Cedar Rapids

Today we went to Cedar Rapids (actually Marion) to spend the day with Andy's brothers and their families and also his dad and step-mom. We were celebrating our family Christmas as well as our niece's 3rd birthday. We had a nice time visiting and the kids had a good time playing together. All the girls received Cabbage Patch dolls (watch for a future post on this!) and the boys got fishing poles from their grandparents. It was a really nice day.

Last night at dinner we were telling Georgia that we'd be going to see her grandparents and cousins today; that we would be traveling to Cedar Rapids. "Da rabbit?" she said. "I don't want to see da rabbit!"

It's funny what kids hear.

LOL

Getting Georgia changed and dressed for the day, I say to her, "Georgie, you have such a cute butt." She laughs and runs out into the hall to Andy who is fixing a creaky door.

"Daddy, look at my cute butt! You wanna touch it?"

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to be with Andy's parents in Glidden. We celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday and had our Christmas celebration on Friday while everyone was together. I always love opportunities for Georgia to be with her cousins. I don't know why, but I'm always surprised at how well she interacts with them; probably because they don't see each other too often. (I also pray for a little bit of influence from her girl cousins who eat like big girls and go to the potty.) And for myself, I always enjoy a gab session with my sisters- and mother-in-law.

Another new event for us this year, was our attempt at Black Friday. But really it was Black Thursday, because it was 10:00 pm Thursday night (at Walmart). We did stay until midnight when the electronics went on sale, but we didn't purchase anything huge. I have mixed emotions about Black Friday. I can appreciate trying to snag a good deal and it's even fun to shop late at night. But some people (not all, but some) lose sight of the fact it's Christmas and go wild without a thought of the people surrounding them. It can make a gal nervous! So will I do it again? I can't say either way. Depends on what's on sale next year. :)

Here are some pics of our time away:

Puggles

A new event this year for Georgia has been her entrance into Puggles, which is part of the AWANA program at our church. She loves going to Puggles every Wednesday and comes home singing the Puggles song and telling us each week what she has learned. Right now they are learning all the things that God has made: the stars, sun, clouds, trees, etc.

She is very proud of her Puggles shirt, and you can see the picture on it is a puggle, which is what they call a baby platypus in Australia. She hasn't missed a meeting yet!

Andy is the head of the program, being the Pastor of Children and Families, and I am volunteering as a Sparks leader (ages K-2nd grade). We have really been enjoying our experience with AWANA; it's been a great year so far.

All I Want for Christmas

So today I asked Georgia what she wanted for Christmas. She didn't have much to say, and I'm not really sure she's been asked that question before. I gave her a few suggestions and she blankly said yes to all of them. After a few seconds she said, "Mom, I want Christmas treats. Kisses." "Oh," I said, "the chocolate kisses?" "Yes, and M&Ms too." No surprise to me, this girl loves candy.

Then later in the evening we had some Christmas music playing and the song was something about Christmas trees. Georgia piped up, "Mom! The guy is singing Christmas treats!"

LOL - I guess Christmas shopping will be easy this year.

I'm Back

Okay, okay, okay...get off my back already! I know I've taken some time away from this, I guess, much-read blog, but now I'm back. I've promised my mom a post every day from now until Christmas and I'm already starting to wish I hadn't opened my big mouth.

Anyway, there is much to be updated, but to ease myself back in slowly, I'm just going to do a quick one on the girls.

Lola Sue: What a happy baby! Those who know her can see that she is just plain happy all the time. She is quick to give you a smile and a laugh, showing off her two bottom teeth. She is 9 months old now and she claps, waves bye-bye, gives kisses when asked and can say 'Dada' and 'Georgia.' Still waiting to hear 'mama.' One difference between Lola and Georgia is that Lola is loud, loud, loud. She's not mad or upset, just loves to make noise. She just had her 9 mo. check up and weighs in at 19 lbs. and 7 oz. which puts her in the 71st percentile for weight. I can't remember her length, but I know she is in the 25th percentile. Can we say short and fat? But who doesn't love a chubby baby?

Georgia is 2 1/2 and I'm watching her turn into a very loving, concerned, sensitive little girl. I'm still constantly surprised at the things she says. The other day she showed me a boo-boo on her finger (even though I could find no such boo-boo), but she said, "It's okay, Mom. Jesus heal it." There have been many times when she doesn't feel good that she says, "Pray, Mommy, pray." I believe her heart is sensitive to the Spirit, and I pray one day she will trust Jesus as her Savior. She does love her sister very much and tries to make her smile or laugh; although, sometimes we do hear a sharp, "Lola, stop cryin'!" For the most part it's all love.

Well, I guess I'll do my best to keep my end of the bargain, Mom. More tomorrow.

Another Short Post

I just wanted to let you all know I'm getting ready to start a new book and I am really excited about it. (If you know me well, you know I love to talk about what I'm reading like I've suddenly become an expert.) I used to fly through books, but it's not as easy these days. It was given to me by my Sunday school teacher and it's called The Attributes of God by Arthur W. Pink. I'm sure many of you have heard of it or have even read it yourselves.

A quote from the author, "A spiritual and saving knowledge of God is the greatest need of every human creature." Oh man, this is gonna be good.