Word Police

If you are ever wondering what is acceptable language in our house, just ask Hannah.  She has taken it upon herself to make sure everyone knows what they are and are not allowed to say.   As soon as someone says something that is not allowed she chime in with, "You're not allowed to say _(insert forbidden word/phrase)_!" 

The thing is, is that she is sort of like the Pharisees from the Bible...she take a strict interpretation of the law...no room for context.  For instance, we told the girls the are not allowed to say 'butt', because the were calling each other 'butt head' and 'butt face' and screaming their 'butt hurts'.  So the other day when Hannah pooped Dan told her to wait and he would come wipe her 'butt'.  She immediately reprimanded him by saying, "Daddy, you are not allowed to say 'wipe ursh [your] butt!"

Then, in the van with the leaders, Brian was joking around and said 'hater'. Hannah quickly scolded him, "You are not allowed to say 'hate'!"

Oh the innocence!  Thank you, Hannah, for keeping us on the straight and narrow.  I can only hope you will take all our rules this seriously when you are in high school...

Princesses on Ice

Aunt Emily bought the girls tickets to see Disney's 'Princesses on Ice' for Christmas this year.  What a perfect gift!  Being completed obsessed with all things 'princess', the girls could not have been more excited.  When I wrote it on our calendar in the kitchen, Aly made me circle it in pink and watched the daily magnet move closer and closer to the big day. 

Finally it was time to go and I thought they were literally going to burst with excitement.  We went with Grandma and Emily and had great seats.  Unfortunately I didn't get very many pictures of the girls because they were too excited and my camera is acting up, but here are  a few of Aly posing just inside the arena before we took our seats.

They both wore their Ariel dresses!

Our little Mermaids

Alyssa was sooooooo excited when the show started.  Here eyes were glued to the ice and you could see the pure joy just pour out of her.  My face hurt from smiling so big.

Tinkerbell...for our Hannah Babe

Mickey and Minnie...Classic Disney

Ariel and Ursula making a deal...

Snow White and a few of her Dwarfs

Belle and the Beast

Cinderella on her way to the ball...of course she turned her head when I took the picture :/

Disney Royalty

Disney sure knows how to put on a magical show.  I felt like a kid again and I know it was everything the girls had dreamed it would be...except Grandpa didn't get to go with us.   Now, we can't wait to take the girls to Disney to see Cinderella's castle in person.  I seriously don't know who is more excited...us or them!

Thanks Aunt Emily...you really know how to buy a great gift ;)

Potty Update

Sweet little Hannah.  When she gets something, she gets it.  After mastering the toilet on New Year's Eve she hasn't looked back.  Now, she has to poop 2 3  4 times a day just because she knows how ;) and, she can always squeeze out just a little more pee!  She even does wonderful when we are out and at nap time.  She was so easy to potty train, but she sure is making up for it now.  

The child will NOT wear pants...or panties.  

She goes around, most of the day in just her 'bra'. No shame. She can't stand they way feel when they move around or slightly bunch up.  And trying to put pants on top of that...ha!  Good luck!  She won't even wear pull ups because they are too bulky in between her legs.  It is a major fight when we need to go somewhere.  Not only can she not go naked in public, but it is -4*!!!  You can not reason with her. We have had to force the issue, put her in time out, put her in bed and take away precious toys.  She. Doesn't. Care. I am at my wits end.  I sincerely hope she goes out of this stage quickly.  I am glad she is potty train, but at this point, I am wondering if it would have been better to just keep her in the stinkin' diapers ;)  

Seriously NOT Fair

Alyssa started her allergy shots today.  As if it wasn't going to be bad enough, I found out when we got there that she has too many allergies to put into one vial of serum without causing serious reactions.  Translation: two shots every week...one in each arm. Just. Not. Fair.  

Dan couldn't come this week because he was meeting with our pastor so I had to go alone.  She got really nervous and started crying when the nurse came in and fought me to take her arms out of her shirt.  Of course, the injections burn so she cried even more when they did it.  Then, Hannah started crying because Aly was upset.  I was almost crying.  The nurse even looked like she was going to cry.  Thankfully, Jessica (the nurse) and Dr. Heiny were great!  They kept telling her how brave she was and gave her cool band-aids, suckers and even a silly band.  Next time, she suggested giving us ice packs when we get there to try to numb the area first.  Whatever we can do to make this a little easier...

I am trying not to talk about it in front of Aly though, because I don't want her to hear how much it bothers us to do this.  I know it is necessary and will help her in the long run, but I know she picks up on our fears and uncertainty so easily.  In fact, when we were waiting for the nurse to come out and clear us to leave she actually said it wasn't fair she had to do this.  While I 100% agree with her, I don't want her to have that attitude.  So, we are going to  pray about it, encourage her and praise her...and reward her with things to get through it.  Even so, I am not looking forward to Mondays for {at least} the next 9 months. Poor baby girl.

Beautiful

I sent this song, by Mercy Me, to someone who I felt really needed to hear this...whether she believes it or not.  I LOVE you, by the way!!  The song has been in my head ever since.  The words are so encouraging and hopeful that I don't ever want to forget them.  It is something I wish every high school girl in America could hear...and believe.  Oh, how it would change the way they see themselves and live their lives.

I pray, daily, Alyssa and Hannah will rest in this truth with everything that they are:

The days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful

And praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skys above
You're the one He madly loves
Enough to death

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
In His eyes

You're beautiful
You were meant for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His

Princess Bride

Dress up clothes are just one more reason why I  LOVE having little girls!  Today, Aly picked out a Cinderella wedding gown at the Disney store with some of her Christmas money. She was so excited to wear it and made me pull out my veil and bouquet as soon as we walked in the door from the mall!  She has been dancing and spinning around ever since. 

While dressing up is fun, she is not allowed to do this for real...for at least 40 years.  Plus, we get the final say of who the groom is.  And I suspect, though many years away, this is exactly how she will look to us on that day...still our beautiful little girl :)   

Salvation...Check :)

Aly was 'reading' her Bible at the island the other day while I was making dinner and she was telling me about some stuff she learned at church.  I continued to ask her questions about it because I love hearing how she interprets things...not to mention her cute little voice.  

I forget exactly how it came up, but somehow we were talking about how Jesus can live in our hearts.  I asked her if she wanted to ask Jesus to live in her heart.  She looked at me and said, without missing a beat, "He already does! Yeah...I asked Him before."  I wanted to laugh and cry because it was so darn cute, but I just smiled and told her that was good and I was glad she asked Him!

Maybe this explains why she took her little sister and their BFF into her closet...with her Bible to have a 'conversation' last time the Gibsons were over ;) This girl has a serious future ahead of her.

Happy New Year!

I know, I know, this is a few day late.  Better late than never...right?!?!?

There is no doubt 2010 was good to us! It was the first in a while without any major life changes.  No new jobs. No new houses. No new family members. Just quality time together!  And, I believe, 2011 will be just good...if not better!  

The girls will hit a few important milestones this year: Hannah will start preschool (Which I have already had to register her for. They sure don't waste any time!) and Alyssa will start kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN. They will be ecstatic and I will probably cry.  I can't believe how big our babies are getting...

Maybe Dan will get a new job...hopefully, I will not need a new job ;) Beyond that, our year is wide open! Lots of time to love each other and laugh together, invest in the relationships around us, get to know our new church family and love on high school kids.  We are going to grow a lot this year and God is going to stretch our faith...I can feel it!   I just pray that we are seeking Him in our decisions!

We hope 2010 was a good year for you and your family and we will be praying for you in the new year as well.  So, here's to a blessed 2011!!