gingerbread

I love this holiday tradition.

For the past few years, we have been decorating

gingerbread houses at a friend's house.

It was even better this year, when I found

pre-assembled houses!
Hooray!

Look at all the goodies!

Jack is a pro now!

He wanted a Santa on top

(I did help a bit with this part!) But, he did the wreath on his own!
See? With a smile like this, how could
I not love gingerbread houses!?My favorite part of Jack's house was
this tiny little gingerbread peeking
out the window...
Yes, Molly got her own house, too.
I think she was amazed I was actually
letting her do it.
First, frosting.Then, M&Ms.
(and tasting a lot of them, too!)She did this whole side on her own.
And while she didn't make the "M",
she pointed to it all night,
and kept saying "my m"Check out the frosting on her nose!
Silly girl!

Thanks to Jim and Doris for letting us

take over your kitchen table!

before I forget...

I need to write down what Jack said on Sunday.
We got 2 classic Jack one-liners...

We were at the shoe store, buying Molly new shoes.
Which is something she hates doing.
So, she is crying her head off, putting on quite the show.
I find the shoes, get her old shoes back on, and put her back in
the stroller so I can pay...
As she sat there, recovering, sniffing so sadly, her brother said,
" I know, Molly. I know. Sometimes change is hard".

(he's 6, remember?)

Then, since she was already irritated, I figured, let's go do our Santa picture.
I mean, she's already got her splotchy and runny nosed face from the dramatic performance...
So, we head to Santa, and as expected, she wanted NOTHING to do with him.
I finally hand her a candy cane, and try sitting her down next to Jack, not Santa.
As she was protesting, Jack turned to Santa and said...
"We deal with this ALL the time."

I have to scan the picture. It's priceless.
But 2 Jack-isms, in one day, THAT makes me smile!

sing along

Anyone with preschool age children knows the song.
"Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere,
Clean up, clean up, everybody helps"
It's catchy, don't you think?
This is Molly's version...singing it in the car.
As she dumps crackers all over her lap.

it just keeps getting better

When you are 6, almost 7, it doesn't take much to have a great day.
You know, sometimes, a brownie in Jack's lunch is all he needs...
But, let me recap yesterday, in the mind of my son...

1- chocolate in the morning (advent calendar)
2- Holiday Store (the kids got to "shop" at school)
3- Fundraiser Ice Cream Party
4- spinning the money wheel at the party ($6)
5- finding 2 more dollars in 2 other prizes from fundraiser
6- winning 2 tickets to Knotts Berry Farm for being the top seller
7- winning a "No Homework Pass" from the fundraiser
8- going to the treasure box in class for a good week
9- having dinner with a good friend
10- having a milkshake at dinner
11- a warm bath (yes, this made the list, according to Jack)
12- sleeping in on Saturday
and then, when I told him we would go to a local snow event...that was #13...and with a huge grin, he said..."Today just keeps getting better and better!"
Thanks for everyone who bought "stuff" for his fundraiser!!!

Fingerprint Friday..and a chance to brag

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of godSo look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?
Want to see more? Check out Pampering Beki's blog for more inspiration!

This was at the first grade awards assembly.
Where I realized how much Jack has grown up.
Last year, my "perfect child" was on a contract for
his tendency to have meltdowns daily,
over the silliest of things.
But, as I watched him walk into the MPR on Tuesday,
I realized that he is a different kid this year.
(and now would be a good time to thank
his current teachers and his previous teachers, too!)

Jack left the awards assembly with 3 awards:
proficient or advanced in reading, math, and writing.
I left very, very proud.

When you have kids, you want them to be nice,
compassionate,
forgiving, funny...
You just want them to grow up and be GOOD kids.
With Jack, we have all of this and so much more.
The academics are just the icing on the cake to me.
I am thankful for the kid he is,
for the kid he is becoming,
and the little boy he was.

O, Christmas Tree

This year, we got our tree at Jack's teacher's family lot.
This was VERY exciting for Jack!!
The Santa hat was his idea...

It should've been NO surprise that Molly loved hiding in the trees.Our perfect and tiny tree.
Ken teases me, calling it the tree from
A Charlie Brown Christmas.
But, last year, with an 11 month old,
we had to be creative.

So, we picked a small tree, and placed
it on top of a small table behind the couch.
I loved it there, so...history repeats.

We have lots of sentimental ornaments, but with a
smaller tree, they all don't make an appearance.
But this one?
It has to go up!
It was a gift from Jack when we was 3, and in preschool!

Fingerprint Friday- Flashback

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?
Be sure to check Pampering Beki's blog for more inspiration!

I have given my Steward grandparents a few shout outs on my blog.

I was looking in my iPhoto library for a good Fingerprint picture.
And for some reason I kept going back to this one.
This is MY mom and MY uncle.
It was a Christmas card photo
my grandparents sent out, in 1949.
I think, after looking at all my scanned "old" photos
(I scanned them all for my mom's surprise party
a few years ago),
that maybe I share the same love of photography
that my Grandma Dawson did
(and we both had some pretty cute kiddos!).
That is a fingerprint to me.

(and I love the fact that my grandmother's handwriting is on this!)