Please vote!!

We are starting to re-decorate our living room. Considering painting the walls a soft sage color and getting a new loveseat to replace the old. Please use the voting buttons on the top right of the blog for which one you like better!! Any comments are welcome!!

Number One - Micro Suede
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Number Two - Tweed

Chicago Day #2

Whew. Tired. Who knew shopping in Chicago for two days could make you so tired?? Today we went BACK to the American Girl store simply for accessories. Outfits, shoes, matching shirts. It is so easy to spend money at this place!! Everything is so very cute. And just watching Carlie light up at everything just makes money seem very unimportant. We also had our "American Girl Lunch" today. You HAD to make reservations, you should have seen the lines!! Everything was pink, pink, pink. Each little girl was treated like a princess, right along with their dolls!

I thought mom would appreciate the pink, pink, pink Christmas trees in this picture. Notice Carlie and Clara's matching American Girl shirts. I got the same thing for Lucy and her "knock off" doll Kaitlyn.




Each doll got their own high chair and small tea cup and plate (which matched the walls, mind you...)




Okay, now this is just laughable. Each bathroom stall had a "doll hanger" made especially to hang your AG dolls while you went potty. Did I tell you this place was over the top?



This is Carlie waiting for the AG store to open. We were freezing with about 15 other little girls with their dolls in hand. It is so funny watching each little girl carry these dolls around!



All in all, this little birthday trip was awesome. I CANNOT WAIT to take Lucy. I even considered taking her for her 6th birthday, instead of waiting until her 7th. And then I already was thinking that I am inviting myself along when Stella and Millie go on their trip!! For me ... who all know is not a very "doll liking" girl - loved this trip. I hope I made some fun memories for many years to come!

Chicago Day #1

We made it to Chicago!! Special thanks goes to Grandpa's GPS..I think I know what I want for Mother's Day! The trip up went slower than expected due to some snow (was that forecasted??) But we arrived at the hotel just in time see Uncle Rich at the door. We started our visit at the Lego store, and then we convinced Uncle Rich that he should travel to the American Girl store - just for the doll. As you can see from the pictures "Clara" came into our family. We celebrated Clara's arrival at the Rain Forest Cafe. We are back to the hotel room enjoying the multiple outfits of Clara (thanks Grandma Ringger!) More tomorrow!

So Much To Tell

Oh my, oh my - where should I begin?? We have been so busy the last week, that it is hard for me to believe a whole week has went by! It was so fun for Carlie and Lucy to wake up last Saturday and find that God had blanketed the earth with snow. Jeff and the girls made a "snow family" for this occassion - Steve, Lulu, Amelia and Jackson were the names!



On to making our annual birthday cake for Jesus. This year I mistakenly bought RED lettering frosting instead of pink. It looked like we made a Halloween cake for Jesus! When I mentioned that the lettering looked like blood, Carlie very brillantly pointed out that "yes, mommy, Jesus was born to die on the cross for our sins, the red blood is that." What smart little girl I have.



This year Carlie was old enough to read the Christmas story from the Bible. Another tradition at our house. Listening to her read warmed my heart, and I could have asked for nothing more for Christmas. She even surprised Jeff and I with letters for Christmas. Can't I just freeze this age?




Onto presents!! Santa was very gracious to my girls this year. With pink trees in their rooms when they woke up to the DS to the Barbie horse. These pictures capture their excitement!







Onto the Gongaware's!! Again, Grandma Barb loves to spoil each and every one of her grandchildren. From Disney castles to Aprons to Snuggie's for all....I simply ask - where are we going to put all this stuff???





AND onto the Ringger's....phew!! More presents, more food, more fun, more love than we know what to do with!! Lucy had to pose with Grandma's decorations - who knew we'd match the occassion so nicely? And Carlie, Jeff and Lucy FINALLY got to meet Miss Millie. Carlie couldn't keep her hands off of her...not to mention Jeff!! He claims it didn't give him the baby itch....what do you think? The "stealing gift" game didn't go as roughly as mom envisioned, but I guess that happens when each gift is a keeper!!! Especially the fish with cash in it's mouth! The Kaitlyn doll (knock off the Amerian Girl doll) was the hit with Lucy. I see many hours of playing with that in the future.





Tomorrow Carlie and I leave for Chicago to get her American Girl doll. So the fun is not done yet!!!! Check back!

Fabulous Fun Friday ("FFF")

Oh what fun FFF is!! Friday night we started out our FFF with dinner at Toscani's with Grandpa Toad and Grandma Barb. We enjoyed delicious pasta and sausage rolls! With time to kill, we drove around and looked at the downtown Christmas lights (again), this time we got out and took pictures too. They turned out so cute for impromptu pictures!

Then onto Imagine School to watch Sophia play "The Grinch" in their school theatre. Job well done by such young kids. Sophia is very talented, and makes it look so easy. I love watching her grow in this area - so clearly she loves it so. Lucy was terrified to take her picture with her in the green make up, but eventually warmed up once Sophie talked (I don't think she believed it was her!)

To finish up our FFF, we drove through the Fantasy of Lights. We have never done this before, but we may have started a yearly tradition. So many lights - actually -31,734 lights to exact. The girls loved it, and so did we.

And to start off our Christmas break, God provided a beautiful blanket of snow this morning. The girls spent two hours out there already this morning making a "snow family." How can you be a Grinch with all this fun??

Lucy's Christmas Program

Pre-Concert Pictures


Lucy with her BFF, Delaney


Friday we had Lucy's Christmas Program. Jeff and I were joined by Grandpa Toad and Grandma Barb. Lucy was nervous to be in front of everyone, but once was on stage did wonderful...that is other than the nose picking that went on. I know everybody is watching their own child, at one point, it was obvious she had a "bat in the cave" - got it out - and then didn't know what to do with it! Oh the fun!

She also got sat beside a little boy, who - according to Lucy - was being mean to her the entire time and kept telling Lucy to "stop singing." We had to laugh because Lucy was clearly irritated by this little boy, but kept on singing while giving this kid the "mean eyes." That's my girl!

Remember the Side Pony Tail?

Yes, I know all the 80's styles are coming back. But I had to crack up this week when Carlie asked for me to "do a side pony tail." Remember those? She told me "all the girls in her class wear their hair that way." I had crazy flash backs for cheer camps and middle school. She walked with a bounce in her step all the way to her class that day. Future cheerleader, like for sure.