Babies' First Christmas

Josephine Sychra and her wild hair . . .

Jennifer Shayne and her beautiful eyes . . .

Pretty adorable, if you ask their mother.

Christmas Morning

The girls were thrilled to walk in and see the Barbie house. And Joni was so sad it wasn't hers.
Santa brought us girls a "like" package. Had to be opened at the same time.

Josie sitting on her highchair. It became even more useful after we opened it up!



It just occurred to me that I never took a picture of the front of the house. I was video taping, but never took a picture. And I wish you could have seen how crazy the front yard must have looked to passersby seeing us out in our pajamas jumping on the trampoline . . . and the poor swing set being ignored.

Christmas Eve Part II

Mark and Missy put in two rounds of church - one right after another (Greenfield and Massena) - so they could attend with both families. That's really cool. Thank you. Missy, you look so tiny next to him.
Gracie outfitted in the adorable clothes Missy got for her. All the girls looked adorable in what Missy got them.
The sweet outfits Eddie and Jessie got for the twins. Sooooo cute! I'm in love with them in these jeans.

T'was the Night Before Christmas

Mom trying to do horns . . . it's such a fine art.

Jessie lookin' hot and feelin' bad 'cause Eddie wasn't there.
There's nothing sweeter than watching Mark with the girls. That's Jennie's checks he's playing with.
My beautiful babies right after mass. They had to get pictures taken before they could open up presents and it was a killer.

Happy Bday Joni!!

What you don't see is her missing the egg and it splattering on Mom. And what you don't see is Ann nailing it just like the pro. I catch eggs like it's my job.
Joni had a major failure during her shot attempt. Not Justin.
Jessie pretends she has no idea how to do this. I'm not buying it. Of course, I'm busy with my own.
You know it's a party when Dad is in on the horns. Choo! Choo!

Church Program in Massena

Gracie had her church program in Massena, and it was great. It reminded me of what our programs used to be like . . .only much better. My pictures from the actual program didn't turn out well, but she was a beautiful angel.

Christmas in Atlantic

Everyone knows that the mall Santas are simply helpers. But in Atlantic . . .well, he's the real deal. And when it's for real, it's enough to make a certain 4-year-old a little nervous. Standing next to the magic man and all.
The crew outside of Santa's cabin.
The horse-drawn wagon ride down main street was beautiful.

I think this is Jennie at the Dime Store. Can't say for sure.

So everyone did the annual trip to Atlantic to see Santa. And it was a smashing success. Never underestimate the importance of tradition. We all piled into the log cabin and laughed and laughed. I teared up watching Santa with the twins. He said it made his Christmas. It made mine, too. New this year was the wagon ride. Usually we go on a Thursday night, so it was cool to do that. Then the jewelery store - which I'm a bit overwhelmed by. That Oprah, really. Then the dime store, and the infamous story about a large pop - a story we'll probably always remember, or at least hear about. Then to the nursing home and dancing with old people and Santa. That was fun. And a reminder not to ever get old. Then onto the Redwood. I love that place. I love doing that whole day every year. It's truly real there. Truly is.

My Dentist Loves Me

And it's not just a fancy little saying on a sticker.

I Love That They Love The Fact That I Am Ridiculous

At Thanksgiving, I was writing on Mom's infamous bank calendar, filling in all the important events happening in December - the Christmas programs, Christmas in Atlantic, Joni's birthday . . .and the 9th was about the only open day. So I wrote it was my birthday. Grace saw this and called me out. I told her it was my half birthday. And instead of doing the math and figuring out that it wasn't, she decided to go with it and threw me a party complete with singing Happy Birthday, presents and hand-written cards. But my favorite part is that they made me breakfast - all my favorite things . . . Oreo cakes for eyes, a kolache for a nose and a cherry candy cane for a mouth. And don't forget the pepsi for the hair. I have to say, I love that they know what I love :) It was the best birthday ever! (Then Grace took a picture of Shane and I on our "after church" drive. Another one of my favorite things!)

A Photo Essay - Cutting Down the Tree

Despite the freaky cold weather, the girls had a blast on the snowmobile. They rode all the way down to Larry's to cut down the tree for Billy's. (In the background.) Mom spotted the perfect tree this fall while hauling corn.
Shane cutting down the tree . . . Mark "helping." They threw it in the back of the pickup, and as Shane was whipping the truck around in the snow, it must have fallen out of the back. We were halfway out of the field before we realized it. Grace thought that was really funny :)
So we thought in the field that it looked a little taller than it is . . .! But still perfect. Shane and I screwed with the crappy lights on Saturday night, and admitted defeat.
The twins in front of their first Christmas tree at Billy's. Every time Shane walks in he says, "It smells like cat pee in here . . ." It's not Christmas until the house smells like cat pee.

The Upcoming Wedding

After the concert Grace, Faith, Missy, Jessie, Josie, Jennie and I went to the mall to do Build-A-Bear . . . a gift from Missy for Grace and Faith's birthdays.

And it was adorable. Faith picked out a pink bear with a bride's outfit . . .and named her Faith . . .her favorite name. Grace made a rock-star poodle, which she named Avery. They had so much fun, and I feel like a bad mother because I never even let them walk into that store before.

On the way home, they were planning a wedding for "Faith." I guess they were working on the guest list, because Missy was invited.

This morning, I asked when the wedding will be held and they told me it's tonight. I asked Faith (the child) who Faith (the stuffed animal) was going to marry. And she looked at me very strangely and said, "Nobody. Just Faith is getting married."

The thought crossed my mind that perhaps I should explain the concept of a wedding to her, but then I realized . . . she just may be on to something . . .

P.S. And in other unrelated, related news . . . Missy, it humored me that I embarrassed you last night at Dillard's. But really, how would I know if the ensemble worked if I didn't do an imaginary fitting? And how else would I attract the attention of the "old" guy? The hunt continues, but I do appreciate the full family participation in the quest.

Christmas in Any Language

Grace's teacher.

Our family following the concert.

Mark and Missy at Grace's desk.

Joni and Mark reading Grace's persuasive piece on why her turkey shouldn't be eaten on Thanksgiving . . ."there's fetters in my meet."

I know my children are well cultured thanks to the influences of their aunts (and their peeps) but really, I have to say, even I was impressed that Grace can sing "Silent Night" in Italian and "Jingle Bells" in Japanese. Can your kid do that? No, I didn't think so. Eddie, you would have been so proud that Grace also was involved with the Feliz Navidad portion of the entertainment.

I am alway impressed by Grace's ability to shine. She really is quite polished and articulate. And lovely. Mom called her a "rose in a weed patch." She did her lines and we all nodded our heads, and looked at each other, as if to silently say . . ."Perfection."

Other highlights . . .
*Shane's brotha from a different motha.
*The out-of-control maraca.
*The bathroom urgency - which I'm convinced was part of the performance, added for comic relief.
*Explaining who "Craig" is to Dad, and why craig has a list.

But honestly, thank you all for coming. It's really cool that you guys love those little girls, and they were so happy you all were there.

In other news - Mark . . .awesome coat - it's better than butter.

"Operation Craig" was a massive success. Sounds like it was a bonding experience for the men involved.

A Subtle Reminder for All My Girls . . .

"Comes the Dawn"

After a while you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn
that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is
too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down
in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn...

Author Unknown

Typical Weekend Look