Christmas! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your families and friends. We enjoyed D.C. temple lights last weekend. We were able to attend a great concert at the visitors center and walked around and admired the lights. My girls posed as Shepard's, they were long distance attendees at the Bonner Christmas nativity. They loved posing for pictures and wanted to leave the turbans on for the day.

Christmas Eve was the usual traditions for our family. Soup with bread braid, watching Rudolph, receiving new Christmas pajamas and the girls exchanging gifts they had bought for each other. We had one of Rob's coworkers over for the evening. She doesn't have family in the area and we are happy to have extra visitors. The girls loved the extra attention that she provided and after the kids were in bed I appreciated the extra hands in wrapping presents.

Christmas morning was crazy and fun, all three girls received a new American girl doll and have been playing with them since.

My Shepard's abiding in the flocks

Lights at the temple

Four girls on Christmas morning

Christmas breakfast traditions

Dreaming of a White Christmas

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas or balmy sandy beaches. It is so bitter cold here this week, couldn't a little of that white stuff fall? There was a water main break this morning in the lower county, up to 96" of water was flowing down the street, school was closed early and they are hoping to restore water pressure by Christmas. We were not affected much, besides school out early. M & S were supposed to make Gingerbread houses at school. Instead we got to bring the mess home and had a great time adding to our village. The news is reporting that it was due to the frigid temperatures. Of course the humidity doesn't help during the winter either. Could you Utahan's send us a little snow for the week of Christmas? or send me to Hawaii. I could lay on the beach, with the sand between my toes for the week, maybe next year thanks to Obama.

Annual Traditions

We are all enjoying the traditions that December brings. This year at our Ward Christmas party they invited a special guest. That eased up the pressure of running the girls to the mall to sit with Santa. All three were able to make their requests. Any guesses?? The house is going to be brimming with American Girl dolls if Santa completes his requests. Samantha did not specify the doll that she wanted, of course she worked herself up over it until I took her back in the room 1 hour later to talk to Santa again. This time she specified the particular American Girl doll that she wanted and all was well. My little worry wart, not sure were she gets that from, I tell Rob it is all from him :)

For Sunday activity we built and decorated our Family Gingerbread House. It would have been good to have read the instructions (build the house and let it set for 15-30 minutes). By this point in reading the girls had plastered the house with candy and not so gently. The roof was caving in, one wall was leaning and the candy was slipping. Oh well, not to worry Rob propped the house with wooden sticks and it survived. The final outcome, a very well done house by children's standards. I told Rob it would be fun to have an adult gingerbread decorating party. Next year we will have the addition of a 1 yr. old to help decorate, eat and add sticky fingers.

Last but not least, Christmas goodies. Christmas is not complete for me without baking, cooking, preparing and eating Christmas treats. This is what I accomplished on Monday. The treats I made; Peanut butter cups, cinnamon almonds, oreo truffles and macadamia nut clusters. This weekend it is cookie baking and then we will make our deliveries to teachers, home teaching families and v.t. families.

Hope you are all enjoying your holiday traditions.

Deck the Halls

My tree has been sitting in the living room for the last two weeks. Lights are on, lite up every night and the girls keep asking when we could put on the ornaments. The problem was the tree decor was a little to fancy for my current house decor. I was looking at a blog the other night and found this cute idea with felt. You cute the felt into small circles and stitch together on your sewing machine. I finally made it to Joann's yesterday and spent all last night cutting circles. Aubrey helped my sew the circles today and presto I have a decorated tree. I think that the bright colors go well with the ornaments and give the tree a little more of a primitive look. Most of the ornaments were made by my great grandma and mom, a few I picked up at antique stores.

Our family is enjoying Christmas music on my iPod and have started a little baking this week. Nice and simple but it is fun to continue the traditions.

Aubrey has also loved playing with the playmobile nativity set that Aunt Jenny sent to us last year, thank you aunt jenny she has had so much fun!!

32 Weeks

This is for Megan! I was talking to my sister this week and she asked if my belly had arrived. She is expecting triplets 8 weeks behind me, we are all hoping she at least makes it to my due date. Anyway, here is the pic to prove the belly. Pregnancy is going well for the most part, these are a few of the things that I miss:

-tying my own shoes

-socks that don't turn my ankles into fat Italian sausages

-wearing my wedding ring

-getting up off the couch without needing help

-moping the floors, actually I'm not missing that, Rob can continue with that job as long as he would like

-no heartburn caused my anything, and I mean a bowl of corn flakes.

Ahh, I would like to countdown the days but there is still much to be done. This may be the only pregnancy picture I post so live it up Meg.

Thanks n' Turkey

The Holman family enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. Kellie came into town for the week. My girls just love when company comes to visit, especially an aunt that will do their hair, play with them and have fun. The week of excess caloric consumption began with a Thanksgiving feast at Aubrey's school. Kellie and I enjoyed preschool songs, and pilgrim hats. We were then treated to a full Thanksgiving spread compliments of hard working moms.
Wednesday we made the trek up north to the Martin home. We were worried about traffic, thankfully for the most part we were spared. We enjoyed the weekend with the Martins, letting the kids play and have so much fun. A yummy spread of all my favorites was enjoyed including a deep fried turkey. In true fashion the men were standing around the fire watching the meat cook. We also drove into Philly to see the liberty bell and independence hall. It is wonderful to be with such great friends during the holidays.

Fall Fun??

Life with trees is a constant battle. When Rob and I bought our house in the summer I never realized the amount of leave piles that would accumulate in the fall. Three falls later and the piles seem to grow. Now my three girls are big enough to help us rake and then jump and then rake a little more. The piles grew so big that they would jump and disappear. Oh, the beauty of fall on the east.

Our Baby Girl

Our family has been rearranging rooms the past couple of weeks. Aubrey is moving in with the big girls and her old room will be converted into the baby nursery. I started to do my worrying, what if I decorate this whole room in brown and pink and the baby comes out a boy. Rob reassured me that the ultrasound tech had seen the marking for a girl. I was still anxious and decided to have another ultrasound done at a private company. It was worth the $$ and so much fun for the kids to see their baby sister again. Yes, it is still a girl and the brown and pink can go up. Baby was being stubborn at first, covering her face with her hand and the umbilical cord. Towards the end the tech was finally able to get some good shots, I think she looks adorable.

This was the best profile shot we could get, hand in the way!

Little foot, sticking out

By the end she was protesting all the pushing and movement and let out this little cry

The Three Little Pigs

Much to every one's request here are the Infamous Pigs. We enjoyed the Halloween festivities this week beginning with a ward Trunk-or-Treat. The girls enjoyed carnival activities, hot dog dinner and getting treats from ward members in the hallway. It had begun snowing outside and all the trunks treats were moved inside. This made everyone happy except Rob and his buddy, they had set up a minivan haunted house. I shuttled the primary kids out to the van and let them climb through the haunted vans.

Thursday we enjoyed picking through pumpkin seeds and carving Frankenstein, clowns and scary faces into our pumpkins.

Friday all three girls had Halloween parties at school and that evening we enjoyed pumpkin dinner and trick-or-treating in the neighborhood next to ours. It was a beautiful warm night, 3rd year in a row. I think we are in for snow next year.

The Great Pumpkin

We took the family to the pumpkin patch last week and let the girls pick their pumpkins. My garden had a mind of it's own this year almost nothing grew, it killed me to have to pay for pumpkins. So, our requirement was that they kids had to carry the pumpkin to the cart. Madison and Samantha had their pumpkin picked within 15 minutes. Aubrey on the other hand took all the time in the world. We finally had to give her a time limit, that is her little personality to a T. The kids are excited for Halloween, we are continuing with the family theme. This year posing as the three little pigs, along with a mama pig and wolf. It should be lots of fun.

Megan tagged me with "7 Random Facts about me".

1. I hate feet, except little tiny baby feet, I can handle those.

2. I love projects; house, yard, craft, etc. Rob will attest to my love of completing something. There is always an ongoing list at our house.

3. I bite my nails when I am nervous. Samantha does too so we have to pay each other a quarter when we chew a nail.

4. I love to travel!!

5. I have to keep my floors clean.

6. I didn't learn to cook until I got married and now it is one of my favorite hobbies.

7. Laundry day is Monday and I like to have a dinner menu made up for the month.

Trip to the West

We made the annual trip to Utah this past week. Not sure we would make it this year but a brother's wedding beckoned us to travel. Rob's little (big) brother married in the SL temple this week. He is the last sibling to marry, now it is onto my side of the family. Still a ways to go.
We of course enjoyed all the favorites of Utah; Cafe Rio, Cafe Rio, shopping at Ti Pan, gelato at a yummy Italian creamery and of course visits with all the family.
My girls thoroughly enjoyed the spoiling, dotting and loving that they received from aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and great grandparents. It was fun to see them interacting with people that they see only occasionally yet loving them like they are together every week.
I was able to complete my first quilt with the help of Rob's grandma. I made a pink/brown quilt for the little girl that is on the way. Still hoping the technician was right about the ultrasound.
The morning of our departure we were greeted by 6 inches of snow outside the front door. We had to drive the kids to the airport kicking and screaming, they wanted to go sledding.

Uncle Richard with the girls

My little princess'

My handsome hubby with his little girl

Sarah (Richard's new bride) with the Holman grandkids

A visit to the firehouse that Uncle John works at

My girls goofing with their uncle Drew

A visit with aunt Nat at her volleyball game