Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom turned 60 yesterday!!

Here's wishing her a very happy birthday!!!

New Clothes

We've been doing a little shopping...catching the deals!!

This was especially needed for the girls, since Rebekah has grown about an inch and a half and Lydia TWO INCHES since JUNE!!

I can't believe it.

So it wasn't just our imagination that all of Bekah's jeans were getting shorter...and Lydia's too!!

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We hit Target and got Lydia some much needed pants!! (She's put the left knee out of about eight pairs of jeans in recent months!!)

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We also got Bekah some longer jeans...it's really hard to find her a pair of jeans since she's about a size six in the waist and an eight in length!! Thank goodness for adjustable waist jeans!

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And David found this adorable little jacket for her as well. She LOVES it!! She's going to look so cute in her jeans, jacket and boots!!

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And we couldn't leave without buying some pretty dresses too! These were on clearance, but we thought they would work year round. The one of the left is Lydia's and the one on the right is Bekah's. (And we got a second one just like Bekah's for Lydia...since she LOVES dresses and they were such a great deal!)

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The girls are excited about their new purchases...and these combined with the sweaters they got for Christmas, should have them decked out for a while!!

Welcome to You!

David has a little something that he says to me whenever Rebekah does something that is characteristically me---showing just how much she is a little mini-me. 

*grin* 

He says, "Welcome to you."  He's had to say this quite often as of late. She'll correct someone's grammar...or quote a scientific fact she found fascinating. And he'll say "Welcome to you."  

On 12/22, we had our family Christmas...where we do our Christmas stuff...just the four of us.  

We grabbed some dinner, and then some ice cream and set out to look at the Christmas lights before we opened all of our presents. 

The girls decided on a peppermint blast ice cream from Sonic. 

 As they were eating them, I said, "So girls, does your ice cream taste just like Christmas?" 

 Rebekah, in all seriousness, said, "Well, I've never actually tasted Christmas, so I don't know." 

 And David said, "Welcome to you." 

 Ha ha!

The Lowest Costume Prices...GUARANTEED! - FAIL

I was looking for an astronaut costume for Bekah's birthday party and came across this...

Look closely.
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Maybe they don't understand what LOWEST means.
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Danny's Grease Deluxe T Bird Jacket Costume:
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Retail Value: $54.99
Our Price: $59.97
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Guaranteed!!

Gift Wrapped Apartment - funny prank

Now this video is funny!

Some friends gift-wrapped their friend's apartment.

As in - everything in it!! His couch, couch cushions, pictures on the wall, his groceries!!

Opening Christmas presents

We had our family Christmas tonight. And got this great family picture! I'm SO happy with it!!

Bekah got Lydia a mini-Barbie & the Three Musketeers doll - the pink one - that she didn't have yet. She was so excited!!

And then Lydia got Bekah a Bakugan - this little transformer thing that she's been wanting. Bekah whooped she was so excited!! (It makes me so happy to see how well they know each other!!)

And the girls got David a Sonic gift card for Christmas. (He's been asking for one!!)

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I have to say that I was VERY touched by Lydia's gift! She decided that I did not have enough bracelets and that I should have a REAL bracelet.

So she took $20 from her spending money and had David take her to the store to buy me a bracelet.

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She and Daddy found quite a deal and bought me this sapphire and diamond bracelet!! She was so proud of it! And I'm so proud of her for being so unselfish and giving with her own money!

We got the girls Disney mix sticks. They are like ipods for kids. David loaded some of their favorite music on it and this was Lydia's favorite present (by far!!). She was singing the whole rest of the night. Only, she had her earphones in, so she kept yelling at us!! She was hilarious!!

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David's big gift this year was the GPS system he got a great deal on right after Thanksgiving. He was pretty bummed that he didn't have any presents to open during the family Christmas time...

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...but he didn't know that I had a little something up my sleeve. I've been working on photobooks for him for MONTHS! They are of his trips that he's taken. It was awesome watching him open each one!! He was so surprised!!

David bought me some new glasses! I wanted practical gifts and he gave me practical gifts! I love them!! We only have four glasses left from the set we got when we got married. (They've all broken over the years...) And I've been wanting a new set. So David bought me some!! Yea!!

I also got a killer deal on G-Force and the girls were super stoked about it! Yea!!

A lady at church works for a place that got a huge load of Hannah Montana dolls in right before Christmas. She asked if we wanted a couple. Sure!!

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The girls were super stoked. Now their Hannah Montana dolls can sing "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" in stereo.

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Lydia was a little over excited (as usual). Ha!

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Bekah's big present was her skates! She's been saving up for them for forever. We knew she's been wanting them, so we got them! She was so happy! She had to try them out right away!! (I thought she was going to fall down in the kitchen!)

Humble Mary

The Children's Church Nativity

The kids performed the Nativity for the church on Sunday.

Rebekah and Lydia were angels.

They were to dress in their own costumes and it was the girls' idea to wear their snow princess costumes for this. I think it was a perfect idea!!

The kids were all really cute.

They even got to sing their "Humble Mary" song that they didn't get to sing during the Christmas party. I was so glad they got to sing it!! I'll try to post video of it when I get the chance.

After the play, the kids all wanted their pictures made together.

This is Rebekah and Lydia with Hailey and Eleanna.

And Eleanna with Bekah and Lydia...

...Lydia was being silly and put the camel's ears on her head!!

New Coats

The girls got out their new coats yesterday (the ones Mom found on clearance at the end of last season!!)

...and they were so cute!!

Lydia just loves hers! It has a built in scarf.

And Bekah looks so grown up in hers. I swear! She's growing up too fast!!

Girls' School Christmas Parties

Here's a little peek at the girls' Christmas parties at school. It was a little chaotic, but David was able to snap a few pics.

Our little Jessica got married!!

Jessica was one of our girls from the Children's Home.

We've kept in touch with her.

She got married last year.

And just found out she's pregnant.

She's so grown up!!!

Rebekah singing

And here's one for Rebekah. I believe she was in pre-K here. Maybe kindergarten. She's hilarious!!

Lydia's ABC's

Found this today. Lydia was THREE!!

GG's Tree

This is GG's tree.



This is, without a doubt, my favorite Christmas decoration.



You see, my GG (great grandmother) made this tree from a huge pinecone.


I'm realizing that this picture cannot really convey this tree in all its detail. (The flash is a little blinding too.)


But I remember always being mesmerized by the tree, taking in the detail of all of the carefully chosen "ornaments" that adorned it. All the tiny toys that were put on so carefully. (I had to reglue some of the ornaments on this year.)
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And I think my brother and I both can remember blowing on the little whistle that's attached as one of the ornaments. (You can see it just above the little squirrel and owl.) My grandma laughed when she realized what we were doing. I remember her being so confused when we were little...wondering where that random whistling noise kept coming from. And I remember my brother and me having sheepish grins on our faces when we finally told Grandma we'd been blowing the whistle.
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I have to admit that when I took it out of the box the other night...
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I blew the whistle.
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Ha!!

Rachel's Piano Recital

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Kids' Christmas Program

Well, I say "Kids' Christmas Program" but really, it was the kids singing at The Gate Christmas Party. There were several performances by different people/groups for the entertainment during the party.








The kids were set to sing two songs.









I felt so bad because one of the CD's messed up and they were only able to sing one song. They had practiced and practiced "Humble Mary" but didn't get to sing it.


But they still did a great job on their other song. I'll upload some video in a bit.


Also, I can't forgot to show the centerpieces for our table.



See those sparkly gold things?

Those are lentils that David spent HOURS painting gold a couple of nights before the party! Ha ha! Just had to show them off!

And last, the girls hanging out with their friend, Eleanna.