Happy New Year Two Thousand and Fifteen! Wow. Life just doesn't stop moving, does it? Over in our little corner of the world, days are cold and germs are abundant. Life is finally returning to a routine and calm after the busiest time period that I have ever experienced in my adult life.  And thanks to that return normalcy,  I am excited to sit and reflect on the final three months of last year.
Please enjoy The Sweetest Things of 2014, Q4,

1. October Birthday Girls...the year ended with all three of our girlies being even numbered years!
   
   The girls of the month.
   Sweet Murphy Girl, my angel who often asks me if she can get back in my belly and be a baby again, who still sometimes pretends to breastfeed, and who loves snuggles more than just about anything, went from being a little girl of three to a big girl of four on October 3rd. Her birthday morning wish was a repeat of last year's breakfast: a loaf a Trader Joe's pretzel bread all to herself.
   
   Her wish was, of course, granted.
   
   After her celebration with her classmates. 
   
   Even our contractor, Mr. Todd got in on the well-wishes
   by decorating a paint stirrer in Murphy's honor! 
   On the weekend following her actual birthday, Nanny and Pa graciously took Wright off our hands so we could really celebrate the big girl. Before we headed off on our adventure, Murphy opened her gifts from Pops and Misha. 
   
   Princesses for days...
   We headed uptown where we had a fun dinner at a fancy(isn) restaurant and then stayed at a nice(isn) hotel for the night.
   
   Swimming on your birthday in October?
   Yes, please!
   The next morning, we met friends to watch 'princesses iceskating' which is what Murphy calls Disney on Ice 100% of the time.
   
   
   Sweet Skye, Carter {Nora, the doll}, and a stoic for a moment birthday girl.
   
   Three princesses and a superhero.
   
   I loved this day.
   Following the show, we headed to Cowbell for lunch, presents, favors, and cake. Lindsay and I loved chatting with our grown up friends and the kiddos had a ball just being silly. 
   
   Two of my most favorite people. 
   
   Fun abounded.
   
   Us.
   Minus one.
   
   Make a wish.
   (She'd waited for this moment all day week.)
   
   Cake. Made. Them.
   
   Crazy.
   Then, just a few weeks after Murphy turned four, our precious Baby Wright turned TWO!
   I guess by some perspectives this would mean she's now a toddler and no longer a baby, but I'm choose to not adopt that viewpoint: my baby she she shall remain.
   
   
   First thing on the morning of her birthday, surrounded by her surprises.
   Wright did not have school on her birthday, so we dropped Murphy off and then headed out for a special treat, just the two of us. 
   
   Posing for a quick picture.
   When it's your birthday, it's totally acceptable to wear your bunny slippers in public.
   
   And, to eat a big 'choc' cupcake for breakfast while wearing said slippers.
   
   What?
    Is there something on my face?
   This girl. Wright. Wrighty Pie. Itty Bitty. Bitty Boo. She may be my baby, but she is anything but a baby. 
   
   First school picture.
   She refers to her classmates as 'da babies'. 
    Her opinions are endless and strong as is her will. Her pediatrician described her as having a 'persistent and intense' personality type yet warned against googling it. She's the only human I've ever known to get so angry she actually... wait for it... SPITS.
   
   
   That's right. 
   This adorable, pint size darling spits in my face when she's especially mad. 
   She also throws whatever happens to be in her hand at the time her anger rages. I've been on the receiving end of a rather large round brush square in the nose as well as tap shoe to the kneecap. On the flip side, she's such a form of comic relief in our home. Whether practicing her snogging during dinnertime prayer or showing off her best dance moves, she keeps us all laughing.
   
   
   Honk!
   
   Current favorite tunes:
   Shake It Off! and Let It Go
   
   And, because when you dance on bubble wrap for long enough
   you're gonna need to rest on bubble wrap.
   I think all four of us are a little sad to see Wrighty growing up faster than we would like. {And more than one family member may have mentioned needing to add another baby to the bunch! Eeeek!} 
   
   Wright's birthday dinner.
   Nothing but fruit. It's her favorite thing.
   
   Sweet handmade card.
   
   Not quite sure how about the candles.
   {Mommy's wish was that this year would go much slower than the last.}
2. Discovering the Force...in mid-November Lindsay decided to introduce Carter to Star Wars as a way of having special movie dates with her as well as starting a tradition that he plans to continue with each girl as she turns six and a half.
   
   {This is six and a half.}
   He put some thought into what order to show the movies (whether to start with the originals first or go in chronological order) and took her out to dinner to reveal the surprise before the first premier. Although he was, undeniably, pretty excited about the whole thing, he didn't really expect much as far as a reaction from her. He wasn't sure if our American Girl Doll loving girl would be interested in the movies at all or if she'd even want to watch any beyond the first one. Let's just say it was love at first Jedi or Ewok or Vader; she was smitten. 
   
   Getting cozy for a showing.
   I've loved listening to the two of them discuss characters and plot twists and theories and ideas. Carter has really been intrigued by the depth of the characters, particularly the heart of Darth Vader. She begged each weekend to watch the next movie and became more and more gaga over it all. Two weeks before Christmas, she amended her wish list to include her favorite characters as action figures.
   
   Made her morning.
   
   Just hanging out in our DC hotel room.
   She takes them everywhere.
   
   Star Wars inspired art.
   Who knows if our other two girlies will be even remotely interested in Star Wars the way Carter has been, but it makes my heart all warm and fuzzy seeing our biggest girl bonding with her daddy over something that just the two of them are able to share. 
3. Dressing Up and Playing Roles...regardless of the day, month, or season, with a house full of little girls, our home does not lack drama, and dress up occurs most every day. But these final three months of 2014 provided several opportunities for the typical to get bumped up a notch or two. The girls' choices of Halloween costumes this year really allowed each of their personalities to shine through.
   
   Murphy the Mermaid, Wright the Pincess, and Carter the Leopard.
   
   {Special thanks to our talented makeup artists/BFFs.}
   
   Could she be anymore in her element?
   
   That is one excited Pincess.
   
   That face MELTS ME.
   For the second year in a row we've joined some of our favorite people for a block party and trick or treating. 
   
   Kids. Lots of 'em.
   
   Our trick or treating buddies, Sarah and Zachary.
   This season of the year also brings with it fun holiday performances. For Carter, this meant a winter themed concert at school and a performance with her acting class. The school concert consisted of several songs sung by all the first graders. Many of the children had speaking parts; Carter did not and was sure to voice her disappointment in this to me more than once including through exaggerated gestured and facial expressions during the program. Can I blame her? Girlfriend was born for the stage! I do think this picture of Carter, and the cuter-than-a-button-Andrew that I snapped between songs in just about the most precious thing ever.
   
   This is the third session that Carter has taken an acting class, but since she's now a little older, the class actually works together to write a script, then they and put on an actual show at the end of the session.
   
   The group acted out this book (a favorite of mine as a child!).
   
   And Carter played this role: Miss Viola Swamp.
   
   Nailed it.
   It was a hoot watching Carter in character, and she sure did enjoy belting out such lines as, 'Shut your mouths!' to her students. 
   
   Best acting teacher ever.
   
   Pa: her biggest fan of the night.
   The following week, it was time for Murphy to take the stage. In addition to singing the Christmas songs as the preschoolers normally do, this year they played various roles from the Nativity. Murphy's role was that of the Innkeeper's Wife, and she had practiced her line, 'NO ROOM!' daily for several weeks leading up to the big day. 
   
   So happy to spot us across the chapel.
   
   A sweeter innkeeper there never was.
   Murphy was a little overzealous in her role and shouted, 'No room!' a wee bit early in the cutest little four year old voice. I was afraid it may frazzle her, but it didn't at all, and she said it - again - just as enthusiastically when it was time. She sang louder than nearly any other voice in the group, too! She never ceases to surprise me; just when I think she'll be timid or shy, she shines brighter than I could have pictured. 
4. Aunts and Uncles and Cousins and Great Grands, Oh My!...one of the sweetest things about the last few months of the year was the number of family member we got to see and spend time with, especially those who we don't get to see very often. In early November we took a trip to Greensboro and visited with Great Grandma Margie.
   
   Something really got them all tickled.
   
   Love seeing them with her.
   Thanksgiving brought our trip to Tulsa to celebrate the holiday with Lindsay's family. We're so fortunate that the girls are easy and seasoned travelers. 
   
   Effortlessly gliding down the moving sidewalk,
   American Girls strapped to their backs...
   As has become the routine, the actual day of Thanksgiving was spent with extended family at a cabin on the lake in Arkansas. Carter even described this tradition perfectly on a paper for school:
   
   Although in her words, it almost sounds like breaking and entering.
   
   Look at that bunch!
   Now, amongst that crew are lots and lots of people whom I've grown to love dearly. For me, though, this year was extra special because one of my best friends in the world, who also happens to be Lindsay's cousin, was BACK! Kyndal and her family have finally returned to Oklahoma now that her hubby is all through with his medical training. Though our families have spent a lot of time together, even vacationed together, we've never spent a family holiday together. In fact, our girlies were a little confused as to what they were doing a 'Pops and Misha's Thanksgiving'. Anyway, having Kyndal there gave me a little something extra for which to be thankful.
   
   Pops + Misha.
   Their kids + the grand girls.
   
   The original four.
   
   Brother + sister love.
   Miss this girl so much.
   
   Our lil fam.
   {Is it sad that this is the only pic of all five of us I have from the entire YEAR?!}
   
   Massage assembly line.
   As is always the case, we visited with many more folks in Oklahoma than these photos represent. I'm happy to say that I was too busy enjoying their company to snap their pictures. 
   The wedding of my dear cousin, Kristen, to her (now) husband Cody on December 20 gave us cause to head to Texas. Though most of my mom's family lives there and Lindsay and I actually lived there for a year after we got married, we rarely get back. So, we welcomed the opportunity and made the most of the time. Lindsay and I enjoyed a late night wine and catch-up session with the Armstrongs on Friday night but hate that we didn't get the chance to squeeze their babies! Since our four best gal pals had just moved from Charlotte to Dallas last summer, we couldn't miss the chance to see them, too.
   
   Wright and her birthday twin, Juliet.
   
   Murphy + Byers. Leighton + Samantha.
   Carter + Nora. Eloise + Isabelle.
   When Wright first laid eyes on Kristen in her wedding gown, she froze, gazed up at her and said in a whisper, 'A pinceeeesssss,' as if she'd just seen her first real live princess.
   
   Sweetest. Thing. Ever.
   
   A beautiful bride and her adoring flower girls.
   
   Uncle Sam, my mom, Great Grandpa, and Uncle Mike.
   Love them all so much.
   
   Murphy feeding the squirrel. 
   Yes, that's a wild squirrel that my grandpa has trained to come up and be hand fed!
   
   Carter's turn at feeding.
   
   Coloring with Great Grandpa.
   I absolutely loved that the girls got to spend so much time with my grandpa. He spent hours, hours! playing outside with Carter. And when I say playing, I mean, hands-on playing: helping her make a leaf pile, helping her dig her gigantic hole, investigating nature with her. Watching their bond was one of the best parts of the trip, and they were both quite sad when it was time to say goodbye. 
5. Family Road Trippin'...an unprecedented event occurred during the week between Christmas and New Year's: the hubby's office was closed, and he actually did. not. work. Since this never happens, we each started thinking of ideas of how we could fill the week; it seemed like such a waste to just spend the time at home. After tossing a few ideas around, we finally settled on a family road trip to Washington, DC. Beyond our annual beach trips (less than four hours) and short mountain trips, we've never taken a road trip as family of five, and I (surprisingly even to myself) was actually REALLY excited about it! We headed out on the Sunday after Christmas.
   
   Happy lil travelers.
   The drive was fairly uneventful and stops were minimal. Wright had a fever and was not feeling great, but non-stop showings of Frozen on the in-car DVD player kept her pretty happy. Monday was our sight-seeing day and...
   Despite the lack of any sunshine
   
   Despite the cold temperatures
   
   Despite walking long distances with three young children and only one stroller
   
   Despite sisters who aren't always the best of friends when they are at home
   
   Despite a little sister who preferred the view of her iPad screen to the view of the sights...
   
   WE HAD A BALL!
   Maybe it was the semi-frequent reminders to the girls that Disney World would involve a lot more walking than this, so if they hoped to go there in the near(ish) term, they should probably suck it up and walk on. Maybe it was the random Lewellen Team family cheers Lindsay and I would spontaneously instigate. Maybe it was just the WE ARE ON A FAMILY VACATION AND WE ARE GONNA HAVE FUN, DARN IT! mentality, whatever the instigator of the fun, fun we had! 
   Now, for the sake of full disclosure, I must add that, despite her fever breaking on Sunday night and never returning during the trip, Wright continued to be completely out of sorts. She slept, a minimum of 15 hours each night, and when she was awake, she mostly looked like this:
   
   Just keeping it real.
   A favorite party of the trip for me was watching the big girls in a big city environment. They loved it,  and Carter asked more than once when we'd be going to New York City! On to bigger and better, I suppose... 
   
   Taxi cab cuties.
   
   Pigeon chasing.
   Tuesday began with a fun meet up with my girlfriend Dawn and her son Atticus for some museum exploring. Carter and Atticus had been 'text-pals' (her words) for a couple months, and she was beyond excited to meet him in person. 
   
   Playing with her Star Wars guys while waiting on his taxi.
   
   By lunchtime, things were getting crazy.
   
   He suggests a kiss over a chocolate cupcake;
   she seems less than interested.
   
   And we, the mommies, died. 
   Right there in the Museum of Natural History. We. Died.
   Another fun, fun day! I absolutely love being away from home. Even the stress of traveling with kids is so much less stressful to me than the stress of constantly thinking of what I should be doing when I'm at home. I never feel like I can really relax at home, and this getaway was exactly what I needed after a crazy month. It was so wonderful to bond as family and make special memories.
   
   By the end the trip, we had three happy girls... due only in part to those cake pops. 
   
   I have told more than one person how difficult the last month and half of 2014 was. I felt like I barely had time to take a breath, and yet as I just took the time to reflect back on that period and the months prior, I am reminded of how sweet it really was. I say this every time, don't I? And I also say that I hope to start writing more. And, I do. I miss it. But, for now, I'll rest for a moment in this place of gratitude. Thankful for blessings that come even in the midst of the craziest of times. 

Santa Brings the Goody Bags

Today marks the start of the countdown of twelve days till Christmas, and my True Love has given me a few hours all alone on this brisk Saturday morning. Rather than continue my shopping or wrapping or baking,  I'm taking a break from the madness to check-in with the blogosphere and with myself. The shorter time span between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year has proven to be challenging for a number of reasons, and I'm thinking a pause is in order.
We returned to Charlotte from Oklahoma on Saturday night after celebrating Thanksgiving with the Lewellen (and Purdy and Schmidly and Braly and Mathias and Hatch) bunch. Per tradition, we were all gearing up and getting excited to begin decorating the next day. Little did we know, that on the exact same day we would be trimming our Christmas tree, we would also be having another, less welcome tree, removed from the roof, attic space, and playroom of our home.

Outside.

Produced six holes in our roof and lots of damage.

And, inside.

A door totally knocked off the frame 

and a four three limb sticking through the wall.

One tree out, another in.

I just love the sight and smell of a real Christmas tree.

We were so thankful that we were not home at the time that this whopper collapsed onto our house; it would have been terrifying to hear and could have really hurt someone. We have been fortunate to have had an insurance company who has made the process as easy and pain free as possible, yet, dealing with a construction project in our house in the middle of what is the busiest time of the year has been a bit of a headache.

Dolly checking out the construction progress.

My already lengthy holiday to-do list extended to add items like 1) choose paint color 2) select light fixture 3) decide on nook layout. {We decided to take advantage of a bad situation and turn the attic space into a play-space for the girls.}
Other items on my growing to-do list are pretty standard for this time of year and mostly involve helping Santa check off his list. I've almost made scoring online coupon codes and utilizing Target cartwheel savings a sport this season and think I've done a pretty decent job of finding some good deals on most presents. Having three children within five years in age and all of the same gender makes choosing unique gifts a little tricky, but it's also fun to really focus on what is unique about each girlie.
I've also been fulfilling my holiday season room-mom duties in Wright's class and Carter's class and thinking ahead to menu planning for our holiday meals.

A {tasty} work in progress.

Oh, did I mention that I need to have all of these items crossed off of my list by Thursday, December 18 because on that day we'll be flying to Dallas, Texas, for the wedding of my Cousin Kristen in which all three girls will be flower girls?! We will be returning to Charlotte on the afternoon of December 23 - just in time for Christmas Eve. Yep! So, there's a bit of a time crunch on things this year!
When it hit me, actually when my mom brought it my attention, on or about December 2, that I'd only have two full weeks after Thanksgiving and before we'd be leaving for Dallas, I knew that I was going to have to be intentional in how I was using my time and especially in how I was creating meaning around Christmas in the house for the girls. This has meant a few things...

• Busting my booty when they are all at school. Running my errands like mad. Getting as much done as I possibly can without them, so that they do not feel the hustle and bustle of it all... and shopping online as much as possible!
  
  Impromptu trip to the American Girl Salon on a Wednesday.
  Byers and Nora needed to hair styles for the wedding.
• Playing Christmas music in the car and at home, even if I'm not in the mood.  
• Talking with them more and more about giving, about others, about those less fortunate than we.
• The most obvious thing I've done comes at bedtime each night when I've been stopping whatever I've been doing and completely focusing on the girls. We've been sitting down, all together, and reading several Christmas books. I always make sure at least one of the books is about the real meaning of Christmas. I've let bedtimes lax and my chores wait. This time is important, and this season is short. 

We've enjoyed visits by our elf, Dolly, who is a well behaved elf who brought Murphy shrills of pure delight this morning when she discovered that the Dolly had been frolicking all evening in her Caboodle.

She does wear a red lip well.

I've read some articles over the past week or so of folks being anti-the-elf, and for our family, I think it's all about balance. We all love the magic, the mystery, the excitement of Santa and the the reindeer and the elves, but that doesn't mean the true meaning of it all is lost. And I have to say, I think we have managed keep the balance, to maintain the meaning.

As our six year old Carter so perfectly put it,

Christmas is really about Jesus' birthday. Santa just brings the goody bags!