We Are Family

Okay, I just discovered this post was still sitting in draft mode. How I managed to forget to complete this one and actually publish it is beyond me. My memory is a little fuzzy but here goes: 

Mom and Dad came into town to pick up Whitney and Tim who were spending Christmas with them in Iowa City. Tim had never been to Iowa City and Whitney wanted to show it off. Of everyone in the family, I think Whitney is the most Iowa City of all of us. I know that's a weird thing to say, but it's true. She was born and raised there and so she has the true midwest accent, the heart of a Hawkeye and she's spent her childhood in just about every nook and cranny in town. You understand Whitney better if you see her in her element... and that element is Iowa City. 

After Christmas at home, Whitney and Tim prepared to head back to Seattle via Chicago. Mom and Dad once again brought them back here and at the same time, Reagan and Allen came into town to spend time with them before they are all back on their respective coasts. After Whitney and Tim flew back to Seattle, Reagan and Allen went back with Mom and Dad to get their time in Iowa City. Brent and I were SO excited to have a house full of guests! It's nice to be the place where everyone intersects and interacts for a bit. 

The following pictures are from various days of people coming into town and on the verge of leaving town. 

Family lunch at Portillos:

I took my parents, Whitney and Tim downtown to see a few sights like the Bean (pictured here), and have lunch at Ditka's. Pot roast nachos... YUM! Aren't Whitney and Tim adorable? I love how the phone covers up their kiss-- like it's giving them a little privacy.

The ladies stole a little time and headed to Sephora.

Meanwhile, the two French RM's made crepes to be used for dinner that night not to mention watched all the kids.

Mom wanted a picture of us in the skirts and necklaces she bought us from South Africa:

I forgot both Whitney and Reagan hadn't seen Dad since his surgery. There's nothing like a brush with death to make a person all the more huggable and endearing. This was a common sight with my dad and his daughters:

Tim and Allen became our very own Tim Allen (PUN- From Home Improvement... get it?!?!) and helped out with a number of household projects. One of them was changing light bulbs in our chandelier. Tim scrambled up that 8' ladder like it was nothing and then just jumped on the shelf above the door. Even looking at this picture makes my stomach turn. Allen helped Brent install magnet closures on the kitchen cupboards and then fixed part of the stairway filigree that spontaneously fell off. Whitney and Tim also helped us move our wardrobe upstairs which ended up being quite the challenge. Maneuvering around the curved staircase and taking off the door to our bedroom made it all the more complicated. But we did it!

The best part of these visits is how the house is now filled with more memories. My very, very, very favorite was the Family Home Evening Piper did on Daniel and the Lion's Den. She told the story from the Bible then on a piece of paper had us write DANIEL vertically and we had to come up with a word for each letter that described Daniel. Then for an activity we all danced to Katy Perry's Roar. After that, it just turned into a big dance party and I will never, ever forget the sight of Allen unabashedly dancing to Let it Go. Even now it makes me smile.

I love my family.

From Reagan's Lens

Reagan brought along her fancy schmancy camera and generously photographed the family during her visit. She told me she preferred to capture the kids first thing in the morning which I have to admit goes against my instincts. Somehow I feel like the girls have to be completely primped for a good photo. Boy did Reagan ever prove me wrong, to wit:

Cousins. Reagan did not pose the kids this way, they just did it on their own. 

This one just makes me laugh.

Rockwell and Gita

I love how Liesel and Ireland are snickering, Gita is just taking it in and Sydney has her little snack cup while the sun splashes across their backs. This pic really embodies how these girls are in every day life. 

Doesn't Ireland look like she is flying? Oh that hair!!! Gita had just landed.

I really love this one. Ireland had been misbehaving, so she was in the corner of the room in time out. You can see the ennui in her eyes but that sweet bunny is a reminder that she's just a child. Even if she's in trouble, there's still a lot of innocence in her.

Another one from time out. It's no fun to be relegated to a corner when the cousins are in town and everyone is having fun but you.

I'm starting to wonder if Liesel's front teeth will ever grow in. Until they do, photos like this are priceless.

This expression is SO Liesel!

My Gita girl. There's such wisdom in her eyes. Or is it scheming?

Sydney on our bed. Reagan's dog Otis is curled up in the sun rays next to her.

Playing around. For some reason Sydney really likes to be upside-down.

Sydney was begging for my attention as I tried to get ready for the day. Finally I plopped her on the bathroom counter and brushed a little blush on her cheeks. I adore this photo... so very well done. You can just sense how Sydney is such a happy baby.

Brent and I were cuddled up watching The Big Bang Theory.

This is life once the kids are in bed. Otis resting on the couch with us.

This is such a great picture of Whitney and Tim! The way the iron filigree on the stairs perfectly frames her head and the straight one centers his. What makes this picture even better is Whitney considers Tim her rock... he's very strong and focused while she's more impetuous and care-free. 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas day was the stuff of dreams. We began the day with a family picture on the stairs in pj's. The girls were allowed to look at the bacchanalia under the tree and glance at their stockings by the fireplace but they couldn't open anything until they'd had breakfast. 

This year we tried egg nog French toast. Yummy!

Soooo yummy!

Right Sydney?

From there, we all proceeded to the family room to open stockings while Christmas music played on the new flatscreen via Apple TV. I have to say, Brent did a fantastic job with the traditional Pringles this year. There was Salt and Vinegar for Liesel, an Extreme Screamin' Dill Pickle for Ireland, Multi Grain Cheesy Cheddar for Gita, and then Cheddar and Sour Cream for Sydney. I went out on a limb and chose Tortillas Zesty Salsa for Brent, which he loved (phew!) and he made sure the Sour Cream and Onion I've had since I was a child made it into my stocking. 

Getting a picture of Liesel and Ireland with their stockings was futile. They had those things unstuffed in seconds. See the blur behind Gita? That would be Liesel... or maybe it's Ireland. I can't tell.

Next we moved into the living room to open the presents under the tree. Reagan's gift of personalized t-shirts to the girls was so perfect! They all changed right out of their pjs and romped around in them for the rest of the day. She also gave them art supplies which kept them happy and busy for the rest of the day.

My favorite part is the sleeve. Each sleeve has their first initial on it. So sweet! Jeanne made these dolls for the girls by hand- including the clothes. I hope to keep these in good enough shape the girls can pass them on to their children.

Being a parent means I'm privy to a good 90% of the Christmas surprises so the joy is usually in seeing the reactions to the gifts. It's not often that I find myself surprised, even from Brent. I actually buy my Christmas gifts which would make a lot of wives mad but Brent hates to shop and I love getting what I really want. However, this year I was delighted when Brigitta unwrapped this gift from my mom:

 Her very own box of Twinkies! If you don't get the reference, see this post. The note said it was up to Brigitta to eat herself or share. She did not share. In fact, as soon as she got into the box, she wanted a Twinkie in each hand. I loved this singularly clever gift! So did Gita.

Once all the presents under the tree had been opened, we gave the girls one last gift- we'd purchased The Lego Movie. They gleefully bounded back into the family room with their Pringles in hand to settle in and watch.

It's always fun to see the little one embrace a tradition. In this case, literally.

Brent and I brought some semblance of order back into the house by cleaning up. We leisurely connected with family via phone calls, text messages and video chats. For Christmas dinner we had cobb salad with flatbread- a welcome break from the fatty, salty, sugary foods of the day.

Our first Christmas in our new home made me excited for Christmases to come. I can see us building on traditions and creating memories for a lifetime. Really, it was the stuff of dreams.

Holiday Season Pics

Sydney REALLY hated that hat. Or maybe she somehow knew Brigitta had a hold of her regular hat and was trying to put it on. Still, I had to get a picture because it reminded me of Better Off Dead. "Everyone's going to be wearing one of these!"

The girls were a little Nazi about our elf on the shelf, Lucy. "Why didn't Lucy fly back to the North Pole last night?" "Uhmmmm, she didn't want to report your bad behavior so you get a second chance today!" "Why didn't Lucy move?" "I think she did but the spot was so comfortable she just came back to it." "Hey! Lucy's in the same place as yesterday!" "Lucy was... tired honey. She just couldn't muster the energy to fly back to the North Pole and report to Santa."

Liesel came home from her last day of school like this. Seeing her skip off the bus with her little Rudolph nose made my heart soar. She had so much fun at her class Christmas party. She got a sweet little ornament too!

The secret to getting a lot of Christmas cards is to move every couple of years. It's worked for us! Christmas cards are my favorite part of the season. It's such a tangible reminder of the importance of love and friendship. The girls started adding all their Christmas drawings and I have to say I'm a fan!

Brent's parents picked up the stocking holders on a visit to North Pole, Alaska. I've never been completely happy with all our stockings but I saw the cable-knit ones at Pottery Barn this year and fell in love. One red and one white were the perfect finish! Brent's mother gave us the advent calendar years ago but I really like how it looked on the mantle.

Someday the living room will have more furniture, but for now the Christmas tree and train will do. Red ribbon on the pillars was my Mom's idea as was hanging our kissing ball right between them. Sadly, it's out of the photo.

My first attempt at Yorkshire pudding!

We FINALLY got the Pottery Barn reindeer dishes and napkins out of boxes! I've been wanting to use those for years. Roast, peas, Yorkshire pudding, gravy and some Martinelli's comprised our Christmas Eve feast.

With a little one trying to snatch some dessert. This picture makes me want to squeeze her chubby, chubby legs!

 This year I wanted to have a fun-filled but relaxed Christmas season, so I got the shopping out of the way before Black Friday. I figured I had a whole month to wrap presents, but one day the babies were napping and I decided to just take care of it. All month long I could just hum carols and sip wassail. Brent and I even made it to a Messiah sing-along! At church he's had a lot of people comment on his voice; I forgot how nice it is to sing with him sans little ones.

Our ward had a Christmas devotional which was part singing carols, part reading of Luke 2 and part live nativity. After dinner, we cleaned up the girls and put them in their Christmas pajamas. The devotional set the perfect tone for them and they received oh so many compliments on their pretty, white nightgowns! Instead of heading straight home, we drove by a place that had dozens upon dozens of lit up reindeer over acres of land. They strung many of them up in the trees so they looked like they were flying. There was a creek running through the property and those lighted reindeer gleaming off the water were just magical.

After reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" we put the little ones to bed. I was able to simply carry wrapped presents from their hiding spot down to under the tree. Brent and I stuffed stockings and then cuddled up to watch A Christmas Story. No last-minute wrapping or assembling anything, we were done! We even got to bed at a decent hour. It was heaven.

However, we kept forgetting about Lucy which was truly disconcerting to the girls. The advent calendar fell apart when someone (name withheld to protect the guilty) opened the whole thing and ate all the candy. I'm always on the hunt for new ideas we can transform into yearly traditions. There's always next year I guess! But for now, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Ward Christmas Party

Just remembering our ward's Christmas party makes my heart all warm and glowy. Growing up in the church, I've been to many, but I've never been to one like this! Let's see if I can even find words to describe the festivities. First, the invitation:

The organizers really did that Joy to the World theme right. Turns out those crafts for the kids were stations in classrooms throughout the building and each one had a theme for a different country. For Germany, they got to decorate their own gingerbread (ie graham cracker) house and let me tell you, no one wanted to leave that one. You'd think a table full of different colored frosting and candies would descend into anarchy with little kids but it was the happiest place on Earth. For England, the girls colored Christmas crackers and we were given little trinkets for the interior. To finish them off, we tied the ends with ribbon. Sweden was represented by creating St. Lucia wreaths and let me tell you, little kids were wearing those proudly all evening. The creme de la creme was Mexico for which a pinata was hung in the lobby. I sadly was not able to get any photos of any of this because while I managed one baby, Brent managed the other. Oh how I wish I had video of that pinata!!! When it finally broke, there was a breathless hush before all those sweet primary kids descended on that candy like locusts. 

At each station, they gave us a little information card to read later. 

 How lovely is that?

In the other lobby, there were pictures with Santa. I have no idea where the tree, presents, fireplace or chair came from, but whoever brought them had it packed up and gone lickety split when the party was over.  

 Brigitta was still too terrified of Santa to take a picture with him, but Sydney sat there and hung out for a while. When the photographer told her to smile, she tried so hard to make her face squish into a smile. Somehow she ended up looking a little worried but it was so cute to see her try.

 Dinner was sooo amazing! Two choices of ham: glazed or not, the red jello stuff with the pretzels on the bottom, funeral potatoes (you have to have funeral potatoes!) and rolls. Desserts followed the Joy to the World theme and there was black forest cake, trifle, and flan not to mention assorted cookies and cupcakes. Both Sydney and I loooooved the black forest cake which was ordered specially. At one point, I was deep into the conversation at our table and Sydney gripped the tablecloth so she could drag the plate closer to her.

While we ate, images of Christmas around the world were projected onto the screen above the manger on the stage. Did I mention they had real tablecloths? And adorable centerpieces! I'm told some of the organizers took time off of work to get them just right. There were Christmas trees in all corners of the room and can we just talk about this for a minute?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!? I have no idea how they got all that up there or where the blow up globe came from, but when they dimmed the lights during dinner, the twinkle lights wrapped in the silky organza streamers looked just stunning. The room was literally all aglow.

After dinner there was a program and the primary children sang a couple of songs. 

Really, Ireland? Couldn't we try for a touch more class than scratching your belly during the song? Well okay, winter is extremely dry around here. But let's at least wipe your face before you go up next time.

There was a solo in Hawaiian, a duet in Italian, a little quartet in English which everyone joined in and Santa made a wooden Santa dance with no hands!

Here's our little family (you can see the centerpiece in the lower left corner). Brigitta is wearing the sparkly beret since her hair looks like a chia pet gone wrong after she cut it. Luckily it fit in with the festive theme. I'm holding my second (okay third) plate of the black forest cake which Sydney is clearly eyeing. Black forest cake... *drools* YUM!  

What the organizers managed to do best was create an environment that felt like we were a ward family- just like the invitation says. Everyone was so happy just to be a part of the festivities. We've attended many different wards since we've been married, but Brent and I truly feel like we've found our ward "home". I love these people and I'm grateful just to rub shoulders with them.