Happily Ever After...

In the hot tub after a long day... Making a Gingerbread house Aunt Dani having tea with her neices. At the GA Aquarium with the family Playing in the playroom.

We took the girls for breakfast at the Americ@n Girl Bistro this weekend. Aria was so excited to wear her matching Christmas outfit with her baby. They give menus for the dolls, and seat them at highchairs at the table- ADORABLE!!!! Gianna doesn't have a Bitty Baby, so they gave her a "loaner" baby doll. Mommy and the girls are all smiles, but Daddy would have none of his little Princess using a germy loaner baby. He took one look at me, and said" Go buy her an Asian Bitty baby." She *liked* the loaner baby, but she LOVED her own. She was more excited than I expected her to be. Which is good because at 21 months old, she is a bit young for such a pricey non- Christmas gift. She gave her a BIG hug.. And kept kissing her and kissing her. Which got Aria in on the kisses. We then bought them strollers and let them walk the mall pushing their babies. Gianna was SO EXCITED that every little bit she would stop and dance. We got so tickled watching her dance, then drive...

My dear friend Muggs went home to be with the Lord six months ago. This is the first year for her husband and children to celebrate the holidays without her. It is hard. It is beyond hard. Yet God and His grace are there with them each and every painful step of the way. A year ago this month, she had just been diagnosed with cancer. She died just six months after she was diagnosed. Her battle was short, yet hard fought. Muggs has 5 beautiful children. I love them all, and have, since Muggs death, become especially close to Maggie, her 15 year old daughter. She is WONDERFUL with the girls, and Aria has started calling her,"Our Maggie". How sweet is that? Well, "Our Maggie" honored us with the privilege of making her mom's Christmas cookies with her. I cannot tell you how much it meant to be in HER kitchen with HER daughter, making HER recipe, to honor HER memory. And if that was not special enough, she played the piano for me, and a song she played for her mom wh...

Well, here at our house, we decided that the *normal* holiday activities needed a little twist this year. I mean, really, who wants the same ol' humdrum Christmas shopping, say, ummm, on two feet?? Oh, no, not us! So to spice things up, Greg broke his foot in 4, yes FOUR places. Complete with a tendon tear, and a skin infection Yessiree! On Thanksgiving Day. With a houseful of guests. I won't divulge the exact cause of the injury, suffice it to say, the boys are getting a copy of the manual "Wrestling Safely with the Elderly" in their stocking this year. That's all I'm sayin... SOOOO, anyhooo, the girls are lovin it because they get to take turns riding with Daddy in those scooter things at the stores. THAT ARE MEANT FOR THE ELDERLY! Ahem....(notice the trend here?) Christmas shopping has taken on a whole new meaning at 2 mph. I mean, Gianna can toddle faster than her Daddy can chase her driving one of those things. AND, if that is not enough excitement for ...

"In the beginning, there was GOD. There was NO peoples. There was NO numbers. There was NOOOO number 3. The End." Sigh.. Which is particularly devasting if you are, perhaps,ummm, say, THREE YEARS OLD!!!!