Singing

I was singing "Away in a Manger" with the girls at bedtime tonight. When we finished verse 3 (my favorite), Mara said, "Mom, our voices sound alike". I said, "I remember thinking the same thing when I was a little girl . . . Grandma Margaret likes to sing". Mara responded, "Definitely Aunt Becca". So true. Aunt Becca likes to sing! She has a song for *everything*.

Our daycare provider, Lisa, told me that Sonna was singing Annie's "The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow" this afternoon. My girls usually have a tune to sing or a sound to make. (Sometimes very loud sounds).

Advent Retreat

This was our fourth Advent Retreat at camp and each year Jedd comes up with a fabulous craft. In the past he's created an Advent Candle Holder, amazing wooden trains, beautiful picture frames and this year he did a tree and wooden ornaments. People especially enjoyed using a scroll saw to cut out their own ornaments as seen here. Everyone feels good about themselves when they can use a powertool all on their own! Our cook, Tonja, made a gingerbread house for each each family (15)! Mara and Sonna did such a nice job of working together. It was really fun to see them create (and eat) with all the candy. They wanted a heart on their house. (: Within 24 hours, over half of the candy has been eaten off their gingerbread house.

Prayer for Two Sisters

A few nights ago I was laying in between the girls in bed saying bedtime prayers when this dialogue happened: Me: "Thank you, God, for my Mara Ida Jane and my Sonna Sara Elle"
Interrupted by Sonna: "No, my Sonna-shine".
Me: "Yes, thank you, God, for my Sonna-shine. Thank you that they are kind and loving, curious and persistent. Thank you, God, that they are good friends, and that they listen to their mom and dad"
Interrupted by Mara who shot up in bed and said, "WHO?"
Oh, how this Momma laughed!

Simon's Pizza/Pajama Birthday Party

Cousins Having Fun!

Claire at 5 1/2, Simon nearly 4, Mara at 4 1/2, Sonna at 2 1/2 and Penny at 1, these cousins get along so well. They love each other and are such good friends. It is so fun to see them together!

Cousins

I have always been so lucky to have wonderful older cousins, and parents who made it a priority to raise us together (meaning we got to spend lots of time with our cousins as kids). So this Thanksgiving felt so special when I got to see Daron and Richard when we were in Seattle spending the holiday weekend with Mat, Stephanie and kids. It was a great Thanksgiving for many reasons: great to be with my brother Mat, get to spend time with Stephanie, see Mara and Sonna love their cousins so much, and see all 13 cousins play together and love each other so well. (Daron has 5 children, Richard has 3, Mat has 3 and our 2 = 13!) The sun was even shining so we enjoyed time at the park (see the parade picture above) as well as sharing a Thanksgiving leftover lunch. I am blessed!

Cozy, Sleeping Sisters

Mara and Sonna are now sharing a bed. At first they were sharing Mara's twin mattress and as you can tell, they didn't seem to mind. But on occassion, Mara would call out in the middle of the night, "I want Sonna to go to her own bed; she's squishing me", or one would roll out of bed. So a couple weeks ago, we moved the queen sized bed into Mara's room and it has been a rather smooth transition. No one has fallen out of bed and they go to sleep pretty well. One night Mara fell asleep immediately but Sonna had napped and wasn't as tired. Jedd and I laughed in the kitchen as we listened to Sonna say, "Knock it off! Shut it off!" over and over again. Mara was sound asleep but apparently Sonna needed to work through something. On a side note, although Sonna was very proud of her crib, I think she was lonesome and just plain cold when she'd wake in the middle of the night and want us to stay in her room until she fell back asleep, even as a 2+ year old. She is sleeping through the night every night now that she has her sister to keep her company and cozy warm.