It's Christmas here, people

I love this time of year. Joey and I celebrated our 10th anniversary yesterday....actually we haven't really celebrated yet. We'll be doing that after Christmas. I had a Christmas piano recital here last weekend and the kids made graham cracker houses afterwards. It was a fun night with friends. The kids got a little crazy and practically poured candy all over their houses. They figured that the more they put on, the more they could munch and pick at later. I feel ready for Christmas. The presents are wrapped, we're putting together a little program for Christmas Eve, and Grandma and Grandpa will be arriving tomorrow. Merry Christmas!

You better watch out...

Sammie was the only one brave enough to sit on Santa's lap at the ward Christmas party. Or maybe she thought that it was the only way to actually get the candy cane. She may not have realized that you will get one whether you sit on Santa's lap or not. But she was first in line and probably felt that she had no choice. I think Olivia thought she was too old and Abby was not happy about it. Santa tried really hard to be a part of the picture with the girls as he leaned over. Abby was very cautious and kept stepping away. The girls are excited for Christmas though. This is the first year that we will be in our own home for Christmas morning. I'm so excited too. I can definitely feel the Christmas magic this year. Santa gets to come to our house.

Abby. She likes to read.

I caught Abby "reading" the other day. She does this all the time. She picks up books and jabbers, makes things up, and sometimes says some of the words she remembers from the pages. She has such a cute inflection in her voice and expressions on her face. She takes her reading very seriously. I especially love when she reads Frog and Toad.
"And fwog says, Wake up Toad! And then it is spwing time. Toad says it's not my button." Those books were a family favorite when I was growing up.
Abby can carry on a conversation non-stop. She always has something to say. She can even have a pretend conversation on a play phone for 20 minutes with herself. She's good company I must say.

It's December

December 1st. Sammie has yet, another fun dress-up day at school. Today is Cowboy Day. She had her outfit panned for a week. Olivia got a new pair of shoes because she was complaining of hers being worn out. The ones that were brand new on the first day of school? Yep. A hole in the botton already. How do shoes wear out so fast? With Sammie motivated by Cowboy Day and Olivia by new shoes, the girls were not only up before my alarm went off, but they had breakfast, brushed their teeth, fixed their hair, got dressed, and packed up their backpacks before my alarm had ever even gone off.

Then at exactly 6:59 they were in the backyard dribbling basketballs.

At 7:10 they were crying about being bored.

Then they got the markers out and time slipped by and we had to run to catch the bus.

I'm loving the cooler weather now. I'm loving my kids. Loving my husband. Most of my Christmas shopping is done. I'm not trying to brag about it. It's just a fact and I love online shopping. As far as my health...I've been slowly improving. I can't even tell a difference in the day to day. But I notice that I'm doing more now than I was 3 months ago. My strength is slowly coming back. Ever so slowly. I have good days and bad. My doctor is saying that I have a "Fibromyalgia probably caused by an illness which may have possibly been Valley Fever (A fungal infection)" How's that for a diagnosis? I still feel confident that I will get better and life goes on.

November...in a nutshell

Is it really already almost Thanksgiving?! I have taken practically no pictures this month. The days have just seemed to unknowlingly slip together and then the month is nearly over. Joey celebrated his birthday this month and we chowed down on his favorite cake, yellow with chocolate frosting. He turned 33. I can't believe how old we're getting. The girls have had the sniffles ever since it started to get cold and our nights have been filled with bouts of coughing. Last weekend Olivia reminded me that her school project was due on Monday (yesterday). I hadn't even thought about it and it's been sitting around for 2 weeks at home. Good thing she reminded me on Friday night and not on Sunday night. She made a newspaper doll at school and we had to turn it into a pilgrim. I have to admit, I did most of the project. I just wanted to get it done. I did make her stay in the room with me and she helped hold things and she drew the face on. She's been doing well and reading up a storm. I love that she even reads while she is walking home from the bus stop.Sammie was "Student of the Month." She was so proud of herself. She will not smile at school. That's how serious she is. Her kindergarten photo is a sad sight. It's funny because she is NOT like that at home. She's completely crazy and up and down with emotions. She holds it in all day and lets it all out at home. She loves school and works hard at her reading words. She's been getting a new list of words every week. Sammie is a thinker and her little wheels are always turning in her head.
Abby has been a crack up. Can you believe that she can draw now? This is one of her first drawings that resembled a person. She has since drawn many others. She just gets paper herself and sits at the table and draws person after person...just like a big girl. I have to often remind myself that she is just barely 2 1/2. This morning she was in bed talking to her bunny. I asked her if she wanted to get up and she said, "No. I'm just telling my bunny about a sea lion and goldfish." I said, "Um, okay. And left the room," wondering what that was all about. So that's pretty much November. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving with family and relaxing a little from the daily schedule. I am grateful...for pretty much everything.

Sammie the soccer player

Sammie's last soccer game was on Saturday and then it finally felt like fall. We had such a warm October, but the girls were happily bundled up for school today and my heater has even been on in the mornings. My brother Nate took these photos of Sammie when they were visiting for Olivia's baptism. She is very serious on the soccer field. She's quite an aggressive little thing and it's been fun going to her games and watching her play. I think Joey will be happy to have his Saturdays a little more free. Here's our little soccer player.

The Belle of Halloween

The girls had a great time trick-or-treating. Abby was complaining of her leg hurting. Turns out the safety pin on her tutu was poking her in the leg. They are filled with sugar, but are sleeping now. This was such a busy October. I can't believe that the holiday season is here. Sometimes I just wish that everything could stay just how it is. That no one would ever grow up...but I guess I always feel that way and they still grow and I still enjoy each phase of life. So Happy Halloween...till next year when everyone will be a year older and I'll wonder where the year went.

A Funky Vampire