Stepping Stones Christmas Program

Kate participated in her first preschool Christmas program last night. She was really anxious to get there, and when we opened the garage door to leave and she saw it was dark outside she said, "See! I told you it was late!" I tried to explain the difference between dark and late, but she didn't get it.

So we were there excruiatingly early. Its harder to get good seats at the preschool programs than in the GA at Allen Fieldhouse. Well, almost. Anyway, it's craziness, so it was only the 4 of us plus Grandma and Granddad. Don't worry, it's all on video.

Kate did a great job. She had no fear, and followed directions. She only played with the bottom of her skirt at the very end when they were sitting on the step-- fortunately it was long enough to cover up any potential lifting. Whew.

Here are the pics! Note Sam and his fellow alumnae Grace. Always making the moves, that Sam.

Our Tenth Anniversary

Friday was our 10th wedding anniversary. With a December anniversary and small children, big celebrations do not frequently occur. So, we had a family celebration.

The day of our wedding, Stuart and I went through the drive-thru at Winstead's in Independence (no longer there), and it's always been a favorite memory from that day. So, we decided to take the kids to Winstead's on the Plaza and then drive through the lights. They really enjoyed Winstead's, having never been there, and were more excited about the lights than I really expected them to be.

On the short drive to the Plaza (like 2 blocks), we pulled up alongside horse-drawn carriages making their way to the Plaza. The kids went crazy about the horses, begging us to let them ride. I had no plan to let them do so, but when we parked and looked at the lights, I guess we just got caught up in the excitement and Stuart said, "Let's go!" They were thrilled. It was cold that night, and of course I hadn't brought gloves or hats, but the wool blanket they provided kept us warm. We had a slow horse, Governor, and so we had a long ride around the Plaza. It was beautiful and the kids had so much fun. The driver told us that the horse liked Christmas carols, so we sang Jingle Bells and Rudolph at the top of our lungs (if that was you passing by on the street, sorry.) She also told us that the carriage was a replica of Abraham Lincoln's carriage, so Sam was pretty excited about that too.

When we got home, I surprised Stuart with a cake that was supposed to be like our wedding cake, and was close enough to make the point. All in all, it was a great anniversary.

December pics

Actually, this happened Thanksgiving weekend too, but the kids went to visit Santa at a pancake breakfast fundraiser at the clubhouse. They had lots of time with Santa, but I couldn't help but laugh at the poor volunteers ill-fitting beard. Really, we'd have great pictures if it weren't for the double-mustached Santa.

I mentioned our snow day. We had a great time making cookies. Kate cut and Sam sprinkled. Taking the picture was more of a chore, though, and Sam's decided he doesn't want Kate putting her arm around him when they take pictures anymore. You'll notice our other pictures this month have him standing behind. Very intentional.

This is a picture of the two kids looking at picture albums while we're trying to put up Christmas decorations. I just think they look cute sitting there together, like they like each other.

I took this picture Sunday morning before church to show off the kids in some of their Christmas finest. I'm notorious for having multiple Christmas dresses, sweaters, etc, so we have to take lots of pictures.

Picture Catch-up

I've been a horrible, neglectful blogger lately, so I have all these pictures saved up to post. We'll start with November pics and go from there.

This is a picture of a super-cute craft project from Kindergarten. During a parent activity, meaning Stuart was able to go up and help, they made pumpkin bread for every kid in the class to take home in this cute Turkey cozy thing.

We went to the Lake of the Ozarks for Thanksgiving this year to spend time with my mom's side of the family. My aunt has two little granddaughters, and all four kids played really well together. This is Sam and Kate and Callie, the oldest of the two. The younger one, Kori, is a little camera-shy.

After Thanksgiving, we decided to stay overnight at a hotel so that I could go outlet shopping on Black Friday. The kids thought it was a real vacation, because the hotel had a pool! Here they are settling in:

Our small group from church volunteered on a Friday night loading shoeboxes heading overseas for Operation Christmas Child. Our church was the regional hub, so we had lots of counting and packing to do, which proved excellent jobs for little helpers. Kate is shown loading boxes with Bob below, and Sam and Grant worked together well too. What a team!

Our First Official Snow Day

We had our first elementary-school snow day yesterday, sans snow. It was all very exciting. For me. I didn't mention the possibility to Sam, because I didn't want to get his hopes in the non-materializing snow up. So, when my phone rang at 5:50 to announce the cancellation of school, I wasn't greeted by an anxiously-waiting child or anything. When they did wake up, the response was mixed. Kate was disappointed to miss silver/gold day (and santa) at preschool, but Sam was thrilled for a day off of kindergarten.

Naturally, I had to try to cram in as much snow-day fun as possible into this one day. We started with chocolate chip pancakes. Kate liked, Sam did not, but didn't admit it. Then we made a Christmas gift for dad. Can't say any more, but it was the most crafty I've been in a long time. They loved it and worked really hard on making it great. I will tell you it involved some coloring, and when I suggested that Sam do some and Kate do some, Sam looked at me and whispered under his breath, "You know mom, Kate scribbles." I had to laugh, because until about 4 months ago, so did Sam.

Then we had to take a little activity break (for my sanity) and they watched some Christmas cartoons. (That "Prep and Landing" by Disney was SO cute. They loved it.) Kate demanded cookie-making, so we made some of our annual Christmas sugar cookies. Only sugared this time-- I told Sam we'd save the special icing for closer to Christmas. Kate cut cookies while Sam mastered the art of sugar-sprinkling. We had several cookies that should have been labeled hazardous material because of the heap of sugar on each, but he learned how to use it sparingly.

After cookie-making, I required another break. Kate, who previously pronounced "no naps," crawled willingly into her bed for a rather long one. I tried, but of course the phone rang too much, so I got up to exercise while Sam played Wii. We really need some new games, Santa, if you're reading along.

We finally ventured out for piano and Chik-fil-a, complete with adult converation for me with Janet and Bill. Thank goodness for Chik-fil-a. It was a long, exhausting day, but we all had a really great time. Yea for snow days!

Thanksgiving 2009

This year, we treked to the Lake of the Ozarks for Thanksgiving. Kate and Sam got to play with their second cousins, Kori and Callie, which was a lot of fun. At some point, Sam was overwhelmed by girl time and retreated to the TV, but he did a pretty good job coping. Neither of them really enjoyed the feast-- I think Sam ate 3 rolls and Kate liked the green beans and pumpkin pie.

We stayed overnight at a hotel across from the Osage Beach outlet malls. The kids loved getting to swim, and we had the whole pool to ourselves. By whole pool, it sounds massive, but it was in fact about the size of my living room. They loved it. I went outlet shopping on Black Friday with my parents, which was semi-productive. I'm down to 3 people on my list now, so that's pretty good.

We took them to see Santa at a local fundraising breakfast. We had Chris Cakes first and then they sat on santa's lap. The picture is great of the two of them, but I can't help but look at Santa's mustache, which was showing underneath the fake beard/mustache he was wearing. Odd. Oh well. They loved it anyway. Sam kept going over to the Chris Cakes pancake guy and talking his ear off. I'm not sure what he was talking about, but that conversation went on and on. I guess we can safely say he has my gift of gab. Sam asked Santa for Han Solo's lego ship (the Millenium Falcon for those who aren't up to speed), and Kate asked for a "princess dress with a crown." Both pretty good requests. I'm thrilled that my kids are able to narrow the list down to one thing for Santa-- it seems so much less greedy, even if in their hearts they want one of everything.

They really play so well together and had a great time over the long weekend. On Thanksgiving and every day, I can say we're truly blessed.