Spa-ing with the Ladies, Thanks to the Hubbies!

Our small group girls got to spend a lovely weekend away at the spa in Lake Geneva thanks to the loving kindness of our sweet husbands.  They put together "invitations" for us to open, letting us know we were being sent away for some rest and relaxation, and also put together a gift basket filled with goodies to take to the spa. It also included roses for each of us with love letters attached for us to read when we arrived.  One, two, three...AAAAAWWWWWWWWWWW...

So we enjoyed a private spa room for a bit, followed by services for ourselves and then a terrific dinner.  We capped the night off with a hilarious game Kathy brought asking all kinds of questions.  These girls are lovely, funny, and obviously patient to put up with my goofiness!  :)

Special thank yous to our wonderful husbands for giving us a great time together and for loving us so much!  XOXOXO

Gymnastics!

Elena started taking gymnastics this winter, and has been having a blast!  She was quite nervous at first, thinking that she would be expected to take on the uneven bars like the big girls...TOO FUNNY!  She likes her coach and the neat things her class is getting to do.  mommy and Daddy are quite impressed that this is something that actually wears her out!!! ;)

I AM the Baby!

No words necessary...

We FINALLY have Snow!

It's been such a mild winter this year, so what joy it was to have some snow FINALLY in January...well, at least it was a joy to Elena.  ;)  Time to get the sled out and make snow castles and snow angels.  Elena even managed to get herself sledding all alone when Mommy finally pooped out...hehe!

Kohler!

With Christmas comes the annual trip to Kohler, and this year was just as special as every other.  I don't think I will ever tire of going to our honeymoon spot over and over again!  :)  We relaxed and enjoyed shopping and good food.  I am blessed beyond being married to Eric.  He is my best friend and my life with him is good. I love that we laugh at the same things, enjoy the same things, and most importantly love being with each other no matter where or what we're doing.  Thank you, Lord, for giving me someone so special.

Christmas Morning!

We started with the stockings...even the dog was excited about that!  Then headed to presents and "Christmas Poppers" filled with paper hats and prizes.  It was a quiet Christmas at home, but had family and trips to look forward to!

We praise the Lord for giving us the day of His birth on earth to celebrate, and humbly thank Him for the reason He came - the best and most important gift of all - He gave Himself for us!  Nothing compares to His sacrifice and love.

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Philippians 2:8-10 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth

Christmas Eve

We got to celebrate Christmas Eve at church first, and I must say as a mom of a very active and boisterous child, I was beaming with pride as all my worries of my child wanting to lead the service melted away as she sat quieter than a mouse, paying attention and soaking every moment up, right down to the candle light close.  That, I think, was a Christmas present from God.  ;)

We went home to have dinner and let Elena open one gift before Christmas - a matching American Girl Doll pajama set.  She and Lanie were stylin' that night!  :)

We read the last of the Advent calendar book, lit a fire and enjoyed hot cocoa...


Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Cuneo Museum Lights!

The Annual event of driving through Cuneo in Vernon Hills, listening to Christmas Music, enjoying coffees and hot chocolate, and looking at all the lights...never disappoints!  And this year, we got the snowman count right!!!  They hide snowmen through out the display and there's a little contest to see if you can find them all.  Good times!

Sock Dog

Diva likes stealing and chewing them much better than wearing them...believe it or not, she still had fun with this, too!

Elena Busy Preparing for Christmas!

I am way behind on blogging and trying to finally catch us up! 

Elena is very much the little decorator, hanging things up, baking, painting...basically anything festive is going to get done by those busy little hands.  So here are some pictures of her efforts!  :)

Open Gym Day!

Elena had a fun day of gym class open to the parents...I think Eric had more fun running with the kids in the last game than Elena!  Hhhhmmmm...running with kids...maybe not.  Could have been a tie!  We sure had fun watching them all "work out hard".

Who is that REALLY big kid in the back!?!?!?