Christmas Party and Service Project

Our CC group recently celebrated the birthday of Jesus together by having a Christmas party and then caroling at a local assisted-living facility. It was the sweetest thing ever!

Happy Thanksgiving - The Real Story

You'll probably read a few Thanksgiving books today, but my favorite Thanksgiving story is the true one told by Rush Limbaugh. If you've never heard or read it, it's worth the quick two minutes to do so.

  Click here to check it out!
Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Fun Find: New Year Resolution Printable

Everyone's napping (yes!), so I'm having my Pinterest time (double yes!). I ran across this fun and easy New Year Resolution printable for kids from thirtyhandmadedays.com.

What a great keepsake! 

Do you make New Year resolutions? I typically never do, however, this year is different (and I'm learning that change is good). We gave ourselves a family Christmas gift of YMCA membership. So, yes, like countless others around the world, my NYR is to shed a few pounds. I wouldn't say that I'm overweight, but I'm just not in shape. I used to workout pretty often before getting married five years ago and having the girls. And, since we can't just go outside and play when we want to (no sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. with Gorlin Syndrome), we need someplace indoors to be active during the day. I'm very happy to report that Anna's going to take swim lessons starting next week - a Mommy & Me class! Oh, I'm going to be sad when she outgrows the Mommy & Me's. Mary doesn't want lessons, but she's agreed to take them starting this summer. We all just need to get up and move around; do you know the feeling? 

In case I don't get a chance to write again this year (but we'll see... I've got some ideas in my head),

Happy New Year, friends!

Merry Christmas!

We've been trying to teach our girls the real meaning of Christmas, including giving. God gave His Son to us, so we give to others and share His love, especially at Christmas. Well, what can a four and two-year-old give? After all the presents were opened yesterday, Mary handed out pictures she had drawn for everyone, and then the girls gave the best present of the day - a special performance of Away in a Manger. We had practiced this for a few days, and they did a wonderful job! Mary stops in the middle and asks if she can continue playing with the presents when she's finished singing. Ha! I (a little flusterdly, I admit - I think I just made up a new word) say of course, just finish the song. I'm so glad I got this on video; it's so cute!

Without further ado, Cinderella and Cleopatra would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

What We've Been Up To...

Since my last post . . .

. . . Mary has started playing 'school,' although she calls it CC. Ha! I remember doing this when I was little, so I think it's absolutely adorable. In the picture above, she 'organized' all her students for a class photo . . .

. . . we got a bean bag, a big one! This a five-footer from Ultimate Sack, and it's sooo great! It came with a free foot stool, which you can see in the back. We're seriously considering getting another one so the girls don't fight over it, that's how awesome this thing is . . .

. . . we put the tree up and decorated for Christmas. The girls know the rules about not touching the ornaments (see video here!), but Frisky, well, not so much . . .

. . . Nana (my mom) came to visit for a few days (woohoo!) . . .

. . . Mary wore a Santa hat for the first time . . .

. . . the girls played at Grandmother's house . . .

. . . and Anna worked on her camera-smile! 

Notice how there's not one picture of us doing school stuff. Oh, how Anna's diagnosis has helped me to mellow-out! Now I'm working on finding a balance. I can't just let everything go and blow off all the work we've done, but some things don't seem as important as they once were. My heart is just in a different place at this moment, know what I mean? But I do need a balance.

And, a balance will come.

School is certainly important, and the bonds we're creating while spending time together, whether it be doing school or playing with dolls, is what really matters to me now. God is so good, y'all. He's letting all this happen at just the right time. Mary's only four, so taking time off is not an issue. And with this being Christmas time, and everyone else not doing school, it makes me feel a little better about not hitting the books with my big girl. 

In related news . . .

Anna's MRI, which was scheduled for earlier this week, did not go as planned. We drove two hours to Birmingham, denied this precious girl food and drink for so many hours, and then they couldn't even do the procedure. They have to put her to sleep for the MRI, so they tried to put an IV in to administer the 'magic milk' that would put her in a deep nap. Each time they tried to stick her, the vein would blow. Oh, friends, this was just torture, torture, torture on everyone. We were not in the room with her at this point, but we could hear everything. I can't tell you how many times she cried out for me. Terrible, terrible. So, they ended up not being able to do it. We've been rescheduled for this Monday at a different hospital that has IV therapy, whatever that is. They've assured us that this will work and that we will have the MRI done that day. Please, please keep us in your prayers on Monday. The MRI will check for brain tumors and any abnormalities, which sometimes, but certainly not always, go along with Gorlin Syndrome. In the meantime, we've been staying in the house for-EVER because she has to be healthy to get the anesthesia. It just so happens that there is a flu epidemic (no lie!) in Huntsville right now. Needless to say, we ALL have cabin fever.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and encouragement. I hope your holidays are off to a great start, friends. Hug your littles extra tightly today!

Mary's Christmas Tree Rules Song

Need some Christmas cheer?
This little video may just make you smile. :)

Our Christmas tree went up this weekend; Mary decided to put the tree rules to song in an original composition. I believe the lyrics are

Look at the tree.
Don't you wanna touch it,
but Mama says no.

Act like your age (which I've never told her!),
You're four-years-old so don't touch the tree,
Because you know what will happen.
You'll get a spanking on your hand.

Or something like that. Ha!

Let Christmas season begin!

My Favorite Thanksgiving Story

There are plenty of great children's stories out there about Thanksgiving. And chances are, you've already got them and read them by now. But, I'd like to share with you my favorite Thanksgiving Day story, straight from El Rushbo. If you've never heard/read it, it's worth the two minutes it takes to do so.

Read the true story of Thanksgiving by clicking here. 

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Christmas Idea for Preschoolers

My girls and I absolutely LOVE Christmas! It's so fun to see how Christmas is different each year as they get older, and we can do more things to celebrate the birth of Jesus. I've always wanted to do a Jesse tree, and I was leaning towards getting into that this year for the first time. However, when I was downloading the Thanksgiving calendar cards from 1+1+1=1 yesterday (which are SO amazing, and FREE!), I ran across another idea for Christmas:

Before I go any further, I need to make a confession (good for the soul, bad for the reputation, right?). We've only been celebrating Christmas as a family for three years. There, I said it. I know, it sounds crazy, but remember, I think I really used to be in a cult (I post about that here)! We didn't not celebrate Christmas because we didn't love Jesus - we did and do. We skipped it the previous years because we thought that every day should be a celebration of Jesus and that Christmas had pagan origins. And a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, right? I actually do think there are valid arguments for and against, but it all goes back to your heart (as a good friend likes to say). As I've grown in my relationship with Jesus, He's opened my eyes to new ways to share His love with others, and Christmas, to me, is a wonderful time to do that. So, I'm now happy to report that we've shaken off those old shackles and have fully embraced the JOY of Christmas! 

That being said, Truth in the Tinsel might be wildly popular and I'm just the one mama who didn't know about it already. If that's the case, my apologies. :) However, if you're relatively new to celebrating Christmas, or if you're looking for an Advent experience for little ones (preschool and elementary) who probably won't glean much from the Jesse tree just yet, give Truth in the Tinsel a look.

From their website:

Spend December impressing God’s Word on your kids’ heart! You’ll get 24 days of Scripture reading, ornament crafts, talking points and extension activities. Plus fun printables and templates!

I just downloaded it yesterday (it's an ebook for under $10), and it looks absolutely fantastic!  Last year was our first year to get a Christmas tree, and Mary is now head-over-heels for fun ornaments. Making an ornament that goes along with the Christmas story everyday should be right up her alley. But, if you don't want to deal with doing a craft each day, they also have printable ornaments you can download and color instead. I'm sure we won't do the craft each and every single day, so I went ahead and purchased the premade ornaments. This really does look like a great way to get little ones (and me!) to focus on Jesus this Christmas; I can't wait to give it a try! I was wondering what we were going to do in December when we have no CC, and now I have my answer! 

Oh, and if you look on the right sidebar of 1+1+1=1, you'll see a coupon code for 20% off!

Gotta love that!

Happy early Christmas, friends!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Today is the first day of Fall! Woohoo! Thanks to a wonderful friend's brilliant idea, we have started a new family tradition to welcome in this perfect season . . . CANDY! We bought candy corn and peanuts, mixed them together, and we've enjoyed snacking on these little treats throughout the day. Tomorrow, it's going to be gone, but today, the FIRST day of Fall, we're going to snack to our hearts' content. :) However, I overestimated how much we'd eat, so we decided to make little gift jars to giveaway at church tomorrow.

This first picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post, except it's just so adorable not to share! Mary takes ballet on Saturdays and Anna likes to come, too, and pretend to be in her class. Next Summer, Anna will be old enough to begin her own lessons. They both love dance, which is super-fun because I love dance, too! Anyway, Mary's giving Anna a sweet little kiss before going to class this morning. 

Okay, here we go. . . Mary and Anna are coloring some pumpkin printables that we're using for the gift tags.

No, Anna, don't eat the orange marker! Please tell me your littles do this, too. Ick!

I let Mary take the candy corn and peanut mix and funnel it into small canning jars. And, yes, she is wearing her Greek goddess dress again. ;)

Quick and easy! That's how we (try!) to roll. ;)

Mary can write an F and L, so she almost wrote her first word (yes, I did the A). And how cute is our Frisky Cat! She was taking such a sweet nap while I was taking pictures of the gift jars. We adore this kitty cat!

Happy Fall, Y'all!