Christmas Tree

Spending the day putting up the Christmas tree has to be one of my favorite days of the year.  I love watching the kiddos' faces light up with joy when they find and hang their ornaments.  Plus that means the Christmas season and Advent activities have officially begun in our home.

Grandpa and Grandma Visit

Grandpa and Grandma Klauser made the trip up from Iowa to help us celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  Even though most of our time was spent inside playing with the kids, we did adventure out yesterday on black Friday to hit up a few good deals.  Like every other time they have come, our time went super fast, we had lots of fun and are grateful they came to spend Thanksgiving with us.

Special thanks to Grandpa and Grandma, love you both lots.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has never been a favorite holiday of mine.  Even though it's a great opportunity to be with family, it's still a holiday I feel is just to separate Halloween and Christmas.  I believe we should give thanks for our blessings everyday not just once a year.  Although it's still a day that we are to tell others what we are thankful for.  There are so many things I am thankful for, below are just my top for the year.

• Jesus Christ who loves us and sacrificed His life for our sins
• A husband that leads our family and shows nothing but unconditional love
• Four beautiful children that I love beyond words
• Family that's there whenever needed
• Our friends that we consider family

From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

Sleeping Alone

So this dilemma we are currently facing is something we have not had to face as parents with the other three; the reason is because they have never been alone at this age during sleep. I read that some children right before or after turning two all of a sudden hate falling asleep when alone.  For almost a week now, Ian screams when we lay him down which has never been a problem for him.  If I however sit in his room he falls right to sleep (way faster at nap time).  Even though it's a beautiful picture I see, I'm tired of waiting around for my toddler to fall asleep.  I hope this is a short stage, otherwise we will be switching him and Elyse's rooms a lot sooner than planned.

Holding Hands

While driving to the gym today, Kallen happened to fall asleep in his car seat. Once Ian saw he was asleep all he wanted to do was hold Kallen's hand. So while at a stoplight I grabbed Kallen's hand and gave it to Ian.  Ian never let go of it and smiled until we got to the gym. Priceless.

Saturday Morning Bliss

With Nate having to work every Saturday now; him being home for an extra two hours this morning was a little bit of heaven. We all stayed in bed, laughed a lot, and made some great memories. It's how a Saturday morning should be.

Princess Party

While Aunt Kim and Chloe were in town, Elyse and I decided it would be fun and memorable to take them as well as Nana to Blaine's annual Princess Party.  Elyse said the night was her favorite thing she did while they visited.  While at the party, the girls made crafts, got their hair done, ate dessert, danced, and got their pictures taken with Elsa, Belle and Cinderella.  The night did not disappoint for any of us, it was wonderful!

More Pictures from the Speckmans Visit