Christmastime in Disneyland...

We had a wonderful time on our vacation this last week in Disneyland. This was the girls, and Kraig's, first time to Disneyland and they had a blast. We walked at least 5 marathons while we were there I think. The girls were troopers! Kealyn was really tired by the end of the 3rd day, but never even had to have stroller. You are such a big girl KK! We went to Disneyland on Friday, all day long, California Adventure Saturday, most of the day, went and ate in Newport Saturday night, went to the beach Sunday morning, and went back to Disneyland Sunday afternoon and evening. We were tuckered out. My mom came in and joined us on Sunday for our last day and the girls couldn't wait to show her all of their favorite rides!

This is California Screamin'....an enormous roller coaster in California adventure. And....Emalee went on it! She was pretty scared, but wanted to show us she was brave enough to do it. Here are some more pics of it!

And below you will see Kealyn in one of her favorite places on earth...In front of a make-up mirror. She was VERY disappointed that Minnie Mouse's make-up was fake! She kept saying this was fake and that was fake and she didn't understand why everything looked fake. Evidently she doesn't understand that the characters are fake as well! I didn't ruin it for her though so by the time we left she was convinved that the stuff must be real when Minnie or Mickey touched it!

Neighborhood Gathering

I was so excited about a neighborhood kids Christmas party! When we were young, growing up in Spunky Creek, we had a Christmas party for the kids every year! I was just telling Kraig about how much fun they were and not two days later we get an invitation in the mail inviting us to one in our neighborhood! I couldn't wait....Except, not quite the same. They did have a great Santa Claus and a train ride to go look at lights...except, it only lasted 2 minutes!(I think it was because it was so cold outside) When we were kids, we would load up in a wagon type thing and go caroling around the neighborhood! Dodging the insane traffic along the way!(Everyone decorated their houses and it drew people from miles away who would come out every night to look at them. It was annoying then, but looking back, it was a pretty neat memory)

Anyway, enough of my reminiscing (sp??). Each child was asked to bring an unwrapped gift for toys for tots as their admission into the party. The girls made a craft, ate some cookies, and rode the train and we were home in an hour! They seemed to enjoy it though so that is all that matters!

Miller Time!!!

Got your attention with that title didn't I??? But honestly we had a fun filled day with the Miller Family yesterday. Kraig's Sister Keli, Brother-in-law Jeff, and their daughters Madeline and Natalie spent the day with us on Saturday. We had a great time! The girls all get along so well and so enjoy getting to be together. Peeps was the center of attention as usual as he is definately a superstar in the eyes of all four of the girls! Thanks so much Keli and Jeff for making the trip down to spend some time with us for Christmas. We love you all!

Madeline had just seen the Cooking Trainer DS game on T.V. that morning and I had seen it and thought of her. Mad and Nat both love to watch food network and help Kel in the kitchen. Thought it was perfect for her!

And Aunt Keli found the perfect DS games for the girls as well. They have played them literally all afternoon! Emalee loves teaching and has had a blast with the Imagine Teacher game and Kealyn has been caring for her virtual baby all day. She loves changing diapers! She thinks it is so funny!

Shine On!

As I wrap Christmas presents today for my now 8 and 5 year old, I realize how fast time is going by. It seems it was just Emalee's first Christmas. And now it is her 9th! I realize that I have so much to teach them in so little time. I just have a few things I want each of them to know about what I feel for them right now and how proud I am to say they are my children. You are truly gifts from God!

Emalee, you are growing up to be such a beautiful girl both inside and out. We just had your Christmas pictures taken and you are missing your two front teeth. I realized that I will never have another Christmas portrait of you missing your front teeth. When I saw the finished product I got teared up thinking about all you are learning right now about God, friends, and family. You are starting to put pieces of the puzzle together and are realizing more than ever the goodness of God. The other day you were having trouble finding your library book and I heard you say "Lord Jesus please help me to find my library book!" A few seconds later I heard you say "Mommy, I found it. God does care about the little things!" That is so true He loves you so much even in the small stuff! Keep Shining Jesus Baby!

Kealyn, what a ball of joy you are. You are so considerate of others and seem to know exactly what everyone is needing. Whether it be a hug, snuggle, or maybe something as easy as a fork or napkin at dinner time. You are on it! Mrs. Hicks says you are absolutely precious and that she wishes she had 25 more just like you. I adore you princess! You are the wittiest kid, you get that from your Peeps. You are absolutely beautiful and so precious in His sight! You are growing with each day and learning so much about what it means to Shine Jesus! Keep on Shinin' Sister!

Girsl, in this life you will find that it seems so unfair. Things happen, people come and go, but the God we serves is everlasting. He is always here. He knows all our fears, all our failures, all our needs, and the desires of our hearts. He is so good! I was reading on Laura Grunewald's blog today and realized that she is so right. The number one thing we have to teach you as parents is about Jesus. His love, His Grace, His Forgiveness. We all mess up, but he is always there with open arms to bring us right back into his Grace. Fall into him. He will give you the wings you need to fly when you feel like you can't keep on. Remember....What is the most important thing we do today while we are at school? SHINE JESUS....So Shine on sweet girls!

Much to be Thankful For!

So i know it has been over a month, but truly our schedule has been SUPER crazy. We are leaving for Disneyland on December the 18th and so I am trying to get everything bought, wrapped, and dispersed, for the most part, before then! It is a lot for one mama to handle I tell ya!

So back to having so much to be thankful for. My family....we made our rounds to Kraig's dad's house and then on to mom's house in the evening on Thanksgiving day. Then on Friday, we went to dad's for lunch.

Saturday, Mom, Kyle, Allyson, Landyn, Kraig, Emalee, Kealyn and I all loaded up and headed to Pryor for the Christmas train. It was wonderful!

All in all, we had a great weekend. A busy one, but special none the less.

Last, but not least, our elf on a shelf, Muree, showed up on our doorstep Sunday night. He is a darling little guy. Every night he returns to the north pole to give Santa an account of how the girls behaved on that day. Each morning, the first thing the girls do is see where he landed when he came back to the house. He has been on the vent-a-hood, the garland on the mantle, the lamp in the living room, the banister upstairs, and today he was on the Christmas tree! What a fun addition to the magic of Christmas. The girls are having a blast!

Don't We Look FABULOUS!!

Introducing Sharpay and Go-Go Emee!!!

Sharpay made a guest appearance at our house this year, but some how I did not get a picture of her in her Fabulous hot pink glasses which comnpleted her outfit....doesn't she look just like Sharpay???!!!

Emalee is getting "bigger" and picked out this go-go girl costume. She looked equally as fabulous in her high white boots!!!

Many of you might not have known, but in March we added a beautiful chocolate schnauzer named Miley to our family(yes, Miley named after Miley Cyrus of course!). So this Halloween, the girls wanted to dress her up, so she was an OU Sooner Football Player! The girls loved that she had a costume and she looked too cute!

Pumpkin Carvin'!

So, after our great dinner of poppy seed chicken, it was time for the annual Arthur pumpkin carvin'. If you know anything about our family, we are not the most artistic people in the world! So...Here it is, our very original jack-o-lantern!!!

Note: Bathtime needs to be after the pumpkin carving next year!!!