Family time...

Doug took a personal day today so we could spend a special day with the girls.  Disney on Ice is back in Syracuse this year and we snagged cheap tickets again through the Disney Movie Club.  I think we are as excited to go as the girls are!  My camera is packed, clothes are laid out and alarms are set.  We are meeting a good friend of ours and his kids for breakfast beforehand and then heading to the show.  I hope you all have an awesome day!

So thoughtful!

After having the privilege of watching twins for a friend at church, their mom now has the ability of staying home with her little ones.  As a thank-you, Beth brought the girls a gift on the last day we had the twins.  Tie blankets!  They were a huge hit and the girls LOVE them!  I also got spoiled with a blanket and a bag.  It was very thoughtful and I'm super excited to be able to spend more time with them on coffee/play dates!  

The girls loved that they had a part in making these awesome blankets.

They turned out sooo cute!

Well that was fun...

This morning I let the dogs outside, and Beaker was super anxious to get in the house.  She was crying and carrying on.  So I opened the door to let her come in with me only to catch a glimpse of her as she walked through the doorway with a tail hanging out.  I tried to get her to come back in the garage, but she wasn't having it.  I started praying that the thing was dead...naturally I couldn't be so lucky.  Beaker was just looking for a warmer place to play with her catch!  UGH...  She lost it in the heaters twice and I thought about letting Chloe in to finish it off.  I was afraid she wouldn't be as successful in retrieving it out of the heaters and I didn't want to have to do it, so I tried to be patient.  Beaker finally got it out for the second time and set it on the carpet again.  I grabbed a bowl to put over top of it till I could come up with a better plan, but chickened out.  The bowl was too small and I would have to get too close to it.  I found a bigger bowl and tossed it over the mouse....of course the thing moves and I get the bowl half on the mouse.  Darn thing!  The whole time I'm trying not to have a panic attack.  I finally get it readjusted...now to find out how to get it out of my house.  I slid a piece of card stock paper under the bowl.  The bowl was too big for me to flip it myself.  I finally convinced Marissa to help me.  Together we got it and I moved it to the garage.  Beaker didn't seem to want to finish the job...maybe because she already had.  I wasn't going to get that close to find out for sure.  So I carried it across the street.  It never moved so I think I'm safe from it returning!  What a morning.  Madalyn sat on the couch the whole time informing me that I needed to get rid of it before Aunt Beth came with the twins because she doesn't like mice and then questioning why I didn't take a picture of him after I had disposed of him.  LOL  Some help she is!
On the plus side to all of this...We have a mouser again!  Beaker hasn't caught a mouse since Cali died and she did 3/4 of the mousing was she was here.  I didn't want to revert to traps, but I wasn't sure Beaker was ever going to pull her weight.  Now I don't have to worry :) 

Christmas posts will start tomorrow.  I have quite a bit of pictures to edit today :)  I hope you all have a great one! 

 Beaker is crying to come back in again...Lovely!!!

....

Today is Christmas with my parents so I'm going to skip the blogging today...

Back to regular scheduled posts Monday :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Today is Christmas for our family and then Doug's family will be joining us later on.

I hope you are all enjoying some time with family and friends...remembering the true meaning of Christmas and thanking Him for coming here just for us!

Outside pictures as promised :)

Ok, so maybe they are a day late ;)  OOPS!  Yesterday slipped away before I realized that it was never posted!  I know you will all forgive me!

So we don't go over board outside either.  We outline the roof and peaks with lights and wrap the poles.  Unfortunately its hard to see from the picture but it was snowing  really hard to get a picture of anything other than that!  

Usually I have a home made snowflake that I hang on our front door but this year we bought a real wreath.  I like it!

Merry Christmas Eve!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I thought I would share what the inside of our house looks like all Christmasified :)  

I can't wait for Christmas!  I love this time of year!  Presents are wrapped, house is decorated, grocery shopping is done, just have to make some cookies and we are all set!

Stay tuned for some outside pictures tomorrow! :)

Gifts in the mail :)

The other day the girls got an unexpected letter from Grandma and Grandpa Geiger in the mail.  They were so excited to find a little craft inside!  I planned on taking pictures of them decorating the ornaments, but it didn't happen...so this is what you get ;)

I set them up with a plate with primary colors and let them go to town.  They took their time, used their imagination, and had a blast doing it!  

This one is Madalyn's...

This one is Marissa's... She even mixed colors to make purple!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Winter Wonderland

Saturday morning we woke up to an awesome scenery... according to Madalyn "It looks like Elsa has been here!"

The ice/snow combination might not be fun to drive in, but it sure is pretty!

I'm drawing a blank...

I have ideas for a blog post this morning, but I'm lacking the pictures to do it ;(  I guess I'll add that to my to do list today.  Yesterday was a rough day... between school and just feeling overwhelmed, I'm really just hoping for a better day today!  Doug is home the rest of the week in the evenings...it will be late, but I'll take it!  I hope you all have a great day... tomorrow I'll be back all caught up and ready for a good blog post ;)   

Conversations with a 9 year old...

Driving in the Pilot the other day with the girls and the dogs after dropping off Scentsy, we got talking.  Madalyn was surprised to know this person wasn't married.  Marissa asked if she was ever going to get married.  I told them I didn't know.  She might be waiting, or she might not have that desire.  She might be totally happy living by herself with her two cats.  Marissa pipes up from the back, informing me that she has been thinking... "Mom, if God really wants me to grow up and own a doggie day-care, I don't think I should get married and have kids because then I will have double the work!"  LOL  I laughed and then reminded her that as long as she is doing what God wants for her life, she will be happy.  He is the only one who knows what is best for us.  

Madalyn adds in, "Even if He ends up wanting you to be a Farmer!"  LOL  I love my girls and I'm so thankful for their growing relationship with the Lord.  

A bond that can't be broken...

These two are tight...and I love it!  

What better way to take a nap, than curled up with your puppy :)
(Both are snoring LOL)

A special day with my love ;)

Last Saturday, Doug and I got our annual away time with just the two of us.  Dairy One's Christmas Party was in the evening, so Doug's Mom and Dad took the kids and dogs for us and we headed to Syracuse in the morning.  For the past three years we have been with Dairy One, we decided to make a full day of this trip.  It's tough to get Christmas shopping done when you have the girls with you, so this was our perfect chance!  We always start off with lunch at Olive Garden with their soup, salad and breadsticks.  Then we head to Destiny USA and hit up the Disney Store and a few other stores.  Christmas shopping was finished minus their stockings before we went shopping and usually we can accomplish their stockings no problem.  This year everything seemed a lot more expensive.  We ended up getting two things from the mall, did a bunch of window shopping, and then opted for another store.  We stopped at Starbucks on the way out of Syracuse and then headed for Ithaca.  We finished up our shopping at Target.  After driving home last year after the Christmas Party, we decided to spend the night this year.  So once we had finished the last of the shopping, we headed to the hotel to get dressed.  We had a blast at the party as usual.  The music is always a little loud, but the food and company is amazing!  The head boss (who is 3 up on the chain from Doug's boss) and his wife met us at the door, gave us a big hug and asked how things are going.  They said they have been praying for us and the house, the traveling, everything....praying for God's will.  I'm so grateful that Doug works for a company that he is prayed for.  I think that is pretty cool!  We topped our night off with a relaxing night at the hotel.  I'm so thankful for the time we had.  It made for a rougher week this week, seems to be the way that works, but it was well worth it!  I can't wait for next year! ;)

Someone is 1!!!!

I can't believe it's been over a year already since we picked up this puppy in Ohio on our way down to Louisiana!  When we got her she was about 25lbs and 15 inches at the shoulder.  She was the same height as Chloe and the sweater we bought her to keep her warm outside, Chloe now uses!  LOL

At 1 year old, Molly is 32 inches at the shoulder and is weighing over 100lbs.  I don't have an exact weight for her because I can't pick her up and get on the scale anymore!  LOL

She is an amazing dog and fits into our family perfectly, even Chloe loves her!  She is spoiled rotten,  sleeps in bed with us, is still in the chewing phase and is still kenneled when we leave the house.  

Happy Birthday Molly!