) we get glimpses of the sweet harmony of playing together...

look closely...can you see it...nope the blue streaks are not something on my camera lens...nope, it's crayon...lately elizabeth has been really into trying to color herself! dear me!

baby love....kate LOVES her baby...drags her everywhere, pushes her in the strollers, and my favorites...she LOVES to sit patting baby's head...precious!

the stockings are hung...

...by our chimney with care, and excitement about Jesus's birthday is definitely in the air!

where have we been...

-trying to stay toasty and warm! (it's a frigid 2 degrees outside...and the wind chill puts it somewhere in the negatives...our poor little heat pump just can't keep up....so we are bundled up and snuggling under blankets...reading books, watching Christmas shows, listening to music...and so on)

-putting on the finishing touches on a few Christmas projects...the girls' dolls now have faces embroidered on, the bean bags are stitched up, and i just have to finish creating a fun CD to go with the bean-bags....hopefully i can accomplish that during naptime today. pictures to come soon...i promise!

-Christmas partying...we attended our Sunday school class party as a family...and for the other, hosted by one of Mike's co-workers, we actually hired a sitter (yes...this is just the second time we've ever actually "hired" and paid someone to watch our kiddos...and no, that doesn't mean we've only left our children twice...just that we have incredible and generous friends and family who love our children!).

-baking cookies....and a cookie exchange at our final MOPS meeting of the semester. i plan to whip up some red velvet Christmas cookies for mike to take to the office tomorrow, and on Christmas eve we will be making sugar cookies with our nativity cut-out set mike's mom gave the girls...but otherwise all the cookies are baked and in the freezer...

-elizabeth is completely enthralled by this movie...the very first noel....so we've been snuggling up underneath blankets, watching, and then singing the songs together....

-making snowflakes and snowmen, stamping, sorting, and singing...any guess what last week's letter was!?

-and so much more...i promise to actually upload the myriad of photos on my camera and sit down to blog later this afternoon or tomorrow....depending on how much i get done in the next little while!

for now though, i am off to make a tiger craft with elizabeth (surely you already guessed that last week was S week...so now we are on to T...elizabeth is cuddling up with her turtle and tyrannosaurus at night and naptime...and we're looking forward to a week of tickles, turtles, tigers, tinsel, and tremendous times!).