{ acceptance }

I had hoped to wake up this morning not having those same feelings I felt falling asleep to last night. Even though I hit the ground running, getting the kids ready for school, then on to Spencer's eye exam and then back to school again.....I couldn't help but come home and cry.

I woke up to it. I went through my morning routine with it. I carried on conversations with my kids with it. Then finally I came home and was alone with it. It finally pulled me to a point where I couldn't ignore it. I cried. And then I cried some more. I felt like I couldn't function today. I did nothing but mope all day, in this depressed mode of trying to accept the fact that he will be deploying again. Whether I want it or not, he will be going.

I managed to make it through the day, then on to voice lessons for Natalie and drum lessons for Spencer. Once Spencer was back in the lesson room for his lessons I took the girls out to the car. I just couldn't hardly hold my head up, I was exhausted and nautious, everything felt like it was spinning, my head was  hurting and I just wanted to be away from everything. I don't know what is going on. It feels like a deep depression of knowing he is leaving us again. I am trying to accept it. But it is hard. I don't want to accept it. I want to pretend like he isn't going. I want to be able to function again. I want these feelings inside of me to just go away.

I put the kids to bed, kissed them goodnight. Then Jerome called and I was able to talk to him for just a bit. Not long, not even enough time to tell him how I've been feeling. And to, there is that part of me that doesn't want to tell him how I'm feeling. I'm supposed to be strong right? I'm supposed to be supportive and not burden him with this while he is away....right? But I so very much wanted to tell him. I wanted to cry and tell him how much it is hurting inside trying to accept this. But there wasn't time.

So tonight as I stepped over the paper, markers, scissors and crayons from the school projects we had to make this evening, I decided since there is no one to talk to I would write it out. Let all the words be my feelings, but somehow I can't. I'm telling myself to pull it together. He isn't gone yet, he doesn't leave for several months. The markers and crayons laying in the floor beside me are a reminder to pull it together. If not for my own sanity, for our kids. They don't need a mom who isn't functioning, who isn't distracted while making a postcard of Vermont (one of the projects). They need a mom who is strong, who is able to face this challenge again and not worry about what tomorrow brings. They need me. If they can't have their daddy right now, they need me to be there....to really be there and be strong.

Tomorrow is another day. I'm leaving the crayons and markers where they are for tonight. That way in the morning it will be a reminder to myself to pull it together. If not for myself, for them. I need to accept that he is leaving and the sooner I can accept it, I'm thinking maybe the sooner I'll feel better.

~Amber Hope

{ time }

I never knew how important time was until I started counting down the days.

You realize just how quickly it slips through your fingers.

How quickly the moments flash by you, one after the other.

And in each moment wanting to just stop time, right there where it is so that you don't have to face the unbearing truth of knowing that the time to say goodbye once again is coming.

I've tried tucking it away, the knowing that these next few months are going to go by so quickly. I've tried not thinking about it. Not letting myself remember the heartache and worry that sets in the very moment you let time start moving again.

But like all things, I guess it catches up with you.

Tonight it has caught up with me.

He is in Williamsburg, VA right now training. He has been gone four days. Four days and I am missing him terribly. And with that missing him the heartache and worry has set in. The thought that keeps going through my mind, "this is it. this is how it was, lonely, a quiet house at night" the realization that I am and will be all alone all to soon.

I can't stand it. I don't want it. I don't want to feel this heartache again. This feeling of emptiness and being alone to face whatever life brings at me while he is gone. I am not ready.

~Amber Hope

{ dreams. }

A few weeks ago me, Jerome and the girls watched our wedding. They had never watched it before and loved it.

Well, except for the crazy hair that everyone had....they were rollling in laughter at some of the hairstyles.

They laughed at Jerome's "knee socks" and asked him why he was wearing knee socks in the wedding. He told them they weren't knee socks, laughing, and then told them they were Navy dress leggings and something special he wore for a surprise for their mommy.

Katie laughed and said, "Well.....they look like knee socks".

When the wedding ended, Natalie looked at us and asked us how much a wedding costs. We told her A LOT if you have a big wedding these days.

Then she smiled a sweet smile and said, "Well, I want a big wedding".

We laughed and told her she had better start saving for it now.

          -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Never, not once did I think Natalie took what we said to heart.

There is a new store that opened in the mall called Charming Charlie, I've been promising them a trip there to buy something if they can keep up with their chores and earn their own money to buy something.

This evening, Natalie and I had a conversation that made me laugh and smile.........and pull her close to me and give her a hug.

The conversation went a little something like this:

Me:   Natalie, pretty soon you'll have enough money saved to go to Charming Charlie.

Natalie: (very matter of fact like) Mom.....I'm not saving my money for Charming Charlie!

Me: (rather confused, then looked at her)  Well, what are you saving your money for?

Natalie: (very excitedly) My WEDDING!!

Me: Your wedding?

Natalie: (very matter of fact again) Yes....you and daddy said if I wanted a big wedding I needed to start saving for it now.

Me: (thinking this would be a good time to have a conversation just her and I) What kind of wedding do you want to have?

Natalie: I want a big wedding. I want a trane that is long....but not froofy like yours was!! I want it to cover my face. I want a long dress with sleeves.

Me:   That sounds very pretty.

Natalie:   Yes. And.....I want to marry a military man!

Me: (very surprised) A military man huh?

Natalie: Yes.

Me:   Well then, what kind of military man?

Natalie:   One with a nice uniform, not knee socks like daddy's. A uniform that is black, blue, gold and red.

Me: Do you mean a Marine?

Natalie: Yes, I like that uniform. It looks nice.

Me: Oh.....I see. (smiling)

There was a little pause and then......

Natalie:   Is it hard being married to a military man mommy?

Me:   It's a tough life chic.....but it is wonderful.

Then we just snuggled and she went on and on about her wedding. What her bridesmaids would wear. What kind of cake she wanted. What kind of flowes she would have.

I laid there and held her while she talked.

Realizing that these moments won't last long.

That pretty soon these wedding dreams she has planned really will be coming true.

And in that little space of time....I just wanted to remember her being little. Her telling me all of her dreams and plans for when she grows up.

{ the call.... }

Today we received the call.

The call that I knew was coming, but had hoped that it wouldn't.

The call that is sending my husband to Afghanistan again.

The call that will turn our lives upside down.....again.

We were having a normal day. Jerome had taken the day off to get some things done that he had been needing to. The kids were running in and out of the house barefoot....they were enjoying the weather outside and playing with all the neigbor kids. I was on the phone laughing with April about something that I can't remember now. Jerome walked in the room, looked at me and asked me who I was talking to. He had that look on his face. I hurriedly hung up the phone. We went to our bedroom and that is when he told me, "Amber, that was it.....that was the call".

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. But instead I stood there frozen......numb. I wanted to pretend that what he had just told me hadn't really just happened.

He put his hands on my arms and pulled me close to him. I knew he thought I would have cried.....but I was just numb. I wanted to cry, but I just stood there frozen.

Then he said to me, "It will all be OK, we made it through this before, we can do it again. Besides, this time you won't have to worry about me as much. I'll be on a much safer base."

Those words kept repeating over and over in my head, "you won't have to worry about me as much". Then it hit me. I remembered the feeling of going to bed at night, unable to sleep because I was worried about him. How I spent every.waking.moment. trying to function and make it through the day with the "normal stuff" and try to keep my mind distracted and away from all the worry.

Then I cried.

I cried and he held me and promised me it would all be OK.

Then there was a knock on our bedroom door. It was one of our girls, they were wanting Jerome to fix their bicycle. I wiped my eyes, looked at him and smiled, he smiled back and then we opened the door to the normal day we were having before the call.

{ the simple things }

There it waits.

The tire swing swing under the old sycamore tree.

Waiting.

Waiting for summer to arrive.

Waiting for bare feet to swing it back and forth.

Waiting for little hands to hold on tight.

Waiting for kids to spin round and round in circles filling the air with laughter.

Waiting for summer to arrive.

We had a break in the weather earlier this week. The kids played on the tire swing late into the evening. When I told them it was time to come inside to get cleaned up and ready for bed, they begged to play outside just a little bit longer.

I can't wait for summer to get here. To watch the kids play in the yard and swing in circles round and round on the tire swing. Just a few more weeks and summer break will will be here.

There is one sure sign of our kids getting older. That is that the tire swing is to low to the ground for them now. I guess their daddy will have to tie the rope up a little taller for them this year.

{ Spencer Andrew }

It has been a busy couple of weeks.

Spencer took his school trip to Washington D.C. and had a great time. Jerome joined the group going and they both came home with a lot of D.C. stories and tired from all the walking and trying to sleep in the bus.

Then not long after that the kids were out on spring break. The girls and I took a trip to Ohio, Jerome had military in Williamsburg and Spencer went with a few friends to camp at the Greenbrier River in his friend's family's cabin.

The girls and I spent the week shopping for summer clothes, antiquing and having fun. Spencer spent the weekend fishing, tubing down the river, going to a local festival in Lewisburg and just hanging out with his friends.

Yesterday was the last day of spring break. Jerome had drill and the girls had spent the week with Grammie and Poppie and visiting their cousins. Jerome had to pick them up yesterday after drill and called to let me know they were going to dinner with Grann and Aunt Pam and they would be home later. So Spencer and I went to see a movie, got a bite to eat and came home. It was a pretty day and I had been wanting to get some pictures of him. We went and shot some pictures and I took a lot. It has been a long time since he has decided to cooperate for pictures, and...this time I didn't even have to bribe him either!

I took a lot of pictures. I plan to post more later. Right now I need to get dinner finished.

~Amber Hope

{ light shining through }

Yesterday evening, after a hard rainstorm, Natalie came running inside from the porch where she had been watching the rain fall. "Mommy, Mommy! You have to come and see the sky how pretty it is!", she said to me. I walked out on the porch and smiled as I looked up at the beautiful sky. "You're right", I told her, "It is a pretty sky this evening isn't it?". She then looked at me, put her hands together, letting me know she was getting ready to ask me something that she thought the answer would be no to. "Mommy, can I please, please, please use your camera and take a picture of the sky?", she asked me. I smiled and said, "Of course you can, just please be careful". She gave me a big hug and ran inside to get my camera. I showed her a few things on it, set it to auto for her and went inside to pull a load of clothes out of the dryer.

She came back in the house after some time and proudly showed me all the pictures she had taken. I told her how good they were.

Last night after putting the girls to bed, I loaded up her pictures and the one above caught my attention. I think it is beautiful. She did a beautiful job of holding a big camera in her tiny hands and capturing what she saw as beauty, the sky showing through our worn out American flag hanging from our front porch.

~Amber Hope

{ beauty smiling at me. }

7:15am
Time to start hurrying everyone along.
Insist Spencer eat something for breakfast.
Kiss my husband goodbye for the day.
Close the door.
Braid Katie's hair.
Sign Natalie's homework.
Pack a blueberry muffin for breakfast at school.
Hear the school bus and hurry my girls along.
Kiss them goodbye and hand them a muffin.
Watch them catch the bus.
Close the door.
Open the windows.
Smell the spring air and love feeling it blow through the windows.
Start a load in the wash.
Walk in the kitchen to start my day.
Stop.
Stop, look in the window and smile.
Smile at the beautiful flowers Natalie picked for me the other day, root and all.

{ sisters. }

This was taken at my youngest sister's high school graduation. It is a favorite picture of mine, one with all four of us. There were quite a bit of emotions going on this day, more than can be expressed. But I look back at this picture and see the strength in all of us.
I think this is the picture I would have picked for The Pioneer Woman contest of "sisters" but I didn't know she had contests. I will be entering more pictures in her upcoming contests soon!

{ creativity. }

Today was one of those days.

You know, one of those days where you feel like banging your head against the wall.

I am one of those moms who rather than patiently sit back and let her kids learn how to do certain tasks......I jump in out of frustration and time and do the tasks myself because, ONE. I am able to get the task  done a LOT faster and, TWO. I like things cleaned and organized a certain way.

I have not helped my kids by doing this.

Instead, I have a thirteen year old who doesn't know how to wash his own clothes. A ten year old who at one time mistook Palmolive soap for Cascade and filled the dishwasher cup full of it.....not once, but twice (in the same wash load) because she thought she didn't add enough soap. A nine year old who would rather go to her room than to help clean.

Thankfully, I now keep Cascade drop-ins for the dishwasher. But this doesn't solve the rest of the problems I have created for myself in not teaching my kids simple household tasks they should be able to do by now.

I have come to a point where I have decided I want change. Not just a little but a lot. I am tired of unrolling dirty socks before putting them in the wash. I am tired of tripping over backpacks by the front door. I am tired of shoes being scattered everywhere (and yes they do have a place to be put) and the morning rush of, "Mom! Where is my other shoe?!"......followed of course by a reply of, "I don't know, probably wherever you left it". I am tired of toothpaste stuck to the sink, towels and laundry in the floor and water left dripping in the bathtub. I am tired of glasses of milk filled to the rim for Oreo dipping and then poured down the sink. I am tired of telling them to clean their room every day and they don't listen to me, that is until they receive a phone call from a friend to go somewhere and then magically their room can be clean in ten minutes. Oh how I could go on and on.

I love my children. I love them dearly. But these are just a few of the things that need to change here in our home. It isn't their fault....that falls on my shoulders for always "wanting to hurry and get it done".

So today I decided things would be different. I decided rather than me cleaning their bathrooms that they are perfectly old enough and capable enough to do it themselves. Spencer did pretty good.....he has cleaned his bathroom before. The girls however.......lets just say it took a lot of patience and a few laughs here and there.

Natalie and Katie share a bathroom. I divided up the cleaning tasks to be even. Believe it or not they were fighting over who got to do certain jobs. Katie wanted to clean the mirror. Natalie wanted to mop the floor. They both shared the rest of the tasks such as, scrubbing the bathtub, the toilet, putting things away, taking laundry to the laundry room and cleaning the sinks.

What would have taken me about 20 minutes to do......it took them over an hour.

That is where the wanting to bang my head against the wall came in.......it was taking FOREVER.

But my good laugh for the day came when Natalie started mopping the floor.

She mopped by the right side of the toilet (which is right next to the tub), then mopped by the door. I told her she needed to mop by the left side of the toilet and that she had missed it and explained to her how to start mopping at a far corner of the room and mop your way out of it.

"OK Mommy" she said.

Then she climbed from the doorway to the tub.....walked along the edge of the tub, all the while holding a dripping mop, and then stepped on top of the toilet (and yes the lid was closed).

"What are you doing?" I laughed and asked her.

"Well Mommy, I didn't want to put feet marks on the floor where I already mopped!".

I had to laugh, it was hilarious. She was standing on top of the toilet mopping the floor. Then I came to my senses after laughing and realized this was Natalie.......Natalie standing on top of the toilet mopping. She is the clumsiest of the three of our kids. The one who is always falling and getting hurt. The one who can trip just walking. So I helped her down and helped her mop her way out of the bathroom.

So for today I feel like I accomplished something. I feel better knowing I stepped back and let our kids do certain tasks rather than taking over so I could hurry and move on to the next one. I learned that there is certainly a creative way to do everything, including mopping a bathroom floor.

To my darlings. I love you.
Love,
Mommy xoxo

{ happy meal. }

I went to school and had lunch with Katie and Natalie Thursday. Katie has been asking for over a week for me to come to school and bring McDonald's. "McDonald's?" I'd ask her. She would reply with a firm, "Yes mommy. My friends Mommy and Daddy bring them McDonald's to school and have lunch." So after her reminding me of this all week I went to McDonald's and made it to school with two happy meals in hand. Katie was excited (I had lunch with her first, Natalie's lunch was right after hers)and I can truly say that that day she had a happy meal for lunch.




Natalie was happy too, and wanted to show all of her friends my new phone. Then she called her daddy at work....that is who she is talking to here.




Day 27 12:10

{ beauty. }

There was such beauty this morning outside our window. The snow was falling down in the heaviest snowflakes I have ever seen. I slipped my husband's boots on and went outside to capture a little bit of winter's beauty.




Molly followed me out and stayed with me. She was covered in snowflakes....




The kids are now home from school, it was released early due to the amount of snow and the roads getting covered quickly. I am getting ready to go into the kitchen and fix them all some tomato soup and grilled cheese. It's our favorite lunch on cold winter days like today.

{ our book. }

I finished this book from Blurb over a year ago and always meant to post some pictures of how wonderful it is.  I have since started on our 2008 family book and am almost finished (I'm up to Halloween 2008) and cannot wait to order another. Although 2007 will probably be our largest book printed seeing that is the year Jerome was deployed to Afghanistan and I did a whole LOT of picture taking to keep him feeling a little closer to the kids and to home.



















I love this book. I love how it turned out and that I can open it up, look back and read our memories from that year. To me it is a priceless keepsake.

{ making brownies with daddy. }

Day 21
7:48pm



This evening I watched Natalie and Katie make brownies with their Daddy in the kitchen. He even let them crack the egg, something I'm always hesitant to do. He helped Katie stir to make sure she mixed it all up good.

The brownies were yummy and a nice snack for our relaxing evening at home in our pajamas.

{ not defeated yet. }

Day 19.
Not Defeated Yet.




Tuesday started out as what I thought would be a "normal" day. Everything had gone as planned until around 4:45 when Spencer paged me from practice saying, "Mom, you need to take me to urgent care after practice".
I hurriedly made it to school only to find that he couldn't open even open the door and his right arm was just there, he wasn't using it at all. We then went to urgent care where we spent the rest of the evening in x-rays and sitting rooms. The doctor had said it had been dislocated but he wasn't going to mess with it until after the x-ray results were back. Thankfully a friend of mine came to pick up the girls (I thought they were going to have to put his arm back in place).
As it turned out his arm had been dislocated but was back in place as it should be. Then the doctor gave Spencer the news that there is no possible way he could wrestle in this weeks big tournament. Spencer was very upset and as soon as the doctor left the room he leaned his head over on my shoulder in disappointment and told me how hard he had been working for this and that he really wanted to be able to wrestle in it. He put his arm in a sling and sent us on our way.




Today around three I took him some motrin to school and was surprised by his swollen hand when he came to the office to get his medicine. I called his pediatrician and they had us bring him in. His doctor there took a look at it and said by the looks of it (sunken shoulder, tenderness spots, inability to function with his arm) that it was still dislocated. She then left the room and came back to explain that there was to be a lot of pulling and moving of his arm to put it back the way it should be and she sent us on to the ER where they are better equipped to handle dislocations.
We made it to the ER, and they were PACKED. I was kind of relieved because Jerome was still working and I wanted him there when they were going to be "working" on his arm. I did not want to have to do this alone. We sat in the waiting room a good while until they finally called us back. They took a lot more x-rays and then sent us back to wait in the waiting room. By that time Jerome arrived and we joked and laughed with Spencer trying to keep his mind off of what we thought was coming. They called us back and we waited some more. Then the doc let us know that his arm was not still dislocated but that in the x-ray he believes he has a AC separation in the joint of his arm/shoulder. We have to see a specialist and then go from there.




Day 19
There is still a fighter in him.
Two days, two doctor visits and one ER visit we learned his arm was dislocated, relocated and are now waiting to see a specialist to see if he has an AC separation in his right arm/shoulder.
He is very upset and discouraged of learning he won't wrestle in this weeks big tournament, or next weeks for that matter. He doesn't like wearing the sling.....even though he can barely do anything with his right arm. He is begging to miss school because of such a difficult day today with his injured arm. The teachers are not being very understanding of the fact that he is right handed and it takes quite a while to write with your left hand two whole pages of notes.....and so on. I know he'll get through this, he always has been a fighter. But for now it is disheartening to see him in pain and see him discouraged and know that other than giving him a little encouragement, that is all we can do for him right now. I would take his place in a heartbeat just to see him be himself again and out there participating in a sport he loves while we yell for him from the stands. The doctor has him out of participating until January 27th, he has high hopes that he will still be able to participate in the counties tournament the first weekend in February. He has a lot of healing to do until then......he can't even buckle his seat belt, put on a regular pair of tennis shoes, open a bottle of gatorade, lift his arm above his waist without pain, and so on. He said this evening he is going to work towards the counties tournament and still try to get down to 155 by then. I just hope that he heals.
I hope he heals soon, that possibly this won't be an injury to take a long time to heal. But for now he will be having to sit on the sidelines, watching his teammates participate in the events he has so much been looking forward to participating in, and hope and pray that he heals soon.

{ determination. }

 

Dear Spencer,

Today you made us proud. Proud to yell over the crowd, proud to watch you take on each and every one of your opponents with such determination. Proud to watch as they raise your arm because you won your match and proud to see you shake hands with your opponent and use good sportsmanship even when you didn't win. Proud to watch you grow into the man you will someday be. 

We are proud you are our son. We love you Spencer Andrew.

Love,

Mom and Dad 

xoxo

one.frame.a.day.

January 5th.
Dedication.
Spencer has been very dedicated this year in wrestling. It is his first year and he loves it. This coming from a kid that had no want to to wrestle, to get up in front of everyone in a singlet. The practices are hard, his practice clothes the other day were drenched in sweat so much so that it looked like he had jumped in a swimming pool.

January 6th.
Richard Simmons....eat your heart out.

This picture of Katie cracks me up. She looks up to Spencer, even wrestles with him sometimes. This day she was exercising with him, her and Natalie both. I guess she decided to dress for the occasion....and boy did she ever! All the way from knee socks to converse!

 January 7th.
Big boy.

At the doctor's office today. Usually they put us in one of the "bigger kids" rooms when Spencer is there. Today we were in the dinosaur room. He has grown so much. I remember when he was little and climbed all over this dinosaur examining table....needed lifted up there to sit.....not anymore.

I picked Spencer up from practice yesterday and I could tell he wasn't feeling well. We came home, he took a shower and some motrin and went to bed for the night.....at 6:00pm. He was running a fever and chilling.
I made a doctor appointment for him this morning and took him in, he was feeling a little better. He has a sinus infection and will be back in school tomorrow.....that is if the snow doesn't accumulate to much.
While we were out today (after the doctor appointment) we had lunch, went to Target to get his prescription filled. We were walking around Target waiting for the prescription, he was bored out of his mind. He looked at me and said, "So mom, is this what you do while we are in school? It's kind of boring." It made me laugh. I wish my days were filled with walking around Target endlessly window shopping with nothing more to do but wait on a prescription.

one.frame.a.day.

 

Little signs of a loose tooth.

Katie has a tooth that she has wiggled and wiggled all day.

It is a little stubborn and won't come out.

She sat at the kitchen table while I cooked dinner and took bite after bite of this apple, 

hoping her tooth would come out.

The tooth fairy won't be visiting her tonight, maybe tomorrow night....hopefully.

~Amber Hope

one.frame.a.day.

After finally finishing our family book from 2007 and finding myself sitting down with it quite often, looking at all the pictures of the kids, reading the memorable things I had written (that I know I would have forgotten had I not kept a record of them). I realized sitting there with that book in my lap that I need to do more. I find our picture folders not as full as they used to be. I find I don't pick up my camera to capture moments like I used to, even if it is just the everyday moments in our life. I find myself wishing that I had taken more, written more and kept a better record of even the simplest things in our lives.
In this new year I decided to do more. I will be doing one.frame.a.day. A small snapshot into our life, daily, even if it something small. I know though that one day that something that I feel is "something small" today, will be something wonderful one day to look back at.
I captured a simple moment January 1st but I am including it in this post today.

January 1st.




cousin sleeping over.
morning in our jammies.
raining outside.
pb&j sandwiches for lunch.
play-doh fun in the kitchen.

January 2nd.









Dear Natalie and Katie,
Tonight I read a favorite book of mine when I was little to you both as I tucked you into bed. I remember this book well and loved it, especially the part where the little mouse made a porcelain bathtub out of a teacup. This book was my favorite when I was a little girl.
When Grammie and Poppie moved from the home I grew up in I hoped to find this book that Grammie had kept. We went through all kinds of things. My sisters, mom and I laughed and talked about what we remembered from everything we were finding and either packing up or taking to our own home to keep. We never did find the book that I had hoped we would find.
Tonight as we opened presents for Christmas at Grammie and Poppies, I was very excited to open this book that your Aunt Laci gave me as a Christmas present. She had spent a lot of time looking at so many used book stores in hopes to find this book for me. She knew it was special to me.
This book was the best Christmas present I could have received, a very heart felt gift from my sister. I found it a blessing to be able to read this book to you both tonight. I was able to see the same smiles on your faces that I know I had on mine when I was little at the simple turn of a page. I hope that one day you will be able to read this same book to your own little babies as you tuck them into bed and kiss them goodnight.
Goodnight my darlings.
Love,
Mommy
xoxo

{ decorating our Christmas tree. }

We decorated our tree not long ago. Our kids always love pulling their ornaments out of the box. Katie has loved her Dorothy ornament from the time she was really little to now. Each year Dorothy is placed a little higher on our Christmas tree as Katie grows.




Every year the kids argue with each other who's turn it is to put the star on top. Spencer is almost (just 1.5 inches short) as tall as Jerome. Spencer can reach the top of the tree, the girls cannot.....guess who won this argument this year?





Jerome put ribbon on Molly, they kept laughing and saying she looked like Max from the Grinch movie. I guess Molly was Jerome's sidekick for the evening....





We found the Grinch ornament when we were at Universal a few months ago. The kids laugh and joke all the time saying Jerome is the Grinch this time of year. But only when the Christmas tree lights don't work and all the crazy madness out in town gets to be to much.





Jerome Grinch's sidekick Molly Max loves to sing along to Christmas carols too!





Natalie put these candy cane hearts all over the tree.





These mittens were Natalie's when she was three years old.





Icicles were one of my favorite decorations on our tree when I was a child.





The girls love this ornament. Spencer did too when he believed in Santa Claus long, long ago. The girls put their letters to Santa in here....





The "Ruby Red Slippers" Christmas balls we hang on the tree every year....





My little budding photographer. Natalie took this shot and a few other ones on here. She loves to have the camera in her hands. I like how you can see her reflection in the glass Christmas bulb...





The girls read me their Christmas wish list after we decorated the tree. They made their list by going on different sites this year, instead of looking at the toy catalog like most years. I think Katie stayed on the Justice sight a little to long, hahaha.

















After we were finished decorating the tree Spencer and Katie started wrestling in the floor. Katie is tough, unlike her sister, she likes to wrestle around with Spencer. Molly goes nuts when they wrestle. She is a very protective dog and she will stand and bark at whoever has the upper hand.





We have a Christmas dinner to go to tonight and then tomorrow morning is Christmas! The kids are excited. I am happy to be finished wrapping presents! We plan on having a big breakfast in the morning, opening presents (although I think I just put those backwards, I'm sure the presents will be opened first) and then we are dressing up and going to see a movie. We all enjoyed it last year. It was a very relaxing day with the ones we love the most.