Merry Christmas!

Love

Neil, Anne, Bria,

Harper

& Melaina

Buddy

It's that time of year again where our little friend, Buddy, makes his appearance.

He was a few days late this season, but he's definately brought joy to H & M's little face!

Mama forgot that touching the elf is a no no

Every morning they hunt for Buddy to see where he's been hiding.

What's your elf's name???



SDC

Our first visit to Silver Dollar City for the Christmas celebration.

We made the 4 hour trip down South last weekend & met up with my parents for some Christmas fun.

The weather was  again unseasonably  warm, which made the theme park extremely crowded.

Harper & I in line for the swings

Melaina hanging with daddy waiting patiently

All 3 of us getting ready to ride the butterflies

(wish this photo wasn't so blurry...)

Notice Melaina holding my finger

See Melaina's little hand waving at daddy, Mimi & Papa

Tired & hungry

Because it was soooo crowded, the girls were mostly confined to the stroller & were getting a bit stir crazy.

Beautiful tree

You can't go to the lake house with out taking a golf cart ride.

Seriously, who showed Melaina how to roll her eyes?

Everyday, Melaina's becomes more brave & comfortable with herself.

She had absolutely no fear of riding the kiddie rides which completely surprises me.

Harper also has grown up alot in these last few months. She's stepped up to the plate & has taken on the role of big sister in a serious & sweet way.

She still says at least once a week that she loves Melaina so much & is so happy she has a baby sister.

Makes my mama heart proud of both of my girls!

Funny quote from Harper while driving in the car:

Mama, me & Melaina are not twins, we are Asians!

Had us all cracking up...

Have you ever...

Waited in line for a "special" balloon for 1 1/2 hrs?

Check that off my list.

Fishing pole & Fish

And a little turtle for her little sister at home!



Santa's Helpers

Am I the luckiest mama?

My girls were the best helper's this year decorating for Christmas.

We put up 3 trees!

For some odd reason, I was dying to buy a white tree.

I scored last year after the season at Walmart for $20!

 Melaina's First Christmas Home

 Loving the ornaments on our "Fun Tree"

The best helper of all in her 2T dress

Ornaments neatly placed with in arms reach

Decorating the "Pretty Tree"



My lil Punk Rock Girl

We only had  2 broken ornaments & 1 face injury ( poor Melaina ) , not too bad for a 2 & 4 year old.

Giving Thanks

For the 2nd time in over 10 years, Neil & I stayed home for Thanksgiving.

We usually travel to the St Louis area visiting family & eating way too much food.

We enjoyed a simple, carefree day & had no time schedule at all!
I have to admit ( with guilt ) that I enjoyed being in our home this year.

We began the unseasonal morning temps ( 50's ) with a walk on campus enjoying the brisk morning breeze.

Thankful for leaves bigger than your head!

Thankful for seasons

Thankful for mismatched outfits

Thankful for living in a college town (not a soul in sight)

Thankful for pound puppy pitbulls chasing squirrels

 

Thankful for leaf angels

Thankful for siblings to play with while collecting leaves

Thankful for the gift of adoption & motherhood

Thankful for living in a culturally diverse community where we are never questioned or stared at for being a conspicuous family.

Thankful to have a quiet day with my husband & girls ( minus Bria=at her moms ) enjoying the simple things in life which we tend to overlook many times.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

 

Beautiful Baptism

Melaina was welcomed into the Catholic Church in an intimate beautiful, ceremony witnessed by our family & friends.

Oh no, here comes the Holy Water!

Blessing Mom

Blessing Dad





May God continue to bless you as you begin your spiritual journey.

We love you Melaina!

Happy Halloween

The girls had a blast this year.

We started at Harper's Halloween party at school.

The kids were supposed to change into their costumes after nap.

Harper & 2 other girls decided they wanted to wear their costumes sooner.

They changed into their costumes at 10 which means she was filthy dirty by the party.

PII

My lil pink poodle

Pre-Trick-or-Treating

 Beaming with excitement

Lady bug, poodle & mean witch

Hulk (Kolton) & Lady bug

Lady bug Jr

Post-Trick-or Treating

Hopped up on sugar....completely pooped!

Even Melaina had a blast.

She quickly got the hang of it, but needed a wagon ride from house to house.

I've always loved Halloween, but this year is special to me.  Seeing the happiness in my girls face as they get their costumes on & trick or treat makes me smile!

Halloween 2012 rocked!

Carving it out

We finally carved a pumpkin, 3 days before Halloween.

The pumpkins were slim pickin's at Ace Hardware store.

The one I chose ended up being nearly rotten! I thought it was dirt on the back side, just wipe it off & it'll be pretty...wrong, rotten!

It ended up being a good thing, because it was almost dried out, meaning no slimey guts to deal with.

Harper was a dedicated, determined pumpkin carver.

Perfection!

Melaina was along for the ride, not much interest in pumpkin carving.

Rotten pumpkin = No pumpkin seeds :(

Maybe next year will be better!