Tracy's 30th

This is Julianne's "new friend" Jack at his mom's 30th birthday party at Brio. We had so much fun! Jack and Julianne do gymnastics together and we laugh because they tell eachother that they love eachother and then they bicker like an old married couple.

More Christmas Pics

Christmas in Dallas was great! We got to celebrate Jenny's 29th birthday at Maggiano's, cook and enjoy many wonderful meals, read, play games, play the Wii (check out Julianne on the drums), enjoy the park in Jenny and Ryan's neighborhood, visit the movie theatre, and enjoy being together.

Thank you to Ryan and Jenny for hosting us!

Christmas Holiday

Picture #1: Santa visited Julianne at home and in Dallas! Santa... with the help of Daddy, Papa, and 2 uncles by the names of "Rynu" and "Agamoo" put together this kitchen for Julianne's main Christmas treat!

Picture #2: After I had already told Santa that Julianne wanted a kitchen for Christmas (ok, she never asked for one, but every little girl HAS to have one) she started saying that she wanted a bicycle...Not just a bicycle, but a pink and purple one. Soooo, Santa made a last minute decision to get this bike and give it to her on our Christmas morning at home which actually occured on the 23rd.

Picture #3: Julianne and her 2nd cousin Ethan. They had quite a ball together pushing all of the singing snow man buttons at the same time - it made quite a cacaphony! We also found them cuddling on the couch upstairs watching Nemo. Adorable!

Picture#4: Julianne outside our church in front of the playground where she plays during school.

Picture #5: Julianne in front of our tree in one of her Christmas dresses. When I put it on her she looked up at me with wide eyes, gasped, and asked, "Am I getting MARRIED???" I guess she felt very fancy.

Karaoke Queens

Saturday night brought much laughter and fun as we tried our hand at Karaoke. Justin's team which includes my dear sister, Lauren, went to dinner and a Karaoke bar for our Christmas celebration together. It was a blast. Justin made everyone laugh with various country songs, rap songs, and a great rendition of Kid Rock. Lauren and I stuck to "Time after Time" by Cyndi Lauper and "Baby Got Back" when we felt wild. OK, we were told to get on stage for Baby Got Back. It was fun for a stay at home mom to get out, have a few drinks, and let loose a bit. Geez, I sound so OLD.

Let it Snow

Ok, so this week, IT SNOWED!!! It was Wednesday night and freezing cold and all of a sudden, we had tons of snow flurries. We bundled up and went outside only to meet the rest of the neighborhood doing the same thing. People were posing for pictures and gawking at the sky. Julianne was trying to catch flakes in her mouth and it just made looking at all of the neighborhood lights that night that much more festive. It really feels like Christmas.

We've Been Elfed

We dressed up like elves the other night and went to a good old Texas Honky Tonk bar:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/qVe4HpmceWXkb7Fw

Precious Words

Julianne has come up with some great lines the past few weeks, so here they are:

*In the Atlanta airport we saw a teenage boy with spiked mohawk hair. I did not think anything of it, but I am sure it is the first time she has ever seen such a thing. She stopped dead in her tracks, pointed, and yelled, "Mom!!! That man looks like a dinosaur!!!"

*Last night, after I laid down with Julianne for a few mintues, I said, "I need to go to my bed with Daddy now." She looked up at me with sad eyes and said, "but, then I'll be alone" and I said, "nooo, we are right down the hall and can hear you and see you on the monitor and besides God is always with you" She thought about that for a minute and said, "Is he in my HAWRT?"

*We went on a little mini hike today on a woodsy trail with Jules and June. Afterwards, Julianne signed and said, "that was a great "Benture" which meant "Adventure."

Advent

I admit that I love everything about Christmas as most of us do. The trees, the lights, the music, the gifts, the cards, etc. I find myself wanting to drag out the month of December for much longer than the 31 days we actually get. As much as I love Christmas, this year I am trying my best NOT to stress about gift buying and card sending and picture taking and decorating, but it is hard. I am trying to remember Christ's birthday and all of the blessings that are in my life because of Him. Lauren shared a site with me that stuck a cord, so check it out if you so desire.

http://adventconspiracy.org

I am trying to explain to Julianne that the reason "Santa" brings gifts is because Jesus wants her and all the other children to have His birthday presents. She looks at me like I am crazy and is like, "Is it MY birthday? Am I Twee?" I guess maybe it will make more sense as she gets older.

Thanksgiving Week

We had a great time in Georgia complete with a visit to Athens to see our best friends and a trip to the ATL to hang with Uncle Neal, Aunt Lisa, Noelle, Andrew, Gamma, and Gumps. Despite both Julianne and Mom visiting urgent care clinics for sinus infections, we still managed to have a good time! Some highlights:
*We got to have some Georgia favorites: Mellow Mushroom Pizza, Willy's Burrito, and Eienstein Bagel.
*Driving by our old house in Marietta, GA - it is for sale again!
*Hanging out with Todd and Cara and laughing constantly, as we always do....the ease of being together never fades and it is such a blessing to see Cami and Julianne growing to be good friends as well
*Julianne and Cami decorating a gingerbread house
*Seeing Madelyn's accomplishments - sitting up, rolling, saying uh-oh, and being SO aware of what is going on around her - she does not miss a thing!
*Meeting our nephew Andrew who is a spitting image of his Uncle Michael on the Silvestro side
*Seeing Noelle and Julianne have so much fun together, playing, reading, making tamborines with pipecleaners and jingle bells (great craft idea by Aunt Lisa), going to Starbucks, the park, many great walks, jumping at Monkey Joes, etc.
*Enjoying a fabulous T-giving feast with J's family - even Andrew slept for about 20 mins during the meal so we could enjoy it
*Playing Sequence, watching Meet the Parents, and enjoying some Vietnamese Food for the first time...
*Seeing Julianne and Noelle decorate the place cards and the votive candles for our feast

Some Pictures: