Christmas Day

"This was the BEST Christmas ever!!!"

said by one very happy little girl, but we could not agree more.

After a wonderful Christmas eve, we were all excited for Christmas morning 

to see what surprises Santa would leave for us . . .  

As a rule, we always go downstairs as a family on Christmas morning so no early peeking!

What we found was that Santa had set up all of the kiddos gifts from Christmas eve, had the cookies and milk, filled stockings and left the much anticipated gifts!

Eli asked for only two things and boy was he consistent . . . a Neverland Pirate Ship and Dinoco Lightning.

Santa did not disappoint!  Eli went straight for his pirate ship and Lukey went straight for Dinoco Lightning!!!

We didn't see that coming :-) 

 Fortunately, Eli was so into the pirate ship, Lukey was able to drive Dinco Lightning everywhere!

Alli asked for a jewelry box and sewing box from Santa and was pleased with both,

but her greatest joy was her big present from Mommy & Daddy . . . an iPod touch with headphones.

She was over the moon happy with her very own "phone" as she calls it.

Mommy even put her favorite song on there, Firework ~ doesn't get much better than that!!!

She can play games, listen to music and watch movies ~ life is good!

Alli was so happy she kept hugging and thanking us, then giggling saying "I just can't stop saying thank you!"

AWESOME! 

After playing for a bit, it was time to open the stockings.

Lukey of course had one too but wouldn't pose for a photo ;-)

Our kiddos LOVE their stockings, as do we, but we always chuckle because Santa is very practical.

The stockings always have toothpaste, toothbrushes, bath color tabs and combs/brushes.  

They get so excited by their new toothbrushes and toothpaste!!!

Of course, they also love the candy, mittens and other little odds and ends :-)

After stockings, it was time for our Christmas breakfast, another hit!!!

This year, our biggest excitement during breakfast was watching it snow!!!!

YES, we got a WHITE CHRISTMAS!

I don't know who was more excited, me or the kids.

As soon as breakfast was over, Lukey went down for a nap and the bigs got in their snowsuits.

Snow angels, snow ball fights, driving in the snow and a snowman = FUN, FUN, FUN!
We only got about 2 inches and it didn't stick around too long but made for a perfect Christmas day.

Late in the afternoon, we headed over the Fisher's for Christmas dinner.

A great time was had by all!!!

The kiddos crashed hard after dinner and are so excited to spend the next two weeks playing hard!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree . . .

How lovely are your branches!

This year, it was pouring down rain and freezing so we picked a tree quickly :-)

Lukey was stuck on Mommy's back so no pictures of him but he enjoyed his candycane!

 

We had to wait a few days before we could decorate given our hectic holiday schedules,

but by Sunday night, we were ready and started decorating once Lukey was down for bed.

{I know, the poor guy misses all the fun ~ maybe next year!}

The bigs did a great job decorating . . .

Once the ornaments were on, it was time for the star and Eli was over-the-moon excited that it was finally his year to place the star on the top of the tree!!!

He has now informed Ducky Gramma that she needs a star for her tree,

and that she must lift him up to put it on the top for her :-)

Alli and Eli were so proud of their finished, beautifully decorated tree!

Lukey was impressed the next morning but really hasn't shown much interest in the ornaments.

Eli on the other hand must be reminded a couple times each day not to touch!



Santa Visits 2012

Like years past, we headed to the Log Cabin to see Santa and Mrs. Claus.

 All three munchkins did great and were happy to visit with and tell Santa what they wanted.

The two bigs have not waivered a bit, especially Eli . . . Dinco Lightning and Neverland Pirate Ship.

Sure hope Santa doesn't disappoint :-)

Then, a week later, we saw Santa and Mrs. Claus again at Barbie Gramma's house!!!

The kiddos were so excited to see Santa again and whisper in his ear what they wanted :-)

 What a fun visit once again!

Okay, so maybe Lukey wasn't quite as excited as his siblings . . .

Very fun to see Santa both times!

Can't wait until next year . . .



Alli lost a top front tooth!

It came out on its own tonight when this cutie took a bite of a Costco hot dog.
We have a very proud little gal who is quite excited for Toothetina to visit this evening!

Go Cougs!

Such a fun Apple Cup today with new friends!

Both kiddos had a blast playing and

G LOVED watching his Cougs make a big come back to win in overtime ;-)

Gotta love these sweet girls who can have fun while rooting for rival teams.

Happy Turkey Day!

Our Thanksgiving started early thanks to our littlest Turkey,

but we are so thankful for the fun family time with these three,

each doing something they love . . . 

    We pray you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family!

G is for Grandparents . . .

This {short} week was "G" week in Alli's Kindergarten class

and what better way to celebrate the letter G than to have 

Grandparents' Day

 Alli was over the moon excited to have all five of her living grandparents/great grandpa

visit her class today for a presentation and craft time!

Alli's class sang the most precious Grandparent song to the tune of Take Me Out to the Ballgame

{These were a couple shots I took of them practicing before the grandparents arrived}

After singing a number of songs and doing the alphabet in sign language,

the grandparents got to help the kiddos make hand turkeys with ABAB patterned feathers.

Alli was so sad when it was time for her five special guests to leave, and shed a few tears.

Fortunately, Mommy {the class photographer of the day} was able to stick around long enough to get her smiling :-)

What a great opportunity for both Alli and her grandparents.

She loved showing them her classroom and I think they all enjoyed seeing her in action.

What a blessing it is for all of our kiddos to have 

all of their grandparents (AND a great grandpa!) living so close.  

Thank you Ducky Gramma & Papa

 Barbie Gramma & Barbie Pop Pop

and Great Pop!

You all made Alli's day!

Two years ago . . .

We learned that our surprise baby Wrinkle no longer had a heartbeat. 

G was in Minnesota for work so I was on my own.

The pain was something I thought would never go away.

I still often think about Wrinkle and wonder what life would be like if we had met him/her.

But I truly believe Wrinkle is the reason we have Lukey.

I believe God was preparing our hearts to welcome Luke into our family.

Neither G or I thought we wanted three children and were in shock two years ago.

We came around and fell in love after seeing Wrinkle on ultrasound,

But the fear was there and we cannot erase what was said or felt that first night. 

I would give nearly anything to go back and change my initial reaction to Wrinkle,

but I cannot.

  I can only be grateful for God's forgiveness and pray someday I forgive myself.

The instant I saw Luke, I knew everything happened the way as it should.

Luke completes our family in a way we cannot explain - and we all feel that way.

He is so loved and wanted.  I am so grateful for the gift of Luke.

And I am grateful that God sent us Wrinkle.

On Luke's first birthday, I once again saw the most beautiful rainbow

 and felt completely at peace, knowing our family is complete.

Today is still hard but also a day when I can reflect on love and forgiveness.

I am also looking forward to the day when I will meet Wrinkle.

A weekend away . . .

This weekend, G and I enjoyed a much needed vacation at The Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach. 

This was our third visit there and it was as amazing as the first two trips! 

 We enjoyed incredible food, amazing views of the ocean and fabulous massages. 

We read books, relaxed and completely enjoyed our uninterrupted conversations. 

We missed the munchkins but knew they were having a great time - the bigs had a fabulous time with Miss Kaitlyn and Lukers loved his time with Gramma and Papa. 

We returned home recharged and rejuvenated!

Halloween 2012 - Neverland Fisher Style :-)

This year, the kiddos shocked us by announcing that they wanted to be Peter Pan and Wendy Darling.

Thankfully, my sewing skills were good enough to make these costumes!

Fleece is such a forgiving fabric and perfect for our chilly, WA Halloweens ;-)

Although Eli wanted Lukey to be a "mini Peter Pan" we bought a lion costume and called him a "Lost Boy"

Alli and Eli loved their costumes ~ Luke, not so much ;-)

They had a blast at our church's Trunk or Treat the Saturday before Halloween.

Both A & E won a yummy cupcake at the cake walk, loved the fishing and the bean bag toss game.

Luke just enjoyed crawling around . . . he was worn out by the end and zonked in the car!

On Halloween, Daddy and Uncle Z took A & E trick or treating around the neighborhood.

Thankfully, the horrible rain let up for the 30 minutes they were out there,

it started back up within 5 minutes of them returning home!

After trick or treating, they decided it was just as much fun to hand out candy.

Lukey LOVED helping me hand out candy and even snagged himself a dum dum sucker.

He was definitely a fan!

Great Halloween and we now have loads of candy, which acts as a great incentive for eating dinner ;-)