Christmas with the Snows

Snapshot of our time with RD's family... :)

Uncle Jason reading "Twas the Night before Christmas" to all the kiddos on Christmas Eve

Nathan and Ems- Christmas morning

Shelby, El, Nathan, Ems--Christmas morning

El and Shelby- Christmas morning

Mimi passing out some gifts on Christmas morning

Brandon, Miriam, Zayah, and Zion (9 mo old)

Shelby with her Aunt Lindsay

The Preston clan

RD's grandparents and their 9 great-grandchildren!!

Our Fam...

Mimi and her 7 grandkids! Youngest--12 weeks old, oldest--4 years old

Mimi with all of her kids and grandkids!!

Grandpa Snowman, El, and Nathan

Ems and Aunt Linds!!

Christmas with the Moans

Kiki, El, Ems, and Jack

settin the cookies out for Santa

Santa's note back...

Ems enjoying her early morning treat. :Kiki and the girls

El walked down the stairs and saw the dollhouse...

She was FLORED with all the furniture, etc.!!

She actually jumped up and down. :)

Me and El---how crazy it was to see her playing with MY doll house!!

Ems gettin ready for her Christmas dinner!!

The Storybook Begins...

There are a LOT of pictures I want to put on here. I will pick and choose the best. Starting with the few days before Christmas and continuing onto the craziness of our travels. We were with the Moan family briefly on Christmas Eve and then dashed to Columbus to be with the Snow clan for a few days. We made two trips to Springfield during that time, to visit with Ryan's extended family, and then also with RD's Dad. We finished our trip off in the Cleveland area where we got to visit with the Mitchells for a night. Yahooo! (Thanks Josh and Christy for our "treats" awaiting us---we loved 'em!) We completed our tour of Ohio with one final Holiday gathering on the 27th while we were there in Hudson. Ahhh, lemme say that it WAS good to come home. But although it was a PACKED couple of days, we did have some good times. :)

Now I just need to do some hard core working out to help with the 5 pounds I swear I put on this week. Ugh...

Enjoy the pics---they will be coming over the next couple of days. These are all just mainly of El and Ems---got some cute ones of the sisters. :)

And YES, El loves her doll house. It was a blast watching her explore it on Christmas Eve morning, and it has been even more fun watching her enjoy it now that we are home. How fun!

El's preschool program at school---she did her best! :)

A Trip Down Memory Lane...

So I decided today that I want to give El my old dollhouse. What a great present for an (almost) 4 year old. But here's the thing---this isn't just any dollhouse. My grandpa built it for me when I was young to mimic the house I grew up in. Same color---same color front door...several similarities. (Any of you out there remember this dollhouse? Or better yet--remember PLAYING with it with me?!) :)

I spent SO MUCH TIME on and in this house. I loved it. I mean absolutely loved it. My mom and I frequented a local dollhouse store and I can't even begin to explain to you how much money is invested.

I went to the attic of our old house today and saw it---it's pretty beat up. But there was a large box next to it that said "Lib's dollhouse." I was soooo happy to see that box. (And the actual house---we're going to get it updated/renovated so it is ready for lil' El).

I unpacked this box tonight and wanted to see what was broken, what I needed to replace, etc. I can't even tell you how much fun the past hour has been for me. You all know what nostalgia feels like, right? Well I just experienced it BIG TIME. I remembered buying every single thing: the bookshelves, the bathroom towels/washcloths, the fully stocked refrigerator (check out my name on the coffee mug!),

...the mailbox and porch furniture. I got giddy---seriously, I did. And I cannot wait to see El's face when she walks down the stairs on Christmas morning to see this gift from me/us.

What "got" me the most was the nursery. I just remember that being my favorite room. The most simple and under furnished room but I always loved to play in there. I just texted my mom a few minutes ago with a picture of it and said "I can't believe I started with this nursery...and now I have a REAL one!" So yeah---life goes fast. I can't believe I have two kids and am going to watch them do what I did.
Crap. Holy cow.
Well I just thought I would share. :)

The joy of the weekend ahead

Hope you are enjoying this chilly December day.

I'm looking forward to a fun weekend:

Late girls night out tonight (post kids' bedtime) at a local Mexican joint--just for drinks and apps with some friends I typically don't get to spend a whole lot of time with. :)

Tomorrow: leavin @ 2PM for a night away with RD. Meeting up with our great friends the Mitchells for a super fun afternoon/night. The girls are having a sleepover @ Nana and Papa's house. El is looking forward to movie and popcorn and getting her nails painted!

Saturday: family day & then a dinner party for Ryan's work. El is soo looking forward to her favorite babysitter coming...she had gone away to college but is home for Christmas break. Yaaay for Karli!

Sunday: family day and then we are having a women's Christmas dessert on Sunday night for our church. We are hosting it @ 4 different locations and sooo many women have spent time inviting their friends who may or may not have experience with a church or Jesus. It will be a very sweet evening. Please pray for it if you think to...

I hope your weekend (busy or not) is a wonderful one. I always battle guilt when I leave the girls behind but I also know that tends to come with the time of year, right??!? And I also try to make sure that our times together during the day are special and fun for them. Does anyone else out there ever struggle when you have to do stuff like this?
Enjoy the pics!

Boost of Confidence

So I was putting El to bed last night. We were snuggling, saying prayers, etc. She asked me very politely not to breathe on her.So I turned my head thinking my breath must stink! Oh well. 3 or 4 min. later I had turned my head back to her and was talking to her again. She then proceeded to say, "please turn your head mommy, and find someone else to breathe on!" Ha---I laughed so hard that she grabbed my cheeks and said, "now WHY are you cracking up while i'm trying to sleep?" When I left the room I told her I was going to brush my teeth.

Fast forward to this morning.

She climbs in bed with us with her milk. We're watching cartoons. She says "Mommy, you were supposed to go and brush your teeth. But your breath is still so stinky!!" Really? Did she wanna call me out AGAIN? 5 minutes later she told me my hair was all bendy and looked like it was blowing in the wind. So I assumed that meant I was a pleasant sight to look at (yeah right?!) Ha----needless to say I went and brushed my teeth AND jumped in the shower. hehe.

And this was NOT a boost of confidence...but pretty funny! :)

Deep Thoughts...

Today was a day that I had to tell myself..."stop stressing about the fact that this time is precious and it's going fast and ENJOY it!!" I think I worry so much about how I am going to blink and this phase of my life is going to be over. I hear people say it everywhere I go--church, the grocery store, work...even within my own family. Everyone is always saying "soak it up, your kids are going to be old and grown before you know it!" I always smile and nod and wish I could explain to those people that when they say it, I get thrown into this weird depression-like, bummer mood!! I know these are the days with the kiddos---I know I am going to miss making Christmas cookies and faulty gingerbread houses. I know I am going to miss shopping with my mom at an insanely early hour on Black Friday. And I know life is so so so so SO much more impt. and significant than even those things. I have so much more to live for and so much more to make my life matter. So for that I'm thankful.

Today El said two things that got me:

1. When our family all dies we will all go to Heaven together and be with Jesus. And then we will be fixed.
**whoah- hugely intense. And where did she GET that? Yes, I told her---we will be in Heaven with Jesus. And yes El, He WILL fix us to be even better and more like Him than we could ever imagine. (I mean for real- what do you say in response to THAT?)

2. (after a hug and kiss goodnight). I love you mommy. I had so much fun with you. Don't EVER leave me. And BE SAFE.

That choked me up- to say the least.

Wow, the things that kids actually "get" at this young of an age. They know that sad things happen, they just don't know why (nor do we as grown-ups...so I can't imagine how confusing it must be for them!) My friends' house burnt down two weeks ago. It happened to be El's old tot time teacher- who goes to our church. El wondered if Julie, Ashley, and Colton had to sleep outside and said they could sleep in her bed with her. I just know she thinks about it all the time lately.

Well on a more upbeat note---here are a few pics of the weekend. We have had a great couple of days as a family. Love you all and I hope you are enjoying this time of year like we are.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this day. It was fun to talk with El on our way to Nana and Papa's house this morning, too. Trying to explain to her why we are having a big meal today and that most homes in this country are doing the exact same thing as we are. It's kind of cool. It was the smallest Thanksgiving I've ever had (just 5 adults, and the girls)...but it was a sweet sweet day.

El got to proudly display her napkin rings. So that was pretty fun.

We also attempted to start a tradition today and make a ginger bread house after the big dinner, BUT I pretty much just wanted to throw the icing (I mean cement...did I say icing?) out the door. It just DID NOT WORK. And I followed the directions to a tee...the icing just wouldn't spread. So that was a bummer. I'm not giving up though. We will try this again later in the weekend. I'm determined!!

Ems is pretty much walking up a storm. She had so much fun today and was a little slap happy at times, too. She is just at the best age. She makes us laugh all the time and her personality is becoming more and more apparant. It's just so special. She is already not a baby anymore- MAN!

Well cheers to you all and Happy Thanksgiving. I hope your day was as blessed as ours. Goodnight!