Done!

We had the homeowner orientation on Tuesday. The house is done, it's beautiful, and we get the keys (Lord willing) tomorrow afternoon! Yay! I'll take pictures of the inside to post sometime soon.

We were kind of surprised they put in all the landscaping this late in the year. But if it doesn't sprout leaves in the spring, at least it's under warranty. :)

And, lastly, I will say that I'm very happy to get a red door--a dream come true.

 

Birthday Boy

 

We went downtown to have lunch with Kev at the Artsgarden. Several choirs were singing Christmas songs and then we walked around the mall. Every time we have lunch during the work week with Kevin I think, "We should do this more often!"

 

Singing Happy Birthday

 

One of Kevin's presents was a new ladder from his parents. He of course was thrilled. We must be buying a house, eh?

 

It was really fun to watch Clara play with Colin. He would hold her high in the air and she kept purposefully dropping her passy on his face to get a laugh. Cute.

Mothering: In a Day

The highs and lows of mothering—all in one day.

7:00 a.m.—Meredith stayed dry all night! Miracle of miracles! We decided to go cold turkey and put her in bed without a pull-up. (I'm tired of buying pull-ups. Do you know how expensive they are?) This was only the second night of doing that. Kevin says I should not have high hopes because it might not be consistent. But I don’t see any reason not to celebrate?! I was so happy I told her she could have soda pop at lunch.

11:00 a.m.—I went down the Yule Slide at the children’s museum with Clara. She chuckled the whole way down and when we got to the end she let out a huge belly laugh. Priceless. Totally worth the price of admission just for that! We stood in line and did it four times.

2:00 p.m.—We hit the “samples” jack-pot at Costco. Every aisle had a sample of something, which the kids loved. Then when I refused to give Clara a sample of sparkling grape juice, but her sister got one, she screamed and had the most embarrassing tantrum ever, which lasted about a minute but felt like an hour. That’s what I get for taking her shopping at the height of nap time.

3:30 p.m.—In the car on the way home, Meredith tells me, “I just can’t wait until I’m a mommy.” I asked her, “Why do you want to be a mommy?” She said, “’Cuz I want to be just like you.” Now that pretty much made my year, if not my life. It’s nice she thinks that at age three. Hopefully she’ll think it at 13.

And the day’s not even over yet …

That first unexpected snow ...

I think I've said it before on this blog, but I'll say it again ...

That first snow is MAGICAL!!

I love waking up and being surprised by that first blanket of snow, transforming the world into a fresh, white, wonderland.

This year, Sunday morning was when it happened! It's been snowing on and off since then. I love stopping what I'm doing to look at it through the window. I feel like I'm on the inside of a snow globe. I love it!

Here is the view from two of our windows on Sunday morning. Yes, we were in a hurry to get to church but I had to take pictures anyway!!

 

 

Day of Thanks

This was probably one of the most memorable Thanksgivings for me. It was a day of family, unexpected family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers (to me) getting together to feast and fellowship in a spirit of thankfulness.

I was really glad that we went to a Thanksgiving service held in our pastor's home on Thanksgiving Eve. It really put me in a mood of gratefulness. I had a hectic day of trying to make pies and take care of two busy kids. So, it was really nice to set aside a few hours to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday!

After the fact, I wish I'd taken so many more pictures. I really appreciated Kevin's dad doing "Five Kernels of Corn" place settings. I am disappointed that I forgot to take a picture of it. And I didn't get a picture of the fabulous food buffet either. Oh well. Here is the best of what I got!