look who came to visit!

My brother and his sweet girl Alice came up for a visit today. She is so stinkin' cute! Walking and talking and singing and giggling! She has the most adorable smile. Once she warmed up to this busy place, she made herself right at home.

Sure wish they lived closer so we could see them more often. But very thankful for the time we do have with them!

Christmas 2011

What a wonderful Christmas weekend we had. It was quiet and relaxing. Just the way I like it.

Friday, the kids and I baked sugar cookies. Not something I had been planning, but to my husband, sugar cookies mean Christmas. So that's what we did. And it was actually very fun.


Then on Saturday when Daddy was home we decorated them.
That night we attended the Christmas Eve service at our church. And afterward, the kids opened one present. Their new Christmas jammies.
Daddy read "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" to everyone before they went to sleep. Which is funny to me since we don't do the whole Santa thing. But the kids loved it.Sunday morning started with stockings. Audrey and Liam each got something special they had wanted while we were in Disneyland so that was a fun surprise.
Each year Daddy goes and picks out a gift for the kids on his own. This year - light sabers for all.
Everyone got special toys they love. For Liam, it was his Lego's.
For Ethan, his police uniform and walkie-talkie!
And Audrey got her first real camera. She's in love!
We went to church and then had some quiet time to enjoy our new things. For dinner that night we tried something new. Everyone made their own pizzas. A huge hit! I daresay a new tradition has been born.

And then bright and early this morning, Audrey and I went out to fulfill one of her gifts. She now has pierced ears! She did great and LOVES them!
It was a wonderful weekend. Each year as the kids get older, we develop more traditions of our own. It's taken us a few years to get the hang of this thing without the benefit of our extended family. But we're getting there. And it's slowly but surely becoming ours. And that's a pretty special thing.

Merry Christmas!

sniff, sniff

I'm a little sad. I just took down and moved out the last crib that will ever be in our home. Ever. My best friend Kylie came to help. With both the physical and emotional parts.

Don't get me wrong. I love watching my kids grow up. They are all becoming strong, capable, independent people. And isn't that the goal? But it is also hard to believe that a chapter in our lives is over. No more pregnancy, breastfeeding, cribs, diapers, highchairs. And don't get me wrong - most of that makes me very, very happy. Birth to three is not my strong suit. (Don't judge me! It's taken me many years to be able to say that without feeling like a rotten mom. I'm just better at this once we can communicate with words and apply just a teeny bit of common sense to our interactions.) So in many ways I'm happy to have it behind me. But it's over. It's done. And that makes me sad.

So I'll sniff, sniff for a bit. And then move on. I've got a feeling there are some good years ahead of us. And I intend to savor every moment!

weekend wrap-up

We had a very fun weekend. I thought I'd get around to blogging these one at a time, but we were too busy to blog!

Saturday morning began with Liam's basketball game. (A 36-16 win. Technically no one keeps score during these games. But you can ask any of the players and they can tell you!) We have a strong team this year and it's been fun to watch him play.

Next, we headed up the street to the annual fireman santa event. Local firefighters drive through the neighborhoods and collect food and toys for those in need. They pause at each stop and do pictures. One little guy of ours insisted on going in his full fireman regalia!

Ethan could not care less about a picture with santa. And that letter in his hand? It was not for santa. It was a picture he drew for a fireman.


Pure joy!

Next on the agenda - a rather big move. It came to my attention that it is perhaps time for my 3.5 year-old to move out of his crib. Actually, Audrey was 4 when she made the move so this was considered early for the Oscarson household! Here is a picture of Ethan standing next to his crib on his last night in it.

And believe it or not we were still using the changing table to dress him after his bath. I know, I know. Ridiculous. What can I say?? I don't like change! You'll be relieved to know that the changing table now resides in the garage where it awaits its next owner!

So the big night finally arrived. The evening started with a group huddle and lots of encouragement.


Although it took him an hour to go to sleep - he did it! And slept in until his normal time. Success! But he has not yet taken a nap there. And believe me, he still needs his naps. We'll keep trying!
Then last night Audrey and I went on a double-date with our dear friends, Heather and Lauren. Our evening started at Olive Garden and ended at the Mount Baker Theater to watch the lovely Miss McKenna perform in a dance recital. It was a wonderful night!

field trip

The kids and I have been studying the ocean recently and we were due for a field trip. So this morning we grabbed a couple of our favorite people and headed to the Marine Life Center. Everyone had a great time. Except maybe the woman volunteering there who was asked many, many questions over the course of one hour. Hey - what can I say? They're inquisitive kids!





....and now...I am off to hit the elliptical for the first time in many, many moons. It won't be pretty. But I have been waaaayyyyyy too indulgent when it comes to Christmas cookies. Time to pay the piper!

Christmas program

The kids had their annual Christmas program at church this weekend. They all did a great job!

Audrey and Liam were both angels. They memorized all their lines and sang beautifully on the songs.

Ethan's preschool class came up and sang "This Little Light of Mine." He, too, loves being on stage. Seems to run in this famly!

new ornaments

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,
Thank you very much for our new ornaments! We picked out our very favorites.
Love - Audrey, Liam and Ethan

christmas tree

It was a great weekend. The perfect combination of rest and productivity. And the Christmas tree is up!

'tis the season!

Outside lights are up. Christmas music plays almost all the time. And we visited Santa this morning. We're off to a great start!

Oh - and looked what arrived at my door today! Such a sweet surprise from the nicest neighbors in the world. Thank you Thompsons.

stress

This is absolutely the best thing I've ever read about stress:
http://www.incourage.me/2011/11/because-thanksgiving-is-more-than-a-holiday.html

It was written by Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts. It's honest, and beautiful, and the desire of my heart. Thankfully, the creator of this heart of mine knows. And cares. And will not give up on making me more like Him. For that I am thankful.

deleted

I somehow deleted my entire list of favorite blogs. I now have to re-enter them one.at.a.time. If you notice any that I'm missing, would you please let me know? Thanks!

Disneyland pictures

Brace yourselves - for more pictures than you probably care to see!

The four of us at the airport waiting for our plane to board. We've been up since 4:00am but so excited no one is feeling tired!
On the shuttle from the airport to our hotel. Getting a little bit goofy!

Waiting to enter! You do lots of waiting in line at Disneyland. Probably a good experience for these homeschooled kids!

The kids watched several vacation-planning dvd's before we left and knew that they wanted Splash Mountain to be their very first ride. I tried to warn them that it's pretty scary and maybe we should work our way up to it. No one listened to me. It ended up being our very first ride - and our very last. With many, many in between! A family favorite, for sure. These pictures are taken during the 50 foot straight-down drop.

Singing "Jingle Bells" with Farley.

Disneyland is even more amazing than usual this time of year. Every night the park is transformed into a winter wonderland - complete with snow falling! It's beautiful.

The vacation package we bought included one character meal. I had heard that the food at "Ariel's Grotto" is great so that's where we went. It also includes a parade of princesses and photo opportunities. Our little "princess," however, is not interested in those princesses so we just did a family photo instead.

We had a ball exploring Tom Sawyer Island.

On our short walk from our hotel to the park.

The only character photo my kids cared about was this one with a Storm Trooper!California Screamin' is a very scary roller coaster. Our kids loved it!

The highlight of the trip was Jedi Training Academy. I had been warned ahead of time that not all kids in the audience get to participate. So we were delighted when both kids got picked! So much fun!

When Patrick and I were last at Disneyland (we think about 11 years ago) we fell in love with a show called Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. It's a bluegrass show with a Christmas flare this time of year. So much fun!Some friends of ours moved down to Huntington Beach a couple of years ago and we got to see them! So great to see familiar faces there!

Yummy food, of course!

The biggest Christmas tree you've ever seen.

More family photos. Maybe we can photoshop Ethan in and use them for Christmas cards. Except for my horrible Splash Mountain hair, of course!

So, so much fun. The week before we left I had been praying for God's favor over this trip. And He gave it - in abundance. We are so grateful.