It's not easy being 2...and a half!

Hey friends! How is your day? Did you know that we now have a 4 and a half and a 2 and a half year old in this house! Not to mention the little baby growing in my belly! Wow, things are going to get busy around here! (Come and visit any time to see first hand :)

To celebrate her halfness, Addi had yummy ice cream dessert on New Years Day (her half birthday)!

She also created a beautifully colored picture for her cousin Jordy.

For the girls' half birthdays, they get to choose something to create and choose who to create it for to teach them the "spirit of giving". It's a very special and fun celebration!

Likewise, in the spirit of appreciation, I have started a gratitude journal for this year. I would love to include some of my entries from my journal in the blog. I have found that the gratitude journal is a beautiful way to document what has happened each day: the big, the small, the things that make me smile, laugh, or cry.

What are you doing this year? Any resolutions? I have noticed the amount of people walking at 6 AM has increased by quite a lot. We'll see how many of them last until next week ;)

Enjoy today!

Taking the Bus into 2012!

Hey Friends! Happy New Year! 2012 is going to be a great one and we started it out in a fantastic way. We rode a bus to Sydney with a group of people from the Embassy to enjoy the fireworks show from a skyscraper that houses the U.S. Consulate right down town in Sydney! The girls thought the bus ride was ultra cool!Matt and I enjoyed finding another Starbucks in Sydney (we don't have one in Canberra).

Then out to dinner at a fancy steakhouse at Darling Harbour.

I was honored to be complimented by our table neighbors. They told us that our children were very well behaved. That made this momma glow :)

The BIG Christmas Tree in the city.

Ready to celebrate!

Looking out the window at Sydney Harbour.

Matt was ringing in the New Year with good friends/work buddies and a bottle of wine; don't forget the party hat :).

And the show started! There was a 9 PM show and a 12 AM show. It was incredible.

For your viewing pleasure; 12 minutes of wonderful fireworks. The best ones are at about the 10 minute mark! Enjoy!

Enjoy today! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Year, New News!

Happy New Year, from our family to yours! We have some exciting news to share with you! I bet you can't wait to hear it!

We made a video to share the news! Enjoy!

That's right! We are having baby number 3! I have a doctor's appointment set up within the next couple weeks and will be finding out more official information on baby's arrival date then. Looking forward to keeping you all updated on our family adventures in 2012!

Happy New Year!

Enjoy today!

All Things Merry and Bright : Our Christmas in Pictures

Hello Friends and Family! What a great week! It was nice to have a little holiday from the bloggy, but I missed all of you like crazy! Here is what we have been up to:

A Picture with Santa ended up being a picture with the nativity (baby Jesus) for Addi. She wouldn't touch Santa with a 39 and a half foot pole!

A snack at the chocolate shop after pictures with Mr. Claus.

Baking cookies for Santa.

Instead of having a snowball fight and building snowmen, we jumped on our trampoline on Christmas Eve.

Cookies for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph!

The Christmas Story.

The night before Christmas (followed by Addi hiding under her covers for hours in fear of Santa coming to our house.)

Although Addi does not like Santa, Santa loves Addi and brought her plenty of toys ;)

He ate up his cookies and even left a note for the girls!

Stocking time!

Addi thought the stockings would warm up her feet :)

Christmas at Matt's boss' house. The dogs lounging after their Christmas feast.

Beautiful Christmas table filled with amazing Christmas food and even better Christmas company. We are blessed to have such wonderful people surrounding us here in Oz.

"crackers"

crowns :)

On December 28th we celebrated Destiny's half birthday with cupcakes and...

She colored a picture for her dear friend as a gift to teach her the spirit of giving.

The following day brought a trip to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

Walking with friends.

We even saw a platypus! It was so fun!

Mr. Platy is swimming right there, but difficult to see.

On our way out, we stopped to say bye-bye to a roo!

Special gifts from an extra special gal! (Thank you SO much, Jenae! The girls and dolls love the blankets you made!)

The girls were so blessed with many wonderful gifts from so many great people, we feel loved even though many miles separate us from our family.

We hope your Christmas was merry and that you have a very happy and blessed New Year!

We are off to Sydney to enjoy the fireworks tonight! Pictures to come soon!

Enjoy today!