A Santa look back :)

My goodness the time goes FAST!!!!!

 

 

Merry Christmas!!!!

What a WONDERFUL and peaceful Christmas we've had!!  We started our Christmas with our traditional Christmas Eve lunch with Michael's brother and family :)  it was a really nice lunch and we all had a great time!

The girls had a great time!

 

Our little reindeer :)  I love pinterest for hair ideas!

Then we went to the 4:00 church and let me tell you, it was SO peaceful, we were not rushed, we got there in great time to find a parking spot AND seats (which any other year is such a rush to get that) and we were able to just enjoy everything about being there!

We were especially thankful that my dad was released from the hospital too!!  Thank you God!!

Then we went home and my dad came over and then my mother in law came back and we had a WONDERFUL Italian dinner and then we opened the family gifts that night!  Thank you so much everyone!!!

My dad had painted Mikayla a Thumbelina box and here she was thanking him and saying, thank you so much for taking the time to do this for me...so much appreciation!!  THAT means so much to me that she recognizes how much hand made gifts take!

 

Throwing the paper.... she had SO  much fun!!!

 

 

 

Then we went to our neighbors Christmas party for awhile, then came home and got ready for Christmas day!!!  We got a late start getting everything ready but it all worked out perfectly!

Reindeer food AND water.....

Santa came!!!!

 

Mikayla is SOOOOO happy!!!

 

We went to bed around 1:30-2:00 or so....she was up at 6:00!!!  It was awesome!

Our visit with Santa

I put my favorite picture first.... what a FUN Santa we had. He really took his time with Mikayla.

 

 

We came prepared, Mikayla wrote her list.

 

 

They had a very serious discussion about it.

 

 

 

 

He looked to me for guidance at one point based on her list, I gestured one or two and later in their conversation, he said well now maybe one or two of these will come for you, she said oh I know, my mom told me that might be the case.  Then he thanked her for giving him some options.  HA

 

They hugged and he thanked her for being such a good girl.

 

 

 

What a GREAT Santa he is!!!!  I love this!!!!!!

 

Dance Recital

It was recital time again!!!  Mikayla did an amazing job!!  I'm so proud of her.  She looked beautiful too.  I can't believe how grown up she's getting!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaping!!  I love this picture!!!

 

 

 

She has had so much fun dancing!!  I have so much watching!!!  I can't wait till the next program!!! 

 

Celebration/Memory Tree

As is our tradition every year at my dad's church - they have the ornament ceremony. 

It's always a bit hard because it makes you face your loss head on but it's very beautiful and inspiring too.

This year there were new faces there, some who recently lost their loved one and wanted to honor their memory....and there were those of us that have done this every year.

In the picture below, notice how on the top part of the tree, the lights went out.... Pastor Steve said it beautifully.  He said, that tree is a lot like like our feelings about life after losing our special people, it's still beautiful and wonderful to celebrate and maybe at first glance we didn't even notice that the lights were out, it can still be beautiful.  It represents that there is a darkness in our minds/hearts/holidays that just can't ever fully be lit up again because of the pain of losing what we have lost. 

That is just so true.  This is the perfect symbol to express that sentiment exactly.

 

My mom loved to collect angels so this year we got an angel for my mom and my dad got a butterfly for his mom.  During the service they call each persons name and ring a bell and then that family or person goes up and hangs their ornament on the tree and you can talk about them or not, whatever you want to do.  At one point, Mikayla poked me and with tears in her eyes she says "Mommy this is so sad".... what a darling she is.

 

As we are busy with the hussle and bussle of the season, take a moment to reflect and remember those that have gone before us.  Lets remember the best days we had with them. 

 

I really do miss them....I miss them a lot. 

It was a BIG one.....

What kind of big one?... well... the biggest test Mikayla has had to date....

As part of Mikayla's first communion this school year, she was required to take an oral test on the first workbook that we've completed.  She had to know the answers to 19 questions, some of them had 1 part answers others had 10 parts to know to answer the question.  To say she's been stressed out is an understatement.

She quite literally cried every day about this test for the past two weeks.  I'm not sure if she was more worried about who was going to administer it or the test itself.  So Saturday morning as we walked out the door, she had huge alligator tears streaming down her face. 

I've been strong and encouraging this entire time (well I'd like to believe I was) lots of hugs and preparation going on at my house!

She practiced a lot, she answered a lot, she memorized a lot... she was ready - but she didn't have the confidence that she was ready.

It felt a bit like I was leading her to the lions den......

So we get to the school, wait for our turn and then go to the testing room.  The tester let me stay in the room with her which gave Mikayla a ton of comfort but I tell you as she started her test, the lady doing the testing was so encouraging to her and positive and full of smiles, I could see Mikayla's confidence getting stronger and stronger...and as she got stronger, I got weaker....

She started doing the prayers, I started crying.
The lady asked if she knew any of the 10 commandments and Mikayla said yes, I know them all, and she said them - I cried a little more. 
The lady asked if Mikayla knew any of the seven roots of sin, she said yes - I know them all and she said them....I cried a little more.

I sat in my corner with my hair in my face hiding it, just crying.... it was quite ridiculous!!

Then the lady said, "you know what... you've passed with flying colors, you've done the course work, I believe in my heart you know this material, I'm very proud of you"

wait...what??  all that fussing before and that's it...and now I'm the one crying - such a "mom" moment.

I thanked the lady and had tears all over the place and hugged her for being so kind to my little girl and I'm pretty sure the lady was surprised at our reactions LOL - she probably made a note in Mikayla's file "mother is a basket case"

WOW..... that was a big one...a  big test, a big moment, a big relief and we walk away stronger but yet my heart still feels tender thinking of it - even writing this I have tears.... my heart flows over.  It's amazing this motherhood thing.... just amazing!

Here's our gal with her passing slip :)

So as we leave, she was skipping and be-bopping all over the place and I had my head hung and tears...total role reversal from the way we walked in.

Just for the record, she has completely recovered.... me.... I'm not so sure!  Good thing the next one isn't for awhile.

Christmas program at school

OHHHH what fun this program was!!!  We laughed, we cried, we laughed till we cried!  It was amazing!

 

Here come the 2nd graders

 

 

 

The teacher does a really great job with them!!  They all participate!

 

 

My instruction was that as she comes down the middle isle, she faces this way.... um... we took a chance that we were able to decipher what side to sit on and thank goodness we chose correctly, she was RIGHT in front of us. 

 

 

(in the pictures below, you'll see how much taller she is than one of her classmates, granted the little girl is on the smallish side for her age but wow, makes my kiddo look ginormous!)

 

 

 

 

 Here she is with her beloved teacher!  I really appreciate all she does!!!

 

It was CRAZY fun!!!!