Michigan Fun!

The kids and I spent a recent weekend up in Michigan. Lydia and Drew had a BLAST playing in the snow!

There is a small hill in the backyard of Aunt Barbie and Uncle Eddie's yard.

Lydia and Drew made the most of it!!!

Wrigley kept trying to steal their discs until Uncle Eddie got him his own to play with..... (or tear up).....

There was a lot more snow in Michigan than in central Illinois, so Lydia and Drew were in heaven!!!

We also were able to visit Great-Gram. Debbie, Rob and Baby Elaine came over from Chicago for the day, so Gram was with three of her great- grandchildren. Of course, she wanted to know where the 'other 2' were!!! (Isabel and Grace)

Gram was very aware and lucid on Saturday morning when all the kids were there.
We got some great pictures!!!
Baby Elaine, Gram, Debbie, Robert, Drew, Derrick, Sarah & Lydia

The 2 Elaine's - Precious!!!

Jenga!!!

Getting games for Christmas is always fun, and a sure-fire hit in our family! As you can see by the following pictures, we LOVE Jenga!!!

Who knocked it down??? We don't know!!!! The table got bumped, and that was the end of the Jenga game, but fun was had by all!! (The players and the watchers)

Christmas Eve Pictures with Baby Elaine

On Christmas Eve, we had a wonderful dinner at Church, and took the opportunity to take pictures of Lydia, Drew, and our new baby cousin, little Elaine! O.K., Lydia, here comes Ella....

Here she is..... gently, gently.....

It's o.k., guys, just keep smilin'...... she'll be o.k........

Oh, good, she's calming down...... Drew!! Look at the camera!!!!


Great!!!! This one is close! We're getting there.......

And..... there it is!!! Three beautiful little angels! O.k., I know, I know, Drew is still not looking at the camera, but what can ya do?

Inaugural Flight

Grandpa Joe got Drew a plane with a small motor for Christmas. Here are the results of the first flight!!!

(And, as you can see, I got a flip video for Christmas!!! I LOVE it!!!)

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!

Christmas is so fun with a 6 and 8 year old!!!! The anticipation is almost more than they can bear! This working mom stuff is not good as far as my planning and shopping ahead for Christmas! The Sunday before the BIG day I did a marathon shopping trip to the west side of Springfield, and I didn't come home until I was VERY close to being done! This was the first year that I closed the bedroom door and wrapped presents while Lydia and Drew were playing in the family room. OF COURSE, they knew what was going on, but the fear of Christmas elves watching EVERYTHING was put in them, and they didn't peek. There was, however, much giggling heard through the closed door, with an occasional, "Are you wrapping one for me, Mommy?"

Christmas morning came, and Lydia was the first one up at 6:10am. (that's late for us!) She woke Drew up, and out they went! Santa brought Lydia a big girl bike and a replacement Pocahontas doll (the first one was chewed up by the mower, and we couldn't fine one ANYWHERE in WDW!!). Santa knew, though, and he took care of Lydia!!


Drew got an electric train from Santa and a remote control monster truck! He is THRILLED with his train, and was building tunnels for the train to go through with his legos today. He is so careful with it - it is very fun to watch when he lines up all the cars so carefully on the track.


We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family. Christmas day was full of fun, joy, and special times.

Of course we have spent a lot of time this past month on the story of the birth of Jesus with our kids...... Here is a little excerpt from a lunch conversation with Lydia several days ago:

Lydia: “So what’s this thing about everyone going to where they were born to be counted? Is that going to happen again?”
Sarah: “No, that happened a long time ago – there was a mean ruler in charge.”
Lydia: “Oh....... Was Great-Gram alive then?”
Sarah: “No...... It happened way way before Great Gram was born.”
Lydia: “Whoa!” “That sure was a long time ago!”

Many blessings to you and yours for a Happy 2010!