Miles of Smiles

We have had many reasons to smile the last few weeks and have received them from EVERY member of the family. We started with Emily's 4th birthday party at The Little Gym. 18 energy-filled kiddos who had previously been trapped inside due to bad weather, had a grand time running, jumping and playing in the gym.
The girls had their Christmas concert at Little Lambs and we were very entertained by the dancing and kid watching. Listening to three and four year olds sing about Jesus' birthday brings a smile to everyone's face and when you couple that with a great rendetion of "Pharoh, Pharoh" (dance moves included) one can't help but laugh.
Jeff was all smiles when his three week vacation started the morning of the 11th!
Our family attended the Christmas Eve service at Second Baptist Woodway, it was beautiful. The candlelight at the end of the service was breathtaking. All three kids were perfect during the service. The girls sat and stood at the appropriate times and Charlie slept through the whole service.
Charlie gave us his first smile on Christmas Eve which was the best present two parents could ask for. It has now become our mission to make him smile at every opportunity.
Christmas morning brought many smiles from the girls. Elizabeth was ecstatic that Santa brought her a Batman Cave and Emily loves her Mermaid Barbie doll and slide for the bathtub. The slide is for the doll, not Emily.
We are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Birmingham Bosche clan, due to arrive this afternoon. The girls can't wait to play with cousin Alex and spend the night at Nana's. The sleeping bags are already waiting by the front door.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

It snowed!! Well, it fell from the sky and then disappeared before it hit the ground. We didn't have it stick out here in Cypress like everyone else in Houston and the surrounding areas. The girls were bundled up like Eskimos and sent out to "play" in he snow. This equated to them trying to catch it on their tongues and then deciding it was a lot like rain. While they were impressed at first, they quickly realized there would be no snow-man building adventure. Emily held out hope for this all day and even part of the next morning. All she would have been able to build was a mudman! While there are no visible snowflakes in the posted pictures, there are two adorable, bundled up girls trying to catch the snow!

Who needs a parka in December?

Well, November ended with a bang-literally. Jeff's two feet came crashing through the ceiling in the kitchen. (Picture shows patched up temporary fix.) He was in the attic in search of the cause of "the smell" otherwise known as a dead rat. He found one corpse right before the misstep. He was unharmed for the most part. Unfortunately we can't say the same for the kitchen ceiling. The departed rodent was discarded, however there must have been more than one because the smell still remains.
December started with cold rain and a chance of snow this week. While I think that will be exciting, the fact that my two oldest children are without heavy coats will be a problem. I mean, who needs heavy coats at the beginning of December when you live in Houston? Evidently we do! As I headed out to JC Penny in search of parkas (surely there are some left on the racks) I discovered that other moms of girls wearing 4/5 were aware of this need before I was because there are none to be found in my girls' sizes. So I will continue with the search tomorrow. How awful it would be if they were denied play time in the snow because they are without a parka. I do realize that in the off chance it does snow and they play in it without a heavy coat, they will not catch a fatal disease. This is Houston after all, which means it "snows" for 20 mins and melts the instant in touches the ground.
I have put up and decorated the Christmas tree with some reluctance-from myself. The kids presents are wrapped and under the tree, although I am some what regretting that decision since they are inspecting them at every chance as well as interrogating me about the contents. I have figured out that the in plain view presents do offer some parental leverage. I caught myself saying this to the girls today: " Every time you girls fight you will have a present removed from under the tree." A lofty threat that will most likely not be followed through on but seems to be effective for now.