december comin' atcha ... part two.

aaaaannnnndddd.... december continues:

with nate and his dad looking like twinsies surveying the bounty and a night out at 'flippin' sweet' our restaurant fave. the only place that i'll let us order nitrate doused bacon on our pizza. 
because it is just that good. 

nate likes bacon.

a lot.

we told the kids they were going to the restaurant mommy and daddy go to on our dates... and that this was kind of like a date.. a.k.a -- act like big kids. this is luci on a date with her big purse and being fancy. :)

christmas program. 

the day did not hold much promise for a certain two year old who woke up crying and yelling 

"bud i doan eeben like jinga bells isss nod a good song"

the fact she even made it on stage was a mini christmas miracle. 

the fact she wouldn't remove her hello kitty sunglasses was just a bonus. :)

   

grayson, on the other hand,  was all button upped charm and cooperation. 

what a difference a year makes. :)

arianna had her first speaking part in the play this year. 

i resisted the urge to hover and coach and tell her to use more arm styling.

i dialed it down and it paid off.

 she was brilliant.   

i love when i get texts that basically say i need hippy clothes can i borrow some of yours? 

 yes you can. :) 

she was poised, calm and composed.

she recited those lines from her heart.

she had been nervous to try out but once she got that part she went after it.

 there is nothing quite like watching your child do something they are scared of.

so very proud of these babies.

of grayson who is maturing into the sweet, strong willed little man that i adore.

of arianna who sets her intentions and throws her heart into it.

of lucienne who loves her sunglasses. :)

grandpa's magic puts toddlers to sleep with just the sound of his voice.

we have a tradition with grammy to go to a holiday play each year. 

we watched a miracle on 34th street unfold in the front row.

  

one of my favorite advent times is when we look through the samaritans purse catalogue and the kids get to spend their christmas money on chickens and blankets and school supplies for orphans.

you can read a little bit more about how we do this christmas advent thing here.

obviously penelope feels the same way. ;)

i love watching their faces go from a tad bit disappointed that they aren't getting

 a dessert or a movie or some such fun... 

to, by the end, ari said "i wish we could do this every night. it's my favorite. " :)

grayson didn't think every night would be so good. 

" i think we should probably switch. one night for us one night for them..i like treats too." 

what i love about grayson is he is honest. and comfortable with his honesty. 

he doesn't say the thing he knows you want to hear just because you want to hear it.  

i love watching his heart grow and stretch.

and seeing the genuine care they take in what to pick out..

it humbles me.

the week before christmas a blizzard blew in.

i was a child of florida beaches.

my christmas memories are sandy and sweatshirt worthy. i love those memories.

but christmases covered in blankets of white.. 

the pre-blizzard grocery store rush..

cars snowed in.. alleys impassable..

wood piled up...

  

sewing christmas gifts by the warmth of a fire and the sound of netflix british mini series..

it makes my heart sing.

 the night the advent word is peace we have our annual block balancing experience.

while daddy plays silent night the kids are supposed to relax and be still and feel peaceful.

i'm not sure about them. but it was the most peace i felt all day. :)

their reward for maintaining a solid 5 minutes of purposeful peace was hot chocolate.

peace.

nate plucking away on his guitar while i read.

sipping hot chocolate that warms your tummy with laughing kids who warm your heart.

 snow that stops blowing and leaves your backyard an insulated, silent wonderland.

waking up to the wonder of white.

peace happens.

and that is why we love a blizzard.

it puts the non essential on notice. 

it ushers peace by purification.

it erases all else until you can only see what's right in front of you.

the love that matters.

grayson ate about 6 cups of snow...

until i told him that if he ate any more he might start peeing snow crystals.

this is his look while he absorbed that unwelcome information. 

after assurance that that in fact was not true he continued to eat his weight in snow.

the things kids brains get stuck on are funny.

like this baby..

she is life like enough that every time i see lucienne carrying her around my stomach drops a little thinking she picked up nella  somehow.

or how about seeing this out of the corner of your eye on a midnight potty break?

instant heart attack. 

did i leave my baby in her bouncy seat all night??

i failed the ginger bread dough grammy left us.

after snitching corners off the chilling dough for a couple days i finally got it out to roll some people and it wouldn't pull off. all i could get was headless, armless semi-people. 

i was supposed to be bringing them to a party that night and had a few other things happening in the kitchen as well..

so cookies they became.

no gingerbread men decorating party for us this year.

sometimes you have to hold traditions loosely.

i am learning.

and our friends didn't seem to mind. :)

the weekend before christmas we literally travelled over the rivers and 

through the woods  vast, desolate, barren plains to grandmothers house. :)

after a quiet little supper with the great grandma, 

penelope tried on her swimsuit for the first time and we hot tubbed it up at the hotel.

the next day we had christmas fun with nate's extended family.

between the cooking, the talking, and the baby watching...

i honestly missed how these mustaches made it onto faces.

but they didn't get removed until the realization was made that you couldn't stuff your face with them on..

the double mustache checks.. all is well with the facial hair.

gifts with cousins.

the christmas sewing... cousin capes.

DIY superhero capes tutorial coming up next post. 

i know right?? i am on blog fire over here. ;)

all the grand kids with their kids and great grandma.

so sweet. 

valentine nebraska.

also known as.. the north pole.

there were reindeer and velveteen sleighs.

elves with glittered faces and kind smiles.

they did it up right.

i was taking that cousins in a sleigh picture with my prime lens. 

with a prime lens your legs are your zoom. so i was backing up and up and up..

until i heard arianna shout "MOMMY-- WATCH OUT"

apparently mommy almost zoomed herself right into being trampled by a four horse open wagon ride. and a cowboy. 

we caroled and shivered, while jingle jangling through downtown 

waving at passerbys and admiring some impressive elf ears.

it was fabulous fun. 

it was so good to be with family. 

to share food and fun and love on great grandma.

we drove home the winding sandhill highways lit by moonlight.

and by that same moonlight we met our christmas nemesis.

the stomach plague of 20l2.

and spent the next 48 hours like this... and worse.

awesome. :)