New Year's Eve

We had a fun, early New Year's Eve celebration at the Fox's with the Rostons and Smiths. I'm thankful for this lovely group of friends to celebrate the end of a good 2015 & the fresh start of 2016.

Our Family

Make It Monday: Mosaics at Cosi

First Time Skating

We took the girls to Zoomers in Marion so that they could try skating. Thank goodness for "skate mates," which surely prevented a lot of falls. They did pretty well! Kit is pictured with Kaelyn, a friend she made at the rink.

Christmas with the Jumps

After lunch we headed to Kettering to enjoy Christmas with the Jumps. We opened presents, played games, made a few crafts, and hung out. I wish I had taken a picture of the 4 older children wearing their cute aprons made by Teri!

Christmas Morning

The girls came out of their bedroom at 6:40 on Christmas morning (we agreed that 6:30 or after would be a good time). They patiently waited for Doc to join us in the living room. We heard, "That's just what I wanted," quite a few times :) Kit made a special book for me: "I love my mom. She loves me. She likes to play with me. I miss her at school."

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we made oatmeal raisin cookies for Santa and put them out along with soymilk and a note from Kit and a sun from Winnie. The sun seems fitting given the record warm temperatures we've had! Kit was a little worried about coal in her stocking, but we reassured her. Seth and I might have heard sleighbells during the night.

The Bounce Club

The girls and I had a super time at the Bounce Club in Powell on Monday. Pretty sure the staff doubted my last name when I signed us in for our session.

Mr. Jeff's Trains

We visited with the Bargers on Sunday and enjoyed Mr. Jeff's trains. The girls got to push a lot of buttons and pull levers. They said his trains are cool!

Winnie's First Time as Bible Carrier

Winnie served as Bible Carrier for the first time at Peace on Sunday. She previously turned down the opportunity a few times, so I was especially proud that she was brave and did it.

Christmas with Grandma Lovie & Grandpa

Our first Christmas celebration was on Saturday with Grandma Lovie, Grandpa, Floppy, and Matthew. The girls were delighted to start with opening gifts, followed by eating, and then just hanging out. Seth and I enjoyed a glass of wine in the hot tub.

Kit's Holiday Dance Recital

We all loved watching Kit at her holiday dance recital. She was quite the leader of her class, with everyone looking to her to remember their next moves. The class performed a tap routine to "Little Saint Nick" and ballet to "Joy to the World." Ever the "all in" dancer, Kit was smiling from ear to ear. She had lots of fans in the audience: Grandma Lovie, Big Grandpa, Daddy, Grandma Jo, Little Grandpa, Doc, Winnie, and me.

Puppy Chow & Snowflakes

The girls & I devoted some of our Friday to getting ready for Christmas. We wrapped some gifts and made puppy chow. In the afternoon, the girls spotted tiny snowflakes.

Kids' Christmas Program

The girls did a great job singing in the Christmas program at church. "Come On, Ring Those Bells" will be in our heads for a long time to come! My co-blogger Kit said, "It was fun. Let's do it again!"

The Nutcracker

We all had a great time watching the Columbus City Ballet so close to home at OWU. The girls just couldn't help but dance at times!

Holiday Celebration at the ECC

Winnie and I had a great time at her preschool holiday celebration. She shared gifts she made for the whole family, cookies her class baked, and special music.

Make It Monday: Frozen Clothes

The girls helped sew Frozen-inspired clothing for their Barbies.

Live Nativity

We had fun as angels and choir members in the live nativity at the Marion County Fairgrounds' Christmas by Candlelight. I was touched by our church member Nancy saying how good it was to see us as a family.