Nutcracker 2014
It's a tradition....one that we began four years ago....
a group of ballet friends and their mamas all get seating together and the girls are in awe as their teachers twirl and dance below onstage....
it is always a load of fun and the cherry on top is when we go out for dessert afterwards! This year the mamas may have been having a little too much fun for their biggest girls! MK and her friend, Claire, were both fast asleep long before we arose from the table to go home!
(Fun fact: Claire's daddy grew up with Ryan....how fun that the girls will grow up together as well!)
Even with our late night out, no one in the house could possibly forget the German Christmas tradition of putting out shoes for St. Nicholas to fill....a few goodies were left and all was well in the home....
The next evening we had some adoption buddies over....the best part about this evening was having our newest little adoptee join us - Miss Anna is fitting in nicely with her forever family and Maryn is pretty fond of her too! Also, we had a family over from church that has just begun the process to adopt a baby girl from China....so excited to be on this journey with them!
Our girls wanted curls so curls were made....of course, Maryn asked for curls too but had to settle for a bow only....
this pretty girl is growing up....
and she loves the role of big sister - most of the time!
Poor.sweet.girl.
After spending our morning watching my most favorite Christmas play, A Christmas Carol, the children and I did our annual trek to the mall to do a meet-and-greet-and-picture with Santa....
though Maryn was less than thrilled at first, she settled in and we got a good shot....so thankful for my boys and their willingness to take part in the photo!
Radio Shack and Claires....the boys went one way and the girls went the other....and below is what happened!
these girls are too much!
We were blessed to have our 24 middle and high school homeschool co-op kiddos over for an evening of fun and games.....
gifts were exchanged and the reindeer-made-with-panty-hose-and-balloons were made....and a bit of noise was made which may or may not have disturbed our neighbors - oh dear! Such joy it brought to my heart to have these guys in our home for the evening.....I love the friendships/relationships that these kiddos have with one another. They do life together and it is glorious picture to see firsthand.
Another Christmastime favorite is our day with Emma and Aunt Nellie....Emma and MK spent the morning painting together while my sister Kellie and I took on the town for some shopping adventures!
And then there was today.....so thankful for these girls and their giddiness as we ventured out to see our first ever singing Christmas tree production at a local church. It was fabulous! And in true Drafts form, ice cream was had by all following the show!
