Christmas Morning!

Molly's loot

Daniel's loot

Opening presents

Bryon's engineering side came and out and he and Molly created this masterpiece.

Little girl is in heaven.. tons of balls!

Rudolph et al..

Christmas morning breakfast.. eggnog french toast, breakfast casserole, bacon, cinnamon raison bread and some left over coffee cake.. yummy!

Molly playing with her new computer from Nini and Papa.

Self portrait.. sweet! Who loves my pjs!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas everyone! Hard to believe Christmas has now come and gone. Here are some pictures from our Christmas over here across the pond. We had a beautiful white Christmas this year which is such a sweet blessing. We all have so much to be thankful for. Family, friends, health, opportunity, freedom to name a few. But most of all, we have the knowledge that Christmas is not just a day for Santa and gifts and even family. Christmas is the day when a tiny babe was born who would come to change the world.. forever.... Luke 2...

Baking cookies is a tradition for many families at Christmas, so we decided a couple of years ago to make that part of our tradition as well. So, Bryon is in charge of the event and I must say, he was quite on top of it this year. The cookies he made were much yummier than mine last year.

Molly has always enjoyed baking with me, but getting to bake with Bryon took fun to an all new level. I think they "sampled" way more than they will admit to.

Prepping the Reece's Cups.. sooo glad that wasn't my job, definitely would not have had enough for the cookies.

All done! Let's see how we did!

The culmination of our baking.. Daddy and Molly, three types of cookies.. Mommy, fruited coffee cake and cinnamon raisin bread. Our favorite by far were the sugar cookies from Great Gram Mushrush's recipe, so tasty and heartwarming being so far from home.


Baking is done, baths are over, Christmas pjs are on and we are attempting to take a picture with the stockings Great Gram made us.. Only Daniel is way too tired and Molly's natural smile is long gone, so this is what we got :)

Story time. We read "The Night Before Christmas" and the children's book we have about the Christmas story. Then we sang a couple of songs.

Cookies and milk for Santa and an apple for Rudolph.

Time for bed. Molly decided Daniel needed a shoulder massage to help him settle down..

Night night chillins! Stay tuned for Christmas day post.

Christmas Morning!

Molly's loot

Daniel's loot

Opening presents

Bryon's engineering side came and out and he and Molly created this masterpiece.

Little girl is in heaven.. tons of balls!

Rudolph et al..

Christmas morning breakfast.. eggnog french toast, breakfast casserole, bacon, cinnamon raison bread and some left over coffee cake.. yummy!

Molly playing with her new computer from Nini and Papa.

Self portrait.. sweet! Who loves my pjs!

the Sunday before Christmas..

Headed to church the last Sunday before Christmas. Thanks to Nana and Grandpa for these adorable outfits and to Great Gram Sargent for the beautiful handmade Christmas stockings. We really miss everyone and love you all a lot!

Our day

A couple of you new mammas asked what our daily routine is so this post is for you!

Our day starts with 7-8am wake ups. Then we get everyone's clothes changed, potty trips done and head to breakfast. We turn on kids Bible songs and jam while Molly eats her oatmeal/yogurt/egg combo and Daniel eats his cereal and bottle. Then we clean up and our day begins. This is my handsome little guy just after breakfast.

Our mornings are spent either at playgroups, Bible Study or here at home doing all types of activities. Some days we have "School" and work on letters, numbers, colors, weather, etc. Other days we play with her kitchen, do puzzles, flashcards, memory games, Bingo, baking projects, etc

Then Daniel goes down for a morning nap and Molly and I have lunch. After lunch she has her nap and Daniel wakes up for special mommy time. Daniel takes a nap later in the afternoon as well. He takes 2 naps now.
Once the afternoon naps are all over, they cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie together. Molly puts her arm around Daniel and sometimes feeds him his bottle if he gets a little fussy. This is one of my favorite times during the day. It gets even better when Bryon gets home and we are all four cuddled together.

Then Bryon gets home and we all have dinner as a family. Molly then gets her wild time with Daddy running and playing a lot rougher than mommy plays. Daniel jumps in his jumper laughing at them or just squealing. This is my clean up time. The day is then over and its bathtime.. One of Molly and Daniel's favorite times of the day. Bryon gives their baths and you can hear them singing, dancing and carrying on all over the house.

Finally it is bedtime and that process is another post for another day.

Thomas the Train!!!

Merry Christmas

Visit to Santa's house on the way to the train. Santa had a special gift for all the children.

Molly helping Daniel open his gift

We're on the train and ready to go! Choo choo! We went on a hour ride through the beautiful country side and were served all kids of treats on the way. Molly had a juice box and candy and we were served mince pies and drinks.

Thomas!! This is the real Thomas the Train and he came chugging into the station just before our train departed. There is a really interesting history of Thomas on the Nene Valley Railway website worth checking out.

On our way to the car we ran into this little guy too! It's Percy!

I always assumed Thomas was a made up cartoon but fortunately for us it is not! Only 30 minutes down the road from us was a whole little adventure just waiting to be found.

Wales Finale

Our last day in Wales, we took Molly to a place called Folly Farm. It had farm animals in one section, a zoo with the only giraffes in Wales in another, Santa and crafts in one building, and an indoor amusement part with rides and play structures. Molly rode her first fair type rides all by herself and loved it.

This is the toddler merry-go-round which she liked a lot more than the one with big horses. Especially since she could ride in a shiny silver sports car which she picked out above all the other options to ride on.. man, we are in for it!

Lots of little tree lined arched roads with ice glistening on the branches. It felt like a beautiful winter wonderland!

I stand in awe of God's greatness. How great is our God to give us such beautiful works of art. If we are able to see sights like this here on Earth, imagine what we will behold once we meet our Creator and see Heaven!!

Wales part two

Daniel is one happy baby. This smile is always on his face. It was so cold in the Welsh mountains, Daniel has on thermal underwear, an undershirt, a long sleeved shirt and this lion jumpsuit.. needless to say, he was sweating by the end of the day, but at least he wasn't cold!

Lovin our superking bed!

Oh yes, it snowed on Thanksgiving! Molly was totally amazed. We had tons of snow at our house last year but she didn't really comprehend what it was, this year it was magical.

Our Thanksgiving feast from a cooler. Crock pot roast and veggies, can cranberry sauce, stove top, pop in the oven biscuits, bakery pumpkin pie, egg nog and blueberry cider to finish it off. And even better yet, the memory of having our little feast in a cabin in Wales surrounded by people we love, lots of snow and warm memories.. can't beat that!

Molly and Daniel ready for Thanksgiving! And yes, Daniel is almost the same size as Molly