Very BIG News!

Tonight....

he

gave this

to her....

and she said yes! 

Congratulations Ashlee and Jonathan - we could not be more thrilled and excited for you both! Praising God tonight for His plans for you! 

Let it snow?

With apologies to my readers who actually live where there is real snow & to those who live where they occasionally receive snow...we took the girls to see snow on Monday. One of the cool things about where we live is you can go to the beach in the morning and the snow in the afternoon (although this is true, I don't actually know anyone who does that!). Anyaway - we loaded up the girls & all the snow stuff that goes along with the girls, and drove up the mountain to play in the snow. 

It was not an original idea (1/2 of Orange County went with us), there was a lot of traffic, and it was so crowded that we never made it to the mountain or the park. We found a vacant lot in a residential neighborhood and let them loose - and it was worth it! 

So worth it! Need to do it again! 

Help Mommy

 A couple of days ago, I hear a "help momma" coming from Katie...I track her down in the laundry room - to find this......she got in and could not get herself out! Of course, being the concerned and responsible mother that I am, I immediately rushed...to get the camera!! 

She thought the whole thing was pretty funny - and once she knew I was there to help, she wasn't nearly as interested in getting out! 

A blessed Christmas

After we cleaned up the mud, and took a nap, the Christmas Eve festivities began. We have a tradition of eating dinner, then heading to church for 6:00 service, then home for dessert and present exchange. This year, we were joined by our friends the Ward family, my dad & my grandma. In previous years, I've done a very formal meal with a roast and all the trimmings and fancy stuff. In trying to keep up with a "more laid back approach (as referred to in the previous post)....we did a one pan maple chicken with potatoes and a salad. Everybody loved it just as much as the "formal" meal - and I got my first present of the season - I actually got a chance to hang out with my friends and enjoy the afternoon! 

After church (which the five young children did very well at!!) - we came home to a fun dessert...chocolate fondue....just what the doctor ordered for over excited kids! 

Then it was onto the presents....

.....for the princess.....

Before bedtime, dad and the girls laid out the food for the reindeer; it helps them find the house and is a snack for them while Santa fills the stockings and lays out the presents (and yes - it was gone in the morning!)

(note the princess slippers on Becky!) 

This is a terrible picture of the girls seeing the tree for the first time with the presents - but I had to document Katie's first Christmas morning. 

Now she's getting the full picture.....

Unwrapping the Santa presents. Each year, Santa brings three presents for the girls - one to represent each of the gifts that the Wise men brought for the baby Jesus. Those presents and the stockings kept them occupied for the better part of the morning. 

Becky was not in the Christmas spirit of picture taking - even for one minute to get our traditional morning pj picture....Katie, on the other hand - loved every moment of the morning! 

The coolest gift the girls got was from their pop-pop; he built them a playhouse! It was a huge hit - the inside has the entire back wall as a chalk board, and grandma Julie got a cute table and chairs for inside. 

Reading with daddy...

...and more presents.....

Apparently, Becky is Katie's personal present consultant - or just very interested in how she can separate Katie from whatever she is unwrapping 

Katie, however, is having none of whatever Becky is selling! 

Opening even more presents when the "bigs" got home.....

Ashlee got a little emotional when she opened a photo calendar of the girls; she is moving to the Seattle area in 9 days and I think she realized today that even though they drive her  totally crazy (especially at 6 am) and she has to lock her door to keep them out of her room when she's not home, she's going to miss the littles pretty badly.

Mommy playing "santa" 

My brother Ken sent the girls these recording microphones - a stage career beginning? 

In the middle of the frenzy....

All in all, it was a pretty amazing day! We had a fairly relaxing day with a lot of great gifts all the way around (thanks mom for mine!!), good food, and a lot of fun. 

Just another first for our Katie bug.....who thinks that this Christmas "thing" is pretty cool! I have to say - I have to agree with her!