sneaux day!!!!

wow...i can't believe that we got a "louisiana sneaux day" already this year!!!! of course, the weathermen got us all pumped up about 2-4 inches of accumulation and we may have gotten 2-4 millimeters...but nonetheless, we got a snow day out of it...and we enjoyed it immensely!!!!

we all piled up in our bed (while ava took her nap) to watch a movie and anxiously await the snowfall...which we thought would NEVER come! much to our delight, however, it did in fact snow...for about 10 minutes!!!!!

we geared up in outfits that would have been suitable for minnesota (thanks to some neighbors who let us borrow their daughter's small stuff!) and headed out for some "louisiana style sledding"!!!!! definition: sliding around on some dead grass that has a few granules of frozen rain stuck to it...but super, super, super fun for all the "little people" on albany! the big people wished we could have had a turn on the sled...but we just pulled it...and tried to make up for the fact that my mouth was chewing for the vast majority of the day!!!!

after frost bite was ensuing, the girls went down to the neighbors to enjoy some hot chocolate and cookies!

we feasted on tacos for dinner and watched "ramona & beezus"...which makes me cry hard...every. single. time. i. watch. it! it hits me in one of my soft spots...and i just can't help it!!!

the girls were pooped from playing so hard outside so they hit the hay pretty early and jeffrey and i watched "date night"!!!! hilarious...we loved it...and enjoyed the laughs!!!!

as much as we were all hoping to wake up to a winter wonderland...we did not...but we made the most of our day at home! the girls had a friend over to play and then i took them to see "tangled"...again! there wasn't much playing but we felt like seeing a movie and this one is just precious!!!! after a quick milkshake pickup on the way home...it was back to reality!!!!

here's to hoping that the sequel arrives soon...and brings some SNOW!!!!!

he is many things...

most would call him their friend. some would call him their employee. one would call him her husband.

three would call him their favorite.

they would call him daddy.

what a day...

the girls woke up at about 7:30 on christmas morning...but we had already prepared them for the fact that ava would probably need a little bit more sleep!!!! i love that they are so patient about their baby sister's needs...they climbed into our bed and we watched 2 christmas shows waiting for her to finally wake up...

they were really sweet about it and only asked a few hundred times when we could go into the living room!!!!!

the smallest little finally woke up and we had to take our obligatory "top of the stairs" pic...for posterity!

then we do the same things every year...jeffrey goes into the living room with the video camera and makes the girls crazy with all of his "oohing & ahhing"...and then we finally let them bust in to see their haul! this year santa was very practical (which is all this momma could take!)! ella got an art table, some art supplies, and a caboodle with make-up (ok...maybe everything wasn't practical!!!). maddie got a bike and helmet and ava got a wagon and a new baby doll!!!!!

they were so excited! it truly is so much fun watching christmas through their eyes...and i can literally feel exactly what i felt when i was their age! to see that wonder just makes me so happy...

after we did "santa", mom, dayne, and brooke came over to eat a big breakfast with us...and just relax! we stayed in our pajamas and just watched the girls go through their new things over and over again! as you can see in some of the pics, maddie was given a rather vibrant makeover!

it was a super fun day...spent with my favorite three little people...whom i love more than any gift i could ever receive on christmas...

my heart overflows...

and that lasts all year.

ella discovering that santa did in fact leave her some make-up!!!

maddie helping ava love on her baby

sweet sisters

i could eat this face with a million spoons!!!

ella & maddie with grandpa!

all the girls with honey & grandpa...notice maddie's cheeks!!!!

christmas eve festivities...

wow...i can't believe that christmas 2010 is in the record books..."history" as ella said.

our tree is already down (which is unheard of for us...but it was either that or risk another story that read more like "price fire of 2010") and all other decorations are packed away in the attic...waiting for next year...that i know all too well will be here before we know it.

i told the girls at dinner tonight, as they were exclaiming how excited they were for christmas to get here AGAIN!, that i can already imagine how much bigger they will seem next year...

*sigh*

but for now, i need to focus on how great christmas was this year!

christmas eve was so much fun! we started off with a fun dinner at carmen's house and then we headed home to make sure we had enough time for all of the "hoopla" that occurs in preparation for the big day!!!!!

all the girls got into their jammies and then we sprinkled our reindeer food on the lawn and front porch to make sure rudolph and his buddies knew just where to find us!

next it was time to prepare the snack for jolly ole' st. nick! i always let the girls decide what we're going to leave...and this year they insisted on angel cookies and milk!

after that the girls get to open one "shared" gift! this year i got them one of those recordable books about the first christmas...and we "listened" to me reading to them! i think they really liked it...and i would like that to be one thing we add to the list of christmas eve rituals!!!!

by this point, the girls were getting antsy that santa was going to pass us by if they weren't asleep yet (and the elves were getting nervous that they were going to get really sleepy!!!)...so we tucked them in tight and looked forward to spending christmas day together...in our pj's!

to be continued...

the children were nestled all snug in their beds...

ella wrote several letters to "leggy" this year asking if she could touch him...each time he replied that he was still a young elf and needed to keep his magic! however, these little elves showed up in their beds just in time for christmas eve...spent christmas day with us...and could be touched and cuddled all day long!!!!!

the girls thought it was great! any friend of "leggy's" is a friend of theirs...and these were girlies too!!!!

ella named hers "sparkle" and maddie's is named "emily"...ava's elf remains unnamed...until she's old enough to do so!!!!

rudolph the red nosed cupcake!

brooke made these cupcakes for her student workers and i thought they were SO cute! i was desperately trying to find a reason to make them...without having to feel forced to eat all of the finished product! when we found out our sweet friends, the hables, were coming to eat dinner with us...the girls and i got busy!!!!!

they were super yummy...and of course, made even more so by the "adorable cuteness"...and yes, redundancy is needed here!!!!

here is what you'll need for these little guys...a boxed cake mix, chocolate icing, mini vanilla wafers, red m&m's, white candy pieces (we used reeses pieces), black decorator's gel, tootsie roll midgees, pretzels...and a lot of hungry cupcake eaters!

these will definitely be a christmas staple around our house...mostly because i just think reindeer are so darn cute!!!!

our little performers...

yet again this christmas, we got to enjoy our little ones during their holiday performances at each of their schools! we couldn't take pictures at ella's (therefore, i don't have any pictures of her performing)...but they both did such a great job!

ella had a "solo" along with 2 other children...a precious stanza before the beginning of "silent night"! she was a little bit nervous but did very well...we were obviously proud!!!! as usual, i had to force back the ugly cry during "happy birthday, jesus"...all those sweet little voices singing such a sweet little song always proves to be a little much for this mush pot!!!!!!

maddie did a great job too! i was told beforehand by her music teacher and mrs. rose that maddie knew every word...and liked to sing loudly!!!!! i wish i could freeze her tiny little mouth and those pronounced lips...she looks like one of those "caroler" dolls...

our little "singing sparrow"...always and forever a song in her heart!

i love that every little person singing is super special to someone...lots of pride fills these sanctuaries!!!!

our sweet girl #2

even though this one is blurry...i love it

madeline with sweet mrs. ellisor

maddie with one of her favorite peeps...parker!!!

my girls...and their proud mommy