Happy Wednesday!

Sam the Borrower

Notice anything usual in the picture?  (besides my messy kitchen!)

 

 

Look closely and you will see evidence that a family of borrowers has moved in underneath our house.  Exciting, right?!

 

 

I saw the idea while looking on pinterest (click here for the link) and it played right into my love of miniatures.  I found a dollhouse door and went to work.  John and I put it up one night and decided to see how long it would take the kids to notice it.  The next day around lunchtime, Jack who had walked past the door 30 times already, stopped dead in his tracks and said out loud "Huh?"  Followed by "I think i've discovered something!"  He calls Kate over there and they begin to inspect the door.  We decided that a family of borrowers had moved in underneath our house.  And we were off!  There were letters to the family, responses and introductions, gifts of hand drawn pictures, etc.  Jack and Kate have thoroughly enjoyed the idea of Sam and his sisters, Bella and Zoe, living below the floorboards.  We spent a month reading the book The Borrowers by Mary Norton at bedtime.  There are plans for a backdoor popping up in the hallway, but Mom's been a little busy :)  

 

 

Meet Cindy Jill

Meet Cindy Jill!

A giant pink unicorn Kate got for her birthday from K, John's mom.  Kate couldn't decide whether to name her Cindy or Jill (her dayschool teachers are Mrs. Cindy and Mrs. Jill . . . coincidence?  I think not) so she became Cindy Jill.  If it is in the morning, around nap time, or bedtime, Cindy Jill is by Kate's side. 

She's even been to the Emergency Room (I'm sure the two other people in there at 1 AM got a chuckle out of me holding Kate holding Cindy Jill!  We promptly washed her in the washing machine the next day)     

Now, tell me you wouldn't want a giant pink unicorn to snuggle up with!

Augusta and Atlanta

In November, we took a family trip to Augusta to see Mom (my dad's mother) and the rest of our Augusta family.  We stopped in Atlanta on the way for a visit to the Aquarium, our absolute favorite, and Legoland, Jack's absolute favorite.  We had a wonderful time visiting with family, looking through old pictures, talking about fun memories, and exploring Atlanta with Gigi, Osh, Ancee, and Lulu. 

 

 I can't remember what we were laughing about, but I love this picture

 Looking through old photos

 

Lulu and Em at Johnny Rockets

 

 Osh and Kate

 



This is my favorite picture from the Aquarium.  The room is just one huge glass wall and I could sit and watch the fish for hours, I think.  But we were on a quest to find the octopus, so we kept moving.   

Christmas Card Shoot

2012 would not be complete without a post about the Christmas Card shoot.  It is something I look forward to every year because I just love how it turns out.  This year, as always, it was a family and friends effort.  Mother made the outfits, Claire hand knit all three sweaters, Laine took the pictures and worked on the design of the card with her good friend who is a graphic designer, and John found the quote to go on the front.  Hmmm . . . While it may seem that my only contribution was to birth the children, I am actually the driving force behind the scenes. :)

The day of the shoot, the kids had been in the car all morning.  It was cold and rainy and we were worried things were going to go downhill fast!  Mother and Claire were reassuring me that everyone would understand if this year's card wasn't as elaborate as they had been in the past while Laine and I were thinking "We can't let a little thing like three small children defeat us!  This is Emily's first card and it has to be GREAT!"  As it turns out, Laine snapped pictures for 5 minutes and we had all the shots we needed!  Jack, Kate, and Emily did great and I have to say that this is my favorite card yet!  

 

So after an hour of trying to write this post and upload the pictures (Is this why I quit posting?!) I can't get a copy of the card for you to see the final product.  But I included the pictures we used and I will leave you with the quote that was on the front page.

 

Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love Divine

Love was born at Christmas, Star and Angels gave the sign

Christina Rossetti, 1885

Where do I even begin?!

Can you believe that I had all but forgotten about this blog in the midst of all the child rearing that goes on around here?  Shocking, I know!  Thanks to the friendly reminders of some faithful followers, I have decided to spiff up the ole blog and catch everybody up.  I've made a list going back to before Christmas of posts I want to write.  So settle in for some reading . . . this is going to be fun!

-Paige 

Happy Halloween!