SNOW!

Anna and Norah were SOOOO excited to wake up to a world of white. They ate breakfast so fast and giggled like mad while we put on layer after layer... finally I opened the front door and the jubilant screams of little girls bombarded our new street. Get ready Darwin Road, the Younger girls are here and they're PUMPED!

Here's a little video of our wintery fun!

A grand time had by all...

Last Saturday night Lee and Nino played a concert of original songs at Brown Cup Coffee.  It was so much fun for those of us that got to sit back and enjoy, probably not as much fun for the musicians trying to make themselves heard above the whir of the espresso machine.  Lydia (aka Grandwoman) made the trip up to see the concert and the kids.  It was wonderful having her here to hang out with and play a couple furious games of Dutch Blitz (a vonderful goot game).

    

Jack looking cute in his outfit from Aunt Jo Jo... right before he blew it out (and Grandwoman's outfit too)

All smiles :)

Morning at Nan's

Nan and Jack snuggling

Tommy and Maggie

Maggie Blue-Eyes

Smoochin Anna

Norah and Henry playing with glass :)

Mary and Mags lovin' on Jack

Norah Turning 3!

Here are Norah's comments about her big day:

"I liked to sing Keep Cool Boy, and you just learned me how to sing it.  I liked to, um, look at this green on my computa".

We had fun that day.  Norah got a princess bike, soccer ball, and a helmet and pads from Gi Gai and Pi Pai.  Our friend Lauren came to babysit Jack so that Lee, Gi Gai and I could take the girls to the movies.  It was Rosie's first time ever and the look of awe and delight on her face as she sat on her booster and munched popcorn was something I hope I never forget.  Turns out 3 might be a little young for the movies.  As The Tale of Despereaux progressed, so did Norah's trips to the potty, all the while commenting, "I want this to be over".  :)  It was a fun memory anyway!  Then we all went out for Vietnamese food, then home for cupcakes.  

A Day From H-E-Double Hockey Sticks...

Well, mercifully I am not posting a picture of this day.  

If I did, it would have a screaming, wide eyed infant, a bawling 3 year old, pee on the floor, laundry and toys covering every available surface, and me- crying and tearing my hair out.  

It really wasn't that strange of a day, just my patience was worn so thin, and dear little Jack decided not to sleep all day long (well, pretty much).  He was not happy to be awake either.  I tried absolutely everything, and I have a lot of tricks.  Walking with the baby wrap, walking with the swaddle looking at Christmas lights, rocking in the swaddle, out of the swaddle too, crying it out in the crib, crying it out in the crib with the vacuum running- Nothing worked.  He screamed through all of it, the majority of the time right in my ear.  With Norah crying and tugging on me too, I was in a pure state of rage when my poor hubby got home.  I grabbed his keys and my running shoes as he walked in the door and kicked a water bottle that happened to be in my way as hard as I could as I ran from our house.

It is really depressing to face this truly dark side of myself during excruciatingly tough times.  While I was out I listened to a Focus on the Family podcast called "The Sacred Role of Parenting".  The guest that day, Gary Thomas, said something that really encouraged me.

"Our weakness becomes a strength when we use it to transfer our kid's allegiance from us to God."

As a parent all I can do is love my kids, try to point them toward God, and be honest about my many weaknesses.  It comforted me to go home that night and say, "I screwed up, I was so impatient and angry today.  I am so sorry.  You have a Father in Heaven who never loses his patience with you.  We can all just keep trying to follow Him."

I am so glad that my Father is still working on this mess of a heart of mine.  My sweet children, be patient with me as you dodge the orange and white cones all around, He is working on me.

Thank you Lord, for that!     

Anna in concert

Our sweet Anna has been going to preschool this year two days a week, and she loves it!  We got to go see her in a Christmas concert with Nan.  She was so delighted, it was a blast to watch her happy face.  This was a BIG change for her compared with her concert behavior in the past- namely melting down and bawling on stage from fright (I'll have to see if I can dig up that video:)

Norah sat on Nan's lap and loved watching her big sis, she kept asking, "Mom, can I go to this school next year?"

More Christmas!

Here's another wonderful Christmas visit with family- Aunt Jo Jo, Granddaddy and Karen!  They brought loads more gifts with them and we had a whirlwind of cookie eating (thanks to Aunt Jo Jo- baker extraordinaire), paper, bows, and yes, even a Hannah Montana wig!  

Rosie got lots of dress-up, her fav!

Gorgeous couple :)

So sweet-

Anna got a Dora digital camera- she loved it!  Here's a picture she took of Wall-E.

Handsome boys!