Christmas in Sight!

Thought it would be wise to do a quick blog catch up BEFORE the holidays!  We've been experiencing some interesting weather in Indiana lately.  Snow, floods, etc. but go back a week and we were only dealing with a couple of inches - but enough to get a 2-hour delay for kindergarten!  The kids were eager to get out and help shovel our first snow of the year!

And while it was cold and wet outside, we've found a variety of ways to entertain ourselves - mostly with elf dancing.

Last Friday was Maverick's Christmas performance at preschool.  Let's just say it was a disaster since he refused to go past our pew once he saw us in the audience.   At least we were already downtown and used it as an excuse to hit Phoebe's favorite dinner spot, Old Spaghetti Factory.

We braved the wind and headed to the Circle to see the lights.  It was super cold and icy and the forecast was calling for 5-7 inches of snow so we didn't stay long.

It had just started to snow as we headed back home and didn't stop until about 2:00 Saturday afternoon.  It was a super heavy, wet snow - the perfect kind to make a snowman with!

We picked up some coal and carrots the next time we (Ryan) braved the roads.

Remember Phoebe's letter drop in Santa's mailbox before Thanksgiving?  She finally got Santa's response, all the way from the North Pole! 

Maverick was my little baking assistant for the gooey butter cookies we made for the neighborhood cookie exchange, school staff cookie exchange and neighbor gifts - this batch had NINE cups of flour, 2 pounds of cream cheese and a pound of butter.  It was a monumental undertaking and took two days to complete but they are delish and I had this adorable smile to cheer me along when the going got rough!

Phoebe got to decorate gingerbread houses in her class and took us to see their "village."  As soon as we got to the table BOTH kids started picking candy off the houses (some NOT Phoebe's).

This is my boss and a lovely co-worker that I rode around downtown with delivering chocolate last Thursday.  Hopefully we spread some Christmas cheer!

Friday, Maverick had his class party and LOVED his first Little Debbie snack!

And this one has discovered she likes hot chocolate!  No matter how early she gets up!

Thanksgiving in Chicago

Phoebe didn't have school the Wednesday before Thanksgiving so she headed downtown with me.  We made sure to stop on the circle to mail our letters to Santa Claus.

And then HAD to stop and pick up some breakfast!

Already multi-tasking!

She helped decorate my office.

I think it's obvious who she thinks is MOST important in family pictures
(regardless of how old they are). 

We went home and baked up all kinds of goodies and headed to Chicago for Thanksgiving.  We played lots of ping pong with Uncle Steve until all the balls mysteriously disappeared.

Then we moved on to pool for the rest of our stay.

The kiddos had LOTS of fun with Aunt Mary!

They enjoy the water, no matter what the temperatures are outside.

We did venture out later in the day on Black Friday - no deals to be had but the kids were troopers all the same and entertained themselves.

No naps over the entire break but they did take some time to slow down and read together. 

And then they were ready to rough-house with Uncle Steve!

He was a trooper, too!

Phoebe got to go with YiaYia and Papou and all the other girl cousins to see Frozen.

Uncle Steve went to see another movie with Auntie Kate but couldn't resist a photo op!

While Phoebe had fun at the movies, I went with my boys to Cabela's for some "outdoor" fun.

Twins!

Before we left on Saturday, they wanted to get in the sand one more time.

And they played a few rounds of "Jail" to warm back up.

Auntie makes a great sheriff!

Ah, the life of a mom.  Wouldn't trade it for anything in the whole wide world!

On our way out of the city we stopped at the Oasis so the kids could eat and watch cars go by.  They were more interested in pizza and all the activity going on inside but it made for a nice break to get out of the truck.

We made a final stop in Merrillville at the Albanese Candy Factory that isn't too far from our newest offices in Valparaiso.  It was Santa's first day at the Factory and it was a mad house!

Phoebe is getting SO big - even though she wouldn't sit on his lap, this is the closest she's ever willingly gotten to Santa Claus.  She told him she wanted a purple sock monkey, panda bear AND a dog named Boo (her list keeps growing, you see).

On Sunday, Ryan, Phoebe and Maverick all stayed home from church with colds and I went to teach Sunday school and then head to the grocery store alone (a treat in itself).  Sleeping in and taking it easy did wonders for the kiddos so we decided to get out the Christmas décor.  I keep all the Christmas books with our decorations so they're like new books every year when we bring out all the Christmas totes.  A year or two ago, YiaYia recorded herself reading the Christmas story and Phoebe likes to listen to it.  Over and over again.

Decorating.

We got out our ice skating rink that belonged to Great Grandpa Ray and the kids absolutely love it.

Hope that as the holidays have begun, you find yourself thankful for much and blessed beyond measure.