The Week Before Christmas

The week of Emmeline's birthday, we had lots of Christmas activities going on. On Sunday, the kids and I made some hand warmers to give as gifts. The boys got to use the sewing machine for the very first time! They are always wanting to sew when I have it out, and I figured this would be a perfect first project since it's fast, uses only straight lines, and the kids can see the final product in a matter of minutes.

We also made some sugar cookies that day. The kids were all half-dressed, thumbing their noses at the below-freezing temperatures outside.

Justin took this cute picture of Benjy and Emmie all cozy on the couch.

The kids played outside in the snow a lot; or at least, they went outside to eat snow and then came inside a lot. One day we all bundled up and went outside together.

The kids tried to make a snowman, but it was so cold that the snow didn't stick together. We managed to make a "snow volcano" with a lot of painstaking, delicate effort.

 Emme got Eli good with a bunch of snow to the face when he was least expecting it. It was so cute to see her be mischievous, and Eli took it like a big brother.

 One day I was doing Emmeline's hair in a fountain and Benjy decided he wanted one too. :)

 On Thursday, Benjy's Joy School group performed their nativity play at a local assisted living home. They did a good job for only having practiced it a few times (Tuesday's Joy School was cancelled because of the snow). 

 Wise man Benjy.

On Thursday night, my sister Charlene came over to watch the kids while Justin and I went out with Cassie, Brad, and some friends, the Cochrans and Spencer Anderson, to see the new Star Wars movie on opening night. It was super fun!!! Here we are waiting for the movie to start.

 The movie was fantastic!!! We got a picture next to BB8 afterwards. It was a great night.

 Friday night I got to sing in the chorus for a performance of Handel's Messiah. The assistant director of the Colorado Mormon Chorale organized and conducted a Messiah sing along down in Centennial complete with orchestra, soloists, and chorus. The audience also was encouraged to bring their Messiah scores and sing along. The conductor invited Chorale members to participate, and I jumped at the opportunity to sing in my first Messiah. It was a great performance and a fun experience.

Saturday was our church's Christmas party. After dinner, the kids participated in a short nativity program with the Primary, which was cute. Afterwards, they got to see Santa. 

Please, no bombshells. Santa is going to be very busy this next week already.

It was a fun way to end a fun and busy week. Another fun and busy week coming up, so stay tuned!

Emmeline's Birthday

Last Tuesday was twos-day, because sweet baby girl turned 2. It snowed over a foot on Monday night, so we woke up Tuesday morning to a wintery blanket of snow. School was cancelled and Justin had to take the van to work after the Hyundai got stuck in the snow, so the kids and I stayed home all day. The kids went outside a few times to play in the snow, and we did crafts and played with toys inside. I worked on Emme's cake with the "help" of the kids. 

I couldn't not put a cat on the cake. 

 

That evening my grandparents, mom, and sister braved the snow to do cake and presents. 

Emme was so cute and had to try on everything right after she got it. 

The boys loved "helping" Emme open her presents.

Pony jammies! Another costume change.

And another.

Again... 

And then back to the jammies. This little girl got tons of adorable clothes and fun toys and books to keep her busy.

After we sang happy birthday, she blew out the candles all by herself, though it took a try or two. 

We love this sweet baby girl and she lights up our home in ways we never imagined. 

"Sweet Emmeline, (bum bum bum) good times never seemed so good!"

Christmas Pictures, "Flushie," Lists, and Concerts

Last Monday I sat the kids down for a Christmas card photo shoot. It was late in the afternoon and neither the light nor the kids were really cooperating, and most of the shots looked like this:

But a couple had all three kids looking pleasantly at the camera. The other thousand shots were worth it to get those gems!

On Tuesday, Emmie and I went to Target while Benjy was at Joy School. We had a hat fashion show with the adorable hats in the kids' section. So many kitties! So much cuteness!

 After we were done shopping, I bought Emmie an Icee slush from the food court. She called it her "flushie." It was so. drop. dead. adorable.

My sister has been bugging me to have the kids make wish lists (that's right, you know who you are) so I finally sat them down to do the list thing. I had kind of been avoiding it because I didn't want to emphasize the whole "getting" part of Christmas, but I am SO glad I gave in (completely and entirely of my own volition, of course), because Benjy's list was priceless. You can't see the picture well but he asked for: Angry Birds gummies, a basketball (so far so good), a garage with little chocolate chip guys and a snail (!), lasers, a stuffed robot (wait for it, it gets better), a pretend ice cube, a sharp hook, and a pretend mint chocolate chip ice cream cone. Later, when Eli helped Benjy make another list, he added: a bell, golden boots, little crane, key and lock, and Santa beard. Eli's list reads: "I want a lago set. A remote control robot. Nerf gun. toy rocket. another lego and that's it. " He later added "hot cheetos."

 I caught Emmie just "hanging out" one day, dangling from the table while she stuck her hand in a cup full of water. We had tomatillo soup this week, a.k.a. Mexican love-in-a-bowl soup, and it looked so pretty with the fresh cilantro that I had to take a picture.

 Our Christmas tree lit up at night.  

 We made some gingerbread cookies one day. Benjy commandeered a blob of dough to play with, and he was proud of this giant chocolate kiss he made.

 Emmie likes to be "cozy" in her blankie.

Little sarcophagus burrito baby.

I had three Chorale concerts last week, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. This picture was taken when I had "concert hair."

Thursday and Friday's concerts were in Lakewood and also featured the Lakewood Symphony Orchestra. They were phenomenal and those were such fun concerts! Saturday we performed at the Denver North Stake building in Northglenn, which is close to my grandparents. My voice was tired that night, but it was still a great concert featuring a Lutheran church choir and a children's choir as well as the Chorale. Justin and the kids as well as my grandparents and sister came to that concert, and it was so fun to have them there. The kids finally got to see what "Mommy going to choir" really meant. Saturday the kids also had two birthday parties, Tommy Mills' and Ella's up the street (this is the fourth straight Saturday they have had birthday parties), so it was a busy week and weekend. Sunday we got some much needed rest after the fun, hectic week.