For our summer project, Noelle did a little jingle for the company, The World’s Finest Chocolate!  Their director of marketing asked us if we would do it, but I don’t think they’ve used it for anything.  We always have fun doing creative projects with Noelle!

Of course, she enjoys the spotlight too.  It turned out really cute… have a listen below! 

Brylee and Cerly had such a fun pony party on Saturday!  All the girls had so much fun, and the day was perfect!

We were all dressed up and ready to party with Brylee and Cerly!

This was Rose’s first pony ride!  She held on and enjoyed the ride… she was just relaxing in the breeze!

Noelle was an old pro and let’s just say Anna Kate had to face her fears!

She didn’t want to ride at first, but I wanted her to know there was nothing to be afraid of, and she can always trust us…

This progression of pictures took place over a matter of 3 seconds and something clicked in her head that she was having fun and liked it after all!  I know my Anna Kate and wanted her to be free from her fear of riding!  I knew she would be so proud of herself, and she was!

And then we rode into the sunrise…

Noelle got her face painted, but Anna Kate didn’t want to, so that was that on that deal! 

Anna Kate and Malia and Brylee and Noelle just chillin’

Rose was ready for a nap (like big time), but the face painting helped bring her out of her funk… for a little while anyway!

Rose and Cerly are big buds but are always on the go, so getting a picture of them together is hard at this age, lol!

My baby was being such a cute little toot!  She was trying to decide if she was going to ignore Daddy or smile… I think she ended up choosing the former, ha!

What a fun birthday and magical memory with our friends!  Happy Birthday, Brylee and Cerly!

We don’t have too many special requests for Santa this year.  Noelle wants jewelry and make-up, Anna Kate wants a Jessie doll and costume, and Rose just wants to be right in the middle of it all… we can swing that!

Happy girls enjoying the holiday season!

The Pond girl line-up… I was chasing reindeer all night long, lol!  Noelle and Georgia asked me to take this next picture.  They are so fun!

Noelle has fun enjoying the traditions of Christmas even though she’s playing along with the rest of us!  She’s so proud and trustworthy!

Mia and Georgia, our new across the street neighbors!  Rose and Santa were chatting it up!  They are bffs from last year!

Rose and Berkeley were getting sleepy toward with end of the party with their Daddies, Mike and Blake.

The Cunningham kids were so cute making memories with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and Noelle and Georgia are having fun finally being neighbors!

Julia, Noelle and Georgia having fun on the big stage!  If you haven’t noticed yet, Noelle lost her third bottom tooth at school last week.  She doesn’t show her bottom teeth a whole lot when she smiles for pictures, so it’s hard to tell unless she’s laughing… her top ones are wiggly, so it’s about to get fun!

Our little athlete!  Go Malia… predicting right here, right now, we’ve got a future Olympian on our hands!

Malia, Anna Kate and Julia are getting so big!

Santa was so good with all the kids, and they had fun just hanging out with him!

A big thanks to Dr. Chris for bringing Santa all the way to Texas from the North Pole!!!

Rose telling Santa night night!

We had a blast on Noelle’s first grade field trip to Casa Manana to see the play, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.  I have to be honest, I get a day away to share with my big girl, and what do I do during the play… fall asleep!  Ha!  It was just too dark and cozy (I brought a blanket for N and me to share).  I guess that’s part of the memory!  

We went to eat Mexican food afterward with Emerson, Georgia and their moms.  The girls had so much fun giggling and being together and gave us moms a chance to visit… it was such a fun day! 

*This was the day of the school shooting in Connecticut, and I didn’t realize what had really happened until we got home.  It was such a relief to have Noelle with me that day, and my heart breaks for the parents whose lives will never be the same because of their indescribable loss.  Our prayers are with them, and we are so sad!

Our pastor/mentor, Kyle Lake, wrote these words to read in his sermon that he never got to preach the day he died.  For those of you new to our blog, he was electrocuted while baptizing a girl who hadn’t gotten into the water yet on October 30, 2005.  He was a great friend to us and spiritual mentor.  He performed our wedding vows and will always be a special part of our lives.  Anyway, I have been reflecting on these words during the past few years, grieving through Curt’s illness and passing.  The part that says, “If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE.  And Grieve well.” has set so well with me.  It’s helped me realize that my emotions are real and valid; that if I press into them, I can work through them, and that is so much for healthy for me than pushing them down.  Kyle was an amazing friend, just like Curt, and is still teaching me how to live to this day!  Hope these words can help you where ever you are in your journey, in the words of Kyle… to “Love God, Embrace Beauty, and Live Life to the Fullest!” 

“Live. And Live Well.
BREATHE. Breathe in and Breathe deeply.
Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.
On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day,
roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.
If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool autumn day to
FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.
Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.
If you bike, pedal HARDER and if you crash then crash well.
Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done-a paper well-written, a project
thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.
If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all
because soon he’ll be wiping his own.
If you’ve recently experienced loss, then
GRIEVE. And Grieve well.
At the table with friends and family, LAUGH.
If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke.
And if you eat, then SMELL.
The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven.
And TASTE.
Taste every ounce of flavor.
Taste every ounce of friendship.
Taste every ounce of Life.
Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift.”
? Kyle Lake

We had our first little quick visit with Santa this week! The Horton girls came with us, and we had a blast!

Cerly, Brylee, Noelle, Anna Kate and Rose… cutest pyramid ever!

Audree, Santa, Brylee, Tanna and Cerly all bundled up!

The girls love dress-up and play dates, and Noelle’s friends play so well with Anna Kate and Rose.  I’ve gotten bad about not taking pictures when they dress-up and have play dates, but I’ll try to do better.  Dress-up is a daily ritual in our house, and every time Chloe comes over, she loves to join in the fun!

I love these sassy diva looks… girls are so much fun!!!

Two days a week, Rose and I get to hang out one on one…  It’s so special and important for both of us, and we love it!  As she was helping me with some last minute shopping this week, we took a break to ride the carousel.  She loved every minute of it… I had a feeling she would!  There’s a perfect age for riding the carousel.  If they’re too young, they will scream the whole time and if they are too old, they’ll complain it’s boring.  As for Rose, the timing is just right!  We’ll be doing much more carousel riding now that I know she’s game.

The girls (minus Rose because she couldn’t eat all of the candy) had a blast making a gingerbread house with Mike!  They did this on Saturday morning while I slept in… thanks Mikey!  It was so fun to see what they came up with all on their own!  They swore the example of the gingerbread cookie on the box cheated, because it was so pretty and the kit didn’t come with a smaller metal piper that they needed to make theirs perfect too.  They also said the box gingerbread picture used more candy than they were given, which wasn’t fair.  They were super competitive with the picture on the box, and I was cracking up.  They are sooo mine!  I just smiled and said, “I like yours WAY better!  It has personality plus!”  Love.my.family.

Last week, Rose had a blast at story time!  Mrs. Peggy is so great!  She read a book about Santa riding over Texas and put little stars on the map as he rode over the different cities as she was reading the book.  She brought a carrot to show the kids what the nose of a snow man is made out of and had delicious cookies for snack time.  Rose did try to escape to the play room once, but we’re getting the hang of it!  You gotta start them early, even if you don’t think they are listening… they are!  Anna Kate will sit for 30 minutes at a time and listen to me read chapter books to Noelle.  I credit it all to faithful story time attendance with Mrs. Peggy where Anna Kate learned to listen!  Thanks, Mrs. Peggy!

*Anna Kate is at school during story time now… I’m a little sentimental that Rose is my last baby at story time!  All of these chapters end so quickly!!!