Our Christmas Week (And Crazy!) In Pictures!

 These are in no particular order, because I didn't have the mental energy (or time) to arrange thirty pictures chronologically. (Stop mocking me, Whitney.) Here are some pictures from our few days in Florida...

The first day we got in, my dad was performing in a Christmas showcase at the local theater. Steve and I got a quick date night and Dad was amazing! There were only about six singers for the entire event, and Dad's solo was, "Mary, Did You Know?". His voice was the best one on the stage! I'm so glad we got to Florida in time to see him!

Yes, in the midst of all the crazy, I did manage to pack coordinating outfits for my family and take our picture on Christmas morning. One of my favorite "influences" from living in this area is the beauty of family pictures in coordinating outfits! I'm owning my cup of crazy and admitting that I love it!

Wide-angle pictures should not be taken with an iPhone on a timer, but it was all we had! The couple in the middle is my Uncle Steve and his wife, Meredith. They were able to come for Christmas dinner, which was great!

Yay for sisters! And we're all in purple! Sometimes my family agrees to go along with my personal crazy. Love it!

This is one of my favorite activities when we go home: standing around the piano and singing.

Home. Sweet. Home. (for five days)

Steve and I slept on the bed in the back and the table converted to a small bed for Evelyn. We barricaded the open side with body pillows and a microwave (yep, a microwave), and the littlest human still rolled off twice! I think the second time, Steve was about to cry (He wasn't home for like the eight different times I accidentally let Bella roll off of various surfaces in our house.), but I assured him that it was perfectly normal to stare at a sleeping baby with a flashlight to check her breathing.

Evelyn's first Christmas present! We were blessed to get almost all of our presents for the girls this year for free! This is an amazing wooden toy that Ashely passed on to us from her classroom!

Both of the girls loved it! Bella is just realizing that Evelyn gets her own toys, too.

She spends a solid 30% of her day with her little eyebrows pushed together as she studies or plays with something. I love how she always seems to be figuring something out.

Bella's big present from Papa and Mimi - a tricycle! Dad found it at a garage sale and did an amazing job painting it and sprucing it up! It's beautiful and the little human loves it!

Rachel opening up her new shirts from Bella and Evelyn.

Bella opening up one of presents from us, a Rapunzel vanity with a mirror and stool.

Mom wanted some cake plates that didn't come with lids, and we found some beautiful ceramic ones. Can't wait to see what she bakes!

Grandma and Rach taking a breather...

Our friend, Jen, called me last month and asked if I wanted her neighbors' play kitchen that they were getting rid of. I said yes right away! How great is this kitchen? It has a little fridge and microwave; we knew Bella would love it! She's three and a half, so we still haven't entered the arena of spending a lot of money on her gifts, but we were able to give her this kitchen and the Rapunzel vanity without spending anything! God is good! We were so excited to have her open this gift!

Daddy opening his new book, Winter of the World. 

 

Trying out her new wheels on the road. She spent an hour outside, riding up and down the street. Since we've been home, I cleared a path so she can ride in one continuous circle. She rings her little bell and yells, "woo hoo!" as she rides by!

The Sunday before Christmas we were all at my parents' church. They don't really have a nursery, but Evelyn was so tired that she finally gave in and just passed out in Steve's arms.

 

Road trip picture! Evelyn playing hide and seek with her snack lid. And yes, she's out of her carseat...eight hours is just too long for babies and toddlers to be strapped down to a seat, so we let them get out and squirm a little.

Our Christmas Eve game was Candy Land! (Ah, the memories!) This was Bella's first game and she did pretty good! Not so good at taking turns, but good with following the directions and all that!

Steve has wanted this miniature keychain multi-tool for forever!

About to start on Christmas pies! Mel and mom made a chocolate pecan pie, and dad, Steve, and I worked on the apple pie.

My new red TOMS from Steve! I love them so much! He also got me a beautiful bracelet with an "E" engraved on it. 

Another family shot of our game. Mom and dad really enjoyed getting to do little things with Bella that they don't normally get to do.

Snuggle time with Mimi and Evelyn.

I think I'm holding one of Bella's gifts, but this is the only picture I have of us together on Christmas!

Oh, wait! More snuggles and smiles!

Bella emptied out the entire bucket of Mr. Potato Head pieces to stick her own little head inside.

I'll add some other special Papa and Mimi pictures soon! (And Mel must have manned the camera a lot, because I just realized I don't have a lot of her!)

Adjusting And Still Celebrating

Christmas was definitely different this year. There were a lot of emotions going home this week...

My parents and uncle had to make the very difficult decision to place my Grandma in a nursing home. Both of my dad's parents passed away at home, so I've never experienced or witnessed the emotions that come with separating a husband and wife and feeling like you're abandoning a parent, while still knowing that it was absolutely the best and only decision that could be made.

Grandpa has been breaking bones without any real reason, so mom finally convinced him to have tests done with the doctor. The doctor discovered that my Grandpa's body is riddled with cancer. The cancer is in his lungs, his colon, and has spread throughout the bones. Mentally, he is doing well, and he will go to an oncologist on Friday to get more answers, but regardless, it became clear that he was no longer able to care for my Grandma.

Grandma doesn't walk very well, so she's in a wheelchair for almost her entire day. She also has some dementia, so she doesn't always remember people or where she is. She knows she's going into a home, but she doesn't understand why. Her life has been with my Grandpa and she doesn't agree that she should be separated from him. She thinks her family is abandoning her. She's sad and scared. 

Mel, Steve, and I knew we were walking into a very emotional and stressed home...

With all that was going on and all of the decisions that had to be made, we still had some happy, light, hilarious moments! Bella and Evelyn were a breath of fresh air and a much-needed distraction for my mom and dad. Grandma was spending about a week at my parents' house before moving into her new "palace" (that's what we're calling it), so Mel and I got a great opportunity to spend some time and talk with her. There wasn't room for all of us to sleep, so Steve, Evelyn, and I slept in my dad's pop-up camper. When we woke up on Christmas morning, Steve said, "Merry-first-Christmas, Evelyn! You're in a trailer!"

There were some moments of feeling like we were in "constant chaos". There was a lot of laughter and a lot of tears. There was stress and guilt and anxiety...and memories and bonding and hugs. I am so thankful that God allowed Steve's boss to be so positive about him taking some extra time off, because I wouldn't have missed it for the world! It was so precious to be able to spend Christmas with my mom and dad and Rachel.

We're praying for overwhelming peace and calm for everyone involved. I feel so much sadness for my Grandma right now, but I also feel so much thankfulness for my mom's sake. It's going to be a long adjustment period for everyone, and it's not going to be easy for a long while yet.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

Pictures of Christmas frivolity to come!

Bella's Christmas Party

What's today? December 31st? Was Bella's Christmas party only a week and a half ago? Time flies...

The party was a great success!

In only the last month, Bella has become so much more cooperative about taking pictures, so I was actually able to take some at home in her "Red Day" outfit.

The plan at preschool was to have a snack, do a craft, and play a game. I was in charge of the games and planned "Rudolph Hokie Pokie" and "Pin the Nose on Rudolph". I cut out little red noses for each of the kids to wear, so that they could "put in" their red noses.

Look at the little girls in their red noses! So cute!

After our noses, we put in our antlers, fluffy tails, and hooves. I had a great time playing with these kids!

The whole class with their noses. They are such a sweet group and I have really enjoyed getting to know their moms, too.

Evelyn and I, scoping out the room. I had a lot of office ladies stop by and "steal" her away, so it let me get more done!

Bella and her friend, Ryan, eating their reindeer cookies.

Silly smiles and juice mustaches! We love this class and Bella had a wonderful time at the party! The other moms put together a great time!

So, This Week...

Do you ever feel like you've stuffed two weeks of activities into three days? That's kind of how this week has felt so far! Here's what's going on...

The Connecticut shooting made time stand still for a little bit. I've cried and hugged our girls and prayed and sighed and shook my head and cried some more. I don't know how those parents will ever get past this sort of tragedy, but having it happen so close to Christmas has made it seem even worse. Reading the victims names, and seeing so many who were so young, I just tear up all over again with each new story. I've found it impossible not to put my girls into that scenario. It's just...yeah. It makes me so thankful for each little moment.

On Thursday night, we watched Mel graduate with her Master's degree in Public Administration! Woo Hoo! We are so proud of her and I was so excited to get to be there and watch her get her diploma! She has worked so hard for this!

 Saturday, Mel and I went to Skyzone with a few of her friends to celebrate her graduation! Skyzone is a place that has trampolines EVERYWHERE! It was the four of us grown women and every 8-year old in Cobb County! It was so much fun! You just bounce all over and get to do flips and stuff!

It's hard to get a clear picture when everyone's bouncing up and down!And check out the trampolines on the walls! How cool is that!?

There was a huge foam pit that you could jump into!  I figured I couldn't get hurt, so I went ahead and did a flip! So fun! Super-unskilled and very un-smooth, but a ton of fun!

We hosted a Christmas party for Mel's leadership team on Sunday that was crazy! Somehow we fit 17 people in our living room for a sit-down dinner. Thank goodness for cafeteria tables! They are a great group of people and we always have a wonderful time with them!

On Monday night, we turned around and did the exact same thing, except with our friends! We hosted our second annual "Friend Christmas Dinner"! This has definitely become one of my favorite Christmas activities! We gather a few couples together that we love dearly but never get to see, leave our assorted children with a babysitter, and have an awesome meal together! These people are our family for about 350 days of the year, and we wouldn't be so at home in Georgia without them!

Visiting with the ladies! We had the same four couples over as last year, but we added Matt and Caroline Rooke. I keep warning them that I have a master plan for slowly luring them into our circle, but I'm not telling them why just yet.

Evelyn is finally settling into a consistent (and longer) sleep pattern! After accidentally turning the monitor off one night and sleeping through the night, I decided to just bite the bullet and keep going! I still do a nighttime feeding between 10:00 or 11:00, but then we close the doors, unplug the monitor, and let her sleep. She's doing really well, and Mel hasn't heard her crying at all! My next step is to let her go from her 7:00 feeding when I first lay her down. 

So, Bella...

Random bath picture, but look at her long hair and cute tushie!

Bells is keeping life interesting by saying, "Here's the thing..." to us and then launching into some description of something. She sounds like somebody's drunk uncle, because she never really makes a coherent point; she just keeps saying, "Here's the thing" over and over. She's a weird kid.

Oh! And she's also started sticking her tongue in our mouths whenever we kiss her! Have I mentioned yet that she's weird? She thinks she's very funny and loves to give "tongue kisses" now!

Bella's Christmas preschool party is tomorrow and I'm in charge of a game. I decided to do "Pin the Nose on Rudolph" (P.S. which sounds super-creepy to me if you're not a three-year old), and "Reindeer Hokey Pokey" where you "put in" antlers and hooves and red noses instead of hands, etc.Hopefully these games will keep a dozen preschoolers happy without causing too much mass chaos.

So, preschool...

Steve and I are about 99.99% sure that we're going to homeschool Bella next year. I'm not sure if you can call it homeschooling when you're describing preschool, but regardless, we're keeping her at home. We love (love!) our preschool! It's connected to our church, we know all of the teachers, and Bella has absolutely flourished the last two years!

Unfortunately, it takes me 40 minutes to an hour to get there...every single time. Next year, Bella would be going for four mornings a week. There is no way I can handle being stuck in rush-hour traffic for that long just for preschool. I'm also not sure our budget can handle using up that much gas. 

If we don't go to our church's preschool, that means we would be randomly picking a place closer to home, and honestly, I just don't want to give Bella up for four days a week. That's my bottom line: I don't want to send my four-year old to a strange place four days a week just so she can learn her letters. I don't want her away from me for that long when she doesn't have to be.

I know that I'll be terrified to be responsible for her learning, I know there will be multiple days in a row when I'm going bat-crap crazy because I've been alone with my children for too long, and I know I'm going to dreadfully miss all of the cute things like musicals and parties and little friends! But we will hopefully figure out how to hire a babysitter every once in awhile, so that I can go to Wal-Mart and talk to myself while shopping, and throw in more play dates for friend (and mommy!) interaction!We still have some praying and planning to do, but that's where we're headed.

So, Christmas...

With Steve's work schedule this year, we had to tell our families that we can't go anywhere for the holidays. It ended up working out really well, because Steve's parents were able to come down from Ohio for about a week to celebrate an early Christmas, and my parents were due in from Florida on the 23rd. 

Weeeellll...Dad called this morning to tell us that Grandpa fell and mom is looking after him, and now there is no way they are going to be able to drive up for Christmas.

Is it okay to be totally selfish and admit that I'm really disappointed? My disappointment is the least important aspect of this story - dad's taking care of Rachel by himself and stressed out to see my mom stressed, mom's about to have a mental breakdown from the stress of caring for my grandparents and figuring out what to do next and dealing with her own disappointment about not being able to come up here for Christmas, and my Grandpa has a broken arm and various other medical complications going on right now - but I'm still disappointed. Not in anybody, just at the situation.

I was looking forward to having Christmas in our home this year with Bella, and getting to celebrate at our own church. Since mom and dad can't come up here, though, we're going to try and somehow swing a short trip down there, at least so we can be together for Christmas. It will work out and the important things will be accomplished; it's just going to be a very different Christmas than the one I had in my head.
[I have a problem with handling things when they don't go the way I expected; it's been a learning process.]

So that's life in the Wires' household this week. Regardless of how or where we spend Christmas, I am thrilled to be celebrating in just a few days! Now I need to slow down, calm down, spend a little more time in prayer, and actually remember the real reason for Christmas in the first place.

Luke 2:8-19

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Bella-isms, Part 842

Bella moments from this week:

Bella has picked off all of the fake berries from the garland on the bannister. She told me she was picking berries just like Sleeping Beauty does.

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Bella: "Mama, I went yuckies!"

Me: "Okay, baby, make sure you wipe your bottom really good."

Bella: "I gonna pause on that. I have to watch Merida first."

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On Wednesday, Mel and I took the girls with us to do some Christmas shopping. I was doing most of my shopping for Steve, and as I was leaving Target, I remembered that Steve has been wanting a new grill brush for the grill. We didn't make a big deal about it; we just told Bella that we had one more thing to buy. The rest of the day went by without excitement, until Steve came home from work. As we sat down to dinner, Bella yelled out, "Daddy! We bought you a grill brush today!!!" My face showed so much surprise that she thought she was hot stuff, so she kept yelling out, "Grill brush! Grill brush! Grill brush!" Steve and I couldn't stop laughing! It was so funny and so unexpected! I'll have to be more careful around Bella from now on!

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Evelyn makes a huge mess when she's in her walker now! I give her Cheerios, and she throws them all over the floor in her attempts to grab them. Bella has decided that it would be fun to run them over with her tractor. When I asked her to stop rolling over the Cheerios one-by-one because she was making a big mess, she said, "No, mama, see? It's just a little mess. See? It's okay!"

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And then there was this moment...

I came downstairs to find Bella giving the sweet potatoes a bath in the bathroom sink and drying them off with toilet paper. She was very proud of herself!

Our Advent Spirit Is Lagging Behind

We're a wee behind on our advent activities. Oops! I guess that's a good thing because it means we had plenty to do when Grandma and Grandpa were here, and didn't need any "extras" to fill up time! 

It also means that today and tomorrow are going to be stuffed full of Christmas goodness! I'm excited about watching the Polar Express and making the crafts, but painting our fingernails may just have to wait until next year. We'll see how adventurous I'm feeling after naptime...

Early Christmas With Grandma And Grandpa

What's not to love about having two Christmas mornings?

Our wonderful week with Steve's mom and dad culminated in two, very fun Christmas activities - going to the Christmas show, The Greatest Gift, at our church, and having a "fake" Christmas morning with all of the presents to go with it!

Getting ready to go to the Christmas show at church! Bella and Evelyn are wearing their new, handmade sweaters from Great-Grandma Ferguson! They are beautiful! 

We decided to keep Bella with us during the show since it was going to be so much music, and she did great staying quiet! She loved the wisemen and Baby Jesus, and I only had to threaten a whispered spanking once!

Christmas PJ's on "Christmas Eve"...a Wires family tradition! The girls will wear these again on the real Christmas Eve when we play our game before bedtime. I think I stole the game idea from Steve's sister, Stacey, and I can't wait to do it this year for the first time!

Grandma helping Evelyn play with her new bunny toy.

Oh my word! I was just as excited as Bella was when I found out she was getting this gift! A Merida doll and her horse, Angus, from the movie Brave! Bella loves these toys! Angus has traveled everywhere with us this week!

Evelyn checking out her new "Baby's 1st" ornament...a beautiful, white, rocking horse.

Bella and Evelyn "helping" Grandpa. Once Bella figured out the whole concept, I'm not sure anyone got to open their own gifts!

Evelyn with her new stocking from Grandma! It has a Santa on it, just like Bella, and Evelyn's is green. Love! 

This week was so much fun with Steve's side of the family here! We got to share some special Christmas activities and make some wonderful memories! I'll post some cousin pictures soon!