ChristmasAndSleepovers

Christmas morning...


...starting the morning right...


...mommy got a massage...


...the girls were so excited for daddy to open his presents!...


...daddy and his girls...






...the girls look like they could have used a little more sleep...


Some favorites from Grandma and Grandpa Egolf's...











Our annual sleepover with the Barhydt family...


...hanging out, watching the boys play Super Mario Bros...



...Riley didn't enjoy dress up time so much....



....still buddies....

ChristmasEve&ALooseTooth

Our morning started off with lots of frosting as the girls decorated our "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake!!!....


We headed to grandma Housour's (my step-mom) for lunch and fun with the family....


....grandma even pulled Breck's first tooth out while we were there!


Next, we were off to grandma and grandpa Grimm's (my mom and step dad) for supper and more fun with more family. Kaicee always enjoys time with William (my step brother's dog)....


The girls we sooo tired by the time we got home.....


I was able to get a quick pic of the girls in their pj's before heading off to bed (obviously Taylor would much rather be in bed)....


After a quick read of "The Night Before Christmas".....


....they drifted off to dreamland (all sleeping in Kaicee's bed).


The toothfairy made a quick stop, even though we left the tooth at grandma's house. She left a note on Breck's bed, letting her know that she would check back in a couple days to pick up the tooth :)



Now, I'm off to sew the last of the girls' presents. Nothing like waiting til the last minute!!!

On second thought, they may get the "supplies" for their last gift...and get to look forward to putting them together with mommy and grandma....I just tried to sew them while my pics were uploading and I don't have a clue what I'm doing! I really want to get my own sewing machine and learn how to use it!!!!

HowCouldIBeSoStupid?!?!?!?!

I just realized that I threw away our memory card! 8G, filled to the brim...Breck's first day of Kindergarten, Gatlinburg family vacation, St. Louis family vacation, summer fun, all three girls' year pics (3,6,9 year individuals), the list goes on and on....in the trash! Trash man came this morning.

If any of you that read this blog, have any pictures of our family, I would love for you to send them my way.

******UPDATE********

After a trip to Wal-Mart, I have a new memory card. It may not have my pictures from last year, but I'm armed and ready to capture more memories!...and this time, I'll make sure to back up those pictures better! I'm soo thankful for the pictures that Brooks and I posted on my blog and facebook! I may not have all my favorites, but at least I've got some!...and with that said, my goal is to share more! I plan to actaully blog about the things we do and not just think about doing it!

Here is the first picture on my brand-spankin-new memory card:




My very first ever, made-from-scratch pumpkin pie! Yep!...made it all by myself! Even the crust! I'm so excited about this milestone! We'll find out tomorrow if it tastes any good ;)

Today

The snow if falling outside and I love it!

It's a perfect wintry day!


On this perfectly wintry day, Taylor and I....

~bundled up and walked Breck to school; partially because the battery was dead in my car when I went to start it, but we had such a fun walk!

~stayed out in the snow when we got back, to shovel the driveway

~sat by our Christmas tree and looked at all the wonderful Christmas cards we have received this year; and named each person in every picture ;)

~enjoyed our yummy Candy Canes while looking at our cards

~snuggled on her bed while we read a book and then took a little snooze


Now it's almost time for her to wake up from the rest of her snooze...and the other two crazy girls will be walking in the door any minute. I think we will finish our wintry day off with some hot chocolate for snack. Then it's "goody" making time as we make some yummy Christmas treats and enjoy some warm chili for supper.

What a perfectly wintry kind of day!!!

WhyAreSomePeopleRich?

Kaicee and I started reading from a new devotional book tonight. Here is what we read for December 13.....

Why are some people rich?

"Riches and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is at your discretion that people are made great and given strength." 1 Chronicles 29:12

"People become rich for different reasons. Some people are rich because they were born into rich families. Others become rich by working hard, saving, and investing wisely. A few get their money as gifts or by winning contests. Some people get their money illegally-they cheat others and commit crimes. Also, some people who seem rich have lots of nice things but no money. They're so far in debt that they may never get out.

Remember that "rich" and "poor" are just labels. Many people who live in poor countries would say that everyone in North America is rich. They would say you are rich. Why? Because compared to them, you are. You have a lot more than they have.

You are truly rich only when you are content with what you have. If you have enough for your needs and enough to give, and if you're glad just to love and serve God, you'll be the richest person in town."

....why do we worry so much and concern ourselves about things such as this? Will any of us ever truly be rich? I say this not to point fingers at anyone other than myself. Ugh! I see a need for a change of heart!

GoodNews!!!

We headed back to the dr's office today for a check up on Breck's ear. Our doctor was very impressed with how well it is healing...she commended Breck on doing a great job of eating her fruits and veggies which she says was part of the awesome healing. It looks like we may not have to repierce the ear after all!!! We are letting the ear heal for another two weeks and then we can try to put the earrings back in.

Eating her fruits and veggies may have attributed to her amazingly quick healing...but I have a feeling it has a bit more to do with all the prayers that many of you offered up! Thanks to all of you!

Warning:EarringDanger!!!

Well, we had to make yet another visit to the good 'ol doctors office today. We have visited that place so often in the last couple months that the receptions recognize us and laugh when they ask, "Has anything changed?...address?..phone?"

I am happy to say that none of us are sick. However, I think I may prefer that Breck were sick. Our visit today included a shot and scalple (sp?)...booo!!!

Let me back up a bit....Breck got some new earrings for her birthday last week and has been wearing them proudly! I thought it was odd, and a bit annoying to be honest, that she was sooo dramatic and overreacting every time she bumped her ear or had a piece of hair wrap around them. Yesterday, I bumped into her and she, once again, "overreacted" about how bad it hurt her ear.

I looked at her ear and realized that the backs had fallen off both her earrings. No, wait. They didn't fall off....they were inside her earlobe!!!! That's right! She had put on the little, clear, rubbery backs and they were still attached to the earrings but floating inside her tiny little earlobes! No wonder they were so sensitive!

We pulled the earings out of her ears, thinking it would be easier to push the backs back through. I managed to get one of them out, but the other was not budging.

This morning, we ended up at the doctors office. The skin on her earlobe had already grown back over the opening since last night and she had a red streak, from infection, starting down her neck!!!!! She ended up getting a shot to numb the earlobe and they had to cut the hole bigger to get the back out.

Let me tell you....this little girl is A CHAMP!!! She did not cry one time! Yeah, she winced and cried out a little, "ouch!"...but no tears. No fits. Nothing! She is so awesome! The toughest of the tough!

Our next step is now to get rid of the infection and let the ear heal. We have to let the hole grow shut and wait six months to go back and repierce that ear.

If it can happen, it WILL happen to our family!

BlackFriday,Snow,&Brownies

I have done Black Friday shopping. Some of those people get a little crazy when it comes to a good deal...waiting in the cold for hours. This year, I decided to join my cousin and some of her friends for a true "Black Friday" experience. We met at 11pm Thursday night (yep, that's right...no sleeping, no waiting around for morning with these girls) and headed to Wal-Mart to pick up some $1.97 movies and $7 DS games.

By 12:30, we were off to Gap for 50% off the entire store. In addition to great sales I also had a few reward cards to use. I walked out of the store with 2 pair of $69 jeans, two $19 long sleeve thermals, and two $10 long sleeve tee's for a whopping grand total of $2.97!!!! Yep, I paid less than $3 for all that! I'll go ahead and pat myself on the back for you :)

After a quick stop in the Disney store for Taylor's Ariel doll ($8 instead of $24.99), we headed to TGIFriday's for some tator skins....at 3am. We continued on with a stop at Target and Wal-Mart again for some 5am deals. Our final stops were Kohl's and Old Navy. By the time we hit Old Navy at 7am, Courtney and I decided to find a spot on the floor at the front of the store for a quick 15 min power nap while the rest of them waited in line to pay. What a fun night!


On a more current note....


Tonight we had our first "family play night" out in the snow. For whatever reason, every year we always seem to end up playing outside way after the sun has gone down. The girls love sledding down the driveway, into the road...and tonight was no exception. Luckily, we live on a low traffic kind of road :)



ending our night with some super-gooey, super yummy brownies made by dad...

WaitForIt!....

I promise, I will take the time to update all of you on our busy life. I have lots of things to talk about, just trying to find the time to sit and share with ya'll! What's to come soon (hopefully):

Black Friday shopping madness
girls bedroom makeovers
Christmas traditions
pics from girls' 3/6/9 year photo shoot
and anything else I find interesting on our camera.

P.S. GREAT night out last night with some of the best friends in the world!!!!