construction begins

 Thursday was a very exciting day for our family.  It took us a long time to feel comfortable building again.  Then it took us a long time to find a house plan that we really wanted to build.  Then it took a long time for the bank to finish the paperwork.  Then the weather didn't want to cooperate.  On Thursday, the tractors showed up and as of today the footings are completely done and it is ready to be blocked.

 I was surprised just how excited the girls were.  I wasn't really sure they cared that much but now that it is really happening they keep asking to go see where they are working (previously they would moan every time we would stop by the land) and they keep saying they are excited to see the house when it's finished.  We have been picking things out for the last few weeks and we are so happy to officially feel like we have a home here and that we are really invested in our town.  It's a very exciting time and we feel very, very blessed to have the opportunity to build again.

christmas at opryland

 Tonight we went with our friends to see the lights at Opryland.  The traffic from the mile before the exit to get off to the parking lot was insane, but we made it and had a great time!  The lights were so pretty and the girls were excited to be there with their friends and throw their coins they have been saving into the fountains.  The girls got to bed really late and I am sure we will pay for it tomorrow, but we are glad we went.  I can't believe it's almost Christmas!  Where has the month gone?  We will definitely do Opryland again next year!

jam packed fun filled saturday

 As Christmas gets closer, there are a lot of activities.  There were quite a few things going on today so we had to pick and choose what to attend.  We went to a breakfast with Santa when the girls woke up.  It was so fun.  The Santa and Mrs. Clause were amazing.  My girls are all terrified of Santa and the Mrs. Clause graciously stepped in to let the girls sit on her lap instead.  Caimbree still wasn't happy, but Heidi actually seemed okay with it and let her know she wanted a Doc Mobile.

 Once Savanna saw that Heidi was okay, she decided to hop up and let her know she wanted a little purse with lipstick in it.  It was pretty adorable.  Then we quickly stuck Caimbree up there.  She still wasn't happy, but she tolerated it better with her older sisters by her side.  I love that Santa snuck in behind the chair and that you can barely see Mrs. Claus's eyes above the girls heads.  So hilarious.  The girls were all smiles when they got their coloring books and little Minion toys from Santa.  I felt like it was more successful than I thought it was going to be!

 The breakfast was mediocre at best, but the whole event was only $5 a person so we weren't expecting a gourmet feast.  There was a little powdered donut decorated like a snowman, which was the only thing the girls ate and it made their little faces very messy.  I thought their messy faces were absolutely adorable.

 My little Savanna really is one of a kind.  I have never met anyone who can find so much complete excitement for the smallest things.  This was her look of sheer joy and laughter when she realized the toy Santa gave her made a noise.  Life with Savanna is never boring and she helps everyone be happy.

 They had all sorts of little craft tables and game tables.  The girls could have played all day.  They especially loved making a jingle bell necklace, ornament, and stamping little pictures with their fingerprints.  It was so much fun and Caimbree really enjoyed her little blue candy cane.

After the breakfast we went home and had lunch and then gave the girls early naps.  Jeff headed out to help a some our friends move.  When the girls woke up I took them to a birthday party Heidi was invited to for a friend in her class.  They had a lot of fun.

 We came home and jumped on the trampoline for awhile and then headed to our ward Christmas party.  The girls were angels in the Nativity.  It was a great party and it was so fun to see the girls singing and having fun with their friends.  Overall it was a very nice and very busy day.  I am sure the girls are going to be very tired tomorrow!

gingerbread houses

We didn't have time to do our gingerbread houses for family night last night so we promised the girls we would do them tonight. They had so much fun!  Jeff is so good at helping them construct the houses and the girls love using their creativity to decorate.  They were so cute together and kept telling each other, "Oh that looks great, Savanna!"  and "Wow, that's amazing, Heidi"  (Savanna's newest word she uses to describe anything she finds especially cool).

 Caimbree was super cute helping this year.  She kept holding up the candy and saying, "treat!" and she helped herself to quite a few pieces.  She did manage to get a piece or two on the house.  Gingerbread houses are the best!

hanging in the cupboards

 Oh my little Caimbree.  I have said it a million times, but she is seriously such a delight.  She is just so much fun and we all just can't get enough of her adorable personality.  I cannot believe we are lucky enough to have her in our family.

She loves to climb in cupboards and hide.  She thinks it is the most hilarious thing and so do we.  There is nothing cuter than seeing her little face peeking out at us.  She also likes to hide things in her favorite cupboards.  If we are ever missing something that is the first place we look.  Oh how we love Caimbree.

christmas weekend fun

 Christmas is coming and the festivities have begun!  There are so many fun things to do we are having a hard time choosing what things to do since a lot of them overlap.  We decided to do our town's Christmas celebration downtown Friday night.  We met our friends there so that made it extra fun.  They had all the downtown shops open and they all had little treats like hot chocolate or cookies or little treats of some kind.  There was a tree lighting and a choir.  Santa was there.  There was a live nativity with real camels and there were free carriage rides.  The carriage rides were a big hit with the girls.  It was chilly, but not horrible and we kept thinking, "oh my goodness.  I can't believe we are outside for hours in December".  After checking out the live nativity we went and got hot chocolate with our friends.  It was such a fun night and the the girls kept talking about the carriage rides.  Savanna kept calling them "carousal rides."

 Tonight we went to the stake center, which is next to the Nashville temple.  There was a big nativity activity and choir singing. There were so many cool nativities and the girls really liked walking around the temple.  The girls had so much fun and we had fun just being with them.  After putting the girls to bed I heard Heidi singing Christmas songs to Savanna to help her fall asleep.  It was so cute.  I love Christmastime!

hide and seek

The girls absolutely love to play hide and seek.  It has been so funny lately because Caimbree plays too.  She closes her eyes and pretends to count, she calls out for whoever she is looking for, and she hides with the older girls.  Yesterday they were playing with Jeff after bath before bed and decided to hide behind my nightstand.  The funniest part of the game is that all three of them always hide in the exact same spot.  Jeff and I couldn't stop laughing when we saw Caimbree ducking her head with this funny look on her face like she thought she was so sneaky.  That little Caimbree is such a dream.  She is almost always happy, she is a good little listener, she does the most hilarious things and makes the most hilarious faces.  I can often find her sitting in a cupboard and the latest thing she does is tell secrets.  It is soooooooo cute.  We say, "tell mommy a secret" and she will come up to me and whisper funny little sounds and get a huge grin on her face.  She loves to give people and her baby doll kisses.  If there was a guarantee that a fourth child would exactly like her, I would have another in a heartbeat.  I sure love watching the girls play together and watch their little personalities grow and develop.