A Very Merry Christmas

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

And she's off!

A Few Random Shots...

Sisters:




Stretch Break on the way to D.C. for Thanksgiving




Mo loves to rake...

...But after 5 minutes she has lost interest...

...and she is on to bigger, better things.

Family Reunion in South Carolina

Jeremy's Grandmother Olson moved to South Carolina just before Thanksgiving. We went down to give her a big welcome and to introduce her to her great-grandchildren. The trip started out a bit rough - Maddie and I got sick on the way down (a nice little stomach bug Moriah passed onto us from the previous week, which we passed onto Jamie and Jeremy the following week). However, all ended well as we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather and great company. I had a blast using Luiz's camera which (as you can see) takes incredible photos.

Meme and Mora Racing

Fish Out of Water

Feed Me Please Mama!

and...my personal fav.

and now, for it in real time...

Goat Lady Farm

Yesterday we took an afternoon trip to the Goat Lady Dairy Farm, a thriving sustainable farm that has it all: goats, pigs, chickens, a flourishing garden, delicious cheeses and features some of the local artists.

A Simple Girl with Simple Needs

Things that make me smile...
*Jeremy cooking up a big breakfast for dinner
*a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks
*watching Mo chase squirrels in the backyard
*the way Maddie squints and looks like a mole when she first wakes up
*playing volleyball Monday nights...and winning
*"family weekends"
*trying a new recipe and having it turn out better than expected, then adding it to my new recipe book

My new favorite picture.

Random thoughts of the Mo

Moriah decided to share this with me today right in the middle of a very (not-so) focused discipline discussion:

Moriah: Mom, sometimes Margelow (who is actually Marlow, her cousin) gets grumfy (grumpy).
Me: Oh yeah, what does grumfy mean?
Moriah: It means she needs to eat a sandwich and take a nap.

You Are Forgiven: Lessons Learned from a 3 Year Old with a Big Heart

Moriah: Mom, I'm sorry for not listening.
Me: I forgive you.
Moriah: I forgive you too.
Me: ?...I'm sorry too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Moriah: "I love you anyways."

Happy Birthday Baachan Branderhorst!!

Making the Best of it...

Last week Jeremy's sister, Amy, came to visit with her kids. Moriah had a blast with Marlow, who is 2 months older than her. The two girls were left at the house while the adults and older kids watched Grandpa butcher 2 of Keith's roosters. I willingly (and gladly) volunteered to stay and watch the girls. At first Marlow and Moriah were disappointed they couldn't be with everyone, but disappointment quickly turned to laughter as the two began to entertain each other...

Mama-Momo-Maddie Time