A Wonderful Christmas

We kicked our week off making sugar cookies to leave out for Santa (and for us of course!). That same day Grammie and Poppy arrived from West Virginia. It was a great week of cooking and eating, and cooking and eating, and cooking and eating, and then an outing or two. One outing was to a old historic mill called Clifton Mill to see Christmas lights.

It was beautiful! The white lights twinkled to look like water running into the stream below. There was a light show and a HUGE village to admire, Santa's workshop to see, and a monster line for hot chocolate...we just hit Tim Horton's on the way home.

The family going through the covered bridge.

On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner, the bible story, and songs. And then Joel kicked off an old Thorson family tradition of the kids performing a Christmas pageant. Anna was Mary, Asher was Joseph, and Jesse was the angel using a flashlight to shine the glory of God on baby Jesus. As you can see we had many animals at the scene, including a crocodile, turtle, monkey, and an unknown Dr. Suess creation.

Then the kids get to open one present, which is always pajamas. Sounds boring but they love it! Here they are ready for bed, but they stayed up pretty late waiting for Santa to come.

Christmas morning was lovely. Having kids makes the morning so much more exciting! It was such a joy to see their faces with each gift they opened. Jesse could not enjoy a gift until every piece of wrapping paper was properly removed.

Anna received the "big big big big big big big" dollhouse she has been wanting.

And Asher got his remote control helicopter. Can you tell that he is happy?

Is was a wonderful Christmas together. Now we are enjoying the company of Joel's parents and will bask in the after glow of a special time before the break is over, the decorations come down, and everyone returns to school.

Santa, Ballet, and Casts...Oh My!

We have had quite an eventful week! Well, I guess every week leading up to Christmas is usually eventful. Thankfully the Christmas shopping is done, cards are in the mail, and the decorations are up. Now we can just focus on enjoying each other as a family as we bake, due crafts, and count down the days as we remember the reason for the season.

Our weekend kicked off with breakfast with Santa at Chick-Fil-A. I know it sounds silly but it was awesome! They had 4 crafts for the kids to do, coloring, a yummy breakfast, unlimited time with Santa, and of course a fun playground! It was a wonderful morning. Anna was a little timid at first but by the end of our time there she kept running back to sit on his lap and tell him more things that she wanted. Her list is never ending!

Jesse LOVED Santa and the Santa Cow. Here he is trying to feed the Santa Cow his candy cane. Jesse would have sat there all day talking to the cow.

The same day Anna had her Holiday ballet performance. She did wonderful, even with with her broken arm (more on that below). She loves being on stage and performing. And Asher was so thoughtful and wanted to buy her flowers to give to her after the show.

So the first broken bone to the Thorson kids goes to Anna! Even though she has a long Christmas list, a broken arm was not on that list. We were playing at a friends house. The kids were in the basement. Anna was sitting on the basement stairs talking to the other kids (about halfway down the stairs). The rail for the stairs is really high. Anna somehow just lost her balance and fell over the side of the stairs. As soon as I saw her arm, I knew and we were on our way to the ER. The first few days were quite painful for her and she was really sad, but now she is running around with us chasing her saying "don't do that!", "be careful", "stop wrestling with your brothers!". Pink was the color choice for her cast and she loves having everyone sign it. I know she will still have her miserable days but we are so thankful for her resilience!

So whether your holiday season is going as planned or not, we hope you all find the time to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ and what that gift means for you. Even if you are stressed or consumed with trials unexpected, His message is still the same and it is good news! That He came to earth to save us, the greatest gift ever given. Thank you Jesus! Merry Christmas!!

A Baby Sprinkle

Meet some of my wonderful new friends that I have made here in Ohio. About 2 weeks ago, they got together and threw a baby "sprinkle" for me and our friend Cheyna. Cheyna's baby is due 2 weeks before mine. I felt so blessed to be pregnant with #4, in a new place, and to have friends shower such love on me. Our little girl got some new clothes, diapers, wipes, and all the essentials. I got an evening of wonderful company and CHEESECAKE at the Cheesecake Factory (cheesecake is one of my favorite things).

So excited to get a winter jacket for the little one! She won't be running around in just diapers like Jesse got to do in Hawaii.

Me and Cheyna

Me at 32 weeks, Cheyna at 34 weeks

My heart seems to break with every move the military sends us on. I am always so sad about leaving such dear friends and a life I have grown to love. We were so blessed in Massachusetts and the Lord amazed me with the blessings he continued to bestow in Hawaii. Even though I know the bible's words are true, I struggled with the hope of good things to come when moving time rolls around. Our life has been living proof to me that as long as we are in His will, His blessings will come. No, there is no sailing here, no "corner or torture" work out group, beaches and good weather all year long, neighbors to have coffee with every day. But in a few short months, we have fallen in love with our church and been surrounded by a church family, schools and teachers that our kids love , an amazing house, and TRUE friends that have entered our lives. God is good and I will follow Him all my of my days.

Let it Snow

The Christmas spirit definitely arrived with the 1st snowfall! In Hawaii, it was often hard to get in the winter mood of decorating and cookie baking. Needless to say, despite the bitter cold days, we have enjoyed the arrival of winter and the new joys it has brought the kids. We had a great time putting our tree up while drinking hot chocolate (and not sweating!). The kids loved putting up their ornaments, hearing the stories of when and why they got them, and I have had a hard time stopping myself from moving Jesse's little clump at the bottom of the tree.

The snow and bitter cold (15 degree weather) have not stopped in a week. The kids beg to go outside everyday and even Jesse has gotten in on the fun. Our backyard has a perfect little hill for sledding. We have been borrowing a friend's sled...boogie boards don't work that well. I guess we need to invest in some sleds!

Jesse had to shed his mittens and play with bubbles. They were one of his potty training prizes. Yes, that is right ladies and gentlemen. We survived potty training this week! I am happy to say that we are now diaper free for the next, oh, 6 weeks. WOO HOO!

These are Asher and Anna's letters to Santa Claus. Adorable!

And then we mailed them at the nice mailbox in Macy's. They were ecstatic!

And this picture doesn't really fit in with the rest but deserves a spot anyways! Asher swam 2 races in his swim meet this past weekend. He got 8th place in the 25 meter freestyle and improved his time by 1 second. Then he swam the 25 meter backstroke during which Joel and I sat there with our jaws on the floor. He won his heat and placed 2nd overall of 11 kids, missing 1st place overall by hundreds of a second! He has carried his ribbons around for days, so proud of himself. We again are just so overwhelmed by his joy and confidence in swimming. May the blessings continue to come down with the snowflakes.

Celebrations

We spent Thanksgiving in Watertown, WI with Joel's family. The company was great, the food was fantastic, and the days flew by in a whirlwind of hotel pool swimming, games, football, kid chaos, shopping, and the movie Tangled. and yes, by shopping, I mean Black Friday shopping. I like to spend Black Friday snuggled up in my bed but Joel and his dad were out at 4am snapping up good deals. The kids were very sad to lose their constant playmates at the end of the week. It was truly a time to be thankful for. Well, I wasn't too thankful for the 20 to 30 degree weather. I felt frozen to the bone! It is going to be a long winter :).

However I am thankful for the find of fuzzy Crocs at a local outlet...buy 1 get 1 free!! Asher has refused to stop wearing his Crocs despite the drop in temperature. He was ecstatic when we brought these home! Now maybe shoes will be tolerable to my Hawaii children.

and then December 1st brought the first snow of the season. Anna and Asher were outside at 7am shouting with joy. Asher ran out the door on his way to school exclaiming "This is the best day ever!". Neither one of them have any memory of seeing snow before so it is awful exciting.

As soon as they finished their homework, they were out the door making snow angels (notice in fuzzy Crocs, and not boots). I can't wait to see their faces when there is enough to really play in. Notice Jesse is nowhere to be seen. He liked to watch the snow but once a flake landed on him, he screamed and ran inside. I wonder if he will warm up to the joy of playing in it.