52 Weeks of Joy: Week 49

Advent makes us joyful. 

We're waiting. We're waiting for a lot of things right now in our family life. Waiting for someone to buy our little SUV (are you interested?), waiting to buy a minivan, waiting to get new carpet, waiting for Baby, waiting for little people to grow up enough that they can zip their own coats as we rush out the door, waiting for the perfect house to come onto the market, waiting for that right time to put our own house up for sale, waiting for our daily walk around the block after naptime, waiting for our families to come home for the holidays and fill our lives with their presence, waiting and waiting and waiting. 

But Advent reminds us to enjoy the wait. The wait brings the greatest gifts, like Jesus, the Savior. So we're praying more together this Advent, taking more time to teach the girls how to pray, and trying to explain in the most elementary of terms what Advent is all about.

And of course, we're crafting during the wait. Today the girls went to storytime at the library with their Daddy while Mommy was at a prenatal appointment. And they made gingerbread houses! They were so proud of their creations!

Miriam's house was completely covered in candy. Fancy as could be.

Vivian's was more sparsely decorated. Daddy reported that Vivian ate most of her candy before it could even think about being placed onto the house.

We hope you are enjoying your own waiting this Advent.

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 48

We wrote our letters to Santa this week. Thought we'd try to beat the last minute rush and give him some extra time to prepare our gifts. And the letters definitely brought Mom and Dad some joy. You'll like them too. We're taking them to the Children's Department at our library tomorrow before storytime. Santa has a mailbox there and the librarians will make sure he gets our letters. And he'll send us a letter back in the mail!

What's a Panoola?

Miriam turned three yesterday! She doesn't look anything like a baby anymore! And she doesn't think like one either, apparently. Yesterday morning she had her cup of milk and a cuddle with her Daddy, like normal. Then asked to play a game on his phone...

Miriam: It's too quiet. Can you turn it up?
Daddy: No, it's loud enough.
Miriam: It's my birthday...
(Mommy and Daddy are pretty shocked by this statement and laugh a little.)
Miriam: It's the Panoola of my birthday.
Mommy: What's a Panoola?
Miriam: That means you do what I want on my birthday.

Oh boy. Well, that didn't exactly happen. But she did have a pretty wonderful day!

Rainbow cupcakes, inside and out, per her request.

 Very delicious!
 

Then opening gifts.

While Miriam was busy playing with her presents, Vivian snuck off with a new book. Grandma and Grandpa were happy to read with her.

Happy Birthday, Squeaker!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a wonderful day. We got to spend time with family! Our favorite thing! Here are a few pictures from our day. We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too!

The girls explored Sarah's uncle's farm in the early afternoon. The weather was beautiful!

Tony and Vivian

Grandma and Vivian

 And we visited with the Wellman Family!

Lily and Aunt Maria

From left: Aunt Carolyn, Aunt Marilyn, Aunt Phyllis, and Grandma Wellman

Then the girls found the kittens. Which was pretty unfortunate for the kitties.

In the evening we went to Tim's parent's to celebrate Thanksgiving and a special birthday girl!

Tim's Grandma, who we all call Mema, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of her 39th birthday. 

And this winter she and her husband will celebrate 70 years of wedded bliss! Now that's something to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving!

52 Weeks of Joy: Week 47

We attempted to take a picture for our Christmas cards of the girls...we won't share the ultimate winner. But how about some bloopers? They'll give you joy. Also, these were taken the last day we had two two-year-olds in the house!

Screaming...

Cheesing...

Picking...

Goofing...

It's here!

Thanksgiving Week has finally arrived! This is Mommy's favorite holiday - no commercialism, fabulous meaning, delicious food, lots of family time. The perfect holiday. So we'll probably celebrate ALL WEEK instead of just one day. 

Today we made a Thankful Tree and added a few of the things we're thankful for; both girls did a great job! Mom was especially impressed with Miriam's cutting. She is able to hold the scissors correctly and maneuver them a little.

Vivian worked on her gluing (with the cap on).

Then we wrote what we're thankful for on our leaves and pasted them onto the tree. We'll add more leaves as the girls think of things they are thankful for during the week.

Some classic Vivian...

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Week!

52 weeks of Joy: Week 46

The girls are joyful because of their little friends...stuffed and imaginary. These pictures seem to capture how very real their buddies are. And how much joy they bring to Miriam and Vivian.

Miriam has lots of imaginary friends who live in our neighborhood and even siblings who live in the houses on some of our familiar drives (to the grocery, Grandma's house, church...). She also has made up places that she and her friends visit. Our favorite is Kanalas. It's a restaurant. So far we've gathered that they cook everything but specialize in breakfast and dessert. Which is a little funny because Miriam has never been a big breakfast eater and has been known to turn down dessert for more strawberries.

Vivian more consistently just loves her Puppy. Puppy should never be out of sight and is rarely out of mind. He's slept with Vivian for about a year and is being potty trained, too. He's been washed. But you'll recall that didn't go over very well. And he really should be thrown through another quick cycle soon, but we're just not sure we want that drama again.

So thanks to our friends who bring us joy.