Well Merry Freaking Christmas

This looks like a very heavy and possibly expensive problem.
That would be our swingset, pulled out of the ground and pitched 10 feet across the lawn.

We think this climber is going to be salvagable, after we looked at it closer.

The playhouse, not so much.

We came home from my parents to this mess in our yard. Our sweet neighbors had piled up the plastic for us, and told us it was strewn down the block. Our swingset wasn't just tipped over, but actually picked up and pitched. We won't know the full extent of the damage until my brother comes over tomorrow to help us pick it up. The thing weighs several hundred pounds. I am praying that it is structually ok, but the slide and rock wall are ruined for sure. It could have been far, far worse. That swingset could have been tossed into our house. Or we could have been home, and been outside. So I am trying to be thankful for what we do have. I can still be a little ticked off though. Good thing we brought home Aunt Emily. She's got to babysit while I pick up the rest of the playhouse off the golf course.

Christmas Pictures

Matt said it perfectly: "I feel like we should be praying that the offering is good enough."

Spoiled children.
Excuse me Ellie, I need to see that.What the... Good Lord! Santa brought me a MOOSE!

Sorry Mr. Moose, I need to check out this lion now.

A Barbie and a "bucket of sparkles"

body glitter-what was Santa thinking?

Ellie got her Tag Reader she's been itching to have!

Ellie's new computer Santa brought just for her games.

It was free, quit freaking out, I hear you all.

Playing on her new train table-finally somewhere for her trains to drive

My mommy gave me some of this puff pastery she made for breakfast.

All sugar and spice and lovely!

Ellie's new costume from her Aunt Heather

She's a Radio City Rockette, people. Not a streetwalker.

But don't look when she bends over, the shorts don't cover much!

Santa Came to Town!!

Well, Santa got our email. He knew that mommy has to take care of the sick babies tomorrow, so he came last night! We woke up on Christmas eve to a mountain of presents and toys. Guess two little girls were pretty good this year! I have some pics to post when Matt gets back with the camera.
Kailey is sick, so she is spending her first Christmas Eve home with mommy while Daddy and Ellie went to his parents. She has been very snotty and not wanting to eat very well. We are hoping to avoid the urgent care at this point, so she is getting suctioned very frequently. And she's been getting bottles today, since that seems to be easier for her than nursing. Hopefully she is at the worst and will be getting better soon. We are supposed to go to my parents for christmas this weekend, but we will have to see how she is doing. Hopefully Ellie doesn't turn up with it next. This is the first Christmas of my life I haven't been able to go to church. But I don't want my baby around other people right now.
This child has been ill entirely too much. We hardly ever get her out, but from now on we are going to try to avoid going out with her at all. So she probably won't see much of anyone between now and spring. My poor baby is just sick constantly, and I don't want her exposed to more illness. She isn't getting it from me, Matt or Ellie. We are extremely diligent about keeping her healthy. So we are going into semi-hibernation for the winter.
Well, Kailey and I are off to snuggle in the chair and watch a movie with some popcorn. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and pics to follow soon!!

Have You Ever Wondered...

I have some questions in my life that have been unanswered recently. For example...

• Why did my laundry increase so much with the addition of one child? I swear, we can't go one day without doing several loads lest we be buried by it.
• How on earth does one family consume an entire Costco bag of chicken nuggets in a month? That is way too many chicken nuggets for a certain small child.
• How exactly do children grow overnight? I just bought Ellie pants, and they are too short already.
• Why, when it is freaking cold out, do doggies feel the need to potty 18 times a day, when normally they would not feel this need?
• Where are all my scrunchies? Found them-tied around Ellie's bed posts.
• Exactly how do I get the melted crayon out of my cupholder in my car? Its very stubborn.
• When did I get so very boring? This very thought crossed my mind as I wrapped a mountain of toys in tinkerbell paper last night. Good grief, many of my own aged folks still hang out in westport. I've never even been to westport.
• Should I be worried that my daughter says "Target is my favorite store ever!"?
• Why, why, why, do people feel the need to touch my children with their nasty, grimy hands? Come on people, get a grip. Strangers, no touchy, non-strangers, learn to use soap and water.
• How do you teach children to be kind and giving when the world around them is hard and selfish? I'm really having trouble with this since daddy isn't the whole goodwill and service type. I truly believe its not what you give them, but how you raise them. And my mother raised me to give to others. I remember my family adopting a family for christmas one year. I'm sure we couldn't afford that, but we did it anyways. I want my girls to see that side of life to appreciate what they do have.
• Will my family ever go to church with me? Or am I destined to fight them forever?
• Why didn't I get my date on December first, hmmmmm?
• Why does the world feel the need to ask us when we will start trying for a boy? Seriously, do you really want to know that information. Don't you all know what trying means? Is it any of their business? Really, should be discussing this with the target lady? Well, as a matter of fact, I was thinking next thursday sounded good. Maybe I'll try it just once and see...
• And finally, will I ever be able to convince my daughter that the Angel of the Lord is not a christmas fairy who brings presents to Jesus in his hotel, and she does not take the Holy Family to Disney World????
  

Big Sisters are SO Funny!!

You just can't help but laugh yourself! Pause the music player at the bottom!

When Did We Become Adults?

Perhaps this seems like a strange, rather profound question to be tossing out there on a Monday night. However, I assure you, there is a reason for it.
I was cleaning out my office tonight. The closet has needed the attention for quite awhile. And I ran across an old shoebox full of random stuff, carted around in all the moves. Inside this shoebox was pictures, letters, and other random stuff from my past. Pictures dating all the way back to grade school years, but most of high school and college. Letters that my friends had wrote me along the way. Cards that people had sent me. I, in my ever present quest to declutter, began to go through them, one by one. Reading each and every one of them. Took me forever.
I had several from an old high school friend. About our troubles as high school students. How this boy would never notice her. How it made me crazy to hear about it constantly, mainly because he was a friend of mine. (can't go it more, the innocent may read :) How hard and painful our lives were. The pictures of the proms, and birthdays, and all the cards from each other. How the whole world didn't understand our dilemma. How could we ever survive?
Well, I know it was very real at the time. And very painful. But I've discovered something. Pain is relative. Sorrow is subjective. And heartache is situational. But so, too, is love.
Sometimes I wish for problems to be as simple as they were. How did I blink and time flew by so fast? When did I go from getting ready for dances to getting ready for dance? When did staying up half the night involve children? And when did it become so important to get the latest Mickey Mouse Clubhouse movie, instead of the latest clothes?

Dear self from 10 years ago,
This current situation you are in may be hard, and you may be hurting. But get ready. You haven't experienced anything yet. True heartache is coming. True love is coming. While this situation, this moment, seems heartbreaking, the truth is that things in your life will break your heart more than this ever could. You will love more than you ever thought possible. And you will discover something far more important. You will discover that what causes you the greatest joy will also break your heart more times than you can count. You will know what it is like to love so much that you would give your life for them.
In a few short years, you will look back on this moment, and realize that the best things in life are not behind you, but ahead of you. The people that matter the most are some of the people you don't yet know. And the most beautiful things on earth, the best part of your heart, isn't even born yet.
But in 10 years, read these letters, smile, and find those friends back. See what they are up to. How life is treating them. Because chances are, none of you will even care about these days anymore. You will all be moving ahead, moving forward, and loving life even more.
Love your older, wiser self

PS: And when you look back on those pictures, remember, that skinny chick had never had babies, and did not live on bunny macaroni. So yeah, she did look like that, once.

The Christmas Swing

On the quest for the perfect holiday photo...

We are getting in the full holiday swing at our house this week. Ellie and I started today, making our first batch of holiday candy. She was so totally proud of herself and her creations. So, we are continuing to decorate, listening to Christmas music, and learning about the true meaning of the holidays.

However, I still think that I have some explaining to do...

...because, contrary to popular belief, there is no fairy in the nativity.