Christmas thus far

We have had some fun Christmas activities so far this December.  Mary Selwyn has had two performances and both of the girls have had some Christmas parties.  Nana and Poppy came to visit this week and got to watch Mary Selwyn's school program.  Mary Selwyn had a speaking part in the program and she did so well speaking clearly.  She was one of the easiest kids to understand.  She did great.  We also got to have a mini Christmas morning with the great grandparents, exchanging presents with them, which was a fun treat this year. 

Last night we took the girls to 'A Drive Through Bethlehem' at a local church.  It was neat and the girls loved it.  Before you entered the gates of Bethlehem the soldiers standing guard at the gate approached the car and said to Mary Selwyn, "Why have you come to Bethlehem, young lady?"  Shay and I thought for sure she would be a little scared and freeze; instead, she looked straight at him and said, "We came because we want to learn more about the Bible."  The guard was impressed by her answer and needless to say we got in the gates to see Jesus.  It was a small but proud moment for this mom and dad! Adeline didn't say a word, (very unlike her) she just flashed a quick smile to the gaurd on her side....I'm sure we could have gotten in on that alone. ;)

It has been a busy Christmas season already.  Now that school is out for a few weeks I hope we can take at least a few days to just snuggle and be lazy around the house. 

Our church program.  I didn't have a great seat so I didn't get super great pictures.  Mary Selwyn and bff Owen held hands the whole time they sang.  Precious!

Before our school program

with Nana and Poppy

can't leave out tiny liney

MSN and her sweet teacher Mrs. Young

"I give my heart for loving, and promise I will pray."

Our very own smart car!!

This is a video of the girls opening their power wheels from Nana and Poppy.  It was so fun to watch them.  After a while, MSN said, "I didn't need this, but I REALLY wanted it."  We have enjoyed it so far and are starting to learn how to drive, however, I don't think I will be trusting Adeline anytime soon.

The North Pole Express

Our trip to the North Pole....

leaving the station, waving to bye to everyone

excited

singing christmas carols

admiring mrs. claus' jewlery of course

i love this picture!

Thankful

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We did.  The girls helped me cook dinner for the four of us and it was yummy.  We had a minor accident when Shay hit his head on the car door and got a nasty gash.  We were fortunate enough to avoid the emergency room, thanks to the doc (obgyn) across the street who looked at it and said we could make it without stitches....close call.  We finished up our night with a family sleepover in the living room, a favorite past time of ours.

Our Thanksgiving decor....high dollar stuff right there.

Silly wild indians.... it is hard to get a serious smile face these days.

Kitchen help

Yummmm... look at that mess.



Thanksgiving bath, is that a bubble bath or what.

Last week Mary Selwyn had her Thanksgiving feast and program at school.  It was cute and the "pilgrims and indians" sang lots of cute songs. 

My little pilgrim, who also had an indian identity, princess wild flower.



her 'feast' which she didn't eat a bite of



 It was a happy Thanksgiving...now lets see if I can really get caught up. 

absent blogger....

....that's me.  I have been distracted by life, and maybe, possibly PINTEREST.  It is my new obsession and has thrown me into project mode.  I've refinished a table and am working on two more.  We have also done some fun crafts and I have more projects lined up.... now just to find the time.  We have been super busy lately, school, church and lots of friends having babies that I need to spend time holding.  Yes life has been busy and not without drama unfortunately.  Very sadly and unfortunately my brother and Jess called their wedding off and ended their relationship.  This has been difficult for everyone, especially me and the girls because we loved her so and wanted so desperately for her to be in our family.  It is for the best though and we are thankful they made the right decision before the wedding.  God has bigger plans for both of them I'm sure.  I will try to be better about blogging, especially with the holidays coming up.  I know there are so many people out their distraught because I'm not blogging (insert sarcasm here).  In the meantime I will share some family pictures that my neighbor took.  I'm loving them so far. 

a little pixelated but that is because i saved it from my email and don't have the actual cd yet.

   

Bakefulness

In the first two weeks of school, Mary Selwyn is learning the Fruits of the Spirit.  This is how the conversation went:

MSN: "Mrs. Young told us about the Fruits of the Spirit."

Mom: "Really, that is neat.  Do you know what they are?"

MSN: "Yes, Love, Joy, Peace, Goodness, Kindness and Bakefulness."

Mom: "Bakefulness?  What is that?"

MSN: "You know, like when you bake something for someone!"

Duh, Mommy!  She was so confident in her answer....how dare i be confused.  I'm thankful that she is learning this at such a young age.  Also I feel very strongly that 'Bakefulness' should indeed be a Fruit of the Spirit.  Precious memories.

Time for School

This year Mary Selwyn starts 4P.  She will go every morning, 5 days a week.  She is beyond excited and I am excited for her.  I know she is going to LOVE it.  It makes Shay and I both happy and proud to see her excited.  I am also a little sad because I am just not sure how we got here so fast!  Seems like yesterday I was pregnant and today I have this beautiful, smart, polite, loving and mature 4 year old.  I hope she loves every minute as I try and soak them all up as slowly as possible. 

We met her teacher yesterday and we love her already too!  I think Mary Selwyn is going to have a great year with her friends, old and new.  I was nervous dropping her off this morning but she begged to go in the classroom (before I was ready of course) and we watched her put her bag in it's place and sit in her seat.  I'm thankful that Shay was able to experience the first day of school with us.  We are proud parents.  You will be happy to know that I did not cry until we got back in the car.  I can't wait to go get her in just a little bit and find out how fabulous her first day of school was! 

Mary Selwyn and her teacher Mrs. Young

Mommy and Mary Selwyn sitting at her desk

First day of school.  Color of the day is red.  We wear a different color for the first week.  So fun!!

Sweet sisters.  Louise is going to be very lonely in the mornings with out her partner Thelma!

Proud daddy

Outside her room

About to send her into her room

Here we go!

And this little munchkin can't be left out.  She went to Mother's Morning Out for her first day on Tuesday.  I thought she would be my clingy child but she went in her room without looking back too.  She was so excited.  It felt like she was starting high school.  She is also very proud of her backpack. Don't call it a bag, she will correct you, it is a backpack.  She has such a big personality and a huge imagination.  She can hang with the big girls and loves to play.  She is growing just as fast as her sister did. I'm a sad, sentimental mommy this week.  At least they both had great first days at school!

Ready to go!

Mermaid Splash Party

For Mary Selwyn's birthday party we rented a huge water slide and had a splash of a mermaid party.  We rented a slide from an awesome company called B & B Rentals and they let us keep the slide for a very long time.  We had plenty of time before and after the party so the adults got to play too.... and wow were we sore.  Mary Selwyn was of course most excited to spend the party sliding with her friends.  This is a girl who loves her friends.  We had hot dogs and mermaid cupcakes and although the rain threatened my party it ended up being perfect.  Here are a few pictures.  Mary Selwyn said, "It was the best party every."  After hearing those words I always consider myself a successful party thrower....hopefully she says it every year.

Mermaid tail cupcakes, thank you Mrs. Dork.

Also thank you Goon because Mommy struggled making them thick enough.

Can't believe she is 4!!

If you have noticed I'm enjoying making these collages because it shares a lot of pictures at one time.  Sadly this isn't even half of the pictures from the party.  Thanks to all our sweet friends for making this her best birthday yet!