Twas the week of Christmas...

Wow, another quiet Sunday morning, 2 in a row!! Thank you Lord for the gift of silence :) It has been a fun week, making cookies, crafts, and celebrating 12 days of Christmas with Daniel and Payton. They are really enjoying looking in their stockings everyday. Can't you tell? Who knew that turtles and chipmunks could bring about such excitement!!

Of course, school has been all about parties, movies, and yummy treats this week. Payton had a blast sporting his new Batman jammies to school. I guess its turned into a tradition being the 3rd year in a row that they have gotten pj's this time of year. Thankfully the work van broke down and my husband was unable to work, so he was free to join us at school. Daniel, being in 4th grade, has outgrown the pj celebration :( Some days it feels as if they will never grow up then there are moments like these where you realize how fast its went by.

On that same day, Daniel had his 4th grade breakfast under the new pavilion at school, and boy was it good! I was almost 45 minutes late, with Christmas at UPS it was a miracle I made it at all! The breakfast hit the spot when I finally made it through the line. Thankfully they had issues with the power surging from all the griddles and ended up getting a late start, so I was right on time and was able to eat with the guys!!

It has been amazing how year after year, God has lovingly provided us with blessing after blessing to celebrate his entrance into humanity.

Through the school, the boys were invited yesterday to the Elks Lodge for their annual Chrismas party where they had pony rides, ate food, got balloons animals, and sat on Santa's lap before getting a present. We stood in line so long for the balloons and face painting that the ponies were leaving as we walked outside. Both boys received gifts they were excited about along with, along with candy, and small radio headsets! They got their faces painted and were showing off their balloon swords in this picture. It was a fun time.

Above it all, I want these boys to look back on their childhood and know they were loved abundantly as a vital member of this family. My husband and I cannot begin to understand what it is like to live in 2 homes and how that affects children in divorce situations. I never want them to look back and feel as if that caused them to miss out on a thing. I want them to look back and realize they had the love and acceptance from a complete family, regardless of the blood in our veins. I want them to look at their children when they are grown and decide what special things they will make with them because of the memories they have of their family.

And who can resist the cute baby outfits?!?!

Isaac is now brave enough to walk away from me towards whatever his eye is on. He is getting acclimated to his playpen and loves playing the ABC's on his new birthday present, over, and over, and over again! Someone coined his walk the "Isaac Shuffle!"

Who needs Santa's lap when you get a jolly warm heart with Isaac Claus?