Guessing gifts

Michelle and Erik sent some fun Christmas stuff from Germany. One thing in particular caught the kids' eye when I put it under the tree because of its funny shape.

They wondered if it was a hat, or possibly a bowl. But of course it was a play thing....we're not quite sure what it is called....so far we call it "the blue thing you sit in."


They all tried it out, but Eliot played with it the longest. It's fun to sit in, and, I would imagine, good for your your abs too. If we get any snow this winter the older boys want to try sledding in it.

Tractor rides, rain and a bit of baking

Here is a shot Marlow yesterday, helping Joseph pack the van....sort of. As usual, it took forever to get everything packed so we could get on the road. But we made it, and are having a great time. I kind of forgot to take many pictures today, but got a few, mostly taken by other people using my new camera.



Eliot with Grandpa's hat on. We went on a tractor ride this morning -- technically we sat on a trailer and were pulled by the tractor, so we went on a "trailer ride." Eliot, especially, loves the tractor and wanted to go on another ride as soon as it was over. Unfortunately for him it rained all afternoon. But maybe tomorrow we'll get another chance.


Bailey wanted to try out my new camera (did I mention I got a camera for my birthday? I really like it a lot...I've just got to train myself to use it more) and took a lovely shot of sweet, happy Gemma.


Marlow and I enjoyed a little cooking in the newly remodeled kitchen. We made egg salad for lunch with some of the eggs from the chickens....they have a LOT of eggs here. And we made one of our favorite desserts that I generally make around Christmas: Rugelach (rug-a-la) from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest. It is a really yummy pastry with a sweet filling, and it is really easy to make -- try it.

So, I have a goal of posting a little something everyday... we have a goal... Joseph is going to help out on this one cause we made this resolution together. This should get interesting (actually my fear is that it won't be interesting), and hopefully I will get better at it....most of the time I don't really know what to say, but at least I'll have a picture or two to post. G'nite.

PJs

All five kids are in this picture....just barely, Gemma snuck in there in the bottom left corner. She has really been getting around with her army crawl. So, this is a shot of the four big kids in their new pjs from my Dad and Robyn (aka Grandpa and Zippy)....Gemma got some too, but the clothes she was wearing were clean and I have a policy about not changing a baby's clothes unless you absolutely have to.....and that is pretty frequent anyway.
Ok, so I am supposed to be packing for our trip tomorrow and it is after 1:00 am, so I better finish up. I just got distracted checking the weather to see exactly what kind of clothes to pack....one thing led to another and here I am posting on our blog....obviously I can get very sidetracked. Thankfully everyone else is asleep so I can pack uninhibited by children and Joseph is getting well rested so he will be able to drive while I sleep in the car -- ok, we are going on a road trip with five kids, maybe I won't actually get much sleep, but at least I won't have to drive.

Under the Sea

While we were in Georgia visiting the Nichols Grandparents, Aunts and Cousins, there were fish being painted in the kids' room by Aunt Kelly. Joseph's parents painted the room blue a while back, because we wanted to make it look like they were in the ocean. Kelly added the fish as a Christmas gift to the kids. I Love it.

The clown fish by the door. Clown fish have such beautiful color...and are very popular with children thanks to Nemo.


Marlow now has her own space in the room she shares with the boys. We took everything out of their closet and put her bed in there and hung a little shelf for her book and games.


A mermaid peeking in Marlow's little room.


A little blue guy by the towel rack behind the door. I love how he blends so nicely with the blue wall.

Ezra holding his breath "under water" and Asa "swimming" by my personal favorite: a crayon pony fish that is between their beds.

Merry Christmas

marlow and me

We have had a very nice Christmas. Most of us are still in our pj's and it is almost time for bed again. I am very thankful for my big, fun family today, who has had a great time playing together and other than a few lapses, has been very sweet to each other. We are blessed.