All About...

Noelle on Christmas morning:

Her favorite pasttime:

Her favorite dress:

Christmas Eve Documented

Steve shoveling our driveway at 7:00 AM:

More snow later on that morning:

But we don't care. It's cookie baking day! Bring out the flour and the rolling pins:

Noelle had fun wiping flour everywhere. (Check out the back of Lincoln's head.)

Steve in his apron looking cheesy:

Cheesier:

Cheesiest!

Noelle sampling a cookie:

After a quick romp in the snow and a change of clothes, it's time to decorate:

Mmm...

And later on that evening, there was an appearance made by...

Joseph and his donkey:

Mary and her baby:

The Angel:

The Wise Man:





And a shepherd watching over his flock.

(Though not necessarily in that order.)



"For unto you a child is born."






"O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant..."



Merry Christmas, everyone!

December 23rd Documented

Isaac in the early hours of the morning:

Took the kids to get dental exams at the hospital. (Yes, there is a dentist at the hospital. This is also where they perform oral surgery.) Here's where Steve works:

Lincoln: No cavities. Looking good.


Laura: One small cavity on a baby tooth that is ready to fall out. Not bad.



Isaac: Wipe that smile off your face, boy! You've got a cavity in your molar and that's going to require some drillin'.

But he got a free toothbrush, so all is well.





We came back home with enough time to put together these:

Part 2 of "How do your Christmas decorations rate?"

Here is a classic example of a house that rates a "Burl Ives" on our scale. Ironically, it is named the "Santa House".



There are three little houses in the yard with Santa scenes in them. This one even has a Santa movie playing inside:

Notice (in the background) all the Santas inside their house peeking out from the windows:

This is on the sidewalk in front of their house:

By contrast:

This is a picture of the house we saw last year that scored a "Scrooge" for only putting one string of lights on a single bush. This year, they went all out and decorated another bush, but we are still disgusted and refuse to raise them to the level of "Grinch".

I mean, what is that?

Greensleeves on the piano.

She is so excited to finally record this so that she can stop practicing it.

Annual Make Your Own Secret Fort Day

Celebrated every 23rd of December, "Annual Make Your Own Secret Fort Day" (founded by those same individuals who believe a good marriage is forged while playing "Sardines" and who also enjoy the occasional Sonic beverage: a mix of cranberry juice, root beer, bubble-gum flavor, and...I can't remember the rest) was introduced to us last year, and we think everyone should know about it.

The rules:

1. You must strip down all the bedding in at least one room--one with preferrably two beds, bunk beds being ideal for such an undertaking.

2. You must locate all the pushpins, safety pins, paper weights, packing tape, ropes, etc., and bring them to the designated fort room of choice. (Warning--you will probably find evidence of the fort weeks later, even after it has been taken down, when you step on a pushpin in the middle of the night.)

3. (Now this is very important, so pay attention.) Between the hours of 1:00 to 4:00 PM, proceed to build your fort, draping the bedding atop the furniture and fastening with the devices listed in rule #2.

4. Come on. You know you want to do it.

Here the kids are last year, in the "stripping" process:

Steve's "inner six-year-old" just can't resist:

Uncle Greg lending a hand:

"Fort Joy" caught on camera:

December Happenings

So far this December, we have:

1. Successfully survived the first ice storm of the year. Those not from the Midwest should note that while the ice looks beautiful on a tree (as pictured above), I personally fear the ice storms more than tornado season. (Anyone else in Iowa agree?)

2. Attempted to purchase something off of E-Bay. Never done that before...but where else are you going to find a used VHS copy of The Little Mermaid for only five bucks?

3. Gone two weeks without purchasing meat or cheese. Like everyone else, we're trying to see how much money we can save by cutting corners. Luckily kids enjoy spaghetti and pancakes and eggs n' toast. Too bad Steve's not such a fan.

4. Taken Isaac to get a flu shot (the last of the four to get it this season). And all I can say is: thank heavens for one brave kid! He didn't run and hide, didn't squirm, didn't whimper, didn't howl, didn't kick--which is more than I can say for his two OLDER siblings. We were in and out of there in fifteen minutes flat. A record.

5. Fallen asleep before 9:00 PM (the grown-ups) in our clothes, only to wake up at 3:00 AM with just enough energy to shut off the bedroom lamps and crawl under the covers, then to discover in the morning that we have left on all the Christmas lights, both inside and out. (Neighbors could probably watch for this phenomenon to occur at least once a week. I can just imagine the conversation: Heidi to husband, "Oh, look. It's 7:00 AM and the Fletcher's Christmas lights are still on. Must have fallen asleep in their clothes again. Hee hee.") And this is why we must go without meat and cheese--so that we can pay our exorbitant power bill.

6. Watched Prince Caspian and loved it.

7. Attended Laura's winter concert...she sings with the Iowa City Girls Choir.

8. Attended Steve's work Christmas party and didn't feel stupid the entire time.

9. Flossed more than usual. Steve made dental appointments for all of us for the end of this month and they are going to give both me and Laura an orthodontic evaluation. Boy, am I really looking forward to that. It should be super fun.

10. Can't afford meat or cheese...but I did spring for chocolate chips. Burning through a half a bag a day at this point. (Some people take Prozac. I take chocolate.)

Munchkin Birthday #2

Noelle's Big Day documented,

only without any actual pictures of the day, since we are still down one working camera:

"Mmm! Cusohlreosks!" (Translation: "Mmm! Cupcakes!")

She discovered her new-found love of these things:

She watched her favorite movie about 3 times:

She walked around in a pair of sequined high-heel dress-up shoes (a gift from our neighbors, and her favorite gift, at that.) She looooooves shoes!!!


And she learned the most important lesson of all:

That it was HER day.

When we told her that it was also her friend Bethany's birthday, she said, "No! MY birthday!"

(Is it possible, do you think, to spoil a child irredeemably in just one day? Maybe we ought to have set a two-time viewing Cinderella limit?)