The Secret's Path

#18. I am thankful for Christmas!

I didn't take any pictures on Christmas Day (Reggie beat me to it). But once I get them from him, I'll post them as soon as I can. I took some pictures and videos today of everyone playing with their new stuff.


Ben loves his shopping cart. He piles it full of toys and pushes it all around the house.


Nikki wasn't feeling photogenic today (she would cry every time she saw me with the camera), so I had to follow behind her. You can't tell from the angle, but there are three baby dolls in her stroller, along with her small fuzzy blanket and a small block.

I got Dance Dance Revolution (a mat you stand on and try to push the arrows with your feet when the playstation tells you to--it's much more difficult than it sounds). Here I am trying to get it started. Ben brought his fuzzy pillow over (behind me) and layed down on it, Nikki came over and walked all over the mat, and then Ben went and got the stroller and rolled it into me. I was never even able to get to the main menu. I gave up after about 3 minutes.

We all got everything we asked for, and then some. We are very thankful for our family and friends during this holiday season, those who are near us and those who are far away. We hope you all had a great Christmas!

They are very excited about their new blocks

I have totally been slacking on the blog updates, so here's a really long entry to make up for it. I'll fill everyone in on our activities for December.

#6. I am thankful for small get-togethers at our house.

Well, it was almost December when we had Travis (Joe's cousin, left) and Steve (friend, right) over for a late Thanksgiving dinner.

#7. I am thankful for willing helpers.

Nikki wanted to help me make Christmas cookies, so she pushed her high chair into the kitchen and stood up on the ledge so she could reach the counter.

#8. I am thankful for the competitive nature in us all.

Not to be one-upped by his sister, Ben pushed his high chair to the door so that he could look out the window.

#9. I am thankful for Santa Clause!

Their first time seeing Santa (we saw him only once this winter). Ben hardly noticed he was there, but Nikki wanted nothing to do with him. In the second picture, she's about to enter freak-out mode.

#10. I am thankful for true innocence.

I swear I didn't eat an icing, Mom. He did it.

#11. I am thankful for authentic joy and happiness.

#12. I am thankful for sugar cookies that are ready to decorate (somebody else did all of the work).

She's very proud of the cookie she/we decorated.

#13. I am thankful for pretty Christmas dresses.

We went to church on Christmas Eve, followed by dinner at none other than Pizza Hut. They had the coolest high chairs--they had wheels on them.

Christmas Day: The grandparents came over to our house in the morning to watch the kids. Santa brought Ben a shopping cart and Nikki a stroller for her babies. Ben was extremely excited about his new toy, and Nikki didn't stop smiling until we made her take a nap three hours later. But, the funniest part was Ben, who only wanted to collect the wrapping paper and put it in his shopping cart. He didn't really care about the presents otherwise.

In the afternoon, we all went to Patti & Reggie's for Christmas dinner and more presents for the kids.

#14. I am thankful for snow days!

It started snowing the day after Christmas.

#15. I am thankful for warm clothes.

The kids got all bundled up to go outside to expend some energy. I think it took more work to get them bundled up.

#16. I am thankful for sleds.

But it was all worth it when Joe pulled them around on their sled.

#17. I am thankful that I didn't have to do much snow shoveling.

We ended up getting about 6 inches of snow yesterday (which is a lot for this area). They went outside again today, but didn't enjoy it nearly as much since it was too deep for them to walk in. However, they started to like it once we got some of the snow shoveled out of the way.

#4. I am thankful for my little boy.




#5. I am thankful my little girl.

#3. I am thankful for scanners.

Now that I have finally figured out the computer scanner/printer situation at our house, I was able to scan the last picture from our photo session in October. The photographer used her schnazzy software to combine two pictures of the kids into one picture, and this is how it turned out:


Since it was nearly impossible to get one child to sit still long enough for a picture, this was the only option for having both of them in the same photo. I am now ready for the next phase: picking out our Christmas cards!

#2. I am thankful for... Yard Sales!

Last weekend, while I was running with the dogs, we passed a yard sale with a Nikki & Ben-sized slide for sale.

What was the price of the said slide, you may ask? Well, it was a steal at $5! Yes, $5! (retail at amazon.com: $44) I cut my run short and came back with the car a while later to pick it up.

It was an instant hit, and still is Ben's favorite toy to play with (for the time being).

I have so much for which to be thankful. I don't know where to begin. So, one of my New Year's resolutions is to list something for which I am thankful everyday. Okay, I may not post every day, but I will try to do at least 365 before the end of next year (I haven't checked to see if it's leap year). This is a daunting task, so I will get a head start by listing one today.

#1. I am thankful for my family. I was lucky enough to be able to spend this Thanksgiving holiday with most of my family.

Laundry baskets provide hours of entertainment.

Who says you can't put your kids in a cage?


Jake has been a bad dog recently and has started chewing up things while we are gone. Therefore, we had to bring out the crate. The kids didn't see it for the first few days, but when they did, it became their new favorite play place. They climbed in--and out--on their own all morning.

It's been pretty windy and cold here recently (highs around 50 degrees). The kids didn't seem to notice the change in weather, but I sure did. Therefore, our time outside now is limited.

The kids were fascinated by the goats. We may have to go to a petting zoo.

We (Gram and I) went to the Salisbury, MD zoo with the kids.

The really liked the otters that swam all around in front of them and talked to them (otters make a cheeping-type noise). On the right side of the picture, you can see an otter doing a back flip into the water.

But, really, the kids just wanted to run around and play in the dirt. Thankfully, Gram was with me. They each ran in opposite directions. We were each chasing a baby around the same part of the zoo for 3 hours. Maybe next time we'll get to see a different part of the zoo. :-)

Their new tent. They spent a good 20 minutes crawling/walking in and out of it and through both openings. Nikki also tried to climb in through the window on the side (this didn't go so well).

Grandma Patti and Papa Reggie got Ben a new truck. It has buttons that activates the lights and sirens. By the end of the day, Ben was saying something that sounded a lot like "truck."


Grandma and Papa also got Nikki her very own baby doll. She was way overdue for this. She has been going around for weeks wanting me to wrap up her stuffed animals (and sippy cup, books, and anything else she could carry) in a blanket like a baby. She was so excited to see her baby doll! She smiled, squealed, and ran over to it. I couldn't get it out of the box fast enough. By the end of the day, she was saying "aby" for "baby." Their first words.

Our first visit to Chuck E. Cheese. The kids loved it! I can see that we'll be going back there several times in the future.

As you have already known (or been able to guess), Joe and I both took the past week off from work. We got to spend a lot of time with the kids. We went to the pumpkin patch, Chuck E. Cheese, got their pictures taken, went to some of the fall festivals in the area, and spent a lot of time at the playground. It was a lot of fun for us. I was very happy that I got to spend so much time having fun with the kids and Joe.



It's back to work for me on Monday.

We went to the pumpkin patch with the kids. They had a great time looking at all of the pumpkins and running around.

We celebrated Reggie's birthday on Sunday. All Reggie wanted to do was to play with the grandkids. That's exactly what he did. Here are some of the highlights.

Nikki made this arrangement herself...