Christmas Catch-up and a New Year's Snap shot

Happy New Year, everyone!!! I can't believe I've been blogging for over a year now. I am so grateful to have a spot to store all my memories. I would be sad if I didn't have our families memories recorded, and this is just the perfect way to do it. I also love blogging because it is a way to share with all of you what our family is up to. It's so nice. So, New Year resolution # 1- Keep blogging!

Now, to finish up some 2010 stuff! I didn't get a chance to tell all we did the month of December but I am going to attempt to get a few more glimpses of last month down before I forget completely. So:

1. We made cookies!!!

 Lydia threw/poured flour every where while I was at the sink rinsing something off. (I only had my back turned for a second.....) She was not happy to get scolded, or to have flour all over her face after she was done throwing herself a "flour celebration".

These are some of the Christmas treats we enjoyed and enjoyed sharing.

2. We partied!

We went to a small group Christmas party, a Sunday School class Christmas party, work Christmas parties, and our neighbor's Christmas party. They were all so fun!! Our neighbor stole the girls hearts though, when she invited Santa to come and play at the party. Santa read all the kiddos a story, had them do some elf training, asked them what they wanted for Christmas, and passed out candy canes. Only problem? Julia and Lydia were dissapointed on Christmas eve when they didn't get to play with Santa again. Julia wanted to hand deliver the cookies to Santa. They consider him a friend, now.

3. We decorated!

 I also took a few pics of our home to share. I'm sorry the one below is on it's side. My husband cleaned up our computer so that it would run a lot faster, and in doing so, he took off some of my photo software. I should be getting it back sometime, but for now, please enjoy this lop-sided Christmas tree.

 and, this dark picture of our mantle/fireplace.

The pic below is of Julia dancing in front of our small tree that we had upstairs this year. Last year, this tree was our only Christmas tree and held only two ornaments and some candy canes. This year, it was a much fuller, happier tree. I am so thankful that last year taught me to be so much more thankful for this year!! If you want to see our tree last year. Click here.

4. We celebrated!

We had such a great Christmas season!! The Lord has truly blessed us, and we loved every minute of celebrating his birth, and the fact that he came to redeem us.

Below is one pic of the girls on Christmas eve. I couldn't get the girls to sit still for a moment to get a great shot, but you get the idea. We had just come back from a wonderful Christmas eve service at chruch with Granny Ruth, Papa Don, Uncle Daniel and Aunt Xiaolan, and we were just about to enjoy dinner with homemade cookies for dessert. Distractions were galore!

So, now I've documented a little more from our 2010! It was a great year. And now, we are looking forward to 2011. It has already started off so much better than last year! :) (If you want to see what we were doing in the wee hours of the first day of 2010, click here.)

Last night, we went to a little get together in the Sugar Land town center. They had music and little street shows and it was so fun. One of the shows had two guys who did occasional stunts, but mostly they were dancing and acting goofy. From time to time, they invited audience members to come out and dance with them, and Julia decided she really wanted to go out and do a forward roll. She didn't stamp her feet and act put out when they didn't notice her, but she just waited, and waited. I was so proud to see her working through this adversity in a more mature fashion. Then, the guys decided to take a break, and Julia didn't get the chance to do her forward roll for everyone. She didn't cry or throw a fit though, we just went on, and saw a few more things and then shared a frozen yogurt.

Afterwards, we realized the goofy guys were back. The girls were still very interested, so we pulled up our strollers and watched their act again. At the very end, I got the opportunity to tell one of the guys that my girls wanted to dance with them. Both girls went out and Lydia shook her stuff while Julia did a forward roll. Everyone applauded my sweet girls and then Lydia also did a forward/side roll. They were so proud of themselves, and of course Dave and I were so proud of them too!! It was all so much more exciting than it sounds.

After that, we watched a small fireworks show and headed home. Dave and I were invited to a party at a friend's house, but we ran out of time and didn't have a babysitter, so we decided to just come home, put the girls to bed, and ring in the new year--just the two of us. It was so nice and relaxing.

Below is a (hard-to-see) picture of the goofy guys.

And here is a (hard-to-see) picture of the girls dancing with the goofy guys.

Today has been such a blessing as well. We ate a nice breakfast, piddled around the house, played soccer together and are now all relaxing. It's been such a great family day! Thank you Lord today!  And, thank you all for reading my blog! (I am honestly amazed if any of you made it to the end of this long post.)-Amber