Merry Christmas!

Jemma and James are in bed sleeping soundly after a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day. The kids on Christmas morning:

We drove to South Boston yesterday afternoon. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with family, great food and presents. Jemma even said the blessing before dinner. It was so sweet! :)

We had to wake Jemma this morning to show her what Santa had brought. She loved her handbell set and Tinkerbell pjs! :) James was still sleeping at 8 when we were cooking and family was arriving. So, he didn't even get to see what Santa brought until we unpacked it at our house tonight. We had a light crowd this morning... there were only 48 of us to visit with, eat breakfast and exchange gifts. It seemed so calm and quiet relative to previous Christmas mornings. However, it was still really, really wonderful to see almost all of the family together. I was too busy enjoying and didn't take many pictures... next year I'll have to do better!

On our way home today, Jim gave Jemma a Gerber meat stick as a snack. She said, "Daddy, this looks like a vagina." She was completely serious... how do you reply to that?!? I was driving and quietly laughed as Daddy had to deal with that comment. You just never know what is going to pop out of the mouth of a four year old!

When we arrived home, the kids got to see what Santa brought. Jemma looked at her presents and said, "A Belle dress just liked I asked for!" If I could only capture that innocent little expression and utter joy...Then, she saw the Tinkerbell dress, which she had to put on. Then, it was the bride dress.She was a bride until bathtime. James loved the little lantern which makes outside noises and the dinosaurs. I don't think he even noticed the luggage set... one day he'll like it!

Here was our tree with all the presents before we packed for South Boston.

This wreath is real and smells absolutely divine! It is a gift from Aunt Dorothy, which I truly love!! :) It signifies that the Christmas season is really approaching and it is always our first decoration. The picture does not show how beautiful it truly is!

The two trees were a bargain at Target and I think they look really nice on our front porch. I love the Christmas season!

We are heading North tomorrow for more holiday cheer. We hope you are having a very Merry Christmas, too! :)

Four...

My baby girl is four... how can that be?!? Has it really been four years since she entered this world?!? Time seems to pass so quickly.

She had a GREAT fourth birthday. The celebration lasted for more than a week! She is such a popular little girl... she was actually invited to three other birthday parties on her actual birth day. So, for lunch I asked where she wanted to go. I gave her absolute control... chuck-e-cheese, red robin, chick-fil-a... and she chose Mundens. Mundens is a small restaurant in downtown Pungo. Not what I was expecting. However, it is a special place that she and her Daddy visit together for lunch on most Saturdays. So, we went to Mundens.

After Mundens, Jemma and her Daddy went to birthday party #1 and James went for a nap. I had to get ready for a spouses' meeting/dinner at our house that evening. (I had 20 wives... I served salad, spinach-lentil soup, pork roast with baby carrots, and chickpea-spinach casserole for dinner with chocolate fondue for dessert... what a fun evening for me!) When party #1 was done, Jim came home to get James and they headed out to party #2. (They had to skip the third party because the second and third party were scheduled for almost the same time.)

This was Jemma's first 4th birthday present. It arrived the day before her birthday. It is a beautiful hand-made quilt from Aunt Dorothy, and it is perfectly Jemma... fairies with pink and purple!

We gave her a baby doll hair chair, which matched the crib she already has. And she helped Daddy put it together! :)

Sunday evening we took Jemma and James to Chuck-e-Cheese. Jemma had requested that her party be there, but I just don't enjoy parties at CEC. I find it difficult to converse with the fellow parents and the kids just want to play individual games. So, I promised Jemma that we would take just her for a family celebration. Both she and her brother had a blast! :)

Monday night reading with Daddy before bed. It is so, so, so nice to have Jim home!!!! :)

On Wednesday, GrandMary arrived for a visit. It was an absolutely wonderful visit! The kids helped Grandmary make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was Thursday. I bought a 19 pound turkey... I sure do love leftovers! :) GrandMary makes the best stuffing... yummy!!! :)

We went to Hunt Club Farm's Winter Wonderland on Friday evening. It is a wonderful place to take the kids. There is an indoor section full of stuffed/animated animals and winter scenes... very cute! And there are lights all around the animal petting outdoor section (yes, Jemma caught a chicken and James petted it), including a tractor outlined in lights. Then, there are several fire pits where you can roast marshmallows. (Yes, you have to buy the marshmallows... and they sell graham crackers and chocolate and hot chocolate... it can really add up quickly!) Plus, Santa is there! :)

On Saturday, we had Jemma's birthday party at MyGym. I cringe when I think about spending the money for the party, but I must admit that it is worth it! The staff keeps the kids busy and HAPPY. There is no cleanup for the parents and we got to relax and chat while the kids played. Jemma was very excited to open her gifts. One of her favorites was the dress-up outfit from Aunt Nicole. She immediately put it on!

She is such a lucky little girl. There were so many wonderful toys and clothes from family and friends. But the best part was definitely having Daddy home!!! :)

Germs!

James started with an icky, green runny nose on Saturday. Jemma started with an awful cough over a week ago. Yesterday I felt as though someone had a hammer and was trying to bang on my sinuses from the inside and I could not sleep the night before. And to top it off, there was so much "stuff" going down the back of my throat that I felt nauseous all day. But, the kids were super! James and I snuggled on the couch most of the morning. He would say, "Nuggle, Mommy... nuggle" and crawl under the blanket with me... makes my heart just melt! Then, he would bring me a book saying, "Thank you, Mommy." We would read and then "nuggle" some more. What a great way to spend a down morning!

Thank goodness Jim came home early from work! He put the kids in the stroller and took them for a jog. It has been so cold here and we haven't been able to get out much lately. Yesterday was almost 60... and I wanted to get the kids outside, but just couldn't do it myself.

After dinner and doing Jemma's homework, I turned on Mickey's Christmas DVD and the kids sat and watched the entire movie. I was on the couch and without any prompting, Jemma got a blanket from the basket and put it over me, gave me a kiss and said, "Mommy, are you feeling better?" I just love these sweet wonderful moments. She truly is a loving, sweet little girl!

Marbles?

Jemma says, "Mommy, can you please bring your marbles downstairs?"

I reply, "I don't have any marbles to give you honey."

Jemma says, "Daddy didn't lie. You really did lose your marbles?!?"

I just had to laugh...

It's a wonderful life...

Yes, my husband is home!! :) I've been on cloud nine these past 12 days... it is so absolutely wonderful to have my partner and best friend safely back with our family.

James is napping and Jemma is playing in the kitchen and I'll blog more later, but I just wanted to do a quick post with these pictures... can you see how happy the kids are?!?

Love antibiotics!

Thank goodness for modern medicine and antibiotics! Friday night was my first uninterrupted, full night sleep since Monday! James has been up between 1 and 3:30 am crying and coughing and generally unhappy. But, there was no fever, no runny nose, no change in appetite. Generally during the day, he was his happy normal self. Except on Wednesday there was no nap and Thursday there was no nap... he would wake himself with coughing. I called the pediatrician on Thursday and she said to try benadryl for a day. It did NOTHING, so I took him in on Friday. Dr. Springer said she could see thick yellow stuff going down the back of his throat, so she suspected a sinus infection. After only one dose of amoxicillin, he slept all night! Yippie!!! :)

I'll try to update more tonight... Tracy arrived Thursday night and is playing outside with Jemma... I need to get some work done around the house in preparation for my husband coming home!!!! YIPPIEEE.... I feel like a giddy little school girl!!!!! :)

Scout update

Scout is having her surgery tomorrow. She is so much stronger. She has had so much improvement just in the past month. And Merin said that she had only one or two seizures in the last week! Here she is on 11/8 with her new brace. The brace helps with body and head control. She was over 15 pounds, but lost some a little weight... she caught a little cold, plus Merin has been making her work on sitting and standing and crawling! I really hope the surgery goes smoothly and she will be able to make even more progress soon. I know that they appreciate the extra prayers and support!

Happy, happy, happy...

My wonderful husband flew his last flight over Afganistan today. He will be home next week!!! Yippie, yippie, yippie...

Daddy in the jet:

Getting gas:

Getting gas at night:

Final flight at sunset:

The price...

...I pay for blogging while my daughter is doing play dough in the kitchen: a play dough sprinkle party all over the kitchen floor. She and I spent about 15 minutes cleaning together. And there are still "sprinkles" everywhere! Time to pull out the vacuum!!

Pictures...

I'm finally able to sit and post a few pictures from the week! (James is napping and Jemma is playing Playdough in the kitchen.)

Here is Jemma on Tuesday morning, with the Abby costume on again. She wore it to Trina's house while I went to vote. I did make her take it off and put on real clothes for the Bounce House!

James with playdough:

At the Bounce House. Of course, James loves the tallest slide the most:

Jemma and Mya pretending to put on a play at the Bounce House:

The smaller slide and obstacle course:****************

James (know to us as "Red-Haired James") came home with us from school to play on Wednesday. The kids used watercolor crayons:

Then, James asked for pudding. They both agreed on chocolate:

Jemma before school on Thursday:

Jemma before school Friday: