The end of a season...

With the holiday season, inevitably, always comes the end of the year. I feel like during those times we are pushed in to a state of reflectiveness...whether it be reflecting on the birth of Jesus Christ and the impact that has had on the human race--what would I hope for without it?, the past year and what highs and lows have accompanied that, or past holidays and traditions that have spanned the generations or are just being begun for the first time. We are drawn to reflect...drawn to absorb every moment....drawn to be thankful!I am so thankful for this little lady! Addyson Grace is the HAPPIEST, good-natured baby...She always has a smile, a "courtesy" laugh, and as of late a wave for everyone ;) However, I do feel like my little baby is is coming to the end of a season and edging on the beginning of a new one. She is definitely becoming mobile. She is not only able to roll all over the floor anymore but it really starting to be able to bear her own weight and even take a few "steps" up on her hands and knees. She can make it from the crawling position back into a sit and the tip over times--where they inevitably bonk their head--are getting less and less ;)I love the small glimpses God is able to give me into her personality! She is super social...loves to wave at everyone. She loves other babies and other little kids...constantly tried to grab their faces and pull them to hers for a kiss. She is also so laid back and easy going....this is GREAT I love it! However, some sort of schedule would be nice. I just can't make her do the same thing from one day to the next if I tried!My little rollie-pollie...she would almost rather roll than crawl-she can get there much faster!Karys then popped her head in front of the camera...Take My picture, Mommy!She has been quite the little poser lately! She just loves having her picture taken lately--kind of reminds me of Megan when she was little ;) Karys is definitely my Joy! She is always making us laugh and smiling...she loves to play with Addyson and other little kiddos. We are having a hard time getting her to realize what it means to give personal space--she just loves to cuddle with everyone and really has no definition of personal space ;)She LOVES school! Moreover I think she loves her friends and getting to spend time playing with other ppl than just her sisters. She also LOVE LOVE LOVES to dance and sing. At any given time you could come over to our house and she would probably be dancing in circles around the kitchen and singing at the top of her lungs bits and pieces of a song she knows combined with other bits and pieces of ones she makes up. She definitely preaches in all she does, reciting bible stories, singing songs, praying or raising her hands and closing her eyes. KJ is definitely my strong willed child as well who has also caused me a few gray hairs lately ;) She wants to do things on her own timing on her own accord and doesn't want to be told different. She stands with one toe on the line most the time and tries to see how many times she can push it across either to get my attention or without me noticing. She is definitely one extreme or the next singing at the top of her lungs/crying at the top of her lungs and either way unless you can get her calmed down and recentered she can't hear a word you are saying otherwise ;) She gives the BEST hugs! and is definitely a words of affirmation girl! She loves to get compliments and give them as well...Karys Joy standing by the tree by the ornament she made this year in PreschoolAddy checking out the Dr. Seuss book on the floorGracie is always saying "Hi Happy Baby!" It is so true!She has taken on many names as well....will be fun to see which ones stick! Addy, Addyson, Addyson Grace, Addy Grace (daddy's fav), Ads (Karys likes to abbrev), Baby, Beautiful/pretty girlThis picture just reminds me of her blushing saying "Oh stop"And finally I am brought to Gracie...a season that is definitely ending as she progresses into the 2nd half of her preschool year. Next year she will go to Kindergarten and she is more than ready--or so she says! She is growing up so fast and just learning more and more new things all of the time! She is a fountain of knowledge lately and eager to perfect the new things that are being introduced to her. She loves going to school and is also so thankful for the friends she has!She is also very expressive and a goofball ;) She is quick to take on the mother/nurture role. I think if we have problems it is usually b/c she thinks she knows the best thing for everyone and what would be the best solution to most problems. This is a blessing as well from time to time b/c she is the BIGGEST helper! Always eager to help with Addyson, wash the dishes, clean up after herself, etc.Gracie is so Genuine and wears her heart on her sleeve. You will know if her feelings are hurt and you can read her emotions on her face. I LOVE HER HEART! One of my favorite things about Christmas was just watching her! She loved to see everyones face as they opened their gifts...more than she even cared about her own. She loves to bring joy to others and come up with ways she can love and serve them. Whether she knows it or not she is the small hands and feet of Jesus daily to me, our family and so many!Gra loves quality time. She just wants to be known and have undivided attention. She could color for hours and loves her babies....she is a GREAT little momma! She loves crafts and just being creative and doing things with her hands....she can play on her own but needs to stay busy and would much rather play with a friend or with Karys. They are definitely each other's best friend--what a blessing!

Gracie loves her Auntie's--especially the time she gets to spend with Megan when she is home. I think that is one thing she is looking forward to most about Christmas time. She continually asks when Meg is coming home ;) My beautiful firstborn lady definnitely holds a special place in her momma's heart! And she and her daddy are very close. She is definitely a daddy's girl!

Oh sweet Lord, from whom all blessings flow....THANK YOU! for blessing us with these for now....

Decorating the Tree

This year it was hard to find a time when we were all home and able to decorate the tree together. I was finishing up lab this week, and our schedule's just seemed to be missing each other. However, on the 3rd, we were able to finally bust out the ornaments and have some fun. This did not occur however until Daddy got the tree in the tree stand and got the lights on it. This year this came with quite the challenge. You see once we got the tree home we realized how puny it really was. Because of this, the trunk was really small and the screws on the tree stand were hardly able to reach it. Rob tried and tried to get it to stand and was finally forced to seek other options. Yup, our tree was pretty red neck this year as it was tied to our curtain rod with fishing line to keep it from tipping over! Don't get me wrong, he did a GREAT job and you really couldn't tell unless you were aware that the line was there....but just the fact that it was tied with fishing line to keep it up, not to mention that it was uneven, small and lopsided....yeah-enough said!All of that aside, the girls were SUPER excited to get the decorations on it. They love taking them out of the box and remembering whose is whose and finding the perfect spot for them all to go. We do have a lot of "breakable" ornaments so it is a little nerve racking for me at times, but for the most part it brings back so many memories of decorating the tree as a kid.Rob making sure all the ornaments are strategically placed and that there are no bear spots. That usually is his job as I get the job of taking all the ornaments out and finding hooks for them.The beloved Mary and Joseph ornaments are a favorite at our house, everyone likes to hang these up! This year Gracie got to put Mary on and Karys Joseph...I don't think they even ended up next to each other ;)Gracie checking out her Strawberry Shortcake ornament that holds a picture of Her, Grandma Sally and Papa Jeff on her first Christmas!Karys checking out the ornament from Heather and Seth's wedding in 2005All of the ornaments that covered the floor.......and all of the breakable ones that were placed on the chair once they were hooked up and ready to go!Mommy! I can't find my arms, they are gone!Her nightgown sleeves were scratching her so she decided to try putting the ornaments on a different way ;)See mom....this works just fine!Gracie is my observant child....just loves to sit back and take it all in without saying a whole lot. I love to watch her face and wonder what she is thinking about! She is such a joy!A big ole sister hug in front of the tree once it is all finished!
Almost finished anyway, I put on some of the finishing touches and even things out....then we turned out the lights and just enjoyed the glow and sparkle of a fresh Christmas tree!

Oh the Baby food stage...

Rob has recently informed me that the baby food/teething stage that babies goes through is one of his least favorite things about this age. He loves the crawling and the fun tricks (waving, clapping, etc) that they start to do but I guess the idea of having food dripping out of the mouth in front of you or blown/spit all over your face is not his idea of fun ;) So yes, we have entered that stage. I am actually quite enjoying this stage with Addyson. She has eaten almost everything I have given her so far and does really well with it. I have also enjoyed embarking on the new journey of making quite a bit of my own baby food. This has proven to be somewhat challenging at this time of year just b/c we are in Iowa and as a result many things that I would be feeding her in jars are not in season in the freezing tundra that we live in ;) But tonight we were able to cook up some carrots and blend them up in our handy dandy Magic Bullet to provide her with quite the gourmet meal.
And in contrast to Rob not enjoying feeding her, Gracie LOVES to feed Addy! Granted there are the classic times where she gets food on her hands, the jar, etc and drops everything and is done b/c it is just to messy. But then there are the other times where "Addy is just loving me feeding her" and she will sit and feed Addyson an entire portion. Karys is not so into it which is just fine b/c Mommy is not really into it either, so she just sat by with her camera and took pictures and provided moral support...aka-distraction ;)Addyson all clean waiting for her foodGotta get those fingers in there too and make sure it all gets swallowed down. That reminds me of Karys and how she used to take a bite and then slide the fingers in and suck it down.Karys took a picture of Addyson and I after her mealI had to just laugh at these other pictures that Karys and Gracie took of Addyson. So typical of the different facial expressions she goes through during mealtime...
This is not one she makes very often but she definitely lets you know when she is done! That a girl...know when to be done and feel when you are full ;) She is growing so fast and I am sure now that we have entered the "food" stage that growth will just continue to speed up...doing all I can to hold on to my little baby but she is trying to crawl away from it and fast!

The Traditional Hunt for the "Perfect" Tree

Growing up, Rob always headed out with his family the day after Thanksgiving to find the "perfect" Christmas tree to cut down and bring home to decorate. This is a tradition that meant a lot to him and he has brought to our family. Although we didn't make it out that Friday, we were out on the 30th to see what we could come up with. It was a BEAUTIFUL evening! However it was starting to get chilly and unlike last year when it was so cold they let us drive our van out to find a tree, we had to walk out this year. Good thing the girls were a year older and super excited for this adventure!I forgot the zoom lens back at the car and thought I would really want it so I headed back to get it. Most of the ppl were headed far our into the tree field and over the bridge to choose their trees, so assuming that is where the good ones were that is where Rob and the girls headed too. You can see them way down at the bottom of the rows of trees.They had to run towards me when they saw that I was catching up to them, "Come on, MOM!"We headed deep into the field and over the wooden bridge as a beautiful sunset was starting to paint its way into the sky!This was one of the first trees that I found....looks pretty good don't you think?Of course we had to keep looking b/c another part of the VL tradition was that Rob usually was the one to find the winning tree and he couldn't leave it to me to make that decision unless indeed it was the right one!However, after one last sweep through we decided that this one was the winner. Karys and Daddy posing in front of our 2009 Vande Lune Christmas Tree!The girls get in close for a good look as Daddy cuts the tree downHe then hoisted it up and carried it back over to the bridge to wait for the tractor to pick us up....LOOK AT THAT SUNSET!!!Mommy and Addyson snuggle in to watch all the action and stay warmDaddy cut a little bit more off the trunk as the girls look onKarys holding the saw...Who let her get ahold of that thing?!?!?What a GREAT family pic we got with the tree in the flatbed and the sunset in back...GLORY!The girls and I on the ride back up to the barn where they would shake out our tree and we would go inside and pay. The girls were so excited to get their candy canes and coloring books that they give away inside.
Daddy standing proud before he pulled the tree off to bring it into the garage and leave it in water over night....decorations to follow shortly!

Bedtime Prayers

My heart overflowed to the point of tears last night before bed. I have been praying with the girls before bed lately. We talk about what we are thankful for the day and in general and then we talk about anyone we feel like God is putting on our hearts to pray for or if there is anyone we know who needs prayer.



I don't think I will be able to put you in the room with me last night the way I would want you to visibly be able to see and feel it but I will do my best to paint the picture for you ;)



We were just talking in general at first about what we were thankful for. Gracie, who was sitting on the edge of her bed-legs crossed and hands folded in her lap--was thankful for my birthday and all the birthdays we were celebrating this week. And for being able to go to Grandma Sally's and Papa's house and see Megan one last time. Karys was thankful for Tyeson, Mya, and Zach, three of the kiddos from preschool who just happen to be the ones we carpool with.

After that the girls came up with a list of ppl to pray for, Megan-safe travels back to CA, Aaron Paul--has had a really bad cold and ended up with RSV and in the hospital, Leah Grace--has an ear infection, and Baby Caden and Nathan--b/c we were praying for the other cousins why not add them to the list?!?

Karys prayed out loud all on her own to the effect off this..."God, please be with Leah. Her ears hurt so heal them. Help her to sleep well and feel better in the morning. Mommy, can you help me?" "Karys you are doing great!" "Well plz help Leah know how much you love her and thank you for loving us. There! Amen."

Gracie wasn't quite so sure about praying on her own but loved repeating the words that I had for her so that she could indeed pray for Caden and Nathan. Then I prayed for Aaron..."Mommy, he is pretty sick and that is serious so you better pray for him..." I LOVE IT! Nothing from me but a tangible way to see God already at work in the hearts of my girls! Praise you Father for who you are and thank you for growing and watering the seeds that have been planted in them by so many. PRAISE YOU and to you be the glory for their compassion!