Sandbox!

We got Gracie a sandbox this summer. It has been sitting in our backyard since then and she never even noticed it. Brian and I decided it was about time we filled it up with sand and let her play in it. Brian filled that baby up with 250 pounds of sand (only 5 bags...weird) and then we let Gracie go! She and Brian played in the sand for 2 hours, and started to cry when it was time to come inside. Thank you LORD for sandboxes and the little things a parent can do to make their kiddos happy. I love her wide eyed excitement and how thrilled she gets over the things we so easily take for granted. Grace truly is my amazing little girl...I am so blessed to have her in my life to show me how to live!!!

Christmas again

Well, we have officially had three Christmases this year. Fun, but so confusing to Gracie!! She keeps saying, "happy new year, and tomorrow is Christmas!" I really don't have the heart to tell her, but I am sure she will find out on her own when we don't open up more presents tomorrow.


On Sunday, we spent Christmas with Brian's parents and siblings. We waited until after Christmas to keep the stress level down, and let me recommend that! It was so relaxing and fun. We were really able to enjoy each other instead of having to rush and get someplace else. The whole gang seemed to have a good time with each other. We exchanged gifts, listened to Christmas music, and then ate a yummy Italian meal! (Thanks Mom!!) It was great...Gracie got some fun Legos...a doll house! She can't stop playing with it! She loves pretending. Brian has already used his new Wii accessories, and after dinner, a bunch of us used our movie passes from Grandma Patti and went and saw National Treasure 2! So much fun! And the movie was great, too. (Go see it...no curse words, great story, just plain fun!)


It was such a fun time. I really enjoyed myself and I know Brian and Grace did too. We were so blessed to be able to celebrate Jesus with every person in our families! All of them...who gets to do that? I know it is a first for us, so thank you LORD!!


I have to say a special thank you to my brother-in-law, Timothy. He did something so creative and so awesome, and it made me feel so special. He made a special hunt for me for a gift. I had clues that were riddles, clues that were map pieces, and clues that were pictures. It took me a good thirty minutes or more to find the last clue, and Tim had gotten all three of us a beautiful treasury of fairy tales. What was the best part for me? Well, the whole hunt reminded me of the hunt-master I grew up with...my dad. I had tears in my eyes as I told Tim that this gift was reminiscent of what my dad would have done for me, and I think that made it even more special. Thank you Tim for not even knowing how special that was to me. I love you, Brother!