Christmas at the Froehle's!

On Saturday we drove up to Cold Spring after Bishop's last swimming lesson to celebrate Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma!! Grandpa had his knee replaced on Dec. 3rd, so he's still recovering, but he was getting up and around on his own, which was good to see. His knee is still pretty swollen, but it sounds like it's gotten a lot better!! I don't think it helped his rehab much that his hernia flared up and he was in quite a bit of pain from that. He'll be back in for surgery in Jan to take care of that and then we look forward to having healthy Rich back!

The weather was warm enough for us to get out and enjoy some sliding down the road outside their house! The kids loved it and fought over going down the sled!  Bishop even managed it on his own....steering and all! He did better than my first time down!

All bundled up to go sliding!

All three going down together!

Being pulled by daddy!

After a delicious ham dinner we opened presents. The kids could hardly wait, especially Bishop!!

Bishop got a puzzle of the US that tells the capitals underneath it, which he really enjoys and some fun toys from Jake! Nora got another baby and a play paint can to play with! Jake is so good to them and makes the kids laugh and laugh and laugh! They both adore him.....especially Nora!! She won't let anyone else help her with anything except for Jake! :)

Nora is our affectionate girl--she gives the BEST hugs and she's not afraid to give kisses either.  Bishop's not so interested in hugs or kisses, so I'm thankful Nora makes up for it (especially for Grandma's sake, as she really misses out on Bishop's hugs).

Kisses for Gama! (Both Grandpa and Grandma are Gama) :)

Kisses for Gama!

The kids didn't sleep that well Saturday night. They usually sleep really well at Grandpa and Grandma's, so it was unusual. Both kids were up wanting to be in bed with us, but there wasn't room-so we split up a bit and then Bishop was up for good at 5am! I hung out with him while Luke slept with Nora in the bed Bishop had been sleeping in .......it was musical beds for sure!

Bishop and daddy played in the snow and built a snow castle with all of the icicles they could find.  Both Bishop and Nora loved eating their icicles-they called them their popsicles!


Thank you to Gama and Gama and Jake for all of the wonderful gifts and for all your love for our children! It was a wonderful Christmas celebration together!

My grandpa (Arnie) has been in the hospital since Tuesday and I got a call from my mom on our way home on Sunday that he wasn't doing well and he was actually declining. He was moved into ICU and things didn't sound good. I considered going down to see him Sunday afternoon, but Shelly was in Owatonna and talked to the nurses and it sounded like he was stable and I could wait until Monday.  We didn't know what to expect, so I was going to just play things by ear and possibly go down Monday. The kids were home all week from school and I had the week off and my only "plans" for Monday were to go to Santaland at Macy's.

Nora's Christmas Party at School.....celebrating with the Hennum's!

Nora had her Christmas party at school on Thursday. Her teacher, Ms. Kim, is absolutely wonderful! Nora will be moving up to the next classroom (Discovery Preschool) on  Jan 6th and we'll really miss Kim (even though she'll be right next door).  She has been so wonderful to Nora--she appreciates her goofy, happy self and helps her work on using her words without getting too upset about it--after all she's not even 2 yet! Nora is a spunky girl who is repeating EVERYTHING she hears--which is pretty cute! Her latest saying is "What Doing?" meaning...what are you doing? She asks it over and over and over again....for the same thing! She's learning a lot and she is such a joy!

Ok, back to her Christmas party--they made jello treats at school and they got to eat them during their party and some parents brought snacks too (mostly healthy stuff, so that was good)!

Nora with HER Jello! :)

Dad was even able to join for the party, as he was working from home that afternoon.

My smiley, happy girl!

Friday night the Hennum's came over for our Christmas exchange/get together! Nora got a baby and a stroller....she was in heaven! And Bishop got an Play-Doh Icecream maker which Siena and Maia helped him with. It was such a fun night and the biggest memory from the night was the fact that Nora calls Siena, Maia. She ADORES Siena, but insists on calling her Maia!  The kids went upstairs to play for awhile and Bishop and Nora came down in their new PJ's!

Bishop and Maia eating icecream!

These girls are so sweet to both Nora and Bishop! I love them so much!! They are growing up to be such intelligent, sweet, thoughtful and beautiful girls!

The girls! Maia, Nora and Maia (or Siena)! :)

Making some icecream!

I'm so thankful for our friendship with the Hennum's! It's amazing to think it all started over 10 years ago when Liana and I started with Aventis on the same day!

Nora's first haircut

I had yesterday off and Bishop needed his haircut before Christmas so I figured I'd take Nora with to have hers cleaned up a little too. This was Nora's first haircut and she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit!

The same gal cut Bishop's hair when he had his first haircut.....but that didn't go as well--I thought I'd post a picture for comparison. Granted, Bishop was a few months younger, but I don't think it would have mattered, Nora's been wanting her haircut for awhile now! ;)

Nora's first haircut-all smiles!

I was afraid to cut the back because I didn't want to lose her curls.....well, nothing to be afraid of that-she kept her curls and even got a "pretty" put in her hair!

All done!

Bishop's first haircut! Poor guy!

Celebrating Christmas with Friends!

It was a weekend celebrating Christmas with good friends!

My weekend started off on Thursday  night with dinner with my HS friends! We went to Barbette and it was so fun to catch up and relax with these gals......we've all been friends since 6th grade and some of us go back to Kindergarden!  Melissa is missing in the picture--she got there after the picture was taken!

Michelle, Brandi, Anna, Brooke, Crystal, Me, Jill

Friday night was our annual Holiday Dinner with Luke's college friends! Anne and Paul hosted this year and it was another wonderful night, celebrating! Raul cooked us a delicious meal (we are so spoiled to have Raul cook for us)!  These are truly life-long friends! We've prayed together, laughed together (a lot), cried together, celebrated together and the neatest quality about this group is the unconditional love and non-judgement! I didn't get a picture of the guys this year--but these ladies are amazing friends and it's all of our husbands who brought us together in the first place!  My parents had the kids for the night-thank you mom and dad for taking them overnight so we could enjoy our night!!

Molly, Tricia, Ellen, Me, Sara, Lisa, Carrie and Anne

Luke in his Festive Holiday suit!

While the kids were in Owatonna they had breakfast with Santa on Saturday morning! Neither of them were very fond of Santa, but Bishop was comfortable sitting on Mrs. Claus's lap (Nora was holding on for dear life)!

Breakfast with Santa in Owatonna

On Saturday afternoon I made some more Christmas Cookies (Peanut Butter cups) and I let the kids help with a few of them. They loved unwrapping the Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and making their own cups by rolling them into balls. After they were done baking they each got to put their own Reeses into their PB cup-it's fun having helpers in the kitchen!

Baking with mom!

Saturday afternoon we went sledding again! Bishop was a little reluctant because he remembered how cold he was last weekend, but once we got out there he had the time of his life. We let him go down the hill by himself and he thought that was the coolest thing. He'd always lay down (which made me really nervous as he couldn't see anything laying down......like another person or a tree)! :) Both Luke and I were always really close by to make sure he was safe! :)

Nora and Luke went down together a few times--she would laugh the entire way down. Nora is quite the daddy's girl right now--she insisted on him holding her the entire time! It's pretty sweet to see her with Luke!

Bishop had his first Christmas concert in church on Sunday. It was his first concert, ever, actually! We got to church really early so we could get a good spot to see him. The church was pretty strict about not wanting any pictures or videos taken in respect of the sanctuary (and teaching the children that respect), so I wasn't able to take any pictures of him standing in front of the church.

He walked up the aisle, came over and gave me a hug and then went and found his spot to stand. He looked around a little bit and I don't blame him, it's a really big church and he had never been to the front of the church before. The girl standing next to him sat down, so he sat down.......then she stood back up so he stood back up. He did great, except he never sang one word! Ha! There were a few motions and he didn't do any of the motions either. I think it was a bit overwhelming for him, but it was cute and a great experience. When they were done he came right over to me and gave me a kiss and then walked out with his class! 

Before his Christmas Concert at church

After his concert there was a live nativity scene outside with real animals. It was really cold and a little chaotic with all the kids, but we went out to pet a couple of animals!

Sunday afternoon we celebrated with Bishop's buddies at the Kahlert's. Unfortunately, Leo wasn't able to make it, and we missed him and his family. Santa visited again this year and brought the kids candy canes. It was another really fun day!  This time Bishop told Santa he wants a spaceship!

Best Buds-Danny and Bishop!

The Froehle's with Santa!

Santa, Johnny, Bishop and Danny

Wow-it was a very fun weekend with friends and we are all excited for Christmas!

Tiger the Elf

The Elf on the Shelf made an appearance this year and the kids (well, Bishop, really) named him Tiger.  

They love waking up to find Tiger in a new place every morning. So far this Elf hasn't gotten himself into any mischief or trouble....he hasn't written any notes or done anything too crazy--he just does his job--he flies to the North Pole every night to report to Santa if Bishop and Nora (and mom and dad too) have been good or bad and then he flies back and finds a new place to watch.

Tiger!

There was one night when Tiger must have forgotten that he picked the same spot to "watch" 2 days in a row, otherwise he likes to change up his view! The kids' favorite places so far to find him have been in the Christmas Tree and stuck in the little basketball hoop hanging in our kitchen!

Thanksgiving at the Bishop's

We took off from the Froehle's at lunchtime on Friday and drove down to Owatonna.  The Bormann's were already there and everyone was very excited to see each other! The kids had a ton of energy, so we got all bundled up and headed to the park!

Swinging with Madelyn

Nora swinging with her baby! She was loving it, but she looks cold!

Papa pushing Madelyn who was all bundled up

The girls!

The kids each had their Christmas PJs to put on--so they all got a bath together (except Jack) and they had fun with their matching PJs!

They each got a clemetine and they rolled them back and forth on the table......they laughed and screamed and laughed and giggled-they thought it was the best game ever!

Nora

Jack and Ryan

This is fun!

Bishop

Madelyn

I woke up on Saturday  morning and walked upstairs to this sweet face! He was playing with the shoes in the entry way and he couldn't have been happier! I love this sweet, happy boy!

We all went to visit Great Grandma and Great Grandpa! It was so fun to see them! They had both recently been in the hospital (not together), so it was nice to see them so happy!

Great Grandpa, Jack and Shelly-I LOVE this picture!

My dad picked up my Grandpa to visit my Grandma and when she saw him it was the cutest thing--she leaned in to give him a kiss and he laughed! He said "you always told me....kissing and icecream don't mix"! :)

Nora with her Great Grandparents-so sweet!

The Froehle's 

The Bormann's

The kids had a great time running around and playing together--and the best part was the treat they got to eat on the couch together! :)

I love this picture!

These two loved holding hands!! They would just stand next to each other and grab each other's hands!

Happy Jack with Papa!

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and we were able to enjoy dinner with Aunt Sandy, Uncle Bob, Tim, Great Grandpa Ray and Great Grandma Darlene. We missed Jeff and Danielle this year!

Aunt Sandy gave each of the kids a new book and they loved them!

Nora saying thank you for the book!

Bishop loves being read to!

Madelyn and Nana reading together

Happy Jack and Nana

We stayed over again on Saturday night and had a nice relaxing morning on Sunday morning.

Reading together on Sunday morning

We have a lot to be thankful for this year!