Our Insta-Week

All of my photos come from my phone this week!

Our Advent Tree!

All the boxes are stuffed with three chocolate candies 

as well as an activity for us to enjoy this Christmas season.

Dec. 1st:  A joke for the kids to guess.

"What do snowmen eat for breakfast?"

"SNOWFLAKES"

Dec. 2nd:  Decorate the kitchen window for Christmas.

Dec. 3rd:  Have dinner by candlelight.

Dec. 4th:  Pray for Tamene (the child we sponsor through World Vision)

and Ethiopia (the country where he lives). 

Dec. 5th:  Eat a candy cane.   

Dec 6th:  Make a list of 10 things that we're grateful for.

Bella wrote down the list.  The things that she didn't know 

how to spell, she just guessed!

tiyrswig = tire swing

ridbicks = ride bikes

joes = juice

watr = water

freds = friends

Dec. 7th:  Attend our town's Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

December 8th:  Attend a local church's living nativity.

Most of our activities are simple or are things that I looked up on the calendar ahead of time that I knew I wanted our family to do.  The idea isn't to create more busyness in this already busy time of year, but to be intentional with our time in order to make the most it.  The kids get so excited each evening when it's time to open another box.  Childhood memories in the making!

And lastly, Curtis loves to wear sunglasses, especially one particular pair with a missing lens. 

  

It sure takes some confidence (and some silliness too!)
to pull off this look!

Bella's Birthday Celebration

Bella chose our dinner destination on the eve of her birthday. Bobby's Burger Palace! That restaurant has become a favorite for our family.

We walked around a nearby mall after dinner and stopped by the fountain to throw some coins and make wishes.  Here she is at 6:52pm - the official moment she became a seven-year-old!

We came home to some cupcakes and presents.

And then watched a movie - her choice - Barbie:  The Princess and the Pop Star.

The next morning, party preps were in full swing.  Here is our little artist all ready for her Art Party!  The hat and apron were completely her idea. 

We held it in our church basement.  Such a perfect location for a party.

The first activity was the graffiti wall.

This is what it looked like in the end.

Then it was painting time!  Each child had an 8x10 canvas and some paint supplies.  The instructions:  paint something!  It was so much fun to see what each child came up with.

Graydon and Curtis participated too!

All the kids hard at work!  This was the most calm this room was for the next two hours.

We set them under the ping pong table to dry.  Such creativity!

Next up:  Pictionary! 

Time to sing to the birthday girl!

And of course, a pinata.

And absolute chaos!

No time for presents during the party, so she opened one up when everyone left.

And then took the rest back to the house!

She was quite the happy girl that evening.

All in all, a successful party!  Bella had lots of fun and that was my main goal.

The next day, she had another birthday treat in store.  Some friends from church took her to a local kid spa to get a pedicure and a manicure. 

Such a loved birthday girl!

Happy 7th birthday, Isabella!!!

Bella is 7!  When I look at her sometimes it amazes me that she is the same person as that tiny baby who entered our lives seven years ago.

Let's take a look back. . . 

 2005

2006

2007

 

2008

2009

2010

 

2011

We are so thankful to God for blessing us with her and are happy to celebrate her life today!

I glanced back at her birthday post from last year.  Many things are still the same.  She still loves to write and color in her many journals.  She still enjoys arts and crafts in all forms.  She still loves all things girly like Barbie, Strawberry Shortcake, and My Little Ponies.  But she's also discovered some new interests.  T-ball was a lot of fun for her this past spring and she's really excited to do it again this year.  And when summer arrives, she'll want to be in the pool as much as possible now that she can swim!

We're pleased with the fact that she looks forward to going to church on Sunday.  And when she's able, it's a treat for her to go to Daddy's office to work or attend special church services with him.  My special time with Bella comes during our girls' nights.  They usually involve a little treat and some shopping.  Both of us appreciate our girl time - especially because we are outnumbered by the boys in this house!   

Bella is doing great in school.  She's catching on to things really well and is making a lot of friends.  Of course, her favorite part of the school day is recess.  From what I hear, she spends a lot of time on the monkey bars.  Her hands sometimes have the blisters to prove it!     

Bella lost four teeth this past year - changing her appearance quite a bit.  She sure is growing up! And it's been our joy to watch.  :)

Happy birthday Isabella Marie!!!

The Holidays are Here

Some friends joined us for our Thanksgiving feast.  They were preparing a lot of the food, so I figured that I'd try to at least make the table look nice and festive.  Bella and I made the napkin holders together out of some fabric, string, and buttons I had in my craft stash.

After our friends arrived and our bellies were full, we sat at the table and enjoyed some nice conversation.  Then out of the corner of my eye, I looked through the dining room into the other end of the living room and this sight caught my attention. . .

What a mess!

Thanks to Google, some ice, a cotton cloth, and a hot iron, we got this all cleaned up.

And that's all the photos I took from our Thanksgiving day.

Friday arrived and we had some hunting in store - Christmas tree hunting!  This was our first time ever getting a real tree. 

We found our very own Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

Here's one that caught our eye. 

This is it!!!  We found our tree!!!

The boys were pretty interested in the farmer cutting down the trees.

When we finished picking out our tree, the kids took advantage of the farm's play equipment.

All loaded up and ready to go!  Such a fun day.  :)

And here's our tree in the living room.  It looks so much bigger in here than it did at the farm!

Bella was so excited to decorate the tree.  She even put the ribbon bow in her hair so that she'd look like a present.

Christmas music played in the background.  The kids each put up their own ornaments.  Decorating the Christmas tree is always such a special family time.  And this year - we got to do it twice.  Just after getting into bed on Saturday evening, we heard a CRASH!  Andy went downstairs and, sure enough, our beautifully decorated tree fell over!  We secured it for the night and then Andy fixed it the next day.  But all that meant that at least half of the ornaments needed to be rehung!  So I put the Christmas music on again and went to it.  Now I am happy to say that our tree is up, decorated, and secure!

Between the melted candle and the down Christmas tree, we've had enough holiday bloopers for the week!