Monday, December 21, 2009

Christmas 2009










Just some snapshots from the month of December to enjoy...The kids are very excited about Christmas, and have had fun seeing what our elves have been up to each morning. Their elves are named Jingles and Sparkles. Every morning when the children wake up, they come downstairs to see what the elves have done. They get notes from them in the advent calendar, and little gifts. It has become a wonderful little holiday tradition in our family. They also realize that the true meaning of Christmas is that it is a time to celebrate and reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The Christmas Blizzard of 2009


















Now, we have had snow storms many times, but we have never had THIS much snow while I have lived here in Virginia. It has truly become an epic event, and yes, we will have a very Merry White Christmas. This snow isn't going anywhere for quite a while I think. We have maybe 30 inches of snow. Here are the pictures so far of the December blizzard of 2009. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Halloween Night





Halloween around here can be pretty crazy. It's really getting out of hand, if you want to know the truth. I am soooooooooooooo over Halloween by the time it actually gets here. Just plain tired of it. But I make the best of it for the kiddos. And I usually dress up. So i did. I got in the mood, went into my closet for the craziest thing I could find...which wasn't much...and I surprised the kids with it. Let's just say that it didn't go over well with either of them. You can tell by the look on their faces in the photo. I scared them. The wig was what did it. I went out that night as "Freaky Mom", and they got used to it/me. The kids went out dressed like 50's kids in leather jackets we found last year at a 7 Eleven type place/gas station. They looked pretty cute! Here are the pics/evidence of our trick or treat night.

The Face of Swine Flu and Cabin Fever











Here are some of the latest pics of the kids and a short update.

Gracie has somehow lost two teeth. How does this happen at almost five? (She is five now, but lost them before the big day.) And they are the two front bottom teeth. Gracie's tooth fairy came, and her name is Celia. Garrett also had lost a tooth (It was pulled.) so the tooth fairy came to both of them that night for the first time. Garrett's tooth fairy's name is Lucky. They are still the cutest little babes even without those front teeth. The dentist has told us that Gracie's roots for her teeth are somewhat shorter than most kids so she will loose her teeth a little earlier than most. This is due, they say, to the birth mother's nutrition and possibly from having an illness during her pregnancy with my sweet baby girl.

Gracie turned five on October 14th. I still cannot believe it. Four years have come and gone, and the time just continues to fly by.

Then, we had the adult Halloween party the next weekend, and it rained like CRAZY for three days. I have never seen so much rain! But we had about 40 people here in the house regardless of the downpour, and everyone was dressed up in their best Halloween costumes. Van and I went as Titanic survivors. We were going to be victims up until about an hour before the party, but decided not to do all of the death makeup. We wore very Victorian costumes with life jackets on top. It was a great party!

The swine flu hit us about two weeks ago. Garrett got it first. He really had a mild case, and is better now. He had two days of fever, body aches, and a cold. Gracie got it about a week after he did, and her flu resulted in much higher temps, not feeling well at all, and more respiratory issues. She still has a pretty bad cough. We are told that this is pretty normal for this flu. I am so glad they are getting better. I was pretty freaked out about it at first. They both are just such healthy kids. This has been an experience for Van and me seeing them both so sick.

We did let them go trick or treating around the neighborhood regardless of the illness, but they kept their distance from everyone. They had a great time, and so did we. Lots of candy, lots of costumes, lots of fun to be had!

October was just NUTSO. We had Gracie's birthday party on the 10th, the adult Halloween party the next weekend on the 17th, and then the swine flu hit. I am hoping November is MUCH more relaxing for us. I have Cabin Fever right now...so tired of being in the house with sick kids. That's not relaxing, believe me. Ready for health to return, and still praying we (the adults here) do not get the flu too.

Here are some pics of our October events.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

More Cute Beach Pics 2009






I forgot we had another camera, and we had more pictures. I had to post these because they are some of my favorites. Here they are! Enjoy!!! I love my babies!!!

Pickin' Apples and Rasberries At a Local Orchard













The pictures tell the story... It was a great family day outing for us last weekend. Both Gracie and Garrett loved it, and we came home with four BIG bags of red and green delicious apples and three pints of rasberries. Garrett enjoyed eating the rasberries more than saving them for home. They were delicious!!! And Gracie picked the biggest and the best red apple. She won the prize for that one. Now, it's time to make some pies, apple bread (Connie, I need that recipe.), and apple everything. We even froze some rasberries for the winter time. How I love this family!!!!