Sunday, January 29, 2012

Wonderscope



It has been a few years since we have been to Wonderscope, Children's Museum.  The kids had a great time practicing their skills as physician's and vets.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Jedi Wars

Good thing Obi Wan can regenerate his head because Darth was really hard on him. The Jedi Wars of 2012 begin.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Sweet Stella

This cat is amazing. She tolerates a lot of "love" from the kids.  Dominic never tires of holding and playing with her.  1.2012

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Welcoming Ava Irina




 My brother had his first baby, a sweet little girl: Ava Irina. The kids are so excited to have a cousin to play with. 1.19.12

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Emily's first day of School

Isabella got her first American Girl doll for Christmas and she wasted no time getting her enrolled in school.  They even have matching school uniforms.  1.2012

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Fun with the Cousins

We did a kid swap with my aunt. They had a weekend away and we watched their kids then they watched our kids for a weekend so we could have a weekend without the kids. The kids saw this as a win-win situation since they got to have 2 weekends this winter with their cousins. Here is a couple pictures from the weekend at our house. This most likely will be an annual event. 1.8.12

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Festive decorations




Every year I mean to take pictures of our decorations for Christmas. The house wasn't the cleanest when I finally got around to taking them but....at least I finally did it.  1.4.12

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Favorite Christmas Books

For several years we have been doing a book study for advent called Christmas Mosaic by Cay Gibson. We throughly enjoy reading 80-100 books in the 4 weeks before Christmas (ok sometimes we don't finish until closer to the Epiphany). I feel so Blessed to have such a great book list to pick from each year. After doing this for many years the kids and I have put together our favorites out of the many that we read. Some we all love. Some the kids love. I am sure the list will change each year. I hope to update it and repost it before Advent so that others can share some of the greatest Christmas books we have found. Please share if you have a favorite.

Family Favorites
Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco
The Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
The Little Fir Tree by Margret Wise Brown
The Christmas Candle by Richard Paul Evans
The First Christmas Stocking by Elizabeth Winthrop
The Light of Christmas by Richard Paul Evans
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
Josie's Gift by Kathleen Bostrom
Candy Maker's Gift by David & Helen Haidle
The Baker's Dozen: A St. Nicholas Tale by Aaron Shepard
One Candle by Eve Bunting
Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell
The Last Straw by Fredrick H. Thury
Marta and the Manger Straw by Virginia Kroll
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Jonathan's Gifts by Louise Mandrell

Kids Favorites
Cobweb Christmas by Shirley Climo
Allie the Christmas Spider by Shirley Menendez
The Attic Christmas by B.G. Hennessy
A Small Miracle by Peter Collington
Mortimer's Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson
The Grinch that Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess