midway christmas

a midway christmas tradition is the creche at the homestead.  they have nativities from all over the world displayed along with christmas music being performed.  we went last night for family night.

my favorite part was the nativity acted out by the marionette puppets.  this is a horrible photo and definitely does not do this puppet show justice.  it was intriguing.  abe said , 'this is awesome!"  and sadie leaned over and whispered, "this is creepy!"  

at the end, the audience sang silent night while the angel puppet stood out front and LED the music.  yep, the lady holding the puppet moved just the puppet's arm, while we all sang:)  it made my whole self smile!  it was good for my soul and we all loved it.

 abe took a lot of photos.  some of the nativities and some strange baby jesus'.  here are just a few:

the kids dressed up for a photo and vivian was baby jesus,  

sadie wouldn't participate due to the fact that one of the older kids from her school was running the dress-up station:)

*is that sheep flexing for baby jesus? 

we went to the nutcracker on dec. 1st, which we loved! these two events were a great way to kick off the month of december and get us in the christmas spirit. 

deal of the day

 i have been eyeing these irish mugs at crate and barrel for some time now.  they aren't that expensive, but couldn't get myself to buy them

yesterday, i found some look a likes at the dollar tree for $1.

i think they are so fun!

night shift

max adores vivian!  she, in return, squeals whenever she sees him.

max is often the first to respond when vivian needs something.

for example, max was sleeping in my bed the other night and vivian was in her cradle in my room.  it was 4am and vivs started to cry.  without hesitation, max jumped out of bed, started talking to her, gave her a binky then straightened out her blanket.  she calmed down and he climbed back into bed.  that is just how max is.

"SIDEWAYS!"

play-by-play

abe told me all year he wasn't going to try out for the club basketball team, but the day of, he had a change of heart and decided to try-out.  we put swimming on hold so he could play because practices always seem to interfere and with all of his soccer, abe needs to have some down time to be a kid.  he is doing really well and i hope it is a positive experience for him.   he is left handed but kicks right footed, but shoots with both.  it's fun to watch him try both hands to figure out what works. 

it's official

sadie lugs this huge bag of basketball gear to school everyday for practice.  she looks pretty official in her warm-ups.  she has games weekly and is working hard and learning a lot.

my dad is a regular at sadie's games.  look at those great fans!
Go Wasps!!!  

sleeping in

you know dasher...

bright and early this morning, max and i enjoyed a moment together, while everyone else still slept.  we snuggled and talked on the coach by our newly decorated christmas tree.  all of a sudden, we looked out the window and to our surprise we saw one of santa's reindeer, maybe dasher, hanging out in our yard.  we decided it came to check on us and see if max was living in his new house.  when he saw us, he ran off, probably to go and tell santa max's whereabouts.  

the countdown has begun.

we are excited!