Her Christmas Gift came in Handy!

A couple days ago Miss Anna reached up into the spice drawer and grabbed a few spices. Of course once you have them in your hot little hands you have to open them... quickly!

But if you do it too quickly they may spill... all over! We all heard it happen and said "Oh No, get the vacuum!"

So Anna ran and got her new Christmas present- her vacuum! It was so cute! We let her work on it for awhile before bringing in the big guns!

She was on a roll! After the spices she went and found the chocolate advent calendar that we had not finished! All the hard work must have made her hungry because she chowwed down the rest of the month! Very sneaky Miss Anna!

The girls made these adorable tree ornaments with our friend, Karen! They have a picture of their own face on each of them- too cute!

Our Snow Angels!

She loved getting outside with all the big kids and her Mommy and Daddy!

Anna could hardly move in the snow it was so heavy and wet! Her boot is falling off here!

Sarah was ready for the snowball fight! Distance was her only problem.. that and accuracy!

The snow angel worked better for her! She is a little stronger than her lil sis!

Next year I will be bundling up 4 daughters for outside, that's assuming Kate can get herself ready!

Joy, Joy, Joy!

Look at the face! The gift practically took her breath away!

This little girl was so genuinely thankful for getting gifts - it was such a joy to watch!

Beautiful American Girl pajamas!

Huuugh, What is this?

Matching jammies for my doll?

A double stroller for my dolls! I think I've died and gone to heaven!

This little girl need her Mommy to fix her hair again BUT then she may have cried? She hates to have her hair combed! I wouldn't want Christmas to get off to a bad start by combing my daughters hair!?!

She loves her NiHao Kialan doll! Seriously Hubby and I think she looks like Kialan!

I am amazed at these precious children. Such incredible gifts from God. Sometimes they leave me speechless. No, not cause they were naughty but because the are such incredible little human beings and have so much to offer a family. I am so thankful to Jesus for how he has guided us. It is not an easy road and every minute is not joyous but it is so worth the journey.

This was an especially fun Christmas with the girls. They loved every bit of the holiday activities and celebration! Everything just seemed to click a little more. We decided not to do Santa Claus but to teach the girls that Christmas is Jesus's birthday. I wasn't sure what we would do about this issue but it became very obvious what was the right choice.

Sarah has been home one year and building a trusting relationship is of prime importance. We just couldn't see pretending there was a Santa Claus with her and basically lying about the whole thing. Plus, she is 9.5 years old and then she would find out the truth from a friend and she may believe them over us - that is something we do not want.. we want her to know she can trust us to tell her the truth. We told her all about Santa and read a book on St Nick (thank you Tonggu Momma).

We of course we told Anna the same thing but she may not have understood! Here is her conversation with Johnny last night-

J- Anna you need to go to bed, Santa will be coming soon!

A- Should I hide under my covers?

J- No, he is going to bring you presents!

A- Soooo, he is nice????

J- Yes, Santa is nice!

A- I gonna get presents, I gonna get presents!

Oh well, she'll get it someday!

Downtown Macy's with the girls!

Before I even get started I want to apologize for taking... rather posting too many pictures!

Mark and I took the girls downtown to Macy's . I don't know if they do this at all Macy's but this one was a Dayton's many years ago (then it was a Carsons, then it was a Marshall Fields and now it is a Macy's) and they did different stories each year. It is a highlight of the holiday season here in our town and many people come to see display, do their Christmas shopping and visit Santa Claus!

This year the story was "A Day in the Life of an Elf". It was very cute and worth seeing! This was Sarah's first time hanging out downtown! She had no idea what to expect and we didn't know how to explain it to her.

The little mouse would scurry across the floor and then hide in a whole! The girls noticed it right away!

Here the elves are in their classroom! See Sarah everybody has to do school! Even the Elves!

Today's lesson- how to say Santa Claus in different languages!

Nothings complete without singing Christmas trees!

Sarah loved it!! Anna she wasn't so sure about all this!

"I don't care if this is Mrs. Claus get me out of here!"

Santa's Workshop!

I did think this one was pretty funny! I guess those reindeer have to learn how to fly at some point!

This is Anna's deer in the headlights look! She actually did pretty well through the morning! No tears but she stayed very close to us... like in our arms close!

Isn't this cute! The letters to Santa are painted right into the floor! I tried to pick one up!

You know it sure would be easier if there really was a Santa Claus and little elves that helped him!

Sarah like this part! She knows that Santa is not real but we still have fun with it!

You are not going to make me sit on his lap are you? If I stop looking maybe he'll go away!

Each of the girls got a little toy and then we went out to lunch! We really had a good time and all went well!

Decorating Her First Gingerbread House!

Auntie Barbie brought over a gingerbread house for Sarah to decorate!

She also brought over gingerbread decorations for Anna to decorate! Anna needed a little assistance! I think more of it went into her mouth than on the cookies!

Windows and doors done!

Roof is done and now she is working on the sidewalk!

She worked so hard she needed a little chocolate break!

Here is the hard working crew! The job is finally done!! Whenever we tell Anna to smile- she does something like this! The girls loved the project! It is so fun to be able to do something like this during the day!! Another perk to homeschooling!

An Update On Sarah Sent To Her Orphanage!

We just sent pictures, a letter and a gift to Sarah's orphanage through Ann at Red Thread China. I am very excited for them to see the pictures- Sarah has grown so much this last year! She is now 9.5 years old, 64 lbs and 4 feet 5 inches tall. She is growing up too fast- why do they all do that! She has grown 3 inches and gained 12 lbs in this last year! Wow!!

She has grown academically and can now read at a first grade level nearing second grade! She is more than half way done with 2nd grade math and should start 3rd grade math in March! Her comprehension has taken a huge leap both when read too and when she does the reading!

Her balance, strength and coordination are improving by leaps and bounds! She can balance on the high beam, do the monkey bars all the way across and can almost do a back walkover (we are still working on it!).

She likes gymnastics, swimming, playing, arts and crafts, and being read too! She is now in Chinese school on Saturday mornings where she is relearning mandarin and she loves it!!

Next we will be working on an update for Anna's orphanage and foster mom! 

Soon we will be adding two more princesses to this blog! Thank you Jesus!!