Day 23: Before leaving for Little Rock, Harper painted some ornaments she had made. She made them at a Wallace Wannabes event with the art teacher.


Day 24: We did several things as a family on Christmas Eve, but the main activity was the Christmas Eve service at my mom's church. It was a family service, so Harper went in with us. She loved the music and really enjoyed her candle! It was a great way to end our Advent activities...focusing on the true meaning of Christmas!


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Day 21: Our activity was to go to the Studio Movie Grill and watch "Olivia's Winter Cheer". It was 5 Olivia Christmas episodes, and it was only $2. Harper had a great time eating pizza and watching the movie from a comfy chair!


Day 22: Our activity was to go to Santa's story time and to look at the trains at Northpark. Santa tells a few stories, and it's very interactive, so Harper really enjoyed it! Then we went to the train exhibit. The proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald house, which made spending money to look at tiny trains worth it!

















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Day 19: Our activity was to go get peppermint milkshakes from Chick-fil-a. I could eat one every day...they are so good! Harper loved hers!




Day 20: Our activity was to head to the Gaylord Texan hotel for their ICE display. The theme this year was Shrek the Halls, so I knew Harper would love it. Knowing our neighbor's Shrek obsession, I invites them along! Harper and Max had a great time. It's 9 degrees inside the giant tent, so we were all numb by the end of it...but it was well worth it! Harper's favorite parts were going down the ice slide and seeing Princess Fiona!



























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And yes, Corby just chose a night shirt as his pajamas. He was wearing shorts underneath (rolled up, of course), but that didn't make it any less awkward. One of my favorite comments was from our newest couple, and she said "I just get so embarrassed every time I look at him". And to that I say, he's mine, ladies... hands off.

Day 17: Our activity was to drive around and look at Christmas lights. She enjoyed it at first, but she eventually lost interest. But this is one of my favorite things to do at Christmas, so I really enjoyed it!

Day 18: The activity for the day was to watch a Christmas movie and eat popcorn. I DVRed "A Charlie Brown Christmas" the other night, so that's what we watched. Harper had a great time....she watched the whole movie and thoroughly enjoyed the cheese popcorn!







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Day 15: Harper's activity was to take a Christmas present to her best friend, Saylor. This might be the most excited she's been about our activity! Erica was so kind and let Harper play for most of the afternoon...so Harper really had a great day!




Day 16: I'm thankful Harper can't read because I had to change from our original plan. This was the day that Taylor left, and so I was extremely frazzled. Therefore, our activity was to get a slush from Sonic!

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Day 13: The SPCA has a hallway in the mall every Christmas, so I thought Harper would love to see the dogs. Yep! I was right! She circled the area at least 5 times, saying hi to each one. She also contributed a (very) small donation.










Day 14: Our home group helps a lady in South Dallas get gifts for the children at her community center. So we went to toys r us to get gifts for the girls we signed for. Harper loved helping with this!

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Saying goodbye to this precious little girl will be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I honestly feel like I'm having to give away my very own child. When we first started this, we agreed to love, get attached, and treat our foster children the exact same way we do Harper. Yet, in the end, we knew it would be so much harder for us, because we truly feel like her birth parents. But when you think about what a foster child truly needs...it's to have a mom and dad who unconditionally love and care for them. So that was our plan, and I think we did a pretty good job. Taylor's looming departure is tearing me up inside. I can cry at the drop of a hat. I mean, the song "The Little Drummer Boy" sent me over the edge the other day... what in the world?!?

Day 11: Harper got to open a present...which was an apron. And then we baked cookies for her teachers at church.











Day 12: Harper's activity was to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate with the family. She was most excited about the marshmallows but I think she had fun!







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Day 9: Our activity was to go ride the Christmas train. It's at this couple's house in Richardson, and it's free...so we couldn't pass it up. It wasn't crowded, and it goes around the track for a while. Harper had a blast!










Day 10: We went to Santa's Village in Richardson. It's a neat little area with different houses for kids to go in and participate in activities. Thankfully, Harper didn't know what was in each house, so we went to the ones with short lines. She had a great time going into the houses, but I think her favorite part was taking pictures with the dressed up characters.


















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Day 7: We went and bought a new Christmas book. I had seen this one a few weeks ago, so that's the one she got. It uses the rhyming of "The night before Christmas" but is about Jesus' birth.




Day 8: Her activity was to pick out a Christmas gift for her teacher. She said she wanted to get her a doll, so that's exactly what we did. I'll obviously include something with the gift too. But since I wanted her to learn how to pick something out for someone else, I wasn't going to say no to her idea. So next week, Ms Gigi will be the proud owner of a Belle doll!



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