Edventure

The girls and I went to Edventure this morning with our friend Angela and her daughter Chapel. We had a wonderful time!

There was a room with "snow"

Karin loved the slide!

Picking vegetables

Showing her vegetables

shopping

playing in the sand

playing the drum

the floor keyboard

Christmas

Karin opened her stocking before breakfast.

The best picture we could get of her in front of the Christmas tree.

Lauren's 1st Christmas

finger painting with Daddy

My family came down the day after Christmas. Heidi and Brad with Karin.

Rachel playing the Wii.

Mom playing the Wii...she's going to kill me for this. :-)

Heidi holding Lauren for the first time.

Uncle Brad reading to Karin.

Mom and Dad with Lauren.

Christmas Eve

Karin helped me make a tea ring...only she was stealing the raisins off the dough. :-)

We ate pizza in front of a fire in the fireplace. It wasn't cold enough for a fire, but we wanted one anyway.

Karin made sure that Pooh got some pizza.

Karin opened up matching pajamas for the girls.

Lauren just sat in her bouncy the whole evening.

We roasted marshmallows over the fire.

Lauren is one month!

Lauren was one month old yesterday! How time flies! She is such a sweet baby and puts up with Karin very well. Karin absolutely loves Lauren and has tried to pick her up the last few days. :-) She loves helping to change her diaper and get her paci. What a blessing the girls are to us! Here are some pictures from the last few days.

In her Christmas pajamas.

Karin holding Lauren

Gingerbread Recipe

5 1/2 cups flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
3 t. cinnamon
2 t. ginger
2 t. ground cloves
1 t. nutmeg
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses, honey, or King syrup
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup of water as needed

1. Mix dry stuff
2. Beat shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add molasses and beaten egg.
3. Alternately add dry ingredients and water as needed.
Don't chill.
Bake on foil or shiny sheet.
Allow to cool. Remove carefully.

Bake at 300 F for 20 minutes for house. Bake cookies at 350 F for 10 minutes.


Frosting (glue)
3 egg whites (room temp.)
1/2 t. cream of tarter
1 lb. confectioners sugar (10X or 4X)

Whip egg whites and cream of tarter on high for 7-10 minutes until soft peaks form. Add confectioners sugar.
Glue will last several days if covered and refrigerated.

House dimensions
Sides of house: 8" long by 4" high. Make a window in the middle of both sides.
Ends of house: 4" long by 4" high square with 2 1/2" high peak. Make a door in one end and a window in the other end.
Roof: 3" high by 8 1/2" long...I guessed on this part and it was too small, so these dimensions are a bit bigger than what I did. :-)

She's in a toddler bed!

Karin is growing up! She has graduated to her toddler bed this week and has done really well with it! This picture is from her nap the other day.

A Night Out As A Family

Monday evening, we went out for dinner together and went to the Christmas lights at the Riverbanks Zoo. We had a lot of fun together!

Karin enjoyed her pickle at dinner.

Posing with Daddy

With Mommy

With the snowman--she loves snowmen!

They had some "snow" at the zoo entrance. Karin loved it! :-)

I'm not sure why she is sticking her tongue out, but I thought it was funny.

Lauren just stayed in her seat the whole time.

Catching the "snow" with her mouth

Weekend with Rachel

This past weekend, Rachel came out for a few days. It was good to spend time with her before she gets married in a few weeks. We made gingerbread houses and gingerbread men. Karin enjoyed decorating her house.



Rachel holding Lauren for the first time.

Gingerbread men

Gingerbread house before the candy

The nice looking house

Karin decorating her house

Karin with her house

Land's End Gift Card

Click here to take a survey. Your name will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 Land's End gift card. You have until December 19th to take this survey!

I've Been Tagged

Becky tagged me, so here we go...

I AM...a stay-at-home mom of 2 precious little girls

I WANT...the Lord to be honored in my and my family's lives

I HAVE...the best husband in the whole world!

I KEEP...fabric scraps

I WISH I COULD...go on a cruise

I HATE...bugs

I FEAR...not honoring the Lord and Jon

I HEAR...Karin fussing because she doesn't want to take a nap

I DON'T THINK...I'll be awake much longer

I REGRET...spending so much time on the computer

I LOVE...sewing and smocking

I AM NOT...perfect

I DANCE...with Karin while she watches Baby Einstein

I SING...every day--mostly children's songs

I NEVER...get enough sleep now that I have a new little one

I RARELY...miss a day without drinking coffee or tea

I CRY WHEN I WATCH...sweet movies

I AM NOT ALWAYS...patient

I HATE THAT...I get impatient with Karin sometimes

I'M CONFUSED ABOUT...ummm...I don't know

I NEED...sleep

I SHOULD...take a nap now

I TAG...whoever feels like doing this.

Random pictures

Karin's face while eating a buckeye last night. She loved it...and has quite the sweet tooth! :-)

Lauren sleeping on Daddy.

Lauren playing looking at her Pooh playmat. This is the same outfit we brought her home in...she fills it out much better now! She is growing so fast!

Playtime with Kayla

Last Saturday, Tim and Cindy came to our house for a few hours. It was nice to be able to see them. The girls enjoyed playing together. I'm not sure that Karin really knew what to think about Kayla, but she shared her toys very well!

Here are the girls giving each other eskimo kisses...I caught the last half of it. :-)
Playing with the rings.