16 Days

Today is the first day of 16 days of good, old-fashioned family fun. We are looking forward to having Andy around for meals, naps, and play time. It's going to be wonderful! It's been about a year since we've had him around that long. I'm sure there will still be work to be done, but no going into the office. I'm not sure who is more excited, the girls and I are probably all tied in our excitement for various reasons...

Rachel's Christmas Program

On December 7th we were invited to attend Rachel's music class at her preschool and watch them perform the Christmas songs they had learned. Andy was able to go as well and it was fun to see Rachel in action at school. She was quite self-conscious of us being there. She might have glanced at us 2 times during the 25 minutes we were there... Anyhow, here are a few videos:

I love that Rachel is able to celebrate Christian holidays at her school this year. Next year it won't be so... I was just discussing this fact with 2 friends yesterday who have little girls in kindergarten. Their girls have learned about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, but Christmas hasn't been touched. It's really a shame. I think all the holidays and traditions should be included.

Anyhow, we enjoyed watching Rachel at her little performance. And maybe next time she'll look at us a smile! :)

Sinterklaas in Texas

We have decided to keep some Dutch traditions alive. This year the tradition of Sinterklaas worked out beautifully! A dollhouse is kind of hard to haul back home in a suitcase, so Sinterklaas brought the girls their big gift this year. A week (in the Netherlands they actually do it for several weeks) before December 5th the girls put a shoe out each night and Sinterklaas left little trinkets and treats for them to discover each morning. And then on the evening of December 5th Sinterklaas dropped a present off while we were visiting Santa Claus. We came home and the girls checked out each door to see if something had been left (normally you'd hear a knock, but we weren't home to hear it). The front door didn't hold any surprises, but the back door did:

It was love at first sight... The girls are certainly enjoying their dollhouse!We then continued on with opening our gifts from each other. The girls received some more accessories to go with their dollhouse from me. Rachel was thrilled with the roller skates that Audrey got for her and both of the girls have enjoyed watching Toy Story 3 (to Audrey, from Rachel). Rachel loves her new pajamas from her daddy and Audrey is enjoying her new book from Daddy. Here's a few pictures of the girls opening their presents:

We are definitely going to keep the Sinterklaas tradition around. Each year will vary, depending on our holiday plans. But it's definitely a tradition we want to keep reminding the girls about. We don't want to forget about our Dutch experiences...

Need a good laugh?

Here comes Audrey to the rescue!

Last night we all cheered Audrey on as she went potty on the toilet for the first time. I think it was just a lucky night... We always put her on her little toilet each night before she gets in the bath. Anyhow, Audrey enjoyed all the cheering she received. Today she requested twice to sit on her toilet. And the good mother that I am, I allowed her the opportunity. Well, both times nothing happened and Audrey simply concluded, "It's not working right now!"

Boy do we love Audrey and the things that she says! :)

Gingerbread House & Santa Claus

The Christmas drama continued as we tried to decorate a gingerbread house. This year we bought a kit and we still struggled. Next year I'm going to have my mom help out. She always made it look so easy and fun. I don't know what I do wrong, but it's never easy...

Rachel had a lot of fun sprinkling sprinkles and putting candy on the house. She's a bit of a perfectionist... And Audrey just wanted to eat the candy... Anyhow, after two nights of working on it, here's the finished product:

We have some friends at church who have a special relationship with Santa. So, every year they have Santa over to their house and invite families to come take pictures. So, on the evening on December 5th, we did just that. And both girls did well - no tears from either of them, a big smile from Rachel, and a teeny bit of a smile from Audrey:

We certainly appreciate our friends who open their home to us. We never have to wait in line or pay money for pictures with Santa! :)

Tree Drama

Last year we came home to the U.S. for Christmas. The day after Christmas my parents watched all the kids while Paul, Cristy, Andy, and I hit the sales. Top on our list (well, really the only thing on our list) was a pre-lit Christmas tree. My parents were willing to store it for us until we got home for good. We found one at Lowe's and it was a steal. Normally $300, it was marked down to $75. A great deal - especially for a tree with 1000 lights. Happiness is, right????

So, fast forward to this Christmas season... We got home from spending Thanksgiving weekend with my parents on Sunday night. We had hauled the Christmas tree home with us of course. So, that Sunday evening we were going to set-up the tree, fluff it a bit, and be set... Easy peasy! Well, not so much. We soon discovered that 1 whole strand of lights was out and 3 other strands only partially worked. After trying to change out lights and fuses Sunday evening, nothing worked. To try and make a long story short, the next few days weren't pretty. Lowe's wouldn't do anything for us because they have a 90-day return policy. So, I ended up taking off the strands of lights that didn't work and restrung lights just like they had been. In the end it looks great and it was worth it. But boy were my arms and hands all scratched. That's some tough work! And if we set up the tree next year and more lights are out, I think I'm just going to cry... But we are hoping for the best. Lesson learned though - a pre-lit tree isn't always easier... And if you are thinking of buying a tree on clearance this year, set up and check it out even though Christmas is over! You never know...

So, after four days of work, Andy took some video while the girls started to decorate:

The next morning I was able to snap this picture as the girls continued to decorate and rearrange:

Celebrating 2 years!

Audrey has been such a wonderful joy the past 2 years. We are so grateful for her and her spunky spirit. She definitely keeps us all on our toes! Audrey loves to play with Rachel. As a matter of fact, she still hasn't gotten used to Rachel being away 2 days a week. She misses Rachel while she's at school. Audrey tries so hard to keep up and please her sister. Rachel can be a little bit of a mother at times and Audrey is pretty good to play along with Rachel's requests...

Audrey is quite the talker! She has amazed us (and many others) with her growth the past 6 months. She totally talks in sentences - the grammar isn't always correct, but you get the gist of what she's trying to say. She can pretty much say and talk about anything. Carrying on a conversation is easy peasy for her. The other day she randomly told me that "Honey likes to drink water from the lake". We had recently been to my parents and I guess she was just reminiscing about their dogs...

This little one loves babies - real and pretend. One day she is going to make a good momma! Probably better than I am with newborns. Audrey says such sweet prayers. Right now, the first two things she says are: "Thank you for this day" and "Please bless Papa get better". Sometimes she'll add in more, like "Daddy come home safe" or "Bless we sleep good". I love her prayers!

One of the most humorous things Audrey has done recently was at a store. As usual, Rachel was asking for anything and everything and I kept on saying no. As we were walking to the cashier, Rachel asked for one last thing and of course I said no. Well, Audrey turned around and said to Rachel, "Sorry buck-o". Too funny! I guess she must of picked that one up from me...

And just like her sister, Audrey loves her daddy. She gets so excited when he comes home every night and she loves for him to read her a story before bed. Audrey is quite the mama's girl, so it's nice when these moments come along. Audrey is quite a girlie girl. She insists on having her hair in a ponytail with a bow every day. If I do a twisty ponytail and don't put a bow in, she becomes rather upset. She loves to put on make-up with Mommy, playing dress-up with her sister, and wearing lots of jewelry.

Audrey has her check-up on Tuesday, so I'll post her stats then. I'm guessing she'll be around 21 pounds and 32 inches tall... Audrey likes the finer things in life, so for her birthday we enjoyed a cheesecake with blueberries and raspberries on top. Right now she has quite the fetish for blueberries. Not a bad fetish to have though!

This little girl loves music! She loves to sing, be sung to, and dance. She has pretty good rhythm as well... Her most requested songs right now are "Silent Night" and "Jingle Bells". Before the Christmas season she would always request "ABCs", "Itsy, Bitsy Spider", and "I am a Child of God".

We are so excited to see what Audrey will bring to our family in the next year. I'm sure it will be one full of joy, laughter, tantrums, tears, smiles, surprises, kisses, and love...

Deja Vu

November, 3 years ago, we were getting ready to move to Holland. Rachel and I stayed behind for a few weeks while Andy went over to work and secure a place for us to live. So, Rachel and I spent 2 weeks with my parents. And during that time Rachel helped her Papa with a dirt pile:

Just a 2 weeks ago Rachel and Papa repeated history with the help of Audrey and Daddy:

Thanksgiving Weekend

We were able to drive up to my parents' the day before Thanksgiving. And of course a visit to Papa's and Grandma's never disappoints. We enjoyed some Fall weather and a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. Here are some pictures that help highlight our weekend...

So, here's what we were up to Thanksgiving morning... The girls love playing in the playhouse that Grandma sets up for them:

Enjoying the outdoors:

After raking up some leaves Andy demonstrated to the girls how to jump in and Rachel took right to it:

I really don't want to be sitting in this pile of leaves!
Rachel loved it!
Having fun with Papa in the leaves:

We really enjoyed the drive up to my parents' as we got to enjoy some Fall beauty. The leaves at our place don't really change colors and they'll probably fall off at the end of January and new ones will grow at the beginning of March. We don't really get seasons here, so it's fun to go a bit farther north and enjoy it...

Riding bikes:

Helping Papa and Daddy with a dirt pile (a bit of deja vu here - another post to follow!):

On Friday we headed to Longview (the closest decent size town to my parents) and were treated to Chuck E. Cheese. The girls pretty much expect this when they are with my parents! And then after pizza Audrey headed back home with the guys to take a nap. Grandma, Rachel, and I went to see Tangled, which is definitely going to be added to our collection. Such a cute movie! Friday evening Rachel mastered tying shoes - she picked it up so quickly and was determined. She's been eyeing some shoes for a few months now and Grandma caved in. So, I told her she needed to learn how to tie them if she was going to get them (I've never bought her shoes with laces). Anyhow, she was determined and she succeeded! :)

On Saturday there were lots of tractor rides with Papa and Daddy:

A random (really cute) picture of Rachel at dinner Saturday evening:

After the big boys worked hard all afternoon burning away leaves and a dead tree that they cut down, we all made good use of the burn pile to make smores:

The girls loved it!
And of course we celebrated Grandma's birthday a week early:

Rachel helped me pick out a dress for Grandma. Rachel was so good the whole weekend to not ruin the surprise. Grandma wore the dress to church the next day and she looked FABULOUS! Grandma spoils us all rotten, so it's fun when we get to spoil her a bit...

Finally on Saturday night Grandma showed the girls how to break apart a wishbone. Rachel won the wish!

We headed back home on Sunday. Like most trips, this one flew by. It sure was nice to be with family for Thanksgiving again. We've missed that the past couple of years... And we are definitely grateful for much. It's hard to put it all in words. But the overwhelming conclusion is FAMILY and the precious time we get to spend TOGETHER, whether it's our own little family or our extended family.

My Target Girl

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Target. So, I had to smile when I had the following conversation with Audrey today:

Audrey: Put on jacket please.
Me: Why?
Audrey: I go bye-bye.
Me: Where are you going?
Audrey: The store.
Me: What store?
Audrey: I going to Target store!

Love it! We went to Home Depot yesterday and once we entered the store she yelled, "Home Depot". So, her daddy has her trained as well... :)