Happy New Year!

We rang in the New Year at home, just our family of five Lopshires. It was quiet and relaxing. 

Jeremy made us some excellent GIANT root beer floats...

 We blew up balloons (following the tradition of the Crabill family, like I grew up doing every year) to pop at midnight, and watched Pete's Dragon.

We didn't really want to stay up until midnight, so we also kept the tradition of celebrating at "fake midnight," which was 9pm this year.

The kids love popping the balloons at midnight! This time, they used the popped balloons as confetti too!

2011 was a good year, and God has blessed us in so many ways. We look forward to the plans He has in store for us in 2012!

iPod Purselet

It's crocheting season!  We haven't had any snow or ice, but it's been cold enough I've had the urge to snuggle up inside with some yarn and a needle.  I made several scarves for Christmas presents, and really enjoyed making this little bag for Annah's iPod.

Even though she has a protective case and screen protector, she wanted something soft with handles to put the iPod in for carrying it places.  

I really liked this pattern.  It was easy and worked up in one quick afternoon, but the shell stitch makes it look fancy.  I also loved that it is worked in the round, so I didn't have any yucky seams.  Annah likes the color and the fact that the yarn is shimmery.  

Day after Christmas...

Today we are soooooo enjoying a day to be home, just the 5 of us, relaxing, playing with our new toys,  not cleaning house, just enjoying each other...being together.  Oh, it is wonderful!!!

We've been munching on all the Christmas cookies and candies, playing new Wii games, watching movies, just chilling out.

This morning Sylvia modeled the scarf and mittens I crocheted for her.  They look great with her new winter coat from Gram!  I loved making these for her (my first attempt at mittens, after 25 years of crocheting!), and am so glad she really likes them.  

Caeden and Sylvia had some Spinjitzu battles.  

Annah worked on some counted cross stitch projects.

What a cozy and wonderful day!  Ahhhhh!  I love my family!!

Time for presents!

After a wonderful worship service this morning, we came home for lunch.  Grandpa Lopshire provided the fabulous roast we enjoyed.  

These kids were most patient, and didn't complain at all about waiting to open presents.  They were excited when it was time though!  

Sylvia found Band Angels in her stocking--bandages with scripture on them.  I'm sure they'll help the owies heal more quickly!

Instead of his traditional Twizzlers, Jeremy found more flavorful RedVines in his stocking.

The girls gave Caeden the Wii Cars Race-o-Rama game.  

Annah has been wanting a soft case with handles for her iPod, so I crocheted one for her.

We all got a good laugh out of the Perry the Platypus underwear in the Phineas & Ferb pack that Caeden got.

Annah received her favorite Wii game, The Dog Island.

Caeden received the DVD of the very first movie he saw in a theater: Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.

A new *sparkly* LPS for Sylvia

Caeden received his very own first REAL Bible--Super Heroes version!

more cross stitch projects for Annah

Caeden was so sweet about giving the girls a gift.  He told me he wanted some kind of Barbie transportation for them, so I checked the Barbie aisle when I went to the store and reported to him what I saw.  He chose to give them this Barbie Sisters double bicycle, which is very cool, according to all of them.  He made sure to give me enough money to cover tax too, when I went to buy it.  

I made Sylvia mittens and a scarf to match her new winter coat.  

And she was happy to get the second collection of Growing Up In Lancaster County books.

Annah loves Francesca Battistelli, and was clearly very excited to get one of her cd's.

The girls have been wanting some accessory scarves to wear, so I made this one up quickly over the last couple evenings after the kids were in bed.

Caeden has been pretty "into" Ninjago stuff from LEGO lately.  He did not get the big Fire Temple he thought he wanted, but did receive the Ice Dragon.  Ooohhh...

I made a fluffy scarf for Annah too. I think she likes it.

Ninjago Spinjitsu Battle Arena for the boy.  This actually reminds me a little of the old  Battling Tops game, except the little Lego ninjas are on tops called spinjitsus, and they knock weapons out of each others' hands while they spin.

Sylvia wanted a Barbie nursery set.  (She saw this while perusing the Target catalog that arrived at our house a few months ago.)  She loves it, but thinks it's pretty weird that the little baby wets on you after you give her a bottle.

Always a favorite.  Gotta get those Disney DVD's when they're available! ;)

Sylvia probably plays the least amount of Wii in our house, so I had trouble deciding on a game for her.  She just happened to mention that she would like a Cooking Mama game while we were baking on Friday, so Daddy and Annah scoured every Wii cabinet, bin, and rack in town yesterday to find her this one.

The kids know how much their daddy loves ice cream, so they gave him an ice cream ball!

Caeden gave us some special ornaments he made at school.  They have his picture on them.  Always the most special kind of gift!

The whole family received DDR for Wii, along with 2 dance mat controllers!

Daddy definitely got the largest present of all!  It was 7 feet long and weighed over 75 pounds!  This is what I was hiding in the guest room all week long.  What in the world??

Ahhh, a new memory foam mattress!  Yay for future nights of comfortable sleep!

Oh my, what a mess!

We spent the rest of the day enjoying being home together, playing with new toys and watching Christmas movies.  

Caeden put the ice dragon together in no time.

Sylvia and Annah played with their new Barbie treasures.

And we felt so abundantly and unnecessarily blessed.

Christmas Morning 2011

I am the only one up and about this Christmas morning in our house!  No other creatures are stirring, and thankfully not a mouse!  The children are still nestled snug in their beds for a short time longer.  Since this Christmas Day falls on Sunday, we know that the most important thing must come first.  We are so glad we can worship Jesus with our church family today!   

 The kids didn't balk at the idea at all, when we discussed waiting until after church--and even after lunch--to open presents.  They will sit with us in the sanctuary today too--how wonderful!--instead of having seperate children's worship.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to play piano for today's service (as well as last evening's).  We are grateful that Jesus came for us and all the people of the world.  

As Pastor Jerry reminded us last night, it is amazing to reflect on the fact that Jesus came into the lowliest possible circumstances, so that the lowliest of people would know He made himself equal with them.  How thankful we are for His great love and mercy!!

Christmas Card

A Christmas card, from us to you!

My mom made the girls these beautiful dresses to wear for music performances and Christmastime, and bought Caeden his handsome outfit too.  We had them try them on over Thanksgiving weekend so we could see if they fit.  I didn't bother fixing their hair, because I didn't think I'd use the picture for Christmas cards.  But, it is a good representation of them being themselves.  I love everyday moments, so that is what we are sharing with our loved ones here.  

May God bless your everyday.

Mooseltoe

The kids love when Daddy reads to them!!  They usually gather in the girls' room, especially now that their beds are together.  Jeremy uses lots of great character voices and does hilarious commentary.  He also obliges them by repeating favorite books over and over.  

At Christmastime, one of their favorites is Mooseltoe.  It's such a silly book, and they all really get into it.  I love watching them enjoy books together.

Baking Day

I just love when the kids are home from school for a day!!  They relaxed and played in their rooms all morning, and had fun together.

This afternoon, we made some cookies and candies for Christmastime!

We had to make my favorite holiday cookie--Mexican Wedding Cookies...Mmm!

And, I always have to make my Grandma McEowen's Apricot Coconut Balls.  They are more like a candy, and are my absolute favorite!!!  Sylvia rolled out every one of them today, and did such a great job!

I had made several batches of Easy Lemon Cookies for our Cookies & Carols celebration at church, and Annah made a batch all by herself today.  They use a cake mix, and are quick and easy to make--and so yummy!

We also did No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Drop Cookies, which the kids just love!  They will be the first ones gone, I'm guessing!

And, last, but not least, I had come across a recipe through Pinterest that was new to me...  I had never considered making Peppermint Patties from scratch, because they seemed difficult.  But when I came across this recipe, it looked simple enough and I couldn't wait to try them.  They are delicious, easy, fun to make, and even fancy-looking!  I think they may become a new holiday traditional recipe for me!

I wasn't sure I would even worry about doing any holiday baking at all this year, but the kids were so pleased to be part and so helpful!  It was great fun!  Now we will enjoy sharing our goodies with friends as we gather during the holidays!