Durham Western Heritage Museum

Tonight we made a spur of the moment decision to head downtown to the Durham Western Heritage Museum...our first visit there. We're fortunate to live in a city that offers so many different venues, and we often don't take advantage of the different activities. So, tonight we loaded up and headed down to visit Santa, participate in crafts and drink hot cocoa, see the largest decorated tree in the region, and view a pretty neat museum!


Lainey seeing Santa for the first time this year...what a cutie she is! :) This picture just makes me smile. How I love her so!

Look at Sophie beaming on Santa's lap! I had to smile as she was hoisted up there because as I asked her throughout the day what she was going to ask Santa for...all slipped from her mind as she looked at the jolly old man in red...and quietly said, "Barbie". She looks so little sitting there...I just cherish her and the light in her eyes this Christmas season!

I wondered how Sawyer would react to Santa. I didn't have to wonder long though as he ran right up to him and practically jumped onto his lap...and turned to give him a hug before he left. He is SO happy sitting there!...and I'm not even sure he really even gets who Santa is. :) Sawyer cannot get enough of the "Kismas Nights! Kismas Nights!" everywhere and every time he sees the glowing lights. It honestly makes my heart leap to hear him each and every time because I know he will probably not react this way to them next year. Oh...this little boy!! Oh...the excitement of a child!

I realize that I could have just posted this one picture of the kids with Santa...but since this is basically my diary/scrapbook as well as a way to stay in touch with all of you...I posted all individually too. :)

Gotta love a whipped cream mustache with a cup of hot chocolate!

Craft table! I don't need to say the kids LOVE this!

This picture doesn't do justice to the size or beauty of the tree. I should have asked how they got it in there. And, it really was neat being in the old train depot...we'll be back.

Ahhh...Solution!

If you've been to our house before, you've probably seen the area just inside our garage usually piled with shoes. (And if you didn't see the shoes, I probably had them stuffed in a laundry basket in the laundry room.) :) We usually all take our shoes off when coming into the house, and when you have 5 people taking their shoes off...and a couple different pairs of shoes per person...that ends up being a lot of shoes!

The pile must have really been buggin' Matt because one day he started talking about a plan of shelves and soon after he put them up just outside the garage door to solve the problem. The kids LOVE having their own shelf and take pride in lining up their shoes. It's so much easier for them to find the the shoes they are looking for when we're ready to leave...and to see the shoes they have to choose from!

Thanks, Matt!

THANKS-GIVING

The girls helped decorate for Thanksgiving with Crayola window crayons..fun, fun, fun! Of course, we had to do this when Sawyer was sleeping (and give explicit instructions to Sophie) so coloring on the windows with these special crayons stays JUST on the windows! :)


Sophie drew Thanksgiving pictures of spaceships, a dump truck, and the Up House complete with lots of balloons! :)


Lainey drew an apple tree, pumpkins, and a house with a colored path. They are looking forward to decorating the windows for Christmas!


Sawyer and I were very lucky to be invited by Sophie to her Thanksgiving feast at preschool on Tuesday. It was so special, and she was BEAMING with pride!!!

Both Sophie and Lainey made placemats at school this year for Thanksgiving. The girls have felt so special using them at the table each day...we're so blessed to have such great teachers/schools.

Giving Thanks

• First and foremost, I am SO thankful for God...to know He is there for me, loves me always, and cherishes me. What a gift!

• I am thankful for my husband who works so hard which allows me to stay home with our children. I am thankful when the door handle turns, and I hear excited squeals arise from our kiddos because I know how much they love their daddy and how much he loves them! I am thankful that he is handy around the house...and especially for the awesome shelves he just installed (see my next post)!

• Each night during prayers we always say who and what we are thankful for. And, every year before Christmas we go through our toys and give some to those kids who are not as fortunate as we are. The kids got this last year; I was surprised. They'll really get it this year and have already started talking about it. They love dropping money into the little red buckets when they hear the bells at the storefronts...and they know what that means. I am in awe of their giving nature, their tender spirits. In these wonderful blessed seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas that can become so commercialized, it can be so hard to stay focused on what the seasons really mean. I am SO thankful for my kids and the little people they are and who they are becoming.

Because I don't want my entire list of "Thankfuls" to become paragraphs, I'll just list a few of the many things I am grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day.

• family
• health
• my freedom and those who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice to make that possible
• my children's wonderful teachers and the education they are fortunate to receive
• a warm and wonderful place to call "Home"
• wonderful friends and neighbors
• food to eat
• employment
• opportunities
• and SO much more!

Happy Thanksgiving! ...and onto the start of a very blessed Christmas season!


We went out to Village Pointe this year and attended the Lighting of the Tree. There was a small parade and Santa's arrival along with other special guests...The Grinch, The Who Family, Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and Captain Hook, Santa's Elves, etc. Carolers and Cold Stone ice cream completed our evening! Fun! Of course, the PERFECT weather didn't hurt either! :)

Seattle 'Baby' Trip

I am so blessed to have just returned from visiting my sister, brother-in-law and new little niece, Aubrey in Seattle!!! (while the kids enjoyed some WONDERFUL quality time with Dad and a couple fun days with Grammy) Aubrey, as I'm sure you remember from my previous post, was born October 14, so was only 4 weeks old while I was out there! I hadn't seen my sister since last Christmas. I'm sure most will concur that is just way too long to be apart from one's sister! :) I had a wonderful time cooking, helping with Aubrey, staying up through the night so Kim and Brian could get some sleep, being a part of Aubrey's first photo shoot, and helping Kim add a few more touches to the nursery. We introduced Aubrey to her first shopping experiences as well, and she did wonderfully! (much to Kim's relief...I think she was beginning to feel a little cabin fever) :)

At any rate, it was simply wonderful...and such a role-reversal. Kim has always helped me out...it was about time I could repay the favor!


I just LOVE newborn baths...so sweet and soft!

Look at these first smiles!

Awww...

Snuggled in her swing

What a cute family!

Lovin' my new niece!

Until next time, Lil' Aubrey! LOVE YOU! Muuwah!

Girls' Night!

Lainey, Sophie and I enjoyed a Girls' Night Out a few Fridays ago. We were supposed to attend my cousin's play, but due to tickets being sold out, we went to Plan B instead...Maggie Moo's ice cream and the movie 'Up'. (SO cute, by the way) The night was priceless...what a GREAT age they are at right now. (Of course, I say that about every age.) :)

Sawyer wouldn't let me get away without a picture too. Love it! LOVE him! He enjoyed a fun night with daddy at the church chili feed...man stuff! They had a great time together! :)

Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Matt's Grandma Elaine's 80th birthday last weekend as well as my brother, Scott's, birthday. It was also our first meeting with our little niece and cousin, Kinley. It was a fun weekend!

Happy 23rd Birthday, Scottie!

Happy 80th Birthday to Matt's Grandma, Elaine! What a Wonderful woman she is...patient, kind, humble, and full of wisdom.

I had to snap this moment of sweetness between Sophie and Sawyer. :)

Elaine with her Great-Grandchildren.

The Sheffield-side Grandkids...Lainey, Aldyn, Sophie & Sawyer. It was a beautiful day outside!!

Welcome, Kinley!

Congratulations to my brother, Russ, and his wife, Mandy! My newest niece wasn't due to arrive until November 10th but made her appearance early. We were so blessed to get to meet her this weekend. What a little sweetheart!!! I just loved cuddling her. Keaton is a super big brother. The kids have such a great time playing together. It'll be so much fun watching Kinley grow and try to keep up with this crazy bunch! :)

We love you Russ, Mandy, Keaton & Kinley!

Kinley Jo Wemhoff
10.28.09
7 lbs. 6 oz.
20 1/4"

Proud & protective big brother, Keaton

Sophie thought Kinley was "just precious"

Lainey completely LOVED her and asked if her eyes were opened yet when she was first holding her. :) (She thinks new babies are like puppies and kitties...they can't open their eyes when first born...too cute.)

Snip 'N Clip

So...what does Sophie want to be when she grows up? Well...after this weekend, the answer might be a beautician.

Sophie took herself and her Baby Belle doll to her own little Beauty Salon...a.k.a. her room. She took my scissors that she was using to do a craft and then hid it in her room. During her "nap" she went to work on her hair. And, we're not talking a little trim. You'll see in the pictures...she did quite a job on herself. Then, she hid the hair under her dresser (as if then I wouldn't notice!! I wonder what was going through her little mind?). All I could do was laugh. Good thing this will all be captured for eternity in our family pictures scheduled for November 22. :) Thank goodness it's just hair...and hair grows back. :)

You know...her spunky new do does fit her personality. But, we are now beginning the long tedious process of growing it back out. :)

Ahhh....little Sophie.



Here is some of the hair we pulled out from under her dresser.

Sophie's self-cut from the front...

...from the back...

...from the right-side...

...and from the left-side. :)

I didn't touch a thing but just chopped off the long piece in the back. I wanted to do as little as possible. I knew the professionals had little to work with...so I didn't want to make it worse!

My cousin, Holly, did an emergency cut from her house for us. She owns a salon in Lincoln. It's a cute cut given the circumstances (If she wouldn't have cut all her bangs clear up to the scalp, she wouldn't have done a half-bad job)...but I do have to do her hair every morning...you should have seen her bed head today! :) Sophie decided she can have a dressy look (in the black) or a "not-so-dressy" look in the blue...and wanted to make sure I put both in the pictures. So, I'm obliging. :)

I couldn't end the blog without a before and after:

Sophie at her class party on 10/27 and Sophie today 11/3

Trick-or-Treat!

Happy Halloween!

What a fun night we had this year! The kids were SO excited! Even Sawyer was so into it, running up to the houses..."Trea or Treat!" We were so lucky to have a nice night after a pretty yucky week. Matt and I had a meeting for church part of the day, so we were lucky enough that my parents came up to babysit. They got to come out trick-or-treating with the kids too...which the kids were thrilled with and made the night extra-special for them.

Now...if I can just keep my hands out of their candy bags! :)


Our 2009 Halloween Treats!

Lainey specifically wanted to be a nice witch this year. Her only request was a cape...but she also really loved the hat and fun broom we got to go with the outfit. This will get LOTS of use in the dress-up box, I have a feeling!

Sophie was the pink poodle Lainey was last year. She LOVED waggin' that little tail. Her little poodle ears were supposed to be attached to her pigtails...BUT she hid scissors in her room this weekend and gave herself a nifty haircut during her "nap". (stay tuned for a post on that) :)

Giddy-Up Lil' Cowboy! Sawyer would say, "Yee Haw!" I looked ALL over for little boots for him...finally found them...then you could hardly see them. I got them a little big, so if you see him wearing boots with shorts next summer, I'm trying to get use out of them! :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!