My absolute favorite

Christmas with my parents

My parents weren't able to make it on Christmas Eve due to weather, so they made a trip in early January and we celebrated Christmas with them. Elizabeth got a HUGE tub of legos and it turned out to be a favorite present of everyone's, including my biggest kid, Matt!

Great-Grandpa Williams meets the twins

Last week, my grandpa and my uncle were on their way back from Arizona. They stopped by for dinner and we were so glad they did. It was their first time meeting Isaac and Sophia. Thanks so much Grandpa and Uncle Dan for making Iowa one of your resting points!

More Pictures from Snow Days...

Was having trouble posting all of them, so here goes the rest (hopefully).

Snow Days

So, last week the girls got out of school early on Tuesday and had no school on Wednesday or Thursday. We tried to make the best of it with a few bumps in the road...the girls played in the snow on the upper deck on Wednesday and than on Thursday we snuck out for a bit while Isaac and Sophia were napping (though it was terribly cold with the wind chill I only let them stay out for a few minutes). I think by Thursday afternoon I had lost my mind...I let the girls make "snow cream"...yes, I usually am telling them "don't eat the snow" and that day, I encouraged it. You take 8 c. of snow, one can of sweetened condensed milk and a tsp. of vanilla and you end up with GREAT ice cream. We made ours into sundaes with caramel and cherries on top!:) The girls really thought I had lost it. We also made cookies...we had about 100 cookies cut out, the girls helped to frosting about 20 of them and than got bored with it. However, they did continue to add the sprinkles. I have included a picture of the "special" cookie Elizabeth made for Matt. A little cookie with your sprinkles? We also tried to have a little photo shoot with Isaac and Sophia in their Christmas outfits from Nana and Papa.

Mr. Smarty Pants...or so he thinks!

No further explanation needed...unfortunately I didn't catch the picture of him after he had fallen into the basket head first...he was SO mad!

Just some random pictures.

True love...

So often, poor Elizabeth is being told for the thousandth time to "not lay on your brother or sister" when she is giving them a hug or a kiss...it usually turns into her smothering them with her love. However, they SO adore her. Here you can see that true love...so precious...again a reminder that if they aren't crying, it is okay...would much rather her love them too much than resent them for turning her little life completely upside down!

Our silly girls...

Grace and Elizabeth continue to add spark and laughter to our family. They are great sisters to one another and I am so thankful that for the most part, they get along. This morning it warmed my heart to hear coming from the bathroom, "Would you like me to help you with your toothpaste Elizabeth?" Simple pleasures...things moms sometimes need to hear...I continue to pray that they will be forever friends with one another, watch out for one another and love one another unconditionally.