Yesterday we spent the day in Madison where we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese and then hit the mall to take advantage of the after-Christmas sales.  I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids at Chuck E. Cheese or the moms at the mall...it was a win-win situation if you know what I mean. 

Brenin, Tucker & Luca gettin' their groove on with the Chuck E. Cheese band.

It never takes long before my kids take things too far...here's Brenin Montana on stage with the band (I had to quick snap the picture while my sister tripped up the store manager who was heading our way). 

"Monkey see.  Monkey do."  Luca had to have a shot on stage too...doesn't she look like a little Barbie doll?  Ugh...teen years, here we come!  (P.s. to the boys who will be dating these girls...take your time...we'll just be sitting here cleaning our guns.  lol...no seriously, we will be!) 

This ride has to be a favorite for my little horse lover. 

Do you see determination in this face???

Snowmobiling

Where's Waldo...er...I mean Luca.  Can you see her?

Well hello lovely little jail on the ceiling. 

And where might I find one of you for my own home????

See you on the other side, baby girl.

Does she look too big for this ride? 

No, I didn't think so either.  wink

Virtual roller coaster about to go downhill...look at Luca's face!

Not sure what was going on inside this thing, but it looked intense!

And finally, the real reason for the celebration was this cutie.   

No, not the little boogery one. 

The pretty one who's tickling the boogers out of the little boogery one. 

She's my sister, and she's fabulous. 

She makes me laugh when nothing is funny. 

She buys shoes like no one's business. 

She drives us all crazy trying to plan vacations to exotic locations. 

She loves to glam up and go out with the girls.

And she loves to ATV with her hubby until she's unrecognizable from head to toe mud.

She and I have no less than 1 million personal jokes between us...

and could answer ANY question about the other with absolute certainty.

She's there for me usually before I realize I need her to be. 

She pulls me together, listens to me whine, celebrates my successes and mourns my losses.

She's sparkly and countrified and giggly and glorious in so many ways. 

She's magical. 

(Happy birthday...aka St. Kristin Day!)

Happy birthday to my beautiful sister,

Kristin!

Christmas Pictures

Brenin loves all things computer, so Webkinz and

Littlest Pet Shop online pets make her very happy! 

Luca got this ballerina outfit and had to put it on immediately.  She told us she never wanted to take it off, not even for sleeping or leaving the house. 

...but then the drums came out...

...and then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house,

and by the end of the night it was on her head!

(it was quite a party!) 

Luca and Daddy 

Saturday night we went to dinner and bowling with my sister and her family.  Love this picture of Brenin, just another local yokel in the town bowling alley!  :-) 

Sunday we went to my aunt and uncle's house for another Christmas celebration and had a great time and lots of laughs (and of course more food!)  Here's Gram and all the great-grandkids!

Three Words...

\

'Bout Dang Time! 

(in my humble opinion, of course)

Happy birthday, Iman! 

We love you! 

Merry Christmas

from our home to yours!

We spent Christmas Eve & Christmas Day at my parents' house and had a most wonderful Christmas. The girls, of course, got spoiled beyond recognition, and we all ate more than we ever thought humanly possible (if you can't do either one of these things on Christmas, when can you do it?!?) We're home and collapsed on the couch, hearts (and tummies!) full!

Merry Christmas, everyone! .

I Heart Tuesdays

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Snow is falling outside, and the girls are snuggled up with Gram at the dining room table for their weekly read. Soon we'll all head out for lunch together and discuss the week's goings on. What precious and sweet moments these are between my girls and their Grammy. I know when they think of her over the years, they'll think of these days. What a gift!

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I’ve always loved a Christmas tree.

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I could forever live in that magical moment when a Christmas tree is plugged in and warm, colorful brilliance fills the room.

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It’s magnificent.

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Each ornament is hung with a flood of memories.

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Some of them make me feel 8 years old, my cheeks rosy and warm from the woodstove, the smell of snow and pine and home in the air, the anticipation of Christmas and a trip to Grandma’s consuming my every thought. It was then that I first hung some of these ornaments.

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When I look at this one, I can hear my mom’s old sewing machine, the motor humming loudly with what seemed like impatient anticipation as she slowly inched the needle up and down into the fabric to carefully outline the shapes on the fabric, the metal foot pedal clicking against the wood floor. One Christmas she made no less than 500 of these ornaments as gifts (okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating a tad on the number), and this one found a home on our family tree and quickly became a favorite.

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Others remind me of old friends who have crossed our paths along the way who left footprints which will always remain. This one came from friends who were missionaries in Mexico, the place where I found myself and my salvation while on the FIRST (certainly not LAST) “ride of a lifetime” adventure with my dad. This missionary later stood before a YOUNG bride and groom at a church in Wisconsin and asked “do you?” (We did).

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Some ornaments remind me of new friends, as lovely new ornaments grace the tree each year and create a new set of memories for the years to come. This one was made by my friend Ginger who moved to the area this year and with whom Brenin has found a soul mate with her 6 year old daughter. We’re so grateful for our amazing set of friends who inspire and support (and entertain!) us!

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This one makes me smile every time I see it and most likely has traveled the farthest to reach our beautiful tree. It came from our dear sons in Taiwan and represents a bond which has surprised us and changed us and blessed us so richly over the years. We miss you guys so much!

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I love to look at the ornaments which remind me so much of the people who gave them to us that it feels like you’ve seen them just by looking at it. This one was from my Aunt Cindy, and I think of her all the time when I see it. It is so her, and it is beautiful (as is she!)

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Some ornaments remind me of loved ones who have passed on but were the essence of my childhood Christmases, like these decadent pieces which came from my Great Aunt Lorraine. She left enough of them to decorate all of our trees, and I know she would love that we all love them. This woman cut my meat at the Christmas dinner table until I was at least 14 years old. She was the aunt who pinched my cheeks and left lipstick lip marks on them. Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without her, and these ornaments represent her in a most beautiful way.
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Some ornaments remind me of our early years in marriage when we would add a little to our own collection each year. We were in college and working hard and livin’ on love (Love me some Alan Jackson!) They were learning years (aren’t they all?) and precious and sweet in their own right.
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Then came the babies…Brenin stalked this one from her walker her first Christmas. When I see it, I see her chubby little fingers reaching for it, her eyes wide and her little legs struggling for ground beneath her. Something about it made her love it, and one day it will hang on her Christmas tree and make her feel warm and fuzzy and 8 years old.
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Some ornaments are clearly Luca and most likely are hung in a bunch on the bottom 3 feet of our tree. She really doesn’t see the need to spread them out much and pulls out each Dora one like it is the most precious gem and sets to work finding the perfect place to hang it (preferably 1 cm away from the last Dora ornament she hung 30 seconds ago). Wink
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Some ornaments are intricate in design and you don’t realize it’s there until you’ve studied the tree for a while.
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Others are so colorful, you can’t help but feel happy when you look at them.
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Some represent us.
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Some inspire us.
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Some remind us where we came from.
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And some celebrate where we are.
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All of them fill my heart with gratitude for what or who they
represent, and I’m in awe of God’s blessings and beauty.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I've had a phantom photographer on my camera as of late, and new random pictures seem to pop up every time I turn the camera on. I'm not really sure who it is, but they seem to have an uncanny interest in these two little dumplings! (wink) Here's some of their work from this week...

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.((love this one!)
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Also, on Saturday Danny took the girls for the day and I headed to Madison to get some Christmas shopping done. He had a quick appointment to take care of at work, so the girls spent 20 minutes in his office while he was working. This morning when he got to work, he sat down at his computer and found this precious note...what a way to start the week!

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