Christmas Day

We had a very snowy Christmas. 

Normally we would just have stayed home all day but since Doug's parents were home we decided to go over and visit for a while. His mom said she had some more things to give to the girls. 

 

Walking to the car I looked up through the snowy branches and saw the lamp post. It reminded me of Narnia.

Doug's sister Wendy and her family surprised everyone by coming home to visit too once they found out their parents were here. I was so excited to see Claire again... but she didn't remember me. It took a while for her to warm up to us again but it was so much fun (and weird!) to see her walking around and being so much older.

Doug's mom gave the girls to baskets of clothes for their American Girl dolls. She picked up a bunch of stuff in Hong Kong. 

They were so excited to try it all out. 

Maddy and Claire goofed off a lot. Claire was chasing Maddy around and jumping on her which Maddy thought was hilarious.

 

We had a good time. 

Soon we went back home and played some more and then had our traditional Christmas dinner of ham, corn, and mashed potatoes. 

 

And of course doing our Christmas Crackers. 

 

For dessert we tried this plum pudding. You can see more about that on Scones and Crackers. 

 

It was not a hit. 

The rest of the evening was spent reading and playing with toys. 

It was a wonderful Christmas.

2016 Word

It has been a LONG time since I did a word of the year. 

But this year I felt like I really wanted to do one. 

So what is the word I have chosen for 2016? 

LEAP

 

Leap. Why Leap? 

Well, for one thing it is a leap year and it seemed appropriate. 

But most of all because this is a year that I want to LEAP out of my comfort zone and really make the most of life. 

First, in only a few months now I will be boarding a plane with my mom and flying to Europe for the first time in my life. This is awesome and amazing and I am so excited. But I have to admit I am a bit nervous as well. I will be leaping out of my comfort zone in so many ways. I hate flying and this will be the most flying I have ever done. I will be learning to drive on the opposite side of a car and the road. Trying to speak French and German. Getting around many different countries without any big disasters. It is going to be a big deal to go places that I have never been and I know that it will be a huge learning experience. I will also be away from my kids for 3 weeks. I have never been away from them for longer than a couple of days so this is a big deal. But this is part of who I am. I love traveling and I have felt drawn to this part of the world for as long as I can remember. I cannot wait to finally experience it. 

"Life is travelling to the edge of knowledge, then a leap taken."

- D.H. Lawrence

I tend to crawl into my cozy little comfort zone, make some cocoa, grab a blanket and a book and allow myself to hibernate there. 

I know that I need this time. I am an introvert and I NEED alone time in order to stay sane. But I also need to leave my den sometimes and make sure I am seeing to the other parts of life that will enrich and nourish my experience. 

That is one of the main reasons I chose LEAP. 

I want to take leaps of faith, leaps into the unknown, leaps into the known for that matter. Leap into living life to the fullest that I can, trying to make every day count. I know I will not always succeed in this but it always helps to have it in the back of my mind. 

Do you have a word for 2016? 

 

Christmas Morning

We were so excited Christmas morning to see that Santa came! 

Abi's gifts: 

 

Maddy's gifts: 

My stocking and Doug's stocking:

We take turns opening our gifts but the stockings are something everyone can dig into right away.

They both kept getting so excited with each thing they brought out of the stocking.

We get a new book and movie with our stockings.

As soon as we were done with our stockings, we started our gift rotation. Abi and Maddy opened their gifts from Santa and Doug and I opened our gifts from each other. We went youngest to oldest.

Season 2? How did he do that? That is the look of surprised excitement!

Oh my gosh, Abi's face. 

What? Season 4!!!

I love that they get so excited not only for themselves but for each other as well.

All the loot: 

From Santa: My Little Pony sweet shoppe set, Beados starter set, MLP Canterlot High School, 2 small My Little Pony sets, Littlest Pet Shop bunny set, Plusy (the Pokemon stuffed animal that was in her bed when she woke up- Santa always leaves something there for them), a Lalaloopsy mini set, My Little Pony scratch set. 

From Aunt Melinda's family- My Little Pony art book

Her stocking stuff: 

My Little Pony Princess Celestia book, Sofia the first movie, small Lego wishing well set, Christmas fruit snacks, a PEZ dispenser, some pistachios, a toothbrush, My Little Pony sanitizer and chapstick, a box of Nerds, a box of Mike and Ike's, A Lifesaver gummy storybook, My Little Pony figurines, a small Barbie doll, and a Wet Brush. 

From Maddy: My Little Pony figurine. 

Maddy's gifts from Santa: Barbie Chelsea's pool set, Shopkins lego type set, Shopkins black box 40 set, Shopkins Shoppie, Shopkins season 2 12 pack, Two Shopkins season 4 5 packs, and The Apple stuffed animal (from Shopkins).

From Aunt Melinda's family: Shopkins game.

Maddy's stocking stuff: 

little Barbie doll, Barbie Puppy adventure movie with stuffed animal, Shopkins Beados can, Christmas fruit snacks, Lifesaver Gummy's storybook, Nerds, Shopkins gummy treats, Magic Tree House book, chapstick, PEZ dispenser, Shopkins mad libs book, Shopkins collector cards, and wet brush. 

From Abi: Some of the Shopkins collector cards. 

Doug's gifts:

He asked me for some new towels, a laundry basket, and a quilt. 

I had to throw in some fun things too so I kept asking for ideas. 

Luckily he had some things he wanted so I was able to get him the Finn and Rey (from the new Star Wars) Pops and the Mario Amiibo. 

(They are set against the top of the quilt I made for him.)

Doug's stocking stuff: 

X-Men movie, socks, Slim Jim, Lifesaver gummy story book, Pistachios, Ferraro Rocher, some candy, a toothbrush, a bunch of Chocolate oranges. 

From Melinda's family: Star Wars key chain.

My gifts: 

From Doug: Snape, Katniss, and Peeta Pops, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Illustrated version, Harry Potter coloring book, Colored pencils set, The Hobbit movie, The Fairy tale Girl by Susan Branch.

From Abi: a cookbook made in her class. 

From Maddy: a hand print with poem, and envelope with a reindeer head on it, and an ornament with her picture on it. 

From Melinda: Owls coloring book

My stocking stuff: 

The Hundred Dresses, Cinderella movie, Pistachios, Whoppers, Sweet tarts, Lifesavers gummy book, some candy, a portable phone charger, a headphone splitter, a wallet, a Hogwarts key chain, a toothbrush, luggage locks, and socks.

I had to put my new Pops up on the shelves right away. 

I made the same Crock pot Breakfast casserole I made last year (you put it in the crock pot on Christmas eve and it is ready in the morning) but for some reason this year I was the only one that liked it. Fail.

We all got right to enjoying our new things. 

Some family/ neighbor gifts: 

After a few hours I had them look for the pickle in the tree.

Abi found it of course and got the extra gift to open: a Snowman Lego set. 

Maddy was disappointed to open her Shopkins 40 set special edition box and see that one was missing. :( I contacted the company and they sent us $5 (about 1/7 of what it cost) or we could send it back and hope we could find it again. She decided to get the money because we knew it would be hard to find again.

They played (and made a horrific mess) all day!

And while they did that (and Doug napped) I read.