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If you were Ellie, you would be calling the title of this post a "patterin."

I love that girl!

Blizzard Pt. 2

Of course we DID have to go outside to clear the driveway this morning, so here's a few more pics of the day...

I have made a mental note to ALWAYS pull Hannah's hair up before sending her out to play! 

Poor thing!

Daddy had a little helper...thank goodness I ran to the dollar store yesterday afternoon before the storm really hit to grab a couple kid shovels! 

Unfortunately I couldn't get a great picture of Sammy's face while shoveling...

he was too busy working to look up!

You'll notice there weren't any pictures of Ellie outside...

this is how she wisely spent her time while we were out up to our knees in snow!

(notice the dress...this is what she came down wearing this morning...what a princess!)

And Gabby enjoyed her time basking in the sun and frankly, I don't blame her!

Blizzard 2011

There have obviously been other things happening in our lives since Christmas, but I'll get to that later (hopefully!) and just talk about the news TODAY...the BLIZZARD of 2011!

Thank goodness none of us has to go anywhere today....it was quite a storm!


These hot chocolate pics were from last week after an afternoon of sledding. :0)

Okay, on to the blizzard! 

these may not be the greatest pics..I'll try to add more if we actually get outside today!

check out the drifts...by the back fence!

Brian was kind and shoveled a path for Gabby...poor Gabby had a rough night using the potty last night in the midst of the blizzard!

 she wasn't too sure of the path either...maybe it had to do w/ the wind whipping her face?!

neighbor's car across the street!

our mailbox!

hope you're safe and warm where ever you are! 

(yes, mom and dad, we know you are!! Can't wait to come in 3 1/2 weeks!)

Christmas - IL

Since we were back from MI, Christmas Eve, Santa was able to eat his milk and cookies at our house and leave special surprises for the kids Christmas morning! Sammy was a little confused about who ate the cookies!

After a quick cinnamon roll breakfast, Daddy read the Christmas story from the Bible...a tradition we love!

On to gifts! One of Ellie's new favorites, Sweatpea Beauty movie (Veggie Tales) and a plush asparagus Sweetpea to go with it!

Sammy got a new trampoline to hopefully help with getting some energy out!

All 3 had to cover their eyes for the big reveal of Hannah's present....

Her very own horse!! Yes, it looks a little creepy wrapped in plastics bags, but as you can see, she was shocked and loved it! And, we loved it b/c it was a steal that we found on Craigslist!

After the hoopla at our house was over, we got all gussied up and headed to Chicago for the Giere/Johanik family Christmas. For some reason I didn't take a ton of pictures, but here are a few cuties...

Sammy looking good w/ his "spiky" hair (that lasted all of 1 hour and then it just looked like bed-head!)

I love this shot of 4 1/2 yr. old Jeremy...you can't tell from his expression, but he LOVED his new Blackhawks apparel! He didn't take it off all day!

Grandma and the two little ones. :O)

After a delicious meal down in one of the condo party rooms, a few of the kids gathered to lead some singing. Hannah was in her glory standing in front of a crowd, all eyes on her! That girl is bound for stardom! (or at least she'll never be shy!)

Cutie-Patootie Ruthie

Please help...

Two of my friends from Taylor University have 2 beautiful children with the terrible disease Sanfilippo Syndrome. They will likely die much too young because of it. Pepsi is doing a competition of sorts right now and whichever cause gets the most votes in the month of January, receives $250,000 toward their fight.

All it takes is 1 minute, if that, to vote. Please help.
There are 3 ways to vote: Pepsi's site below, Facebook (click here) and texting (Text 105582 to PEPSI (73774)).

You can read about Waverly and Oliver here: http://familymctravels.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

Christmas - Michigan

Just before Christmas, we spent a few short days in Michigan and enjoyed time with the Nedervelds! We shared an evening with my mom's side of the family and then had our own Christmas the next night with Matt, Stacey, Luke and Taylor. Great-Grandma Smith even made it to both parties! After a few days of fun, we headed back to IL on Christmas Eve, in the afternoon. The kids wanted to be sure we made it home in time to get cookies and milk out for Santa! 

 Sweet shot of Stacey and Sammy

I love Taylor's genuine excitement over...

new matching jammies!

Tender moment with Grandma and Taylor

Okay, so you have to look closely at this next picture to see ALL the reasons I posted it...

1. notice Sammy's new remote control car riding up Hannah's leg...guess who was driving that thing? :O)

2. Brian thinks it's hilarious. 

3. Great-Grammy is CRACKING UP! 

At 97, she thoroughly enjoys & loves her family, especially the little ones and because 

it's usually hard to capture her joy, I LOVE THIS PICTURE!

The grandkids. ;)

On Thursday morning, we took the kids sledding and had a ball! It was not a surprise that Sam LOVED the thrill of whizzing down the hill, again and again! It took Ellie a few minutes to warm up to the idea (shocking, right?), but then she loved it too. Hannah, Luke and Taylor basically jumped on their sleds the second we got there and couldn't get enough!

One of my new favs...what a happy buddy!

whew!

How am i doing??? i just added 4 new posts and must call it a night...I'll be back soon to continue on with catching up!

***scroll down to the first entry tonight (Thanksgiving) if you like going in order. ;O)


p.s. now that I'm hopefully pleasing my critics...please start leaving comments so I know someone is actually reading this thing! HA!

Pt. 4 - Hannah's Birthday Party with Friends

On Dec. 20th, we finally got to celebrate Hannah's b-day with her little friends at an indoor water park. They had a blast! What a great way to start Christmas vacation, despite the fact that it starting snowing like crazy that afternoon! Thankfully everyone made it there and home safely!

Even Ellie and Sam got in on the fun!

The girls loved the dump bucket!

The gang eating pizza after swimming...notice Sammy at the head of the table. What a lucky boy!

Birthday girl with messy, wet hair!

Thank you friends for celebrating Hannah!