Christmas 2010

The girls & I made ginger bread men. 

it was crazy! 

i honestly wasn't going to eat any because of "how" they were made...

with lots of finger-licking...

a few sneezes all over the full cookie trays..

maybe even some "nose-picking"....

& wayyyyy to much flour thanks to my youngest helper!

but in the end i did taste them & they were pretty good after all.

don't worry...we didn't hand any out. =)

i must say though that they both love love love being in the kitchen & "pretend" to cook all day long.

both of them have personalities that seem like they might be decent cooks...

just as long as they learn from their daddy....cause i am a disaster in the kitchen! 

The long-lived tradition of Christmas Caroling on Chritmas Eve with Scott's extended family.

 Making chocolate candy with grandma jane!

 *Addalie waking up Christmas morning.  (i am SO bummed..i didn't get a picture of Jyla when she was waking up...probably because it was way early.=))

 tons of excitement with a 2 & 3 year old on Christmas morning!

 all it takes is stickers & silly bands & they are H A P P Y ! ! (i know it won't always be this easy.)

 reading the Christmas story.  (despite what it looks like, Addalie was actually very "into" it.)

my "music" girl!

 at grandpa & grandma stoltzfus's house for the evening.  blowing out the candle on Jesus' birthday cake!

 the 3 stooges.....

reading the Christmas story with grandpa.

another birthday cake for Jesus at grandma jane's house the next day.

giving grandma jane a pearl necklace that we bought in China.


We had a great Christmas & were so blessed to have Jyla with us!
She had a few difficult "spots" (on Christmas day especially)
as she was overwhelmed with the presents & the festivites & lack of sleep...
but all in all we have good memories of our 1rst Christmas with Jyla!

long enough for pigtails!

we're back!!!!! (i think)

 we had someone look at our computer & things still weren't fixed...but all of a sudden this morning scott turned it on & everything seemed normal...so we'll see how long it lasts???  & i will try to catch up on pics that i've taken this past month....

we got our 1rst snow of the winter.  it really wasn't much at all...but enough to make my girls happy.  we all thought jyla would NOT like the snow because she is from a very warm part of China & does not enjoy anything related to cold...but she surprised me & actually enjoyed the snow. 

yes, yes, yes

....still having computer troubles. 

i am really hoping that the hard drive on our PC doesn't have to be erased & re-built...but it looks like that might be what will happen.....

? 

we had to do that a few years ago with another computer &

it is just cumbersome...

& it's inevitable that things are usually lost.. 

anyways......

i still can't download pictures onto our computer..

or post pictures or email existing pictures

or do stuff in any Microsoft based programs..

=0)

(that is a sarcastic smile)

but we are enjoying life.

=) (that is a "real" smile)

we are busy getting ready for Christmas just like everyone else is. 

Scott is in market marathon mode...we will see him Christmas Eve....

but not much before...

i am blessed to have such a

HARD

WORKING

HUSBAND!

really....i am!

His work-ethic is so strong!

i am hoping to take the girls down to visit him at some point this week.

(& to get some of that good food.) =) (real smile)

Every night when I tuck Addalie into bed

she asks me to please sing her a Christmas song....

I've been enjoying those  moments...

she listens so intently to the words & then "tries" to sing along.

It's also been fun buying gifts for people with Addalie's help...

she thinks that her daddy would probably want some

DORA stuff for Christmas...
I am trying to steer her in different directions.

jyla

still has no idea what Christmas is

or why we have so many cookies around...(although she doesn't mind)

& she still wonders...

what is that tree doing in our house??? 

We CAN'T wait to celebrate HIS birth with Jyla for her 1rst time. 

it melts my heart when she plays w/the toy nativity set & says
"baby Jesus"

it is a privilege to be entrusted with her in our home

to raise her

& love her

& teach her about Jesus!! 

Every once in awhile I catch myself thinking of her life as an orphan

before she came to us....

& I am just so thankful that she is a part of us now! 

So, just wanted to let you all know...

YES, we are still here!

&

hopefully

i will be

back to blogging more often 

SOON!

*MERRY CHRISTMAS*

so i haven't been able to post pictures for awhile now.  there is something on our computer that is causing

ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS...!

hopefully we will be able to have it resolved soon

so that I can show you pictures of our

MeSsY ginger-bread baking day!

Christmas through the eyes of a 3 year old

Addalie loves playing with the nativity.

(my grandma Stutzman made this for me & my sister when we were little.)

Addalie has been asking s o  m a n y  q u e s t i o n s ! ! !  about Chirstmas this year. 

& I have to admit...it's been hard to answer some of them. 

*Can I buy a birthday present for Jesus at the store?*

& the other day when we were at Target she "escaped" & I found her in the card section...

searching for a card for Jesus's birthday...

I can only imagine what the other shopper were thinking when she LOUDLY exclaimed that she found the perfect Dora card for Jesus's birthday & that she thinks Jesus likes Dora!

*Who is going to blow the candles out on Jesus's cake?  & why won't he be at HIS party?* 

(she is just assuming that because we are celebrating HIS birthday, there will be a cake & a party....Hmmm)

*Will Jesus eat any of HIS cake?  What kind of icing will be on it?*

*How many candles will HE have?*

*Are we celebrating baby Jesus's birthday?  Or Jesus's birthday when HE got bigger?*

& the list goes on & on every day.

so sweet.

so innocent...

Behind the Scenes

In an attempt to not look like we had the "perfect christmas tree adventure" i was going to add this to the previous post & forgot:

We had been looking at our calendar for a date to go & get our tree...I told Scott that Sunday was out because we had other plans & it would be too much for the girls to do it ALL (w/out naps).

After looking at the forecast & realizing that it would be raining this week (which it is) & w/the rest of our schedule, Sunday seemed to be the only time for the next 2 weeks...

So, off we went.  =)

This is the only family shot that we got...& it is far from perfect...
you can't even see the girls' faces...

Anyways...on with "the truth"...

While we did have a fabulous excursion......we went right after church (which means the girls were tired to start!) & this place is a bit far from our house...so a long drive to & from....but it was worth it cause we had a grand time...

when we got home we had to change out of our bbq-smoke smelling clothes w/pine needles randomly stuck to them....& into our "nice" clothes!  Scott's cousin's wedding reception was at Bent Creek at 4pm...so  we were on a time crunch!  I had the girls ready in record time...with cute semi-matching outfits & then i proceeded to find something...or really anything that i could quickly grab to wear.....

In the meantime my completely exhausted oldest daughter was sent to her room because she was FUSSING....

well..don't you know 5 minutes later when Scott went to get her to start the coat procedure...

she had peed in her bed, soaking down to the mattress...& of course her whole outfit was done!

you'd think finding something else to wear would be simple & fast right??? 

well...apparently she recently had a growth spurt...because nothing that i was trying on her was fitting! 

30 minutes later she was finally "ready" for the 2nd time. 

(& we were 30 minutes late for the reception.)

But, we had a great night & the next day i proceeded to decorate the tree! 

All was going well.  I had the lights on (& they were all working) & all the decorations were on...GREAT!  only to find the next morning that half of the lights were out....

& it's still that way...

i told scott that it would need to stay that way this year & he of course wouldn't have it

(i was just kidding...kinda)

....but w/a 2 & 3 year old eager to help....decorating the tree took on a whole new meaning...

So- their you have it...the details behind all of the pretty pictures!  =) 

& so far only one ornament has been broken.

 

All in all...I am glad that our tree is in our living room...cause who knows when we'd get it. 

The girls were A MESS monday & tuesday....& i blame it on the craziness of Sunday....

hoping that today (Wed.) is a bit happier on the toddler front!

 

so- while i try to post the pictures that i like on this blog & delete the not so good ones...

please know that all is normal here at our house....we are not picture perfect!  =)

K...gotta go & water the tree...i keep forgetting to do that.