And then there was the week with FIVE birthdays!

We had one week in December were we had five birthdays - four parties.  It was a lot of fun! We celebrated Anthony first birthday, Luke's 7th, Liam's first birthday, Lila's fourth and Nicholas' fifth! It was a whirlwind of fun.  I remember when Jack was two and we had one kid at his birthday party, my how times have changed. Oh and did I mention that this was the weekend that Jeremey had to work - in Canada... So we had to go it alone. Here are some pictures of the celebrations.
 Luke's party:

 Liam's 'Lil Mr. Man party:

 

Grace caught a quick nap in between...

 And then it was time for Nicholas and Lila's wild birthday bash!

  Happy birthday to all our December birthday friends!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Grace's First Ballet

The Nutcracker and she loved it!

Jack's Big Christmas Show!

This year Jack got to participate in his Joy School Christmas show. He was an Inn Keeper again.  He loves this role because he gets to yell "no room!" Their first performance was at the Retirement Home and their second one was for the dads and extended family.

Here he is with his best bud Nathan.

You may be wondering why the Inn Keeper was sitting between Mary and Joseph... I was wondering the same thing.

But eventually they all came and sat down to sing their songs: Jingle Bells, In a Little Stable and the Best Present is the One You Give Away.

 And then Grace decided that she should perform too.

 I would say that we have a bit of a ham...

After this, they got to hand out cards to the guests that they had made for them.  At the time, I wasn't paying too much attention, but a few weeks later we went back to for craft time. Jack saw Bill in the hall way peeking in the craft room.  Jack moved all of the chairs out of the way and made him a space at the table. One of the ladies said hi to Bill and commented that he never comes in for craft time. And Bill said he had to come in because Jack had cleared a space for him. :) A little later, Bill's daughter-in-law came by and Jack was talking to them.  He told her his name and she said that he still has Jack's Christmas card in his room! How sweet is that? Anyway, Jack ended up helping Bill with his craft and got him all of the supplies and showed him how to make his gingerbread man.

Here's Jack showing off his masterpieces with some of the ladies.

And here are some pictures from the other show.
So many helping hands!

 Again, the inn keeper invited himself in between Mary and Joseph...

 

Decorating for Christmas

Well, Reese's baptism was the day after Thanksgiving (yep, that's how far behind I am). So the next day, we decorated for Christmas.

 

 Jack was seriously a huge help this year.  He helped daddy put the tree together and hung tons of ornaments.

 Grace hung a few too, but mostly she played with baby Jesus.

 Ta da!

Baby Reese's Baptism

First, Jack got to climb in a spot where my brother and I were NEVER allowed to climb!

 Of course Reese was absolutely adorable!

 Even Gracie participated in the blessing.

 What a lucky girl to have such amazing parents and God parents!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

With all of the wedding stuff, I hadn't really thought past November 14th. Once it passed, I knew I was supposed to be getting ready for Christmas. But I just wasn't feeling it. So I decided we needed a Christmas spirit intervention! The weekend before Thanksgiving we headed out for a fun family dinner at the Shoppes and then we hung around listening to Christmas carolers and waiting for a special guest. The kids were SO excited to see him!

 And then he made it snow!

And now we're much more in the Christmas spirit! We decked the halls last weekend, it's freezing, we had the first hot cocoa of the season and Advent started on Sunday. Jeremey and I got to go on a shopping date, so the kids gifts are all purchased. And we're finally feeling like it really is the most wonderful time of the year! 

Merry Christmas!

So Thankful!

There are lots of big things this year that make me thankful:

• wonderful children

• an awesome husband 

• a new sister

• Grandma recovering well
• my first nephew ever 

• our health

And lots of little everyday things that make me thankful:

• waking up with cuddles from the cutest girl in the world
• never ending kisses from the sweetest boy in the world
• two of the most supportive families in the world
• great friends for our kids with supportive, like minded families 
• the smell of a clean house and chocolate chip cookies all at the same time
• my besties that are always there for me
• a little boy with lots to say and curiosity beyond belief
• a little girl with a sense of humor and a drive to make you laugh

And here's Jack's list:

• every toy that he could think of
• my whole family
• my whole town
• beautiful girlies
• my friends

And Grace's list:

• some days (as in "Some day my prince will come")

And this year we have one more reason to be especially thankful:

Craig and Carla's Wedding: Day 3 of the Wedding Weekend!

It was a whirlwind of a weekend! But we had SO much fun!

After Mom and I headed out to get our make up and hair done in the morning, we had to meet up with the boys at my parents' house for boy pictures.  It was so cute to see Jack, Jeremey, Craig and my Daddy all ready - such handsome boys!

 Quite a crowd of boys! My brother has SO many friends!

 

After that, mom and I got to go celebrate with the girls.  And let me tell you - that was some "pre-party!" There was a huge spread of food, music, dancing and I think everyone from Carla's family was already there! She got to take pictures with EVERYONE, drink and dance - all before the real party started!  She was absolutely stunning in her beautiful dress and she handled all the stress, excitement and attention so well! She was a perfect bride!

There was lots of tulle to play with!

 And so many photos...

 Friends to play with...

 A bit of loud music...

 And some time for a snack!

Then it was limo time!!!

And the ceremony... My favorite part is when the got to wear crowns to symbolize being the king and queen on their household.Gracie shared what was left of her petals with the flower girls and Jack rested on his pillow. They were not perfectly behaved, but they were classic. 

And then it was time to party take more pictures. 

 

 And then it was time to party!
After they danced and slid across the presidential seal...

 

On the chairs...

 Carla and her daddy...

Somebody figured out that he could go to the bar and ask for juice and they would give it to him - over and over! He was so excited!

Jack and Grace just loved Carla's cousin's son Matthew... They were so cute together...

Congratulations Craig and Carla! We are so happy for you!!!