Merry Christmas

Madelyn posing with her mittens and hat made specially for her by Aunt Cetta! Also sporting the High School Musical pj's from Cailey!















The dog enjoyed wearing Maggie's earmuffs after she opened them!


































Hats by Aunt Cetta!













The girls love "twirly" dresses!!





Has it really been that long since my last post?!? As with everyone else, the later you get in the year, the crazier it gets! Things are going well here in Iowa. The girls had a great night trick-or-treating for Halloween. We ended up having very mild weather which allowed the girls to wear their costumes without coats! (I remember never wanting to wear a coat on Halloween night when it was cold! What was the point of a costume if nobody could see it!) Amber chose to be Silvermist, the water fairy from Tinkerbell, Maggie went as a cheerleader complete with pom poms and pigtails! Madelyn started out wanting to be a ladybug, but changed her mind at the last minute and wore her costume from last year, the Cool Kitty! This was the first year that we have ever handed out candy (we lived at the end of a dead-end street in OH!) so Rob stayed behind and I walked the girls around. They gathered more than enough loot and we handed out around 5 bags of candy!

November brought my parents for a nice visit. The girls were able to enjoy an early Christmas with them and we had a nice, quiet visit. Rob and my Dad installed a hood over the kitchen stove, complete with light! I don't know how I've cooked without one for so long! :)

Thanksgiving was very quiet here. We enjoyed a nice meal and lounged around. The girls loved watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade too.

We decorated for Christmas early this year. Last year was so rushed, we only had time to put up a tree. I got my wish and we got a REAL tree this year! It smells wonderful and I can honestly say that it has lasted quite a while! We don't have too many needles on the ground! The girls really like it too. We had fun decorating it even though the tree kept "biting" them!














Santa came!! Decorations over the mantle and in the dining room.

















Papa drove out on Christmas Eve and spent the holiday with us. (We're so happy he actually made it out because the weather has been downright crappy!) The girls loved waking up on Christmas morning knowing that Santa had been here and that Papa was here! We enjoyed a nice prime rib (yum!) Christmas dinner complete with my Dad's wine. (BTW Dad, that was our last bottle! :) ) One of the gifts that the girls got was a birdhouse/birdfeeder that they built with Dad and Papa and then painted. They had a great time doing that and Madelyn is quite the little painter! The brush goes in each color, just once!


















Maggie is loving pre-school and doing great. She had to miss one day before Christmas break because our garage door broke (frozen to the ground) and Daddy was out of town! She was bummed about that one. (Luckily we had two days left on our home warranty!)

Amber is doing well as a 7th grader. She went to the Christmas Dance and had a great time. She came home with two sets of Jingle Bells which hang (usually) on the doorknobs.

Madelyn continues to grow up right before our very eyes. One afternoon I was in the dining room talking to Rob and I heard her in the kitchen. I walked out there to find that she had pulled out a chair, climbed onto the counter, opened the cupboard to get herself some pudding! Stinker.

We hope that everyone has had a wonderful and safe Christmas. We miss being able to get-together with everyone but think of you all a lot! Wishing you all a safe, happy and prosperous New Year!