letter to heaven

Dear Grandma, 

It's been four years since you've went to heaven. A lot has happen. Let me give you an update on how things are today. 

Addison will be six in April. She was just two when you passed away. I remember bringing her in the room to see big Grandma one last time. She was too young at the time to understand what was going on, but she knows now that you are with Jesus in heaven. She remembers you some and we talk about you often.   She likes when I tell her funny stories and I have a bunch to tell. Addison is loving and kind and wears her heart on her sleeve. She's very serious about school and loves learning new things. I always find her writing stories and drawing pictures. If you were here, the two of you would be pen pals. The mailbox would be flowing with letters and cards going out and coming in. One day I will show her some of the poems, card and stories you've written over the years. 

I was pregnant with Morgan on the day that you died. I remember being sad that you would never get to meet the baby girl growing inside me. I can't believe she's going to be 4. Let me just tell you that you would love this sweet, fun-filled girl of mine. Her smile lights up the room. Her sass and attitude will drive you nuts, but they will also make you laugh out loud. There is never a dull moment when she is around. Morgan's soft voice will melt your heart and you instantly fall in love with her. She makes friends with everyone she meets and I know that she would have curled up in your lap and smothered you with hugs and kisses. Sometimes I wish you were here to braid her hair like you used to braid mine. My attempts at it do not do her beautiful blond hair justice. 

Just know that these girls would love and miss you just as much as I do. Sending all of our love to you in heaven. We'll blow kisses your way tonight.

Love,
Erika

christmas night

After wrapping things up at our house we headed to my mom's for Christmas dinner and gifts. Presents are always fun, but it tends to be a little chaotic. My brother had to help M with some of her gifts. Later she found something that made music and all she wanted to do was dance.

Addison got a really nice bracelet. This is some kind of pose of hers. She needs a little more practice.

Miss Sassypants. Always doing something funny.

At one point, in the midst of all the present opening chaos, Morgan decided she was just going to read her book. She was completely oblivious to everything going on around her.

Morgan was excited and so happy all day. I could just eat her up.

Addison got all things Hello Kitty and was truly thankful for all of her gifts. She might have been a little upset that she didn't get a sewing machine. Maybe next year.

M is so much fun to be around. She's growing up so fast and is full of life. And I just love, love, love the way she says the girls names - Addy and Muno. Muno is complete with the Spanish accent.

Last but not least, our family Christmas picture!

There's nothing like finishing Christmas posts a month later. I finally feel like I'm caught up. 

christmas morning

Christmas morning was full of surprises. The most shocking was the girls sleeping in. On any given weekend they are up before 7 a.m., but on this day they were still asleep at 8:30. It was kind of nice to get up and be in the living room when they checked to see if Santa had come. Addison was out first and had an amazed look on her face. She ran back to grab Morgan who said she didn't want to get out of bed. Santa definitely came though. He ate the cookies and even left a note.

Santa had to be creative and think of something to tell Addison about the dog she did not get. Just days leading up to Christmas she started asking for a dog. That's not happening any time soon. Lucky for us the fish made it through the night and the girls were so happy to see their new aquarium. Morgan chose Ariel for her fish. Addison named hers Smokey. Figures.

Addison got a new American Girl doll and a scooter from Santa. They were laying out for her to see. Morgan has an obsession with mermaids so Santa brought her 3 new mermaid dolls, a dress up center and a pink guitar. Morgan spotted those mermaids and instantly asked Michael to open one for her. I turn my head for one second and she's gone. She scooted around all of the presents and went to the playroom to play. She had no interest in her presents. Michael and I were laughing so hard. It took some time, but eventually she came back to dig into her stocking.

See the mermaid. Already enjoying the fun. Her other obsession is gum so she was pretty happy to find some in her stocking.

It's all about the princesses with her.

We gave them some joint gifts - games, books, new markers. They did really good opening them together.

When all the excited of opening gifts was over, the girls got right to playing. Addison couldn't decide what she wanted to play with so she put it all on. New baby carrier, dress up clothes and tutu.

Morgan cared about one thing only. Those mermaids.

Michael got his own gifts, but he preferred playing with the new head lamps and Morgan's pink guitar.

Santa was good to me. I got a fancy new heart rate monitor (which I have yet to use) and a new Kindle Fire. I was super surprised and excited, Santa did good.

Before heading to my mom's that afternoon we had some family time at the house. My dad was there Christmas morning so we all ate breakfast and played with new toys. My dad played Barbie's for 45 minutes before Michael took over. Real men have no problem playing Barbie's and evidently no problem wearing those pajama pants.

christmas eve, part two

The girls were super excited about making cookies for Santa. With all that sugar and flour floating around who wouldn't be.

Addison got right in there and wasn't afraid to get messy. 

I think next year we'll bathe AFTER making cookies. The place was a mess. 

We had all sorts of shapes, but we don't get fancy with our cookie making. In the end they were all sprinkled with red sugar and that was that.

In between rolling dough and cutting shapes there may have been some tasting. 

This year's cookies came out a lot better than last year's cookies. Remember THIS. At least this year they looked like the shapes we cut out. After the clean up and all the tasting it was time for bed. The girls climbed into Morgan's bed and snuggles while Michael read The Night Before Christmas. We had been reading it for a month and they love it!

Then it was time for Santa to get to work. He had thought ahead and put the dress up center together the weekend before. The only big thing we really had to do was move the aquarium from the bathroom to the living room and put the fish in. At this point they were still alive. I was keeping my fingers crossed for morning.

christmas eve, part one

Christmas Eve was pretty low key. My dad and sister came over to visit with baby Aleyece. Addison held her and she went right to sleep. The girls just love her so much.

That afternoon Santa went shopping for two fish. Since we had no clue what we were doing we realized at the last minute that we had to have the tank up and running for awhile before adding the fish. At 3:00, while the girls were napping, we set the aquarium up in our bathroom. The trick was keeping them out of there for the rest of the day. I told them that Michael spilled bleach and it smelled really bad so they couldn't go in there. It worked. We checked on those fish every hour to make sure they were still alive. Our goal was for them to at least make it to morning so the girls could see the fish that Santa brought them.

That evening we went to church. All of the youth were putting on a play called The Inn Keeper. I was shocked when Addison agreed to be in the play and even more shocked when they told me she would be dancing. She practiced for a month and was pretty excited, but equally nervous. She looked so cute in her dancing outfit. This was HUGE for her. My sweet, shy girl was about to be in a play. And dance! I was beaming with pride.

This was Morgan. Not very angelic looking. She didn't have a part in the actual play. The angels were the younger kids and they just had to sing a couple of songs before and after the play. She was not having it. This is the same face she had while she stood up there during the first songs. She didn't sing or even move. She just stood there in the back with her arms crossed and a sour face. I admit. I laughed. She did do better at the end when she got to stand with Addison and sing her favorite song, Go Tell it on the Mountain. I actually saw her smile.

Addison waiting patiently for her turn to dance.

We were so excited to hear that our friends James and Molly were in town for the holidays. We only got to see them for a few minutes after the show, but that's okay. It only takes a few minutes for these guys to be best friends again. I can't wait to spend some more time with them next month.

A few pictures in our church clothes before cooking baking began.

I sure do love these girls.

It took a lot of begging to get them to sit for one picture. They were so excited for Santa they could barely contain themselves. In fact, I was pretty excited as well.