December 28, 2008

Not the most stellar photo, but it's exactly how I've felt today . . . in constant motion!


I don't know what's up with the kids the past few days . . . but they've been chasing each other in circles around the chair in the living room squealing their heads off. (Eli's finally taking a break in this photo.) Swear the shrillness in their squeals could break glass . . . it sure does make my teeth hurt. I hope the neighbors down the road can't hear them!

Aw well . . . I've still got some packing to do tonight. My Life in Photos will resume it's regularly scheduled program when I return from the in-laws. I'll continue to take my daily photos, so stay tuned!

December 27, 2008

The kids are enjoying their toys . . .



and for the most part they're playing well together, even though they DO seem to want to play with the same things at the same time, which causes a little friction.



I'm glad we have a few days of the normal daily grind, before we head off to Dave's folks on Monday.



I'm hoping to get things in order BEFORE we leave, so we can come back to a somewhat peaceful and orderly home.

December 26, 2008

I'm looking for some order amongst the chaos! WHEW! Wrapping paper everywhere . . . not to mention laundry, dishes and a multitude of toys to put somewhere. Trying to nail down a starting point this morning was difficult, but I finally zeroed in on Mt. Washmore.



And I knew the toys wouldn't just magically disappear, so I rolled up my sleeves and jumped in. I ruthlessly cleaned out their toy boxes to make room for their newly aquired gifts, and I believe I actually found a place for everything and got it all put in it's respective spot without cluttering things up too badly.



For the time being . . . the kids are going to have to share the train table. It will eventually go in Eli's room (when I finally finish paint touch-up).



Bayleigh is going to have a special shelving system built by daddy, just to house all her My Little Ponies and Polly Pockets. And this may turn out to be quite a project with all the little pieces and parts these items seem to come with.

I DID manage to get the Christmas tree taken down and the ornaments and decorations packed up for storage. They're not IN the storage as of yet, but tomorrow is another day . . .

and this one has plumb tuckered me out! I'm off to bed!

December 25, 2008

A whole day of celebrating Christ's birth! We started off early with the story of Christ's birth, and then headed downstairs to see if Santa had come. And BOY DID HE EVER! My Little Ponies for Bayleigh . . .




Cars slippers for Eli, amongst a few other things . . .




And this evening . . . a gathering of family and friends at my mom's house, for supper . . .



and a few more presents . . .




I believe everyone ate more than enough and had a wonderful time visiting and watching the kids open presents. I think Eli will be sleeping with this one tonight . . .

December 24, 2008

Mom and I went to help clean up the church this morning. We're going to try to make a nice place for the little ones to play during Sunday School . . .



and this evening we made some candy . . .




everyone got in on it . . .



but I think you can tell who really got into their work on this one . . .




The kids are both eagerly awaiting tomorrow morning . . .



and I'm eagerly waiting to take pictures of the whole thing!

December 23, 2008

Another day of freezing rain . . .



It was a good day for a rousing game of Candy Land!



Daddy won the first game, and Bayleigh won the second game, with mommy coming in second and daddy getting skunked. Sorry daddy!

Better luck next time.

December 22, 2008

I was hoping to get home at a decent hour yesterday, but Bayleigh's dentist appointment took a little longer than expected . . .



so Dave graciously sent me on to Sears, while he waited for Bayleigh to finish up. Thankfully he kept Eli, too. So he lucked out of our yearly trip to the Mall . . .




I was done shopping in record time! However, my wait in line quickly counterbalanced that. Then I was off again . . . back to the dentist's office to pick up the family . . . then onto the REAL shopping. Did I mention we managed to hit rush hour traffic?




We finally made it safely to Toy'r R Us . . . and we didn't meet up with any enraged shoppers. The kids ended up playing with the toy train display, while Dave refereed and I shopped.




And then it was a mad dash across town to hit the shopping center with Best Buy, JC Penney Home Store, Bed Bath and Beyond and Lifeway.




We finished up with a trip to P.F.I and Lowes, and a run through Braum's and Wendy's for supper, and made it home somewhere around 11:30 last night. After Ibuprofen all around, we headed straight to bed, and I'm SO glad we don't need to go back before Christmas!

December 21, 2008

I'm glad the kids are feeling better!



We made it back to church this Sunday, and Bayleigh and Kasey sang "Away in a Manger" with Brother Crooks. It was very sweet, and if you look closely, the girls are actually holding hands and not fighting!




And of course, Eli didn't want to miss out on the action, so we opened up the piano at home, for a little "practise" after church.

The kids have been VERY high strung today. I'm glad they're finally calming down now that it's bedtime . . . and through all their antics, I actually caught my December Daily album up this afternoon. I'll share more on my regular blog tomorrow, time permitting!

December 20, 2008

Cleaning like a fool . . . four full totes full of toys and clothes to donate . . .




a freshly mopped bathroom floor . . .




a passably clean kitchen . . .




a cozy retreat for the kids . . .




and a clean living room . . . (although I didn't get a picture before the kids scattered their toys).

Ahhhh . . . if only things would stay this way!

December 19, 2008

Up all night for the third night in a row . . . my poor little baby boy. I'm praying that whatever has been going around will soon pass us by.



And today was Bayleigh's school Christmas party. After 4 days of no school, it was a rough transition this morning. Thank goodness we've got a two week Christmas break! I'm going to need all 14 days to recouperate from the last three.




Here's hoping for the peaceful sleep of of a child tonight . . .

December 18, 2008

This was as clear as it got all day . . .



the sun was nowhere to be seen . . .




but at least I had a few moments to get some photos.



Eli has been sick (probably has what Bayleigh is still recouperating from), and I've been running on little to no sleep. I really needed these few moments to get out and enjoy mother nature. My sanity is in sore need of fresh air and a moment's peace.

Ah well . . . tomorrow is another day!

December 17, 2008

The weather outside is frightful . . .

but SO worth braving the elements to capture some of God's great beauty.

December 16, 2008

More freezing rain . . .



a bad attempt at getting a photo for the Christmas cards . . . (cheap ornaments!)



and another day spent cleaning on the kid's room. Bayleigh filled up Eli's bed with toys and then joined him . . .



while I had the monumental task of putting all the clothes away. My how it piles up around here! I didn't quite finish up, but it's MUCH better than it was two days ago!




And I just happened to catch Bayleigh, playing with this stable set. She was imagining that it was the stable that Baby Jesus was born in. It just amazes me! The things these kids come up with!

December 15, 2008

We had lots of rain and freezing rain last night . . . so there was no school today!



That's probably a good thing, since Bayleigh is still recuperating from whatever bug she's been carrying around.



And Dave happened to run across a ballet performance of the Nutcracker this evening. The kids thought it was great, and just couldn't help but dance along.


However, I don't know if my little guy could make the cut. At least not until he learns to put his boots on the right feet. I'll give him an "E" for effort though! He's just a laugh a minute!

December 14, 2008

Being sick isn't any fun. For a child . . . OR the parent who is taking care of them.



I, for one, will be glad to get more than 2 hours of sleep at a stretch.



Maybe I should be napping while they do . . . but then I feel guilty, because I have so much to do, and I'd rather work while they nap, so I can spend time with them while they are awake.

What's a parent to do?!