Goodbye 2009

Here are some things that took place for us in 2009

• The King got a job with his company right here in our town
• Chiggie turned 8
• Tea turned 5
• Midge turned 3
• Boo turned 2
• We found at we were expecting #5 Yay!
• We had our main bathroom and dining room remodeled
• Chiggie played basketball and had a great time
• Tea and Chiggie played soccer this fall and loved it
• Chiggie finished 1st grade and started 2nd. Hands down her best school year yet
• Tea lost her 1st tooth
• The little girls really grew up and play great together
• The King and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. We even got to go out of town.
• We became more involved with our church

Overall, we had some great things happen this year. We had some pretty crummy things happen too, but hey those are no fun to list off. Plus I don't think we'll be forgetting them anytime soon, so we'll stick with the fun list!

We'll celebrate tonight with pizza and snacks. The girls got some new games for Christmas we'll try out and then maybe watch a movie. I have so much hope for 2010. Our little man will be here. The girls have so much to look forward to and I hope to spend as much time as possible with my family.

Slumber Party

As I had promised the girls, I let them have my little sisters come for a sleep over last night. Prior to coming home I had to pick a few things up at the grocery store. They were all on their best behaviour so I let them pick out a candy/snack for later. We came home and I made a nice big dinner that they all loved. They played Wii, DS, and dolls until it got pretty late. Then we brought the blankets and pillows all out in to the family room to get situated for the movie. I let them have their snacks and we all watched Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Monsters Vs. Aliens. I laughed at both. It was a late night but they were all just enjoying themselves.

They were very kind this morning and slept until 8:30. It felt awesome. I am so dreading school starting back up. Reality is not sounding great right now. They have been playing nicely all morning and this afternoon we're going swimming. My girls will be all tuckered out tonight, that's for sure. Hopefully I'll get a chance to take some swimming pictures!

Normal

Things are feeling much more normal around here this evening. The house is a disaster but all of the Christmas decor is officially down. It would look completely empty if it wasn't for all of the clutter. Oh well, gives me something to do tomorrow I suppose. The girls had a rather wild day today. Nothing bad just craziness. It seems like things always get that way when I am pre-occupied. They spent a great deal of time playing on the Wii which is fine by me. We have had our Wii for almost two years now and I have to say that thing just does not get old. I love it, the King loves it, the kids love it. It's a hit all the way around.

Tomorrow I plan to finish up things around the house and then my little sisters are coming for a sleepover. I promised the girls one over the break, we just wanted to wait until after Christmas so that they would have their new things to play with. It should be fun. Then on Wednesday I hope to take them all, with the help of my Mom of course, swimming at the gym. Thursday we plan to just relax as a family, watch some movies, and eat pizza. Anyone who wants to stay up can. I'm looking very forward to 2010, I hope it doesn't disappoint!

Do I Have To?

We always take all of our Christmas decorations down before the New Year. I know some do it the opposite, but I like to start the year off fresh. The fact that Christmas fell on Friday this year has thrown me off just a bit. I didn't feel like doing it on Saturday, it just felt too soon. Then yesterday was too busy. Now the King is back at work all week and it's all still up. It's hard to keep the little ones out of stuff once I take it off shelves so this should be interesting. I'm hoping to have everything down and ready to put back out in storage tonight. Ahhh, wish me luck!

Holiday Hangover

No not that kind of hangover. The other kind. Where your surrounded by all things Christmas. Toys, paper, boxes, candy wrappers, cards, and receipts reminding you of what you've done. Yeah, my head hurts. I have had no energy, but somehow made it up at 7 to get ready for Church even after staying up until well after midnight. The girls have been too excited to sleep and I'm wondering why I didn't ask Santa for tranquilizer darts. Ahhhhh the holiday aftermath it really does happen every year.

This week will be nice because the King will have Friday off again. Chiggie will also continue on vacation so no early mornings for us. We don't have any huge plans, which really makes it even nicer. The girls really are entertaining themselves with their new toys and that's nice. Now if I could just sneak off to bed.....

Christmas

This Christmas season flew by so fast. I think I'm in denial that today really is the 26th. Strange really. We had a wonderful day yesterday. The girls allowed us to sleep in until 7 when they just couldn't wait any longer. Chiggie had already scouted and informed the other girls that Santa indeed had come. We were up very late the previous night tracking his flight so we already knew ;)

After all the presents had been opened the girls enjoyed Cinnamon rolls. We had plenty of time for them to open and enjoy most of their gifts before heading over to my Mom's house. At my Mom's we enjoyed a fabulous feast of Prime Rib, twice baked potatoes, asparagus, rolls, veggie trays, and several desserts. Yum. I'm still full really, but after typing that I could definitely do that again. We played some guitar hero and chatted before heading home for some rest.

The rest part could've gone a little better. The girls weren't having it and I was exhausted at that point. I finally gave up and helped the older girls put together their Chixos Loft. That actually ended up being a lot of fun. They turned out really good and the girls were really excited about it. While the older two were doing that, the little girls occupied their time painting with their new paint sets. I love the Crayola Color Wonder stuff.

By the time we got done with all of that it was bed time. The girls again donned new pj's (thanks Tracy) and brushed their teeth with the new brushes Santa left. They were tired so bedtime wasn't too bad. It just felt surreal that it was all coming to an end. A good day though. I don't know what more a person could really ask for. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Following is a picture by picture play of events entirely out of chronological order, enjoy!

Chiggie very creatively put together her Chixos Loft.

I'm really glad we bought these, they were a lot of fun.

Midge concentrates as she paints a beautiful picture.

Boo got a finger paint set and made this masterpiece.

Tea got a Cinderella book that came with this veil, gloves, and wedding ring. Now all we need is a groom right?




Dr. Midge works to save this little pooch's life after he fell off of my bed. Lucky for him he need only about 1000 shots before he was good to go.

The Grinch took a spin in Boo's baby doll's new ride.
I'm not entirely sure, but I think Chiggie liked her DS games.

Boo, and all of the girls actually, loved the hats made by their Uncle.

They were so good about handing out presents this year. The King and I just had to sit back and supervise.
Midge made the nice list!

When I asked Tea what she was going to do with her new guitar, she looked at me like I was crazy and said, "party like a rock star!" The force is strong in this one.

Everyone but me all fixed up for the Christmas Eve service at church. Somebody has to take the pictures ya know.
The gingerbread house all finished.

Tea worked diligently on the roof.The King was the Contractor.

Midge could hardly stand the anticipation.

Christmas Eve

Today was probably one of the best Christmas Eve's we have ever had. It started out with getting to sleep in. It's amazing the difference sleep can make. After staying up late the last several nights in a row it was awesome to just sleep. I felt energized after we got up and started cleaning up right away. Usually I drag my feet a bit whenever it's a holiday. The more I did the more motivated I was to keep going. By afternoon, the whole house was clean and I felt great about it. It's so nice to know that we'll be able to relax tomorrow and just enjoy the day without having much to do.

We also built our gingerbread house. The little girls especially loved decorating it. I love that I have completely lost my need to control situations like that. I just don't care anymore. As long as they have fun and get along they can do it however they want. It truly is a blessing having several kids. I really think I have gained wisdom with each new arrival.

This evening we all got ready and went to the candlelight service at our church. All three older girls sang and it was beautiful really. They looked very pretty and we were proud of how their practice really paid off. After we got home we ate sub sandwiches and chips. The girls were allowed to open one present under the tree, new pj's (thanks Aunt Neysha, Uncle Russell, and Naava.) We also opened a family gift, the book 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, which was recorded by my Mom. Then it was teeth brushing and bed. The excitement in the air would have bogged down a chain saw, I'm sure of it. I'm hoping for good sleep for everyone!

****Blogger is being difficult and won't let me add any pictures tonight. I'll try again later if I can, but if not, I will post them tomorrow for sure!****

The Home Stretch

Wow, it really is 2 days until Christmas. Crazy. Surprisingly everything has gone as planned. All we really have left to do is decorate our gingerbread house, which we're doing tomorrow. Tonight we went out for a nice dinner and then drove around looking at Christmas lights. There was one house in particular where the lights danced to music on the radio. The kids loved that!

Tomorrow the King is off and we plan to do some housework and then go to the candlelight service at church. The girls are performing so that should be fun. They have a couple of presents to open tomorrow night, but the rest will be saved for Christmas morning. I hope everyone else is having a blessed season as well!

Coming Down

Today we are relaxing. Just hanging out and going nowhere. Well, everyone but the King that is. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, he had to work. This is the first day in weeks that the girls and I have not had to be up and going 100 mph first thing. The girls all slept in and were in great moods after catching up on much needed sleep. It's been fun for them to just get to play all day.

Yesterday was Chiggie's class party and they had a really fun time. It's fun for the little girls to get treats too!

The Secret Santa gift exchange was a hit. Chiggie got a really cool lip gloss that she can decorate and a necklace with several charms as well.

We made it through the week and now we can just enjoy the little time we have left until Christmas, eeek!

Luncheons, Musicals, and Parties Oh My

I hate using the excuse that we've been busy. So has everybody. We have though. I need to take a minute to get a few things down before I forget to mention them at all. Today was Chiggie's school Christmas luncheon. The girls and I went and had a great time. Tonight was her Christmas musical and I cannot say enough how adorable it was. The kids did great. The songs were so festive and cute. Due to the lighting I wasn't able to take great pictures, but we did video tape the whole thing, so if you missed it we have it.

Tomorrow is Chiggie's party at school. I have cupcakes in the oven as I type. I'm frosting them red and green and then have some cute holiday toppers to add. They're doing a Secret Santa gift exchange and of course the kids are all super excited. It's so fun for the little girls to be a part of all of this as well. They look so forward to starting school. Chiggie and Tea also had their youth group Christmas party last night. They had a visit from Santa himself, and received several gifts a piece. They also practiced for a concert they'll be doing on Christmas Eve at the church. Midge knows the songs too, so she gets to participate as well.

I have to say, we have had such a fun Christmas season. I need to finish up shopping this weekend, but it's been really fun to do other things. We're working hard to teach the girls that Christmas is not about stuff, and I think it's working. Especially the older girls are really getting that Jesus was our gift and that's what we really celebrate. I love that they want to give gifts and talk more about that than talking about what they "want." I hope to really foster this in years to come.

Whew

So much to say, so little time. I need to update on our happenings over the last several days, but before I do I must say it is extremely difficult to keep a straight face when you pick up the phone in front of your 5 year old and ask to speak with the Executive Elf in charge of the Naughty List. It works wonders though it really does.

Catch Up

I may post again today, if I'm feeling ambitious, but since I missed yesterday I want to update on what's been going on:

• Snow, snow, and frigid temps.
• School has been delayed for the last two days. We've got a little extra sleep so that's been nice.
• I spent the day yesterday helping my Mom out with the Santa Shoppe at my little sister's school. The little girls tagged along and we had a lot of fun.
• Chiggie is preparing like crazy for all the holiday activities she has going on at school
• She also lost a tooth yesterday, which was pretty cool. The Tooth Fairy came as well.
• I've done some shopping which makes me feel better. This weekend looks even crazier for us than last.

Well, I think that catches yesterday up. Hopefully I'll have something exciting to say about today. Let's just hope it's nothing too exciting!

Manic Monday

Ahhhh, the start of a new week. Today I got my house cleaning and a lot of laundry done. Boring, but very necessary. apparently a couple of the girls found it none to exciting as well.....

Crashing

We have had a wonderfully busy last few days. Busy with fun things like parties and parades, cookies, and fun. Today I finally crashed. I just ran out of gas completely. We made it to church and amazingly I wasn't too tired at the point. I was in the nursery which kept me busy and alert so that was good. Once we got home it all went downhill. I made it through lunch and that's about all I remember. I laid down on my bed at around 2'ish and the next thing I knew it was almost 5. It snowed on and off all day so the girls just entertained themselves puzzles and toys and the King watched some football on and off.

I don't feel much more rested this evening actually. I woke up with a headache and that foggy feeling you get when you sleep too much during the day. I forced myself to make a nice dinner, which did make me feel a little better, and hopefully took enough energy to tire me back out for bed tonight. I have another fun, busy, week and I need to sleep good tonight!

Parade of Lights

Boo goofing around before the parade began.
Mema enjoys a cup of hot cocoa.

Midge waves to a passing float.

Chiggie tries to keep warm sipping on her hot cocoa.

Papa was the official hot cocoa server.

All the girls.

Tea took a few pictures of her own.

Boo, before we left the house. Think Christmas Story, in this outfit.

Too Sweet

One thing the girls look forward to every year is baking and frosting sugar cookies. It provides hours of messy entertainment followed by a good hour of cleaning, but hey it makes them happy. We made some cookies tonight for the parade tomorrow. We'll eat cookies and drink hot cocoa and hopefully stay warm!

Delay

It snowed on and off all night last night with no major accumulations. It got cold though. Like think Antarctica cold. The King called me this morning to tell me to check for delays due to the roads being so icy. I checked the computer, which took 15 minutes to type I was shaking and chattering so hard, with the heat on. Sure enough a 2 hour delay. I fell back into bed and fast! The girls slept until 8 and then they all got to eat breakfast together. Chiggie enjoyed the leisurely morning and I got a lot done before I even had to take her. The roads were slick. I saw several cars spinning out, but thankfully no accidents. I love snow during the Holidays!

This one's for you Elizabeth!

The girls all bundled up to take Chiggie to school this morning.

Counting Down

The girls are loving counting down the days until Christmas with candy! We wait for the King to get home, just to really build up the excitement. I can't believe it's already December 2nd.

Random Thoughts on a Wednesday

• I typed random thoughts on a Tuesday at first. This week is flying by
• It's snowing like crazy outside
• The heat is on but it still feels freezing
• I need to do some Christmas shopping
• I'm excited for the parade this weekend
• I hope it's not freezing
• Boo is pulling all the books off of the shelf and I don't care because she's doing it quietly
• I have had to "run" to the grocery store like 3 times already this week. I seriously need to make a better list this week
• Chiggie looked so cute this morning all bundled up for school
• Tea has fallen asleep looking at the wish book every night this week. It is adorable!
• I cleaned the house yesterday but hate the maintenance part. I just want to freeze it clean.