My husband - the magician

Merry Christmas!

Dave, Becca, and Charlotte stayed with us for almost a week over Christmas and we were able to celebrate Christmas with them. Christmas morning the kids woke up to 114 gifts. Yes - 114. Maybe we went a little overboard. Or...maybe not. Next year let's add 831 more (as long as the tags say "Gina").  We played a game where each person would draw a number to see which gift would be opened next. Sarah had searched through all gifts until she found one that looked like the monster high build-a-monster kit she wanted. 

It was number 105. She fixated on number 105. She held number 105 and even said "I love you 105". Every time a different number was chosen she made a pouty face. Finally, Charlotte picked 105. After that, she and Charlotte were best buds.

Jenna and Sarah with 114 gifts

It turns out Erik is a magician with lots of tricks up his sleeve. He knew I really wanted this pan. When I opened it I was excited because obviously I love pans! Anyway on the front cover was a piece of paper saying I could be selected as a winner. Becca read the note and Erik said, sure you could win a vegetable peeler but some people win ipads or something like that. I opened the box and there was a brand new phone in it. The phone had a message saying "Congratulations you are a winner!"

I don't know about you, but when I see something that says "I could be a winner" to me that means "I am not a winner". However, fate seemed to smile in my direction and I won a phone!   Erik went along with it until he finally gave it away that he bought me a phone and tricked me. I know...magician.

Happy 6th birthday Sarah

 We celebrated Sarah's birthday on her actual birthday with another caramel cake. I think this will be my last attempt at making caramel frosting. The cake was delicious. The frosting looked weird and was way too sweet. Sorry Sarah - no more caramel frosting for you.

Jenna, Sarah, Charlotte, and Matthew

My new phone

 We loved having Dave, Becca, and Charlotte here. We played tons of games together and even had a hot chocolate taste test.
The hot chocolate ranked as follows:

1. Jenis
2. Panera
3. Starbucks
4. Mean Bean

Mean Bean is a local coffee shop. I made my hot chocolate for them and Becca actually voted it #2. That is high praise considering Jenis hot chocolate is $4.50 and mine is... cheaper.

The kids also played really well together and Charlotte seemed to want to potty train since Matthew has been doing a great job on the potty. On Christmas day he had no accidents. That is my Christmas present!

The four kids left our house in such a state of disarray that I'm hiring Carson. Like now.

Mrs. Shannon

Sarah's teacher made this cute sweatshirt using decorations from the dollar store. I thought it was cute and creative. The lights actually lit up!

The Church Christmas program

Tis the season of Christmas parties and holiday eating. It really is the best time of year. Our church had their annual Christmas smorgasboard and Kids program. The kids sang 4 songs: Hark the Herald Angels Sing, I'm getting nothing for Christmas, Do you hear what I hear, and Happy Birthday Jesus. They did a fantastic job - although I did a terrible job of taking pictures. Jenna is right below the label in the picture and Sarah is standing on the step below her. The girls really belted out the songs, especially Happy Birthday Jesus. They will sing that one on Christmas eve too. The older kids did a skit and a flash mob. I love our church!

Our annual Gingerbread house

The kids Christmas Program

The kids Christmas program from a different angle

We decorated our annual Gingerbread house. Matthew mostly ate the candy but Jenna and Sarah had fun decorating. It's probably why he looks distraught in the picture - he can't eat any more candy. Matthew is also doing well with potty training. I see the light at the end of the tunnel - no more diapers! Yipee!!

We are so excited that Dave, Becca, and Charlotte will be here for Christmas. The kids have gone bonkers with excitement at seeing their cousin. It will be fun to have them here and coerce them to play games with us and do cooking competitions.  My mother-in-law is healing well from her knee replacement although she has been very tired. We will all be at our house for a big party. Or something like that.

During Dave and Becca's visit we will not be doing our Focus T25 workout we have been doing the past month. I really like this workout, however, this break is actually a good thing since my ankle has been hurting quite a bit from twisting it on one of the exercises. The time off will allow me to heal. Injuries like this make me feel old. Wait, where did I leave my walker?

My favorite Christmas presents

Crafts at Sarah's party

On Wednesday we had Sarah's birthday party at our house. 11 kids all running around crazy. It was a great time. Last year and this year we did a game called the "fishing game". We set up a card table with a blue sheet over it. Then made a fishing pole using a clothespin to catch the fish. Erik folds himself up and squishes under the table with a bowl of candy. The kids fish over the side to see what they get. They LOVE this game! Of course, some of them always want to see where the candy comes from and walk to the other side. They see Erik under the table and say "There's someone under there!" 

The fishing game

Sarah and her cake

 We had our last ballet class of the year tonight. The girls have also just started gymnastics. Matthew will start soccer in January. I'm so happy I can be home in the evenings so the kids can do more activities. We were always hesitant to commit to too many things. Erik is still hesitant.  Matthew is currently taking We Joy Sing, and he really loves it. But in the winter time, he will enjoy running around at soccer (it is indoors).

Sarah at ballet, Matthew peeking in the doorway

Jenna's ballet dance

In other news:

1. Yesterday Matthew said "I love you Mommy." That was the best Christmas present (Erik would say having him potty trained would be the best). Last year at this time he said about 10-15 words. Thank you Lord!
2. I was very wrong when I said the Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley was not gripping. I can not put this book down. I love it! I'm almost finished. The book is told from the viewpoint of Morgaine (Morgan Le Fey in many Arthur stories) and shows the reasons behind her decisions. It is excellent and the characters are well developed.
3. I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to our new cat Twinkles. I've been taking claritin but I'm still stuffy. Hopefully over time I'll get used to her. 
4. If I were to order my favorite races in Warcraft 3 I would list: Orc, Human, Night Elf, Undead. I must not be sophisticated enough to play Undead.
5. Jenna went to her first concert The Story Tour on Monday. She loved it!! The concert had many famous Christian artists (including Natalie Grant my favorite!) and told the story of the Bible. 
6. Since going to France I have been making all of our bread and we have tried to cut out preservatives. We also have tried cutting out artificial color but that proves to be very difficult. Then last night we decorated cookies and we all ate a TON of artificial color. So we might lose that fight.
7. 71 points on Quiddler today

Count your blessings

I often listen to sermons when I mow the lawn, clean, and sometimes when I run. One sermon I was listening to talked about counting your blessings. The pastor said, "how often do you sit down and count your blessings. List out what you are thankful for." I did just that. It took 2 pages front and back and I still wasn't done. There are so many things to be thankful for. Thanksgiving reminds us of this, but it is a good attitude to have all year long.

A present under the tree

I'm thankful that my parents watched the kids on Friday so Erik and I could go to a fancy restaurant Vittoria and see Catching Fire. This movie just made me more excited to see the next movie. Although I'm hoping they deviate from the book since I wasn't a fan.

Another thing to be thankful for is my husband.  Lately he has been getting up with the kids in the morning. Since I go to bed much later than him every night - I'm thankful for this! This is not the only thing about Erik I'm thankful for but sometimes it's the small things that add up to big things. He is a very giving person who is always willing to make sacrifices for us.

I'm thankful for my kids. Lately they have been asking to do chores so much. Today I was a little annoyed that they kept asking to do chores. Seriously?? Who gets annoyed their kids want to do chores??

I'm thankful for my job. It's amazing I can work a full time job from home and love what I do.

There are so many things to be thankful for. This is my tiny list, but as I said I wrote a lot.

Count your blessings!