Christmas Week

Daddy made it home on Monday after spending two weeks working in Tok. We were super excited to have him home to spend Christmas with us. 

Monday night we got out our gingerbread house that had been waiting in the closet all month. I wanted to decorate it on a day that we ALL could sit down and do it together. 

We had so much fun decorating it. This was everyone's first time! 

Since having kids I have become very aware of what is in or on our foods. After looking at the ingredients on the box, I wouldn't dare let the kids eat any of it. It contained weird ingredients like Ammonium aluminium sulfate and other chemicals. We loved making the gingerbread house, but I decided that next year we would use graham crackers, real icing, & I would buy our own candies to use.

Christmas Eve day was all about celebrating Lexie's birthday. That night we told the kids the Christmas story paraphrased from Luke chapter two. The kids were super excited to celebrate Jesus's birthday. We told them how the wise men brought Jesus gifts and that's why we get presents on His birthday.

The kids were too excited to fall asleep. They ended up in bed with daddy so mommy could go down to wrap all the presents. 

Christmas morning Lance woke up at 6:30!!!! The kids never wake up till like 8:30. I kept telling Lance that he had to stay upstairs until everyone else woke up. Daddy woke up Lexie and before I knew it I heard Lance yelling "Santa came! Santa came and he brought tons of presents and a scooter!!!" Santa is so real to the kids. It's pretty cute! 

 We all quickly ran downstairs and FaceTimed grandpa and grandma Conway so they could watch the kids open their presents. Lance knows to pick out his name and Lexie knows to look for the X. They were so excited as they opened each one. They got lots of games like connect four, jinga, a cool shark game. They also got lots of puzzle which they love. It didn't take long when Lance was saying "I don't see a pogo stick!" I quickly pointed to a big present and asked him whose name was on the side. He was ecstatic as he looked at the side and seen his name! He opened it so quickly and immediately started  jumping. Daddy had to help him keep his balance at first but he is starting to get the hang of it. 

Lexie was adorable as she opened her presents. She opened each one, screamed out with delight what it was, and would hug it close as she said "I love it!".

We had tons of fun playing with the kids all week. It was nice to have lots of indoor things to do since it was so cold.

 

I love Christmas time especially now that we have the kids. I love their reaction to everything and making our own family traditions with them. We love staying home all day and not having anywhere to go. The kids loved having daddy home to play with all their new toys and games. They were all about daddy and I was forgotten about. I didn't mind too much so I got in my kitchen did lots of baking and prepared our Christmas lunch. I made ham, home made yeast rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy for our lunch; and made cookies, fudge, holiday bread and puppy chow to put in goodie baskets for us and some friends. 

God has blessed us beyond measure! I love our family so much and the chance to be together to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. Happy Birthday, Jesus! 

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lexie

My little girl is now 3 years old! It just doesn't seem possible. Lexie really is our little princess. She is just the sweetest thing. Her 2nd year of life was so enjoyable; not terrible at all.

Lexie is so obedient and loves to help out. Lance has learned that she does whatever she is told,so lately he has been asking her to do things for him. Momma doesn't allow it though. Lexie can count to 20 with no problem at all, she knows all her uppercase letters and can say all of her ABCs. She has a great memory. She loves to do puzzles and to color (preferably with markers). Books are still a favorite especially "I Spy" books. Animals are still one of her favorite things. She is so fearless!

Christmas Eve was Lexie's birthday and she knew it.  Lexie was so excited to open all her presents. Right away she was asking to open her mermaid. I ran and switched her birthday present for her mermaid which was planned to be for Christmas since that is what she asked Santa for.

One of the presents she was given from grandpa & grandma Conway was a Princess Anna dress from the movie Frozen. It was perfect since we had planned on taking Lexie and bubby to see it for her birthday. They even sent Lance a little something. 

After enjoying cupcakes we headed to see Frozen. Lexie and Lance loved the movie. She said "look! That's where we live!" Frozen was the perfect movie considering it was -35 that day.

 

We had such a fun day celebrating Lexie's birthday. We made sure to make the day all about her! 

Lexie was so cute because in the days following we could ask her "how old are you?" And she would say "I'm 3 now. My birthday was Christmas Eve!" She totally understands what having a birthday means. 

 

Christmas Pictures

This year was a little harder planning for Christmas pictures. I didn't want pictures with Lexie in a ugly cast. Then Andrew's schedule kept changing. So family pictures seemed like they would be impossible to do.

The day Lexie got her cast off we did pictures at Pioneer Park.

I am in Love with all the pictures!! I had to wait to post pictures though since that's what grandparents received for Christmas. I wanted their first time seeing the pictures to be when they opened their envelopes.

Winter Solstice

December 21st marks the first day of winter and is the shortest day of the year. Here is a time lapse pictures that was taken over Fairbanks. It shows the stages of the sun on winter solstice from about 10:30 am to 2:45pm.

With each passing week we will be gaining around 30 minutes of day light! I am really looking forward to that. Winter may be long but summer comes quick with all the sunshine that will be melting all the snow.

I love living in such a magical and mysterious place!

Waiting on daddy

This past week I tried to keep the kids busy. They were really missing daddy and being extremely clingy to me. 

Monday was -35 so we didn't go anywhere!

You may be thinking what does that even feel like. Well, this is what I experienced on my short trip to the mailbox and back. The snot in my nose and my nose hairs were seriously frozen, I could barely breathe, it takes your breathe away. You cough but that doesn't help. That just freezes up your mouth. One thing I have learned is when it is this cold: do NOT touch metal!! Always keep your gloves on!

This is a picture of just outside of town. 

 

There are a few things you can do when it is that cold. I had heard about a boiling water toss and wanted to try it out for myself. I boiled the water then stepped out on the deck and tossed it into the air. Not a drop hit the ground. It all went "poof" as if I had thrown a shovel full of snow in the air. 

 I didn't get any pictures since I was the one throwing the boiling water in the air. 

Each day got warmer and it eventually "warmed up" to just above zero. Today even got to 15. I know that may still seem cold but it is a huge difference. It's the difference between unbearable and bearable.

Lots of packages from all over have been arriving each day. One box that arrived was huge!! The kids wanted to open it right away but I set it aside and they soon forgot about it. I opened the huge box and set the contents in the closet then drug the box into the living room. The kids were ecstatic that someone had sent them such a fun box. That night Lance even slept in the huge box. 

The next day it was used to draw on. Then the next day Lance smashed part of it and made it into a car ramp. It was the best present ever! ;)

Some of the actives this week included a cookie swap with the mom group, a couple play dates and like usual lots of baking. I love to bake and so do the kids. I love any reason to get into the kitchen. The neighbors just welcomed a new baby into the family so the kids and I made them a welcome home meal. 

We FaceTimed daddy every night so he could tell the kids a story. Poor Lance was so tired one evening and was really missing daddy. He was pretty upset while talking to daddy. 

Lexie was super excited as she told daddy about her new puppy, lady, that she got from Mama and Papa Jordan for her birthday. My dad wanted me to give it her right away. I told him they had to wait for everything else till Christmas. She loves her "lady dog".

Since visiting Missouri and attending 4 birthday parties, Lexie has been talking about her birthday party coming up. I wanted to make sure that we did something to celebrate. Since we really don't know too many people here I invited the mom group. McDonald's was the perfect place. The kids ran around played then they all had an ice cream cone and sang to Lexie. It was pretty cute because Lexie even sang along too. 

I am constantly hearing about all the cool things there are to do on the army base. I had a pass that didn't expire for a few more days so I took the kids to the community center on base. The kids LOVED it. They had so much to play with and the best part is, it is free!!

Last night the kids were getting kind of grumpy so we loaded up and went to the park to look at all the beautiful Christmas lights. My favorite was the boat that is docked for the winter. 

Lexie was asleep before we even got to the park, but Lance was awake and he loved it. He kept saying "this is the best night ever!" 

Lots of activities really helped pass the week. We had a pretty fun week which really helped make the time go by fast! Daddy will be home tomorrow and he has the whole week off to celebrate Christmas with us. 

My silly kids

Now that the cast is off of Lexie's arm we are not limited to what activities we can do. I signed Lance up for soccer and Lexie up for dance class; both start next month. 

Lexie is going to love taking dance. She loves to dance anytime she hears music! 

I think Lance will love soccer since he is older now. 

Lately, I have been having to show a bit more um.......well, modesty when around Lance. He is noticing mummy's woman parts and is always sure to stare and comment. The other day while I was wearing a tank top he commented about my breast (again!). He said, "your boobs are full of milk" I just said, "no, not anymore." He then goes "yeah, cuz I drank it all!" I do have to admit it was pretty funny, but Lance does need to learn to show some discretion when it comes to body parts. I would hate for him to comment on someone else's lady parts. 

Lexie is all about being polite. She is so dang cute! I asked her if she needed to potty and she replied, "no thank you! I'm just farting". I just love her little voice! It doesn't matter what she says, she is just too cute!

I can't believe my little girl will soon be 3. I can honestly say that the two's were not at all terrible! Lexie has the sweetest personality and is so laid back and tender hearted. She may look like me, but I'd say she has her daddy's kind heart!

Anytime she hears the words "Christmas Eve" Lexie yells out "that is my birthday!!!" It is so funny. 

Man, I love my little munchkins!!! What a blessing! 

Lance is so imaginative! He loves making up silly games. Here he is with a string tied to a cup and an old watch. He flings the watch up and tries to catch it in the cup. 

 A few funnies from the week:

Lance found some change and gave  it to me. I said "what is this?" He then says, "it's for taking care of me!" 

While putting panties on Lexie she says "I have little panties and you have big panties for your big butt!"

Lance is stuck on getting a pogo stick for Christmas. He said "I am getting a pogo stick with different settings like a kangaroo, frog & rabbit"

Our week

This past week was a really good one. Monday started off with a trip to the doctor's office where Lexie finally was given the okay to have her cast taken off! The X-rays looked great and the doctor was super happy with how it healed up: definitely an answered prayer! Lexie was so cute as she just sat and stared at her arm! She rubbed it for a long time (it had quite a bit of dead skin on it). Her arm is so little! It looks like a little baby arm. She was even more excited to get home and take a long bath all by herself! 

We later met with a new friend for pictures. It was the perfect day for pictures. We had just got a fresh layer of snow on the ground and it wasn't too awful cold out.  Lexie fell asleep on the way to the park so she wasn't too into pictures at first but she had so much fun in the snow she soon forgot she was tired. Here is a peek at the kids pictures.

Tuesday we spent relaxing at home playing.

We made our own face paint by mixing corn starch, baby lotion and food coloring. 

It looked yummy enough to eat, but I discouraged the kids from doing so. They loved painting on their own faces. I just wish we had some mirrors so they could see. 

After their faces were covered we started painting on paper. I asked Lance what he was making and he just said "it's not supposed to be anything. It's just art!" 

Wednesday the kids and I woke up and got ready to go visit daddy. Daddy has been working 200 miles southeast of here in Tok. I wanted to be driving during daylight so we didn't leave till almost 11. Lexie had her backpack filled with her puzzles and was ready to go. 

The drive down to Tok went great. The road conditions weren't too bad. I pulled over and snapped this picture of the sun at noon. You can see how icy the road is there. 

Besides a small stretch of icy road it was smooth driving. The last 50 miles into Tok it was snowing, but we made it no problem. Thank God for good snow tires!

Andrew ended his work day a little early so he could spend the evening with us. We ate at a restaurant right by his hotel called Fast Freddy's. I was really impressed with the hotel and the restaurant. Most small towns in Alaska don't have much to offer. Andrew said it was because Tok is the first town you enter once you cross the Canadian border into Alaska. 

Our evening went by way to quick. The next morning I loaded up the car then we met Andrew for an early lunch before heading back to Fairbanks. 

That day it was mostly clear out so I was able to see the beautiful mountains that surrounded this little town. 

Tok was a neat place. I can't wait to go back next summer and explore the area. 

Saturday I had a Pampered Chef party, but no baby sitter. I was in full freak out mode. My host assured me that the kids would be fine at her house, so reluctantly I brought the kids along. And, you know what? They were great! They had so much fun up in her kids playroom that we never heard a peep out of them. What a relief!

I wrapped up my December shows this weekend and will be off work till early January! 

Today the kids and I were invited to a church by a lady I met at a Pampered Chef party. We LOVED it!!!! O my goodness! The music was awesome! The kids stayed with me till after worship service when the kids wete dismissed. They had a blast. The band had instruments such a a mandolin, guitar, BANJO, drums and key board. The kids danced and just had an amazing time! I really enjoyed the preacher also and the size of the church. Big enough to make lots of new friends (our age!), yet small enough to fit right in and become an ACTIVE part of the church. 

After church the kids and I spent the day hanging out making oatmeal cookies! 

We made a small batch for us and some to take to a friend who fell down some slick stairs and got hurt. 

We wrapped up the evening with our nightly story time. Tonight Lance picked out Curious George (his favorite). The kids were locked on my every word. You would have thought it was the first time they had ever heard any of the Curious George stories. 

I just had to snap a picture!

Every night I read about a dozen stories, sing a song or two, and tell a story. Lance has such an imagination. He loves for us to make up stories to tell to him. He helps out by picking the characters names, deciding what the character is, what they are doing or how the story ends. A couple nights we have FaceTimed daddy so he could tell the kids their story. Daddy tells the Best stories!