Maylin's First Ever Christmas Present!

Again this was on Dec 24th (see previous post)

This little girl was so excited! She could hardly stand it. But... She did NOT want to rip her paper. What tedious children I have...

for a few moments anyway! Then it was rips away!

It was her dream come true! She got the pink CD player that she had wanted so badly!

Now for the silly side note of Maylin's first Christmas present:
A little over a month ago our Sunday school class had a huge yard sale to raise money for the orphanage we adopted in Honduras. (it was great! We raised almost $6,000) My mom kept the kids that morning while we worked. Towards the end she brought them by to see what we were doing.
Maylin saw this CD player and 'fell in love' with it! I know, I know, how tacky is it to buy your child's first Christmas present from a yard sale? Well I didn't think it was that bad of an idea... she really wanted it, AND it was going to help orphans. So... I tucked it under some things in the car and home that little thing went. Before I wrapped it Adam checked it to make sure it actually worked... well... apparently things can work one month and without ever being touched can be broken the next! Yep, that is right! Broken! That cute little grin on her face turned to to most pathetic little frown you have ever seen. Am I working on Mom of the year award or what!?  The smile returned after we promised her we would go buy her one that worked! She said, "O-Kay, You Pwomise  Momma?"
I promise baby girl!  Momma learned her lesson!

Pierson's First Ever Christmas Present!

It was actually Dec 24th when Adam and I gave the kids their Christmas presents from us. Christmas day was going to be OVERWHELMING enough. We thought it would be best to space things out a bit.

 He was being such a gentle 'unwrapper'.

"To infinity and Beyond!" It was Buzz Lightyear!

A silly side note: When I let the kids help me put ribbons on the presents I also let them carry the gifts from the bedroom to living room... While Pierson was carrying this particular box it exclaimed. "I'm Buzz Lightyear! I come in peace!" ...well the cat got out of that bag!  His eyes got huge and his grin even larger! He immediately knew what was in that box. Oh well... you win some, you lose some! I still don't know how/why Buzz decided to talk at that very moment!  Really Buzz you need to work on your timing! : )

coming soon!

I promise Christmas posts will be coming soon! We have been busy/out of town/transferring stuff to my NEW computer! Stay tuned, it will be worth it!
First Christmas, First Snow fall, First ski trip! It will be hard to top Jesus' birthday celebrations next year! :)

1st Gingerbread House

Not a lot of words... Just a lot of fun!

Maylin's side.

Pierson's Side

2 days until Christmas! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Sick Little Babies :(

Last week both of the kids were out of commission! Maylin started on Tuesday evening with a fever of 103.9.

She bounced back Wednesday but was back down on Thursday. Which was also the day that Pierson decided he needed to show her up. He decided to get the Croup! Yucky stuff.

 This is how they spent their "no-snow" snow day! :( They rested and watched a lot of Disney!

 We went to the Doctor on Friday and got some meds for Pierson but they said Maylin had a virus and there was nothing to be done for her. Poor thing. She had been staying between 103-104 for about 36 hours.

While I was cooking dinner Maylin decided she didn't want to be all the way in the next room. She brought her pillow and blanket and curled up on the kitchen floor. Next thing we know she was sound asleep. Is that pathetic or what? Saturday they both bounced back pretty well and were fine.
However, Maylin is back down with the same symptoms. We headed back to the Dr. on Tuesday. They did more cultures and did a blood test. Again... nothing. Poor little baby.
Currently I am laying in bed with her typing while getting kicked in the ribs by tiny but strong little feet. We are praying that she feels better for Jesus' birthday!  Wouldn't that stink to be sick on your first Christmas?

Mums The Word!

Personalities Shining Through!

How?

How do you get kids who are attached to everything to let go of their Halloween Pumpkins?

You make up new "age-old-traditions"!

You see, when it is time to decorate for Jesus' birthday you have to throw out things from the past. And what better thing to do than "throw" your pumpkins? It took some convincing but eventually they bought into my scheme when they realized it was a competition (something I added in as I was making this tradition up) to see who could throw their pumpkin the furthest!

 Luckily Mom lives way far back off the road. Her back porch faces the woods so it made a perfect launching point! The goal was to see who's went the furthest and made the biggest explosion!

 The only thing I didn't foresee was that they were going to want to go out and see who's pumpkin made the biggest mess!

Oh well. At least it was an organic mess! : )

For the record: Pierson's went the furthest, but Maylin's made the biggest mess! Perfect! We had a tie!
And if my kids ever ask you about this tradition you better be ready with your own stories of pumpkin launching! : )

Wrapping Their First Christmas Presents!

Actually they were just putting bows on their presents. I wrapped their presents then let them help me by picking bows for them. (Just bragging on myself... I was done shopping and wrapping Dec 1!)



And  by "help" I mean pulling all the ribbon off the spools! LOL
Pierson actually did a pretty good job at finding ribbons to match. Maylin was more interested in seeing how long the ribbon actually was! :)



And if you wonder where Adam was during all of this...

He was making a very stinky dog smell better! : )
Can't you tell how happy Chaucer was to be clean?!

First Christmas Tree Lighting!

(this post is only about 3weeks late... oops)

I just have to document the kids "firsts". The weekend before Thanksgiving a small town in our area had their tree lighting ceremony and fireworks. Since the kids had never seen a tree lighting or a Christmas tree for that matter we thought it would be a must-do this year. I had never been to an official tree lighting ceremony either (yes I lived in NYC home of the 'great tree lighting' in Rockefeller Center... too cold and way to crowded!)  Unfortunately Adam was out of town for work. So we called up our great friends Katie and Brandon to come check out the festivities with us. We were very close to the tree so I thought this would be the best location turns out the announcer was way down the street. We could only hear a muffled. 5,4,3,2,1! Then the lights came on as ordinarily as turning a street light on... kind of a let down. : ) The Wow factor that I was expecting just wasn't there. I guess I expected some clashing symbols and sparklers or something... Anywho we took our pictures and waited for the fireworks.

Pierson and Maylin danced in the streets while we waited for the fireworks. These two provide entertainment everywhere we go!

The fireworks display, unlike the tree lighting, did not disappoint! It was great.

Every time we see fireworks Pierson reminds me that he saw those in Taiwan!  One day I'll explain to him that is where fireworks originated (well at least China, close enough)... but for right now I think that conversation will get lost in translation.

Gotta love small town USA!

Afterwards we walked around the streets as there was an 'art walk' going on. Another set of our close friends Kate and Andy had an exhibit up. Kate is painting piggy banks to raise money for their adoption. They are awesome! (If you would like to check some of them out go to http://shiftadoption.blogspot.com/) I have helped her keep up with her Christmas orders and painted a few with her. All the ones on her blog she has done and she takes special requests! She is very creative!

Maylin displaying her creativity. (Kate provided art supplies for some of the little ones for entertainment.)

All too quickly it was time to get my little monkeys to bed. We had a great time experiencing yet another 'first' during this Christmas season! Keep tuned there will be many more to come between now and Christmas!

Decorating Their First Christmas Tree!

I really don't know if I have the words to describe watching my kids decorate their first Christmas tree.

To me Christmas tree's have always been magical. Every ornament has a memory and reminds me of Christmas' past, of friends new and old, and family members still living and even those who have past on... (I wonder what Christmas is like in Heaven?! I bet it is awesome!)

It was so fun to watch my kids catch on to decorating the tree. They have been so excited about it! They are very excited about Jesus' birthday and want to decorate and sing songs about him A LOT. I can't tell you the joy it brings me to listen to Pierson pound his guitar and yell/sing "Jesus!" strum, strum, strum, "Jesus" strum strum... "Happy Birthday!"

Pierson was very interested in the ornaments and where they came from and what they mean. It was a blessing to share memories and the meaning of Christmas with him. He has told me several times, "Mommy, Jesus not in Foster Mommy's house AT ALL!"
....yes that is the sound of my heart crumbling. But what joy it is to introduce them to Him now!

The tree decorating was a family affair with Grandma's, Aunt's Uncle's, and cousins.

The bottom of the tree filled up quickly with 5 little sets of hands so we had to get some assistance in reaching the top! The Daddy's made great height extensions...

Even though Mommy needed a ladder to even out the clusters of ornaments it is still the most beautiful tree I've ever seen!
It is filled with love and laughter, joy and giggles,and hope for blessings to come!

Perhaps this is the most beautiful part of the tree. Maylin hung her princess necklace and with a grin from ear to ear and hands clasped in front of her face said. "I give Jes-wus my bew-t-fuw necwace. Happy Birfday Jes-wus!" 

The lessons we can learn from a child are priceless. May we all give our best to Jesus this Christmas and all year long!

They Joy of Five

Really? How hard should it be to get a cute picture of five kids jumping in the air...

 After about 20 attempts we discovered it was VERY hard!

 So we settled for an adorable picture of them posing on the wall instead. These guys crack me up!

 Is this one glowing Grandma or what?

 Grandma Ann and Marc.

 There is no such thing as too many pictures of these five!

Merry Christmas Everyone!