Blessed...

Two days before Thanksgiving, I was in the grocery store shopping for the few last minute ingredients I had overlooked in my previous 3,547 trips to the same store that week. The aisles were crowded with carts and the lines were long, so I was not the happiest of campers that day. While searching for the right kind of Rotel, an elderly man nearby suddenly gasps and grabs his chest...needless to say, it startled me. Then, I realized he was staring at Isabel and Ashlen. His eyes got red and watery (I was more than a little nervous at this point) and he began to passionately explain to me that two little redheaded girls are a true gift. He said that his wife had had red hair just like theirs and that they had hoped for little redheaded girls just like mine, but they never got them. Feeling a little uncomfortable, yet appreciative of his nice comments, I said "Yep, we are pretty lucky!" He got very stern and pointed at the girls and said "No. No, you can't think this is just luck. They are a true blessing." I will say that I didn't mind the crowd or the line so much after that. Thanks to this kind man's shared perception, I feel so blessed to report that we have all remained healthy over the cold and flu season (so far...knock on wood!) and that we had a wonderful holiday season!

To start off, Ashlen had a Thanksgiving Feast at school...she was assigned the role of a Native American: Here she shows the world that Native Americans and Pilgrims really can be friends: Thanksgiving morning (Ashlen wanted to wear fancy shoes and Isabel wanted to wear comfy shoes...I am now even more certain that Isabel is a mini-me): It has become a tradition to take my parents' holiday card picture before Thanksgiving dinner and I am excited to announce that our group was a little bigger this year! My brother and his wife had a baby last spring (adorable little Cora has red hair like her cousins!). My sister announced at dinner that she is engaged to David, who brings his daughter Izzy to our family, as well. My girls are especially excited about this news because not only do they love David, but now they will have a cousin their age to play with at Grams and Papa's house!

The day after Thanksgiving, Jason's best friend from High School called to ask if we would be interested in meeting him and his wife Liz for a night at 'Fun City' in Burlington, Iowa. Due to some last minute changes with Jason's family plans, we were able to jump in the car and head to Burlington! They live in Kansas City, so it was great to get a chance to catch up and the kids loved the indoor waterpark and play equipment ALMOST as much as the adults loved the casino and the Japanese restaurant! I was disappointed when I realized that we were so busy catching up that I forgot to take many pictures...I only have one of Jason and Steven trying to climb the rock wall!

The week after Thanksgiving, the girls had their school's Christmas Programs: Ashlen's was first...here she is waiting with a few of her friends from class: Isabel's class was instructed to dress as snowmen. She was pretty unsure about stuffing her dress with a pillow, but when she saw everyone else doing it, she was a little more 'okay' with the idea: Here she is post-show with one of her best friends...she thinks it is 'so cool' that they have known each other since she was 6 weeks old.

We were lucky enough to get some snow before Christmas! Now, I am not normally a fan of snow, but before and during Christmas, I love it! Isabel and her friend from across the street had heard somewhere that if you get stranded in the cold, you are supposed to bury yourself in snow to keep warm. They decided to test it out. Isabel said that she was warmer under the snow than out of it, so I guess it worked!The girls were as excited for the last few days of school as they were for Christmas itself! On this day, Ashlen was having a Hot Cocoa Party at school...the kids all wore their jammies to school and drank hot cocoa while watching Polar Express. The night before, I happened to run across a cute pair of 'I -heart- Cocoa' fleece jammies...she was excited to wear them to her party! Isabel's class had their Christmas party on this day too.We spent Christmas Eve with my parents and family...it was a snowy and relaxing day! It is my rule that Christmas morning is spent at home with just the four of us...no exceptions! I like to light the fireplace and have the cameras ready for their first sight of the living room on Christmas morning. Of course, they wake up crazy early from the excitement and they have to walk through the living room to get to our room, so we asked them to stay in their rooms and just jump on their bedroom floor when they woke up...it is right above our room. At 5:55am, our ceiling sounded like it might collapse! But, it was worth it to see their faces (Ashlen is growing like crazy but refuses to give up her favorite softie nightgowns, so the first picture is almost not family friendly...sorry about that!!!):

Checking out the goods from Santa:And then opening the presents from us...they have been asking for a dollhouse all year long, so they were pretty pumped to find this under the paper:We have a christmas pickle ornament. If you are not familiar with the German tradition (we are Norwegian, but I like the tradition anyway), there is a glass pickle hidden in the tree on Christmas morning and the person who finds it gets a special present. The girls had practiced hiding and finding the pickle for weeks and left a note asking Santa to hide it. Ashlen was interested in looking for about 30 seconds, then she wandered off to play with her new toys. Isabel searched and searched until she finally found it!!!I am afraid she might have been a little disappointed to find that the prize was a digital math facts game, but she hid her diappointment like a champ!Just before Thanksgiving, Jason's parents lost a very important member of their family...their dog Moppy Jo. She had been with the family since before I even met Jason and she was VERY loved. Here is a picture of Jason and I with Moppy Jo about 6 months after we 'became more than friends':Moppy is still missed very much, but a couple of days before Christmas, they welcomed a new puppy into the family. The girls were thrilled to play with Muffin all day...in fact, they were more excited to meet Muffin than they were about the Christmas presents!This is the first time in many years that all of the grandkids were together at Christmas. In fact, the last picture we have like this, Ashlen was just learning to walk. Devyn (in the far back left) just announced her engagement to a very sweet guy. David (far back right) will be heading to Afghanistan in the spring, so it will probably be at least another couple of years before the grandkids are all together again for the holidays. It was great to see everyone!After a perfect holiday celebration with Jason's family, we headed towards Iowa to see my extended family. My best friend Brooke lives in Iowa City, so we decided to make that our half-way point. At 8pm on Christmas, the four of us were at the hotel pool (selected for its indoor curly water slide!!!) eating Dominoes! Sounds strange for Christmas night, but it was fun! The next morning, Brooke brought her three adorable boys so the kids could swim and we could exchange our gifts (Brooke is always an amazing gift-giver and she did not disappoint! Thanks again, Brooke!!!) We managed to talk all five kiddos into a quick picture:Then, we headed to the Des Moines area to have Christmas at my dad's sister's house. My aunt Miriam has always wanted a sleigh for her front yard at Christmas time, so that is exactly what my dad gave her this year:Before we headed back to Illinois, we stopped to visit my grandparents (my mom's parents). It is so hard to see your loved ones in poor mental and physical health, but it meant a lot to get to spend time with them. I am just sad that my own kids will most likely only have memories of them in poor health, but I suppose that is life and I am just glad that I have the memories of them in better times.

So, now the holidays are over and I am busy planning a birthday party for Isabel and looking forward to spring. Although, I did decide to put a little winter decor on the front porch this year...maybe if I welcome winter with open arms, it will seem to be over faster?!?! One can only hope!