Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Santa has concluded his visit to Sturgis for the year.  Saturday, December 1st marked his arrival.  We started off our morning at Olivia's swim meet.  Andy had to leave it early to take his own team of swimmers out of town for their swim meet.  Olivia set another personal best in her backstroke.  Afterwards the girls and I headed home, hung out for a bit before get super bundled up.  Santa's arrival always means frigid cold weather in Sturgis.  For once in our lives we were overdressed.  It was a nice warm walk to the downtown.  We got there a bit before Santa's arrival and Nana was there to wait with us.  The line wasn't too long and it moved at a nice pace.  Mia is always excited to see Santa, but then hesistant to go near him or talk to him. 


This year she climbed right up on his lap without any reservations.  Olivia spoke up first letting the big guy know she wanted the Crayola Jewerly Botique and a zebra pillow pet.  Mia who had been waiting months to ask for a summer choo choo train (She got a Santa train last year at Christmas.  I put it away with the Christmas decorations, so she thinks a summer one she can have out year round) proceded to tell him she wanted an Ohio State pillow pet.  I made sure she also got her summer train request in before we said our good byes.


One of Santa's reindeer was in attendance as well.
 

The town also has two clydesdale horses pulling a wagon up and down the street, so the girls and I both climbed on for a short ride.  We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.  Mia was without a nap, so I thought it would make for a long and grewling day, but we just had a terrific time together.

Various local business had events going on as well so we stopped in Great Lakes Chocolate for a Chai tea and then headed to Limelight Photography Studio (my friend Lauren's place) to see the animals and presenters there put on by the animal rescue fund.  I was asked to be a guest reader at Lowry's Bookstore, so we had Piper, Lauren's daughter head down with us.  We were also met by our friends the Lambs with four of their five boys.  I read Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco to a group of uninterested children, but we had fun none the less.  Kelli Lamb then read a story after me.  The bookstore also had ornament making, bracelets, and face painting.  After completing all they had to offer, we took Piper back and walked on home.

Stopping on our walk home for a pose at the lit up train.
 

Mia trying to feed the baby lambs that were at the park.

On our journey home Andy's school bus full of swimmers drove by us.  That meant I could drop Mia off at the pool and Olivia and I could drive over to Kmart to ring bells for the Salvation Army.  In the past when I've rang bells it's always been too cold.  The warm weather hung out for us.  Olivia was up well past her bedtime with me to ring bells, yet she was a trooper.  We serenade Kmart shoppers with off key singing of various Christmas carols that we often messed up lyrics on.  There was a bit of dancing at times.  Olivia really got into it.  I think it opened her eyes to the true meaning of Christmas.  About giving to others as God gave us his son on this magical holiday season.  Most of the visitors really enjoyed seeing her spirit shine.  We had many people requesting tunes.  Some people even left the store, but would turn around and come back to donate because they were so moved by her.  I wasn't sure how the night was going to go with her standing outside for two hours with me, but we made it memorable and truly enjoyed every second we spent together!  Our holiday season is off to a great start.  We hope the Christmas spirit is in all of your homes and hearts too.

Giving Thanks and Trimming Trees

Thanksgiving was truly a time to give thanks this year.  We celebrated Andy's birthday the night before out to eat at Bill's Steakhouse with his family and my Uncle Jere.  Jere accompanied us home and stayed two nights so he could celebrate Thanksgiving with us.  I was hoping for a laid back holiday not one filled with too much stress of the hustle and bustle that the holidays often bring on.  It certainly was calm and relaxed.  I did a bit of cooking, but at my own leisurely pace.  John, Esther, and Jennifer came over Thanksgiving day to join us for dinner and brought the turkey with them.  We were surrounded by good food and good company.  Of course I did do a little sneaking out to find some deals at local stores, but it was a nice time with family.


On Friday, Andy's Aunt Doris and cousin Danny came for a visit.  They live in NY so we don't get to see them often enough.  The ladies did some shopping in Shipshewana, while the men and Olivia hit the distillery and lounged at Nana and Papa's house.  We had a wonderful time visiting and catching up.  Again too much food was consumed and my clothes aren't quite fitting like they should, but who's watching?

We also decided this would be the year our family would select our first ever real Christmas tree.  We headed out last Sunday to a place between Bronson and Colon where you just head out, find your own tree, and cut it down yourselves, which is of course what my macho outdoorsy husband wanted to do. 
 

The girls had fun trapsing through all the rows of various pines trying to select the perfect tree.  Mia always chose ones about her size and Olivia went the other extreme finding ones that would be perfect in a home with cathedral ceilings.
 

Finally, our perfect tree was agreed upon by the girls, and Olivia helped Andy saw her down.
 

Posing by our newly fallen tree.
 

Setting it up in a stand that would hold it steady proved to be the most challenging part for Andy and me.  She's finally up, filled with lights, some ribbon, and only a few select ornaments with family names on them.
 

Just because we got a real tree doesn't mean that the artificial tree is going to hide away all year.  We have many more ornaments to hang and a newly finished basement was the perfect spot for the tree.
Mia really got into helping hang ornaments this year.  She's proving to be my Christmas lover, asking for Christmas carols every month of the year.  I promised Olivia no Christmas carols during the summer, so I removed my Christmas CD from my car CD player on June 21st, and it was promptly put back in when the Autumn solstice came. 
 

Although Olivia is not seeming to share my passion for the Christmas season, she too got into decorating the tree.
 

Here she stands, almost completely decorated.  I think I'm missing a box of ornaments yet.  This weekend we hope to finish decorating the house to get us all in a festive mood, but our priorities our set.  So first priority is to see Santa today.  He makes his way to our town today at 4:00 PM and we will be there waiting as patiently as can be!

An Enclosed Barn at Last

Well, the barn is completely enclosed as of the weekend prior to Halloween.  I started this post a long time ago, but wanted to write detailed stories about our event filled trip, so I kept putting it off.  Now it's much over do, so it will be quick.

Andy headed up a day or two before the girls and I since work has been slow for him.  Thankfully we managed to get everything enclosed and weather tight for the winter months ahead.  We'll be back in the spring when we'll install the garage door and windows, plus side it.

Now the only place of entry is our side door, which is not visible from the road. 

I had to get back to Sturgis for our youth group and was running terribly late.  I decided to head out with just Mia and leave Andy and Olivia to close up.  After horrific traffic jams, Mia getting car sick all over (she did on the way up too), and then finding some hole in the wall gas station in the midde of no where so she could pee, only to drop my electric remote car keys in the gas station toilet, we finally made it home very late.  I felt filthy, exhausted, and ready for bed once I bathed of course.  No more barn postings until the spring!

Swim Season

To most people, as the cold sets in, it's time to close up the pools and lake houses and forget about swimming for the next 6 months.  Well, we are not most people.  When the cold weather comes our way, that just means swim season is upon us.  Olivia is officially on the Sturgis Stingrays Swim Team this year.  She's swam two meets so far, with her third one coming up this Saturday.  So far she is loving it.  I was afraid getting her started so young, she'd burn out.  She's in her third year of dance and doesn't mind it, but sometimes it's torture to get her to go.  I've never seen the passion or love for it like I do swimming.  She truly is in her element in the water and loves hanging out with the other swimmers.

Here's her attempt at diving off the starting block.  Yes, I was that mother that they had to make an announcement about after her event.  No flash photography at the start of each race.  Oops!
 

Attempting her freestyle.  Backstroke is her preffered stroke of choice, but her freestyle has come a long way in a short time.
 

Here's the scoreboard.  She was in lane 6, so 2nd place in this heat.  Not too shabby, especially since this year she has to swim against older swimmers.  She just turned seven and she swims against some students that are two years or grades ahead of her.
 

She's also inherited my love for all things art.  Aunt Jen got her a pottery wheel for her birthday and this was her first attempt.  Our aspiring artist at work.  We enjoy watching all of her talents unfold in front of us each day.

Swim season has started for Andy as well.  He's enjoying his 2nd year as the high school boys' swim coach.  It's early in the season so not too much drama yet.  His birthday was the day before Thanksgiving which I had off work, so the girls and I made a treat and took it in to his swim practice.  I had arranged with some of his swimmers to throw him in the pool in honor of his birthday.  I had my camera ready and everything.  They started to try, but with Andy's warnings not to, they chickened out.  They did convince Andy to get in the pool with them and go for a birthday swim.

Halloween Festivities!

Well, we are full steam into Fall.  Another Halloween has come and gone.  The chilly weather brought on by Hurricane Sandy, thankfully wasn't too bad for the actual event of trick-or-treating.

The night before Halloween the girls and I were busy making orange and black swirled cupcakes for Olivia to take into her class party.  We all had fun taking our turns.

Olivia hard at work mixing away.

Well, someone has to clean the beaters, so the girls offered up their services free of charge.  Aren't they the best?
 

Mia really got into her work as evident on her face.
 

This year a chicken and Mickey Mouse left our house with empty containers and came back with too much candy.  It's hard to tell here, but Mia's container is a KFC big bucket of chicken container.  She was so cute flapping her wings, but she told me, "Mom, it's just my arms, not wings!"  Olivia wasn't thrilled about being Mickey this year and tried getting me to let her be something else.  When the weather finally became a bit chilly and she had her warm Mickey costume on, she was quick to change her tune. 

Daddy walking his girls around the neighborhood. 

No balloon launch at the neighbor's house this year and chillier weather made for it not to be too overwhelming in our neighborhood.  Many adorable costumes parade up and down our streets, but of course my favorites were Mickey and my crazy chicken.
 

Back at home digging in to some of their treats, and helping mom pass out candy.  We hope everyone else had a safe and fun Halloween.

Celebrating Olivia's birthday!

Yes, Olivia and I went out the night before her birthday for a special "Mommy Date" birthday gift, but we couldn't stop there with the celebrating.  Everyone else wanted in on the fun.  Olivia graciously offered up her special day, to throw a surprise baby shower for her teacher, Mrs. Yunker, at our house.  Her teacher thought she was bringing her son Lukas, to Olivia's birthday party, only to be surprised by many of her fellow Congress staff members.  I think Olivia enjoyed the surprise and seemed genuinely happy about sharing her special day with her teacher she loves so much.

Lukas and Stacey Yunker and Baby in the oven


Nana and Papa were headed out Sunday morning to go see Aaron and Christy in Georgia so they snuck over the evening of her birthday and we had some Golden Buddha per Olivia's request.  She got a fashionable black dress coat that she loves wearing.

Also, from Nana and Papa, were some clothes, sheets of designer duct tape (her new thing), and a ream of paper for all her drawing and crafts.

Sunday we headed to Nottawa Fruit Farm courtesy of John and Esther.  The girls had a blast on the pedal tractors as well as the hayride and hay tunnels.  My camera battery died after the pedal tractors so that is all I have from the Fruit Farm.

Fear not, I charged my battery when we got home so I could snap photos of the evenings festivities.  We bumped back Olivia's family party so she could attend a classmate's birthday party first.  Then it was time for her own.  Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Jared, and all the cousins, and Aunt Jen all made her party more special. 

One of her many rolls of duct tape she received. 

A pottery wheel from Aunt Jen!  She's so excited.

A new fashionable ensemble. 

Cupcakes for the birthday girl. 

It was a super jam packed busy weekend full of many celebrations, but most importantly, remembering the day we were blessed with our Olivia Jane.

The Lettermen Sing Happy Birthday to Olivia!

As a young girl, my parents would take my sister and I occasionally to some of the musical performances at the Sturges-Young Auditorium in our town.  With Sturgis being such a small town, we are so fortunate to be able to have such a nice establishment that brings in great cultural art shows.  Most of the time my sister and I didn't mind going and it made us appreciate various types of music from a young age.  But our all time favorite show to go to was, The Lettermen!  We saw them a few times and when I was 12 or so, they did a Christmas show and I was pulled up on stage to help sing the 12 days of Christmas.  These are fond childhood memories I cherish.

Now as I see my daughters growing up, I want to ensure they appreciate art and music, and have similar memories to hold tight to.  I saw a few months back that the Lettermen were playing at the auditorium tonight, which just so happens to be the night before Olivia's 7th birthday.  Olivia is starved for "mommy one on one time," so I thought it was the perfect opportunity.  It would be my birthday treat to her.  I'd planned it all in secret for months.  Only for her to get sick the day before.  A low fever and sore throat.  Strep was going around her class, so we left school early yesterday and headed to the doctor.  Thankfully, he thought it was viral when her strep test came back negative.  She stayed home from school today to be safe, but was back on top of her game in no time.  So the date was back on.


Donovan, Me, Olivia, Bobby, and Tony during their show.

The show was terrific as I always remember and Olivia loved it as well.  She told me it was the best birthday ever, and it's not even her birthday yet.  They announced it was her birthday and sang the best version of Happy Birthday she'll ever hear.  Nana also bought her some raffle tickets, and hers was the second one pulled.  She chose a beautiful hand crafted pen and case made from gorgeous wood, created by a local man.  Before we left for the evening Olivia and I had been watching Titanic, with the mommy edited version of course.  It was nearing the end, but I told her we had to get going.  She begged to stay and hear "My Heart Will Go On" song before we left.  I assured her she could finish it tomorrow.  Boy was she ecstatic when the Lettermen performed that exact song tonight. 

I decided Olivia and I would have a mommy date and I would surprise her.  She knew we were doing something, but what she didn't know.  We had dinner prior to the performance, as the auditorium always has delicious food.  Olivia opted for prime rib for her first time.  The cut of meat was larger than she was.  She enjoyed it, but Andy got to enjoy about half of it for a late night snack when we got home.  Olivia had both sets of grandparents join us for dinner, which was very fun to have them together and just some special time focused on her.

Prior to dinner we hit the salon and she got her long awaited feather in her hair as well as a fresh coat of paint on her fingernails.

It was a wonderful evening and a complete surprise to my darling Olivia.  I have been blessed to be her mother these past 7 years and wouldn't change one minute of them, not even any of the tantrums or attitude filled days.  I love her whole heartedly.