And all in the backyard… all the Pond girls were playing and moving about!  I absolutely love this trilogy of pictures because each one perfectly captured their personalities right now… love each one as if they were the only one, no doubt!

So happy the girls were sharing their winter hats… so cute!  Malia gave Rose her Step 2 play house that she out grew!  Thank you SO much Zillman family!  We have been wanting a play house for outside for forever!!! 

Anna Kate lives in the world of pretend, so she will probably get a lot of enjoyment out of it too!!!  Susie said Malia was too tall to even stand in it!  She was such a big girl to pass it on!

The door bell and mail box were a huge hit!  Rose and Noelle both look like “Big Foot” in the second pic… makes me smile… they were busy little bees out in the snow!

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and at our house, it usually ends like this!  Hope you guys had fun seeing our holiday pics!  Whew!  I think I might take a break from blogging for a while… that was a lot.  But my goal was to finish these pictures before the new year… about 7 hours ahead of my goal.  Leaves room for another party tonight!  Have a good one!

After we got home from swimming, we tucked Rose in bed and watched “Elf.”  The girls loved it, complete with popcorn and Cherry Coke (my favorite combo)!  Yes Rara, we brushed and flossed their teeth and even rinsed with Act.  Okay, now that that’s explained, guess who got to have a sleep over on top of a sleepover!?!  Our furry friend, Jax!  The hotel Poppa and Rara were staying at was not “pet friendly,” but we wouldn’t have had it any other way.  He was precious.  The girls had a sleepover in our room, and although we brought Jax’s bed into our room for him, he went over to the girls, snuggled in between them and fell asleep.  He was there when I took him out the next morning.  That was the best gift he could’ve given!

Poppa and Rara invited us to their hotel to swim just as the kids were getting antsy on Christmas night.  It was the perfect activity to let out some energy, and get out of the house, even though it was freezing outside.  This was our first ever Christmas day swim!  Spontaneous.  Fun.  All about it!

Noelle was full out swimming in the big ice cold pool… she’s totally unpredictable!  Like the time when she was in preschool, dressed like a princess, and was the only kid (boy or girl) who would hold a pet tarantula.  The moms were like, “I didn’t see that coming!”  I never do!

The hot tub felt so good!

We kept taking the littles to the big pool to cool off… it was freezing, but they loved going back and forth!

Anna Kate was teaching Rose how to splash!

Anna Kate was practicing holding her breath underwater.  This was the first time she’s ever been brave enough to even try it.  I think this is the first blurry picture I’ve ever put on the blog, but her pride is priceless… just had to post it!

Here she is once my 7 year old camera stopped acting up on me (lol)… Rose and her crocs… what a total crack-up!

My sweet neon beauty!  Her matching swimsuit with the littles was too big right now… hopefully it will fit by the summer.  I got her a 6 for next summer even though she will be 7, but right now at 6 1/2, she is a true 5.  Although Anna Kate is about to be 4, she is a true 3T.  Rose is about to be 2, and she’s a true 18 months.  They all were born in the same season and grow at about the same pace, so it makes buying and passing clothes down really easy.  (I’ve done a lot of after Christmas shopping, the best time of year to shop the sales, so I guess that has been on my mind… but not for long!  I’m about to work on consigning all of the girls outgrown things to keep making money so I’m never spending very much on their clothes!)

Thanks for letting us have a total blast at the hotel, P&R!  That’s what it’s all about!

We were so excited when all of the grandparents arrived for Christmas lunch!  Both sets of grandparents gave Noelle fashion books and design kits.  They know her so well!

So here’s the part where I HAVE to brag on my husband.  Whenever Mike cooks, the entire house fills with the most amazing aromas, and we know we’re in for a treat!  Today, for the first time ever, he attempted Beef Wellington, and are you kidding me?  It was the most amazing dish I have ever tasted in my life.  Each bite had a million flavors, and it was the first time I ever consciously slowed down to enjoy each bite a little longer.  I know that sounds crazy, but it was that crazy good.  Food is a big part of our spiritual act of worship and is something we have embraced at our church, sharing meals together.  It’s important how we fill our bodies, and we do it every day.  It’s a huge part of our lives, and when I post pictures of food, I’m posting pictures of what I want to remember… our senses help us remember our days… and I don’t ever want to forget a thing about our celebrating!

Noelle made place cards for all of us for lunch.  She used everyone’s official names.  It was very sentimental for me because they were my Granny’s place cards that she never got the chance to use.  I found them in a stack of stuff to be donated and had a special feeling they would be important someday.  That was before Noelle was even born.  The holidays are a sad time for many because our loved ones we’ve shared Christmases in the past and made Christmas memories with are no longer with us.  If you can imagine the pain my girls will feel when their grandmothers are gone, that’s the pain I feel for my Granny, and the pain I know many of you share with me for your loved ones.  It’s bittersweet, because we are so thankful to God for those from our past and at the same time, are grateful to have the opportunity to share Christmases with a new generation.  It’s just a place card, but it’s so much more than that, because I will ALWAYS have a place in my heart for my grandmothers!

Back to the food… here’s a close up of the Beef Wellington (Mike stayed up way late Christmas Eve night cooking while I was working on gifts; it was fun team work getting it all done)… Everyone contributed to the meal, and we were so grateful.  Kay Kay and Grand Papa brought the green bean casserole, desserts and champagne.  Poppa and Rara brought the fruit salad, dinner rolls and wine.  Thanks everyone!

The only thing I regret about this picture, that I know I’ll look back and laugh about later, is that we didn’t use our china.  We have 12 place settings of really pretty china that we’ve never even unwrapped from our wedding almost 10 years ago… the story is we were too tired to unwrap them this year, even though we finally have a house to host in… something to look forward to for next year!

Kay Kay and Grand Papa gave Anna Kate her red boots to complete her outfit and a pocket Jessie to put in her purse!  These pictures seriously melt my heart.  I’ll treasure this memory always!  I’ve been wondering what she’d look like all dressed up like Jessie for months… she’s so so cute and sweet!

I think this is why we didn’t have the energy to unwrap the china, but I’m not sure… she should be happy… she has on sissy’s shoes!

Okay, in all fairness, it was getting close to nap time, but this present from Rose’s Pond grandparents got her out of her tantrum.  She’s one sweet little baby who we know is “just teething.”  That’s what we say anyway… no seriously though, she had a little fever and runny nose, I think that’s been her problem… for the past month or so!  I keep going back and forth,  teething or terrible “2’s” we love her with all of our hearts and couldn’t live without her, no matter what!  I mean, look at those eyes!

Noelle loved her design kit from Kay Kay and Grand Papa.  They also made a cute little coupon with money to buy her first grade year book, which she’s been begging for.  So sweet!  N was the only one to go out and brave the snow as it surprised us on Christmas day.  It felt like 70 the day before and after, but on the 25th, we had a white Christmas!  So magical! 

This is my favorite morning of the year!  I love seeing how surprised and excited they are to see their presents all out together!  For hours, we just play with and enjoy our kids… there’s nothing better in all of the world!

Noelle was so happy!!!  She didn’t ask for much, so I don’t think she expected very much.  I love her heart.  She definitely enjoys giving more than receiving, although she was so thrilled.

Anna Kate has learned from Noelle to appreciate each others’ toys… if you put them altogether and share, you get a lot more!

Noelle is such a dreamer about Paris… it’s adorable.  I usually try to bring back toys from the past to see if they notice.  Noelle was the winner this year.  She was cracking up!

I found this house at my spring consignment sale last year for $10 I think.  Since I already had it, I talked up an “indoor house” to Anna Kate all year.  I would say things like, “Wouldn’t it be cool to have your own house inside our house!?!”  She went right along with it, and it was exactly what she had in her little mind.  Yay!

The age of dress-up!  Noelle will only do it when her friends come over and insist (age 6), but Anna Kate is changing characters constantly every single day (age 3 1/2).  My how quickly time passes… I make a big deal out of every costume change, because it is a big deal.  She’s a big deal!

Ask and you shall receive…

Rose enjoying her presents (after she got the hang of it all), and Daddy enjoying Rose.

This silly little powder puff was at Payless of all places on clearance for like $1.00.  I think I even got it free with a coupon.  But don’t let that fool you.  If it hadn’t been out on Christmas morning, there would have been tears.  Noelle has wished for this whatever it is for a long time! 

And she’s found some eye shadow too!

Got this $30 kit for free too at Khol’s on sale with a $10 coupon they sent in the mail.  I probably shouldn’t tell you guys this, but I’m extremely frugile and feel like it’s deceptive not to share some of my secrets.  Rapunzel costume was second hand… got it for almost free because it was missing the Rapunzel logo, but I sewed on another one from something else.  No biggie.  Rapunzel hair, $1, Dollar Tree!  The princess castle was Rose’s gift from Poppa and Rara (she opened it the night before), but she didn’t really find it until later in the week.  She was too busy with everything else.  Rapunzel claimed it!

Rose was obsessed with her hats and the recycled Christmas singing light-up snow toy!  I had to change my camera settings to try to get some of the effect of the light and her fascination!

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Here’s our cinnamon roll Christmas tree we’ve made tradition for breakfast on Christmas Day… a big treat for the Pond girls!  After our PondFam5 morning of fun, we were anxious for all of our grandparents to arrive for Christmas lunch!  And what a lunch that would be!

This is what the girls saw when they came downstairs Christmas morning!  I must admit, every single thing I bought was either second hand or on sale… $10 here and there… I stretched our money so far, it looks like way more than it is… but I want the kids to remember what their Christmas looked like, so I hope this doesn’t seem over the top.  I enjoy shopping for deals all year round and tucking their treasures away up high in our closet.  I get so excited thinking about the girls’ excitement on Christmas morning all through the year!

This was Rose’s little stash… she didn’t even know what it was, so hers will keep growing.  My favorite thing we gave Rose was a “R” necklace wrapped around the Build-A-Bear horsey. 

This was Anna Kate’s couch.  Her favorite thing is dress-up, so that is what she got!  She loved all the little extras, as all the asked for was a Jessie doll and outfit!  That was definitely my favorite thing we gave Anna Kate!  She wanted us to call her “Jessie Kate” all Christmas day! 

This is Noelle’s couch (can you tell)… lots of make-up/jewelry and lots of PINK!  My favorite thing we gave Noelle was her necklaces because I know she will enjoy wearing them so much!  Her favorite thing was the make-up, so if you see her face transforming on the blog from picture to picture, just know we are letting her experiment and have fun doing something that she loves!

There’s a lot of Justice on this side!  We shop Justice redlines and take an additional 40% off… that’s how I roll.  She begged for a rain jacket.  I found the green Polka Dotted one at Kid to Kid for $7.99, plus 20% off… few examples I’m seriously not joking when I say this didn’t cost a lot.  The little piece sign 126 piece make-up box was $2.00 after my Khol’s coupons (it was a $30 box originally) and that’s the main thing she wanted.

As our extended family and friends present time wrapped up, we began to talk of hearing reindeer hooves and bells outside.  We kept asking the girls to listen closely because we thought we kept hearing signs of Santa.  Right as Anna Kate peeked through the shutters, Santa appeared on the back porch!  She was in shock!  They all were!

Rose immediately ran up to Santa saying “Hi Santa!” just like he was an old friend.  After that, the night was simply magical!

Each girl ran to Santa in turn, and he was so kind and excited to see them too!

Anna Kate was a little star struck to have Santa in our house!  She’s my timid one, so she had to take a second to process everything.

Once it clicked in her head that Santa was really at her house, and everything was okay, she got super excited!  She did ask Mike why he came through the back door and not down the chimney, and Mike said because he knew the children were awake, and he didn’t have their presents.  Good call.  She was okay with that!

After Rose had a little one-on-one time, the girls all gathered in Santa’s lap for some Christmas carols.  Noelle had her jungle bells and even baby Rose joined in the singing.  It was amazing!

After all the initial visiting and singing came to an end, Santa gave the most incredible performance of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” that we have ever heard.  It was from his perspective, of course.

He was so animated, and the girls eyes were so big.  They giggled and then deep chuckled but never took their eyes off of Santa.  I just can’t describe how special it was for our family.

Mom was touched by his sweet temperament, talent and overall countenance of Christmas spirit and love!

This was a Christmas Eve visit we will never forget!!!  If you would like Santa to come to your house next year, he can!!!  He works out all the details with the parents ahead of time and is very flexible.  He memorizes all the kids names, ages, and even asks about their personalities and what they want for Christmas.  He’s coming to your house as a friend of the family, and you will feel just that.  Everyone needs to experience this at least once while the kids are little.  I think Anna Kate was the perfect age, although Rose really got into it as well.  Noelle was charmed by the whole experience!

Please call Chuck Lee and visit with him about a Santa visit to your house.  His phone number is 972-978-9535.  He is fully certified with all the bells and whistles and is a family friend of some of our dearest friends, so we trust him completely.  I really hope this will bless another DFW family out there like it has ours… and he is the nicest man you will ever meet… he’s the real deal!

Mom and Dad came to our house this year for Christmas, and the girls were tickled to have Jax for the holidays too!

Noelle was so proud to give Anna Kate a puppy dog purse…

John and Michele know this, but Poppa plays the “Eh, eh!” game with all of his grandkids.  I remember him doing it with me when I was a little girl, actually.  The girls try to get away and as they run off, he says “Eh, eh!” and grabs them back.  After a few tries to get away, he lets them run off and escape.  Of course, they run right back to play again.

Rose is too tired to play but is cracking up watching Anna Kate!

Poppa grabbed her back after she tried to get away… check out Rose!

And here she is making her escape!  Fancy Nancy, remember when you gave Noelle the Pooh bear Anna Kate is holding for her baby present when you and Brother Man were dating… we still love it!

Noelle was Santa this year and brought everyone their presents, one by one from the dining room.  Anna Kate’s #1 request was up next!

Her Jessie doll!  In this picture, she is saying, “It’s my Jessie doll!!!”  She’s been waiting a long time for that little doll.

This picture is just precious!  The purple crocs crack me up… Rarely does Rose not have on crocs around the house… it’s pretty hysterical!  I think they’re even on backwards, because, of course, she put them on all by herself!

Noelle felt sorry for Jax, so she drew him a picture for his kennel that said, “Peace and goodwill!”  She’s my little giver!

More presents and cuddles…

Aunt Joe sent this beautiful painting… I am blown away she entrusts us with her works of art.  It’s so special!

The Eberts sent really great books for us to enjoy and Brother Man’s family sent great movies… thanks guys!

This is the perfect end to the perfect evening… never want to forget this stage, lol!