The last few weeks

Life has been busy and blogging has taken a back seat. In the last few weeks we have...

• made good progress in potty training
• had a snow day!!!!
• celebrated 9 years of marriage (more on that to come)
• Chris, Melia and I went to the dentist - Melia did great!! This was her second time going and she even sat through a fluoride treatment.
  
• I sang a solo in our Christmas program at church last night
• Eva is getting four molars (I have to say she has been a trooper)
• I am officially on Christmas vacation for two weeks!!!
• Finished wrapping all our gifts
• had a bow making party with Rebekah to finish up some hair bows for Christmas gifts
• had a game night with friends
  
• played in the snow with the girls
• and much more but those are the highlights...

A not so fun highlight...this morning Melia woke up at 5:00am crying. She came in bed with us and tossed and turned. She was kinda out of it, but it was 5am. At one point she says to me, "Its not nice to put sand on someones head in bed." Where do they come up with this stuff?? It has been months since we played in sand. Anyway, a few min later she starts rolling around, and without a word, throws up in our bed. Poor girl. She was laying down, when it happened, so it was down her face and in her hair. She had no idea what was happening to her body. This is the first time she has ever thrown up. She looks up when she is done and says, "Mama, I spit up ALOT!" a few mins. later says, "can we go downstairs, I am hungry?" I was able to talk her out of that one, but it took much convincing. We got her all cleaned up and removed the bedding, and tried to settle back down. About 6am she decided she wanted me to go lay in her bed with her. She is just about asleep at 6:30 when she sits up and throws up all over her sheets. Stripped her bed and back to my bed we went a bucket in hand. She threw up two more time over the nest couple hours, both times in the bucket, yeah for that. Chris stayed home a little bit and took care of Eva and got her down for her morning nap before he went in to work so I could lay in bed with Melia. She wanted to take a shower, so she took a nice long hot shower, put on some snuggly clothes and is now eating dry cheerios and watching TV. We'll see how that goes. She has been a trooper. We will spend the day watching movies, doing laundry (which there is alot of) and relaxing. The bright side...it is not Christmas day and we can get this out of the way before then.

Hot Pool

After a few months of fixing leaks, the hot tub is finally up and running. Melia was overjoyed yesterday, when Chris asked her to join him for a dip in the hot pool. She ran to her room, and immediately started looking for her swim diaper and swim suit. She was ready in a matter of seconds. She LOVES the water... even in the snow.

Our First Snowman

The girls and I bundled up and ventured out into the snow this afternoon. Eva could barely move with all her gear on but did not seem to mind being in the cold. Getting ready to go out, took almost as long as we were out :)

Melia wanted to make a snowman. She has been waiting since the first snow to make one. Melia and I rolled the snowballs and I stacked them. Before we even left the house she insisted on getting a carrot for the nose. She waited and waited until she was finally able to stick it it. She put the arms and helped with the M&M's we used for the mouth. One on the snowman...one in her mouth...We had a great time playing in the snow today.

The girls helped shovel the driveway too.

And the Stockings are Hung by The Chimmney with Care...

Thursday night a memory was made. Our family had a great night putting up the christmas decorations. The lights were low, we were sipping hot chocolate, a fire was roaring in the fire place, the girls were filled with excitement.

Melia had so many questions,

"What is this thing?" as she puts the stocking on her hand. and "What goes in here?"

"When will the tree light up?"

"Why is it poky?"

The girls played in the tree box, while they waited for the tree to be fluffed and put in place.

Over the next few days I have been able to put everything else in it's place. This is my favorite time of the year; it is so beautiful. I love sitting on the couch, with just the lights from the tree lighting up the room. It is so peaceful and romantic.

Take time this season in all hustle and bustle to find JOY in all of it.

The cats quickly found their place nestled under he tree.

THE REASON WE CELEBRATE!

First SNOW of the season

Tonight the girls played in the snow on the deck. Melia was so excited to slip her little feet into her boots and make foot prints in the snow. Eva stood at the door protesting until she was ready to go out.

The snow was falling, resting upon their cheeks as they played.

Melia made her first snowball of the year, and then promptly "squished it".

Eva was tentative at first, not sure that all the fussing at the door was worth it. She fell just a seconds after heading out, her hands got cold and wet, which was followed by crying. After a few minuets, it was back out for more. This time a little more willing to explore the deck and feel the snow (without gloves, because she would not keep them on).

I am looking forward to many more days of being bundled up for a day in the snow.

Cat or Baby!!!

Yesterday I get home from work and am in the kitchen, with the girls making dinner, when I look over and see this...
Yes, that is our little Eva drinking from the cat bowl (face first). A look of disgust crossed my face, but then I thought, I need to capture this moment. I promptly grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures.

Her face and hair were wet when she looked up.

I washed her face and put the food tray out of reach, or I know she would of been right back there as soon as I turned my back. She drinks like this from the bath tub, much to her daddy's dismay, but I have never seen her do this before. Melia played in the cat water when she was little, but never drank from it. All I could do was laugh, it made my night.

Iceman Cometh 2008

This weekend Chris and his friends participated in a 27 mile off road bike race...up and down hills, through the woods, single track trails, rain and hail they road on.

Getting ready to ride

The love of my life...so proud of you Chris!!!

Go 2117!!! I love you

And the racers are off...

Rebekah and I sat out in the cold, rain and hail ALL day to cheer our boys on. We were able to meet and watch them come through a checkpoint 16 miles into the race.

We then waited at the finish line to watch them complete the race they have been training for several months.

The finish line...Victory!!! What an accomplishment...Chris was able to complete the race in 3 hours 23 min. I am so proud of him. He pushed his body to the max, but completed the goal.

A great weekend with our best friends



The racers after the race