I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

Now when I get real ambitious I will download the music like you guys (Kathy and Rachel) because then I could have it playing as you open this entry, wouldn't that be nice....Well, anyway we are dreaming of a white Christmas and it actually may come true this year! We got a nice snow the other day and everything is finally white! Donovan, Adina and Madison went to work and shoveled our sidewalks and the church's sidewalk. It required quite the cocoa warm-up when they were done! The most exciting part for them was that daddy went to Wal-mart and got them their very own shovels -- just their size!

Just a helpful hint

My aunt sent me an e-mail recently telling of ways to save money when shopping on-line. When placing an order open another screen and google search PROMO CODES Crocs enter name of product, like I just ordered some crocs. It will give you a long list of sights. I have used retailmenot.com twice and so far saved $20.00! Free shipping makes a huge difference. There are other discounts too, like % off, etc. If you have any last minute shopping it is helpful! Thanks Aunt Janie!

better watch out, better not pout...

Adina, Madison, and Genevieve all got to share their Christmas wishes with Santa! This is the first year I have not had to beg them to take a picture with Santa! Madison even climbed right onto Santa's knee. Adina quietly told him she wanted a Seal Webkinz and a Betty Spaghetti doll. She even told him that she wrote him a letter at school! This was huge for her. Madison wanted me to tell him what she wanted, because she was too shy, a reindeer webkinz (have to be like big sis!) And then when I said that was it she quickly corrected me and said ..."No, I want the breathing dog (long story), the Disney baby nursery, and..." at this point Santa and I both explained that his sleigh was not that big and that he had to fit lots of toys for lots of boys and girls! He then said "I'll surprise you!" Yay, Santa!

Our friend Kevin is our local Santa! We had the Christmas parade last weekend and the girls didn't really want to talk to him because they knew it was Mr. Glover. However Madison became very concerned, to the point of her "almost" tears when Santa went by in the parade and said "now there's a naughty boy!" and pointed at Donovan. She asked if daddy had really been naughty! So, Santa and daddy made peace and Santa reassured her that her daddy was a very good boy!

Helping daddy study??

Donovan is back to school full time and this day Genevieve and the dog were helping him "study." He loves to Ham it up for the camera. When he knows I am taking a picture he makes all his best faces!

Santa Claus is coming to town

Our Christmas tree has been up since the day after Thanksgiving but most of the pictures of us decorating are on a disposable camera as the digital camera was spending some quality time in Donovan's office...Anyhow, here is Adina and Donovan putting the star on and a couple cute ones of Adina and Madison in front of the tree. When we bought this tree, we lived in a much smaller house with much lower ceilings, so we try to compensate as much as we can on the size. We still like it.

So...guess we'll have to try some baby food now!

Since she tried a pickle figured it was only fair to start giving her some baby food. First taste of squash. Despite the face, she actually really enjoyed it.

Gedney, the Minnesota State Fair Pickle!

One of Adina's, Madison's and my favorite foods is pickles. And not just any pickle. They have to be Gedney dill pickles. Adina even includes them on her list of vegetables that shes likes and she only likes 4! And for some reason in Illinois and Indiana they are very hard to come by. My grandma has been bringing me pickles when she comes to visit me for the past 13 years! Yes 13! We had a slight reprieve when our Wal-mart here stocked them, but not anymore (this makes me very sad). Anyhow, Genevieve is becoming very grabby and curious and she was curious about my pickle on my plate so I let her grab it. She loved it! It was pretty funny until her sharp little teeth took off a big chunk (this is the kid who has only had rice cereal so far!) Anyhow the pictures are funny.
Grandma, looks like you are going to have to up your pickle deliveries!

King of the Hill!

Our dog Tommy gets himself into some predicaments at times. Last Sunday it was a pound of chocolate (obviously he lived to bark about it! Thank you Lord, for small favors). A couple of days ago Madison and I were upstairs and I was putting away laundry and I heard the dog barking like he need something, he had gotten onto our computer chair that swivels and was afraid to get down because it would...swivel. Then today he played king of the hill on the back of our couch (with a little help from Donovan). Maybe he is part cat! Although he did manage to get down from this one (once again with a little prompting from Donovan)! Isn't he sweet! (Maria, bet you wish you had 10 of these!!)

Artist in the making!

Adina has always been very creative and loved any type of art project. I was very impressed when she came home with her very own Rainbow Fish today. They had read the story in art class and then got to draw and paint their very own. The picture here may not do it justice. I like it and the colors so much we are going to frame it and hang it in our bathroom which has the blues in it. She really does have a lot of love for art, I hope we can continue to cultivate it. It was funny, the other day I was putting some photos in frames and I wasn't happy with the way one of the pictures looked in a particulare color frame and it was Adina who suggested that I swap some frames so I would like the colors better! And she was right they look good. At this point in life she has aspirations to be a Fashion Designer when she grows up, watch out Vera Wang! I think Adina DeGaetano would be a great designer name or maybe just Adina. We'll see.

Learning to crochet

One thing I like to do when I have time is crochet. I always try to make time at Christmas time and make a couple of blankets for gifts and this year Adina has been begging me to teach her, so I sat down to teach her some basics. She took the skein of yarn with her to bed and has made about a 3 foot chain so far. She is pretty proud of herself. I am very proud of her initiative and how well she took my instructions. Sometimes mom as the teacher does not go so well. But this time it seemed ok.

Covenant Kids Christmas Party!

We have been so blessed to have a new Children's Minister at our church and she has really been putting together some fun things for our kids at the church. We had a Christmas party today which was cut short by freezing rain. We, however, got to stay longer as the church parsonage is on the church property and our trip home was not nearly as hazardous as others! Adina and Madison got to make reindeer food, decorate Christmas ornaments, make Christmas ornaments for shut-ins, decorate Christmas cookies, make a Christmas wreath and Angel and make a paper chain with 25 links, so they can take one off every day. I even put Genevieve in Adina's first Christmas dress so I could get some pictures. It was a nice morning, despite the yucky weather.

5 months old

Genevieve is now five months old. It is hard to believe she is growing so quickly. A year ago at this time we were just adjusting to the idea that we were going to have another child and now I cannot imagine a life without her! She has a second tooth already is sitting pretty well on her own. She had her first taste of cereal this month too, but she is not so sure about it yet, but we'll still keep trying. She is just a happy baby, although she is starting to show a bit of a temper if she doesn't like something. I think she may be the only 5 month old who's dad tells her to use her "inside voice" and she even listens...sometimes. Here are a few of my favorite pictures this month. (November - is it December already? Yikes!!)

Picture day

Here are just a few of the fantastic photos we were able to get today at Sears! I was very happy with the outcome!

My first tooth..

Four Months old and she already has her first tooth! Look close and you can see it on the bottom right (her right). She is getting ready to cut the left one too! I cannot believe it!

Locks of Love

Adina, Madison and I have talked at some length lately about cancer and the affects it can have on people. I was explaining to them how some people will lose their hair in treatment. They were shocked when they realized even small children can be affected and lose their hair. So, we got on-line and checked out the "Locks of Love" website. After talking about it for the past couple of months they decided to take action! About 9 & 7 inches respectively. I am very proud of my girl's tender hearts!

Unfortunately, the pictures of Madison's haircut are trapped in my cellphone. A wonderful device, but a bear when you want to try and download pics. But you get the general idea with Adina's haircut. It's funny, Adina is our one who cannot handle change! When Donovan gets his regular haircuts if there is a slight variation in style she bursts into tears and takes a couple of days to adjust, so we were a bit hesitant to let her do this. She was, however, quite insistent. And she has spent the entire day saying "I LOVE MY HAIR, DON'T I LOOK BEAUTIFUL?!" "MOM, I CANNOT BELIEVE I HAVE GONE SO LONG WITHOUT SHORT HAIR, I LOVE IT!" It is quite endearing.

We were scheduled for pictures today and Bubba (Donovan's mom) came to visit for the day. We had her meet us at the photo studio. We told her we had a surprise for her. And she took one look at them and said "Oh, don't you look pretty...." She was just giving them a quick once over. The first picture is that nice pat answer of a Grandma. The second picture is of her actually noticing their hair, it was very entertaining!

Trick or Treat!

As far as I am concerned, nothing but treats! Genevieve, getting her beauty sleep before trick or treating! Sadly, I had to wake her from her beauty sleep to go trick or treating! The things a 3rd child has to endure!

Adina picked her very own costume this year! She was very proud of the outcome. Despite a bout with Croup and Strep she was all ready to go. She certainly was ready for bed when we got home, I don't even think she had the energy to eat her "4" pieces of candy! What a mom I am I set a limit on HALLOWEEN! They'll thank me later, right?

I was finally able to find another use for my wedding veil! I figure in about 30 years when maybe we let Madison date, this can be a picture to be used on her wedding day!

What else can be said but, "Aaaaaahhh!"

Caterpillar before....Butterfly after!

Pumpkin Carving

We got a chance to carve pumpkins at church on Sunday! It was a lot of fun and as you can see the "GULP" was plenty slimy!

Adina is 7!

Well, Adina is a very busy 7 year old! She is loving first grade and all of her friends. She had a fun birthday party. We had pizza, a pinata and of course we had to do the limbo. It is amazing how quickly seven years can pass!