chicken pox and santa claus

Santa Claus-
One of our holiday traditions includes visiting Santa at the local Mall. This was Asher's first trip to see Santa. This year, we not only saw Santa, but Mrs. Claus as well. Abbie made sure she listed her must-have gifts on a letter to Santa.
Chicken Pox-
We usually alternate between my family and Sarah's family for our Christmas day celebrations. This year we had planned on visiting my Mother and entire family in Manhattan. In the few days leading up to Christmas, Jason's 2 daughters contracted the chicken pox. We didn't want Asher and Abbie to have the pox yet as well as my risk for contracting the shingles, so we unfortunately had to change our plans.
Joe's back-
Although we had to change our plans at the last moment, we were able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with Sarah's family, including her brother Joe, who traveled back to the States from Prague. Good to have to back Joe!
Chicken foot-
In honor of the Christmas out break of Chicken Pox, we played a dominoes game, called Chicken Foot. In past years it has been Texas Hold 'em, but this year it was Chicken Foot. It was fun and didn't require much brain power. I highly recommend it.
The Littlest Pet Shop-
This years toy was the Littlest Pet Shop. I enjoyed finding the little pets on Abbie's wish list- chinchillas, turtles, cats, dogs, lady bugs, etc. Its fun to join Abbie in her passion for these small toys. She has never been "into" baby dolls or Barbies...its always been animals.

waiting for christmas

The days leading to Christmas are fun: Shopping. Christmas songs. Cookies. Snow. Parties. fires. And the anticipation of gifts. Similar memories I have from childhood I am now reliving through Abigail's excitement. We always place some gifts under the tree several days early and Abbie loves seeing the gifts under the tree! She has searched through the presents and moved them around and placed them where she thinks they should be. I love buying her gifts almost as much as she love receiving them. Her enthusiasm for celebrating Christmas is obvious. This excitement often overflows in song and dance. Below is an impromptu performance:

OUR DANCING KIDS!

we've been having fun watching our kiddos dance. asher has been loving his 'johnny jumper' and gets himself high off the ground. we decided to have some fun and tape him jumping... adding the sound of tap shoes to make it even funnier. the red socks make it even more silly. enjoy a short video clip.

abbie was in her first dance show today, with her class from 'leigh's school of dance'. it was the christmas show and her song was 'i love you santa claus'. she is so funny, waving at us when she spotted us, but still so focused on doing the steps and motions correct. in the music the voice says the dance steps, which is what you can see her saying... sway 2,3,4 - bounce 2,3,4 - boogie woogie, boogie woogie, jump out jump in, half way turn... her little brain was really working! i started dance when i was about 5 years old, and did well remembering all my steps. abbie is following right in my dance steps. enjoy a low quality video from the dance show today.

remembering aunt ann

over the thanksgiving holiday we were blessed to see our aunt ann one last time. the Lord called her home wednesday night after giving us a great day with her. our whole family was together, except for my brother who lives in prague, and all 13 of us got to enjoy an evening of fun and a great dinner together.

aunt ann and uncle jack traveld from omaha, which they do often. our family celebrations always include them, as they are the only extended family (on my side) we see. they do not have any of their own children, so we were like their children, and they were a big part of everything in our lives.

aunt ann loved to shop. she could find a bargain anywhere and was so good about sending packages to abbie and asher just for fun. abbie said she will miss receiving these unexpected gifts and is now with Jesus. abbie asked us "when will she come down?" she understands that heaven is a place for people who love jesus, but wants ann to return to earth with Jesus during his second coming. For now we will have to wait and we miss her until we see her again. it is still a shock but we are learning to understand it.

my mom is having a hard time losing her sister. i think it is a little scary for her, because aunt ann died the exact same way their mother died... a sudden heart attack after pains in her back. we'll be working on getting moms heart in good shape.

throughout all of this i am reminded of the importance of living in the moment. i regret not taking my camera with me on wednesday, to capture the last good times. i had it in the car, but didn't want to carry it. i'm sad that i didn't. i am disappointed in myself that i didn't share more about what abbie was doing at school, and that she started dance class with some of the money they send us. i wish she knew that. i'm sad that i planned to wait until tomorrow to talk with her. it is important to remember that we never know how life will go and to make the most of every moment. it is sad that it takes life changing events like this to remind us.

don't wait to start rejoicing this holiday season. celebrate every day and say 'i love you' as much as possible to as many people as possible. write those thank you notes and e-mails that have been piling up. make that phone call. help that friend who is in need. i think we all wait for the perfect time and sometimes that time never comes.

we are so thankful for all our friends and family who love us and share life with us. may we never take you for granted.

we love you.