Tessa's two front teeth

Just tonight I had a thought that time is truly going by too quickly.  As Tessa looked up at me with her two front teeth missing I couldn't help but sit back and think about the time just cruising by.  My baby girl lost tooth number six tonight.  She was so excited.  I love nothing more than watching the kids have pure joy written across their smiles.  She cannot wait for the tooth fairy to come tonight.  There sure is something special about being young, isn't there?!  Something changes in us when we get older and I am not really sure why.  As we are entering a brand new year, I am going to try to have more of the same perspective on life as my 6 and 4 year old.  Smile, laugh, be silly, get excited to be around people I love and that love me, and have no worries.  Life in the eyes of a child is so magical, so precious, and so refreshing.  Love my kiddos.  I want to enjoy the little things about each day just as they do.

Merry Christmas 2013

What a super fun Christmas once again.  It's such a fun time of year that makes us all realize how lucky we are.  On December 1 we had a special someone join our family until Christmas day.  Millie, our little elf.  The kids loved having her around.  The kids had so much fun getting up each morning to find where Millie had moved to while we were all sleeping.  Her cousin Mort was at the Lane's which made it so fun for the kiddos to chat about them.  The only thing that I didn't love about having Millie here was the kids having to say goodbye to her so Santa could take her back home.  We hope that Millie comes next year :)

We did a lot in a few days over Christmas.  That is one nice thing about having our families all so close.  We just have to bop around and are able to catch a little bit of everything. 

We are so blessed and look forward to what 2014 will bring for us.

Tessa came home from school after shopping at the school giftshop and she couldn't resist giving Nolan his present right away.  All that he had on his Christmas list was a hot wheel.  Sure enough when he opened the gift it was a hot wheel that she had picked out for him.  What a cutie.  Man I love those two.  She was so super excited to give it to him.

Tessa's Christmas concert... She did such a good job.  She loves singing.  She would sing all day long instead of talking if she could.

 Let the cousin fun begin!

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...!"  The kids singing Christmas Carols as we anticipate the arrival of Santa on Christmas Eve.

My favorite gift of all.  Tessa's gift for me with the bag decorated saying "I love you".  My favorite part of Christmas is the pure joy of the kids.  They are excited 100% of the time.  They love every minute, they don't stress about a thing, and they anticipate the day for so long.  Seeing their excitement is priceless.  The last two pictures below show just how happy they were.  Just happy about life.  Love them.