We love to shovel

We had a stow/ice storm that hit on Thursday into Friday. It was disappointing because I was going to have the DGL leaders from MOPS over for dinner on Thursday and we had to cancel. The fun thing was that Katie came over Thursday afternoon and stayed all night with us. I had called her to make sure that she wasn't going to be "out in the storm" on Thursday. Brian was making fun of me because I was all worried about her...oh well it is the mom in me. Then Friday we shoveled...and both Brian and I now have sore backs. Friday night Jesse and Amanda came to stay with us from Colorado on the way to Goshen. They brought their dog Oliver, Nora had fun with him. We checked the weather to make sure they didn't have bad weather for driving, it was supposed to be clear. Then it snowed here all day Saturday. So Saturday afternoon we shoveled again. As of Saturday evening it is -5 (yes that is a minus before the five) without windchill. The wind is awful and with the windchill it is -30...we love Iowa winters!!! I am looking forward to Florida (9 days, but I am not counting...:)

Sisters

""Whatever we write on the hearts of our children is not erased by
time.""

Author: unknown

Nora loves her little sister, and she tries to help me take care of her. I loved these pictures because Nora is holding Molly's hand. Nora was then telling her a secret. They are so much fun, and I cherish all the time I have with them.

Bruiser

Nora was running through the entryway yesterday and tripped over some shoes and hit her eye on the end of the stairs. She cried for awhile and we put ice on it. About ten minutes later it was HUGE. I took this picture a day later and it is still rather large. She looks like someone punched her in the eye...poor little girl.

Cookies

Sunday night we did a cookie exchange with the Miller family. It was fun to eat (and get) so many cookies. We went down to Paulett's house and hung out for awhile. Nora had fun playing with Will and running around and having everyone's attention. Molly of course also loved having everyone hold her all the time.

Shopping

The weekend of the 12th the girls in our Faith Family went to Chicago to do some shopping. We were bummed that Erin got sick before we left and couldn't go. It was Jen, Deb and me that went up to Shamburg. We had such a good time. We stopped and ate dinner on the way up (in peace without kids) and then stayed up talking. The next day we went to Ikea (such a fun place) and stayed there for the morning. We then headed to the Container Store and the Woodfield Mall. The mall was PACKED with people. We drove for over 15 min looking for a parking spot. We then headed to the outlets that are on the way home. They are also very nice. It started to sleet while we were there so we decided to leave. Jen drove and did a great job of battling the weather. It was a fun weekend to just enjoy some girl time. The picture above is at the Woodfield Mall and all the people.

DONE with my class

So as of Friday December 12th I am done with my third masters class. I am working on getting my masters in reading k-12. It has been pretty manageable so far. I do a lot of work on the weekends when Brian can be with the girls. It is hard to get work done during their naps, since I never know how long I have. Brian has been wonderful in helping me make time to do work. I am enjoying doing the classes. I am just glad to have a break for a couple of weeks!!

Santa

We took the girls to see Santa at the mall this week. We had been reading the book Berenstain Bears visit Santa and she kept saying that we were going to see Santa Bear because that is who they see in the book. I kept talking to her about what she wanted to tell Santa that she wanted for Christmas. She said that she needed to tell Santa Bear that she uses the big girl potty! I explained that we need to tell Santa something we want, not what we are doing. She decided to tell him that she wants Dora talking crayons. She has been asking for Dora talking crayons since before Thanksgiving. Since that is all that she has asked for I am sure that she is going to get them.
Molly was cute because she just would smile at Santa. Brian said, "Molly smiles at who ever holds her, even if it is a guy in a bright red suit." It is true I guess. We had a good time and Nora keeps talking about her visit with Santa Bear.

Ginger House

On Tuesday we didn't have MOPS becuase the weather was bad so I told Nora that we could make a gingerbread house that morning. She was so excited to make the "ginger house" as she calls it. I am not sure if she ate more candy than she put on the house or not. We had fun and the house turned out pretty cute.

Silly Girls

When I put Molly in her crib Nora likes to climb in whenever she can and lay with her. It is funny sometimes because I will be doing something in my room and realize that Nora has gone in and gotten in with Molly and they are both laying there smiling at me. These pictures are one of those moments when I "caught" Nora in with Molly when Molly should have been napping. What can you do...they are so cute!

Getting Ready for Christmas

On Thanksgiving morning we had time to set up our tree before we went for lunch. Nora helped dad put the lights on the tree and got to put the angel on the top. I had put up the tree the day before, but, I put the the branches all too low and when I got to the top I didn't have any left! Brian had to help me take the branches and move them all down....I guess we know for next year!

Yummy....!

Molly is now 5 months so I decided that I would start trying to give her some cereal. I forgot how funny it is when they have no idea what to do with the food in their mouth. She really didn't "eat" any but did make some pretty funny faces. It is crazy that Molly is five months, the time goes so fast. She is so a good baby and we are loving her smiles and how she is starting to get a personality.

Cool Girls!

So Nora found her pink sunglasses and decided that Molly would look "cool" if she put them on. I agree with Nora..they both look very cool.

First Snow

We had our first snow on Saturday night. It was so much fun to wake up in the morning and pull open the curtains and hear Nora yell "There is snow!!" She wanted to build a snowman and go sledding right away. We convinced her that we could do all that after church. She then got to go out with dad and build her snowman...he has a frisbee for a hat. She does like the snow..that is a good thing since it is going to be here for a LONG time!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we stayed in Iowa. We went out for lunch with Brian's family and his Grandma Edna. Then we went down to his aunt Angie's house for the afternoon. Everyone loved playing with Molly. His uncle Marv is so good with the girls...he needs to have a granddaughter! Nora got to watch movies during the afternoon, so she would say that she had a wonderful day. It was a nice and relaxing day. I guess we need that in order to do our black Friday shopping.