photo shoot

At the rate we're going

this will be the closest we get to a Christmas card this year!

I am still optimistic...

BUT, Brad has crossed that item off his list!  :)

He normally writes our letter, 

so Momma J will have to step in this year.  

Yikes.

On Friday,

as Daddy went to get our Family Night dinner,

{pizza...again!}

I asked the girls if they wanted to try for a good Christmas picture.

They said yes.

WOOHOO.

That NEVER happens.

So, here's a peek at what we got...

What a pair of cutie pies!

What most of the pictures looked like...

Thought this was precious...

shows how Beks looks at her big sister most of the time!   :)

Someone was jealous...

PAY. ATTENTION. TO. ME.

{so neglected!}

Cute, but naughty.

I'm pretty sure which list he is on!

snack time...

They handled snack time by themselves today.

Um, no.  Those aren't their pjs.

Pickled okra juice...anyone?  What?  No takers?

And they say Folger's is good to the last drop.

Apparently, my girls are more connoisseurs of the green stuff.  

Pickles were on the menu too!

Mmmmmm...this face says it all.

But, it didn't stop her!

And the littlest...she couldn't be left out!

New skill of the day:

Abby can now give piggyback rides.

Homeschooling at its best.

Stick around, there's more...oh, so much more!

GameStop's: Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to:http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?

That we will enjoy the season and all it means.  That this Christmas will bring us closer to God, and that we will glorify Him by taking care of those who are in need. 

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition?

Orange rolls!  

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?

Hmmm...an overnight trip to a spa, on a beach or a mountain, a stack of good books, and little drinks with umbrellas.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?

We spend lots of time making handmade gifts/cards for people.  We love our crafts!!  Plus, we snuggle in and read/watch all our favorite Christmas stories & movies! 

5. What games did you play with your family growing up?

Trivial Pursuit, BINGO, Monopoly, all the oldies, but goodies!

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?

Christmas Eve Pajamas!!!  LOVE THEM!  :)

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?

CO or IL...IF we're going to go somewhere, it'll be to see family!!

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

1.  Like EVERYONE else...Kinect!

2.  Just Dance {or Dance Dance Revolution} for the Wii--yes, I am 10!!!

3.  PSP for the oldest

Go get your list going & you could win ALL your Christmas presents & then some this year!!

This December...

I'm hoping and praying that we make it something special.  Something more.

We have lots going on around here...

Our Jesse Tree

{can you see the sparkles?!}

This busy little girl...

love her so very much.

As Abby & I worked on math, 

she worked on some beehive formation!

The first person to put clothes on every day.

Addicted to chapstick.

And velvet art.

Can quietly & happily play longer by herself than any 2-year-old this momma knows.

Precious girlies working together.

We see it more & more...

kindness.

Playing together.  Loving each other.

It fills this momma's bucket every day!

{okay, and we sure still have our moments!!}

Hours & hours have already been spent decorating

and assembling...

{many thanks, Auntie Sharm!}

Precious, precious friendship...

gives you hope that this military thing won't totally mess up our kiddos!

And can anyone tell me why the dog is on the couch???

Candyland anyone??

Skype game playing...VA & AL.

Thank you God,

 for this technology that allowed these girlies to hang out for 3 {YES, 3!!} hours!!

AL side of the game...

We are opening our Christmas books and movies daily...much to the delight of everyone!

Day 2 for our giving project tomorrow--girlies are involved in what we're giving and sharing with others.

Pray that they will learn to see the abundant blessings in their lives.  Daily.

just checking in...

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We had a good one...a few sad moments, but a good visit.  I haven't talked about it on the blog yet, but my grandma passed away this summer after we got back from Korea.  Eventually, I'll write something about the summer, about her, but not tonight.

So, Thanksgiving BINGO wasn't quite the same, but we had fun.  It made me miss her, and I spent some time looking out the back window at her birds and the pond.  Realizing it will be our last time at her house for the annual event was bittersweet.  The pumpkin torte helped.  :)

I went to Target tonight.  Kidless.  I had a coffee.  It was just a coffee, black...just in case you were wondering.  I'm not sure why I have so much energy.  Was it the little ol' coffee, or the fact I left the house sans girls.  Hmmm...not completely sure!

Anyhow, I'm up late figuring this out.  Why do I find all these great ideas, and then here I sit printing/gluing/organizing the night before I'm supposed to be implementing them?  If you can figure this one out, please email me immediately--I need your help.  If you have the chance, spend some time on her website.  I have been so touched by many of her posts.  Amazing.

This project included a trip to Lowe's after the visist to Target.  The. Longest. Trip. Ever.  For one item.  I went to get our Jesse Tree...it is what I envisioned, with the bonus of being sprayed with some sort of all natural glitter!  Won't the girls be so impressed?!  Excited to get this started, and look forward to celebrating in a more meaningful way this year.  I also ordered the Advent Wreath from A Holy Experience...it is on its way to Korea.  Nice.  Guess I should check the Paypal address?!  Oh well, there's next year for that!

I have also decided to undertake 25 Days of Giving with the girlies...yes, starting in 2 days.  HA.  You may see me on here again tomorrow night!  :)  Can you see a theme here?

Due to my fun trip to Target, we have the first pieces to our Blessed to Bless Bags...oh, my.  Four bags will soon be in my car ready to hand out.  Here is another idea I can't claim, but you betcha we will have some of these in our car.  I'm a little surprised that I didn't have everyone bring the fixin's to Thanksgiving.  Shelbyville doesn't have a large homeless population {or any that I'm aware of!}, so it might not have gone over well.  I am going to forward the idea to a few people/places, and see if anyone might be interested in organizing a little buffet!  For the time being, my little assembly line will be comprised of a 5-year-old & a 2-year-old.  Thankfully, they work for cookies!  :)  Won't you join us?

fun at the playground...

The newest development at our house...

the girlies will go out to the backyard by themselves.

Wild.

Maybe it's disturbing that I let my 2-year-old wild child loose out there, but I'm crazy like that.

The funniest part is that Abby says, 

"Bekah, will you come outside and protect me?"

HA!  

Yes, the big sister has to have protection.

We don't call Beks "Little Bruiser" for nothing!  :)

The weather was great today, so the girls headed out to play after lunch...

Here's to a great week of FALL weather!

Momma's Christmas Present...Dream Christmas List, Part 1

Oh yes, can you see the I Dog & I cruising the neighborhood in this?

Thought so.

Not sure what to do with the kids...

do you think it's a bigger bucket than what it looks like?  :)

Love the basket & flowers too!!

My dear hubby will need to move me to a lovely little place

where I can take it to the Farmer's Market.

Oh, to dream..

our little korean girls...

Much to our girls' dismay, they wore their Korean hanboks for Halloween!

They wanted to be Abby Cadabby (Beks) & Zoe (Abby).

Sorry girls.

This momma just wasn't that organized this year!  Okay, and I really wasn't sure about the whole Sesame Street monster thing.  We could get them outfits that would look good, but I know my girls.  They wanted the furry parts too.  Cookie Monster, no problem.  Abby & Zoe, not so much.

The good news: they were adorable!  :) 

When I say adorable, 

it means that Beks didn't make this face when visiting our neighbors' homes!  HA

 Let's put on our reflective belt...and we can sing Deep & Wide while we're waiting!

Love this girly...

They went down to the end of our LONG driveway

 to see the SCARY house on the corner!

Beks getting a ride after taking a spill out of the stroller.

Yes, it was no surprise that it was Beks!  

The pumpkins: Doggy & Happy Face

It was a fun night in our new neighborhood!  We didn't last too long.  The weather was chilly & windy, but it seems like their layered hanboks were just fine.  After we finished up, Daddy & Abby handed out our candy at the end of the driveway.  For some reason, the lightweights didn't want to make the trek up our driveway!  :)

The best part of the evening is when we had a real live Korean gal open the door to us!  She was so delighted to see the girls.

She said, "What are you girls wearing?  I know, but I want you to tell me."  
So, they did.  Which got them some candy.  

Then, they said, "Kamsahamnida."
They got hugs, kisses and MORE CANDY!  :)  It made me miss Korea!

A funny side story to this is that on Saturday night a friend of ours asked Abby where she was from, and she answered, "Korea!"  HA.  And in conversation tonight, Abby told Daddy that she is a Korean American.  :)  No confusion in this house!  Gotta love it!

That's a wrap for Halloween this year!  

carving, with a twist...

Daddy didn't have much in the way of little assistants this year.  

Well, that's not entirely true.  

Mommy was busy with the pumpkin seeds.  Mmmm, pumpkin seeds.  Oh, I said little assistants.  One can dream...

The girls...well, they just thought it was a little too icky.  Too many guts involved for them!  (I have a video that blogger is refusing to upload -- I'll keep working on it!)

Here is Daddy's biggest helper.
Note: You may want to mute this one...Abby's laughter is on the extreme side!  :)

We're not 100% sure how we'll handle this next year.  Had we known how this was going to go, Mommy & Daddy would have carved at night while the girlies were in bed!  We shall see what the next year brings!!

another stellar parenting moment...

Well, this morning, Daddy & Mommy were really tired.

We are such party animals.

HA!

The real story is that we have NHL Center Ice...

we get to watch Avs games, but they aren't always on at the best times.

So, last night, we were up until about midnight.

When the girlies got up at 6-something,

Daddy told them they had to go into the playroom until 7am.

Sure thing, they did it.  LOUDLY.  But, they stayed in there until after 7.

Mommy got up around 7:30 to find them playing nicely together.

{Oh, and saw Daddy had an earplug in. Nice. Ever heard of sharing?!!}

The MESS was incredible, but it's the price we pay.

When I commented on the mess, 

Abby said, "Well, it is a playroom.  That's what we were doing."

Love the first born.

Anywho,

the girls had dressed themselves.

Which might sound like a good thing, but at our house, it's an experience -- sometimes good, sometimes not.

Ab found a great outfit for Beks, but it included jeans (they were at least a dark wash, so that was a battle Mommy didn't pick).

Abby's outfit wasn't her worst, but it was not necessarily good either.

Again, Mommy wasn't in the mood to push the issue.

Fast forward...

Mommy is the last one in the car (making us late for Sunday School, AGAIN!!) -- family waiting patiently for me as I run out of the house to the car backing out of the garage.

We get to the church, and this is what I find when I open up Bek's side of the car...

Hmmm...remembering Daddy yelling up the stairs something about Bek's shoes.

Me answering that I would bring something down.

Me drying my hair.  And trying to find clothes that actually fit me right now.

And running down to the car b/c I'm so late.

Right.

We took Beks to church without shoes.  In jeans.  Nice.

Oh, and we didn't stop there.

We went out to lunch after church.

Will I ever not be that mom?  :)