More Christmas Cookies

 Cutout Cookies

 One of my favorite Christmas songs is Christmas Cookies by George Straight.  It's fun to sing while making cookies, too!  I already showed the Snowball Cookies we made earlier.

We made the cutout cookies again this year and instead of doing the colored icing, went with an all-natural milk chocolate.  Some of them turned out cute... some not so much!  These cookies taste better, believe it or not, with the powdered sugar icing instead of chocolate.  But they're fun anyway.

My chocolate helper!

Sundance Santa

 Saturday morning we headed to see Sundance Santa.  He arrived at 11am and we got there about 15 minutes early, not knowing how big of a crowd to expect.  We usually go in the evening and this was sooo much better.  Not only was the weather nicer, but the wait also!  We were 3rd or 4th in line, so it went pretty fast.  Elizabeth was very excited.
 

 Even Santa was surprised when she jumped up into the sleigh and ran straight to him with a great big hug!  All the elves said, "Awww..."

 She was very excited to talk to him.  David & Rebekah wouldn't acknowledge him, but at least they sat in the sleigh and smiled for pictures! 

Getting Ready

Boy am I sore today.  Yesterday, Baby Sarah was turned from her breech position via an external version procedure at the hospital.  It was rough, but successful.  The sorest is the lower side of my protruding belly - right about head level for Rebekah and Elizabeth when they come running up for a hug.  : |

Aside from that, we've been spending the week getting ready.  To be ready for my contribution to the Christmas dinner, I made 2 double layer pumpkin pies and put them in the freezer, and am attempting to have the Christmas sweet potatoes ready so they're in the freezer, too.  Hopefully they won't turn to mush when they come out to finish baking!  Also stocked up on brown & serve rolls and the green beans & seasonings are waiting for the big day.  And I've got cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning.

 Kids looking at Santa in lights

For our family's consumption, I made 2 loaves of pumpkin bread (one is almost gone already, the other's in the freezer), one loaf of banana bread in the freezer, snowball cookies and will probably make more cookies in the coming days.  Haven't decided which seasonal cookies to do, but my family always wants chocolate chip.

 Elizabeth by the PINK angel, of course!

All the Christmas gifts are bought & wrapped!  My BFF got her box yesterday and they loved the curtain!!!  I put a box in the mail today for my sister... forgot to send it with Lauren!  And I received a package from my sister with two of the softest, most beautiful, hand crocheted newborn hats!!!  I forgot to take pictures before putting them into my suitcase, but they'll be cuter to see when Baby Sarah can model them.

 Elizabeth & David by the big flag

I have given up on having the new stockings done this year... again.  Dad is the only one with a new stocking hanging.  I found enough other stockings to have one for all 4 kids hanging.  I don't have one, but at least it won't be hanging there empty on Christmas morning!  I also gave up the neighbors' cookie boxes this year.  Too much other stuff going on this year.  I'll re-introduce the idea next year and perhaps with the kids a year older, they'll be old enough to enjoy the giving, too.

On Tuesday we enjoyed a great evening strolling through the Christmas lights!  The kids were soooo excited about every light we saw.

 

Rebekah didn't want to stop free roaming to be in a photo

Tiny Talk

David & I made snowball cookies tonight (aka Mexican wedding cookies).  I didn't get any pictures of the process, because they're kinda messy, but very easy to make.  This was our first time to make them.  

 

 

In the process I went to the bathroom.  I didn't stay long.  Rebekah was sitting on the couch playing with some q-tips I have no idea where she got.  When I got back, she was not on the couch.  She had the last of the powdered sugar, which was supposed to be enough to roll all the cookie balls in to make them powdery.  Grrrr!!!!  (That's why they're not very powdery in the photo and about half of them didn't get any powdered sugar at all!)

 

But then...

 

I got her cleaned up & ready for bed.  Just laid her down just now.  As I was walking out, I said, "Nite nite" and she replied

"Nite nite, Mama"

"I love you."

"I wu boo"

"Sweet dreams."

"Eat eams"

 

What was I mad about?  : )  #16

Before You Were Born...

My sister is amazing.  She takes old junk and makes beautiful things and sells them and keeps getting featured in magazines for it!  She shared with us yesterday that she has been featured in a new Somerset magazine... again!  And look at the photo she shared.

It was another perfect reminder that I needed on the day I found out our baby is breech.  A perfect reminder that Baby Sarah is in God's hands even before she is born!

Psalm 139 (NLT)

 ¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
      and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
      Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
 ¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
      as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
 ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
      Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
   Every moment was laid out
      before a single day had passed.
 ¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
      They cannot be numbered!
 ¹⁸ I can’t even count them;
      they outnumber the grains of sand!
   And when I wake up,
      you are still with me!

 Belly Shot, 38 Weeks

10 Days 'til Christmas!

Our First Gingerbread House

I have never made a gingerbread house before last night.  Lauren had been wanting to do some Christmassy-crafty things and invited us to join along, so Sunday night the girls & I went over to Grandpa's to make our first gingerbread house!

Lauren even had a Christmas movie cued up to watch!  Of course, that distracted Elizabeth from the house.

Here is Mark & Lauren's gingerbread mansion!  It was quite impressive!

 Elizabeth was pretty proud of the house, but see her eyes?  They're watching Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Anyway, the finished project is indeed pretty cute!  And you can just kinda tell where it became Mom's project instead of Elizabeth's.  Rebekah did put 2 of the gumdrops in place, too.  I don't think she realized they were edible, or they'd have been gone!

The Girly Curtain

When my best friend was building their new house, she sent me this picture of the first room painted - the older girls' room.  I decided I wanted to make some cute curtains for them and her reply was, "Of course, I haven't thought about window treatments!" 

They were planning on having mini-blinds, so I decided on a valance for the top of the window.  I searched for the perfect fabric for a couple of months and when I saw this, I was smitten!!!  It's pink, it's purple, it's princessy, it's fairyish, it's got a frog prince and Elizabeth was pleased to see that it also had ponies and puppies!

 As if that's not girlie enough, I used pink sparkly tulle to make a tu-tu-type ruffle along the bottom of the curtain.  I am in love with this curtain!  I wish my room was pink & purple!

I had an extra curtain rod, so I had to see how it would look all bunched up & it was even cuter than when it's flat.  Elizabeth & Rebekah gave their hearty approval and played limbo under the curtain while I was photographing it.

My BFF & I play Santa for each other, filling each other's stockings.  This will be going into her stocking box this week.  I wish I could see them open it & I hope they love it as much as we do!!!

Happy Birthday, Jesus: The Party

Our homeschool co-op's elementary age party was a "Happy Birthday, Jesus" party.  They played some birthday party games.

The blindfold/mask broke right before David's turn.

The birthday cake and kids waiting patiently for it...

My kids loved the cake and the balloons all over the place

and declared the party great fun!

Afterwards, we went Angel Tree shopping and got  a wonderful stash of presents for 3-year-old Gilbert.  He will now have warm clothes, PJ's, shoes, and several farm animals toys & books to enjoy!  We love doing Angel Tree!

Museum Field Trip

 Today was Field Trip Day!

We've been working on an Ancient Egypt History Pocket

so the new Egyptian exhibit was perfect!

 Grandpa joined us today at the museum.

 The last people who attempted to build a pyramid made a mess of it!  David picked up blocks & instinctively knew how they went together.  So Grandpa & I cleaned off the mess & we all set to work to build a pyramid from the ground up!

 working...

 Ta da!

 We went back by the camel and David took a picture of me on it!

Maybe if I rode a real camel, I'd go into labor early!  

 The museum had a really cool Christmas tree up.

 When I asked David his favorite part of the day, this spinning table thing was his favorite.  We played there for quite a while & got the pieces to perform some pretty interesting tricks!

 Inside the kaleidoscope with Grandpa.

 Building a windmill.

 Sitting in the Paluxisaurus track.

 As we walked up to the Children's Museum wing, Grandpa commented that he remembered going to the when he was a lad.  He said it was in an old house with a similar dragon to walk through to get inside.  He was thinking that was about 1950.  Then we saw this photograph:

 Caption reads:  "In 1947 the Fort Worth Children's Museum moved into the former R.E. Harding house at 1306 Summit Avenue.  This photograph, c. 1950, shows the entrance to the Museum.  Although the house no longer stands, the Museum continues to thrive."

Cool, huh?

 Playing the musical bubble pipes.

 They had a display of nostalgic toys.

Grandpa said he had a Cootie Game that looked just like this one.  Interestingly enough, we were given a Cootie Game just last night...

This camera also caught Grandpa's eye.

He said his mother had one just like it!

And speaking of Cooties - 

 My secret sister gave me a Cootie Game just last night at Mom's Night Out, to play with the kids.  So we played it together this evening.  Our Cooties look a little different than Grandpa's!

 Girlie Cootie

Hillbilly Cootie

What a fun day!