Merry Christmas!

Christmas finally arrived!  The girls have been so anxious the whole month, so the past week was chock full of excitement leading up to the big day and surrounding days filled with parties and presents. 

We started out the celebration at Opa and Oma's house on Christmas Eve.  Not long after we got there, Alora noted that Oma's tree did not have a big star on top, so she and I set off to make one suitable.  Then Alora got to help Opa put it on top of the tree.  Alora was quite pleased once that problem was rectified!

 Later in the afternoon, after a very late lunch, the girls finally got to open their gifts!  Alora soon got to a very anticipated gift from Aunt Becky - new "fairy book!"  Since watching a Tinkerbell movie called the "Great Fairy Rescue" in which a little girl has a fairy book filled with drawings of fairies, Alora has insisted on having her own, following the lead of Ezri.  Alora's previous fairy book went missing several weeks back, still to be found.  Uncle Andy had given her a new one, but when Aunt Becky was in town at Thanksgiving, Alora was very specific in telling her what a new fairy book should look like.  So, when she opened her gift, she was beyond thrilled and refused to put that book down for anything the rest of the day.

 Ezri was our little Santa, helping to hand out gifts and assisting her sisters with opening.  She was thrilled to find a little sewing machine in one gift.

 Tierney was all about ripping into the gifts, regardless of who they belonged too.  She was very excited to get some books as well as plush sheep.

 After a long day, we headed home to put the girls in bed.  Before getting ready, they were allowed to open their gifts from Becci and Jay - Pigeon books!

 A new tradition last year, they were again allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve - new matching pajamas and a new movie (or two this year - Thomas and Frozen).  Once again, they were very excited about this gift, after having seen it earlier that day and pondering over it's contents for the full day.

 Once we finally got the girls to bed, Santa's helper set about setting out the gifts under the tree.

 And then, I spent some time just watching my babies sleep...

 

Christmas morning, we were roused by two very anxious and excited big sisters who could not wait for us to see what had happened to the Christmas tree!

 First up - stockings.

 As the girls opened their gifts, they found some highly requested items with their names on them.  Alora was thrilled to find a Hello Kitty doll in a gift from Ezri - so much so that she ran to hug her!

 Tierney got a new baby doll

 And Ezri opened up a doll house!

 Even Daddy got a really fun toy for Christmas, some Star Wars Legos, which the girls were quite excited about as well because it means they get to help him put it together.

 We spent the entire day at home together, and just enjoyed watching the girls play with their new gifts.

 A new fishing game kept them all entertained for quite a while.

 And then, they amused themselves (and us) with masks, capes and their new flashlights.

 Saturday afternoon, we headed off to Grandpa and Grandma's for another party.  There, the girls got to play with their cousins for a while, as well as chat with their aunt, uncle and cousins in Georgia via Facetime.  When it came time for gifts, the chaos ensued, with more excitement and fun discoveries by the girls.

 The three of them had a big gift to open together, hidden out in the garage...

 A trampoline!

 Sunday found us celebrating at church followed by a party with Great Grandma and Mommy's extended family, where the older girls got Legos they were anxious to build at home with Daddy.  So, after we got home, we let them build away...

Now that all of our parties have passed, Alora continues to ask when it will be Christmas again.  She clearly enjoyed opening gifts!  Lucky for her, a birthday is just around the corner.

More Pre-Christmas Fun

We have been busy preparing for Christmas, participating in all sorts of traditions in our home.  Among those include:

- Finding Baby Jesus each morning.  The girls enjoy waking up each day to look and see where Baby Jesus from their nativity set has gone and what He might be doing that day.  So far, they have found him swinging, playing the piano, reading a book, coloring, drinking from a straw, eating breakfast and much more.

- Opening the Advent Boxes.  Each night, after dinner, the girls get to open up one of these boxes which contains an item and a bible verse that helps explain a little something about Christmas and Jesus.

- Baking Christmas goodies.  The girls have all enjoyed being involved in this process, and helping me package them up for our neighbors and others.  Sugar cookies, peppermint patties, peanut butter balls, fudge and much more has come out of our kitchen this season.

This year, I got a little wise when it came do decorating the sugar cookies.  I handed the girls clean paintbrushes with their frosting, instead of knives, and we had a lot more success.  They stayed at the task through the end of the cookies, helping me the entire time, each quite proud of her creations.

While Tierney did not get to help decorate the cookies, she has done her fair share of decorating herself these past weeks.  Suddenly a very messy eater, especially when it comes to pasta or soup, she loves to eat and decorate with her food.

She has 4 new teeth within the past two weeks, and has learned how to take off her pants and diaper as well.  This, I am not so thrilled about, as there have been several naptimes that I have found her disrobed in her bed, and at least one occasion where the diaper needed to be in place but was not.  Crazy kid!!!

Can't help but love them all anyway, mess and chaos aside.  Bath time this past weekend found me laughing out loud at their antics as they played in the tub together.

This past Sunday, the girls participated in another of our traditions, the church Christmas program.  This year, Alora and Tierney opted to be angels while Ezri was chosen for the role of Mary.

As the kids paraded in for their short part in the service, the room was full of anxious parents - whose kid would be the show stealer this year?

We listened as some of the older children took turns reading a portion of the Christmas story in a cute little rhyme.  Our little angel Tierney was adorable as she watched and took it all in pretty quietly.

Our little Mary was so sweet as she stood quietly, checking on the baby every so often.  She had been afraid to the point of tears as the went to bed the night before, scared of being up in front of everyone, so I was thrilled that she decided to participate.  In the end, she was glad she did too!

Our little angel Alora had opted last minute to be a cow instead, and embraced her role fully.  She wanted to crawl in and onto the stage, but was not allowed, so she instead spent her time on stage on her hands and knees, crawling back and forth as much as she was allowed, dangerously close to the edge of the stage.  She also got in several audible "moo's", because that's what a cow does!

Though all three of ours stole the show in our hearts, and Alora got plenty of giggles over her "moo's", we were able to giggle at our friend's child, a shepherd, who found it the perfect time for the chicken dance!  So much cuteness :)

Less than a week away from Christmas, we are finishing up gift wrapping and enjoying some time at home together as this Mom has the next two weeks free from work obligations.  We are excited for Christmas morning and for the time we will spend with family in the coming days.  It has been a month full of reminders of how blessed we are, and also of moments to bless others, and I am glad to have had so many opportunities to share blessings with others while my children looked on.  They are learning and absorbing the qualities of compassion for others and seeking out opportunities to help others on their own as well.  

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Much has happened in the two weeks since I last posted.  

* We took in another kitty - this one in much need of rescue and very much unplanned.  Two days before Thanksgiving, I got a message from my neighbor verifying that both of my cats were accounted for as she had one in her garage that she suspected had been hit by a car.  Long story short, I ended up taking the kitty to a vet in Allegan (ours was booked), where I learned the kitty had massive damage to her left eye, so much so that there was nothing left to be saved and it would need to be removed.  Also, her right eye was severely limited in vision due to extended time in poor condition.  However, this kitty was declawed, fixed and otherwise healthy.  My bleeding heart for hurting animals found me agreeing to pay for the surgery she needed and then to try to find her a home.  As she could not be turned out to a farm with her limited vision and inability to defend herself, we looked toward rescues and individuals with no luck.  As it was just before Thanksgiving, we took her in and continued the search.

A couple of weeks later finds us still caring for this kitty.  So friendly and eager for attention, she purrs constantly.  Amazingly, she is navigating steps and the house very well for having next to no vision.  As her face continues to heal, she looks less pitiful (this picture was the day after her surgery), and more like a normal kitty.

* We celebrated Thanksgiving.  This year, we decided to stay home and again entertain friends for the day.  It was a day of laughter, fun, chaos, and too much food.  It was a very enjoyable day!

* We began decorating and preparing for Christmas.  The day after Thanksgiving, we pulled out all of the decorations and the girls eagerly paced as I assembled the tree and strung the lights.  As soon as they had permission, they were hanging ornaments faster than I could say go!  It was fun to watch them discover all of the ornaments, talk about their own special ones, and find the "perfect" place for each one.  

We managed to pull it all off while Tierney napped, so when she woke up she was thrilled with what she found, and excited about the lights!  Good thing we were careful about which ornaments we hung low, because between her and Lucky there were many pulled down and strewn around the house in a matter of an hour.  

Later that afternoon, we had a visit from Opa, Oma and Aunt Becky as well as Jay & Becci.  The girls were given a snow globe kit, and they were all very engaged in this activity for quite some time, designing the perfect scene with their helpers.

* As November came to an end and December arrived, the girls all reached another month of age

* Last Wednesday, we joined my cousin Emily and her daughter Sofia for a morning at Great Grandma's to help her decorate the house for Christmas.  It was a good time for all of us!

* This past weekend, we headed out for the weekend to Frankenmuth.  Saturday morning, we met up with our friends and our caravan headed out, arriving first at Bronner's where we spent several hours just looking around, taking in all of the sights.  The kids were amazed at all there was to look at.

.

We also got to take the kids to see Santa!  Ezri and Alora were excited this year (last year Alora wanted nothing to do with him).  Tierney, however, wanted absolutely nothing to do with him or sitting on his lap!

Alora told Santa she wanted a teddy bear for Christmas.

Ezri asked him for a doll house.

After we made our purchases, we headed back to our cars where we enjoyed a picnic lunch.  Though it was still a bit chilly, we made the most of it and had fun anyway.  

We spent the afternoon wandering through shops in Frankenmuth before heading off to check into a hotel and then back out to Tony's Restaurant, where we enjoyed dinner together.  Following that, we spent the rest of the evening in the hotel swimming pool, where the kids expended any last bit of remaining energy before bed.  Adjoining rooms allowed us to put them in bed while having the option to hang out as adults within earshot.  

Sunday, after breakfast, we spent the day at the Birch Run outlet mall, doing some shopping and mostly just hanging out together.  For a weekend filled with "don't touch" and "sit in the stroller" and very little chance to run and play, the kids did really well!  We all had a wonderful time together :)