SC Snow!

We had a big treat this week and got six inches of snow! It started snowing Sunday afternoon with HUGE flakes coming down. It snowed until around midnight and the next morning we had beautiful snow perfect for playing! We did a little playing Sunday evening - Matt pulled Rachel on a little sled all over the neighborhood. The next morning, Matt had to go in to work so Rachel and I played for an hour and a half in the snow! It had warmed up quite a bit, so we weren't even cold. First she did her yearly snow angel, then we built our snowman. I went in to get a carrot for the nose and had the bright idea to use Oreo cookies for the eyes. Smart, huh? It worked great until Nutmeg tackled our poor snowman and ate his eyes and nose. I got him put back together, minus the facial features. Rachel then wanted me to pull her around the cul-de-sac on the sled. I'm neither as fast or as strong as Matt, but I gave it my best try! I then took a break on the front porch while Rachel got to work trying to move the snow in the front yard to the back yard one sand pail at a time. We finished up with Rachel driving her jeep in the snow - it worked pretty well for a while! Oh, we also spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the fallen branches around the yard. Thankfully we didn't have any damage, but we did have some good sized ones come down!

Our Gymnastics Girl!

Today Rachel decided to re-enact part of the circus we saw last week. Her sweet daddy was a willing prop for her show. He was a great sport since she made it clear that he was NOT allowed to move his head at all! Notice the pose at the beginning of the show? Oh, and she made us call her Hannah. Just a glimpse into our crazy, fun life!

Let's Go To the Hop!

My favorite picture!

Rachel and I went to a Sock Hop sponsored by the downtown library today. The flier said "50's attire welcome!" and of course, I had to find a poodle skirt for her! Luckily, a sweet friend let us borrow her little girl's poodle skirt from last Halloween. There were all kinds of cute outfits there from poodle skirts to little girls with rolled up jeans and scarves in their hair. We had so much fun - there was 50's music playing the whole time, a Twister game, continuous bubbles floating around the room, and even a limbo contest! Rachel danced and played and had a great time.

A Glimpse into the Teen Years

Today I put Rachel in the tub around 2 p.m. (I know, an odd time for a bath, but it worked for today) After a nice, long bath, Rachel decided she would get herself completely ready by herself. She climbed out of the tub on her own, toweled off by herself and requested her pink robe. She then got her pretend hair dryer and brush and stood in front of the mirror and "dried" her hair. She was VERY serious about it! After her hair was done, we had to get dressed for her ballet class. Over her leotard, I had her wear some black pants and a zip up jacket - very sporty. Just before we headed out the door, she ran back for a stretchy headband. I swear when she first put it on it looked like one of those sports sweatbands that tennis players wear! We got it somewhat adjusted and I took this last picture before we headed off. Very Flash Dance-y!

A glimpse of our amazing girl

While we were in Michigan, Matt's incredibly talented brother and sister-in-law asked if they could take some pictures of Rachel. Of course we said yes! So we spent about an hour with them and they managed to capture almost every side of Rachel's personality. I'll find a way to post more of them, but I wanted to share a few tonight. We are so in love with these pictures - I'm brainstorming ways to display all of them!

Santa and baby Jesus

There is so much to share about Christmas with Rachel this year, but one of the most special moments happened Christmas Eve. We were at my parents' house in IL and we had just sat out the plate of cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Rachel got in bed and picked up the baby Jesus from the nativity scene that my mom had placed beside her bed. She put it on the headboard and snuggled down to sleep. I asked her why she wanted baby Jesus to be on her bed while she slept and she said, "Because I want Santa to see Jesus and know Him!". My sweet, sweet girl. I have a picture of her sleeping with the baby Jesus above her, but I don't have it to post yet. I'll try soon.

Decorating the tree

We decorated the tree (finally!) on Sunday afternoon. Rachel LOVED it and did her best to fit all of our ornaments in a 2x2 foot area. I managed to put a few on, so I spread them out as much as I could. I had planned to rearrange the ones she put on to spread them out, but the more I look at the tree, I think it is just perfect as it is. Of course the highlight for Rachel was putting the star on the tree. She always goes on Daddy's shoulders for this! Oh, I'll include a picture of her doing the star last year, too. It is Rachel's favorite picture of herself!

Rachel decided it was her job to arrange the nativity set and she took her job very seriously. I love the Little Peoples set - it is just so cute.

After we decorated, we turned on the TV and found a Christmas episode of Little House on the Prairie. Rachel and I cuddled together and watched the end of the show. It made the afternoon complete for me!