The Saturday 7

1. By Monday our tree was finally dry enough to bring in the house and decorate. I was surprised by how intently Levi hung up ornaments. He was very focused! I was also babysitting Ruby when we did the tree, so she got to be in some of the pictures.

Lena finally worked up the courage to put the angel on the tree! (After years of being too afraid of the height factor.)

This mischievous little elf thought it was hilarious to pull ornaments off the tree and run away with them.

2. We hosted our annual birthday party for Jesus today, so I spent all week cleaning my house. It's so dumb - these are my closest friends. They don't care if my house is clean. But I care. I also put Levi to work. He scrubbed these windows for a while then said, "My arm is getting sore from all this work!" Lol

3. My parents are in the last stretch of their moving journey, and have reached the hardcore purging stage, so I got a big box of my childhood papers and report cards this week. I was astonished when I went through them to read this from my 2nd grade report card!

I made sarcastic/disrespectful comments to adults and had to be reminded to treat people kindly and talk nicely??!! I seriously thought I was more like Lucy as a kid - quiet and shy (and naughty at home, but never at school!). I can't even imagine where the sarcasm came from. My parents never talked like that at home! #sinnature

4. Last night was the girls' school Christmas program - which was actually held at our church. Can I tell you a dirty little secret? . . . . I don't actually enjoy kids' Christmas programs. I'm horrendously nervous for the kids with speaking parts and/or solos, you can never understand what the kids are saying, and we always end up in the back row behind all the camera wielding eager beavers who got there early enough to sit in the front. Lol. Actually, having it at church helped with the seating issue. And don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that my kids get this opportunity, and I give huuuuuuuge props to the music teacher and the classroom teachers who work so hard to make it happen. (Especially after sitting in on half of one practice. Oy!) I just don't especially enjoy watching the finished thing. Consequently, and because my girls were just in the choir with no special parts, I didn't invite any of our families. Lena was not happy with me when she discovered that, but she got over it quickly. Haha. Oops!

How did this girl get so old??

The calm before the storm waiting for the program to start. This kid was an absolute terror. Justin and I were in and out of the sanctuary all night dealing with him. (Credit where credit is due: mostly Justin)

Lucy top row, right side, just to the left of the big black speaker. Lena front row, left side, behind the soloist in the mint green dress.

5. Today was the 9th annual Birthday Party for Jesus. We've been doing this with our small group from the time Lucy was a toddler. Our numbers have increased exponentially. We're up to 18 kids now! I was a little worried about everyone fitting in our house, but it went off without a hitch! I wised up this year and asked everyone to bring food. In years past I've done it all myself, but I'm too poor and lazy for that now. Haha.

The girls were in charge of decorations. Haha.

This room was a lifesaver. All the kids played down here so the moms could sit upstairs and drink coffee in peace! And the best part about having a party with my mom friends is that they help clean up afterward! The after pic looks almost the same as the before! Thanks, friends!!

We had a delicious breakfast of monkey bread, sausage and bacon, grapes, egg/sausage/potato scramble, and coffee cake.

I made up a little lesson about why Jesus is better than Santa (after triple checking with everyone that no one in our group believes in Santa! Haha). Then we played this silly game.

No party is complete without cupcakes!

A quick sidenote: I always hesitate to share photos like these because I hate people feeling left out. If you wonder why you weren't invited to this super-fantastic party, please know that I would love to invite all of my friends and family with little kids! But we've drawn the line at just our small group because otherwise the numbers are way too overwhelming. I'm toying with the idea of hosting something at church next year, but I'm not sure about the logistics with that . . .

6. While we moms and kids were partying, the men from our small group (+my brother, nephews, and a family friend) were helping my parents move. They're sleeping in the new house tonight, and the door is closing on the old house. They have a week before they need to officially be out, but they're hoping to be done with the moving and clean-up before then. I really thought I was doing ok with it until I walked through the empty house tonight. I definitely got a little teary. Haha. #sentimentalsap The good news is that my parents got to meet with the buyers and they feel really good about handing the place over to them. It's a couple in their 30s with no kids who love the country. They love fishing, hunting, and gardening. They loved the wide open spaces and views of the house, and they're actually not planning on changing much!! It makes it easier knowing our home is going to someone else who will love it . . . and hopefully fill it with babies someday. Haha. While we were there tonight, there was a gorgeous sunset, so I had to snap one last pic . . .