Christmas 2009

Better late than never. Not sure why I can't rearrange my pictures. These are not in any kind of order.

Myah playing with her new Crayola Glow Dome

Myah's artwork display on her bedroom door.

A handmade Nativity scene that one of the kids made last year. I can't remember who made it, but I think it's absolutely adorable.

This year I let the kids decorate their own tree in the playroom. It turned out really cute.

This is Myah tackling Chloe. Chloe had knitted this hat for Myah and wrapped it up and put it under the tree for her. Myah was mad at Chloe for several days because she was certain that Chloe was trying to play a trick on her and that she had wrapped up an empty box. She was so happy when she opened it and saw what her sister made for her. They love to make each other gifts. Sadly, that was the last time we saw the hat. I'm pretty sure it somehow got thrown out with all the Christmas garbage. Boo Hoo!!! Good thing we at least got a picture of it.

Cute Coco.

Chloe was so happy that Santa brought her a new American Girl Doll. She had been wanting Emily Bennett for a really long time. Emily has red hair and Chloe has a fascination with redheads. She's even decided that when she grows up she will marry someone with red hair.

Santa also brought Myah a new American Girl Doll. She got Rebecca Rubin.

A Christmas Surprise

The Sunday before Christmas the kids were busily building a gingerbread house with Grandma Judith when we thought we could hear the faint jingling of bells coming from outside. Then suddenly, there came a knock at the door...

It was SANTA!!!

It was such a fun surprise! We had no idea that we would be getting a visit from Santa before Christmas. The girls were speechless, but their smiles pretty much say it all.

Christmas Dance Recital

Chloe & Myah looking super cute in their dance costumes. They did a great job in their recital.

Slip of the Tongue

Watch out Gene Simmons! You've got some competition.

Piano Recital 2009

This year I decided to have our annual Christmas recital at a nursing home. I absolutely loved having it there. It turned out to be a great recital and a really neat experience. It was a fun opportunity for the kids to be able to do some service and share their talents with the patients there. They were so appreciative that we would come and entertain them.

All of my students performed exceptionally well. Yes, there were some mistakes, but if you have never played piano in front of an audience, you don't understand how difficult it really is. I always tell my students that I don't expect perfection. I don't think it's right to put that pressure on them. Plus, I think the fear of making mistakes is what keeps people from sharing their talents with others. At the end of the day, you just need to do your best. There has never been a time when I've played in church or in front of an audience that I haven't made some huge mistake. The important thing is to JUST KEEP GOING. Nine times out of ten, the audience doesn't even know that you made a mistake. Great job, guys!

Back row: Chloe, Me, Hayden, Tim & Jaden

Front row: Cassidy, Olivia, Makayla, Brackon, Myah & Elsie

Glasses, Genes & Jeans

After having Lasik 11 years ago, Leer finally had to break down and get glasses again. I can't stop looking at him because I think he looks so good in them. It reminds me of what he looked like the first time I saw him. My stares are starting to bug him, but I don't care.

For Christmas, I am asking for a new camera. Mine sucks, as you can see. This was the best picture I could get of him out of about 30 that I took. He was thoroughly annoyed. But that problem could be easily solved if he would kindly buy me a new camera. Hint. Hint.

One more thing, Leer getting glasses prompted this funny conversation between Chloe & Myah:

Myah: How do you know if you are going to need glasses?

Chloe: It depends on your genes.

Myah: Oh...what if your jeans are light blue?

Myah The 6 Year Old

Happy Birthday, cute Myah! I hope you know how special you are to us. You bring so much happiness to our lives and also a lot of entertainment with your funny personality. I hope this is your best year yet.

Thanksgiving

Here is what Thanksgiving looked like at our house this year. We all had the Swine Flu. Not fun. We even had to cancel our plans to spend the long weekend in Las Vegas with family. Instead we stayed home, watched movies, and coughed on each other. We'll probably never forget this one.

Frosty

One of Myah's favorite songs this time of year is "Frosty The Snowman". But, she doesn't quite have the lyrics exactly right. Oh, and she pronounces the "th" sound with an "f". Her version goes like this:

Frosty The Snowman was a jolly happy soul,

wiff a corn buck toof and a button nose...

She Feels So Free & So Graceful

This is a picture of Chloe running. Bless her heart.

Her running style is actually one of the things I love most about her. So carefree...

Does it remind you of anything?

My Name Is Becky and I'm a D-I-Yer

I have a disease. It's the "I-can-make-that-myself-for-so-much-cheaper" disease. I have a really hard time paying full price for furnishings for my home when I know with a little bit of elbow grease I can turn trash into treasure. Almost everything in my house is used. It's either hand-me-downs from family members or stuff I find at garage sales or thrift stores. I actually quite like refinishing furniture. It has been a very satisfying hobby for me. Here is my latest project:

It's a coffee table that I bought at D.I. for $40

I look for furniture pieces that have "good bones" and are in good condition structurally.

When refinishing furniture, you must wear your ugliest clothes, don't take a shower or wear make-up, make sure you are way overdue for a hair color and let your 5 year old play with your camera.

I used 5 cans of this for this project.

I love my horses, my sawhorses, that is.

I used a walnut stain to rub into the crevices of the table. I'm usually not a fan of distressed or antiqued furniture, but the design of this table called for it.

The stain really highlights the unique lines of the table.

And here she is in her new home in my basement. This picture says a lot about my taste. When it comes to design, I'm a fan of the mismatched. Just look at my pillows for example. On my green sofa I have 5 pillows, all different, none of which are green. And look at my tables; I have a rattan bombe chest, a black metal end table with bamboo shaped legs, a natural maple plant stand (that my dad made), and behind my sofa I have a dark cherry wood sofa table. Plus my new antique white beauty. Somehow all these different things work together. At least they work for me.

Ding-Dong, Trick-or-Treat!

Myah the Witch. I think she really thought she could fly on that broom. We were excited to find that at DI. It had a lovely mauve and country blue floral arrangement attached to it that we promptly removed. Sweet ride, Myah!

With all the commotion of helping our neighbors pack up for their big move and with Jason being out of town so much this month, we never did get our pumpkins carved. Oh well.

Chloe's friend Brielle the Vampire and Chloe as Raggedy Ann. Chloe's costume was actually mine when I was her age. My mom made that costume for a play I was in at church. She even made the wig out of bright red yarn and pantyhose. Don't ask. And don't tell Chloe...

We were lucky this year to spend Halloween with our dear friends and next door neighbors the Tammens. They stayed with us for a couple days before moving to Nashville on Sunday morning. So sad to see them go and terribly hard to say good-bye. Boo-hoo, sniff, sniff, waaaaaaaahhhh, whimper, whimper...okay, I'm hyperventilating again. Moving on... Layla and Addi were black cats.

Tammy & Brad as Vampires

63, 64, 65.... "Mom, you're making me lose count!"

88, 89, 90...Taking inventory

It was a great night. I just love Halloween. Nothing too scary this year except for the Lawrence Welk marathon airing on PBS that my in-laws insisted on watching. :) Just kidding...well, not really but I did enjoy their company while everyone else was out trick-or-treating. Happy Halloween!

He's Alive! He's Alive!

Last night the girls and I tried our hands at making some Frankenstein pops. If you want to make some, here are the ingredients that you'll need.

I added some peppermint extract to the green candy melts, but you could also use green mint chips.

Note: You might also want to borrow Myah. She will sing her rendition of "I Want To Rock & Roll All Night" the entire time you are making these.

So, you dip the marshmallow into the melted green candy and use a small spatula or knife to wipe off the excess coating. Then dip the top into the chocolate jimmies.

Then use a small paring knife to make some holes in the sides for your tootsie roll bolts (or earrings, as Myah calls them). Also, you'll want to add your licorice lips at this point while the candy coating is still wet.

Then stand them up in something, like a mug (or hot tub as Chloe calls them).

Once they have hardened, you can lay them on a piece of wax paper. Pipe some eyes on. We used melted white chocolate chips for this. Then use some melted chocolate chips to pipe some pupils on.

Some of them turn out pretty darn cute.

Others...well, not so much.

We ran out of jimmies for their hair, so I decided to let Myah decorate the bald ones all by herself. They look AMAZING!

If you have a daughter as talented as Myah, you may even end up with one that resembles Sloth from The Goonies.

Anyhoo, we had lots of fun and they taste pretty good!

The Writing On The Wall...And The Table

The other day, Leer mentioned to me how great he thought it was that our kids never really were the type to write on the walls. But recently, while painting the walls, we found this:

It says "Chloe and Myah's hideout"

Well, you know how one home improvement project leads to another...I decided to try my coffee table from downstairs in the family room upstairs. That's when I discovered this:

Artwork on the underside of the coffee table

And it's even signed by the artist

There are 3 drawings of houses

And of course she wrote "I love my dad"

Then in big green letters "You are the Best"

I tell myself she wrote that for me, but it's probably meant for her dad. Again.

And then she wrote "I am the best in my flamle" which I think means "family". Best at what, Chloe? Graffiti?

Myah's So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Leer was away on business all last week. We miss him terribly when he's gone. He called once he left the airport to let us know he was on his way home. Myah parked herself in the middle of the driveway and waited 45 minutes for him to get here.

When she saw him round the corner, she did a celebratory cartwheel.

Then she giggled with glee and wiggled her feet in the air.

And greeted her Dad at the car.