Fun in the snow

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Audrey's Masterpiece

What is it you ask? It's a mass of panty liners that Audrey thoroughly enjoyed taking the paper off of and sticking together in one big pile. For some reason she is infatuated with feminine products, panty liners are just the start. Guess I need to start locking them up in high places that she can't reach although knowing her, she'll just climb up to wherever they are and help herself. Sigh... I was shocked to see her bending over and sticking them to the crotch of her pants. Yes, that's a panty liner hanging off her hind-end as she reaches up to turn the t.v. off to tick off her sister. Anna couldn't help but join in the fun.

Anna's Cafe

Welcome to Anna's Cafe! She loves to pretend to do big people things and Audrey and I have fun playing along with her. She did a great job in her role of waitress. She loved taking our order. Audrey's typical restaurant face - she's almost always a handful whenever we go out to eat. She even got to color at Anna's restaurant. Here's a short glimpse into our fun. Anna cracked me up as usual and Audrey was zoning in on the letters that spelled "Start" on the kitchen microwave. She's a letter wizard right now. :)

Mommy's Helper

Anna can be such a great helper and she really enjoys doing things for me, most of the time. Yesterday she pulled grapes off the stem and rinsed them for me and then unloaded most of the dishwasher. What a great help! I could get used to this! =)

Lovin' Dresses

Anna thinks it's fun to pick out what Audrey's going to wear. She almost always picks the same type of outfit if not the exact same outfit if they have matching ones. She better enjoy it while Audrey tolerates it! They do both enjoy wearing dresses... I'm glad leggings are in style with it being cold outside.

ABC's

Audrey is all about the ABC's right now. She knows 16 of them and we're working on learning the remaining 10. Whenever she sees letters regardless of where they are (on walls, in stores, on cups, in books, wherever), she has to point to them and tell us what they are. She loves to count as well, so far making it to 10. Anna has a fun time playing the role of teacher and "quizzing her". :)

Upward Basketball

Anna had her first basketball game today playing in the Upward Basketball League (click on link for more info). The Upward league is a Christian league that focuses not only on learning how to play sports but also on what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We are so impressed with this league! The focus is not on winning and being the best athlete but on having a personal relationship with Jesus and exhibiting Christlikeness in all you do, even sports. The teams pray together (as seen below), memorize scripture verses, and talk about what it means to follow Jesus. At each game the players get little stars for something they did well during the game. Today Anna got the star for being Christlike and to me, there's no better honor or trait I'd want her to have. Her coaches are so good with the kids (they must have lots of patience) and do a great job teaching them how to play and encouraging them often. She had fun and we had fun watching her and the rest of the team. I was amazed at how much I resembled my dad... I was hollering like crazy (coaching from the bleachers) so much so that Michael had to give me "the look" a few times. I refrained from screaming at the refs or saying anything negative. :) Here she is sticking with her opponent... like glue! She even guarded him when she was on offense. :) They put a colored tag on each child's jersey (see the yellow tag near her shoulder) and it matches up with the same colored tag on the jersery of a child on the other team so that they can easily see who they're supposed to be guarding. Anna was all about matching her color to a child on the other team and she NEVER left his side. :) Trying to dribble, she doesn't do too bad. This is how they introduce the kids before the games start. You can hear them call her name as soon as the video starts. I wasn't sure how Anna would do with the loud music and adrenaline of it all but she did well as you can see. She was a bit uneasy but for it being her first time I thought she did great. I tried to rotate this video but I can't get it to work so if you have a laptop, turn it sideways to watch. Anna did lots of running and did well sticking with her man but obviously needs a little bit more understanding of how the game works. She'll get there with time and practice. I couldn't help but laugh several times at the kiddos trying to figure it all out. We were proud of her for listening to her coaches and doing a great job on defense. This is big stuff for a 4 year old! =)

"Oh Cool!"

This shirt is perfect for Audrey (a hand-me-down of Anna's). One of her favorite things to say is "Oh cool!" and she loves snowmen.

Snow, snow and more snow

What a week of snow! The girls have been our "helpers" as we've gone out each night to clean off the driveway even though more just piles up. We've not stayed out long with it being so bitter cold but fresh air is always needed! The snow has been dry enough that we've been able to use our leaf blower to keep the snow blown off the driveway and sidewalk. We've both shoveled around the edges and mailbox but for the most part the leaf blower has saved us lots of time and energy.

Jumping Fun

The bounce house has been a blessing this week for burning some energy. The girls take their babies and other toys in it and have fun playing or singing or just jumping. Enjoy the video!

Enjoying new toys

Our week has been full of snow and very cold temperatures which has kept us mainly inside. I've been so greatful for the girls' new toys that have kept them entertained while being couped up inside. Anna's preschool has been canceled due to the weather so she's not been able to go since before Christmas. She's done well playing with her new Barbie things, reading new books, and of course serenading us with songs sung in her microphone. Audrey enjoys the Barbies too and all of her new Elmo toys that make lovely loud noises. :) The bounce house has provided some great exercise for them as well. I'm so thankful for all that God has blessed us with! And of course nothing beats burning some energy by wrestling with Daddy.

Silly Snowmen

I found these adorable little snowmen at KMart on clearance and the girls have had SOOOOO much fun playing with them. It cracks me up to watch Audrey with them as she's not much taller than they are and she treats them like they're real people, hugging and kissing them, and of course both girls have to dance with them. They've even undressed them! Who'd have guessed these snowmen would be so much fun to play with?! Mommy had envisioned them sitting beside our fireplace, nice winter decorations, but mommy thought wrong!

Christmas in Indiana

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Happy Birthday Jesus!

Each year we have a birthday party for Jesus after listening to Daddy read about Jesus's birth in his Bible. Anna loves to decorate for the party just like we do for every other birthday. Of course she had to sing the "Happy Birthday" song in her new microphone. Audrey was excited for the frosting - she LOVES sweets! Too bad vegetables and meat don't taste naturally sweet. And just in case you're wondering... yes, we stayed in our PJ's the entire day; that's another Christmas tradition at our house. :-)

Christmas Videos

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas! We've had a wonderful morning spent opening gifts, eating :), and playing with all the new toys. I hope this day finds everyone healthy and enjoying time with family and friends. I praise the Lord for His Son that has given me hope, freedom, and forgiveness! (I thought I'd try something new to share pictures since there are so many. They're not in any order, sorry, that would've taken too much time!)

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Merry Christmas Eve!

Snow Storm

This past Saturday we had 12 inches of snow dumped on us in less than 24 hours. Many people are still without power. We went 3 days without phone or internet service but thankfully our power was only off for a few hours. The snow is so pretty but it sure caused lots of issues.

Preschool Christmas Program

Anna's Preschool Christmas Program was this morning and she did a great job. She had a speaking part and was thrilled to speak into the microphone. I was somewhat nervous that she might clam up when she got up in front of everyone but she didn't thankfully. The two videos are the best I got. The others were very short so I didn't bother uploading them. They had Santa come at the end and he terrified her. As soon as he walked out on stage she melted, ran off the stage sobbing and into Ms. Joy's arms. She then left Ms. Joy and came and sat beside me. The whole Santa thing really frustrated us... it's about Jesus, not Santa!