Great weekend before Christmas

Not too much to report, just a great relaxing weekend before Christmas, and I don't think I've ever used that word to describe the weekend before Christmas before. It's all about the kids. Oh yeah, I did get a new car - had to leave the Volvo behind - it needed too many repairs that we couldn't afford. Now Mommy has a new "cool car."

We went to a live nativity scene, so excited about baby Jesus:

Trying to warm up with some hot chocolate afterwards, watching Rudolph, of course:

Snuggle time with Mama, wow I love this time of year:

So You Think You Can ....Dance?

Not so much...Emerson had a mini-recital last weekend where the parents came into to watch the last ten minutes of class. As they entered the stage, I noticed Emerson had a magic wand in her hand and none of the other little girls did. This wasn't a good sign. As they pranced on stage to place themselves on their sticker, Emerson had a little something else planned for HER recital. Yes, her very own recital within the recital that the other children were dancing to. She twirled and threw that wand as if she had been practicing it for weeks and I just hoped and prayed it didn't hit anyone. I was tempted to take it from her, but I didn't want to ruin anyone else's video when she threw a fit. At last, the wand dropped and slid across the floor underneath the Christmas tree. I thought she would get back on track, but of course that didn't happen and she crawled under the tree to retrieve it. The other parents were quite amused and trying to catch our reaction. Emerson finally did participate a bit with the tap and of course she always loves the tumbling.

Erick and I didn't say a word to each other on the way home. We went out to dinner for his birthday that night, and he said to me, "I don't know about you, but I was mortified today." I answered, "No, not me. I'm getting used to having the spirited child. At least everyone will remember her." There's no doubt about that.

As we were leaving that day, the teacher made sure to point out they would start practicing for their real recital next summer right after the holidays. Not sure why she directed it at us???!

So Much to Share...

Aunt Tiffy and the cousins came last Wednesday and we had a ton of fun. We played at the park on a very cold Thursday, and even got to play some basketball! We did so much, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves:

Ready for the big event, Disney on Ice!

So much fun!

And if that wasn't enough, we celebrated Madison's 5th birthday! WOW! Can't believe it.

It seems like just yesterday that we were in California celebrating her birth. That was such a magical Christmas:

My Best Friend Gary

Who new Elf on the Shelf could change so many people's lives???!! Emerson matter of factly named him "Gary" and he is our new best friend. Thanks Brett for bringing him to us!

Feeling Thankful

I'm always behind these days. That's the holidays for ya. It's just a little more than I can handle most days, and then I try to remind myself what it's all about - spending time with family. I think I may like Thanksgiving better, there's no pressure to make sure the gifts are well-received and just good old-fashioned family-time with no strings attached and whole lot of eating and drinking. My kind of day. We spent Thanksgiving break at Aunt Tiffy and Uncle Mark's this year and it was so relaxing. The kids had a ball together, and we went to Grandma and Grandpa for the big day which was perfect as always. Grandma really knows how to make everyone happy!

Our forever attempt to get just the 3 of them to look at the camera. Emerson is always just a blur in the picture (gee, I wonder why?).

The awesome placecards that Emerson made (with the help of Kayti):

Grandma never skimps on the decorations:

My little pony likes turkey, too!


Donkers favorite spot at Grandma's house (besides under the table trying to score a fallen scrap):



Besties:




Yes, I know he needs a haircut and I'm finally starting to warm up to the idea (sniff, sniff):

Fun Fall Day with Little Man

I had the best day with Wyatt this week on my work from home day. He is becoming quite a handsome little guy. I'm letting his hair grow and grow, I just can't bring myself to cut those curly locks off. He giggled himself silly on Emerson's four wheeler when he realized he really is big enough to navigate it himself. Now he's really going places!

You are Here

I feel compelled to write about a major change our family's going through in our lives. It's God. He's present, and there's just no denying it. We've started opening our hearts and He's there. It's just as simple as that. Our conversations lately have centered around the fact that we feel the change in our lives ... and our hearts. It's affecting the way we think, act, discipline, socialize, and feel as people and a family. It's life changing, and that's obvious because I'm writing about it. I never talk about these things. I'm not embarrassed. Welcome, God and please help us guide our lives so that we continue to serve and follow you...

Halloween Hosting

We had a fantastic Halloween. Emerson was none other than Snow White (had to get our money's worth out of that costume). She had her parade and party at school on Friday. On Saturday, the Haywoods came over and we went trick or treating. Grant and Emerson were always a hundred steps ahead of us, and the (not so) baby boys rode in the wagon and didn't last very long before they wanted to be mobile. It was a beautiful night, the decorations in the neighborhood were amazing and you could just feel the camaraderie amongst everyone.

Here's some pictures of the crew before we left:

Getting ready to hit the road:

After we had walked til we dropped, Emerson and Grant practiced their prom pose:

Once we got settled back in, the adults finally ate some dinner and the "big" kids were occupying themselves in the playroom. Emerson comes down the stairs asking for help. This is what she looked like:

I asked her what in the world happened, and she just said matter of factly, "We were bobbing for Skittles, mommy." Who's genius idea was that???!

The Kirks First Trip to Disney

I'm not going to describe our Disney experience in chronological order, I'm going to go with the most memorable moments. In the #1 spot (which was hard, because there were so many moments embedded into my brain from this magical place), was the dance party we came across the night we went to the Not So Scary Halloween Parade. To set the scene, we walked up to this, Emerson not quite knowing what to do with this easy access to the caricatures. I love how she's so small that Alvin (the chipmunk) doesn't even know she's there, and I had no idea that she knew the chicken dance? My most favorite part is when you see her free spirit fly and she just starts to twirl as if she's the only one at the party. Wow, I love this little being...

In the #2 spot would be when Emerson met Cinderella. She was a bit wild right up to the very mooment she sat on her lap, so we weren't sure what was going to happen next. She turned into the sweet little child I know and love right away. And to top things off, I got the most perfect shot that I know will be coveted for the rest of her life (no exageration).

After meeting Cinderella, we ventured up the winding stairs to have dinner in Cinderella's castle. Practicing her Princess pose:

On our way up the stairs, Princess Snow White (aka Emerson) lost her slipper! We reminded her what happened when Cinderella lost her slipper and all had a great laugh.

The dinner was fantastic. I couldn't believe how well organized it was, how kid-friendly the food was and how they had the timing perfect to start the show when "melt-down o'clock" was about to hit. Did I mention that it started to pour down rain on our way to the castle? It was the perfect kind of spooky, rainy night to be in a castle. Emerson practices her bipideebopideeboop skills:

You can make a magic wand out of so many things (forget we had already bought THREE):

A yummy sundae adorning a witch hat appropriate for the parade that followed:

#3 So yes Wyatt got the go to Disney the day before with all of us and I was amazed at all the rides he could go on with us. He loved it, but it was hot, hot, hot that day. We rode the jungle ride and It's a Small World. Mimi and Grandpa were great and played with him a lot while we took Emerson to do other things.


#4 The Not So Scary Halloween Parade was AWESOME. I'm amazed like a child at the costumes, music, coordination. It truly was magical. I wanted to crawl into Emerson's brain to know what she was thinking. We will definitely, most definitely be returning for this in the years to come. The pictures aren't so great because it was dark but there was too much light.

Daddy was covered with sparkles from the princess dress for days! I did get some decent video:

#5 More video when Emerson got her very first glimpse at the princesses in the parade:

#6 Emerson rode her very first roller coaster and loved it! The girl seriously has NO fear of anything:

So those are only a few of the highlights of the awesome time we had. I will remember it forever. A few more noteworthy pictures of the fam:

Many thanks to Mimi and Grandpa for putting up with us!

And one last bipideebopideeboop from the famous fairy godmother to Emerson:

And as Mickey would say "See ya real soon!"