Abigail loves Bible stories!

Abigail is our big reader, really takes after her Mommy! I always have a book that I am caring around, that I am in the middle of reading. I think that Abigail has picked up my love for reading and is always "reading" too. We can read her a story 1 time and she almost has it memorized and that way she can "read" all by herself. It is the book that we read stories out of before bed and I can't tell you how many times we have gone through it.

A funny story, today Abigail had her Children's Bible Story book, her absolute favorite book to read. I asked her what she was reading today and she told me that she was reading the story called "The Last Breakfast" instead of "The Last Supper"! I was laughing and said " you mean The Last Supper?" She said "oh, okay" and went on reading. It was too funny! I love the things that kids say, it keeps life interesting!

Mitchell & Christmas Lights!

Today we put our Christmas tree & decorations up around the house. We all love doing this! We put on Christmas music and reminise as we get each ornament out. This year the kids were very interested in the different ornaments, especially those that were unique for them.

Mitchell was amazed at the Christmas tree & all the lights (or as he said it Missmiss Mights!) He said "Wowee!" and "I touch it" He couldn't get enough of the pretty lights and just standing there in pure amazement and wonder. Our neighbors also put up their many, many outside lights, which was another amazing moment for him! It is so true that seeing Christmas through the eyes of your child is one of the most awesome gifts that our Father gives us! It definitely always keeps the "Christ" in Christmas, because our children our such a blessing from God!

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend as usual, spending time between Steve's side of the family & mine. We spend Thursday-Thanksgiving Day at Steve's uncle's house with his extended family, as well as his parents & sister. The kids had such a great time seeing their cousins and eating lots of great food! We had an enjoyable time getting to catch up with everyone and just enjoying good company.

Friday we woke up and got ready for our trip to Carrollton to spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family. This year was a special treat, as my Grammy & her new husband made the trip north from their home in TX. The kids loved seeing them and again got to play with a cousin and of course, Nana & Poppa's dogs.

I think Thanksgiving has to be one of my favorite holidays. I love some good food (and believe me, in our 2 families, there is plenty of that!!) and getting to spend so much time just talking and socializing, without the hassle of presents and everything. I was so excited to see my Grammy this year, that was truly the icing on the cake for me! I am so thankful that our kids come from 2 wonderful families and are blessed to get to experience this kind of togetherness. I know that it's because of those people, that Steve & I are who we are today and in turn, will help shape Abigail & Mitchell too.

Abigail's Kisses

We are very lucky that we have such great kids and I guess that they have learned from us how to be affectionate. There is never a shortage of hugs & kisses around our house and there are always lots of "I love you's" going around. Tonight while putting Abigail to bed, I was able to gather even more goodnight kisses than usual! Daddy was the first to tuck her in tonight and he taught her a butterfly kiss, where you let your eyelashes flutter together. She thought this was so great, another way to kiss! So, when I went in next to say prayers & tuck her in, she showed me how to butterfly kiss. After the butterfly kisses, she asked for some Eskimo kisses that I had showed her to do several weeks ago. Then off the top of her head, she asked me if I wanted a giraffe kiss. I said sure and asked how we did giraffe kisses. She preceded to tell me that you have to rub your foreheads together to giraffe kiss. So, we did some giraffe kisses. Next, she sat there for a minute and I could tell she was trying to come up with another type of kiss, and she asked me if I wanted to zebra kiss. At this point, I am trying to hide my laughter, but she was being serious and had given lots of thought to these. I asked her how to zebra kiss and she said that we had to rub our chins together, that was a zebra kiss.

So, needless to say, on many nights we now have a plethora of kisses to choose from and never know what crazy thing she will come up with next! She is so creative and has such a vivid imagination that we never know what she will dream up! As a parent, it is so amazing to watch your kids' personalities take shape and get to take part in their dreams and of course to share many, and sometimes, silly kisses!

Trick-or-Treat 2008

Tonight we enjoyed a evening of Trick-or-Treat around our neighborhood with Nana & Poppa. After getting prepped with the Halloween Party at Daddy's office, the kids were more than ready to head out & collect some more goodies to add to their already large stash! This is the 2nd year that Nana & Poppa have joined us, so we are officially claiming it a tradition for them to come to our house to trick or treat with us.

We filled up with some yummy dinner before heading out to trek through our neightborhood (actually just 2 streets, but that is a lot for a 3 1/2 yr old & 21 month old!) The kids were both great at asking for their treats and Abigail even performed a song she had learned at school for several of our neighbors. And to make Mommy & Daddy happy, they both used their manners after every house & said "thank you"! Mitchell wanted to walk this year, just like his big sister, but tired out fairly early and enjoyed riding on Daddy's shoulders between houses.

When we were finished walking around, we came back to our house to pass out candy to other kids and to enjoy some dessert that Nana had brought. It was such an enjoyable night and the kids both took in lots of loot! I am not sure who will eat more of it, the kids or Mommy & Daddy!

Halloween Party at Daddy's Office

Today the kids & I went to Daddy's office to have a Halloween party with his co-workers & their children. It was so much fun to see all the kids in their costumes and watch them "trick-or-treat" from office to office. Abigail & Mitchell were also excited to get in their costumes, Abigail was our version of Tinker Bell & Mitchell was a fighter pilot.

Abigail was her outgoing self, as usual, and had no problems going up to everyone and asking for her treats. Mitchell was a little more reserved, but followed along behind Abigail. As soon as he knew there was chocolate involved, he was much more eager to participate! After the kids had all collected a heaping bag of goodies, we all headed to the conference room for pizza and some coloring, both of which were a hit!

It was so much fun to get together with the families of Daddy's co-workers and enjoy some much needed down-time. We hope this is a tradition that we get to participate in again!

A Wonderful Birthday Weekend!

I have to say that I had one of my best birthdays ever this year! My husband is so wonderful and always goes out of his way to make my birthday a memorable event, but it was even better this year than he anticipated!

Friday, October 24 was my actual birthday and he surprised me by bringing home a yummy ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Not sure who was more excited by this, me or the kids! Daddy & the kids also gave me my birthday present, which was a gift certificate to the spa! A day of pampering & relaxation for Mommy, great gift!

Saturday morning we dropped the kids off at my parents house for an overnight stay and we had an entire day for just the 2 of us, that in itself was enough of a gift! We ran some errands and then came home and relaxed before getting ready for a dinner out at Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse downtown. We have been to other Jeff Ruby's restaurants, but never for dinner at the main one downtown, we were both so excited! While valet parking the car, the valets asked us if we were staying for the show. We had no idea what show they were talking about, we didn't know what was playing at the Aronoff, but when we walked in the restaurant we saw a poster for the musical "Hairspray". I told Steve how awesome that would have been to get to see that, it was only playing in Cincinnati for 3 nights. He told me to hold on and he ran across the street to the box office at the Aronoff and came back with box seats for the 8pm show that night! How perfect! It turned an already incredible day/night into something to always remember! We enjoyed a fabulous dinner of Ruby's award-winning steaks and then headed across the street for the show. We had a private box seat and it was a great show! My hubby knows how to celebrate a birthday!

Sunday we enjoyed a morning of sleeping in and then headed to my parents' house for my annual birthday lunch my mom prepares every year of vegetable soup & cheesecake. The kids had a great time with their Nana & Poppa and were excited to see us too! My parents got me the Shark Steam Mop that I have been wanting (I know, it's so sad to be excited about cleaning products!).

So, I just had to share what a wonderful 29th birthday that I had and what a wonderful family that I am surrounded by! I know how much they each love me and appreciate me, but it still feels good to get that little bit of extra attention now & again!