"For it is in giving that we receive."
-Francis of Assisi
In typical Texas fashion we had some great outdoor weather right before it went back to freezing this week. The kids took the opportunity to decorate the playhouse in the backyard and then Ashlyn had Mom make her into a kitty. Afterward we continued to enjoy the weather by grilling up some street-style chicken tacos. There was no argument, no screaming, just a family enjoying their time together. Those moments are rarer than I’d like, but I’ll be happy to have them even if just occasionally.
Like most girls her age, Ashlyn will take any opportunity to dance. So to help entertain and keep her active in the winter we bought a dance game for our PS4. James and I tried to compete with her, but it didn’t work out. You can see how gracious Ashlyn was in victory.
Isla continues her slow move to normalcy. She’s still fussier than the average baby but she always has a smile for Mom now, and I think this is a good sign of happier days to come.
The kids ran outside to play on Saturday while we did some work indoors. I looked outside and saw them both jumping on the trampoline together. This may not seem like much but it was the first time James had enough coordination to not be scared being up there with his big sister. Go kids go.
I’ll go ahead and admit it, James’ room was really dull. We painted it blue when we knew we were having a boy and then for some reason stopped there. Mom remedied that this weekend by adding dinosaur paintings, shelves, an Elmo rug, along with more Elmo and Tiggers than I can count.
We tried to get pictures with Santa but the line was too long and the kids too impatient. We did get to adopt a child from Salvation Army’s Angel Tree and got to teach Ashlyn more about charity and giving. When we got home we took advantage of them being dressed up to take our own set of Christmas pictures. Ashlyn convinced James it was better to make goofy faces than smile.
