Christmas Performances

The girls have been singing with the choir in church since they were four. They have loved it each year. Yesterday, they sang in church and then again at the Christmas Pops concert.

Getting ready to sing in church

With the choir

Singing at the Pops Concert

They did great and had a blast! Gracie's teacher even came and watched her sing. It meant a lot to Grace. The Christmas Season is in full swing!

Thanksgiving 2014

We had a great Thanksgiving! We went to Oklahoma and spent time with family. The girls spent the whole week there because they were out of school. Wes and I came up on Wednesday. On Thursday, Nana came up to spend the weekend with us.

On Thanksgiving, we saw a ton of family. My cousin's family came over and the kids all had a blast playing. It was a great day!

We had a great time with all our family. I only took pictures on Thanksgiving and then only of the kids.

Halloween!

We had another fun Halloween season. The girls decided what they were wearing about three months ago. Again this year, Nana made their beautiful costumes. The girls looked great! Lizzie was Elsa and Gracie was DracuLaura from Monster High.

We first attended the Halloween HullabaBOO at our church. The girls had a blast playing games, trunk or treating, and decorating cookies. One of the games was to count the number of candy corn in a basket. Lizzie actually guessed the right number! After Gracie heard, she hopped back in line and wanted to guess the number. I told her she already had her chance and she found something else to play.

DracuLaura and Elsa

At school on Halloween, the girls had Character Day. They wore their costumes from last year and Lizzie was a cowgirl and Gracie was a fairy. They had a blast and were excited to dress up for school.

Finally that night, the girls put on their costumes. First, we trick or treated at the girls teachers' houses. Both girls loved it and their teachers are really sweet. Next, we met up with friends at Sonic and ate dinner. After that, we met up with even more friends and went trick or treating.

In case you are wondering, Gracie is hissing.

We all had a ton of fun! The girls were giggling and running from house to house. It was such a long and fun day that Gracie came straight home, put on her PJs and hopped into bed. She was asleep in no time flat!

Thanks to the Sher's for trick or treating with us again!

Fall Break!

Recently, we took the girls to Colorado for fall break. We had a great time. The girls were excited about the trip and flying in an airplane. They couldn't wait to stay in the hotel. They called it the family field trip.

In the van on the way to the airport

We got there about mid-day and just drove around. We stayed in Durango and spent a lot of time driving and looking at the beautiful mountains.

The next day, we went to Mesa Verde to see the cliff dwellings. They were really cool to see. Lizzie and I started getting a little altitude sickness.On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at this really cool shop and the girls got dream catchers.Then as we got closer to Durango, Wes made a comment about how low the clouds were. Turns out, it wasn't clouds. It was snow! We were in a brief snow shower. It was interesting. It was sunny and about 50 degrees then dropped to 30 degrees for about 15 minutes and then sunny and 50 degrees again.

On our way to Mesa Verde

Before we went down to see them

Up closer

On Monday, we went to Chimney Rock. Turns out, it was closed but we found prairie dogs instead! It was so fun to watch them. I think the girls could have watched them all day! It reminded me of being a kid and watching prairie dogs.

Looking in the hole to find one

Checking things out

After the prairie dogs, we went to Pagosa Springs for lunch and to check out the river and the springs.

By the river

Us!

Huge fun chess set

Posing by hot springs

After we left Pagosa Springs, we headed to Silverton. We drove up into the mountain and saw snow! Lizzie and Gracie were so excited to see snow. They kept throwing snow balls at each other.

Standing on a mountain in the snow!

Tuesday, we headed home. We were exhausted but had a great time! We loved Colorado and going on our adventure. It was nice to spend family time together, swim in the pool and see something new.

Gracie posing in the airport

Lizzie at the airport

There were many times that I was reminded of being a kid and going on vacation with my parents and sister.

Lizzie and Gracie and Faith

The girls have been part of our church all their lives. They have attended Sunday school, sung in the choir and sat next to us in worship. Church is a big part of our lives. Lizzie and Gracie walk through the doors and know love and hope. They get at least three hugs from various people and that's just on the way to Sunday School. With me working at the church, we spend a lot of time there. With all that time there, Wes and I always wonder how much really sinks in and what it means to the girls.

Recently, we've had conversations about different elements of faith. We've talked about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It may not make sense to them fully, but even I still question and learn. A few weeks before that, we talked about why we are Christians and why some of their school friends are Muslim.  

The word "grace" comes up often in church; which can be confusing if your name is Grace. One Sunday, Gracie said, "Why does Pastor Tom keep saying my name?". We've talked about what grace means for us and Jesus role in saving us. I love the Methodist view on grace. It's a bit confusing but all the girls need to know is they are saved by grace with a little "g" and loved.

Tonight, we talked about drinking and eating bread in church; otherwise known as Communion. Communion is a special time for our family. We take it together and listen to the liturgy the first Sunday of each month. Through our discussion, we talked about the importance of communion and the promises that it represents. Gracie starts repeating some of the liturgy and what the elements of bread and wine (or grape juice in our church and most Methodist churches) represent.

Taking the girls to church and sharing our faith is something that I hope stays with them all their lives. We know that they will question and try different traditions, but my hope is they stay United Methodists. My hope is that the girls look to Wes and I as role models in the same way that I look at my parents as role models. My parents modeled the Christian faith the best for me.

One of my favorite quotes by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” I hope the girls keep at least this with them all their lives. Because, isn't this what Jesus really calls us to do?

First Day of First Grade

This week, the girls started first grade. We didn't find out who the girls teacher was until five days before school started. Thursday night before school started to meet the teacher. Grandma and Papa were visiting, so they got to meet the teachers! I was glad they were there and could reassure me the girls had great teachers. Both girls have a teacher that I think will fit their personality well.

The Saturday before school started, the girls laid out their clothes and got their backpacks ready. Making sure that everything was in their bag that needed to be. Gracie needed her "lucky monkey" key chain to help her not be scared. By the end of the night, they had their name tag, a bottle of hand sanitizer and a lucky monkey hanging off their bags.

Sunday was the big Back to School Sunday at church. The bounce houses and breakfast where good but the highlight of the day was the annual Blessing of the Backpacks! The girls look forward to going up front, being prayed over and getting their backpack tag. As soon as they got back to their seat, we had to put it on the bag. That night, they had a hard time going to sleep. They were anxious and excited. Gracie was particularly concerned.

Getting ready to go!

Monday morning came, Gracie was awake at 6:00 a.m. ready for her day. She was really excited to go back to school. Both girls were ready to get dressed, eat breakfast and brush their teeth. We were out the door early to be able to park and walk the girls into school.

Crazy girls!

We first dropped off Gracie and then Lizzie. Both girls did great! They sat down and were ready to go. 

Outside of school

Gracie in her class

Finding her cubby

Lizzie and her cubby

Lizzie at her desk

They have had a great week! They are excited to be big first graders!

Busy Busy

It's been a while since I have posted. We have been busy between work and the girls camps. The girls went to a cooking camp, music camp, spent time with Nana, spent time with Grandma and Papa, and time at home. The summer has flown by and school starts again next week.

At the doctor getting Lizzie's finger checked

Cooking Camp

Silly

So silly

Lots of skating

VBS number 3 for the summer

So much fun

Picking up the girls from Grandma and Papa

Watching daddy play hockey

Playing in the fountain

More fun

Sleeping

Gracie is off!

Daddy loves skating with his girls

It's been really fun and great summer! I'm not ready for school to start!