Tae-Kwon-Do

 Reece had belt testing last weekend and earned his yellow belt!  Basically to earn a new belt color, he has to memorize a 21 step tae kwon do form and certain terminology and history having to do with tae kwon do.  Oh and he has to do all of this in front of an audience of parents and peers.

 Testing Day!

 Master Foster congratulating him on his advancement.

 Off with the Orange belt and on with the Yellow!

 Super Proud :)

 At home posing....

Then these goofballs decided to wear Reece's previous belts and pose with him.  Love how they support each other in their own goofy ways :)

Christmas Programs Galore!

 Both Reece and Mia were in the Christmas program at church this past weekend.  Mia was a last minute addition as they usually don't let kids as young as her participate.  However since she knew all the songs and had been at rehearsals, she was invited to stay.  And we were nervous!!  How in the world was she going to stand in front of the whole congregation with all eyes on her, and behave let alone sing?!? And then give her maracas to boot?!?  

Let me introduce you to our 'Mexican Children' in "Christmas Around the World"

Initially she was stone-faced-serious, with a lopsided, falling hat....

 

 And there was Reece, who nailed his speaking part of couse!  He has such a gift for this stuff :)

And then the maracas....

And she did fabulous!  She eventually fixed her hat and sang and danced like a champ!  Super Proud of both of them!!

Later that day (yep same day lol), Reece had his Home School Choir program.

 Practicing before the program

He did great!  He practices so hard all fall and winter for this and enjoys it so much :)

Hunting for the "Perfect" Tree!

Each year we cut down our own fresh Christmas Tree (and each year I contemplate purchasing an artificial one for the following year ;)  It always seems to be an all day ordeal, messy, cold etc.  However, on the other hand, these are memory-making times for the kids so each year we suck it up, bundle up, and head out in search for the perfect tree again.  Of course I forgot to take the camera on the actual ride and cutting of our tree, so I took pictures afterwards while they were wrapping our tree.

   Playing Hide-N-Seek in the midst of the Christmas Trees

Of course the day wouldn't be complete without a fit from the princess ;)

  

And the petting of the horses....

that Mia hated!  Wayyy past nap time at this point!

New this year was whatever you would call this ride.....

and fun was had by all :)

Frosty-Frost, Santa, Being Thankful & Mattress Sliding

 Every night at about 5:30 when it gets dark, these decorations light up in town.  If you look out our windows you can just see the snowman dancing around.  So every night at about 5:30 Mia starts running around screaming "Frosty-Frost!!!!!  I see him, I see him!" So we all have to run and look and pretend we are as excited as she is....every night lol!  The boys think it's getting old and sadly for them, it's just the beginning ;)

Right near Frosty-Frost is Santa's Chalet.  Mia saw Santa walking into the chalet the other day and begged to stop...so we did.

Then of course she was a nervous wreck!  She wanted me to sit on his lap and tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas!  Not so much.

  

So she was a brave girl ...(code for:  I bribed her)

And she did great, told him everything she wanted, all about her birthday and her brothers.  She melts my heart :)

A little late posting, but this was a favorite project we worked on as a family during November.  Each day (ok as often as we remembered, we may have missed a few ;)  we wrote down what we were thankful for.  Sounds cliche, but it was a really neat way to catch a glimpse into the kids hearts.  For example, Mia's were so simple, thankful for her teacher and bunnies :)  Reece's were more heart felt and emotional, full of deeper thoughts, and not embarrassed to say exactly how he feels.  Tysen's short and sweet, sometimes one word only, guarded and no emotion.  Except when we talked about our 'thankfuls' he opened right up and spilled why he was thankful for each of his items. And Jamie & I:  loved that ours first and foremost ours each  included being thankful for each other.  However this was very puzzling to the kids lol.

Mattress Sliding!

Goofs, all of them :)

Mia's Birthday Pictures

Hello Kitty Party!

Cake baked from scratch by big bro Tys, and was my first attempt at cake decorating :)

Mmmm  M & M's

Making up her own words for each card....most  read,  "It's Your Birthday Mia"  too cute.

The "Magic" Mirror that tells her what a beautiful princess she is, self-confidence builder for sure ;) 

Spirit fingers lol!  So excited :)

Love her :)

With Papa

and Kar Kar

Tys bought & filled a pinata for her <3