Christmas in the Barn

We headed to the country last weekend for an autism event called Christmas in the Barn.

It was held at Miracles in Motion where many children have therapeutic riding sessions.

We enjoyed crafts, homemade cookies, the horses dressed in their holiday best, and a visit with..

Santa Claus. 

You can't avoid this guy this time of year,

and, while my girls know the truth about this guy,

sometimes it is fun just to play along.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

We had our first dusting of snow, and the girls were anxious to get out and play.

There wasn't near enough snow to build a snowman so we did the next best thing and built these guys out of craft foam on our glass door.

I cut out lots of pieces, set out a paint brush, and water..

and these ladies got busy. 

Anna's completed masterpiece was completely unique.

So was my sweet little peanut's man.  She is so petite that she had to use a stool to place her foam pieces.  This activity was super inexpensive, kept them busy for a good while, and has endless possibilities for many seasonal connections. 

The New Children’s Hospital

After four days in a row of long appointments, this girl was tuckered out after our day at the University yesterday.  She fell asleep just sitting up while the girls and I were using the restroom preparing to head home. (Seriously she is so chill.  Have I mentioned how thankful I am for that?)  Stay tuned because yesterday our sweet Ellie Grace got her an eyeglasses prescription, and the little pink ones I picked out for her are beyond cute!  Can you imagine?

Since I knew transferring her to her car seat would wake her up, and she desperately needed to rest.. I let my tag a longs visit the theater room in the lobby of the new hospital.  It has giant virtual reality games.

For a moment, I thought we were at the Children's Museum, but then remembered we were in the hospital.  Seriously, this new Children's Hospital is AMAZING!  Right around the corner from this theater is an amazing new playground and wonderful children's library with story hour, crafts, and books to check out.  I am grateful to get such  amazing care here so close to home, and to be able to have a little fun too!  It makes the twenty hours a week we can spend here so much more enjoyable.

Homeschooling

Our mornings can be pretty hectic around here, but I love it!  All the learning that is taking place makes this teacher turned homeschool momma so, so happy!

Anna Mei is reading up a storm.  It is hard for her, but it is finally starting to click!

It never gets old seeing a little one reading a book they pick up for the first time!

Ellie Grace is so busy herself getting into everything.  She is wicked fast in this gait trainer, and can reach so much more to pull down.  Never a dull moment. 

Because Summer is Slipping Away

We took full advantage of a trip to the University last week because summer is slipping away.

We all loaded up, and after our therapy was over, headed to the Hurt's Donut Shop.

A deliciously, fun time was had by all!

Never in my wildest dreams did I think this girl would ever enjoy eating a donut, but here she is eating a donut!

I love that this little one doesn't stay put for a picture anymore.  She is all over the place, and since she couldn't even sit up three months ago, we are thrilled!

Double thumbs up for delicious donuts.

Dying Eggs

We are squeezing in as much as we can before I head over to our girl so we dyed some eggs this week. There is never a dull moment here that is for sure. They always make everything such fun. Seventeen days apart seems like an eternity but I know Daddy will take good care of them.

A Trip to the Dairy Farm

We decided to go out with a bang this last week before China.  We took two field trips, and one of them was to the dairy farm near us.  It was such an experience, and I loved having a little down time with my two littlest before the crazy of the next three weeks starts.

 They have kangaroos at the dairy farm which were so fun to see.

 It was a bit of a drive so getting out to "visit" the cow statues was a welcome activity after a long ride.

 This was the milking parlor.  My Anna Mei is at the age where she is so excited to learn anything.  It is the sweetest just spending time with her.  We got to see the equipment they use to milk the cows and how the process works.

 Of Course, there were lots of cows.  Big cows.  Little cows. Baby cows.  A lot of cows.

 The tour ended with ice cream.  Molly chose the same kind of ice cream as Anna Mei which is just so shocking (not really as this girl has no identity outside of her big sis right now).

This fake milking cow was a favorite.

I would highly recommend visiting Hansen's Dairy Farm in Hudson.  

It was a great time!

Pretty Pretty Princess

One of our favorite games right now is Pretty Pretty Princess.  There isn't anything I would rather do than play with these sweet beauties as I enjoy being their momma so very much!

 This would be my silly princess.

And this would be my forgetful princes...

We used to play this game with Emily when she was this age.  I am so lucky to have found this Cinderella version on craigslist as we are having so much fun together!

DIY Puffy Paint and the Year of Yes

After having my Molly in the hospital with the flu, it is good to have life back to normal.  How we missed this curious smile, and the activity that is usually a part of having her around while she was so sick.

I truly want this year to be my year of "yes" to those things that matter most because having a babe about ready to leave the nest for college just does something to remind a momma's heart of how very fast these years go.

So we gathered around the table the other morning, and celebrated with a little pastel puffy painting.

It was so easy to make, and the girls loved it!  I just used equal parts of shaving cream and glue. Then added in some food coloring to get the colors we wanted.

It had the softest feel on your hands, and I think it would make great finger paint!

The girls were into using lots of different brushes though, and each created lots of beautiful pieces of art.  Year of "Yes", we are off to a great start!

Gingerbread House Fun

So building a traditional gingerbread house has been a flop at our house a time or two.  The kits come cracked, the bread is heavy, and the girls are so little they can't really do any of it independently.  Many years ago, we started making these little houses that use a milk carton, like the ones you get at school lunch, as a form.  We cover the cartons in graham crackers and decorate them just as you would a gingerbread house with candy, cookies, and trim galore.  I even use store bought icing because somethings are worth saving time for.   The girls can do it 100% by themselves, and they enjoy it so very much.

 It's no surprise that my artist spent a good long while decorating her house.  She used just about every embellishment known to man, and even built snowflakes out of icing and marshmallows.

 Molly went right to work choosing only to use all red gumdrops on one side.

 She didn't finish the entire house by herself mostly because she was too busy eating entire spoonfuls of icing.  Oh my girl!

 Doesn't everyone decorate a gingerbread house while wearing cat ears?  This girl has enough personality for all of us.

 Molly's house ended up being decorated by me a bit.  She was off and playing after about 10 minutes.  Here is her house.

Anna Mei's creation was all her own this year though.  It was a fun, fun day!

I LOVE ADOPTION

I love adoption for a million reasons, but today I love adoption because, as much fun as Sean is, making Christmas ornaments with only my man by my side wouldn't be near as much fun.

These faces..

 these precious moments..

 the loud laughter..

 the joy that fills my home..

 is so much more than I ever hoped for when planning out my life.

 Good, exceedingly good, is the Lord for bestowing such tremendous blessings on me.

Praising Him today because His plans are so much better than mine.

1 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

Jeremiah 29