Christmas Recap

We had another fantastic Christmas to wrap up 2012! Mady participated in her first Christmas program this year. She went from asking if she could skip it to singing the song at the top of her lungs to prepare. She was a little more subdued in front of the crowd, but still did a good job and was adorable as always:-)



We took full advantage of still having a school break for Christmas and headed down to Dan and Lisa's about a week before Christmas. We spent five days with everyone there and enjoyed lots of good family time. It snowed the first night we were there and we enjoyed playing outside a couple of times. This was the first time Mady really loved playing in the snow. It was fun watching her play and goof around.



Drew was a little more hesitant about the snow. Walking around on his own was an accomplishment for him.



His day was made, however, when he got to go for a ride in the tractor with Papa Danny. This led to him telling anyone who would listen over the next couple of weeks, "Papa tractor snow!" He loved it.



The other thing the kids loved was playing with the Hex bugs that Danny got. They couldn't get enough of them. And aside from the black one resembling a roach a little too closely, I thought they were pretty cool too.



We tried getting a good picture of the kids together, but waiting until the last morning was probably not the best idea. This was the best I could get.On a related note, when we were in Blencoe this past weekend Drew kept walking over and sitting on the fireplace saying cheese. I guess we've tried to take quite a few pictures in this spot.



We went bowling with the whole Stanislav family. This was the first time our kids have gotten to bowl. They had fun with it for sure, but Drew was a little too eager and didn't want anyone else to get a turn. Also, I bowl much better with the kid guards up.





We came back to Orange City on Christmas Eve, and after doing Christmas morning at home we went to my parents' house and enjoyed the day with the Adams family. Between present opening and playing, eating good food, watching movies, and relaxing, it was a fun day.



Mady got flamingo slippers and fairy pajamas. She's pretty pumped about them. She loves flamingos and has been telling me for a few months now that she wants to have a flamingo princess party for her birthday. I haven't quite figured that one out yet. I suppose we will do okay as long as everything is pink!



We went down to King's Pointe Resort in Storm Lake, IA, for a fun night away at an indoor water park. The resort was really nice and the facilities were great. The only downer was that the water was a good 10 degrees too cold. We swam three times, but it didn't take long before we were ready to get out and go warm up in the bathtub and under the covers. It was fun to get away and make a special memory together!





We're thankful for our wonderful family that bless us so much and for all of the time we got to spend with them. But most of all, we are thankful for our Savior who entered the world and gave us the best gift of all!