Sew Fun Saturday: Christmas Morning

Thank you letter from Santa.

The goodies.

"Wake up, Lilly!"

"Wake up, Daddy!"



In our house, Santa doesn't wrap his presents.



Iris' favorite toy.

All Lilly asked for this year was these "xia xia" hermit crabs.

Daddy surprised me with a hand made Scrabble-like wall art board. He cut,  painted, & finished every tile, taped off the tiny squares on the board, and used magnetic paint to hold all the pieces together.  Can you believe it?

 

Our last Christmas as a family of four!

This was the best Christmas yet! I woke up at 5:45 to get everything ready, and Iris didn't wake up until 8am! What are the chances? The girls were just perfect. They were excited about everything, very grateful, and were not jealous of what each other received. Little problems I had anticipated never occurred. We opened presents, ate traditional coffee cake, painted, colored, and played all morning. It was lovely!
One more post, and I'll be done with Christmas. I promise.

Fab. Friday: Christmas Eve Edition

Christmas Eve started off with brunch at the Fogleman's (Grammy's sister's house).

We went to church with some friends & our parents and had everyone back here for beef stew and salad afterwards.



In our family, the girls are able to hug our elf, Buddy, good-bye on Christmas Eve. Iris cried because she wouldn't see him until next year, saying, "but I love him!"



Lilly's turn.



Leaving food out for the reindeer...



and milk & cookies for Santa.

Leaving Santa a magic key on our door step and sharing the good new of Jesus' birth with him.

Now off to bed!

Wee-Ones Wednesday: We've Only Just Begun...

...and you thought Christmas was over! Ha! I have 300+ pictures to go through and a few to share.
December 23rd started out with Buddy hiding in our Gingerbread house, eating candy, while we went out to my Dad's house in Chino. The girls love their G.pa Mike and G.ma Sandy. They were super excited to play hide & seek, watch a train go around the tree, and get fishing poles for Big Bear. Such fun!

Fab Find Friday: Christmas Style

Fabulous tiny powdered donut idea...

Perfect magic key poem for Santa for homes without a fireplace & for families who celebrate Jesus' birth on Christmas Eve (will be left on front door step)...

 Fabulous little friends...

Wee-Ones Wednesday: We Heart Vacation!

Monday: Fashion Island & Snowman craft & Children's Nativity.
Tuesday: Dan replaced flooring in girls' room & Errands & Starbucks hot cocoa and pull the wagon through Floral streets in Brea to look at lights.
Wednesday: Dan finished flooring & My mom and I went through girls' old
clothes and switched dressers & Gingerbread house.
Thursday: Reindeer pancakes for all (dogs too) & Make snowman donuts & Playdate gift exchange & Church
Friday: Baby doctor appointment & Market & Lunch at Crab Cooker in Newport & Christmas with the Rydells
Saturday: Christmas brunch with Foglemans & Church & Host Christmas Eve dinner
Sunday: Celebrate Jesus' birth & Open presents & Visit Grammy and Papa &  Visit G.ma and G.pa
*We wouldn't believe it if we didn't write it all down!

Misc. Monday: Little Angels

Our little sweethearts got to participate in a children's nativity scene tonight. They were so adorable and happy. Afterwards, they got to do crafts and have hot cocoa and sweets. When we got in the car to come home, Iris said she wanted to be an angel again. If you ask me, she already is!

Fab Find Friday: Alternative Door Wreath

I saw this door wreath on Pinterest and had to make my own. It didn't cost me a thing because I had all of the supplies laying around the house. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and love that it is not a wreath at all. A well dressed door is really welcoming, especially at Christmas. Do you all make wreaths for your front door?

Wee-Ones Wednesday: Proud Mary

Iris, crying: "I want to wear Tinkerbelle."
Me: "No, Iris you are not in Lilly's play."
Lilly: "Aw, Mom, just let her."

Oh holy night...

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

"I see Lilly."

The only girl lucky enough to have 6 grandparents in the audience.

Last year, when Lilly was Raggedy Ann in the toy parade part of her Christmas play, she told me that she really wanted to be Mary. So when she came home from school this year, and told us she was chosen to be Mary, she was so excited, I couldn't help tearing up. She immediately called all her grandparents to tell them the good news. She's been singing songs and practicing for weeks now, and even asked us if she would get to hold a real baby.
The night of the play(last night), she was pretty serious.  I was so proud of how much Lilly has matured. (In her 1st preschool play, she flashed her undies)! Iris could not take her eyes off of her sister, and I can hardly believe this is her last year in preschool.
After the play, we had everyone over for dessert. The girls were in heaven and got to stay up way past their bed time. At 3am, Lilly woke up crying because her ear hurt. She missed school today, went to the doctor's office, and is now on antibiotics and albuterol. What a blessing that this did not come on one day sooner and she did not miss the play she was so looking forward to. God really knows what's important to a five year old!

Misc. Monday: Happy Birthday, Birthday Boy!

Yesterday, we celebrated Dan's birthday by kidnapping him after church and driving down to Lake Forest for breakfast. Dan loves the Bagel Shack, so he was super excited and the girls loved the blindfold her had to wear. They let Daddy pick the music on the drive, were super well-behaved, and kept telling him, "Happy birthday, birthday boy!" It was so cute.
When we got home, Dan got some alone time while we baked him a special peach cobbler (per his request). In the afternoon, we went to a Christmas celebration with the Givens family, ordered ribs, sang and ate dessert with Grammy and Papa.
Dan, I love you more than words can explain and look forward to many more birthdays with you! xxoo, m