Angels

We had a lot of discussions recently about angels. The girls were very interested in them. So we looked them up in the Bible, I read stories about them and they learned quite a bit about angels. The other morning we were laying in bed together - Matt had already gone to work. Chloe asked me, "Where's Daddy?" "At work" I said. After a while she said, "Well, it's very early I bet there is an angel watching him. It is dark outside." It was so sweet. She wanted to make sure her Daddy was protected since he had to leave so early in the morning. They have said it other times when we are in the car and I just love to hear them!

Poem

A poem I found:

Twas the night before Jesus Came

'Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house

Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.

Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care

In hopes that Jesus would not come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,

Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.

And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap

Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter,

I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear

But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.

With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray

I knew in a moment this must be The Day!

The light of His face made me cover my head

It was Jesus! returning just like He had said.

And though I possessed wordly wisdom and wealth

I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand

Was written the name of every saved man.

He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;

When He said "It's not here" my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love

He gathered to take His Father above.

With those who were ready He rose without a sound

While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;

I had waited too long and this sealed my fate.

I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;

Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;

The coming of Jesus is drawing near.

There's only one life and when comes the last call

We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

Are you ready?

White Christmas Night

For the first time since I have lived in the south, it snowed on Christmas Day!! It started around 8:00 pm and this is what it looked like this morning (the day after Christmas). I made Matt go out and take a picture of the house with the Christmas lights on! It was so pretty out and I wanted to remember our last Christmas in this house with a beautiful picture! The kids were so excited to see the winter wonderland when they woke up! And they know the drill - outside first thing!! You never know when it will melt away down here, so as soon as you are up, you need to be out!!
The big three were out first with Daddy (he didn't have to leave for work right away so he got to stay and play too)!
Finley got dressed next. She was cracking me up. She wouldn't put her arms down - I guess with this many layers of clothing you can't. She was excited to step foot in the fluffy white stuff. She didn't walk far, but she was interested!

Carly had to take Finley down the hill in the sled! Finley loved it and wanted to do more. She is a trooper. I was able to put my snow bibs on even though I couldn't zip them!

The snow was as deep as her boots!

Lots of Snow fun!

Christmas Day

Carly and Chloe got Leapster's from Uncle Kris and Aunt Gina on Christmas Eve so we told them that when they woke up in the morning they could play them in our room. They got up around 7:15 and played them for a good 45 minutes. Matt and I got to relax with them. Then around 8:00 we brought Harper into our room and told them we were going into the living room. Chloe said, "Oh, to open presents." I love how it wasn't a big mad obnoxious rush to go get gifts. We spent the next hour or so opening presents. The first ones they opened were the ones they bought each other and us. We had taken them to the Dollar tree to go shopping and they each bought each other some very thoughtful gifts. They also bought everyone gifts from Sparks. I love the looks on their faces as we all opened them. Daddy also took them shopping for me and they got some very thoughtful things. Chloe bought be a plate because a while back I broke the one on the counter. She remembered that and told Matt that is what she wanted to buy me! So thoughtful! We enjoyed our morning watching them open everything.

Finley got a baby in her stocking! She loves it! She kept hugging and kissing it.

Harper got a bike! They walked into the living room and he was so excited! Especially since it was blue! The girls escorted him around the house and were so excited for him. They didn't even care about unwrapping something. They were just so happy to show him the ropes of a bike!
This about sums it up for Christmas morning. Lots of busy bodies (see why there aren't very many pictures)! Finley got new cups and she sat in the kitchen feeding her new dog she got from Grandma and Grandpa. She was not about to let those cups go!

Carly and Chloe decided to decorate themselves while we went to Grandma Kay's and Grandpa Eddie's house. They always find a way to entertain themselves!! We spent the morning over there and having lunch. Lots of Christmas fun!

Finley before bed. She loves this hat so we had to take a picture of her in it. Don't you just want to squeeze her!

Christmas Eve 2010

Our Christmas Eve festivities started around 11:00. We went over to Mom and Dads and all the kids got to play for a while. Finley took a nap at Oma's while I went with Nichole, Kris and Gina to the new neighborhood to show them. We had a very nice time with everyone and the kids were nice and worn out after all that playing. We snacked all day! I love spending time with them. Here is our family!! I cannot believe this picture turned out as good as it did! Love it!

Finley - words can't describe her!

Daddy with his girls!

All the kids - 8 grandkids, 8 and under and growing!

Uncle Matt thought he was tricky wrapping Connor's present. He wanted to give him a run using every different type of tape he owned. Connor was up for the challenge until the end and he had his Daddy do it!

My Dad made Harper this gift. He absolutely LOVES it! It is just a piece of wood with screws in it. He uses a screwdriver and unscrews them and then screws them back. Great idea Grandma and Grandpa!!

A little Random

Here are just a few random shots

Harper insists on sleeping like he is in a cacoon. He wraps up so tight! I think it is cute :)
Finley got suckered into playing dress up with the girls! She kept saying pretty, but it didn't last too long!

One thing that I will not miss is this!! Our printer is on the shelf in the laundry room - we have stuff crammed everywhere. So in order for me to copy something, I have to get out the step stool, step on the dryer and then make my copies! It will be very nice to have an office for all this stuff!!!

Hair

Carly and Chloe spend hours a day doing their Barbies and babies' hair putting as many hair bows as possible in them. So I decided that they could do mine. They accomplished putting an entire tub of hair accessories in my hair within a few minutes. I love the way it felt! I had my eyes closed the whole time. They kept asking me why they were closed and I told them that is what you do when you get pampered. So relaxing!
Carly strategically placing a clip!

The Call!

On December 17th, we got the call from Carol, our Realtor! We have an offer on our house!!!! I couldn't believe it! Shocked doesn't even describe it. We countered their offer and they accepted it the next day. So on the 18th we officially went under contract! We have been waiting for 2 years (in February) and it amazes me how God's timing is perfect. This whole time we have been praying for the right people to find our house and they seem pretty great so far. They even called us on Monday and told us that we could rent back our house after we close on January 26th!!! An option I didn't even know existed! So we can have extra time in our home! Now we haven't discussed all the details yet, we may know more this week, but that would be amazing if we could at least stay here until the baby comes! We went looking for houses that were for sale that weekend and we just couldn't find the right fit for us. We kept thinking of Houston Ridge - the neighborhood we found last year that we actually had a contract on a house, but it went up because we didn't sell ours. There are only 35 lots in there. We were the second ones in the neighborhood last year! Now, well there are only 6 lots left!! 4 of which haven't been released so we were calling them trying to figure out if we could get one. Well, the day we got the offer, one lot became available. We thought we would get it, but it wouldn't accommodate a pool that we want. So, unfortunately we had to swipe a lot out from under someone who was under contingency and Christmas Eve we got the call that the lot was ours!!!! YAY!! We will have room for our little tribe! The lot itself is 1.5 acres! We have a contract on it and it looks like it won't be done until May! Yikes! But so worth the wait!! I'll take waiting for months if we can get exactly what we want. The kids are so excited and so are we. This will be an eventful few months! Here are some pictures of the lot

Lot 23 is a corner lot - not our prime location, but like I said there are only 35 houses in this neighborhood and this lot is in the back, so traffic shouldn't be bad on the road. But I will sacrifice location for everything else we get!
This is where the driveway will be and the house clearing - did I mention there are trees!!! I love wooded lots! It is just way to hot down here to not have shade!

Annual Tree Campout

It has been tricky trying to plan our annual Christmas Tree Camp out this year! We actually had 7 showings on our house in 1 week, so pitching a tent in the living room wasn't going to happen. But we managed to squeeze in the fun night right before Christmas. The kids blew up their own air mattresses and got themselves all ready. They had books, flashlights, animals, etc. all in their little corners of the tent. They love sleeping next to the tree with the lights on! They all slept great and are waiting for the next camp out!

The annual Santa Outing

We took the kids to the annual bravery outing! Each year they have to pump themselves up for this 1 picture with Santa. It is rather amusing. They don't speak to the man, they don't hang around at all actually, they just smile and take off!

Reilly and Reagan always go with us, so here they are! They are getting so big, they barely could fit on his lap!
And here is our crew. Finley was waving to Santa the whole time, but as soon as I put her on his lap, she SCREAMED!! I took her off, and she turned around and waved some more. She was not sitting with that man! So now all 3 girls will not sit with Santa! That works for me - no sitting on old men with beards laps!! Harper on the other hand, has to show his bravery and do the impossible!!

Then we always ride the train after Santa. Harper is too little to ride by himself, so the man MADE me ride the train! I tried to get out of it, but he wouldn't bend the rules. He was going to let him ride in a car with another family, but Harper was about to break down when he realized no one would be with him. So I sucked it up and paid the extra $3 for myself (yes, I had to pay) and I took my boy in the blue train! There are just some things you have to do for your kids and for this boy, I guess I could ride the train!

And all the girls! They were talking the entire time to everyone around, except Reilly. She barked!! Another year of fun memories with their cousins!

The Nutcracker

I had the opportunity to take the girls to see the Nutcracker yesterday! We got free tickets from someone in our homeschool group. It was so fun to take my big girls out and about doing something just for them. It made me realize how big they are getting! They are such funny girls and we really enjoyed our day together. I was nervous about the weather, but it ended up being fine and we only got lost walking to the theatre! We ended up ice skating down the sidewalks of Charlotte only to wind up back where we started. It was an adventure!

Getting ready to get our seats. They were so excited to go to the ballet!

T minus 10 minutes! The show was beautiful. It even had a snow scene that was breath taking. It was an educational performance, so it was only and hour and 15 minutes, which was perfect for their attention span. Now, of course, they want to be in the Nutcracker!

A huge Christmas tree in Bank of America - they made be get the whole tree in the picture so they could show Dad and Harper how big it was! After the show, we went out to lunch and finished our girls day with full bellies. I love my sweet Carly and Chloe!

Christmas Time is Coming

December 15th was a big day for Carly and Chloe! They started choir at our church, and this was the big Christmas performance. They absolutely LOVE Ms. Kim and singing with her. For the past few months, Wednesdays have been their favorite day of the week, because they get to see her! So, needless to say, this performance was so exciting for them!

They had to make sure they looked their absolute best, so they called on Oma to come and paint their nails red to match their outfit! Oma was happy to come at their request!
Getting ready to leave!

During the show they had puppets - they thought they were silly!

All the boys played instruments during the first and last song. It was rather humorous!

The choir! They all did so well!

And their favorite person - Ms. Kim!!

Aww

We actually got all 4 kids to look at the camera and look decent the other morning before church!! Just had to share!!

Can you Imagine?

After telling the Christmas story a million times, I realized something. Imagine holding your sweet baby as it is wrapped in swaddling clothes. What are swaddling clothes? Well, they are used to wrap the limbs of the dead! (They also believed that the swaddling clothes would help their babies bodies grow straight). Crazy! Holding your baby and marveling at his beauty but to have that visual of his death right away! And what about the gifts you get when you have a baby? Diapers, wipes, cute outfits, essentials, etc. Mary got Myrrh, an incense you burn at a burial, to represent His death. So from the get go, the miracle of Jesus was reminding the world that He came to die for OUR sins. Awesome!

Christmas with Friends

Tonight we had our annual drive around and look at lights in the neighborhood with Sarah, Preston, and Ethan. They all dressed in their pjs and got to stand up, unbuckled in the car as we looked and they sang - rather loudly! And then we came home for some fresh baked cookies - you know the Pilsbury pull aparts :)

I don't know what it is about these boys, but my girls love them!! Finley liked laughing with Ethan. They looked so cute!
So cute!

Yes, six kids - our families are growing!! They have so much fun together and tomorrow they get to go to Monkey Joes together for some needed play time - they should be very worn out!!

Decorating the Tree

After we got our tree, we waited until Finley went to bed so we could decorate. It is amazing how fast 3 kids can put ornaments on a tree!!! They did a good job spreading them out and they had fun climbing the ladder to get to the top part. We had lots of fun with them and they finished in like 30 minutes. And of course we had to end the evening with some fresh baked cookies - their favorite part!!!

Working very hard
Showcasing their ornaments

Carly loves to pose - every picture lately is with her in some sort of pose!

Chloe and Harper - they are so sweet

Finley's First Haircut

We took Finley to get her first haircut, finally, on November 30th! She did very good. We went to Doolittle's and she sat in a little red fire truck. She was so cute!

Her before shot - Daddy had to make sure it looked exactly how we see it daily.
The first few snips!

She had some goldfish near the end to keep her entertained - she shoved them all in at one time!

Relaxing day at the salon!

Final product - nothing different just fresh!