Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve didn't hold a lot of plans for us. To be honest I was a little nervous about anyone getting bored but that worry ended up being very displaced. We played in the snow and went sledding

After we we frozy we came inside for hot chocolate, some lunch, and to decorate our gingerbread house. The kids did a great job

We realized while making pizza that we still hadn't taken the tramp down:( I finished the pizza while Matt headed out to see what was going on. After he brushed off the top layer of snow he found a skating rink! And after taking a crow bar to it we found 6 inches of ice and an additional 2 inches of snow! Matt broke it into pieces and then it took both of us to lift it off the tramp. The tramp seemed fine until Matt slipped and put a hole in the mat with his crow bar so we will see if we can patch that but for now its safer than it was. Then we ate pizza and then the girls were super excited to open their Christmas Eve gift aka pjs. We have learned over the years to label the box so we aren't searching thru all the gifts to find them. We also decided to wrap them in a big box all together and that was an awesome idea.

They all took turns helping to unwrap it...I love the relationship the girls have with each other

 Each of the girls got 2 sets of pjs and a set of slippers

 Em was more interested in the box. It was just the right size for her

 Hallie got frozen slippers, Gracie Troll slippers, and Em got Minnie Mouse slippers

 Then they put the finishing touches on their gingerbread house before heading to the tub

 After the tub the girls decided they wanted their hair in curlers(probably so they could stay up later) but I was fine with it since it would make it super quick to get the girls ready for church 

 And then just for fun we let the kids each pick one present to open since we knew Christmas morning was going to be a little crazy. Gracie was more than thrilled with her Frozen playdough and Hallie opened some clip on earrings

 After we got the kids to bed it was Santa time. I build Hallie and Em's stuff while Matt built Gracie's castle. It always takes longer than we think. We got done about midnight and finally settled in about 1...at this moment we were really glad our kids aren't early risers

I will admit it Christmas Eve was different than what I anticipated but it ended up better than I could have imagined. Growing up I celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas surrounded by family and I wanted that for our kids but with my family so far away and Matt's family having no interest in that it hasn't worked out that way. But Matt and I are making our own traditions and trying to raise our girls that some day they will have strong family ties and want to spend time with all of us as a family like I grew up doing. 

Celebrating Our 1 Year Anniversary

The past year has gone so quickly. I was really surprised when I realized it had already been a year. We decided to watch a movie. We watched Pete's Dragon. The girls were so cute all cuddled up eating popcorn

We love this little life of ours.

Hallie's Christmas Sing Along

As school was coming to a close and Christmas break quickly approaching Hallie had some really fun activities  going on at her school. One of them was the the Christmas sing along. I didn't find out about it until last minute but Hallie really wanted us to go. I figure she will only be little for so long so I should go while she still wants me to be apart. They had a skit between Santa, Buddy the Elf, and the Grinch to kick things off

 We sat on the top row which was perfect so the kids could stand up without being in anyones way

 Em was pretty fascinated by what was going on.

After the skit each of the classes had prepared a song to sing.

 After they were done all the kids headed back to their classes and we were able to catch the class picture

 I was glad we had decided to go. I love these girls of ours. I find myself already worrying about what my life will be like as they grow up and move one. Our lives revolve around them...especially mine. Just trying to take it all in best I can

I felt really bad Hallie told me they were supposed to wear pjs to school that day. I texted a few friends because I hadn't seen any info about that come home with Hallie. They also didn't know anything about it so I didn't have her wear pjs and of coarse they were supposed to. Next year we will know but I felt so bad I hadn't believed her. Next time I will do better.

Norr Cabin Trip...Day 4

Sunday morning we had cinnamon rolls and orange juice(Nic & Kyle's tradition) after getting packed up to head for home. The kids were so funny chasing each other around and playing. Somehow they ended up doing this train thing and it continued until we headed for home. I love each of these crazy kids even the ones that aren't actually mine, I have found that I have a special bond with each of my sisters kids one that I have never experienced anywhere else. I love them as close to I have even loved another child like my own. I'm grateful for that and the relationship I have with not only them but my sisters.

All of us girls

All of us siblings

I love this little family of mine and the weekend we had with my family

We were all tired from all the fun. Em was so tired but refused to sleep in the car there were times she just cried and there was nothing we could do to fix it. So we watched a lot of Little Einsteins and Mickey Clubhouse. When we got home we unpacked and got settled. We put everyone in the tub early and after giving Em her bottle we were cuddling and she totally fell asleep. That never happens but after the busy weekend I really wasn't surprised. 

I really did enjoy the cabin and spending so much undivided time with my family. I'm already looking forward to doing it again next year. Having conversations that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise. Just a few side notes that I want to mention. I learned a few things about myself and my I am the way I am this weekend. I noticed my mom making negative comments about herself multiple times throughout the weekend...mostly about her physical appearance. After she made one of the comments I asked my mom if she ever said positive things about herself. I could tell I had caught her off guard so I asked if she ever thought nice things about herself. She said no. And in that moment I realized why I had grown up with the complexes I had. I don't want our girls to grow up like that. I want them to view themselves as a daughter of God that has been so blessed with talents. That they are beautiful inside and out. Secondly I need to take my own advice the first part of the trip I was so concerned with making sure that everyone was taken care of that I wasn't even having a good time. I was just stressed about it. Matt and I had a heart to heart and I realized that when people don't need me I'm worried they will leave. That there would be no other reason for them to stay if they don't need something from me. I have also found that this is a big issue with several of the nurses I work with. I need to realize that I have value to add to peoples lives without just being used. I never went on this trip expecting to grow but I have and I'm grateful for that. 

Norr Cabin Trip Day 3

On the 3rd morning we woke to a lot of snow. The buys spent some time clearing most of the snow off the cars and a path so we could get to the cars and the sledding hill. Although it was a chilly -8 when we woke up it was so beautiful

While we were all getting dressed for the day we had a visitor....a deer. At our front door eating the fake berry wreath off the door. Everyone was really excited and it was so fun. He even let the kids feed him so apples and carrots. He had a collar on so we assume he was someones pet or something

Here is a view from the top of the sledding hill

And here is a view of the cabin from the road

After eating breakfast we bundled up to go sledding. This day the sledding hill was slicker and even faster than the day before because the snow plow had come thru

Silly papa in the snow. He was completely in his element. He loves the snow and the outdoors

Our wood burning stove burned pretty much the entire trip which kept the boys busy chopping firewood

We also did quite a bit of coloring when we weren't outside. I was really glad I had decided to pack all of our coloring stuff

The boys finally finished and sealed their snow cave so the kids could play in it but they weren't really interested for more than a couple minutes. But the boys loved building it

This was our best attempt at a family picture while sledding..it was so much fun

The hill was steep and the hike made our legs tired. It was easier to put Em in the sled than to try to carry her and the sled. Nate was so nice to help me pull her back up the hill

While we were out sledding Ez built a fire in the outside fire pit. It got so hot it melted my moms sock but she said it also kept her very warm

Once we were frozen and done sledding we headed in for hot chocolate and the fireplace. We started a movie and Kimber brought popcorn boxes for our popcorn to enjoy

We did lots of cuddling and just hanging out

And had plenty of times that we were silly

Once we got warm and ate our weight in popcorn we got out the crafts again. This one Matt and I were in charge of. We built candy trains and candy cane reindeer. Couldn't have done it without Matt we definitely needed 2 sets of hands with the hot glue gun.

Nate was so great with the kids he played with them doing just about everything. This time they played crazy eights

That night we tried to finished the other activities we had planned. Nic did a nativity story where they had to find each piece of the nativity and we talked about what it was and why they were important. 

Earlier in the day we had watched the movie the Grinch. Before hand I had put together a Grinch jeopardy game. I put Hallie in charge of it and she was way excited to play we split up into teams of Browers & Grahams vs Norrs & Irvins. There was one questions that neither team could answer so we threw it out and funny enough when we got to the end it was a tied...so that worked out nice.

After we put the kids to bed that night the couples played the "newlywed" game. It was hilarious, so fun, and interesting to learn about each of the couples. After that we called it a night. The next morning was check out and we had a lot of packing to do. We had such a fun day but by the time the sun went down we were all tired and ready for bed.