Our Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas celebration
with my parents, old friends, and new!

My parents were here for a week.
Occasionally, we got out of the house...

After a visit to the newly re-opened museum, we headed over to the National Tree.

Christmas Day started early. Hannah was up first... at 5:20. We sent her back to her room until 6. That seemed much more reasonable.

I can't believe I took a picture with that pacifier in Peter's mouth. It's really got to go. I'm just so scared about losing a nap with it. : )

The boys racing down the stairs.

Peter asked for a saxophone. That's all he wanted.

I had fantastic kitchen help. My parents.For Christmas Dinner, we had some friends join us. Our friends that feel more like family - MaryZ, Patrick, and their boys, Wills and Connor, came over, as well as a wonderful woman from our church. It was a sweet time of celebrating our Savior.

Hannah and baby Connor

Merry Christmas!

Hark! The herald angels sing,


"Glory to the newborn King;


Peace on earth and mercy mild,


God and sinners reconciled!"


Joyful, all ye nations, rise,


Join the triumph of the skies;


With th' angelic host proclaim,


"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"




Joy and Peace to you and yours this Christmas!

The Journey

Each morning, the kids find they have moved a little closer...

... closer to Bethlehem, and the stable full of animals

... in the Living Room.

Oh What Fun!

My in-laws treated us all to a fun-filled day in Manhattan yesterday. This was the kids' first time in the city. And what a perfect time of year for their first time! The Radio City Christmas Spectacular was the main event... 90 minutes of pure fun! During the show, we were taken on a 3-D ride in Santa's sleigh, swirling around the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building (the kids' favorite part). It actually snowed in the audience! The Rockettes were incredible! The whole thing was, well, Spectacular! Inside Radio City Music Hall,

getting ready for the show.the Rockettes as Rag Dolls in Santa's Workshop

Catching snowflakes on her tongue,Hannah soaked up the whole experience!

And this place was a big highlight...
Rockefeller Center

Thanks, Nana and Papa, for a fabulous, memory-filled day!

Mr. Tchaikovsky & The Nutcracker

For December, we have been learning about Tchaikovsky and Handel, and filling our home (and car) with their music. The Classical Kids CDs are a big hit for time in the car. Tchaikovsky Discovers America is our new favorite, thankfully. I was getting pretty tired of Mr. Bach Comes to Call, which was requested by all three every time we got in the car. We listened to Hallelujah Handel! once and felt the subject matter was a bit heavy for our crew. The Amazon reviews say the same.

Hannah and I enjoyed *two* Nutcracker Ballets over the weekend. It was so exciting for me to see her truly enjoy the music, and be so familiar with it. "Tea" is her favorite.

A dear friend called Friday morning to ask if there was any chance we could get to the 1:30 show at the Kennedy Center, their friends had to cancel. So, we skipped on over in our Christmas finery, sat in the Orchestra section, and enjoyed the most perfect production of the Nutcracker I had ever seen. It was a pure magic! A delightful confection! Thanks for thinking of us, McIntyres!

Saturday evening, Hannah and I went to a much smaller production to cheer on Lulu, one of her best friends. It was adorable... full of lots of mistakes and waving to mom in the audience.

Which one was her favorite? "The one with all the little girls... and Lulu." : )

5 Years Old

Today is Will's big day! We celebrated by having a few friends over for fun and cupcakes.

He really wanted to have a Monster Truck theme. Not really sure what to do about that, I ordered a couple sets of "Custom Shop" Monster Trucks. It turned out to be a big hit.

Thanks, Mema and Grandpa! He *loves* the guitar!Hannah spotted a gift at the toy store last week she was sure Will would love. So, she enthusiastically spent all her tooth fairy/birthday money to get it for him. I was really nervous he would not be as thankful as I wanted him to be this morning. He was. She was so proud. Sweet girl.

If Only...

the rain falling outside was snow...

Hannah and Will enjoyed using oil pastels to create these fun snowmen.
Peter and Will have been asking for a wreath for their bedroom door.
So, to keep the little guy entertained, I came up with this...
wadded up tissue paper glued to cardboard. Ideally, I would have had different shades of green tissue paper on hand. I'm positive Peter did not care.