Sugar 'n' Spice . . . Twice!: Five Things and a Bunch of Pictures

My titles just get more and more creative as time goes by, don't they? ;)

* Please be praying for our dear friend/Melissa's mom/my second mom Mrs. Kathy and her family. Here is a little bit of Melissa's post on Facebook about everything going on right now: So...
I mentioned last week that my mom had had surgery to remove a cyst, which at the time we thought was benign. It wasn't. :( Several of you have been riding this emotional rollercoaster with me already this week, and bless you times infinity for being such wonderful people. We have the best support groups anybody could ask for.

For those of you who want to know more about what's going on, my mom has set up a Caring Bridge site where we'll post updates as we go through the process. You can sign up and we'll keep you posted. Link is http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kathymcmasters.

Thanks for praying!!

Here's Mrs. Kathy celebrating the girls' second birthday in style! She has already shown breast cancer who's boss, so we have every confidence that she can handle this too, with God's grace!

* So a few weeks ago, I came across an article about a Jesse Tree ornament exchange, and I thought it sounded like a fabulous idea. However, I knew fully well I'd never be able to convince 24 other people to agree to make 25 ornaments for an exchange, so I pinned the article to Pinterest and moved on. Then the next morning I received a Facebook invitation to be a part of a Jesse Tree ornament exchange party! I was so thrilled that I accepted the invitation without even processing what I was doing! :) I really ought to do a post just about the gorgeous ornaments I received at the party on Friday night and the stories they represent, but we'll see if that happens. :) It was a wonderful experience though, and I am crazy excited to start this tradition with my family this year!

Sorry this is sideways! For my ornament, the Bethlehem skyline, I drew this picture (I found something similar online that I used for inspiration) and colored it in with chalks, took it to Kinko's, had copies made for each ornament I needed to make, ...

... and glued each one onto a gift tag like this using glitter Mod Podge, then added a bonus layer of Mod Podge on the front and back of each one.

This was the end result.

* Saturday we went to Mississippi and surprised Mrs. DeeDee for her 50th birthday!! We had such a wonderful time with her, Herbie, Jennifer, Tyler and Noah... and yet sadly I have NO pictures to show for any of it!! Massive fail on my part! But thankfully we will be seeing them this week, so I will have to more than make up for it then. :)

* As an only child, I am equal parts amused/annoyed/fascinated/disturbed by the sister disputes that have begun unfolding around here lately. I've been shocked to see just how early it begins! For a while, the girls would just ride around in their car seats, passing the time by arguing over who knows what. One would say "yes," the other would say "no," and back and forth they would go. Now it has reached the point where they'll argue about things like the topic of dissension they had today over breakfast -- whom Mickey belongs to. Tamsie said Mickey is Tamsie's, and Evie said NO, that he is actually Evie's. Now it would be sensible at this point to assume they were fighting over their stuffed Mickey, but alas -- they were watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at the time and fighting over who the real Mickey Mouse belongs to. Because clearly he's not public domain.

* I've recently had a smattering of other mommy friends ask me for advice on various kid-related topics, and every time, I've noticed a common theme in the replies I give them: I totally remember being in the phase they're asking me about and being stressed out about being there, and I know we're clear of it now (mostly anyway), but I sure can't remember how we got here. Everything is such a blur! I don't know if this is an any-mom thing or a twin mom thing. So if it's advice you're looking for, always feel free to ask away, but because everything is so hazy in my memories of it all, it's surprisingly hard to give. This can either be good or bad for you! ha!

Evie in her book nook. She must have just woken up since she has her paci bear!

Big smile!

I don't even know what she's doing here, but I LOVE that smile.

Here's Tamsie making what is known around here as "the Chris face."

See what I mean?

Their favorite pastime (besides arguing, of course)

I love these dresses!

At Starbucks with Amma

In their element

Actually sharing!

Admiring the big Christmas tree at the zoo

And I love E's face here!

Baby and mama snow leopard in their own little area at the zoo

Tamsie's getting Aunt Jennifer kisses!

Back when the girls had reflux, I'd sit them up in their high chairs and read to them to keep them upright after their meals, since it was so hard to hold both of them at once. The tradition continues today, and storytime always follows food time. (That's why their books are on our kitchen table 95% of the time!) Here Evie has put her bunny in her booster chair for pretend storytime. :)