Christmas Day

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was a little different than we planned.  We had planned to wake up rushed, open present from Santa and head up to Minnesota.  But because things changed-we ended up staying home for Christmas day because I wasn't up to traveling.  So John woke up early and went out to do cattle chores and Elsie and I snuggled.  She saw the gifts under the tree but waiting very patiently for John to come home to open them all up.  

From Santa Elsie received: 

, a Minnie Mouse Color and Sticker book, the book "Jamberry", and a stocking full of play doh, hair clips and bands, a new battery operated Dora toothbrush and toothpaste, and 

 a grocery cart full of Melissa and Doug grocery boxes and cans

A Minnie Mouse Coloring Book

The Book Jamberry

And a stocking filled with a new battery operated Dora toothbrush, toothpaste, 

playdoh, and hair accessories

After presents we ate a yummy breakfast made by John then got ready and headed back over to his parents to celebrate the day.  We had lunch there, spent some time visiting with his family, and played the dice game.  It was a nice afternoon.  

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

I don't normally say this but I was glad when 2013 ended.  We had a rough end of the year, mainly because we learned that the baby we thought would be arriving in August 2014 was not going be arriving after all.  The news that I was pregnant was a shock to just about everyone including me but I was very excited about the idea of a new addition to our family.  However, on Christmas Eve, things changed.  We went in for an ultrasound because some things didn't seem quite right.  My suspicions were confirmed when the technician discovered that there was a gestational sac but no baby developing inside it.  So the pregnancy was not viable and it would only be a matter of time before I would experience a miscarriage. It was heartbreaking news and kind of put a damper on our Christmas plans and plans for our future.  So December was a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride.  On top of that I was having frustrations with selling our house so I was ready to say good bye to 2013.  (I will add there were so many wonderful things that happened in 2013 but the end of 2013 was a tough one).

I was ready to welcome 2014 on a positive note.  We spent Jan 1st doing a few organizational projects and while cleaning and organizing I came across some money tucked away in birthday cards.  What a fun little surprise-surely this was a sign that 2014 had a lot to promise.   On Jan 2nd more good news, an offer on our house!  I do believe that 2014 will bring lots of happy moments and memories for our family!  Although I don't do New Years Resolutions because I try to set goals for myself around my birthday (see:  31 Years, 31 Goals).  I hope to work on these goals through out the year!  

We have so many fun things to look forward to this year, besides the house.  We get to travel to Poland to celebrate the wedding of my brother and his beautiful bride Magda.  It will be so much fun and great time spent with family.  

My good friend Randi just had a little baby girl names Clara!  We can't wait to meet her!  

We have a few little family vacations planned-one to Duluth for sure.

I have two races on the books so far-one for February and one for March (a 10k!! eek)

Our friends Adam and Ruth are moving back to the states and we can't wait to visit them!  

John and I are going to go see George Strait in April! 

And although we experienced another pregnancy loss, we have hope that 2014 will bring news that our little family will grow from three to four.  

And who knows what other wonderful things 2014 will bring!  I can't wait to find out.  

Christmas with John's Family

On Christmas Eve we spent the day at John's parents to celebrate Christmas.  Elsie spent the morning there with Bev, Brandi and the Girls while John and I ran to Ames for an appointment.  She had fun playing with her cousins and making the gingerbread house I bought for them to make.  I must apologize because I did not do a wonderful job of taking pictures this year.  

John and I arrived right around lunch time.  We opened our gifts, played for a little bit and then enjoyed lunch together.  Afterwards while Elsie was napping, we helped Bev get ready for the big family gathering that was happening later in the day.  

More dollhouse furniture

We got the girls these Viking headbands along with Vikings T-shirt...They changed into their shirts not long after I took this pictures :)  I'm glad to see they were excited about their gifts. 

Later in the day, John's whole family (Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandma) came to celebrate Christmas.  

 

Cousin Julia and Uncle Denny

We do a gift exchange each year.  On Thanksgiving we draw names to see who we buy for.  This year we bought for Danny, Alex, and Denny.  

Elsie gift came from Jenny.  She received a Garden Themed Minnie Mouse with accessories and a Minnie Mouse book that she loves!  It is a Hallmark book.  It doesn't read to her but it will pick up on phrases we read and interacts.  My gift came from Katelyn.   I received a wonderful gift certificate for a massage from the girl who I normally go to and John received a new insulated coffee mug and lunchbox from Brandi.  

John's Grandmother also gives gifts.  Elsie got a Minnie Mouse hat that she put on right away and wore for the rest of the night.  She also received some fun Disney socks.  Evelyn also put together these files that had information, news articles, pictures, etc for all of her children and grandchildren.  It was really neat and something that will be treasured and fun to look back on.  

House Update

I had been waiting for this day for so long!  Well actually just 4.5 months but finally, we sold our home! It was a wonderful day when "Sale Pending" signs were attached to the "For sale" signs in both of these yards.  We haven't closed yet but we accepted an offer, inspections have been completed we are just waiting for appraisals.  Things are finally moving along.  

But lets go back to where I last updated.  The last I mentioned, we had a deal but it fell through right away.  This was back in November and we were trying to decide if we should pull the house off the market when our contract expired.  Well, we obviously decided to extend it and the sellers accepted.  During December we received another offer but it wasn't an offer we wanted to accept so we declined their offer.  We also had someone come back for a second showing but they decided on a different home.  I told Marc that when our contract expired on Dec. 31st that was going to be it.  I was so done with it all.  Well the last week in December we changed our minds once again-this was a constant internal battle going on in my mind.  After talking we decided that if we stayed in this house, we would have to put money into it.  At a minimum we would need to install a fence for Tally.  I was so over putting money into this house knowing that we would eventually be moving.  So once again, we asked to extend the contact until mid-February.  

It is a good thing we decided to extend because on January 2nd we received another offer.  It came from the same couple who offered in December but they came back with a better offer.  It took us a few days of back and forth and John and I debating whether or not to accept the offer.  It wasn't the best offer and it was less than we were hoping for but in the end we decided it was good enough to get us out of this house and into the other house.  We may not have gotten a great deal selling this house but we feel we got a pretty good deal on the house we are buying.

It was so stressful trying to decide and going back and forth between John and I.  Even the minute I hung up from Marc to accept the offer I starting doubting whether it was a good decision or not.  We are so comfortable here in our little home.  I can stand at the base of the stairs in the living room and see every other room on the main level and upstairs.  We are comfortable here financially also.  It is always scary to take on more debt despite the fact that we can afford it.  We love our kitchen, love the quiet street we live on, and love our neighbors!  We have great friends on one side of us and on the other side have developed a neighborly friendship with couple there.  I know I will miss the driveway chats.  But I know in the next few years we will feel like we are outgrowing this little 1200 square foot split level.  We are starting to feel that way a bit now.  The other day I got really sad thinking about how Elsie calls our house her "home" and soon it won't be her "home" anymore.  

Our quiet little street-just as side note-since we have been living on this street (seven years now) only one other house has gone up for sale.  Many of the residents have lived on this street for many years.  One couple tells us stories about when her kids were growing up and how all the kids would play together in the street and all the moms would sit outside drinking coffee, watching them all play.  

I'm so excited about this front porch! 

Although there are things we will miss about our current home.  We are so excited about the new home and all the possibilities it holds for our little family.  To compare just a little-our house has about 1250 square feet on the main and upper level.  This new house has 2190.  Almost 1000 more square feet.  The basement is around 950 sq feet vs 300 in our current house.  Besides the one car attached garage, there is a two-car two story detached garage with a total square footage larger than our current home!  The yard already is fenced in too!  We are really needed this for Tally!     

Detached Garage

It is hard to get too excited because we haven't closed on the house yet and anything can still happen but the inspection on the new home went really well and there were no major issues and the buyers for our house decided not to conduct a home inspection.  We haven't gotten the appraisal back yet but hopefully all will go well.  (the appraisal on our current house is happening on Monday).  Our official closing date is not until Feb 28th so we still have a month to wait.  

As for packing, we haven't packed a single box yet.  I wanted to wait until inspections and appraisals were complete.  We are hosting our annual game night on February 8th so I think the bulk of our packing will be done after that.  We might do a few things with the garage and the basement before then though.   I did go out the other day and buy some supplies to pack and called a couple of moving companie s to get quotes.  We are leaning towards hiring a company to help us move some of our big, heavy stuff.  Plus who knows what the weather will be like so it would be nice to not have to be hauling boxes in crappy weather.  

If you follow me on Pinterest, I am sure you have seen me pin some new ideas for the house.  I have a list of the things I want to do and the changes I want to make or the updates that need to happen.  There are two main priorities for the inside of the house:  remove the wallpaper and remove the carpet from the bathrooms.  I can't wait to share interior photos!!  Soon enough...I have a feeling these next four weeks are going to either drag on forever or go by really fast.  

Christmas at Home

This year Christmas didn't really go the way we planned.  Between other family being sick and some stuff coming up unexpectedly in our household most of our plans went down the drain and we had to change things up.  We did end up making it to all but one of six family celebrations.  And some had to be changed to a different day.  Despite everything we were going through, we did have a wonderful Christmas and it was just SO much fun with Elsie this year!  I can imagine next year will only be better.

On Sunday Dec 22nd we were supposed to get together with John's immediate family but Emma had been sick off and on for the past few days with a fever so we decided to push it back to Christmas Eve day.  So instead we decided to celebrate Christmas as our little family.  I wasn't sure what we would eat because I had cleaned out our fridge, didn't have anything taken out of the freezer, and we were planning on leaving to go to MN two days later so we didn't have much fresh food.  We invited Dale and Bev over for dinner and Bev offered to bring over the lasagna and fruit pizza she had made when she thought we would all be getting together at her house.  It worked out perfect!

So they came over, Elsie opened up her presents (as well as John and I) and we just relaxed for the evening.  It was wonderful!

Melissa and Doug Reusable Sticker Pad

Water Doodle Pad

I also want to add since we switched from celebrating our Christmas from Monday to Sunday, John and I were frantically trying to finish painting Elsie's dollhouse during nap time since we were going to give it to her that night.

This year we gave her the book "The Mitten" by Jan Brett, Melissa and Doug Reusable stickers (She just loves playing with stickers), a pink MN Twins outfit,  Melissa and Doug Fold and Go Barn, and her dollhouse, doll family, the kitchen and kids room set, and the car.  Dale and Bev also brought over a few things for her to open-the tent and the water doodle pad.  John gave me a tripod for the camera, a wireless remote for the camera, onion goggles, and a salad dressing bottle so I can make my salad dressings from scratch.  Elsie and I gave John a new change jar that counts the money as you put it in, a trunk locker for his golf shoes and accessories, a new golf towel, balls, and tees, and a 3 piece Dremel tool kit.

Sporting my new onion goggles! They are amazing!

John has really enjoyed making things for Elsie over the past year and I though this would be perfect for all our DIY projects around the house and for his projects he makes.

This next series of pictures showcases the wonderful dollhouse John made for Elsie!  It was a big hit!  

We wrapped up the little dollhouse family and when she opened them up we told her they needed a home and that she should go look for a house for them.  It didn't take her long to figure the big object covered up by the sheet in our dining room was their new home :)

And she went right to work putting them right where she wanted them.  

We didn't buy all the furniture sets for each room in the house.  For Christmas we furnished the house with a kitchen and the kid's room.  We also gave her a little family car.  We did ask other family members to help when asking for ideas for Elsie we gave them some rooms that needed furniture such as the living room, bathroom, Master bedroom, and also a little set of pets.  So for now she is set, although there are MANY more sets of furniture and accessories to buy.  This particular brand of toys also carries a swing set, a patio set, a vegetable garden, a flower garden, and a BBQ set.  But for now she has a nice start and we can build upon it as the years go by.  The house has nine rooms in it so we use 6-7 rooms as the dollhouse and the top two outside spaces are used as a bookshelf and it works perfectly since we moved her bookshelf out of her room to make room for the dollhouse.  We also have plans to do some decorating in the house.  We would love to put up some "wallpaper" and add some rugs and figure out a paint color for the trim so I guess you can say it is still as wok in progress.  

After supper we let Elsie play some more and she loved playing inside her new tent which features a light at the top that shines various colored stars all over the tent. 

After playing for but I realized we forgot to give Elsie one of her presents (thats when you realize your probably gave too many).  But she loved it!  Her Melissa and Doug Fold and Go Barn.  (We LOVE Melissa and Doug products)

It was a wonderful night to kick off our many Christmas celebrations! 

Disney on Ice

 Back on December 1st we took Elsie to Disney on Ice.  Dale and Bev treated the whole family to practically front row seats.  It was wonderful.  Elsie absolutely LOVED it!  She spent some of the time sitting on our laps but most of the time standing in front of us dancing and moving to the music.  It was a lot of fun watching her.

We did decide to do pictures with Minnie and Mickey.  I am glad because Elsie loves that picture and carries it around the house.  

Like I said, our seats were pretty good.  We were right up against the boards and it worked out perfect because then Elsie didn't bother anyone in front of us with all her dancing :)

Thanks again to Dale and Bev for the tickets and the wonderful night!  I will never forget how excited Elsie was to see her friends Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy!  

Elsie's 2nd Birthday!

On December 14th we celebrated Elsie's 2nd Birthday!  It was her actual birthday which was pretty neat.  My family was able to make it down this year which was great (last year just my parents made it down due to some nasty weather).  Because we didn't know where we would be in regards to the house situation we kept this year to just family (and Amber and Marc and family).  Our house doesn't allow for very large gatherings but it seemed to work out pretty good.  

When I first started planning her party I had planned for it to be an "Owl" theme.  Her invitations said "Look Whoooo's turning two?, I ordered the cake and explained that it was an owl theme with the theme colors being brown, dark pink, and a turquoise color (based off the invitations), and I had purchased the paper to make her birthday banner.  About a week before the party we set out to buy some supplies for decorations and for plates, cups, etc.  Well when we got to the store I realized she isn't going to be excited about an owl party...she is going to be excited about a Minnie Mouse/Mickey Mouse party. So I decided to make the change and I am so glad that I did!!!  She just LOVED it and was so excited to see anything that revolved around Minnie or Mickey.  I also though it would be fun to see if all the kids coming to the party had a Minnie or Mickey mouse shirt and they did so I asked if they could wear it.  I will never forget how excited Elsie was when the jackets would come off and she would see that they were wearing a Minnie or Mickey mouse shirt!  Pure Joy!

From Left To Right:  Danny, Piper, Allie, Olivia, Emma, Elsie, Cayden and Aubrey

The Minnie Mouse theme just didn't end with the decorations or shirts, Elsie received so many wonderful gifts, many of them featuring none other than Minnie Mouse.

Like a Minnie Mouse Robe and pajamas.

A large plush Minnie Mouse

and a Minnie Mouse dress.

Besides her Minnie Mouse gifts she received many others like this easel and accessories that go with it,  a Mickey and Minnie blanket made by Grandma Bev, books, clothes, a marble run, magnetic doll set, quite a few other things and from us she got...

A new bike, complete with a bell.  She LOVED it!  

A last minute change to the cake meant finding our own decorations.  

It all worked out though.  

We also had the brilliant idea to have a pinata.  Lets just say it got pretty dicey there for a while.  Next time I know we need a larger space.  Somehow we got lucky and no one got hurt.  

It was such a great party and a wonderful evening with family and friends.  

Elsie is so blessed to be surrounded by so many people that love her, so thank you all who came to celebrate!  

Oh and just a few pics of the decor: 

Goody Bags

The Birthday Banner 

Balloon Garland-oh and we discovered our amazing dining room can fit 16 people around tables comfortably.  

And I just have to add these pics of her playing with the easel the following morning.  

Happy 2nd Birthday Elsie!  We love you so much!