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A Month of Christmas: O Holy Night

"O Holy Night"

Something special we wanted to do with Isaac this Christmas season was take him to a live nativity.  I researched several throughout the Metroplex, and it worked out perfectly that there was a hayride nativity at Northwood Church right here in Keller.

It was very chilly the night we went, so it actually felt like Christmas!  We weren't quite properly prepared for such chilly weather, so Isaac bundled up with Dave...

 and I wore Emma in the Moby wrap under my coat.

Even though there seemed to be about a dozen hayrides going through the display, the line was still nearly an hour and a half long.  Dave and I took turns waiting in line while the other one of us took Isaac to visit the petting zoo, go find more hot chocolate, or warm up in our Tahoe.  :)

The wait was worth it, though...as we rode on the hayride to the first scene, Isaac yelled, "There's GOD!" 

I only took pictures of two of the thirteen scenes.  It was so moving that I didn't want to be behind my camera the entire time.  We didn't know that the scenes would follow Jesus all the way through his birth, death, and resurrection--it was a beautiful portrayal of the true meaning of Christmas!

And something sweet that I don't want to forget is that right now Isaac pronounces the word nativity as na-tiffany.  :)

A Month of Christmas: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"

Last Tuesday, we went on a Christmas adventure over to NorthPark Center in Dallas to visit Santa Claus.  I had heard over and over how fantastic "this" Santa Claus was.  Most school districts in the Metroplex weren't out of school as of last Tuesday, so I thought it would be a good day to go!  

My mom went with us, too; she said a day in Dallas with her grandchildren sounded like "a once in a lifetime event"--how sweet is that?  

There is no fee to see the Santa at NorthPark, plus you can take pictures on your own camera.  But, you have to have a ticket, and there are only 350 tickets for each day.  The ticket line opened at 9 a.m., and I was in line at 8:57 a.m. and got #47!  I'm glad the traffic on the way to Dallas wasn't any worse, because we could have had an even longer wait than we did with ticket #47.  But, it was worth it, and we had a great day.  (I think it's impossible to go to NorthPark and not have a great day!)

 At 10:30 a.m., Santa came to his house in Macy's Court and told all the children stories along with his puppy, Widget.  It lasted about 30 minutes, and I was surprised how well the stories held Isaac's attention!

While we waited for our turn to visit Santa, we watched a puppet show starring "Ebenezer Scrooge" in Dillard's Court.

At the end of the puppet show, Scrooge told all the children to stand in front of his house for a gift that he had for them....the gift was spraying them all with a water gun!  :)

 We also visited the ducks and turtles.

 We also went outside into the inner courtyard so Isaac could burn off some energy.  They had these Christmas soldiers & drums throughout the courtyard, along with painted cutouts for taking your picture.

(After I saw how crooked Isaac's tie was while we were in the courtyard, I walked up to a random man and asked him to re-tie Isaac's tie--apparently this is a skill I need to have as a mom of a boy!)

After lunch, it was finally our turn to see Santa Claus!  Just like our earlier visit to Santa this December, Isaac told Santa that he wanted "a present" when asked what he wanted for Christmas.  :)  (Dave says we need to ride this as long as possible and not encourage him to ask for specific toys yet--ha!)

Emma had fallen asleep just before it was our turn to visit Santa.  I woke her up, and she sat on Santa's lap for a minute. But, between her crying from being awakened and Isaac "exploring" Santa's little house, I definitely didn't have time to catch a picture of Emma with Santa.

Thanks for coming with us, Mom-o!  We loved our day with you--and Santa!  :)

Emma's Nursery Reveal

This morning, I found Emma waiting for me to get her out of her crib standing like this!  This was quite a surprise to me, since Emma has never gotten into a standing position by herself before!  I love how Emma looks so proud of herself!  

Needless to say, Daddy will be lowering Emma's crib mattress when he comes home tonight.  So, while Emma napped in the pack and play this afternoon, I took advantage of her room being empty and took these quick pictures of her nursery!  

Emma's room is one of my favorite rooms in our house.  I love how pink it is!  More than that, I love the baby girl who sleeps and plays in this pink room and the joy that she brings to my heart.  The verse above her crib perfectly summarizes the joy & peace God has given me through the gift of Emma.  (It's hard to see in the picture, but Proverbs 13:12b is written under Emma Victoria on this vinyl.)  

"A longing fulfilled is a tree of life."  Proverbs 13:12  

Last year, when we were in the process of adopting a baby girl, I was working with a seamstress to create black and hot pink damask bedding.  As much as I still love that look, I totally changed directions when we adopted our Emma.  

I originally saw this set of fabrics (Kumari Garden by Dena Designs) on Etsy right after we adopted Emma and loved it.  Loved is probably an understatement--the fact that one of the fabrics was on backorder for 6 weeks didn't even deter me.  :)  The seamstress, Jessica, who sewed it all has a shop on Etsy (PLJ Design) and was so patient with all my e-mails.  She would send me picture after picture of the fabrics in different arrangements.  I couldn't be more thrilled with how Emma's bedding turned out!

Emma's bedding was delivered in May.  I put it all on Emma's crib & didn't tell Dave that it had come.  Emma was just waking up from a nap when Dave arrived home that evening.  He went upstairs to get Emma from her crib, and I'll never forget David walking down the stairs with Emma in his arms.  He stopped halfway down our staircase, and his eyes welled up with tears.  He finally said, "Sweetheart, the bedding is just perfect.  I can't believe we really have a daughter!"

 Jessica also sewed Emma's curtains.  I saw ruffled curtains on Pinterest (pinned here).  Jessica was able to recreate the ruffled look perfectly!  

We enlarged two of Emma's newborn portraits to a poster size and then cut them to fit these frames from my friend Ashley.  

I just love baby wreaths!  (Isaac's diaper wreath may still be on his door....)

My friend and neighbor, Kari, made this one for Emma's room!

My friend Lauren made this bow frame for many of Emma's flowers and bows.  

And, the rest of Emma's bows and flowers are on this bow tree on her bookshelf.  

My cousin, Anna, and I made this fabric-covered bulletin board for Emma's room.  You know me--you can never have too many pictures up!  :)

The bookshelf, along with the dresser and bedside table, were all mine from growing up!  (We also have the twin bed for Emma to use when she is older....though I'm happy for her to stay in her crib for much, much longer.)  :)  

The iron piece to the right of the dresser was light brown when I bought it at a consignment sale for $1.  I spray painted it white and then hung these outfits on it.  The pink newborn gown hanging on the left was one of the very first things I bought when we first decided to adopt in 2009!  And, it seems like just yesterday Emma was wearing the tiny sleeper hanging on the right.

Here's a picture of Emma wearing that same sleeper on her first Sunday at Keystone Church--March  4, 2012.

I love all the meaning behind many of the pieces and decorations in Emma's room.  I especially love that Isaac slept in this crib that David built, and now Emma does...and, we are praying that God sends us more little ones to use this crib.  For now, though, my heart is so thrilled with the two blessings God has given our family.    

A Month of Christmas: I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas"

Since tomorrow's high is 78, I think this is the closest we're going to get to a white Christmas!

I found this snow play idea from this blog (via I Can Teach My Child's Saturday Link Up).  

I used our cheese grater to grate a bar of white soap.  The bar of soap was part of a gift from one of Isaac's baby showers, so it was a little hard.  :)  I'm sure a newer bar would be much easier to grate. 

I put it in a pie pan and added a few machines and a small white dog.

Isaac's favorite part was burying the puppy dog under all the snow and then recovering him.  :)

Best of all, this activity smells really good!  And, it's guaranteed to keep your child busy playing for a long time while you wrap presents (or do dishes, as in my case).  ;)

A Month of Christmas: Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

"Jolly Old Saint Nicholas"

This morning, we went to our annual Breakfast with Santa.

Poor Emma!  She sat on Santa's lap just long enough to get one good picture before she burst into tears!  Isaac, on the other hand, couldn't stop smiling at Santa!  When Santa asked Isaac what he wanted for Christmas, he said "presents."  :)

 Last year, I cried before we went into Breakfast with Santa.  I was so sad that we had lost both adoptions, and I was hurting so deeply as I saw baby after baby sitting on Santa's lap.  I'm so thankful for the blessing of Emma in our family this year!  I love this baby girl!

After pancakes and pictures with Santa, Isaac did some of the activities.  

Isaac put glue on a cotton ball; then, Dave pushed him on a scooter across the hallway to a big poster of Santa.  As Isaac's scooter hit the wall, he put the cotton ball on Santa's beard.  :)

I can't even put into words how much I love my family.  Several years ago, I don't think I would've ever believed that I'd have two children in my arms... and that these two precious children would bring so much joy to David and me.  We are blessed!

My favorite comment of the morning was when we were leaving.  Emma was babbling, and Isaac said, "Mommy, do you know what she's saying?  She's saying, 'I want to open my Christmas presents TODAY, Mommy!' "

Wordless Wednesday