December 20

Today was full. For the first time this month, Eli's morning nap did not prevent me from going to church with the family, so we all worked together to achieve Caleb's goal of getting to church early. By the time we unloaded and got the kids checked in, we made it right on time. Good enough?

After church we stopped by the book store to pick up a farewell gift for Caleb's class, then the fabric store for me to pick up some supplies for one of Caleb's Christmas gifts, and Costco. Then home for lunch and naps. I emerged from Eli's room after putting him down for his nap and found this:

I mean, really. Are they sweet, or what?

(side note: I considered cropping this photo so that the chaotic mess wasn't quite as obvious, but then I decided that I'd like to have some documentation of what our lives actually look like, even if it isn't Pinterest-worthy.)

They're all in the clothes they wore to church (Caleb has orange socks, red pants, a red plaid shirt, a red bowtie, and a fedora), and Lily is "reading" to herself, Caleb is reading out loud, and Daisy is writing in a notebook. Goodness, I love these kids. I especially love how unnecessarily close they are to each other. There's a whole couch there, but they choose to sit snuggled up with each other, like a pack of puppies.

After eating lunch, I left those snuggle puppies and headed to the gym.

I came home to a silent house, and when I went into my room to shower, I found this:

Even six year olds need naps sometimes. 

He especially needed a nap because tonight was the big night: our church children's Christmas performance!

We got there early, and Chris left to get me a fancy coffee to enjoy during the show.

Eli was delighted to crawl around on the floor.

As soon as I sat on the floor, he crawled over and climbed into my lap. Funny boy.

Despite my assurances that Caleb and Daisy were just part of the choir and that it may very well be terrible, my parents and Emily and Jace all came to watch. I was so glad they were there to support our brave kiddos!

Can you spot Caleb and Daisy? They're toward the center-left, and Daisy has a white bow on her head. They were so into this performance, especially Daisy. She sang with all her heart, and did the hand motions with gusto. "Go Tell It On The Mountain" was her favorite. Caleb did a great job, too. His personality is very different from Daisy's, and honestly I was surprised he wanted to participate. But he did, and he did great!

Meanwhile, in the audience... 

Did I mention that the show was called "A Super Christmas", and the premise was that superheroes had gathered to find the new, world's greatest superhero, who turned out to be baby Jesus?

Well. Jace loves superheroes.

LOVES them.

As soon as they walked on stage, he began shouting.

"THATS MY SPIDEY! HI, SPIDEY! MY SPIDEY! HIIII!"

It was so very, very funny, and he was thrilled. I love Dad cracking up at Jace's antics, Lily focused on the show, and Eli looking at Jace.

These kids are so lucky to have such doting grandparents. I'm lucky, too!

Boom. Look at that Daisy sass. This picture perfectly captures how both Caleb and Daisy performed in the show.

Afterwards, cookies and hot cocoa. 

I love that these two are such a matched pair, and that my kids have cousins their age nearby. These little ones love each other!

Our two little performers. Somehow Daisy's bow ended up around Caleb's waist.

My duckies, clowning around. Mom really wanted a picture of them on this white couch, but they were so amped and full of sugar that it totally wasn't happening.

Jace was ready for a picture, though. As soon as I gave up on the idea of photographing my four kids, he climbed up, snuggled next to Caleb, and said, "CHEESE!"

Apparently Caleb wasn't smiling hard enough for Jace, so Jace began pinching Caleb's leg, the whole time saying, "CHEESE!" That little boy is his father's son, and we sure do love him!