Mom Truth

Someday my children will no longer ask for multiple one-mores at bedtime.  They will no longer insist on one more story, one more song, one more drink, one more hug, one more kiss, one more tuck, one more question.  And I honestly don't know whether to look forward to that day or dread it.

Merry Christmas!

"I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  A Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."  Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas!!

Question of the Day

It's Christmas Eve.  We had nothing on our schedule for today.  I was looking forward to a nice, quiet, stay-at-home day with the kids.  I thought we'd play.  Maybe get our Christmas cards ready to send out.  Perhaps even sneak in a little nap.  Snuggle on the couch to watch a Christmas movie.  It was not my intention to be overly productive or ambitious today.

When Staley woke up this morning, she exclaimed, "It's Christmas Eve and we haven't decorated Christmas cookies yet!"  I pointed out that we had made other Christmas treats.  That we've gotten Christmas cookies from other people.  That we have more than enough Christmas sweets in the house to last us long past the new year.

So the question of the day:  Was I able to convince my daughter that we didn't really need to bake and frost and bust out the sprinkles today??

The answer...

of course...

is no.

On the plus side, the sprinkles all over the dining room floor make the house look a little more festive.

Santa Claus is Coming...

You better not pout...

You better not cry...

Guess we didn't get the memo at our house.

My Girls

I always talk about how different Staley and Adelie are from one another.  My sister-in-law shared a conversation that really exemplifies those differences.  Zach's sister is close friends with someone who helps out with Stage Kids and after the show, they had this conversation:

Helper:  "Your nieces are so serious about this!"
Aunt Jill:  "Adelie is serious?"
Helper:  "Well, Staley is serious.  She likes to tell the other kids what they are supposed to be doing. Adelie just sings and dances and runs around."

Yep.  Sounds about right.

Annie, Jr.

Adelie and Staley finished their fall semester of Stage Kids with a fabulous production of 'Annie, Jr.'  Both girls had a wonderful time being orphans.  Although Staley was initially a little disappointed in not getting a speaking role, her love and enthusiasm for acting quickly took over and she had nothing but excitement for this show.

I love the family atmosphere and true friendships that are formed through Stage Kids between kids of all ages.  It has been such a good experience for my girls.

My little orphans had tons of support from family and friends coming to see them perform.

Grandparents,...

great-aunts,...

and aunts and cousins...

from both sides of the family.

Adelie's Kindergarten teacher (previously Staley's) has come to almost all of the shows with her daughter.  My girls were so excited that Mrs. Doty and Kylee brought them roses.

And our neighbors never miss a show.

One of Staley's friends from church came with her mom and sister on a whim, not even realizing that Staley was going to be in it.  They were both excited to see each other.

Stage Kids has been a great way for my girls to make new friends, as well as spend time with school friends in a different environment.

Theater friends make the best friends.

We are so thankful for Ms. Kelleen, one of the directors of this program, for starting this program and continually building it.

I always love the joy my girls get from being on stage.  They both have nothing but smiles and excitement while performing.  It makes my heart happy to see them doing something they obviously enjoy.

Christmas Festivities

With less than 2 weeks until Christmas, we have kicked off our holiday season with lots of family fun and Christmas festivities.

We enjoyed Briggs's pre-school pajama party fundraiser (in cute, match-y Christmas pajamas from Uma.)

The kids met Santa, where Adelie told him she wanted a locket and Staley told him she wanted a wallet.  Briggs wouldn't tell me what he was going to ask Santa for.  He said it was a surprise.  Since the kids all know that Santa is not real and "just a man in a costume" (as Briggs puts it), they don't get too hung up on what they are going to ask him for.

The kids then enjoyed cookie decorating, putting their raffle tickets into baskets, and listening to Christmas stories.  There were plenty of friends to spend time with.

There was also face painting, and I was pleased that my kids saw the incredibly long, slow line and decided that it wasn't worth the wait.  #gooddecision

The kids and Zach picked out a tree, and the kids all helped decorate the tree and put up the Christmas decorations.  This is the first year where all 3 of them were truly helpful and they did a great job with getting the house ready for the Christmas season.  And so far, Adelie is the only one who has pulled her stocking off the mantle and she's only done it once.  #progress

The Christmas train has again been a seasonal highlight for Briggs.  He has spent hours playing Christmas train.

The girls both sang in their school Christmas concert.  As always, the gym was hot and packed full of people, but both girls still enjoyed singing their songs with their school friends.

And this year we were able to see both girls from where we were sitting.  #winning

All 3 kids performed in the church Christmas program.  Briggs and Adelie both sang and danced and said a poem with the pre-school and Kindergarten classes.  This was Briggs's first experience performing on stage.  I wasn't sure how he'd do, but he knew all his songs and did great!

Staley performed some songs and narration with the grade school group.  She had a short solo in one of the songs and was also a narrator.  Although the kids were able to just read their lines, Staley insisted on memorizing hers.  Of course, she had no nerves or hesitation about singing or speaking in front of the church.  She loved it and was especially excited about her solo!

The kids all enjoyed performing with their friends, and were pleased that both sets of grandparents came to see them.

And, of course, having treats after the program made it even better.

In between the performances and programs, we have been busy making Christmas gifts for people, listening to Christmas music, reading Christmas books, drawing Christmas pictures, opening the nightly advent calendar, driving around to look at Christmas lights, and we've even made our first trip over to see the Festival of Lights.  (The kids all love doing that, so we generally go at least twice.)  Staley has also been busy writing a Christmas play.

It has been a great start to our Christmas season.