In December

In early December Heather, Annie and I flew out to Wisconsin to surprise Bethany.  It is one of the newest highlights of my life.  The anticipation of it all just about did us in before we arrived.  When we got to her house and knocked on the front door little Ivy answered and had the most confused look on her face.  She let us in but we couldn't find Bethany anywhere.  You would have thought she was expecting us- her house was spotless with beds made, dishes done and laundry going.  Here's how we finally tracked her down-

Wisconsin 2012 from Kobie Hatch on Vimeo.

We had a great time loving on Sapphire, hanging out with the kids and enjoying time together as sisters.  I think I speak for us all when I say our stomachs hurt the whole time from laughing so much.  It was a great trip and one that probably will never happen again.  Things just worked out so well- we found roundtrip tickets for an unbelievable price, we were able to easily make arrangements for our kids at home and although we almost missed our flight home, it all went off without a hitch.

Before we new it, Christmas was upon us and it was time for School Programs.  Being the wonderful mom that I am, I took about one picture.  I guess it was Kimber's turn.

Kimber got to have a a group of girls over to decorate sugar cookies.  They all had a great time doing cookies, dressing up and making a mess everywhere they went.

I used to be a Scrooge of sorts and didn't enjoy the childlike part of Christmas but now that my kids are getting older I feel like I'm coming around.  We try to keep our focus on Christ before Christmas and on Christmas Eve but once our little Christmas Eve "program" is over, I let my kids get giddy and excited about Santa.

Once again Santa and Mrs. Claus came by for a visit Christmas Eve night and the girls were just as surprised as ever.

 I was able to get all of the wrapping done early so Christmas Eve came together nicely and we were all in bed early.

 Christmas Day was once again full of gifts, family and food.  After opening gifts at home we drove to the Valley to be with our extended family, a tradition I'm not sure we can keep up for too many more years.