"Winter's a good time to stay in a cuddle"

Aunt Nichole and Aunt Bridget have been wanting to have a Frozen party for our girls for a LONG time and it finally happened! BIG OLD THANKS to those two! (If you'd like to have a VERY low key Frozen party, check out the Pinterest board.)

Artsy Aunt Bridget made an adorable Olaf to keep us company. Felicity, who's not very familiar with the movie yet, was in love.

We made little marshmallow snowmen in teams - three adult females and three little girls worked out perfectly!

We did some Frozen coloring pages and dot-to-dots, assembled our Frozen puzzle, read our Frozen books, played our Frozen game...thanks to Christmas, we have TOO much Frozen in our home! And then made snowflakes with pattern blocks. Mommy will admit that she skewed all the activities toward educational/building our preschool skill set. But the girls thought it was all the best!

Bridget the Arteest strikes again!

After dinner and a bath, we played pin the nose on Olaf. Daddy was home from work and really got into this game by tying on the blindfold so that no one could cheat!

He also arranged the living room with lots of pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags so we could all cuddle up together for popcorn and the movie. It may have been one of the best days of these three little girls' lives. And their parents and aunts found so much joy in sharing it with them. Sometimes it seems that we need to buy kids more toys or take them more places or meet other peoples' expectations to prove we're giving them the happiest childhood. But they prove time and time again that all they really want is our time, attention, affection, and guidance to make them feel loved.

Christmas, etc. {The Miniseries, Part 3}

Let's just let this be the last installment of the holiday season recap. Yes, let's.

So we come to New Year's Eve after soooo much Christmas! We cannot let it pass without a party. More family time! Sarah's sisters Annette, Nichole, and Bridget arrive with their husband, boyfriend, and fiance (respectively). 

We played the bring-a-game-and-a-drink-to-go-with-your-game game, again. (Ol' Blue Eyes was there, again, too!) We had lots of fun and played several new-to-us games! Sarah's favorite here; this should surprise no one since she has been saying for some time that being Amish is kind of one of her dreams. Tim's here; Joe (Nichole's bf) is always on the cutting edge of the game scene (we are not.) and he did not fail to bring a crowd pleaser.

--Thank you, Ryan, for your school spirit.--

We had several rousing rounds of Twister. Girls only.

Boys only.

 Couples.

Kisses at midnight and prayers for a blessed 2015!

Christmas, etc. {The Miniseries, Part 2}

We are almost, almost over the germs we collected during the holidays. Felicity still suffers from her cold and Hand Foot and Mouth. Vivian has a few days left before Dr. Mommy declares her free for public consumption again. (Maybe that sounds weird...) Anyways, we give ourselves until all these children are healthy to stop posting about the holidays. Because as long as we're still wiping a snotty nose, we're still thinking about Christmas, right?

The Saturday after Christmas, all the Wellmans gathered at Sarah's parents' home, except Michael who is still in Bahrain. And the clan seems to be ever expanding. Look at all these lovebirds!

 And these!

 And these!

 Most importantly, these!

Games, drinks, food, Mass, presents, and the annual family picture. The practice shots are to be treasured.

But eventually, we get something decent/good enough/we're not taking anymore.

 Bridget and John requested a picture with their precious goddaughter. She wasn't feeling it.

A special thanks goes out to Uncle Tom and Aunt Annette for the monster sized stuffed dog. Bridget and Ryan loved it so much maybe it shall be re-gifted at their July wedding. Who knows. 

Our girls hit the jackpot: Grandma and Grandpa got them a swing set for the new house!

More, more, more presents despite Grandma's promise every year: "Next year we are really cutting back! We're not going to buy so much!"

Grandpa never echoes her and just loves to watch each person's delight as they open their gifts. As much as her sentiments for simplicity are noble, perhaps she's swimming upstream.

Christmas, etc. {The Miniseries, Part 1}

We've been suffering from too much partying and too much germ passing...so here goes a series of posts trying to catch you up on the holiday happenings. On Christmas Eve, Miriam had the honor of carrying baby Jesus to the manger at Mass.

Felicity and Vivian had their own moments in the spotlight during Fr. Derrick's children's homily...Vivian repeated something to the effect of "Jesus lives in outer space." She loves to be a goofball.

 While we were at Mass, Santa stopped by with a pile of presents.

These little blonde people got right to work playing with their new gifts...

 ...and learning where Jesus really lives.

We spent the next two days with Tim's family and friends!

Tim's parents celebrated their FIFTIETH Wedding Anniversary the day after Christmas! We had a very nice Mass for them and a delicious lunch at a steakhouse in Fort Wayne with the extended family. Our girls were amazed at the salad bar because it had everything including...JELLY BEANS! Phil and Linda are such a wonderful example of faithfulness, perseverance, and love to all of us. We are truly blessed to have them living near.

That evening we got together with Tim's long-time friends. The kids now equal the adults. However, Tim's friends are producing only boys, while we're keeping things all girl all the time. The kids had a BLAST together! But then, so did the adults. When Tim, Tyler, and Brian are together, it's as though they see each other all the time rather than a few times a year.

 Part 2. Coming soon(ish).