Christmas 2009

We did have Christmas around here:)

We started off Christmas Eve with breakfast at Mom and Dad's with the Murphy family. We have been doing this for years. Ryan and I have known each other since we were two. Then we ran some errands and headed home to greet Gramma and Papa! We were so excited to have them for Christmas:) Xmas Eve night, we went to my Uncle Todd and Aunt Susan's for a movie. This has also been a family tradition, but we usually go to church. This year we decided to join the rest of the family for mexican and the movie, "We are Marshall." What a great movie!!

Then it was home to get the littles off to sleep and set out presents.

The girls, getting ready to get all snuggled in their beds on Christmas Eve

The stash
Jeremy had the girls turn around all at once....
Gracie's highlight was new make-up
Piper put all of her presents right in her face, so this is all I have of her:) This is her very own camera
I love it when they wear hats:)
Papa got a new blanket
Pipes and Papa
Gracie and Gamma
Daddy got a new coat
Reese joined us after a little while:) She got some teething toys and rattles
These are the only things Pipes asked for...green lipstick and green nail polish. Do you know how hard it is to find green lipstick? And every store I went in, they looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for it:)
After the girls finished opening presents, they broke out the make-up:)

Oh isn't that beautiful?
Hmmm, thought you should get a second look at that
Gamma got a makeover and a half!!
Then....we got a BIG surprise from Daddy! We are going to Disney World!!!! He handed each of us an envelope. One with a big question mark, one for Gracie Girl, one for Piper, and the last one says sweet Reese
And this is what was inside

I had forgotten the wonder that kids experience at Christmas. It was so fun this year to experience that with the girls.

The wonder lasted all month long. From doing the Advent calendar, to the Nativity scene, to eating a piece of chocolate each morning to count down the days till Jesus' Birth, they were filled with anticipation and wonder.

And I was grateful that they really understood what Christmas is all about. I took Gracie for her 6 year check-up a few weeks ago and the Dr. asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She looked at him and said, "We celebrate Jesus birth." His eyes got really big and he looked at me and said he'd never had a kid say that before. To be honest, I was surprised that was her answer too. But I am thrilled that it was. Of course she knows we get presents, but she knows what's most important too. And that makes her momma smile:)

Family Baking Day

Last Wednesday, we got together for family baking day. It's a yearly Christmas tradition for the Looper girls and our kids. To Lauren, it's not Christmas until you have family baking day:)

Gracie girl, mixing peanut butter balls

Aunt Abbie and Bella

La La- the baking queen
We make lots of messes
PB balls

Making suckers
Sugar cookies
Decorating cookies

We ended up with PB balls, sugar cookies, white trash (chex mix), chocolate suckers, and lots of fun and laughter:)

Merry Christmas Friends

Mary, did you know

That your baby boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know

That your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you delievered will soon deliver you

Mary did you know

that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know

that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby you kissed the face of God?

The blind will see

The deaf will hear

The dead will live again

The lame will leap

The dumb will speak

The praises of the Lamb
Mary did you know

that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know

that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know

that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect lamb?

The sleeping child you're holding is the Great, I Am

Merry Christmas Dear Friends. We hope you have great joy as you celebrate the Birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Rejoice! Our Savior has come!!

Live Nativity

Each Christmas, my mom and dad's church does a live nativity scene. They've been doing it for 16 years! I was in it for the first four years as Mary. It's quite a powerful performance. There are angels that stay perfectly still for the whole performance, live animals, and of course the whole cast to make Jesus' story complete. The story is told through narration and song. It is beautiful.

Beforehand, the girls got to pet the animals

Pipes absolutely loves animals!
Here's all our crazy crew:) The Gibsons, Manninos, and Balts kids

The lowly manger

The pony, well it was supposed to be a donkey, but there were some technical difficulties with the donkey

Gabriel talking to Joseph
Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus
On the last song- Hark the Herald Angels Sing

The girls wanted to go back tonight! I told them we'd go again next year. It took me a few hours to thaw last night:)

Glory to God in the Highest!

Sugarplum Boutique

Our friends Tim and Kim wrote this:

Sugarplum Boutique is helping us raise money for our adoption. How you may ask? On December 13-15, all you have to do is buy some really cute hair bows/barretts or hats and mention our name and she will give us part of the money, with the other half going to other orphan charities. This is a wonderful site that supports different orphan causes and helps people who are adopting. Just go to http://www.sugarplumorphans.etsy.com/ Happy shopping =)

Operation Christmas Child

Gracie and I had the privilege of going to Operation Christmas Child's Charlotte Processing Center this past week.

Can I just say what they do is totally amazing!!! Literally thousands and thousands of shoeboxes go through there to needy little boys and girls ALL over the world. Monday was family day, so children were allowed in. They transform the place in to all these little stations so we can get a glimpse in to what they do there. We acted out the journey of a shoebox from an american family to a little child in Panama, we did relay races to pick inappropriate things out of the shoeboxes and replace it with something appropriate, we watched a video of them giving out boxes in Panama, and then we had snacks with Bob and Larry!

This is the assembly line that each and every box goes through. They make sure the boxes have appropriate items in them and they make sure they are filled to the brim!

I was totally awed by the way God is in each and every box. They told us story after story about how God knows who gets each and every box. One little boy got a pair of gloves in his box but he lives near the equator where it's hot all the time. The workers were puzzled by this gift but guess what? The boy's family owns a bakery and it's his job to get the bread out of the oven. He always burned his hands and the only thing he really needed was gloves!!

Another little boy got a box full of socks. Most children would have been sad about that but this little boy was thrilled. He was a burn victim and he couldn't walk because he didn't have any socks. Now he had several pair! Glory to God! He cares about every little detail of each of our lives.

Many of these children have never ever tasted candy before. Never. This will be the only gift many of them will ever receive. Ever.

So go fill some shoeboxes! I am going back on Tuesday night to help pack boxes and I would be happy to deliver yours.

Gracie Girl is SIX!

My Gracie Girl just turned SIX!! I have to be honest, I love the fact that she is getting older. It just gets more fun! She is such a sweetheart. I can't imagine life without my little helper. She is a total blessing to me. Constantly anticipating the needs of others, especially me.

She is still a momma's girl. Loves playing with make-up and her new hair styling salon. One of her favorite things to do is to take care of Reese:) She's quite the little mommy.

She is starting to learn to read and write stories. Her first one will debut here soon:) She's pretty good in math too:)

Gracie is passionate about everyone "walking the line," especially Piper:) We're working on being respectful and humble. Most of the time, she is pure joy!

For her birthday she wanted a ballerina party. So we did a Sugarplum Princess Ballet Party from the Nutcracker.

Here's the crew...
The cake

PipeyFirst we had a royal feast and then we were on to some ballet. We danced through the house

Jeremy was entertaining them while I got ready to the next activity
Bella Boo
After the ballet performance we went to make our own Palace of Sweets....Gracie and cousin Tristen.
Sippy and Anna Grace
Lucas and Jackson
Rhiannon
Ellie Bellie and Rachel in the background
Quite a palace

Then it was pinata time!
They did a great job. I think Jackson was the one to get a good whack and open it up

Waiting for the candy to fall
Then it was present time. Gracie was so grateful for each and every gift. And she has enjoyed them all!
Lastly, it was cake time!

Umm, we were singing to her:)

It was quite a par-tay!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE GIRL!!!!!!