Christmas is 364 days away!

We had a very relaxing holiday. We drove up to the grandparents on Christmas Eve and attended the Christmas Eve service at Christ Community. We saw some familiar faces there which was great. Christmas day we woke up and lounged around until lunch. The kids played with Nana and Papa most of the morning. After lunch and after Avie ate all of Papa's bread we opened presents. This is the first time Haven realized that underneath wrapping paper is a wonderful surprise. We had to keep reminding him there were more presents to open because he would get so wrapped up (no pun intended) in the toy he just opened. Avie did not get it, but she did enjoy eating some wrapping paper. She was thrilled when we opened a porcelain doll. She was a bit confused when I did not let her carry it around. She gave it lots of kisses before I set it where she could not reach it. We headed over to Tiff's family in the evening where we opened more presents and spent time with everyone. We all got a lot of great gifts and are already enjoying them. But the best part was several relaxing days with family. Mike and I both have time off from work until January 5th! We are having friends over for another huge meal in the coming week and more friends coming over next week for dinner. Otherwise we are staying at home and enjoying quality time with each other. Can't think of a better way to spend our time off.

Happy Birthday Avie!

Saturday Avie turned 1! This past year went by so fast! We had a small party with cake and gifts. Avie had a great time as did Haven. Aunt Jillian or "Jin Jin" as Haven likes to call her, helped me make Avie's birthday cake. It turned out so cute! Avie received several dolls and a cute outfit that includes a tutu! We immediately put it on her along with the tiara her Aunt Jillian and Uncle Shannon got her. She looked like a princess! Haven also tried on the tiara, which was concerning, but surprising cute on him too. Here are some of the pictures...

Got Eggnog?

The best moments in life...

you usually do not have a camera in hand.

Lately Haven and Avie get on each others nerves more than they get along, but that is something that comes with siblings, especially brother and sister. This morning was a nice reminder why we are so blessed and why they are so lucky to have each other. One day when they are fighting non-stop I will remind them of this moment...

I was getting everything in order for our day while Haven and Avie played and watched
Sesame Street. Any parent who endures Sesame Street knows it is filled with songs and dancing. Usually Haven pleads with me to dance. So all three of us dance around the living room to ridiculous songs about vegitables or something of equal importance. It is part of my mommy duty to dance and I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy it more than any adult should.

This time Diana Krall (who was a special guest) was singing a jazz tune and playing the piano. Haven was immediately captivated and jumped to his feet. He ran over and grabbed my hand and said, "Dance Mama dance." Being the obediant Mom that I am I got up and danced around with him. Avie watched and started laughing at us. So I grabbed her up and danced with her while Haven jumped around us. Avie was having a great time. Haven then looked up at us and said, "Dance!" I assumed he wanted to hold my hands to dance so I reached down to take his hand. Instead he pushed my hand away and reached for his little sister.

I set her down on the ground and Haven grabbed both her hands. And they danced. Avie, who is not a skilled dancer like Haven yet, stood there and bounced while she held Haven's hands and laughed. Haven made sure she didn't fall over and laughed every time she laughed.

Elmo and Diana Krall finished their song and Haven let go of Avie's hand. They both went back to their toys...or fought over the same toy. I really can't keep track, but either way I relished in the highlight of my day. It was pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen.

As if the cute factor was not enough...I have every intention of blackmailing them in their teen years with this story. Another reason I'm disappointed I did not have my camera handy. Not to worry. I do have a bathtub duo shot that would make any teenager want to crawl in a hole.

We will miss you Drago!

I remember when I first saw Drago. He was the only white puppy sitting in the middle of all of his extremely active brothers and sisters crawling all over him. I picked him up and begged to take him home. He road home on my lap that day. We noticed immediatly he was goofy and quarky. He caught on quickly to fetch and would catch a frisbee all day. We spoiled him more than we should have and totally enjoyed him. Once the kids came Drago was so patient with them and Haven really enjoyed him. But with all the new responsibilties we had less time to devote to Drago.

We decided Drago needed more time and energy than we could give him. We enjoyed him very much and it was very sad to see him go. But we know he will be very happy with his new family. The family who adopted him had to pass a home inspection from a border collie adoption facility specifically for active border collies like Drago. This family passed and already received a dog in February and they loved their dog so much they wanted another one. Drago was their pick! We met them a few weekends ago and they fell in love with him right away. They were very impressed with his fetching. As soon as they got Drago home they took him in the backyard to play with him and posted pictures of their dogs. They e-mailed us and let us know that he was doing great and getting along with his new "brother" very well. Haven is too young to understand where Drago went so we told him he went to play. We will all miss him. But we are thrilled he will be walked daily, played with constantly, be allowed on the furniture and embraced as a part of the family. He will be a happy dog.

Do you know what time it is?

It's Christmas Time! My favorite time. This past week we have begun the Christmas traditions. We decorated the tree with Haven's help. Mostly he handed my the ornaments and ran around like a mad man. He also learned to say "Christmas tree" and thought everything Christmas related should be called that. We even taught him what Santa says. "Ho ho ho...Merry Christmas!" And while Dad was at work we made Christmas cookies. Haven helped with the cookie cutting and the decorating. He ate more cookie dough than he made cookies, but so did I so I guess that is OK. Good thing Dad was at work because he would have never allowed it. Hehe. And Haven had his very first cup of hot chocolate! With marsh mellows of course. Now any time he sees a mug he asks for some hot chocolate. Dont worry...Avie didn't miss much. She was wondering around having her own fun.

Big Changes for the Freemans!

After much consideration and prayer we decided that I should go back to work. God provided the perfect job. I will be working for Apartment Appraisers in Denver as an administrative assistant. It is part time, 4 days a week for 5 hours each day. This way I can spend time with the kids every morning and an entire day on Wednesday! We were worried about finding a good daycare. How do you find someone you trust enough to care for your heart? Well...God provided that too. We found a great, affordable daycare provider just blocks away from our house. She has years and years of experience and references. She has 3 adorable kids of her own and seemed really understanding that I will probably cry harder than Avie. Yes...we are worried about how hard this change will be on me as well as Avie. Avelyn is a major mommy's girl, which I joke about, saying it is draining. Nothing like a Velcro baby! But...truth be told I love that she can't get enough of me. Please pray that Avie will take right to the new circumstances and thrive. I'm gonna cry either way when I drop them off, but it would help if I was the only one crying. Haven...we're not so worried about. When we went to meet Brittany he ran right in without being asked and immediately started playing. He is super social so he will do fine. The only area he might have a hard time is napping in new place in a new bed.

As if this wasn't enough I will also go back to school part time at CU Denver. I am currently enrolled in 2 classes. Luckily one is online so I can do it from home and the other is Tuesday and Thursday mornings starting mid-January. So the kids will be with the sitter a little longer on those days. The campus is the same one that Mike works at! So if we are really lucky maybe Mike and I can sneak in an occasional "lunch date" in the cafeteria. ;) The thought of that alone makes it totally worth all the work!

All of this will be a big transition and we are asking for prayers so we all adjust and we can handle the new responsibilities!

Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving we were invited over to the Hart's home. There were lots of people and lots of food. Haven ate more than Mom did. He also spent a lot of his time walking around asking people he didn't know for food. Avie decided she would stick to her baby food and some strawberries. Oh...and check out the cute coat Aunt Jillian and Uncle Shannon got Avie for an early Christmas present. Pretty much the cutest thing ever. Enjoy the pics. We were so busy enjoying food and company we only got pictures of the kids playing...

Here's why the kids like going to Papa's and Nana's...